Love in the Afternoon

Now, after all her siblings have found their true love and are happily married, there is only the youngest sister, animal-loving-and-caring Beatrix, left. She had her season all right, there were some suitors, too, but no one could capture her heart. The Hathaways are an unconventional family anyway, but Beatrix with her love for nature and animals surely is the less fitting into snobbish English society. But there is a lot of sensitivity and empathy in Beatrix, which has always led her to look after sick, injured or maimed creatures to help and slowly cure them. So there is no wonder she feels deeply for Captain Christopher Phelan, when she reads a letter he has sent to her friend Prudence. Formerly a dashing, daring, roguish young gentleman whom Beatrix did not really like, the Crimea War and daily confrontations with death have changed Captain Phelan extremely, bringing him to the brink of despair. So when insensible and superficial Prudence refuses to answer his letter, Beatrix simply can't help but write an answering letter herself using Prudence's name, starting a vivid exchange of letters in the future. But what will happen, when Captain Phelan returns after war and wants to find the writer of these letters, which helped him through his darkest times, but thinks Prudence is the one? - Well, if Beatrix cannot care for Captain Phelan officially, she can at least look after his dog Albert, also traumatized by the war, and slowly build up a connection with Phelan along with it. Now it is up to Phelan to detect the real writer and to act accordingly! Although the last book in the Hathaway-series this book is as interesting and entertaining as the rest of them, maybe it is even more profound and full of feelings and passion. Kleypas really succeeds in creating strong characters and in delivering convincing stories that keep the reader fascinated from first page to last. Absolutely recommendable, if you've read the earlier Hathaway-stories a must! Read and enjoy! ...weiterlesen

Eigentlich kann Beatrix Hathaway, die Jüngste der Hathaway-Geschwister, Captain Christopher Phelan nicht ausstehen. Schließlich hatte er einmal hinter ihrem Rücken behauptet, dass sie besser in den Stall passe als in vornehme Gesellschaft. Als sie jedoch einen Brief von ihm liest, der an ihre Freundin Prudence gerichtet ist, ändert sich ihre Meinung ihm gegenüber. Sie schreibt Captain Phelan im Namen von Prudence, die keinerlei Anstalten macht ihrem Verehrer zu antworten. Aus einem zunächst harmlosen Briefwechsel entstehen bald tiefe Gefühle beiderseits. Als Christopher aus dem Krieg zurückkehrt, glaubt er Prudence habe ihm die Briefe geschickt und will sie nun heiraten... Ich habe dieses Buch genossen, weil ich die Hauptcharaktere besonders gelungen fand: Die lebenslustige und freundliche Beatrix, die jedem Tier helfen will und der vom Krieg verbitterte Christopher. Die beiden haben eine schöne und authentische Geschichte auf den Leib geschneidert bekommen und Lisa Kleypas hat einmal mehr bewiesen, dass sie ihre Figuren zu leben erwecken und sie glaubhaft erscheinen lassen kann. Fazit: Ein gelungener Abschluss für die Hathaway-Reihe. ...weiterlesen