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Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: "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..… (more)
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And now to the review. Devil in Winter is the third in the series of the Wallflowers, and coming mid-way to the party, there were parts of the story that I was missing. But all in all, it stands well on its own. Even if you really don't know why Sebastian St. Vincent is such a bad catch (and such a rascal), in a few pages the author puts you up to speed, while you also get to know Evie, a shy young woman that takes a really bold step to escape the clutches of her family.
The action doesn't take long to happen, soon enough the not-actually-in-love-couple is eloping to Scotland (and finally I understood why everyone elopes to Scotland), and after the consummation of the marriage, they are back again on the road, to return to London. And why do I mention this? Because this long trip London-Scotland-London was the perfect excuse for these two to get to know each other (and myself to get to know them). And I enjoyed that, the initial dislike of one another (well, that was mostly on Evie's part), the realization that the other party was not as bad as they may seem, and the unlikely friendship between them (among other things).
Once in London the story gains more of a plot, losing a bit of its character-driven part. There is a father close to death, and a club in need to be run, as well as family to be dealt with. And Lord St. Vincent does come to the rescue, surprising me, on two accounts. First, because I wasn't expecting it of him, and second, because I hadn't realized I had such a thing as expectations where he was concerned.
But, I'm afraid to say, the plot part was what made me lose a bit of interest on this book – I felt it dragged the drama a bit too long for my liking. It is strange, I usually like ploty books. But I was content with the character-development, with seeing Evie and St. Vincent fall in love, and maybe the whole family trying to get their hands on the naïve girl's money was just too dull for me. To me, the strong points of this book are, without a doubt, Evie and Sebastian, and their growing friendship/love. But that is usually my type of romance, even on non-romance specific books.
So, did I like? Yes, even if there were things in it that bored me. Will I read the other books in the series? Probably not. But this was a light read, good for long train travels (or maybe not, if you are afraid people will read over your shoulder).
Also at Spoilers and Nuts
I blame it on the characters. Both Evie and Sebastian are so haunting. I keep remembering quotes and scenes with them that either break or melt my heart.
Evie has always been my favorite wallflower since book one of the series, and I never knew exactly why.
I must confess, I was quite apprehensive about Devil in Winter because of the hero, I was so angry with him, having just finished reading book #2 where he behaves disgracefully - he goes after his only friend’s girl, cooperates with her kidnapping, and even threatens to have her against her will, so, obviously, I hated him with a passion, and Westcliff’s beating didn’t seem punishment enough by my standards. Little did I know he was going to be my favorite wallflower’s hero. My sweet, shy, physically and psychologically abused Evie! I wanted to scream with anger (!!!), but now I’m SO happy to say that, even though I still don’t know how Lisa managed it, St.Vincent went from an unprincipled bastard, to the most passionate, devoted, she's-mine-and-I'll-kick-your-ass-if-you-touch-her kind of protective husband, and right now I can't think of a man who would suit Evie better. But he gave a good fight, I’ll give him that.
Evie was such a great heroine in this…I loved how she was never prudish around St.Vincent, or recoiled at his occasional bitter remarks, or gave up on him -and he really tried to drive her away sometimes.
Other thing I loved about this book was the fact that it is not just a story about two people alone in the world who find each other, two people so different that is hard to believe they are a perfect match, but also that it is a story about friendship, redemption, and forgiveness, with Westcliff and Lillian coming into scene to help save St.Vincent’s life.
I could go on and on about this book, but really, there aren’t enough words to praise it, or this series, or this author. You haunt me Lisa!
This is part of a series and this particular book continues the previous (It Happened One Autumn) by seconds. I recommend that you read ‘It Happened One Autumn first‘. To see the change start so simple and become so drastic in Sebastian was amazing, the living cliché about reformed rakes. I was not so sure it could be done as smoothly as it was. After seeing his arrogance in the previous book, then to see him as this book continued, was very nicely done. Poor Evie never stood a chance with this kind of seduction on his mind. The quick wit of both characters was great and the reunion of the ‘Wallflowers’ was also nice. I enjoyed the addition of Cam Rohan and the reminder that there is still one wallflower left. Next up is Daisy Bowman and this book doesn’t seem to give any hints (unlike the previous books) as to that match. As much as I liked the two previous books, I think this one just jumped ahead as my favorite so far.
After the wedding Sebastian realizes he is extremely attracted to Evie and she challenges him to remain celibate for three months before she'll go to bed with him again (love this girl ... she's got spunk). In the meantime they arrive back in London and Evie rushes to her father's bedside. Her father is a gambling club owner (chief rival of Derek from DoY) and Sebastian (who has never done a day's work in his life) takes over management of the club.
