Series Review: The Wallflowers by Lisa Kleypas

Alexa has been encouraging me to give a romance, especially historical ones, a try and I've enjoyed every recommendation so far! Wallflowers was one of those recommendations and I'm excited to be sharing my thoughts on the series.

Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers #1)

pub Nov 2004 by Avon Books
Historical Romance
Gifted from Alexa

The book that begins the journey of the Wallflowers and my favorite of the series! Annabelle Peyton is determined to get married for many reasons but the most important one is to help her family. It's that love for her family and innate kindness that made me sympathize and adore Annabelle so much. But with no success and only offers of affairs from older married men, she's at a loss. That's when three other amazing, but also single, women come in. Annabelle, Lillian Bowman, Daisy Bowman and Evie Jenner band together to call themselves the Wallflowers (and friends!) to help each other get married and their first mission is help Annabelle. But as they try to find the perfect match for her, there is one man who keeps getting in their way and his name is Simon Hunt. (Let the swooning begin ladies!) He's wealthy and powerful but not quite the distinguished gentleman Annabelle had in mind. He's a bit of a rogue which makes her believe he's all wrong but personally, I wanted to reach into the book and tell her he is SO right. Their back and forth brought all the romance and tension I usually enjoy and made the eventual moment when they give in that much sweeter. But even though this is a romance novel, it's a friendship one too and I knew this was just the beginning of a beautiful one between these four women.

Do I recommend? Yes! This year has been my first time really trying out historical romance and I'm really enjoying them thus far.

It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers #2)

pub Sept 2005 by Avon Books
Historical Romance

If I had to pick my other favorite in this series, it would be this one! The story continues with Lillian Bowman as the Wallflowers decide it's her turn among their circle of friends. Lillian is outspoken, opinionated and from New York. Also known as all the things that make her difficult to marry in English society. And all the things I found totally awesome about her. Since her introduction in the previous book, I was curious to see what romance would be in store for her given her feisty nature and it did not disappoint! Because she has clearly met her match in Lord Marcus Westcliff. As the best friend of Annabelle's husband, he's not someone she can exactly avoid despite her claims of wanting to do so. In fact, Westcliff also says he wants nothing to do with her. Basically it's a case of protesting a little too much and it's clear where these two are headed. And it's right into each other's arms. But not without a fight and you know me, I love relationships that start off all antagonistically because they can't admit their true feelings. Reading about them going head-to-head was fun and yes still romantic to behold.

Do I recommend? Again, another winner. I loved Lillian as a heroine and Westcliff wasn't so bad either. Ok, he's pretty great too but I still love Simon Hunt best.

Devil in Winter (Wallflowers #3)

pub Jan 2006 by Avon Books
Historical Romance
Gifted from Alexa

At this point, I was excited to get Evie Jenner's story because I had a feeling there would be a lot to say but I was also extremely hesitant when I realized the love interest would be Sebastian St. Vincent. He played a rather awful role in the previous book and I didn't think I could look past it. Even though it's fiction, there are just some things I can't shake off and am very sensitive about. But in spite of that, I still enjoyed this installment of the series even though he is unsurprisingly my least favorite of the men. But making up for it completely is Evie. She's always been the shyest of the Wallflowers. Suffering from a stutter and a terrible home life, she's desperate to live her own life. This is why she goes to Sebastian with the offer of marriage. He needs the money and she's got a big inheritance coming her way. But there's one condition. They will consummate their marriage only on the night of the wedding and not again after that. She knows he's a ladies' man and only wants to prevent herself from getting hurt. Neither Evie or Sebastian expect to actually fall for each other as they go through with this but that's what begins to happen. What I appreciated about their relationship is that they brought out the good in each other. She finds confidence in herself and it was so, so nice to see her finally break out of her shell. Likewise, she opens up Sebastian's heart and allows him to find that an unselfish part of him exists.

Do I recommend? In spite of my feelings about Sebastian, it's a good book. And you can't finish the series without reading this one!

Scandal in Spring (Wallflowers #4)

pub Jan 2006 by Avon Books
Historical Romance

[Publisher: Avon Books | Pub. Date: Jan 2006 | Genre: Historical Romance | Source: Purchased]
And we finally come to Daisy Bowman's story! Despite what the title suggests, this book was actually the tamest and least dramatic of the series. It was a bit surprising actually given the previous books but all in all, it was still a solid end to the Wallflowers. Daisy is the daydreamer of the group and her father believes it's her fanciful nature that prevents her from finding a husband. So he gives her an ultimatum. If she can't get a marriage offer in two months, she'll be forced to marry Matthew Swift, someone who's worked closely with her father for years. She and all the Wallflowers are absolutely against this. That is until he shows up and he's not at all like Daisy remembered. There's an immediate spark between them despite her insistent denials. My favorite part about their romance was probably how Matthew accepted Daisy for exactly who she was. Someone who is thoughtful, loves books and sometimes has her head in the clouds (I can so relate to her!). Plus it was nice to be reunited with all the girls again. It was the first time in a while where their collective friendship gets highlighted and it seemed only fitting to see that in the final book.

Do I recommend? I do! I'd recommend this whole series and it was nice to see all the girls get their happy endings.