Stranger in My Arms

by Lisa Kleypas

Paperback, 1998

Status

Available

Call number

813

Genres

Romance

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

* Donation

Publication

Avon (1998), Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Description

Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: "One of today's leading lights in romantic fiction."�??Seattle Times USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas is one of America's most acclaimed and popular authors of historical romance fiction�??and Stranger in My Arms is one of her most beloved novels! A classic tale of a noble lady whose life is upended when her despised husband�??believed lost at sea�??returns, a remarkably altered, more passionate and loving man...if he is, indeed, who he claims to be. A two-time RITA Award-winner�??and a nine-time nominee�??Lisa Kleypas is at her sensuous best with Strange

User reviews

LibraryThing member Jenson_AKA_DL

Lara was a widow, or so she thought. Up until the day she received the unwelcome news that her husband Hunter, Earl of Hawksworth, had survived the shipwreck that had freed Lara from her loveless marriage. But, the Hunter who has returned to her does not act at all as he had and instead woos Lara

with an affection she had never dared dream of. Is he in fact, a changed man or could he be a doppelganger with a nefarious secret? And a bigger question, does Lara really want to know the truth?

Once again Lisa Kleypas has taken a storyline which may sound familiar and cliché and fleshed it out into an entrancing fast moving tale to keep you guessing. Although I won't say Lara is my favorite Kleypas heroine, being a bit too pious for my taste, I couldn't totally dislike her. Hunter as the hero and the secondary character of Johnny more than took up any slack in the interest level of this story for me. Stranger in my Arms is another wonderful Kleypas novel and I do believe any of her stories are must reads for lovers of historical romance.

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LibraryThing member librarymeg

This is one of those books that is proving hard for me to rate. While I was reading it I was completely engrossed, and I enjoyed every minute of the book. Normally that kind of reading experience would be an automatic four stars, but I find myself strangely resistant to giving this book four stars

and it's hard to explain why. I think it comes down to the book's conclusion and the feeling it left me with when I turned the final page.

I don't want to give away too much, but Stranger in My Arms fairly begs for a comparison to the movie Sommersby. For those unfamiliar with either, the basic plotline is the widow, finally free of an unhappy marriage, who is unexpectedly faced with a husband seemingly come back from the grave. The reader/audience struggles throughout the story with questions about the husband's true identity as the widow begins to fall in love with the man she was formerly so relieved to lose. It's an intriguing plot, and I enjoyed it, but the author's final twist, for reasons I can't seem to explain, left me feeling slightly disappointed. Nevertheless, I always enjoy Lisa Kleypas and will continue to go to her whenever I'm looking for a few hours of escape.

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LibraryThing member rainrunner

4 stars only cause it's Kleypas. Really more like 3.5. I read it but I didn't "feel" it. Lara was a heroine I really didn't like. I found myself making odd noises of annoyance far too many times over her behavior. As for Hunter, some of the stuff was out there and rather stalkerish. I don't know,

just didn't feel it. It was ok.

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LibraryThing member eljabo

Eh - I usually love Lisa's books, but this one wasn't my favorite.

I like my heroines with some spunky - Lara was just plain boring. All her work with orphans and battered women and poor people - it was just too much. And I found the whole "is he her husband" or "is he not her husband" plot to be a

tad unrealistic.

Even the hero was boring.

I also found Lara's fear of the bedroom annoying. "Oh no - I can't possibly get it on with you even though you're my husband and we've done it before." "OK Lara, we don't have to do it" "Good 'cause I don't want to" "We don't have to."

Let's just get to the action already!

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LibraryThing member melorem

Lara is married to a man who has been declared dead. Before he died she had not seen him for years because he left for India. When a man shows up claiming to be her husband she's not immediately convinced. She takes her place as his wife and life becomes so much better for her. The author does a

great job of keeping us unsure. Is it him? Is it an impostor?

I found Lara to be a bit wishy washy but enjoyed the overall plot of the book.

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LibraryThing member Pebblesgmc

Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas
Hunter the Earl of Hawksworth was in a shipwreck and has been presumed dead. The opening line "Lady Hawksworth, Your husband is not dead". What follows is pandemonium, Lara Lady Hawksworth doesn't know what to think, but she doesn't want the old Hunter

back.
SPOILER!!
When confronted with the truth of his identity , she systematically sets about to destroy her own life and all those around her by telling that he is an impostor.
The baby that she carries and the boy she's adopted doesn't get more than a second thought. Selfish/stupid!!

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LibraryThing member Kathy89

This wasn’t as good as the Ravenls or Bow Street Runner Series. Hunter the Earl of Hawksworth is presumed dead after having gone missing for 3 years. Lady Lara Hawksworth is not unhappy about being a widow since she likes being independent and was in a loveless marriage to a brute. He turns up

but she doesn’t believe it’s really the Earl even though he looks like him and has knowledge only that he could have. He claims to have changed by his experiences in India. He’s loving, agrees to let her adopt an orphan she fond of, is managing the estates finances better, and rescues her sister from an abusive husband.

She still has doubts about his authenticy and is falling in love with him; but when she hears evidence from a neighbor of his real identity and believes him, she goes to the authorities because it’s the right thing to do even though it would be sentencing him to life in prison.

Spoiler: The Dowager has a long talk with her the night before the trial.

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LibraryThing member PNRList

Not my favorite of her books and the intrigue dragged on a bit but I liked the characters.

LibraryThing member Narshkite

This is backlist Kleypas, from 1988, and boy did she get better with experience. I love Lisa Kleypas now, she is my go-to girl, but the writing is terrible here -- utterly awful. And also I already do not like the heroine a mere 1.5 hours in to the audio. I am going to skip this one. Leaving this

here to remind myself I tried it and did not like it.

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