Seduce Me At Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas

Review by Sugarbeats Books

Win has been an invalid ever since she suffered a near-fatal case of scarlet fever. Merripen is a Romany Gypsy who was taken in by the Hathaway family when he was a boy. He has always kept his fierce passion for Win a secret, believing a romantic relationship would never be possible.
But Win goes to an exclusive clinic, far away from Merripen and the rest of her family, and makes a remarkable recovery. And when she returns two years later, a changed woman, the explosive passion between these long-denied lovers threatens their family, their future, and even their lives . . .

Seduce Me At Sunrise tells the story of Win, the most delicate of the Hathaway family.  She contracted scarlet fever as a child and although she survived, her lungs are significantly weakened by the disease.  The hero of this story is Kev Merripen.  He is a gypsy who has lived with the Hathaway family since they found him hurt and abandoned as a child.  Kev fills the roll of the family’s servant and general handyman, but the rest of the family always have seen him as one of them. Kev has always been Win’s protector and is secretly in love with her.  Cam and Amelia decide to send Win away to a clinic in France to be treated  by the controversial but renown Dr. Harrow who has performed miracles with other respiratory patients.  Her brother Leo accompanies her on her trip and the hope is that although he won’t be treated in the clinic, that Leo will find himself during his time in France.

Win returns a stronger, healthier woman and now hopes for an adult relationship with Kev – whom she has always loved.  Kev remains standoffish, unwilling to expose Win to the scandal of a relationship with a Gypsy man.  Both Kev and Win harbor secrets that add quite an interesting other dimension to the story.  Adds some mystery to their somewhat gentle love story.  The progression of both their love story, as well as the secrets that act to drag them apart, is a fascinating read.

I appreciate all the little details that Lisa Kleypas adds to the story.  The little historical facts, the words that Kev speaks in the gypsy tongue, all combine to make this a book that is difficult to put down.  As many other reviewers have pointed out, it tends to be one of the darker books of this particular series.  Lisa Kleypas takes us into a world where every action is scrutinized by society and scandal is something to be feared.  The modern medicine that we are familiar with doesn’t exist and diseases that are effectively dealt with today, cause lifelong disability.  You may find this book difficult to get through, but I found it to be the most rewarding of the bunch!