Mine Till Midnight

Mine Till Midnight (2007) Lisa Kleypas

Set in England in 1848.

Amelia Hathaway has been holding her family together since her parents died, but after scarlet fever leaves her family in even worse shape, holding things together becomes almost too much for her.

Especially when her brother, the head of the family, seems interested only in drinking himself to death.

“We shall begin by eliminating the places Leo would not go,” she said. “Churches, museums, places of higher learning, and polite neighborhoods are naturally out of the question.”

Cam Rohan is a half Gypsy who has been living in London for years working as the factor for a gambling house. But he wonders if his current malaise means he’s been ignoring his Gypsy side for too long.

One of the things I particularity liked about this story was that Amelia’s family were as important to the story as she and Cam were: her brother, her sisters, and her adopted brother were all main characters with their own problems and crises.

One day she complained that the window was so dirty, she could barely see through it, and it made the sky look grayish. So from then on (he) always kept the glass spotless. Sometimes he climbed a ladder to wash the outside, and you know how afraid of heights he is. You never saw him do that?”

“No,” (she) said with difficulty, her eyes stinging. “I didn’t know he did that.”

“(He) said the sky should always be blue for her,” Beatrix said. “And that was when I knew he … are you crying?”

The other thing I particularly liked was how Merripen fit into the family. He wasn’t quite a sibling, but he was clearly important, and a family member in some way.

I quite liked how the story encompassed the entire family. Lots of boinking, of course, but the importance of the family relationships more than made up for it.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Rating: 8/10

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