Pandora's Box
Chasing Cassandra
Everything has a price…
Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her. But the beautiful and quick-witted Cassandra is equally determined to marry for love—the one thing he can’t give.
Everything except her…
Severin is the most compelling and attractive man Cassandra has ever met, even if his heart is frozen. But she has no interest in living in the fast-paced world of a ruthless man who always plays to win.
When a newfound enemy nearly destroys Cassandra’s reputation, Severin seizes the opportunity he’s been waiting for. As always, he gets what he wants—or does he? There’s one lesson Tom Severin has yet to learn from his new bride:
Never underestimate a Ravenel.
The chase for Cassandra’s hand may be over. But the chase for her heart has only just begun…
Dabney Grinnan, Evelyn North and Em Wittmann read the final chapter in Lisa Kleypas’ Ravenel series. Here’s what they have to say about the novel.
Em: From the opening scene to the closing chapter, Chasing Cassandra never worked. I didn’t like the completely bizarre stranger insta-lust that set our principal characters in each other’s path (and shouldn’t they have already been in each others circles?), and I kept waiting… and waiting… and waiting for someone to ACTUALLY OR FIGURATIVELY chase Cassandra. But no one ever did! Certainly not Tom Severin, who essentially decided he wanted Cassandra and then tried to talk himself out of it almost immediately. Because he liked her too much? The entire story felt like one big elaborate farce – they liked each other and wanted to be together so why not give it a try? – and I never got to know either of the principal characters enough to know if I liked them as individuals or a couple. This is a full length book that could have been two chapters.
What did you two think?
Evelyn: I liked it more than you. I enjoyed getting to know how Tom Severin worked – he’s been an interesting supporting character for awhile and I was happy to get more of him. I agree that you had to buy into his instant feelings for Cassandra for the book to work, and there were scenes that I liked – such as the discussions of their ‘marriage contract’, the scenes with Tom and his friends, and the boiler scene. I’d say I enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book but then it went a little off kilter. I kept imagining the Marquis coming back to undermine Severin – and where did Lady Berwick go? The ending was a little too contrived for me, too. It wasn’t close to my favorite Kleypas but I enjoyed most of it.
Dabney, did this one work for you?
Dabney: *struggles to recall anything – anything! – about Chasing Cassandra*
Not really. It wasn’t bad – no glaring plot holes or character leaps – nor was it interesting. It’s a somewhat similar story to Kleypas’ Tempt Me at Twilight (a book I like much more than this) but in this retelling, the instalust and the lack of any real barrier to true love made for a very slow read.
Evelyn: Yes, the barrier was ‘I can’t love you because I don’t want the emotion of love in my life, if it even exists’ – which is a tough sell for me. But I bought it – it was just what I expected Severin to be like. He’s definitely a hero who has shut down his vulnerable, feeling side. What did you guys think of Severin as a hero?
Dabney: Despite having read the earlier books in this series, Severin hadn’t really registered for me. Thus I had no expectations of who he would be as a hero. I must say, I’m sort of over these Kleypas heroes that are THE defining men of their time. Professionally, Severin seemed like a capitalist superhero and while I love learning about how new technologies shaped the Victorian era, I rolled my eyes at all that Severin did. And I truly do not like the ‘I can’t love because it’s too dangerous’ trope in romance. I am grateful that it wasn’t combined with ‘She’s too good for me’, another trope I rarely enjoy!
Em: I’m not going to heap onto the anti-Severin sentiments; I’ll simply say I agree, I didn’t know him well enough to like or hate him, and I didn’t understand his character motivations. At all. That said, Cassandra didn’t really work for me either. She’s seemingly bright and lovely, so why do only creeps like her? And if her family is so AMAZING AND AWESOME AND SURROUNDED BY AMAZING AND AWESOME people, where are the actual contenders for her heart? I thought she was naive in the extreme, and aside from her beauty and perfect manners – with homeless boys (ahem) and hard headed males – she’s kind of blah. Frankly, several weeks out from reading this story I’m also struggling to remember her in any significant way. Did you like her?
Dabney: Well, here’s one thing I thought was odd. Cassandra is supposed to be so gorgeous that men turn to gibbering idiots when she walks by and yet Kleypas never describes her. I don’t know what she looks like nor do I know how Severin sees her. I felt as though the book wanted it both ways: Cassandra’s beauty is the draw for Severin, at least initially, but that beauty isn’t dwelt on at all. It just was weird. As for liking her, sure, what’s not to like? But that’s not my kind of heroine. I like my leads to have depth and I just didn’t feel that here.
Em: Ladies, what I really want to talk about is the ridiculous deus ex machina after Cassandra finds herself in a spot of trouble. She’s nearly ruined… and then. Well, I won’t give it away but COME ON. Her ruination was clunky, the true villain has a blink and you’ll miss it appearance, and then it’s rainbows and unicorns in the very next chapter. What is the point??!!
