Gah! Absolutely delightul.

Historical romance is actually my first love, but I don't get to read it very often. <i>Chasing Cassandra</i> was the perfect book to dive back into my favorite subgenre of romance. And, of course, I can always count on Lisa Kleypas to deliver an emotionally compelling and uber romantic journey.

I've been wanting Tom Severin's book for so long! He may not relate to others as you'd expect or react in certain ways and he may be a bit more analytical and practical, and you may not always agree with how he comes about in his business dealings, but there's so many intricacies to his character.

Meeting Cassandra is a catalyst, of sorts, for him. Tom's easily bored and he's always on the lookout for some new venture. But nothing has gotten him excited for life in a long time. Not like catching his first glimpse of Cassandra, but she makes him <i>feel</i> and much more than Tom's allotted, self-proclaimed 5 emotions.

Cassandra on the other is looking for love. Her twin sister just got married, and she wants it so badly for herself. The only man who interests her, however, is one who is looking for anything BUT love in his marriage.

These two had some of the most romantic moments--and romantic dialogue--to date. There were just these moments of honest declarations and newfound appreciation that would come out unexpectedly but at just the right moment and let me tell you, it made an impact.

Chasing Cassandra is a character-driven story, through and through, so there isn't a lot of "action" scenes in that sense, but there's a lot of dare-I-take-a-risk, and I-may-be-falling-in-love, and It-feels-good-but-it-shouldnt-and-I-cants. Also, some of the best, most spicy kissing scenes. It's a slow-burn romance, in a sense, but damn. This is a great example of how one kiss can completely up to the sensuality all on its one. It was indecently lovely.

Now, there are some content warnings to heed and could be harmful to some readers. I listed those at the end of the review because some were pretty prevalent throughout (the first two, in particular).

I loved watching Cassandra and Tom get to know each other. The contract scene...SO GOOD. I know this one will be a re-read. I absolutely <i>loved the volume of romance</i> and I can't wait to see what this author does next.

5 stars!

Content notes: fat microaggressions, body image, slut-shaming, scene of sexual assault

The character of Tom Severin has been an intriguing one since the first Ravenel book, and while there were some great moments with him and some insights into how he became the person he is, I really felt there wasn't a whole lot of development of his character. Cassandra was pretty vanilla, too - I didn't fully believe the decisions she was making because she never felt real or quirky or deep enough. Still, it was an ok addition to the series and I didn't dislike it - just didn't find much to distinguish it from most other historical novels....

In think I may be in the minority, but I liked Severin’s character in the previous Ravenel books and was very excited to see how his story would turn out. I was not disappointed. I have enjoyed most of the works I’ve read by Kleypas, and really loved Chasing Cassandra. It hooked me from the very first scene. The publisher’s summary hints at more conflict than I found reading this title. Instead, I thought this was a sweet journey of two people coming together. It was a light, fun read and a good ending to the series, organically bringing back old characters, but keeping the focus of the narrative on Cassandra and Tom.

The first time Lady Cassandra and railway magnate Severin meet, sparks fly. They quickly determine that it is not meant to be. Cassandra is looking for a loving husband and cozy domesticity, while Severin freely admits to a frozen heart that will never love. Months later, Cassandra’s marriage prospects are doomed by scandal. Severin, who cannot forget Cassandra, steps up with an offer of matrimony.

Though the novel is full of oft-used romantic tropes, the quality writing and fantastic characters make this more than a cliche. Maybe my favorite Lisa Kleypas book to date!

It is always a pleasure to let myself dive into and enjoy the latest book by Lisa Kleypas. So happy that Chasing Cassandra does not disappoint on any level. Cassandra and Tom's story is fresh and original. Fans of Kleypas need to run, not walk to enjoy this book!

This is a perfectly sweet romance novel, though perhaps something of a lackluster finale for the series. Hello Stranger remains, for me, the high mark of the Ravenel saga, but Chasing Cassandra is a fun, light read. It's worth noting that the summary is not, entirely, accurate -- and that may be for the valid reason that the plot of this book is a bit thin. A lot more is interior, especially for Tom Severin, than external, and the attempts at external plot are hit-or-miss. (I could have done without the charming urchin subplot, for example). Cassandra's external plot, however, has some strong resonance when it comes to slut-shaming, reputation, and men blaming women for the fact that said men find said woman attractive. I felt for Cassandra, trying to navigate a world that both demands much of her but then punishes her for meeting those demands. I also appreciated the moments where Cassandra is trying to make peace with putting on weight, and I wish Kleypas had leaned a little harder into that, rather than describing her as "slender" later in the book.

On the whole, Chasing Cassandra is a pretty sweet and unassuming novel. It won't challenge or surprise you, but it's nice to follow these characters through to a happy ending.

