The original version has to be better than this, ever since I was made aware of Lisa Kleypas completely re-writing her 1998 novel Someone to Watch Over Me, I was eager to check out the updated version, and see if it would read any differently to someone who has not read the original, but is relatively familiar with Kleypas' work. Sadly this overhaul feels like a compromise to appease controversies, at the same time completely losing its creative edge.

As someone who appreciates a densely-laid plot, I thoroughly enjoyed Someone to Watch Over Me's overall story progression, from its ominous opening, journey to discovering the Heroine's identity (with a neat little plot twist), to how the secondary characters contribute throughout the story, all felt well-considered and moved at an easily consumable pace. I'm assuming in term of story beats, nothing is drastically altered from the 1998 version.

Unfortunately, the romance fell flat, particularly when it came to the Hero. From what I've seen online, the Hero had underwent the most modification, removing his shadier motivation, as well as his alpha-male aggression. But the replacement is a hero who fell head over heels for no reason (he basically confessed his love to a half-dead corpse), and overly cautious to the Heroine's every move / emotion, coming across like an instructional manual on consent rather than an individual with actual personality.

Without knowing the reasoning behind Lisa Kleypas' decision in a full-on rewrite (rather than an author's note acknowledging the different time/culture this work resided in), Someone to Watch Over Me feels like a passive aggressive response to making her work 'correct' and marketable (you don't like alpha hero? I'll make him a Ken doll then). Which to me seems like a net loss—I would not have continuing reading Lisa Kleypas if this was my entry point (it's not very good), and it would've been time better spent on creating new material, rather than shoe-horning in elements that were not there in the first place.