A Wallflower Christmas (Wallflower Series) Audio CD – Unabridged, October 7, 2014

Once upon a time, four young women who were always the wallflowers of London society's social events banded together to help one another find love, happiness, and the perfect (or wickedly imperfect) man for them. Now it's Christmas, and the Wallflowers are once again reunited to celebrate the holidays and, perhaps, welcome a new member to their ranks.Raphael Bowman has come from America to meet and likely marry the aristocratic Lady Natalie. Lady Natalie is everything Rafe's parents want for him, and his father isn't above making Rafe's marriage to her a condition to Rafe securing an interest in his father's company. Though not enthusiastic about the idea, Rafe is agreeable, but upon arriving in England finds that his brash American ways may not lend themselves to wooing the perfect English rose. To help Rafe, his sisters and their friends decide to invite Lady Natalie's companion to visit so that Rafe can learn the way to his proposed intended's heart. There's just one problem...Once Rafe meets Miss Hannah Appleton, he can't seem to get her out of his mind. Her good, proper, English demeanor makes the wicked American want to be very, very bad. She thinks he's a cad. He thinks she's irresistible. And Rafe's father would definitely think a match between them is unacceptable. But with a little help from friends, perhaps the impossible can become possible, just in time for Christmas.There is truly no better way to spend an afternoon than curled up with a Lisa Kleypas novel. Her books are always charming, entertaining, and bright from beginning to end, and A Wallflower Christmas is no exception. I was swept away by Hannah and Rafe's love story; it's filled with delightful characters, sparkling banter, and, at the center of it all, a sensual, heartwarming romance.Rafe is a truly irresistible hero. He's sexy, clever, and irreverent - a rogue to the core that I couldn't help but fall in love with. In Hannah, Rafe meets his match. She's intelligent and sweet, but with a spine of steel. She's the kind of heroine you can't help but feel close to, as if from the very start she is a friend. In other words, she fits in perfectly with her fellow Wallflower heroines as an endearing character who is easy to identify with and adore. And like her four predecessors, Hannah doesn't fall for a rake's usual tricks, even if that rake is a man she finds utterly irresistible. Her no-nonsense attitude makes her the perfect foil for Rafe and his careless charm, making their love story a joy to watch unfold. From their first meeting, sparks practically fly off the page, making A Wallflower Christmas impossible to put down.I confess, though this book is Rafe and Hannah's story, before "meeting" them, what I had been looking forward to the most was getting to revisit the characters I loved so much from the original Wallflower quartet. Ms. Kleypas did not disappoint. Annabelle, Lillian, Evie, Daisy, and, to a lesser extent, their husbands all played a large role in A Wallflower Christmas. While Hannah and Rafe were undeniably the center of the story, it was pure joy to see my favorite Wallflowers together again. Their cheerful, boisterous, teasing, caring presence added another wonderful layer to this story. Ms. Kleypas also provides a peek into each of the four's lives after their happily ever after, a wonderful gift for any Wallflower fan. And for those who have yet to read Ms. Kleypas's phenomenal Wallflower series, A Wallflower Christmas does stand on its own. Yet after finishing this enchanting tale, I am sure every new fan will be rushing to read Secrets of a Summer Night, It Happened One Autumn, Devil in Winter, and Scandal in Spring.A Wallflower Christmas is everything I've come to expect from one of Ms. Kleypas's novels. It's sensual, witty, imaginative, and fun, with characters that are so full of life they seem to come right off the page. I cannot speak highly enough of Ms. Kleypas's talent for writing engaging, entertaining love stories, and A Wallflower Christmas is a perfect example of why her books always end up on my list of favorite novels. I absolutely loved this book and hope that Ms. Kleypas will one day write stories for the remaining two Bowman brothers, Ransom and Rhys, for I cannot get enough of this incredible series. For now I'll content myself with curling up with A Wallflower Christmas and falling in love with Rafe and Hannah all over again.ShaynaReviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This was such a great book. I loved all the characters & their return thru the series. Hannah & Rafe were opposites but destined to be together. An American rake use to excess & getting his way, meets a sweet innocent English rose & falls hard. The story has twists but is a HEA. Read this book.

