August 18, 2021
Sebastian’s Back! And, We Have Him! Sort of…
https://lisakleypas.com/Lisa Kleypas returns to her Ravenel/Wallflower series with Devil in Disguise. The heroine of this story is Lady Merritt Sterling. Merritt is the oldest child of Marcus, Earl of Westcliff and Lillian. Marcus and Lillian were the happy couple in It Happened One Autumn. Our hero in Devil in Disguise is Keir MacRae. As it turns out, Keir is the illegitimate son of Sebastian, from The Devil in Winter. Are you still following along? Before your brain goes down the infidelity path, don’t worry. Ms. Kleypas has followed the rules of Romanceland. Keir was born before Sebastian met Evie. Although, I would swear that Sebastian said he was always careful. I guess there must have been an oops with those French letters. I’m about to go on a small rant. At least, Keir was born before Evie came along, and not after! Remember what happened with Stephanie Lauren’s Sebastian Cynster? I shall forever be traumatized by that story line! What a kick in the head to Romance readers the Cynster Sebastian turned out to be. Anyway, unless there are anymore of Kleypas’ Sebastian by-blows showing up, I’m not throwing the book against the wall. Besides that, Sebastian is my second favorite Kleypas hero…no one can ever beat out Derek Craven. Back to Devil in Disguise. While a number of characters from the Wallflower and Ravenels series show up, they don’t overpower the story. It was nice to see some of the characters, but Sebastian did steal the show. PS, if you haven’t read any books from either series…sputter, sputter…I cannot find the words.
Merritt is a widow, which in Romanceland means experienced. Unless of course, she was married to a virgin-husband. Merritt inherited her husband’s shipping company, and she loves her job. She is also a city girl. She loves her life in the city, and everything city dwelling entails. She is a little lonely. Enter our handsome hero, Keir. He hates the city…loathes the city. The city smells, and it’s crowded. The noise hurts his ears. He’s from Scotland, which happens to be the only place in Romanceland novels which makes whiskey. Evidently Scotland makes the bestest whiskey…tastes like cinnamon, honeycombs, and peat. I have to ask, Isn’t peat some kind of dirt, or decayed leaves/grass? Ummm, yum…dirt. Makes my mouth water. Hey, barkeep! Pour me some of that dirt. Put some salt around the rim while you’re at it. Nothing disguises dirt better than salt.
Anyway, Merritt and Keir meet. Body-parts start twitching…big-time. Merritt has been without a twitcher suppressor for a long time. She becomes the aggressor, and Keir doesn’t resist all that much. After-all he is a man. They go into the relationship knowing that their differences are toooo far apart for anymore than a casual romp. Then someone tries to kill Keir, he gets stitches, they have boisterous willie-winker, he gets conked over the head. Guess what happens when he wakes up? Go ahead, I’ll give you a hint…it’s one of my least favorite plots. Yes! He has amnesia! I am not fond of amnesia in novels. In this particular novel, the only reason I could see for it to be in the story was to lengthen the book. It didn’t add anything to the story. Or, maybe it was just an easy way to solve the major differences between Merritt and Kier’s life styles. The amnesia was used as a reason to journey into the countryside to protect Kier. For some reason Merritt was the only one who could nurse him through his brain-bonk. For me, this part of the story was a little convoluted.
While I enjoyed seeing Sebastian again, I thought the romance between Merritt and Keir was weak. The problems which this couple would have, were not addressed. Instead we get amnesia, and a find-the-killer story. There were nice moments between Sebastian and Keir, but I’m not sure why the two men had to be related to each other.
