Book Review-When Stranger's Marry

When Strangers Marry (Only In Your Arms)
Vallerands (1)
 Lisa Kleypas
 Paperback
 Published Aug 2002
 390 Pages
Antebellum South Historical Romance
ISBN 978-0-06-050736-7

Ravishing and desperate Lysette Kersaint flees an impending marriage to a man she hates to seek sanctuary with a man she fears. For rumors abound throughout New Orleans concerning her handsome, brooding protector, Maximilien Vallerand -- whispers of his cruelty, his rages, his dark, mysterious past. Forces by circumstance, Lysette consents to wed the dangerous rake, becoming the unwitting instrument of his sworn vengeance. But the flame-haired beauty's innocent heart will awaken within him a soul of passion and poetry... and spawn a love magnificent, wild, and true.

My Review
Summary 
  Lysette is desperate to find a way to escape her betrothal, so she flees her home. After being lost in the bayou, she is caught by two twin boys stealing their pirougue. They then take her to their father, who is Maximilien Vallerand, one of the most powerful men in the area, and an enemy to her fiancee. When Max discovers Lysette's true identity and whom she is suppose to marry, he plans the ultimate revenge....take away from his enemy what was once taken from himself many years ago. For many years Max has wanted revenge against Etienne Sagesse, who ruined both himself and his family. Lysette, is willing to do anything to get away from her fiancee, since she knows anything would be better than being married to him. What she didn't know is how far Max would go for his revenge, and when she ends up falling in love with him she wonders what he will find more precious...the love they share or exacting his revenge that he has always wanted....

The Hero
Max, when he was a young man fell in love, but after he married the young woman he cared for, he discovered that she was not whom he fell in love with. After she gives him twin boys, their marriage goes over the deep end. Max finds out that she has an affair, but later she is murdered and everyone thinks its because of his jealousy of her affair. After the scandal, he has few friends, and not even his own family believes in him...the only one who really does is Lysette, the one woman that can be his salvation. Even though he plans on using her for his own purposes, he also knows that he must have her..no matter what


The Heroine
 Lysette, is horrified when she learns that she has no choice in whom she is suppose to marry, so she runs away, and ends up in the arms of someone that would use her for his own purposes, but one who has treated her, protected her and cherished her more than even her own family. Lysette, knows how possessive Max is and the type of man he is, and even though he is very mysterious about his past, she is also in love with him and willing to stand by him despite the opposition they both face.


My Thoughts 
When Stranger's Marry, is the updated version of Only In Your Arms. Its been a very long time since I have had the chance to read this one, since I read it many years ago, so it was good to re read it again. There were many things that I found that I just loved about this book. I think one of the many things, is that even though on the surface Lysette seems naive and young, she has great strength and courage, and knows that even though Max is hiding things from her, she still has faith in him, which is remarkable from the way they interact with each other in the beginning of the story. As the story line progresses though we see how good Max and Lysette are for each other. Max is very ALPHA, to the extreme at times, but also has a protective and gentle nature toward Lysette as well. It was good to see how the plot started to unravel, with its ups and downs, twists and turns, that could make one dizzy at times. Overall I really enjoyed this one, I think the flow could have been a little more smoother but other than that I really enjoyed reading this. Its one of those type books, that you can just immerse yourself in, sit before a fire or on the beach, and enjoy the ride.


My Grade On This Book 
4 Blossoms


Other Books In The Series 
Only With Your Love