A Novel (The Travis Family) - Smooth Talking Stranger

Lisa Kleypas never fails.. I was having the summer blues.. Sick of reading and not finding a book that captured me.. This book I read in one day. I couldn't put it down. The character development was great. Jack and Ella stolle my heart. I highly recommend it.

I really loved the first and second books in this series and after reading the synopsis of this book, I thought I would like this one the least. I actually LOVED this book and think it was the best of the series. I've never read a book in the first person before this series, but ended up really enjoying it.

I've read all three of Lisa Kleypas' contemporaries and I want more! Each one of these books were page turners. In fact, I left "Blue Eyed Devil" at a house I was visiting in another state. I was about half way through and had to go out and purchase a new one because I couldn't wait to finish the book. "Smooth Talking Stranger" was even better than the first two. I love the premise where the rich guy doesn't buy into the beautiful women who want nothing more from a man than sex and a thick wallet. Jack is probably too macho, but he makes up for it with his sincerity, his deep love and his ability to express that love in the most romantic ways. What a great proposal! I loved it and I didn't want to finish the book because I didn't want it to end. I've read the last three chapters five times since I finished the book a few days ago.

I hope Lisa Kleypas continues to write about the Travises. Is Joe next?

Great story. Very romantic. Loved Jack and his manly attitude. Interactions with Luke and Ella were very touching. Highly recommended. I would love to read Joe's story next. The part in Haven and Hardy's apartment when Ella kept falling asleep was particularly funny. The narrator's voice was very good for this story.

I choose this rating because being the third bood in the series the plot was interesting but not as good as some of Lisa Kleypas other books. But, it is a chick book and would highly recommend it to other readers.

This is the book that startedy crazy obsession with Lisa Kleypas's books! Too bad the store gives u a 20 word min. If I didn't love this book so much I wouldn't waste my time with rating on the store at all

Smooth Talking Stranger is the most recent book in a series by Lisa Kleypas about the Travis family. In the series, Ms. Kleypas explores the effects and recovery from abuse by parents and/or spouses. Both of my parents abused their four children in different ways. My brothers, sister, and I, now all in our 60s, have responded to the abuse quite differently. In general, I find that authors who tackle this subject are simplistic. Smooth Talking Stranger, I think, is one of the most realistic treatments I have seen of this problem.

The subject of abuse is not pleasant. But Ms. Kleypas has written a book full of humor, affection, and understanding. She touches only lightly on the abusive episodes. Instead she concentrates on showing how different experiences during the abuse, different treatment of siblings, different physical appearance, and different inherent personalities of the children produce different responses to the abuse in adult life. The heroine, Ella, works hard to confront the effects of the abuse, to not repeat her parents' behavior, and to change the way she thinks. While a child, she confronted the abusers and protected her younger sister. In contrast, her sister behaves passively in the face of the abuse and, as an adult, seems to allow the abuse to dominate her.

One parent in the novel, Jack's father, is not an abuser. But he is far from perfect. He is overbearing and much too directive. This constantly irritates his children. They all need to create space in order to become independent. In another book, this need for space thrusts his daughter into the hands of an abuser. Despite their issues with him, all of his children love their father, see him frequently, want him to be happy, and are proud of him. In contrast, Ella is embarrassed by her mother, wants to hide her, and expects and gets the worst when she is with her. When the book begins, she has not talked with her mother for two years.

Ms Kleypas is a wonderful writer. I enjoyed her humor and several times burst out laughing while reading. She deftly creates vivid scenes using a few evocative words describing smell, sound, and detail. Her descriptions of sex are passionate, original, and adventurous.

Rescue of a maiden in distress by a "prince charming" is a common theme in the romance genre. This book contains two "princes charming", Dane and Jack. Neither rescues Ella. But each gives her a safe place to grow and to confront her problems. Each man has problems to work through himself. What I see as Dane's problems eventually make him unable to continue to give Ella the supportive environment she needs.

Ella is not a passive princess. She is very independent. She also importantly gives to each of these men. Ultimately, she is able to give Jack the prospective he needs to solve his own problems.

Throughout the book, Ella struggles and sometimes is at the brink of failure. Her ultimate success stems from her own growth as a person. As a person who has been there and done that, I know that this is the way it must be done.

If you have been abused yourself or want to understand better those who have been, I highly recommend this very enjoyable and realistic book.

Smooth Talking Stranger is a quick, well-written read in its genre. Lisa Kleypas doesn't disappoint in this third installment of the Travis siblings' lives, where strong, likable characters, sexual tension and ultimately love, reign supreme. Let's hope there is a fourth dedicated to the youngest Travis, Joe, to complete the 'can't put down' series. Great beach read or plain 'get your mind off everything' read.

