Devil In Disguise by Lisa Kleypas | Book Review

Devil In Disguise by Lisa Kleypas
Series: The Ravenels #7
Also in this series: Cold-Hearted Rake, Marrying Winterborne, Devil In Spring, Hello Stranger, Devil's Daughter, Chasing Cassandra
Published by Avon on July 27, 2021
Genres: Historical Romance, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Gift
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An enthralling and steaming romance between a widowed lady and a Scot on the run—who may have connections to one of London's most noble families.

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.

Alrighty, this review might hurt a little. I LOVE Lisa Kleypas. I’ve read over 12 of her books just this year, and have loved all of them so much. You know how when you fall in love with an author’s books you sort of hold them to a higher standard? That’s what I’ve done. Lisa Kleypas has changed how I judge a historical romance. I love The Ravenels series, but Devil In Disguise is my least favorite. Making this even sadder is the fact that Devil In Disguise is also the last book in this series. I wanted a grand finale, and I got a dud instead. That’s not to say the book wasn’t good. Lisa’s writing is still phenomenal, the swoons are there, the storytelling is great, and the characters are lovable. Let me try and explain my feelings a little better. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. First of all… I don’t know why this book is a part of the Ravenels series. Merritt is not a Ravenel. She’s Marcus’s (Lord Westcliff) daughter. Readers meet Marcus in The Wallflowers series, he marries Lillian Bowman, and they end up having Merritt, who is a sweet little baby in the first book of The Hathaways series, Mine Till Midnight, later on. Keir is also not a Ravenel. The title of this book has “Devil” in it which, up to this point, has only been used in book titles that feature Lord St. Vincent (Devil In Winter: The Wallflowers book #3) and his son, Gabriel (Devil In Spring: The Ravenels book #3). So I went into this a little confused. Every Ravenel found love in the previous books, so who is left? And does the word “Devil” in the title mean Sebastian St. Vincent is a key character in this story? I did get my answers but this is not a Ravenels book. It would make more sense to call this a second generation Wallflowers book because of who Merritt’s parents are. 

2. I didn’t really connect with Merritt or Keir. I liked them, but I didn’t feel like I got to know them and become as attached to them as I have other Lisa Kleypas characters. Merritt is a widow and runs her husband’s shipping company with her brother. She’s strong, self-sufficient, and guarded. Understandably, she’s not actively seeking out romance. She is a very good businesswoman, and cares a lot about the people who work for her. Keir is a Scottish man, who was adopted at a young age, and is a whisky distiller. Keir is not super memorable. I would have liked a little more info on his backstory and see more of his personality, but I digress.

3. The romance. Meh. Again, it’s not very memorable and includes some tropes I don’t like. Merritt and Keir are working out a partnership between their two businesses, so he’s traveled from his home in Scotland to London for that reason. After their meeting an attempt is made on Keir’s life and he gets amnesia. Merritt steps in to take care of him while he recovers and we run into a sort of instalove situation, which I’m not a fan of. I also don’t like amnesia plots. Merritt has also struggled with infertility (she has uterine fibroids), which is magically cured by Keir’s virility. I don’t like the magical sperm trope either. lol. Finally, Keir says some incredibly cheesy things and I found myself cringing a lot when he made his sweeping declarations of love and devotion. So yeah, I didn’t like this romance very much.

4. I really think this book was written because Lisa Kleypas is in love with Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, and wanted to give him another book. And I love him, too, so I actually liked seeing so much of him! I’ve seen people complain that St. Vincent overshadowed Merritt and Keir, but I was fine with that (although, I suppose I might have gotten to know them better and like them more if they had been more of a focal point.). I love St. Vincent and it was fun to check back in with him, Evie, and characters from Lisa’s other books like Ethan Ransom (LOVE HIM).

5. I did enjoy the suspenseful aspects. Keir is the target of assassins, so there is danger lurking under everything for the bulk of the story. I love it when Lisa Kleypas adds in a suspenseful subplot.

All in all, this was a disappointing end to the Ravenels series. It was fun to see cameos from some of my favorite characters from Lisa Kleypas’s other books and her writing is always lovely, but the romance left much to be desired and I felt like both Merritt’s and Keir’s characters were less developed and easy to love when compared to other characters of Lisa’s (like West Ravenel and Marcus).

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