I've written about everything but writing lately, so I thought I'd start something new, and blog at least once a week about new authors I've discovered in various genres. This week, it's historicals. Actually, I'm cheating a little, because Lisa Kleypas is not an author that's new too me. Actually, I'd read several of her books back when she'd first started writing, and I'm not really sure why I stopped reading her books. Partly it was because I was told a few things by someone who had worked in publicity at her old publisher that put me off her, but also because I just stopped reading historicals after awhile.
It happened One Autumn is about Lillian Bowman, an American heiress who has come to England with her family to find a husband. Apparently being nouveau riche, they are not accepted in New York society, which was dominated by the old New York families, the Knickerbockers. Lillian is a member of the Wallflowers, a group of girls, including her sister Daisy, who met when they were sitting at a dance, being ignored. Lillian finds herself attracted to Marcus , Lord Westcliff who she finds rigid, and snobbish. Marcus, on his part, can't believe that he's attracted to the willful hoyendish Miss Bowman.
This is the second book in a series which includes the previous book, Secrets of a Summer Night. You don't have to have read the first book, to enjoy It Happened One Autumn. Lillian is a delightful heroine, well aware of her flaws, but happy with herself. Marcus has done everything in his power not to become the man that his father tried to turn him into. He loves his sisters, and he's a kind and compassionate man, but a bit rigid and mindful of his position in society. Of course these two clash, but they also have wonderful scenes where you can see exactly why they are attracted to each other.
Two scenes stand out for me, the scene in the Butterfly Garden and the scene where Lillian gets drunk. The minor characters are also a delight from Mercedes, Daisy and Lillian's mother, to the other two wallflowers. Even the villain, Sebastien St. Vincent is more than just the cardboard cutter villain. I liked the fact that Lillian found him attractive, and didn't spurn his kisses, although of course, they didn't make her heart sing like Marcus'.
I have a few quibbles and that is I found several historical inaccuracies. The book is set in 1843, and Lillian mentions ice-skating in Central Park. Well, Central Park didn't exist in 1843, nor were there dollar princesses per se yet in England. The phenomenon of American women traveling to England to find rich husbands were the years after the Civil War until about 1905, when more than 100 women moved to England and married peers, including Jennie Jerome and Consuelo Vanderbilt. Also, the Mrs. Astor was only 13 in 1843, and the Astors were considered just as noveau riche at this time. Yes, it may seem I'm being incredibly picky, but these details did take me out of the story for a second. Of course, the general reader might not know these things, or care, but unfortunately I do.
Other than that I loved this book. So a big A for the story, and a B- for historical accuracy.
The other author is new to me, in a way. Eloisa James, I picked up a copy of one of her books I think at the New Orleans conference back in 2001, but I couldn't get through it, plus I was a little turned off by some comments she made early in her career. But RWA NYC recently honored her as our author of the year, and I picked up a copy of her latest historical Kiss Me Annabel and I'm really glad that I did.
I really 
Like It Happened One Autumn, Kiss Me Annabel is the second book in a series. Again, you don't need to have read the first book to enjoy the second. But Kiss Me Annabel intrigued me enough that I'm looking forward to reading the third book, Taming of the Duke, and I've reserved Much Ado About You at the library.
I give Kiss Me Annabel an A.
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