First off, let me say I love Lisa Kleypas' books. I have read or listened to every book she's written and I haven't disliked a single one. This book is no exception as far as the story goes. My problem is with the narator for the audio version. Women with higher pitched, soft voices should NEVER narate books with male characters. Even if you hadn't heard the audio version of Blue Eyed Devil (which is my most favorite book)you are not likely to enjoy this audio version. But if you listened to Blue Eyed Devil, it is likely you will hate this one. Every time Emily Durante reads Jack's parts I just cringed. The funny strong wise cracking Jack from Blue Eyed Devil with the sassy Texas drawal was gone. In his place was an obvious attempt by a woman to try and sound like a man and doing a bad job of it. I can't believe Laurel Merlington directed this production because she reads much better and usually directs much better than this.

I think I will listen to Blue Eyed Devil again then "read" this book so I can imagine the characters on my own and get Emily Durante's version out of my head.

One issue I had with the story though, was that it started out prior to Hardy and Haven getting married. Since they had been married a year and were starting to try and get pregnant in the epilogue of Blue Eyed Devil, it was kinda weird to start this book out before they were even married. I would have liked for it to have started where Blue Eyed Devil left off or even a little more in the future.

Even though it sorta sounds like I'm bashing this book, I'm really not. I did enjoy it. It's not as riveting as Blue Eyed Devil, but it was good. Definitely worth reading. Just don't buy the audio version.

Since I discovered Lisa Kleypass historical romance novels, I fell in love with her writing. It was clean, extremely well thought of, with rich characters and narration. I was sadly dissapointed with this contemporary novel, I could hardly believe I was reading the same author! in fact the only reason I knew this was Lisa was because of the word "conniption" which appears on her historical romances. This book had a lot of issues: there wasn't much character development, sure we got background on the main characters, but it wasnt enough to really feel with or for them. I was so upset about this book I actually returned it for a refund. I hope Ms. Kleypas' other novels prove to be the great joys I've come to love and cherish.

Ella’s sister has skipped out leaving behind her newborn son with their unstable mother. With no other choice, Ella takes the baby and sets out to fix things for everyone concerned. The first thing to do is find the father and she knows exactly who that man is.

Jack has quite a bit of a reputation but he proclaims his innocence regarding the paternity of the baby. When Ella discovers the truth, she’s determined to find the true father, help her sister in any way she can and contend with her mother all while trying to find a place to live and a way to take care of her nephew.

Strongly independent, she doesn’t want to accept more help from Jack than what she already has, but with some persuasion and the promise to pay him back she begins to adjust to having a newborn in her life.

I had a bit of a rough start with this one and I think most of it was due to the heroine already being in a relationship when she meets the hero. That relationship continues for a bit although they have a certain kind of agreement – one she initially wasn’t even aware of! The lack of the hero’s point of view made it difficult for me to connect with him but as the story progressed I slowly started to fall in love with Jack. It’s safe to say by the end of the book I was head over heels for him!

I absolutely loved Ella’s sense of humor and her quirky observations. She’s my kind of heroine (minus her reluctance to love or grow attached to anyone) with her one liners and wry commentary. The way Jack stepped in and continued to be there for her, refusing to take no for an answer when she obviously was trying to pull away, endeared him to me. He was a great possessive, jealous and protective hero.

Overall, I enjoyed this book despite my feeling kind of blah all day which affected my emotional connection to these characters. That was totally a “me” issue and not the story. This would be a five star had Ella’s previous relationship not lasted so far into the book and crossed over into her relationship with the hero. That alone could quite possibly drop it to a three but because I loved Jack so much, I’m going with four stars.

Excellent contemporary romance with really smart writing, humor, likeable characters, and a full and interesting story.

Ella Varner learns about her sister's pregnancy when she receives a call from their mother that Tara has left her week-old baby boy with her and taken off. Their mother is unwilling to admit to being a grandmother, let alone take care of the infant, so Ella is expected to drop everything in her own life (including her longtime boyfriend who has made it clear he never wants children) to pick up the pieces. Their family history is full of abandonment, negligence, narcissism, and abuse, and their relationship is a toxic one. Ella sums it up by saying,

<i>"I didn't think I would have survived my childhood without my sister, or she without me. We were each other's only link to the past...that was the strength of our bond, and also our weakness."</i>

Ella makes it her mission to locate the baby's father and ensure that he take on some of the responsibility for the future security of the baby and his mother. At the top of the list is Jack Travis, a successful businessman from a wealthy family who is known as an extreme playboy. He insists he could not be the father but agrees to take a paternity test, and proves to be a truly decent guy by stepping in to help make Ella's transition to becoming Baby Luke's guardian an easier one.

This story was a real pleasure to read. The evolution of their relationship was a slow one, which made it believable. Jack recognized the roadblocks that Ella put up and hid behind to protect herself, and he was patient and determined to break them down after gaining her trust. Their banter was smart and funny, even when they were having an argument they could smile at each other. There were great moments thrown in that made me laugh.

<i>"You are so full of yourself...and you would not be good for me, with your steaks and power tools and your attention-deficit libido, and...I'll bet you're a card-carrying member of the NRA. Admit it, you are."</i>

Lisa Kleypas is a master at writing her Regency-era novels, and I am so happy to see that she does the same when she switches to contemporary. This was a very well written and complete story.