This is a wonderful book. I loved Evie, shy and sweet, with an inner strength who takes no crap from the hero. And Sebastian.... *sigh*... wow, he completely redeems himself and then some. He is slowly transformed from a hardened amoral rake as he falls in love with Evie and becomes so protective of her. I see why so many are comparing him to Derek Craven. Most agree that he is ALMOST as wonderful as DC (impossible to beat DC in the hero department). Very sigh-worthy. All the secondary characters are very well drawn and the plot was excellent, especially Cam, the part-gypsy croupier from the gambling club. I wonder if he gets his own book. I hope so. Also the subplot drama was good about a former employee of the club who means to harm Evie. And the love scenes were hot. (Grade: A-)
Sebastian, Viscount St. Vincent, is the most infuriating, insufferable, philandering, debauched reprobate a girl could ever hope to entertain. He's devilishly handsome, his reputation deplorable, his affections easily and frequently given and he excels in doling out heartbreak. He's also, poor, lazy and desperate, making him the ideal man for Evangeline Jenner.
Evie is the opposite of Sebastian in almost every way. She's a quiet, plain little wallflower with a less than prestigious lineage and a nervous stutter that sends any would be conversationalist running for someone far less frustrating to talk to. She's also about to inherit a rather sizable fortune. She shares one similarity with Sebastian though- she's desperate. Evie needs a husband and quickly before her horrid aunts and uncles marry her off to her odious cousin so that her father's fortune will fall under their control. St. Vincent's champagne tastes have landed him deeply in debt and he needs money now. When Evie sneaks into the house of the notorious rake and stutters a proposal of marriage to him, he simply can't turn her down. He'll get her money and she'll get the safety and protection that the viscount's name can provide- and Evie will need it. Her family has banked on getting their hands on that money and now that it might be out of their reach, they can't wait to get their hands on Evie.
The Viscount St. Vincent? Oh man. He's hot. He's horrible. He's rude. He's selfish. He's an insensitive ass- no wait. He's not! He's wonderful and caring and warm and charming and sooooo sexy- wait, not. He's a shit again. He's a wonderful villain and hero. You never know where you stand with him as he is all at once everything you despise and everything you love in a leading man.
"My lady,
This tray will be returned for my inspection within the hour. If everything on it is not eaten, I will personally force-feed it to you.
Bon appetit,
S."
So he only marries Evie for her money. It's what she wanted. She didn't expect a love match. She only hoped that the marriage would give her the chance to care for her ailing father, in his last days, safe from the uncles who raised her and ruled her with an iron fist. She was desperate and scared and she did what she had to do. We shouldn't feel sorry for her. She knew what she was marrying. Yes, she knew, and when our smart, sassy girl only agreed to one night with Sebastian, the one necessary to consummate their marriage she told him it would be the first and last time. She didn't want his love, only the protection of his name and once she had it and he had her money he could do what he pleased with whoever he pleased so long as it wasn't her. A woman that wasn't pining after him, hanging on his every word, begging for his affections? Sebastian just doesn't know how to handle that and for the first time in his life, he's faced with a harsh reality. There's something, someone, he really wants and now he'll have to work for it!
I adored this book. It was charming and funny. Kleypas gives us two characters who couldn't be less alike and puts them through so many trials and tribulations of the heart that they do something quite unexpected and completely flip roles. Sebastian is a marvelous character and our Evie is such a doll- the manipulative, stubborn, impish kind. The evolution of their relationship is delightfully entertaining, and well, did I mention that I just LOVE Sebastian?
This is the 3rd book in The Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas and I have been assured and can assure that it is not necessary to read them in any order. I have however, picked up the other three books and I fully intend on devouring them.
I love how reader’s have gotten to know Evie through everything as being the shyest among them yet she summons all of her courage to approach the most notorious rake there was. She was able to make herself stronger to escape her fate and fight for what she wants. Readers have also seen Lord St. Vincent in other works as the more evil out of everyone but in this work we are able to see another more endearing side to him. He found something to make him turn his world around, he wanted to protect Evie, and he wanted to be good for Evie. The chemistry between Evie and Sebastian was extraordinarily delightful to behold.
Alas this is not to be to in the first chapter to escape her evil relatives she steal out in desparation and propose a marrage of convenience to the vile seducer from the previous book and
Well it is a romance. light enjoyable mind candy. just what i expect of a romance.
"Devil in Winter" is a 'rake reformed by love of a good woman' story - Evie Jenner (a wallflower desperate to escape her relatives) proposes marriage to Viscount Sebastian St. Vincent (a rake desperate to get some money). True wuw ensues, eventually. I liked both Evil and Sebastian. Evie is a lot stronger than she appears at first. Sebastian is less of a bastard than his reputation suggests (though he has spent most of his life being a selfish bastard, so his journey to redemption is of necessity long and not without setbacks) . They bring out the best in each other, and I was sad when the book ended.