This is a novella - rather like a very detailed epilogue - that wraps up the Wallflower series. All four ladies, and their husbands, meet at Stony Cross Park for Christmas. Lillian's and Daisy's oldest brother, Rafe, is also there; Thomas Bowman is trying to arrange a marriage for him to Lady Natalie Blandford.Lady Natalie has a companion, a young woman from an impoverished family branch named Hannah. Hannah has soft brown hair and green eyes, and Lady Natalie and her mother consider Hannah to be plain in comparison to Lady Natalie's golden-haired beauty. Lady Natalie is pursued by many gentlemen and had received a great number of proposals; she is actually quite a lively, but spoilt young lady.So Hannah is sent to meet Rafe Bowman and give her opinion as to his suitability for a husband for Lady Natalie. The problem is, when they meet, it's like a spark in the vicinity of gasoline fumes. Rafe is instantly attracted to her and being the rake he is, contrives to get alone with her and kiss her.So the Christmas house party gets into full swing and Rafe soon knows that he isn't merely lusting for Hannah, that his feelings are much deeper. But his father has made it clear that he will disinherit Rafe if he doesn't marry into the aristocracy, and Rafe desperately wants the joint proprietorship of the European operation of Bowman's.The Wallflowers become aware of the romance and pledge to help it along.This was a fun look at a Victorian celebration of Christmas - nothing much I didn't already know, but LK's lovely writing brings it to life. I loved the snippets of A Christmas Carol that Hannah read to the group of children in the library. Oh, and I enjoyed the descriptions of the library, too.It was also nice to visit again with Annabelle, Lillian, Evie and Daisy and their husbands. 3.5 stars, but I rounded up to 4 since one cannot give fractions.

It's Christmas in London and Hannah Appleton has been given the task of finding out whether the brash American, Rafe Bowman, will be a suitable match for her charge, Lady Natalie. What she finds is a ruggedly sexy, outspoken man with shockingly American ways who irks her in a way no man has before.In order to gain his inheritance in his father's company, Rafe Bowman must marry the blue blooded and very proper Lady Natalie. Although pretty and kind, it's her chaperone Hannah that draws Rafe's eye. At a house party at Stony Cross Park the Wallflowers play matchmaker with some unexpected consequences that will make it a Christmas to remember.It pains me to have to only give a Lisa Kleypas book 3 stars but there are a few problems that have stopped this book being nearly as good as her other historical books.Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed the Wallflower books and was anticipating hearing about how all the previous characters had progressed. There was a nice little bit about Evie and Sebastian ( Devil in Winter ) and another about Lillian and Marcus ( It Happened One Autumn ) but barely anything about Daisy and Matthew ( Scandal in Spring ) or Annabel and Simon ( Secrets of a Summer Night ). This is disappointing as with the book being so short, I feel another couple of sections could easily have been added, making it more the size of a normal romance.The story of Rafe and Hannah was sweet but slightly underdeveloped. I didn't feel I ever got to know either character particularly well and I was surprised when the declarations of love came as I honestly thought they were too soon to be believable. There was still lots of excellent romance and good interactions between the pair.If I'm honest, I don't really think that this book is worth the high, hardback price. It was a nice diversion and I always enjoy catching up on well-loved characters but overall it did leave me feeling slightly dissatisfied. Unfortunately only 3 stars. Devil in WinterIt Happened One AutumnScandal in SpringSecrets of a Summer Night

A charming story for the season that I almost did not buy because of the price - generally I refuse to spend more than £4 on novels in this genre - but the weather was awful and I was desperate for something engaging; I'm glad I broke my own rule. It was nice to catch up with the wallflowers - I especially liked the short but sweet parts that focused on Evie and St Vincent whose story is my absolute favourite not only from LK but within the genre as a whole.

What a lovely read, just enough chapters to get a good story out of, and great characters, that you can actually believe

Maybe this book is showing its age, but my goodness it is "rapey" The hero forcibly kisses the heroine several times. It is fun to meet up with the wallflowers again, but the undercurrent of force made me very uncomfortable. It is not sexy to have the hero grab a woman and keep kissing her against her will.

It makes up for book four, but doesn't match the first three. In fact I would recommend you stop at book three. Yes this does have it's new couple, but all the others get drag in, to fill space and pages. Also the story is not really new, but a mis-mash of the others.