Marrying Winterbourne
Lisa Kleypas’s Marrying Winterborne, set in the Victorian bustle period circa 1870, is a continuation of the story of Rhys and Helen which was started in Cold-Hearted Rake. Welshman Rhys Winterborne is a self-made man who owns Winterborne’s, a Harrods-like department store where customer service is king. Uneducated and born poor, Rhys is proud of his accomplishments, but his pride is stinging from his recent broken betrothal. Lady Helen Ravenel is sheltered and painfully shy; her life is her family and her orchids. She was unprepared for Rhys and broke their engagement.
When Helen comes to him to un-break their betrothal, Rhys demands a price: she must spend the night with him, to render her unmarriageable to another man. Helen agrees. Together they discover a passion that surprises them both.
This has a great plot and good characters, but sometimes Rhys is a throwback to the “good-old bad-old” days of aggressive men in romances, as shown in things he does to Helen (forcing her chin up, guiding her with his hand at the back of her neck, etc.). Luckily, Helen has a steel spine, which helps counter his aggressiveness.
