New York Times bestseller Lisa Kleypas returns with an enthralling and steaming romance between a Scot with a mysterious past and strong-willed lady looking for adventure—and love.
DEVIL IN DISGUISE by LISA KLEYPAS
Series: The Ravenels #7
Publication date: July 27, 2021
Published by: Avon Romance
Genre: historical romance
SYNOPSIS
Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed young widow who’s running her late husband’s shipping company, knows London society is dying to catch her in a scandal. So far, she’s been too smart to provide them with one. But then she meets Keir MacRae, a rough-and-rugged Scottish whisky distiller, and all her sensible plans vanish like smoke. They couldn’t be more different, but their attraction is powerful, raw and irresistible.
From the moment Keir MacRae arrives in London, he has two goals. One: don’t fall in love with the dazzling Lady Merritt Sterling. Two: avoid being killed.
So far, neither of those is going well.
Keir doesn’t know why someone wants him dead until fate reveals his secret connection to one of England’s most powerful families. His world is thrown into upheaval, and the only one he trusts is Merritt.
Their passion blazes with an intensity Merritt has never known before, making her long for the one thing she can’t have from Keir MacRae: forever. As danger draws closer, she’ll do whatever it takes to save the man she loves... even knowing he might be the devil in disguise.
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Praise for Devil in Disguise:
“Undemandingly pleasurable and guaranteed to go on the reread shelf. The novel abounds in the vintage pleasures of her writing: finely drawn characters; a tactile, sensuous style in both the sex scenes and the landscape descriptions; banter that illustrates the emotional compatibility of romantic partners; dual points of view that show both the hero’s and the heroine’s interior lives; moving moments of familial ties; and glimpses of couples from other novels to assure us that love lasts forever.”
-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LISA KLEYPAS is the RITA award-winning author of 21 novels. Her books are published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband and two children.
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Devil in Disguise by Lisa KleypasMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lisa Kleypas is an unstoppable force in the historical romance genre. Her books are some of the most iconic, widely cherished romances out there, so anytime she has a new release, people (myself included) rush to snatch it up. In Devil in Disguise, there is the added bonus of more time with the Marsdens and Challons. Anytime you see Devil in the title, you can expect to see the Duke of Kingston's family involved. Lillian and Marcus' kids, and Sebastian and Evie's kids have grown up alongside each other and are now adults looking for their own HEA.
Lady Merritt Sterling is the widowed daughter of Lillian and Marcus. After her husband tragically died in an accident out at sea, the responsibility of running their shipping company fell on her shoulders. Her calm, easy mannered personality, and her ability to solve a myriad of problems without breaking a sweat has kept the business running smoothly. As the oldest of six children, she's used to being a peacekeeper. Merritt meets our hero, Keir McRae almost immediately in chapter one. Keir is a whiskey distiller from a remote Scottish island who has come to England to sell his valuable liquor. He's had a miserable trip filled with mishaps and he's not a happy camper. It was funny to see him storm into her office growling like a disgruntled grizzly bear only to be discombobulated and expertly subdued by Merritt.
What came next really threw me off. There was an instant attraction on both their parts which is fine, however, their emotions seemed to escalate from 0-100 in a matter of three days. If you're not a fan of insta-love, this story probably won't work for you. Typically I don't care for it, but there are exceptions where it will work for me. I did feel that the internal/external dialogue at this point in the book was much too intense based on the time spent together, so it affected the authenticity of the romance in the first stages.
"(...) someday, Luke...you'll meet someone.and from one breath to the next,everything will change.You won't care whether it makes sense.All you'll know is thata stranger owns your every heartbeat."
This issue did bring down my rating a bit, but it wasn't enough to ruin the whole story. As crazy as it was, there was something sweet about the way a woman like her fell hard and fast. A woman who was level-headed and thought that being practical about your life partner would bring success in the long run. The irony of her falling for someone so different from her idea of a perfect husband was a lesson about not being able to plan and manage love, I suppose.
Keir was another wonderful, sweet hero from Kleypas. He's a strong, steady man who is loyal, honest, and his gruff exterior hides a softie that Merritt easily coaxes out. They may have an abrupt start in their relationship, but eventually they won me over. Although Merritt unequivocally falls for Keir from the start, there is still some hesitation on her part because she feels that she can't give him what he needs. They both have their reasons for attempting to keep their distance from one another at different points, but neither can eventually deny the overwhelming need they have to build a life together.
The other major plot arc besides the romance is that Keir's life is in danger due to a secret in his past. He was adopted as a child, and there are people who know his true identity who don't want that getting out. Attempts were made on Keir's life at several points in the book, and Merritt's "Uncle" Sebastian and Ransom step up to the plate to help find the perpetrators. The person at fault wasn't really in question-you pretty much know early on who is to blame, so the element of mystery isn't there. What I enjoyed about the resolution was the fact that Merritt insisted on taking on the protector role that you typically see in the hero. Because her father is such an expert huntsman, she was raised around guns and is actually the most expert shot in the entire family. I liked seeing that less than traditional side come into play when the man she loved needed her. She won't allow herself to be handled by those wishing to protect her, and she shows that she's far from a helpless female in need of saving.
Overall, this was a fun read based on the interactions between the Wallflower families. I don't think I'll ever get tired of reading about them as they hold a special place in my heart. Anytime I'm gifted with a little more of them, I have such a warm feeling of nostalgia. Keir and Merritt were the type of opposites attract couple that play off of each other's differences and balance each other out beautifully. In the end, I thought the Epilogue was the perfect conclusion, and left me in a very happy place. I can't wait to see who Lisa Kleypas will be giving a story to next.
All he knew was that after he left,he’d have to learn how to live withhis heart beating somewhere far away.
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