It's historical romance, no question. The latest Ravenel books follow the same blueprint: period setting, societal stakes, and a central love story that resolves with emotional satisfaction. Kleypas might add a subplot about engineering or finance, but the genre's heartbeat is the romance. That's what readers pick her up for, and that's what she delivers.
That latest one was 'Chasing Cassandra', right? I know some people thought the recent books with the Ravenels had a slightly different feel, maybe a touch more domestic focus alongside the usual romance. But I'd still firmly slot it into historical romance. The setting's Victorian London, the problems are of that era, and the central drive is that relationship. It's not a mystery with a side of love, or a war story with romantic elements—the engine is entirely the couple getting together.
I will say, compared to some of her older Wallflowers books, the last few Ravenel installments have dealt a bit more with things like business ventures and industrial changes of the period. But the heart of it, the dialogue, the tension, it's all crafted for romance readers. It never loses that core.
Honestly, I get why this comes up. Her books have such a strong sense of place and time that they can almost feel like historical fiction. But the genre label is a practical signpost for readers. If you walked into a bookstore, 'Chasing Cassandra' would be in romance, not general fiction or history. The plot structure guarantees a happily-ever-after for the main couple, which is the genre's cornerstone.
She's brilliant at weaving in accurate details—the railway expansion in that book, the social constraints—but they're always in service to the relationship drama. So yeah, historical romance, through and through.
2026-07-13 05:17:49
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I was expecting the usual historical romance beats when I picked up 'Chasing Cassandra', but it surprised me. It's part of her Ravenels series, focusing on the railway magnate Tom Severin and the eccentric, brilliant Cassandra Ravenel. The plot is less about external drama and more about a deeply logical, almost emotionally detached man trying to understand what love even is through a transactional arrangement that predictably fails. Kleypas uses the railroad expansion as this great metaphor for Tom's rigid, forward-thinking mind meeting the chaotic, human station that is Cassandra.
What stuck with me wasn't the grand gestures, but the quiet moments where Tom's intellectual curiosity about her—her love of novels, her peculiar worries—slowly dismantles his own defenses. It's a book about someone learning a new language of feeling, syllable by painful syllable. The secondary plot with her sister Pandora feels a bit rushed, but Tom's journey from seeing people as assets to seeing one person as his entire world is executed with a precision that's become her signature.
Lisa Kleypas’s most recent book came out in July 2024—it's 'A Love by Design', the third one in her 'The Resilient Ladies of Lovett Street' series. I pre-ordered it the second I could and it showed up on my Kindle right on July 23rd.
It's funny, because I remember thinking the gap between this and the last book felt a bit longer, but maybe that’s just the impatience talking. I’ve seen some chatter online that her output has slowed a tad compared to a decade ago, which makes sense. She’s been at this for so long, and the quality really hasn’t dipped for me. 'A Love by Design' has that classic Kleypas blend of emotional intimacy and social tension, even though it's set in a later Victorian period than her Wallflowers. It still hits the spot.
Man, that's funny timing because I just went through this whole rigmarole last week trying to get a physical copy for a friend's birthday. Her publisher is Avon, so your big-box retailers like Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million should have it on the shelf in romance. I found it at my local B&N without any trouble.
That said, if you're an online shopper, Amazon is the obvious, if not exactly indie-friendly, choice for fast delivery. For the ebook or audiobook, I'd check Kobo or Libby through your library first—sometimes the library wait is shorter than you'd think. I remember her last release had a nice special edition through a book box, but I haven't seen anything like that for this one yet.