{"id":11019,"date":"2018-08-17T10:10:26","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T14:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=11019"},"modified":"2021-12-16T19:10:41","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T00:10:41","slug":"dreaming-of-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11019","title":{"rendered":"Dreaming of You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dreaming of You<\/a><\/em> (1994) Lisa Kleypas<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in historical London some time after pistols but before trains<\/p>\n

There was so much I liked about this story, yet so much that I found problematic about it.<\/p>\n

Sara Fielding is the author of a famous novel about a fallen woman, and is in London researching a gambling hell for the new book she wants to write.<\/p>\n

Derek Craven was born in the gutter, lived as a street urchin and fought and struggled his way to become one of the richest men in London and owner of one of the most exclusive gambling hells.<\/p>\n

First, I loved Sara–she was doing something dangerous but she wasn’t utterly stupid–she attempted to protect herself as best she could.<\/p>\n

Second, I liked the idea of Derek very much–a self-made man mad hard by his childhood and past. But his implementation remained problematic throughout the story.<\/p>\n

Derek describes his childhood in poverty and living on the streets. He didn’t start to make his fortune until he was a teenager at the earliest. So every time he is described, I have a tremendous disconnect: “he was a large, powerfully built man” is just never going to describe a man who grew up starving on the streets. He might have developed strength, and if both his parents had been unusually tall, he might have been lucky and achieved average height, but to be a tall and muscular man after a childhood of deprivation and disease (including being a chimney sweep)–I just can’t accept that as probable.<\/p>\n

Then there was the sexual assault. The heroine is violently assaulted twice in the story: Once on the streets and once in her bed. Neither even seems to have any affect at all on her mental well-being. That is just simply not reality based. If the heroine wasn’t supposed to be as damaged as the hero, then having her be assaulted–I know it was a different time and all, but… no. (This actually didn’t pull me out of the story as much as the hero’s healthy physique did, but the more I think about it the more it bothers me.)<\/p>\n

And then there was this paragraph:<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much of Mr. Craven\u2019s profit is earned by the house wenches?\u201d she asked. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe takes no profit from them, Miss Fielding. Their presence adds to the ambiance of the club, and serves as an added enticement to the patrons. All the money the house wenches make is theirs to keep. Mr. Craven also offers them protection, rent-free rooms, and a far better clientele than they\u2019re likely to find on the streets.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He’s a good man at heart, I can accept that. But ALL of that? That’s just over-the-top ridiculous. <\/p>\n

Which was frustrating, because there was a lot to like: Sara’s parents were lovely. Sara managed to rescue both the hero and herself at different points in the story. The “bad guy” is obviously damaged in a way that makes their actions understandable if not acceptable. Sara’s relationship with her intended back home is also a nice touch. But the things that bothered me seem to have outweighed the good, leaving me very unsatisfied in general with this book.<\/p>\n

Publisher: HarperCollins
\nRating: 5.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dreaming of You (1994) Lisa Kleypas Set in historical London some time after pistols but before trains There was so much I liked about this story, yet so much that I found problematic about it. Sara Fielding is the author of a famous novel about a fallen woman, and is in London researching a gambling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,33,26,56],"tags":[50,165,557],"class_list":["post-11019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british","category-historical","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-lisa-kleypas","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2RJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11361,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11361","url_meta":{"origin":11019,"position":0},"title":"Mine Till Midnight","author":"Michelle","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Mine-Till-Midnight.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11377,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11377","url_meta":{"origin":11019,"position":1},"title":"Devil in Winter","author":"Michelle","date":"January 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Devil in Winter (2006) Lisa Kleypas Set in London in 1843 Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent is an unrepentant rake whose only interest is pleasure. But he's also broke, and needs a rich wife immediately. \u201cDo you ever think of anyone other than yourself?\u201d The question seemed to pull him out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Devil-in-Winter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11368,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11368","url_meta":{"origin":11019,"position":2},"title":"Seduce Me at Sunrise","author":"Michelle","date":"January 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Seduce Me at Sunrise (2008) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1848 Kev Merripen was found beaten and ailing by the Hathaway family, who took him in and treated him as one of their own, despite his obviously being a Rom. He's stayed only because since the day he laid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Seduce-Me-at-Sunrise.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11358,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11358","url_meta":{"origin":11019,"position":3},"title":"Hello Stranger","author":"Michelle","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Stranger (2018) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1876 Dr. Garrett Gibson is the only female doctor in England, and has spent so much time proving she's good enough, she's spared nothing for herself. Ethan Ransom is a Ravanel bastard, former detective for Scotland Yard, and secret agent for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Hello-Stranger.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11352,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11352","url_meta":{"origin":11019,"position":4},"title":"Devil in Spring","author":"Michelle","date":"January 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Devil in Spring (2017) Lisa Kleypas Set in London in 1876 Lady Pandora Ravenel doesn't want to marry. She wants to make board games and live on her own, because women lose all their right as soon as they marry. But when she's found in a compromising position with Gabriel,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Devil-in-Spring.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11373,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11373","url_meta":{"origin":11019,"position":5},"title":"Tempt Me at Twilight","author":"Michelle","date":"January 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Tempt Me at Twilight (2009) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1852 The third Hathaway sister, Poppy, is at the end of her third season, and is hoping for a match from the son of a viscount. 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