Christmas Candy: A Wallflower Christmas

Lisa Kleypas tends to write witty and sexy Regency romances (also some moderns, but I haven't read those), often tying them into series.  Of course, once you have all the characters and background set up, it's hard to let them go, which I suspect was the inspiration for this short novel set after the four books of the seasonal Wallflower series, which featured four girls considered wallflowers who all manage to marry the men of their dreams (in a romance series! what are the odds?).

Anyway, A Wallflower Christmas features the brother of two of the girls, whose vulgar American brashness doesn't hide the shine of his vast fortune.  His father wants him to marry one of those English aristocrats (I keep leaving the second R out of that word), so the sisters invite the companion of a likely prospect to tea so they can discuss terms.  Sparks fly between the companion and the brother, whose annoying alpha habit of smooching unwilling girls gives Hannah her first kiss and her horrified first impression of the rude dude.  The book was more about checking up on the four Wallflowers than about the love between Hannah and Rafe, which was just as well because Rafe doesn't have much going for him other than his fabulous body, riches, and nice sisters.  But then, that's apparently enough.

Actually, the nice sisters alone should be enough.  Getting into a great family is highly underrated.  I mean, yes, chose a nice spouse, but a great family -- there's something to hold onto.  B-