This is the final book in the Ravenals series. We learn more about Tom and Cassandra who we had meet in previous books. A suitor tries to ruin Cassandra’s reputation and Tom comes to her rescue by offering marriage. As usual you will enjoy anything Lisa Kleypas writes.

This book had me at "I'll be your oyster." I'm going to leave the context of that up to the reader as it's in the first chapter. It opens at Cassandra's twin's wedding. Cassandra is the sister who has been trying to find a husband as she would like to have children and be head of her own household. She's not expecting love at first sight but she would like for it to develop during her future marriage, so she's cautious about the men who are interested in her. She's now struggling because her beloved twin is moving on in life and she feels adrift.

Tom Severin, as we have seen in previous books in the series, is fairly ruthless. But something about Cassandra intrigues him and after their first meeting (and fixing a boiler together, he sure can woo a girl) he realizes he doesn't want to expand beyond the five feelings he's limited to and bails. Oh, Tom. You're already done for.

The book follows them meeting at different intervals. Cassandra is on her second season and feeling the struggle of not meeting someone she's open to building a life with (except for Tom, who's pretty determined not to). She's stressed out and gaining weight, which is mentioned multiple times in the book because her chaperone warns her it will put men off and she has to keep having her clothes altered. It does not put our hero off, by the way. He doesn't care.

Tom's doing so well at avoiding her that he meets someone who actually fits his no feelings criteria but realizes it's not going to work out as she's not Cassandra. Cassandra has met Lord Lambert and he seems fine to get to know better until she realizes he doesn't care about her at all and considers her a thing to possess. And then, he assaults her and besmirches her name publicly, causing scandal. Tom steps in to right some wrongs and give up on his dumb idea of staying away from her. Finally, Tom! Feel those feelings.

Chasing Cassandra made me happy. I felt like I was waiting for the shoe to drop but the book just kept being so good!

Cassandra's looks are mentioned a lot because of how men treat her due to them. She is aware of her beauty and that it's fleeting. She wants to do what good she can in the world and create a loving home for her family. I had wondered, based on the glimpses of the characters in the previous books, how this romance would work out. You know how it's balanced? Because they agree to actively trust each other and work on it. They're not unaware of each other's flaws. The contract chapter is one of my favorite parts of the book. Tom has been very driven work wise but says flat out that he wants to benefit from it and actually spend time with his future wife instead of it continuing to be a driving force. It felt like several tropes were tipped over here a bit (including class differences) so they didn't turn into unnecessary conflict and I enjoyed it.

Chasing Cassandra is going into my Kleypas keeper pile. It's a lovely historical romance with two people just falling in love despite themselves.

This wasn't my favorite in the series. I didn't really feel the connection between the hero and heroine, but I do love Kleypas's writing style and enjoyed cameos by the other characters.

A just O.K. ending to the Ravenels series. Nothing much really happens in the book. Tom and Cassandra meet briefly at this wedding and weeks later at that wedding. A slim reason for Cassandra needing to marry happens. I enjoyed the day they they spent together writing a contract of what each expects in the marriage but overall a bland ending to an enjoyable series

Book 6 in the Ravenels series and quite possible the best! I really enjoyed Cassandra and Tom's story and it was a nice conclusion to the series. I will forever be a Kleypas fan and will probably re-read the entire series soon so I can fully appreciate the storylines of all characters. All Kleypas books beg for a re-read!

I really enjoyed jumping back into the world of The Ravenels. I like that both the hero and heroine have some growing to do, and that they do it together. Tom has always been a bit of a conundrum, and it's nice to see his background more fully fleshed out. I also really like Cassandra. <spoiler> The book also touches on rape and rape culture in this book, and I feel like it was done in a thoughtful way. I really like that her family immediately supported her, and that she was the one who was wondering if it was her fault that she was harassed and almost assaulted because of her past behavior. She's not, she wasn't, and the book makes that super clear. </spoiler>

I also like that it shows compassion to other characters, there was one small side plot that felt a little abrupt regarding the orphan boy that Tom takes in, it felt a little out of place. I wish they had explored that a little more. Also, they do keep mentioning that one of the side characters spirits people away, and I know it's supposed to be a good thing, since he's sending the villains away, but I do feel a little squeamish about the role of institutionalized surreptitious power being used to solve some of these problems because justice/official power hasn't caught up to where bad people can be punished, but this is, in itself another problem.

But that's really a minor thing to worry about. I think I've just been reading a lot about people abusing power in various incidents lately, that made me look at that a little more critically than I would have even a month ago.

I really liked this one.

The final book in the Ravenel book ends on a quiet note. Cassandra is sweet and gentle and Tom is clearly on the spectrum. Cassandra finds the way to communicate in the way that Tom understands and their pairing makes sense and not really all that dramatic. All the previous players show up to conclude the series. Even on a little bit of a subdued note, Kleypas shines.

