Review: Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

The journey to reading this book started with the decision that I want to participate in the 2026 Romanceopoly Reading Challenge. There are five major categories of reading you have to choose between, and you pick two as your major and minor. My first instinct was to pick paranormal and fantasy, but they overlap quite heavily and I kinda wanted to explore something different.

I was quite a fan of historical romance earlier in my reading 'life', though I gravitated to more medieval themed books, not so much regency or Victorian stuff. But when I looked at the prompts for the Historical Studies department and all the prompts looked fun, I figured I'd give a historical a go and see how I feel about them now, before committing to reading five of them.

So, was my adventure back in time a success, or was I frantically searching for the TARDIS or a pair of ruby slippers to get my butt home? Read on and find out.

The Plot

(Summary from GoodReads)

The Wallflowers

Four young ladies at the side of the ballroom make a pact to help each other find husbands... no matter what it takes.

Proud and beautiful Annabelle Peyton could have her pick of suitors—if only she had a dowry. Her family is on the brink of disaster, and the only way Annabelle can save them is to marry a wealthy man. Unfortunately her most persistent admirer is the brash Simon Hunt, a handsome and ambitious entrepreneur who wants her as his mistress.

Annabelle is determined to resist Simon's wicked propositions, but she can't deny her attraction to the boldly seductive rogue, any more than he can resist the challenge she presents. As they try to outmaneuver each other, they find themselves surrendering to a love more powerful than they could have ever imagined. But fate may have other plans—and it will take all of Annabelle's courage to face a peril that could destroy everything she holds dear.

My Thoughts

I was drawn toward The Wallflowers as a series because I'm going to need a book about a Wallflower, Bluestalking, or female rebel as one of my prompts for Historical Studies. I came into this totally outta the loop on historical romance terms, so I wanted to get this part of my challenge planning out of the way. What would I think about a book about a "wallflower"? Is this a character type I would enjoy following through a story?

The Wallflowers, as a series, caught my attention since the series is about a group of friends who are trying to help each other find husbands. I found that concept charming, and I tend to love romance series where characters and friendships remain connected from book to book. And we definitely get a healthy dose of that here. Our eligible bachelorettes are Annabelle (the heroine of this book), Evie, and sisters Lillian and Daisy.

I really enjoy how Lisa brings the girls together and quickly establishes distinct personalities and goes for each of them. They all have unique roles within the overall plan of 'husband hunting' (for some reason that term made me chuckle), what they each ideally want from their future husband, and what challenges have prevented them from getting married so far. This instantly increased the likeliness that I will read the whole series eventually, and helped bring the story world to life.

We also get to see friendship between this book's hero, Simon, and the Earl whose estate the majority of the story takes place at, Marcus. I appreciate the fact that we do get both Annabelle and Simon's point of view, rather than having to guess what he's thinking. (That's a pet peeve of mine in most romances. There are only very special situations where that works for me.)

I wasn't the keenest on how Annabelle's attitude toward Simon shifted from the start of the story to her actually interacting with him. She had a lot of built up animosity toward him that seemed strange to me. To be fair, I think Lisa did a good job of making it clear that her issue with him was about a lack of peerage, and I have noticed that in other reviews for this book some people found Annabelle rather snobby. 

But while the pacing of her overall shift of interest wasn't my cup of tea, Annabelle's behavior in general didn't bother me. It was the expected behavior of a Lady of her time. Further, I found Annabelle to be strong and determined--definitely a suitable match for Simon's business prowess--especially given the circumstances that her family was going through. It can be easy to forget that not so long ago, for many women their body was their only business prospect. Whether that was working in a brothel or finding a suitable match within--or ideally above--their social station. We were the product. 

One of the things I really liked about this book is how Annabelle's own situation parallel's her mother, Philippa's. It allows the danger and consequence of the situation to be highlighted without us having to be a fly on the wall for all the gory, disgusting details. To put it short there is some dubcon going on in the background of the story, making Annabelle's need to get married a lot more urgent. My one gripe with this aspect of the story is how it was wrapped up. Both in the fact that it was glossed over, and that the situation overall became so silly in general.

But we should get to the heart of the story, shouldn't we? How was Annabelle and Simon's romance? Well, if you like seeing heroes or heroines caring for each other when hurt, enjoy a good game of chess, or like ankle boots, this might just be your book. Once we get past the general "I can't stand the ground you walk on" part at the beginning, and the two get to know each other over the course of the story, this was generally a fun read. 

I do agree with Simon, though, that Lord Kendall (I kept hearing his name as Ken Doll in my head, which made it hard to keep a straight face) would've been steamrolled by Annabelle had they gotten together. The subplot with her and the Wallflowers scheming to get her together with him was cute and funny, though. It also highlights the idea that what we 'think' we want romantically, and what we actually want and need, can be vastly different. Which is a message I can 100% get behind. I think this messes a lot of people up in the real world. 

I was also reminded of another thing I really like about historical romance, which is that the couple tends to get together before there is a lot of physical intimacy or sex. This book was pretty mild in this department, with one major love scene that I can recall and most of the rest being referenced but not drawn out to full detail. Personally, I prefer this kinda thing. I don't mind sex being in a story, but if it's there I want there to be a reason. Lisa did a good job at showing how attracted to each other Simon and Annabelle were without having her book dissolve into a boring series of insert tab a into slot b. 

Purchase or Pass?

Secrets of a Summer Night is a fun start to what I think is going to be a very enjoyable series. Family, friendships, and fumbling toward marriage and true love... How can I resist? I did notice a bit of distance in the writing, which made me feel a bit less close to the characters than I would prefer. But that's likely a stylistic choice of the time when this was written, since this is definitely not a new book. Despite that, I've already purchased Lillian's book and am reading it. I'll likely save Evie's book for the prompt from the reading challenge. If you like, or are looking to try, historical romance, Secrets of a Summer Night could make a fine place to start. 

My Rating

💜💜💜