Book Review: Devil's Daughter (+Giveaway)

West Ravenel is a man with an disreputable past that he knows will taint the future of anyone he happens to be associated with. And he knows that he’s not worthy of Phoebe, the beautiful widow of a man he bullied at boarding school when they were children. But that doesn’t prevent sparks from flying between them when they first meet at a family wedding. It doesn’t stop the attraction and relationship that springs up between them. And it won’t stop Phoebe, the daughter of a stubborn wallflower and a former devilish rake, from going after what she wants. Will they be able to put the past behind them to embrace a future together?

I had so much fun reading Devil’s Daughter, friends. I was craving an enjoyable romance read when I picked this novel up, and that’s exactly what I got! This story plays out the way readers will expect – with a lot of miscommunication preventing the main characters from getting together until something rather alarming occurs to make them realize that they can’t be apart any longer and then everything ends with happily ever after. You’ll hear no complaints from this quarter, as that’s exactly what I signed up for! But I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight a few of the things I enjoyed about Devil’s Daughter.

• The nods to the Wallflower series – If you’ve been a long-time reader of this blog, you’ll know that I absolutely love the Wallflower series. It’s my go-to historical romance series recommendation, and a series I’ve returned to many times over the years. It was so special to get to see mentions of all my beloved Wallflowers in this story, as well as getting a bit of quality time with my favorite couple of that series – Sebastian St. Vincent and his wife Evangeline. I won’t lie – all these mentions made me so giddy, and it elevated my enjoyment of this story tremendously.
• The humor and the banter – Between hilarious scenes and such witty repartee, I must give Kleypas props for how funny this novel was. I don’t know if it was because the character personalities perfectly set themselves up for the situations and exchanges, but it worked well in tickling my funny bone!
• West’s attitude towards Phoebe’s ability to run an estate – I wanted to mention how much I appreciated the fact that West always encouraged Phoebe and believed she could manage the work required to run an estate on behalf of her son until he was of age. It’s an attitude that the men related to West and Phoebe also share about the women in their lives, and I can always get behind a man who doesn’t think traditional gender roles are the end all, be all for women.
• The romance – I really do enjoy watching romances develop between two individuals who are trying so hard to fight their attraction. It’s personally satisfying to watch them eventually give in to their feelings for one another, and it was no different here. While their miscommunications could get very frustrating, I was still rooting for them to find a way to make it work and, in the end, if I can get behind the main romance in this genre, I’m pleased.
• The main characters – West and Phoebe were equally enjoyable to read about. I loved seeing how West has transformed since his appearance in the first novel of the series, going from a scandalous mess to a capable, wonderful man. I enjoyed seeing how Phoebe puts so much effort into doing what’s best for her children, is willing to learn new methods in order to improve her son’s eventually legacy and weighs her decisions carefully before she makes any moves. They’re both so deliciously complex individuals, and it was fun to follow their own individual journeys too.

Devil’s Daughter was every bit as wonderful as I was hoping it would be (and not just because I got to see my favorite historical romance couple ever on the page). It made me laugh out loud (to the point where Macky asked me what the heck was happening), it gave me the feels and it just left me with the warm, fuzzy feeling I like all my romances to have by the time we hit the last page. TL;DR – Devil’s Daughter is a great romance read, and I’d recommend picking it up. (Also, I’ve really been enjoying the Ravenels series overall, and I’m still hoping for another story (Cassandra’s, please!) to wrap it all up.)

Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleypas | Series: The Ravenels #5

Previous Books in Series: Cold-Hearted Rake, Marrying Winterborne, Devil in Spring, Hello Stranger

Publisher: Avon | Publication Date: February 19, 2019

Buy the Book: IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | iBooks | GooglePlay | Amazon | Book Depository

Note: I received an early finished copy from the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

Thanks to the generosity of the folks over at Avon Books, you have the chance to win a paperback copy of Devil's Daughter for your very own! All you need to do is enter via the Rafflecopter form below. This is open to residents of the US & Canada (or those with an address in either country) only. Good luck!

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