Someone to Watch Over Me

When a woman is pulled from the Thames near death — with no memory of who she is or why someone wanted her dead — she wakes in the home of a Bow Street Runner who claims to know her. The setup is pure intrigue: a heroine rebuilding an identity from scratch, a hero who knows more than he lets on, and a killer still at large. Kleypas wrings genuine tension from the amnesia premise, keeping both the mystery and the attraction alive simultaneously, with stakes that feel personal rather than melodramatic.

What distinguishes this book is how Kleypas uses the amnesia not as a gimmick but as an emotional lens — Vivien's blank-slate perspective lets readers experience Regency London's class hierarchies and moral double standards fresh, without the usual heroine's cynicism armor. The prose is economical but warm, and Kleypas has a particular gift for charged restraint: scenes where almost nothing happens carry more heat than most romance novels' big moments. For readers who want their historical romance to earn its emotional payoff rather than simply announce it, this is a rewarding place to start.