Lisa Kleypas is my favorite romance author because of her beautiful and detailed descriptions of scenes, food, clothes, and people. I always know exactly what to envision when I read her novels, and this is something she consistently excels at.
In terms of characters, I'm split on them. I usually adore her heroines. They're usually strong-willed, quirky, and there's something off about them. Lady Sophia Sydney is bent on revenge in this novel, and she has the hutspa to pull it off, if she wasn't so attracted to the hero. I liked her determination and her resourcefulness. She isn't a dumb heroine, and I enjoyed reading about her interactions with the hero.
As much as I like Kleypas's heroines, her heroes are harder to like. Mainly because they're usually some parts manipulative, some parts abusive, and only some parts loving. Sir Ross Cannon was no exception in this case. The scene that particularly freaked me out takes place after his younger brother tries to assault Sophia. Kleyaps then writes that Ross grabs her in the same way his brother had (I don't remember the exact wording), and then he succeeds in assaulting her.
Here's the thing: I know Sophia wants Ross, but based on everything she's telling him, there's no way he'd know how she truly feels. I get this is an older book and Kleypas has gotten a little better about this kind of stuff, but it was still disturbing to read. They're a cute couple once they're married, but it took me most of the book to root for them at all.
In general, this book had a lot of things I like: spunky but not stupid heroine, action, and high-stakes drama. The pacing was a little weird in the middle. Overall, I'd say this is standard Kleypas fare. Could be better, even enjoyable if you turn off certain parts of your brain. ( )

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3.5 stars

The first book in the Bow Street Runners series was the first Lisa Kleypas I read. I got sidetracked by her lovely Wallflowers series, but I’ve been meaning to get back to Bow Street. I liked Ross Cannon as a supporting character in the first book, and I was looking forward to reading a book that featured him.
It was pretty good. They sure did a lot of sex in this one. Like a lot. But I really liked Ross and Sophia. I appreciate when adult characters act like adults (mind you, adults that do a lot of sex), and I enjoy romances where there aren’t a bunch of monkeyshines with people being cagey and dishonest with each other. For the most part, this book was free of that annoyance. I also appreciate that Kleypas can surprise me just when I think things are getting predictable.
I still prefer the Wallflowers series to this one, especially The Devil in Winter (thank you, Forever Young Adult—your review of this book put me onto Kleypas), but it was still nice to snack on for a couple of days. ( )

Lady Sophia Sydney haría cualquier cosa para atrapar al inalcanzable Sir Ross Cannon. Su objetivo es arruinar su reputación y causar un escándalo que sería la comidilla de todo Londres. Entonces, ella se insinúa en su vida ganándose su confianza y viviendo en su casa. Cada mañana, su exuberante presencia lo tienta más allá de toda razón... la forma en que se inclina sobre la mesa para servirle las comidas que ha preparado... la forma en que sus manos tan suavemente lo rozan.Cada noche, ella promete con sus ojos que las horas antes del amanecer podrían pasarse en una pasión desenfrenada en lugar de un sueño inquieto, si él la dejara compartir su cama. Ella sabe que él se está enamorando más de ella cada día. Pero ella nunca contó con enamorarse de él. Y ella nunca soñó que él podría muy respetablemente pedir su mano en matrimonio.

At times I found Sophia to be exasperating as she was very self absorbed but the plot and the character of Sir Ross made up for that and I enjoyed the book. ( )