https://lisakleypas.com/Lisa Kleypas returns to her Ravenel/Wallflower series with Devil in Disguise. The heroine of this story is Lady Merritt Sterling. Merritt is the oldest child of Marcus, Earl of Westcliff and Lillian. Marcus and Lillian were the happy couple in It Happened One Autumn. Our hero in Devil in Disguise is Keir MacRae. As it turns out, Keir is the illegitimate son of Sebastian, from The Devil in Winter. Are you still following along? Before your brain goes down the infidelity path, don’t worry. Ms. Kleypas has followed the rules of Romanceland. Keir was born before Sebastian met Evie. Although, I would swear that Sebastian said he was always careful. I guess there must have been an oops with those French letters. I’m about to go on a small rant. At least, Keir was born before Evie came along, and not after! Remember what happened with Stephanie Lauren’s Sebastian Cynster? I shall forever be traumatized by that story line! What a kick in the head to Romance readers the Cynster Sebastian turned out to be. Anyway, unless there are anymore of Kleypas’ Sebastian by-blows showing up, I’m not throwing the book against the wall. Besides that, Sebastian is my second favorite Kleypas hero…no one can ever beat out Derek Craven. Back to Devil in Disguise. While a number of characters from the Wallflower and Ravenels series show up, they don’t overpower the story. It was nice to see some of the characters, but Sebastian did steal the show. PS, if you haven’t read any books from either series…sputter, sputter…I cannot find the words.
Merritt is a widow, which in Romanceland means experienced. Unless of course, she was married to a virgin-husband. Merritt inherited her husband’s shipping company, and she loves her job. She is also a city girl. She loves her life in the city, and everything city dwelling entails. She is a little lonely. Enter our handsome hero, Keir. He hates the city…loathes the city. The city smells, and it’s crowded. The noise hurts his ears. He’s from Scotland, which happens to be the only place in Romanceland novels which makes whiskey. Evidently Scotland makes the bestest whiskey…tastes like cinnamon, honeycombs, and peat. I have to ask, Isn’t peat some kind of dirt, or decayed leaves/grass? Ummm, yum…dirt. Makes my mouth water. Hey, barkeep! Pour me some of that dirt. Put some salt around the rim while you’re at it. Nothing disguises dirt better than salt.
Anyway, Merritt and Keir meet. Body-parts start twitching…big-time. Merritt has been without a twitcher suppressor for a long time. She becomes the aggressor, and Keir doesn’t resist all that much. After-all he is a man. They go into the relationship knowing that their differences are toooo far apart for anymore than a casual romp. Then someone tries to kill Keir, he gets stitches, they have boisterous willie-winker, he gets conked over the head. Guess what happens when he wakes up? Go ahead, I’ll give you a hint…it’s one of my least favorite plots. Yes! He has amnesia! I am not fond of amnesia in novels. In this particular novel, the only reason I could see for it to be in the story was to lengthen the book. It didn’t add anything to the story. Or, maybe it was just an easy way to solve the major differences between Merritt and Kier’s life styles. The amnesia was used as a reason to journey into the countryside to protect Kier. For some reason Merritt was the only one who could nurse him through his brain-bonk. For me, this part of the story was a little convoluted.
While I enjoyed seeing Sebastian again, I thought the romance between Merritt and Keir was weak. The problems which this couple would have, were not addressed. Instead we get amnesia, and a find-the-killer story. There were nice moments between Sebastian and Keir, but I’m not sure why the two men had to be related to each other.
Another small rant coming on. Merritt’s secret was also resolved toooo easily, and I have to agree with some other readers. I don’t think the only way a woman can be fulfilled is to have biological children. There are many people who don’t have children, and they are delighted with their lives. Merritt was a strong person, she seemed to be happy with herself…I don’t think she needed a baby to make her whole. There are many women out there who are complete, and at the same time don’t have children. If you want to have children, great! I have one myself! She’s my friend. But, I also know women who don’t have any child. And you know what! Those women are pretty whole. You would think, after all these years that the stigma of a childless woman would not still be so prevalent. I’m done with my rant.
Overall. It was fun seeing Evie, Sebastian, Lillian, and Marcus again. But I was disappointed in the rushed romance between Merritt and Keir. I found the “HEA” ending of Merritt disturbing, and I am left to wonder if this couple will truly work out.
Overall. It was fun seeing Evie, Sebastian, Lillian, and Marcus again. But I was disappointed in the rushed romance between Merritt and Keir. I found the “HEA” ending of Merritt disturbing, and I am left to wonder if this couple will truly work out.
Time/Place: 1880 England
Sensuality: Hot
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