ONLY WITH YOUR LOVE by Lisa Kleypas

PUBLISHER: Avon, October 1992
BODICE RIPPER? Yes, mild
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: The newlywed bride of a Creole aristocrat, Celia Vallerand prays for deliverance from the bloodthirsty brigands who abducted her from a New Orleans-bound schooner. Though she believes her beloved husband slain and despairs for her own life, the shy French beauty fears above all the dashing privateer who pays a king's ransom to claim her ... and boldly risks capture to possess her.

The most notorious pirate of the open seas, he is called "the Griffin"--a rugged and powerful renegade who arouses within Celia desires as dangerous as they are irresistible. But the magnificent adventurer is a man trapped in a perilous deception--and he guards a shocking secret that could deny him the love of the gossamer-haired enchantress who stirs his manly passions and enslaves his heart.

MY THOUGHTS: This takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States in 1817 ten years after the previous book in the series. The heroine, Celia, is twenty-four. She has blond hair and brown eyes. The hero is Justin Vallerand and he has dark hair and blue eyes and is twenty-five. His identical twin brother, Philippe, is her husband.

Sadly, I only liked the first quarter of the book, which was the first 100 pages. So many things, so much action, took place during the beginning that I felt like there was nothing left for the rest of the story. Once Celia moved in with her in-laws the book became very boring to me.

Her in-laws were the hero and heroine of the previous book, Only In Your Arms, which was rewritten as When Strangers Marry. Starting when Celia moved in with them, they were featured throughout the entire novel. I don't think that was fair to the readers. They had their own book and ended up with another one. I didn't care for it.

Justin wasn't as alpha as I'd have expected him to be, judging by his personality in the previous book. There was a 'forced seduction' scene with Celia early on but other than that I don't think his personality was all that bad. I'd have preferred for him to have been more aggressive in nature. Celia was a bit feisty and was a good match for him. Truth be told, I didn't care too much for either of them.

I thought there was too much hanging out at the plantation, since that's where most of the novel took place. I found it mostly boring and some things, like when someone was impersonating another, to be a bit silly and unoriginal.