Lisa Kleypas does a masterful job at storytelling in each and every book. The writing flows wonderfully, and one really falls in love with her characters immediately into the narrative. I consider Kleypas excellent at characterization and setting, and this book was no exception to the rule.

I loved CHASING CASSANDRA, and was excited to see how the love story between Lady Cassandra and Tom Severin unfolded.

Lisa Kleypas has written another adorable romance.

Tom Severin is filthy rich; he's used to getting everything and anything he wants, even if it's not really his for the taking. On a whim, Tom decides that maybe it's time for a wife, and he sets his sights on Cassandra.

What Cassandra wants is fairly simple: a man to love her. She was hoping it could be Tom, but love doesn't seem to be one of the five feelings he has. Cassandra's family and friends dissuade her from taking Tom up on his offer of marriage, but she is drawn to him and the two can't stop thinking about each other.

Tom calls himself a moral nihilist, someone who believes nothing is innately right or wrong, and I read that Lisa Kleypas considers him a high functioning sociopath. Tom clearly has trouble identifying and feeling emotions, and he certainly lets himself act without consideration for others. Tom is a well-developed character, and his growth throughout the book is super interesting. Cassandra is smart, sweet, witty, and relatable - who doesn't love eating sweets? Besides Tom.

Besides there being something off about the climax of the book - was it when Cassandra was ruined? Was it when Tom revealed who wrote the gossip column? Was it when Tom and Cassandra were negotiating? Was it when Batty stole Bazzle? - I loved reading this book and couldn't put it down.

I devoured this book in a day. Tom Severin wasn't the most likable character in earlier books and I really enjoyed getting to see his thoughts and motivations. This was sweet and funny and very entertaining.

Chasing Cassandra was an adorable (and sizzling hot) addition to the Revenals series. I wasn’t sure what to expect since Cassandra was always so overshadowed by Pandora, but even though her characterization definetely never became quite as solid or deep as Pandora’s was, We still get to see enough of her strength of character and personality to be satisfying. Tom Severin, the hero, is UTTERLY adorable. Odd, clever but oblivious, powerful but not in an alpha-he-man way, jaded but earnest. I loved him. I had worried he’d be just a generic mixture one and Harry (from the Hathaways series) but I was wrong, he felt like his own character. The relationship building was wonderful, the intimacy scenes were sizzling, and the plot was mostly satisfying. If I were to criticize anything, it would be that there is a half-hearted addition of a villain who really is so underdeveloped. The villain came in so late in the story and was there so briefly that I couldn’t help but feel they were added as a mere plot device meant only to cause one specific piece of drama that prompted the BIG DRAMA moment of the story. It would have been stronger if the villain was either more developed and more important to the overall story (we never even get any closure on the villain) OR if the villain was not included at all. The story didn’t need it and the addition of that storyline cheapened the overall pace of Tom and Cassandras bonding and love story. Overall an excellent read, with great characters and only a few missteps in the plotting and pacing.

This was Cassandra and Tom’s story. Tom is friends with the Ravenels. Cassandra is last unmarried Ravenel. She wants love. He is only interested in business. His emotions are encased in ice. This is her second season. She wants to get married. When a spurned suitor tries to ruin her reputation he comes to her rescue. I loved the story. I can’t wait for Lisa Kleypas’ next book.

Just delightful. Color me surprised that the calculating Tom Severin from previous Ravenel books makes such a great romantic lead. But his desire for Cassandra transforms him. And Cassandra herself gets to step out of the shadow of her gifted, eccentric twin and come into her own as an intelligent, compassionate woman.

Kleypas writes with such warmth and wit. It’s always really hard to finish her latest book and know I’ll have to wait for the next one.

I was given an ARC by Netgally in exchange for my unbiased review.

I’m a huge Lisa Kleypas fan. Hers was he very first historical romance novel I ever read when I began working in public libraries and she is the gold standard. I was very disappointed in her recent Ravenel entries involving West and Pandora (see my previous reviews) and I admit I was not keeping an eye on her new releases the way I used to this time around.

But I am very happy to say Ms Kleypas has returned to good form in this most recent novel. While there are a few hiccups in the storyline I wish were different, the characters are well developed and the romance, while frustrating at first, develops into something real and believable and I could not help but root for them by the end.

My hangups really center around the epilogue (it did not add anything to their happily-ever-after except to stress their insane privilege and wealth which I’m kind of over these days), and the hero Tom Severin. It’s become a “trend” in publishing to write to about people on the Spectrum (to which I say, hoorayyyyy!) I wasn’t entirely sure if that was what Ms Kleypas was going for here. I wasn’t sure if Tom was supposed to be autistic or just stunted emotionally by his upbringing (which was not great but wasn’t as bad as they alluded to). Maybe this doesnt matter to readers, and that’s fine, but it matters to me bc if it’s your intention to write about disability then you’d better do your research and be All In. No halfsies here, please.

Hence my rating of 4 stars. It’s good to have you back and Kleypas!