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Anne's Reviews > Devil in Disguise
Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels, #7)
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The beginning was really boring, the middle hooked me, and the end was nice.
Not a bad book at all.
It didn't (for me) have the strongest start. Our hero is the owner of a whiskey distillery and our heroine has inherited her shipping company from her (now dead) husband.
Instantly, the two are attracted to each other and the sparks fly off the page.
And I just didn't care at all about any of it.
I haven't been 100% wowed by the Ravenels, so I wasn't actually surprised by my lack of excitement.
And then something is revealed. Something that perhaps I should have guessed because of the title of the book. <-- but I didn't, and it took me by surprise!
(view spoiler)
To say it made the entire book for me would be an understatement.
Now, I'm seeing a lot of people who are really upset in other reviews about the stuff I spoiler-tagged. I didn't even think about that being a drawback to the story.
Here are my personal thoughts on it.
If my husband and I found out that he had a grown child (that he hadn't known about) who was wandering around out there from his single days? Well, I can't imagine it making a difference in our relationship. One more kid at Christmas, you know? How could that be a bad thing? It certainly wouldn't cheapen what we have and I certainly would want to make sure that this new (to me) child felt welcome in our home.
So this new addition didn't make any difference to how I see the characters of the book.
Everyone is entitled to feel the way they feel, though.
Anyway.
There is even a bit of OTT amnesia thrown into the plot just to thicken it up a bit. Overall, I liked everything once it started chugging along at the halfway mark because this one was less about the romance and more about the mystery and the cameos for me.
The couple was cute and I honestly have no complaints about them, but the main draw was the parents.
HOWEVER.
I do feel like Kleypas might be milking the Wallflowers a bit hard.
While I do appreciate seeing all the old characters, I don't know how many more books I'll be willing to find charming just because it has an aging Sebastian & Evie in it.
I liked it, but if you are an old-timey Wallflower fan, you may want to check out spoilers before you pick this one up. Your mileage may vary.
Not a bad book at all.
It didn't (for me) have the strongest start. Our hero is the owner of a whiskey distillery and our heroine has inherited her shipping company from her (now dead) husband.
Instantly, the two are attracted to each other and the sparks fly off the page.
And I just didn't care at all about any of it.
I haven't been 100% wowed by the Ravenels, so I wasn't actually surprised by my lack of excitement.
And then something is revealed. Something that perhaps I should have guessed because of the title of the book. <-- but I didn't, and it took me by surprise!
(view spoiler)
To say it made the entire book for me would be an understatement.
Now, I'm seeing a lot of people who are really upset in other reviews about the stuff I spoiler-tagged. I didn't even think about that being a drawback to the story.
Here are my personal thoughts on it.
If my husband and I found out that he had a grown child (that he hadn't known about) who was wandering around out there from his single days? Well, I can't imagine it making a difference in our relationship. One more kid at Christmas, you know? How could that be a bad thing? It certainly wouldn't cheapen what we have and I certainly would want to make sure that this new (to me) child felt welcome in our home.
So this new addition didn't make any difference to how I see the characters of the book.
Everyone is entitled to feel the way they feel, though.
Anyway.
There is even a bit of OTT amnesia thrown into the plot just to thicken it up a bit. Overall, I liked everything once it started chugging along at the halfway mark because this one was less about the romance and more about the mystery and the cameos for me.
The couple was cute and I honestly have no complaints about them, but the main draw was the parents.
HOWEVER.
I do feel like Kleypas might be milking the Wallflowers a bit hard.
While I do appreciate seeing all the old characters, I don't know how many more books I'll be willing to find charming just because it has an aging Sebastian & Evie in it.
I liked it, but if you are an old-timey Wallflower fan, you may want to check out spoilers before you pick this one up. Your mileage may vary.
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Devil in Disguise.
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Reading Progress
October 1, 2021
–
Started Reading
October 1, 2021
– Shelved
November 8, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-15 of 15 (15 new)
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Thanks, Jenny! I'm not going to push this one (or this series) as being super-amazing. If you like trashy romance novels, they're good. But if you're expecting the same old Kleypas magic from the Wallflower series, I think you might (might!) be disappointed.