Evelyn: I think that’s the place in the book where it started losing steam for me. I honestly thought the villains must be coming back at some point but…
Dabney: Yep. The plot in this book takes such a backseat to the characters. And that would have worked for me if the characters had more oomph. But I just found myself flipping through the pages.
Evelyn: I did like Severin. And his comments on the classics he read were hilarious. He and Cassandra are not going to be remembered as a great romantic couple but I think fans of the Ravenels will root for them. For me, the quality of the book varied – like I said, the first parts pulled me in, but the last parts left me scratching my head a little. Did you two enjoy any parts of the story?
Dabney: I loved the book plot; for me it was the strongest part of the story. And I enjoyed learning about trains, and how society’s needs for housing and transportation were changing so rapidly at that time.
Em: Agreed; the book discussions are a highlight. I also enjoyed the brief cameos of past Ravenel couples. But this couple? Well, I wish Cassandra’s possible ruination had been a bigger part of the story and that the villains were better developed. I’m reading another historical romance now, and the ruin of the heroine is central to her entire storyline from start to finish. It’s so much better finessed, and served as a means to develop and define the heroine. This story starts with two strangers falling in lust, and ends with them declaring it love. I couldn’t make the jump and I think readers are going to struggle with it too.
Evelyn: So it sounds like fans of the Ravenel series will enjoy seeing cameos of past characters but this story won’t wow them. Is that a decent summary?
Em: Yep. I’m giving it a C-.
Dabney: If you’re looking for a romance with a zinger of a plot and complex characters, this probably isn’t the novel for you. But, if you’re a Kleypas fan and love the Ravenels and friends, you’ll enjoy this book. It gets a C from me.
Evelyn: I think that’s a fair summary. I am a Kleypas fan and I do love the Ravenels so, even though it had some weak points, it’s a B- from me.
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Book Details
| Reviewer: | Dabney Grinnan |
|---|---|
| Review Date: | February 21, 2020 |
| Publication Date: | 02/2020 |
| Grade: | C+ |
| Sensuality | Warm |
| Book Type: | Historical Romance |
| Review Tags: | the Ravenels series |
I feel like there was some lazy reading here. Cassandra’s appearance was described quite frequently!
Although I didn’t hear this via audio, you summed up very well my own feelings on the story :)
(that was meant as a reply to Raelynn — I can’t figure out where in the thread this actually posted — but it also applies to KesterGayle’s comment as well!)
I found Chasing Cassandra delightful. I purchased it as an Audible book and have listened to it three times since its release. — something I seldom do. I adored Tom Severin, Victorian nerd that he was. He was honorable, loyal, and, though he didn’t realize it, looking for love. Cassandra was sweet and was desperately seeking the kind of love her sisters had found. A perfect match. I liked how their fondness and respect grew via several ordinary everyday encounters, not unlike how most of us grow to love and respect our significant others. It seemed real and natural I also appreciated that there was no big misunderstanding to keep them apart. They actually talked to one another like intelligent adults and resolved disagreements. There was so much humor. One of my favorite scenes was the two of them negotiating their marriage. She wants a dog. He says no. She insists and he relents but says the dog must stay off the furniture and then breaks the lead in his pencil when she asks if the ottoman is ok. I knew right then just who the dog would end up cuddling with! Of the series, I would say I like the story presented in Chasing Cassandra the best. Tom and Rhys tie for favorite hero. I would give this an A-. Mary Jane Wells did an outstanding job as narrator. Her voices were consistent with previous books in the series. She did a spot on perfect job with her hero.
I listened too, and liked it very much! I adored the negotiations too; they were hilarious!
Mary Jane Wells won an Audie last night for her narration of The Devil’s Daughter, which was richly deserved imo. She has breathed a lot of life into this (mostly) charming series. I hope Kleypas continues to cast her for her next historical series.
I really enjoyed it too. Sometimes it’s nice not to have kidnappings and a lot of outside drama, The entire book was about the slow burn of their relationship and how they talked through their potential issues.
As to describing the hero/heroine: I think less is more and a brief, general description is fine. Some of the Old School romances had the heroine’s eye color or the hero’s hair color described every other page, to the point where I wanted to scream to the author that yes, I got that her eyes are blue/azure/sea-colored and his hair is black/midnight/raven the first 10 times you told us. That kind of thing can totally take me out of the story. And I don’t really care how big the heroine’s breasts are unless it is relevant to the story, as when she’s tired of men talking to her breasts instead of to her. In Mary Balogh’s “The Temporary Wife” the heroine thinks to herself that she is more generously proportioned up top than most, but when the hero sees her naked for the first time he thinks her proportions are perfect — in that case it made sense to me. In Penelope Williamson’s “The Outsider” I don’t remember a description of Rachel Yoder, but it becomes clear from people’s thoughts/comments/reactions that she is beautiful. However, because Rachel is one of the Plain People, this is not something that is valued, so it is not gone into in detail.
