Name: Love in the afternoon
ISBN: 9780312605391

Barbara Cartland

"As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Even though she has participated in the London season in the past, the classic beauty and free-spirited Beatrix has never been swept away or seriously courted...and she has resigned herself to the fate of never finding love. Has the time come for the most unconventional of the Hathaway sisters to settle for an ordinary man--just to avoid spinsterhood?..."--p. [4] of cover.

Love in the afternoon

Lover of Romance 

Beatrix Hathaway has always loved and adored animals, and has studied them throughout the years of her young life. Because of her passion for animals, she doesn't have many suitors, or lots of friends, but she prefers animals to people most times. When one of her friends, Prudence, gets a letter from Captain Christopher Phelan, she decides to write to him when her friend finds his musings silly, however Beatrix doesn't believe that, she reaches out to him and they connect in a way that neither of them expected. However as time progresses, Beatrix finds that she is falling in love with Christopher, but that he doesn't know who the author of the letters really is, so she ends them, knowing how furious he would be if he found out it was her, whom he once referred to as belonging in the stables. But before she does this she switches to letters, one way she writes down some of her feelings, and asks him to come and find her. When Christopher comes back from the war, claimed by England a War Hero, he is reclusive, refusing at first to go out into Society, where Prudence is. He meets his match in Beatrix, although she is very different from when he last saw her, she is now beautiful and vibrant, but despite his attraction to her, he is in love with the woman that wrote to him, Prudence, even though he doesn't know that Beatrix was the one to truly write the letters. But they keep crossing paths, and find a passion that in each others arms.

Love In The Afternoon, although a very good romance, was not my favorite of the series. I was going to wait for this one to be available in paperback in my library, however this came available in audio form, so I decided why not, I like listening to Lisa Kleypas Books audio style, so I did just that, and just loved the narrator of Love In The Afternoon. I found this story to be unique and definitely filled with romance. And even though at the beginning I wanted Beatrix to tell Christopher the truth at first, I wasn't disappointed when she finally did, it seemed quite perfect, especially his reaction, which I won't spoil for you, you will just have to read it!! I have always loved Beatrix, she is one of my favorite Hathaways, especially with her special gift toward animals, through the previous books its been quite cute to see her with all of her animals. And I loved getting to know her throughout this one, and Kleypas never disappoints. Love In The Afternoon is filled with witty interactions, passionate fun, and characters that are like a breath of fresh air, this is definitely a 4 in my book!!

Jaclyn

*swoons*
I just adored the concept of this and I’m so happy for Beatrix! I loved watching her fall in love and all the angst that came with it! I will say, Christopher was my least favorite hero from this series but I thought the two of them had great chemistry especially towards the second half! I can’t wait to read the Ravenals next!

Imane

Reading the series out of order because this one is my favorite of the 5 books and I'd take a bullet for one Beatrix Hathaway. Love letters, menageries and women wearing breaches... what more could I ask?

Helena Cristina Nogueira Pereira

Saayan

“Re-read” via audiobook. Perfection! So good! 5+ stars!

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Much of this story is told in an epistolic style as the heroine and hero exchange letters while he is away at war and slowly fall in love. Just one little problem - he thinks he's corresponding with a completely different woman. Once the war is over, he sets out to meet his "love" only to find that she seems very much different than the woman in his letters. He is also battling PTSD and survivor's guilt, although of course no one called it that those days.

Beatrix has her reasons for not revealing herself as the letter writer but eventually Christopher figures it out. Can they each overcome their personal demons to pursue a relationship? Read it to find out! Albert, the dog, comes close to stealing the show - he's an adorable character.