I've actually never read Kleypas so I may enjoy these pretty well!
Jenny wrote: "I've actually never read Kleypas so I may enjoy these pretty well!"Oh! Yeah! Let me know. I'd like to hear what you think.
Great review. I really liked that the Wallflower series started to come full circle in this one. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enjoyable.
SunnyCAGirl wrote: "Great review. I really liked that the Wallflower series started to come full circle in this one. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enjoyable."Felt the same way, Sunny. I think The Wallflower series was almost too good (at least with nostalgia glasses on) to really ever top.
Is that you and hubby dancing in the final GIF ? I thought so 😸🎈
Jaidee wrote: "Is that you and hubby dancing in the final GIF ? I thought so 😸🎈"How did you know?!
I totally agree with your point of view, Anne. He had a child before he met Evie. It's not as if he cheated on her. I know so many people dislike this but it's not an issue to me.
Nabilah wrote: "I totally agree with your point of view, Anne. He had a child before he met Evie. It's not as if he cheated on her. I know so many people dislike this but it's not an issue to me."Thank you! If he had abandoned his child and pretended he didn't exist, I would have been so angry. Or if, as you said, he had cheated on Evie and had a child, I would have been so upset.
But finding out he had a child he didn't know about because the mother kept it a secret, then trying as hard as he could to find him? And Evie's reaction to finding out she had a stepson was lovely. I thought it was a realistically unfortunate situation that was handled really well.
Tee-hee, totally agree with your mood changes as the story progressed. And regarding Sebastian's youthful adventures, I'm honestly more surprised that he didn't have more kids. I seem to recall that someone said (Westcliff probably :P) that he'd bed any woman with a pulse.At this point I think that all of Kleypas' historical romances are linked to the Wallflower series one way or another. Although, I have to admit that she did cram a whole lot of Sebastian's antics into the Ravenel series. While I wasn't necessarily jumping for joy at the idea of an aging Sebastian and Evie getting on, I do very much like Sebastian's witty remarks. So it balances things out for me. :P
Personally I find the whole "Devil [ something ]" in the titles more annoying than the actual Wallflower crossovers. Way too gimmicky IMHO.
To me, this book is closer to being part of the Wallflower series, than the Ravenels. I mean, there's just one Ravenel present, and even that one has a fairly minor role in it.
Ms. Smartarse wrote: "To me, this book is closer to being part of the Wallflower series, than the Ravenels."100%! I completely agree with that.
While I wasn't necessarily jumping for joy at the idea of an aging Sebastian and Evie getting on, I do very much like Sebastian's witty remarks.
Being an 'older' woman, I loved seeing Evie and Sebastian still getting funky. LOL! But I did also love Sebastian being Sebastian in this one. It's fun to see how they've aged. I wish she would just make a Wallflowers Part 2 and give all of the original couples a fun middle age story.
I mean, I liked these new kids well enough, but they just don't have quite the same appeal as the originals. And by propping the series up with the parents always making cameos, I think it brings that into a harsher light.
Anne wrote: "I wish she would just make a Wallflowers Part 2 and give all of the original couples a fun middle age story."
Anne wrote:"Being an 'older' woman, I loved seeing Evie and Sebastian still getting funky. "
Oh no, sorry! I didn't mean it like that. I'm not exactly a spring chicken either. I guess it's just that I'm more used to having protagonists be in their 20s or 30s. That said, I totally reread the first chapter of Devil in Spring some 20 times (Sebastian and Evie giving their grandson a bath), when Kleypas released it as teaser.
"I liked these new kids well enough, but they just don't have quite the same appeal as the originals. And by propping the series up with the parents always making cameos, I think it brings that into a harsher light."
True that.
Ms. Smartarse wrote: "Oh no, sorry! I didn't mean it like that.."Oh, I didn't take what you said that way! It just made me happy to see old farts getting it on. lmao!
Am I crazy or is the timing wrong? Didn't the couple in question get married in 1843 - but if Keir is 33 in 1880 he was born in 1847?
Excellent review Anne!