Avon, $6.99, ISBN 0-380-80230-9
Historical Romance, 1999

Someone to Watch over Me features an overused plot device, the Good Girl/Bad Girl twin sisters. Nonetheless, there are enough things to make this Lisa Kleypas historical romance worth a look.

Grant Morgan, our hero is not a duke, earl, or baron – he’s a Bow Street Runner and a very successful one at that. He’s one of those poor souls with a rotten childhood and he holds a grudge against one famous courtesan named Vivien. Then one fateful day he finds Vivien strangled and almost drowned in a river. “Vivien” wakes up and claims no memory of her past or identity. Is she really “Vivien”? Why is someone out to murder her?

The mystery of Vivien’s identity and her attempted murder make some pleasant, if predictable, reading. The two lead characters exhibit great sexual tension, and their blooming relationship is a pleasure to read as the story develops. Lisa Kleypas writes wonderful emotional and love scenes and here she doesn’t disappoint. Grant Morgan is a complex man who tries so hard to be cold but failing. Vivien or whoever she actually is turns out to be a woman of character and compassion. It is to Ms Kleypas’s credit she even bestows upon the villain a real, human reason for his hatred and anger.

I do have a complain however. Grant was so mean towards Vivian at the first half of the book. While his behavior improves soon after and there is his comeuppance and begging for forgiveness from the heroine, I’m not quite satisfied. I want a major groveling session from him. Something like him going down on his knees and making a long, heartfelt speech of how wrong he was will be nice.

Anyway, at the end of the day, this book is a satisfying read. Predictable, familiar, but entertaining.