And I totally agree with those who say author’s should never compare someone to a current heartthrob because the reference becomes outdated almost by the time the book is published and doesn’t work if the reader has totally different taste.
I wonder if Kleypas boxed herself in too tightly with Devil’s Daughter and then Chasing Cassandra. I remember thinking that Mary Balogh was being pretty flexible in giving Matilda Westcott a story with Someone to Remember. I had some opinions about how that series would proceed, and I was wrong, but I enjoyed the books and I was interested to find that I was more interested, rather than less interested, by Balogh’s less predictable story arcs.
Kleypas let herself be inspired with Marrying Winterbourne. Then the rest of the series got tidily organized. What if she had just said the heck with it, and written one book about Cassandra and another with Tom Severin and had more fun with the characters? Or written a book about Severin and tidied up Cassandra with a novella if she was less interested in writing about her? Or written a book about either Cassandra or Severin and used the “leftover” character as a love interest in a secondary, supporting romance subplot? That would have allowed her to show two characters readers expected to get together realizing they were not getting together, and might have given her some zing to work with — Severin has been kind of a loose cannon all along, so having him elude a predictable marriage might have been a better tack.
Yes, I know as a reader I have Expectations. But with Kleypas, part of my expectations aren’t so much that the series proceed with the (possibly stifling) symmetry, but that the series has good writing throughout instead of getting sluggish at the end.
I hope the winding down of this series means her next historical will be fun and inspired, and maybe not a series so she leaves more choices open to herself.
I wonder too if she is less likely to take risks in this climate.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
I think the Cassadra/Tom pairing works well. Pandora, Cassandra’s twin, was unusual and rather socially awkward. She didn’t want to marry, had inner ear problems that affected her balance a lot, and was a bit overly enthusiastic about new things. She was more than a little wild and impulsive. Cassandra was her closest friend, and frequently covered for Pandora’s excesses because she understood her sister like no one else ever could. To have her apply that kind of understanding and loving concern to Tom made perfect sense to me. He may not have had much of a knack for understanding his own or anyone else’s heart, but Cassandra did. And she was willing to spend a life teaching him how and interpreting for him when he couldn’t.
Evelyn, I also enjoyed Severin’s comments about the classics he was reading. He reminded me a little of the character, Don Tillman, from The Rosie Project, so as I was reading I wondered if he had a slight disability of some kind.
I didn’t go there when I was reading it but it’s an interesting theory. He seemed to be a little emotionally stunted – understandable given his background. To me, he just saw the world in more absolutes because he found that emotional involvement was too unpredictable for him. I think he was capable of emotional connection – he just found life easier without it.
This has been getting thoroughly mediocre reviews down the line. Sounds like it also relies heavily on people reading the other books in the series, which is never a good sign.
The cover of “Chasing Cassandra” is gorgeous, if I may say. It’s too bad Avon seems to have put more effort into the cover than what lay between the pages…
I’m sorry to hear this one didn’t seem to work for anyone here. I will still read it as even a mediocre Kleypas is enjoyable for me and I am curious to see what she does with these two characters. I’ve enjoyed this series as a whole even though it certainly had its ups and downs-unlike The Hathaways books which were almost all hits for me. I thought this series started off weak but then took off with “Marrying Winterborne” and I’ve enjoyed it since then, some books more and some less. I’m going to give it a go as soon as I finish the newest Simone St. James.
I think this series has been fairly strong – the AAR reviews are at least B’s and some A’s. This one was just not as solid as the others. My favorites were Marrying Winterborne – a frequent reread – and Devil’s Daughter.
Judging from the ones I’ve read (the first three) and reviews for subsequent books, I think Marrying Winterbourne might be the best of the bunch, even though the plotty stuff was completly bonkers. Rhys is probably my favourite hero of the series.
Huh, I’ve found ‘Devil’s Daughter’ pretty well unreadable – not sure how long I’ve had it & still have not, & probably will never, finish
Boring ‘run-on’ story with zero plot
Major disappointment
I went back & reread Devil in Winter instead! :)
Same, Caz.
Also this: “Cassandra is supposed to be so gorgeous that men turn to gibbering idiots when she walks by and yet Kleypas never describes her. I don’t know what she looks like “. It’s a huge barrier to my enjoyment when a book offers little or no description of the hero/heroine. I usually need to have some sort of image of the H/h in my head as I’m reading.
And I don’t care that she’s beautiful or not–but I couldn’t picture her and it made it harder for me to see her as real.
