Marrying Mr. Winterborne/Lisa Kleypas/416 pgs

This is the second in Kleypas' Ravenel series and it's received high praise from some quarters. My enthusiasm for the book was already dimmed at the outset because the hero is just not my type and, unfortunately, the story did nothing to change my mindset.

Rhys Winterborne is the son of a Welsh grocer who has made a name, and tons and tons of money, from opening a successful department store. What he doesn't have is access to the upper reaches of society. He decides that marrying a lady from an aristocratic family, Lady Helen Ravenel will help cement his place in society. Helen and Rhy met in the first book of this series and I really feel like that's where they fell in love. In this book they already seem to care for each other and the romance isn't really expanded on. The only thing keeping them apart in the beginning is that Helen is still in mourning for her brother. The second half of the book throws in a conflict that feels very contrived because the two characters can't seem to communicate.

Though Kleypas' writing is still gorgeous and her attention to detail extraordinary, overall this wasn't a favorite of mine.