Lady Sophia's Lover - Lisa Kleypas

Main Characters: Ross Cannon/Sophia Sydney

Plot: Lady Sophia comes to work for the Chief Magistrate of Bow Street, Ross Cannon, with revenge on her mind. Little does she realize how much she'll come to care for him and him for her...

Character descriptions: Sophia has Laura's looks hands down - blonde hair and blue eyed. Ross has dark hair like Travis, but grey eyes (easy enough to ignore) and his body description works well enough (yeah, I'm going there)

Age Gap?: Yes

Part of a Series?: Yes, but you don't need to know about or read other parts of it to get what's going on here.

Summation of novel over all: Runs a little too long, but the sex is steamy and I enjoyed their interactions. Ross's stalwartness speaks very Travis to me, as does his secretly seething with needs. I enjoyed the fact the story wasn't too trope-ish about Sophia's secret motives (ie, his finding out and being mad - they didn't do that) and her falling for him felt genuine. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Why I envision them: Ross has been celibate a long time and is an officer of the law - the moment he sees Sophia he immediately wants her and is upset by this revelation. I often think Travis was very much the same when it came to Laura.

As mentioned, there is also a significant age gap (20 years or more) which is another reason he's against it. Sophia, for her part, secretly hates Ross and blames him for her brother's death and is merely playing the part of caring about him - until she actually does and that's classic Laura right there - she hates Travis, but she does grow to understand (and care?) him.

Sample: "If I fail to please you," she added, "you can always hire someone else."

Ross was known for being a supremely rational man. It would be impractical for him to hire this woman. Stupid, even. He knew exactly what the others at bow street would make of it, they would assume that he had hired her for her sexual appeal. The uncomfortable truth was, they would be right.

It had been a long time since he had been so strongly attracted to a woman. He wanted to keep her here, to enjoy her beauty and intelligence, and to discover if she returned his interest. His mind weighed the scruples of such a decision, but his thoughts were eclipsed by male urges that refused to be quelled.