I thought Cassandra was described quite clearly. She’s got light gold hair, blue eyes, fair skin and pink cheeks. She has a curvy figure with ample breasts and a generous backside. If a height was given, I missed it. She’s very sweet, but she is upset that she’s gained weight. Tom Severin appreciates her face and figure a great deal, and doesn’t understand why she’d want to deprive herself of foods that she loves.
In Tom’s case, I think the author was trying to tell the reader that he was mildly autistic, and didn’t process emotions the same way most other folks do. He rarely makes eye contact, for example, and he entirely misses the emotional center of novels. He has focused his life on business and engineering achievements, and has no understanding of how intimate relationships are supposed to work. He only knows that he wants Cassandra but doesn’t believe he could ever love her. And she very much wants to be loved.
I thought this book worked far better than the rest of you seem to. I was engaged from the beginning, and very much looked forward to learning about Cassandra. She is present in all the previous novels, but always more as Pandora’s shadow so very little of her has been revealed. I was not disappointed by what I discovered! This series has had its ups and downs, and I am tired of the last minute peril Kleypas tends to place in her heroine’s paths, but I liked this book quite a bit. I’d give it a B+, and since I listened to the audio, I should mention that the narration gets an A from me. Mary Jane Wells is incredible!
It’s not the best book in the series, that was Marrying Winterbourne imo, but not the worst either. That was Cold-Hearted Rake (again, imo), but even it wasn’t awful. I just never felt the chemistry between the protags. In Chasing Cassandra I felt it in spades!
Mary Jane Wells has done a lot for this series IMO – she even made Devil in Spring tolerable! ;)
I did not make the connection that Tom might be autistic. I feel like I should reread it with that in mind…but I’m not going to. Even if I better understood his character, I still think this story is a miss for me.
I’m still deciding whether or not to read this one but am happy to read your appreciation of it.
As far as character description, I tend to fall much more on the side of less is better. I actually like doing the imaginative work of creating images of characters in my mind, and the outside descriptors of brown versus blond hair does not mean much to me. The words you just used to describe Cassandra would be just fine for me. A good author will paint a picture of a character using many factors, especially their personality. What really bothers me is is an author who goes overboard and actually tells readers that this character looks just like (insert name of famous actor). When that happens, I’m stuck living with a picture of J.Lo or Brad Pitt for the rest of the book :(
I don’t even like models on covers and try hard not to look at them because, once again, I’m stuck living with that image in my head as I read. It’s one of the reasons I gravitate to cartoon drawings or abstract images rather than real people on covers.
On the issue of character appearance in this particular book, I keep reading reviews about how Cassandra has low esteem regarding her weight. Yet, the cover model looks like she’s a size zero.
I didn’t like her slender appearance on the cover either. I’m a plus-size woman myself, and if a heroine is described that way that’s what I want to see on the cover.
“I didn’t like her slender appearance on the cover either. I’m a plus-size woman myself, and if a heroine is described that way that’s what I want to see on the cover.” Ah, I still think the cover is pretty, but it is definitely misleading after reading your description of the heroine. That’s quite a big problem in romance and women’s fiction. I remember reading “Julia’s Chocolates” by Cathy Lamb, a quirky women’s fiction title, that has a spaghetti strap wedding dress hanging from a lush tree in the forest on its cover. The cover, while pretty, was a total miss. Right in the beginning of the story, like on the first page, the plus-size heroine throws her puffy dress into a lone scraggly tree in the desert. Ugh…
This is only tangentially on topic, but I thought it was interesting that The New Smut Project, which has a current call for erotica flash fiction submissions for their upcoming anthology “Erato,” specifically said they are “body-positive” and “diverse.” Reading through their updates today, I noticed they are already rejecting stories for being too conventional. This line stood out to me: “I could probably go the rest of my life quite happily without ever reading about ‘her flawless white skin’ again. Meanwhile, mention of scars, stretch marks, body fat, hair, all make me perk up in interest.” Here’s the complete Tumblr post if anyone is interested in this topic: https://mumblingsage.tumblr.com/post/190949622257/call-for-submissions-erato-flash-fiction.
Even if you are not interested in erotica, I think it’s nice there is a small team of writers going out of their way to find well rounded protagonists of all shapes and sizes. I know we’ve had mega discussions on AAR about how a lot of romance publishers play it safe when it comes to their heroes and heroines.
Right! It’s so weird for an author to create a plus-size character in a book and then have publishers depict her as a rail-thin supermodel on the cover.
There’s a long, long history of this happening romancelandia wide, and it remains depressing.
I never got the sense that Cassandra is actually “plus” sized, she is considered absolutely ideal in every physical way for her first season. Sometime around her sister’s wedding or shortly thereafter she’s put on a stone (14 pounds). Her clothes are too tight, her corsets hurt and her sharp tongued old chaperone basically says she has a fat back or a back version of a “muffin top” above her corset she can see through the clothes. Cassandra is the “