I don’t know if this was the best Kleypas to start off with, my other Romance readers will have to let me know, but I was not overly enraptured with it, even though its set in my favorite historical decade. There was plenty in this book which had the potential to hook me in, but it felt very by the numbers, even for a book that supposes its turning the tropes on themselves. (I unfortunately have a high bar for that.) Mrs. Julien is going to be so annoyed with me (she rates this book as 5 stars, I’d give it 3.5. It is very obvious why Beth Ellen is her romance twin and not I).
Secrets of a Summer Night is the first book of the Wallflowers series and focuses on the passed over debutantes of their season: Annabelle, Evie, Lillian, and Daisy. The four are young women out in society who bond over their mutual rejection by eligible men. After spending time on the side lines of many a ballroom, they decide to make friends with the women next to them and work together to find suitable husbands. 
First up is Annabelle, 25 and about to be in serious danger of being made into someone’s mistress. Annabelle’s father passed away several years preceding the action of the book, and his minor fortune has not lasted, no matter how carefully Annabelle or her mother have been about their finances. Enter Simon Hunt, who has been highly interested in Annabelle since a chance meeting a few years earlier. Being stuck in the middle class, no matter how rich his financial investments in business have made him, he knows Annabelle won’t marry him and he’s not the marrying sort anyway so he’ll just procure her as a mistress. But Annabelle won’t be anyone’s mistress if she can avoid it, and with the help of her friends she’s using a country house party to ensnare a member of the peerage.
Of course things don’t work out that way, this is a romance novel after all, and instead we are treated to some lovely scenes of a headstrong woman and a rake sure that he doesn’t need reforming coming to understand that they do in fact wish to be married to the other. I was… only okay with the book up to that point, no matter how much I enjoyed the characters. I thought the book improved once they were married and the characters had to figure out how to exist in each other’s worlds. I also REALLY liked the other wallflowers and hope to have a better experience as I head through those books soon.
Book Cover: The edition I read had the above cover, and it does not feature people at all, so I can’t really rant about how the dress is wrong (some of the other covers I’ve seen roaming around are very pretty, but not historically accurate) but I wanted to steal Malin’s thing just to point out how rare it is to NOT have a lady in a foofy dress on the cover of a romance novel these days.
Why I did give it 5 stars as well! Compared to some of the other romances I’ve been reading the past few months, there’s something about Kleypas for me. They’re like comfort food at this point. Smart, without being “oh look how clever I am”, feminist (even though never outright mentioned), and light on the drama. Even when big things happen (like the end of this one), the histrionics never reach the pitch of so many other romances. I really love that about almost all of her books. Also, her heroes… they are proper swoon-worthy, especially her self-made men. Anywho, the Wallflowers is a great place to start (although Lillian’s, the next one, is by far the weakest of the bunch). But then go straight along to the Hathaway series. Gosh, now I just want to re-read them all.
SIMON HUNT IS HOT AS FU*K AND I WILL FIGHT YOU IF YOU SAY OTHERWISE!
And I just chocked on my water at work. He is, as you so rightly say, hot as fu*k. He was NOT the problem I had with this one. He is welcome to sexily play chess with me anytime.
I just clapped in glee with that response! It’s so true.
This is without a doubt my #1 Kleypas. Simon is my favorite romance hero of all time. I had to reread this one (for the fifth? time) after Winterborne. The rest of the series is good too, though I agree with Beth Ellen in that the second one is the weakest – b/c Lillian is THE WORST and possibly does not deserve a happily ever after. Once you know the story and can skip the Wallflower exposition on rereads this one is nearly a perfect book.
I own this one on my nook, so I’m sure a reread will be in order before long. I also think that reading this one while simultaneously listening to Venetia was not the best choice, timing wise.