Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas
Series: Wallflowers #3
Also in this series: A Wallflower Christmas
Published by Avon on February 28, 2006
Genres: Historical Romance, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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"I'm Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can't be celibate. Everyone knows that."

Desperate to escape her scheming relatives, Evangeline Jenner has sought the help of the most infamous scoundrel in London.

A marriage of convenience is the only solution.

No one would have ever paired the shy, stammering wallflower with the sinfully handsome viscount. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Evie is a woman of hidden strength—and Sebastian desires her more than any woman he's ever known.

Determined to win her husband's elusive heart, Evie dares to strike a bargain with the devil: If Sebastian can stay celibate for three months, she will allow him into her bed.

When Evie is threatened by a vengeful enemy from the past, Sebastian vows to do whatever it takes to protect his wife... even at the expense of his own life.

Together they will defy their perilous fate, for the sake of all-consuming love.

2022 is the year of Lisa Kleypas for me, it would seem! I can’t get enough of her books, and I’ve turned my blog into a real-time chronicle of my Kleypas reading adventure. I started with the Ravenels series, but several people said to stop after the second book, Marrying Winterborne, and read Devil In Winter (book #3 in the Wallflowers series) before continuing with the Ravenels because people from the Wallflowers series appear in the Ravenels series. So that’s what I did! Why? Devil In Winter is about Sebastian St. Vincent and his love story with Evie. It’s a romance, so it’s not a spoiler to say that these two end up together. Gabriel St. Vincent, the hero in Devil In Spring (book #3 of the Ravenels series), is their son so it makes complete sense that I should read about his parents before I read about his love story (Devil In Spring)! I’m so glad I decided to read this way, because this book served as a flashback for me. At the time of writing this review, I’ve actually already read Devil In Spring (I’m reading faster than I can post reviews), and it was so much fun catching up with a salt and peppered Sebastian and Evie right away. It’s been about 30 years in their lifetime, but only a few minutes in mine! Anyway, hopefully I haven’t confused you! Simply put, I took a trip back in time after book #2 in the Ravenels series to meet the characters whose son is the hero of book #3 in the Ravenels series. And that’s where we are right now! As always, my main points are bolded.

1. Evie had a rough life growing up. She loves her dad, Ivo Jenner, so much but since he owns and runs an infamous men’s social club/gambling hall he sent her to live with her mother’s family in order to ensure she had a proper upbringing instead. These relatives have treated her horribly for her entire life and have essentially kept her prisoner in their home. She hasn’t seen her father in years and has learned he is on his death bed, not expected to live much longer. And she’s about the inherit everything he has. Her relatives want her inheritance for their own, so they are marrying her off to her disgusting cousin to keep the money in the family. She sneaks out one night in search of Sebastian and offers him a deal. He’s powerful, but needs money. She will be coming in to money very soon, and needs a way out from under the control of her family. Why not get married (in word only, as she wants nothing from him but protection from her family)? In an effort to not be found by the family that’s now hunting her down, they leave immediately and cross the border into Scotland to get married in Gretna Green as quickly as possible. What comes next is full of swoons, danger, suspense, and revelations.

2. I loved Evie. She has a stammer, so she’s always been timid and quiet. But now that she’s fighting for her freedom and to see her father before he passes away, she’s bold and daring and brave. I loved that she came up with this plan to steal back her freedom, and take her life into her own hands (even if it means marrying a man who tried to ruin the life of one of her best friends). She has a lot of rules for Sebastian, and she quickly sheds her quiet, passive persona and becomes a force to be reckoned with. She goes through so much growth in this book, and really comes into her own and finds so much self worth and confidence. The way she whips Sebastian into a hopelessly in love, groveling protector of her heart was amazing.

3. Sebastian is… everything. Oh my goodness. I’ve read reviews from others who were really skeptical of Kleypas’s decision to make the last book’s villain the hero in this story. I know he backstabbed his best friend and kidnapped his fiance, and that’s pretty bad. But since I haven’t read what happened I went into this story with an unbiased view of Sebastian. He’s cocky and a total rake, but he starts to melt very quickly. He’s very thoughtful and sweet (he kept getting a warming brick for Evie’s cold feet on the carriage ride to Scotland). He carried Evie over the threshold, even though it was not a love match for them. He did lots of little things that made me swoon and proved he’s a good person. The care and compassion he exhibits with Evie’s father was beautiful. He got very protective of Evie very quickly, which I always love. He went from bragging about never bedding the same woman twice to not being able to live without Evie. He even agreed to three months of celibacy because she asked for it! In what universe does a man ever go from rake to celibate? He would do anything for her. Definitely a Sebastian fan.

4. The romance was unique and wonderful for me. They both had major walls up, and it was so nice to watch them both slowly lower them for each other. Their connection is so strong, and essentially started from a place of helping one another… and they never stop being there for each other. Sebastian risks himself multiple times to protect Evie, and she supports him when he really needs her. It was all so sweet. And I really loved that Evie’s stammer lessened the more comfortable she got with him. He made a safe place for her.

5. I love how Lisa Kleypas adds a little danger to her books. I kept flipping through the pages as fast as I could to see how everything would turn out.

6. Initially I wasn’t a fan of Jenner’s gambling hall as a setting, but I grew to like it a lot. And I loved the supporting characters that worked there, particularly her childhood friend who was always concerned for her well-being. He and Sebastian started out not liking each other much, but they form a nice relationship that made me happy.

7. It’s clear that I must read the other Wallflowers books, because I’ve missed things. I want to know who Evie was before, I want to read about Sebastian’s villainous ways from the book before this one, and I want to see more of Evie’s friends! I really liked the other wallflowers, too. Evie’s friends seem really sweet and I loved that they came together to help her even though they weren’t the biggest fan of Sebastian. And I liked Marcus, Sebastian’s friend. I also need to read the Gamblers of Craven’s series because I think Evie’s dad is in those, plus I’m a huge fan of Lisa Kleypas now that I can’t stop. I think it’s so cool how she weaves all her books together, and I’ve never found another author who made me want to read the bulk of their backlist so furiously. I’m just loving reading my way through all these interconnected stories!

All in all, Devil In Winter (and all of Lisa Kleypas’s books) gets a glowing recommendation from me! On to the next book!