Fortunately for me, there are more books in the Wallflower series that I need to hunt down: "Secrets of a Summer Night" (bk 1), "It Happened One Autumn" (bk 2), Scandal in Spring (bk 4), plus two related novels: "Again the Magic" and "A Wallflower Christmas". I just have to make sure I have enough time to read each one in one sitting!
One thing I didn't like about each book was, with one exception, every single female was a virgin and every single male had had plenty of partners (and in the cases where the male was already attracted to her, he thought of her when with the person). The reason some of the proposals happened was because he had "compromised" her (loved that phrase). Yet the men never had that worry about all the other women they had been with?
Past that these books were fun and I enjoyed each one. I was happy I read Again the Magic first since then I had a prior knowledge of the Westcliffs and in particular Marcus. I was sad that Aline and McKenna never appeared in the rest of the series. McKenna's proposal was probably my favorite of all the couples.
Simon and Annabelle were probably my favorite couple overall. I was surprised that many other reviewers labelled her as snobbish. I understand at the beginning she was hellbent on marrying a peer but primarily for the money for her family. I don't see anything wrong with that. Simon only went after her as a mistress and that was why I felt she ignored him. Once he did actually propose she almost instantly accepted him. Loved that he kept trying to compromise her afterwards in order to make sure she would marry him. After the marriage she did have trouble accepting the change in her life but she never blamed him. I adored the ending with her going after him and Westcliff saving them both and the two of them finally getting along.
Westcliff is probably my favorite male character and I did really like Lillian. Their book was not my favorite because I felt it borrowed too much from Pride and Prejudice, which I adore. The two stubborn lovers with the male as an upper class aristocrat, a bad first proposal, a wedding obsessed mother, and a conniving countess. Loved the ending again with Westcliff beating the shit out of St. Vincent. Hilarious! This book did have my favorite passage:
"You may set your mind at ease with the knowledge that I do not find you desireable in any way whatsoever."
"I understand. Enough said, my lord."
"If the two of us were left alone on a deserted island, I would have absolutely no thought of approaching you."
"I realize that," she said shortly. "You don't have to go on and on about it."
"I just want to make it clear that what I did was a complete aberration. You are not the kind of woman wom I would ever be attracted to."
"All right."
"In fact-"
"You've made yourself quite clear, my lord."
St. Vincent and Evie's story was enjoyable and I thoguht they worked quite well together. I was sad that none of the other wallflowers showed up till over halfway through the book. I also didn't realize that Evie's father appears in an earlier series, so I may have to pick that up next.
Scandal in Spring was my least favorite of the four wallflower series. I liked the concept but I figured out basically what Matthew's secret was from the start and kept getting annoyed that he put off telling her till it was too late. The game between the two of them was interesting and I enjoyed seeing how protective Westcliff had become of Daisy.
Wallflower Christmas was fun but I did not enjoy it as much as the previous five books.
I adore everything about this book, from Sebastian to Evie.
We meet Seb in the previous book where he's cast as a villain (of his own making). The thing I love best about him in this book is that he's no different than he was in the
Evie undergoes her own transformation in this story. Though she'll always be a shy wallflower, she really blossoms and matures in this book. She's shown to be a strong woman who's willing to fight for what she believes in. I wasn't sure about her in the beginning but she really captured me as the story went on.
With growing debt, Sebastian needs to marry an heiress. After a failed attempt to kidnap Evi's friend, Lilly, the Viscount is in dire straights. Evi comes to him with a plan she knows he won't be able to refuse - Marry Evi to protect her from her abusive relatives and allow her to see her father again before he dies, and after he dies he will inherit Evi's fortune. The two elope on a frantic journey to Gretna Green,. As they run for the alter together then team up to save the floundering gaming hell, they are both exposed to something they never knew existed. Sebastian is much more than a selfish devilish rogue, but is someone quite caring, compassionate, and willing to even risk his life to save someone he loves. Evi, in turn, is much more than a wallflower, but is also a women is considerable strength, courage, and compassion. What quickly starts as a marriage of convenience develops into something much much greater...
Overall story 5/5
Hero: 5/5
Heroine: 5/5
Side Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4.5/5
While the plot is tired and cliche (titled rake in desperate financial straights marries an American heiress who seeks to avoid marrying the horrifying bore whom her evil family has chosen for her), Kleypas does a wonderful job with character development and pacing. The love scenes were tender and hot at the same time. Delightful!
Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, is a larger than life character who has gained a massive fan following among romance readers, but I am sorry to say that I will not be one of the ladies who is panting after this fictional hero. As I mentioned earlier, my dislike of him began in It Happened One Autumn when he kidnapped the heroine of that story and threatened to rape her. At that very moment, I was immediately turned off to the character, who I, for the most part, had previously found to be charming and gentlemanly. I was hoping for some deeper explanation of his actions in this book, but nothing beyond the mere desperation of being penniless within the month ever surfaced. Because of that, I could not understand why he had taken such extreme measures when by all accounts his charm and ravishing good looks could have gotten him almost any woman of his choosing. Sebastian's impulsiveness even cost him a life-long friendship with Marcus, Lord Westcliff, and all of this made it seem like he cared more for money than people. Granted he did admit to himself (though sadly not to anyone else that I recall) that his actions had been stupid and eventually apologized to Marcus and Lillian, but disappointingly, it was all done off-canvas.
Even if he hadn't done something so terrible in the last book, I probably still would have had a love/hate relationship with Sebastian simply because he was like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. He was awfully rude and condescending to Evie when she came to his house to make her proposition and insulted her even further in his introspections which included a disdain for her shyness and her stutter. He did start to grow on me a bit when he showed some human kindness toward Evie during their arduous trip to Gretna Green, as well as during and after the wedding ceremony. He also made full use of his seductive skills when making love to her the first time. Then almost instantly, the honeymoon seemed to be over with him returning to his previous rude, arrogant, cocky self. Overall, it seemed to me that he behaved in a very dissolute, manipulative and selfish way, only occasionally seeming to think of anyone or anything else besides himself. His ping-ponging between being nice and gentle with Evie and treating her rather badly, in my opinion, continued throughout more than half the book. I'm normally pretty good at interpreting characters, but in this case, I didn't even realize until the end of the book that Sebastian had some fear about allowing himself to love Evie, so up to that point, his contradictory behavior was just simply confusing and irritating to me. I will admit that he was quite the silver-tonged devil when he wanted to be, as well as an incredibly skillful lover, but I really wish that those qualities had been embodied in a more pleasing overall package. He also literally put his life on the line for Evie which definitely showed he cared for her on some level, but in the end, he just didn't exhibit enough warmth and vulnerability to make me believe in the sincerity of his love and his claims that he wanted nothing more than a lifetime of fidelity with her. I'm all for the reformed rake plot, but there has to be reasons for his rakish behavior in order for me to sympathize and believe that he can and truly wants to change. In short, his characterization just didn't dig deep enough for me to fall for him in the way so many other fans have.
Now, on the other hand, I absolutely adored Evie. She reminds me very much of myself, so I felt like I understood her pretty well. Outwardly, she is a painfully shy but sweet girl, yet inwardly, she has a strength of spirit that can be easy for others to miss. She was treated atrociously by her family which gave her a desperation of her own to get away from them, and in my opinion, she had to be pretty darn desperate to propose to an unrepentant rake like Sebastian, especially after what he did to one of her best friends. At the same time, I think she had a whole lot of courage and backbone to take such steps, in addition to sometimes taking little jabs at him when he was being rude to her. I loved her creative bet with Sebastian to prove he could be faithful to her, but felt like she let him off rather easy and didn't take it far enough. I do think that Sebastian was willing to accept the bet because Evie really got under his skin. He saw her as something of a challenge, because he wasn't used to women turning him down for sex. I also loved Evie's tender care of both her father and Sebastian when they were ill. The only thing about her that I thought could have been better was, once again, a deeper characterization. She was so ill-treated by her family and had no one to truly love her all her life which should have made her very tortured, yet she didn't really exhibit those kinds of characteristics. She also desperately needed someone to love her, and in spite of Sebastian supposedly becoming a changed man, I didn't feel that intense love connection between them. I suppose I was just a bit skeptical of Sebastian's ability to love Evie in the way she deserved. Most of the time, it seemed to me like she was the one giving her all to him while he was returning meager crumbs.
Devil in Winter introduced handsome, half-gypsy Cam Rohan who becomes the hero of the first book in the spin-off, Hathaways series, Mine 'Til Midnight. Cam was very gentle, likable and easygoing. He was a loyal employee to Evie's father and more like a son. He's quite the seducer too, giving Daisy her very first kiss, and what a kiss it was.;-) Much like with Sebastian and Lillian in It Happened One Autumn, I couldn't invest myself in it much though, because I knew that their respective mates are other characters we've yet to meet. All the Wallflowers and their husbands returned in this book as secondary characters too, although the breezy interactions between them are not as prominent. Marcus and Lillian played fairly important roles, particularly Marcus, who once again showed his magnanimity by being there when his old friend Sebastian needed him most and offering a measure of forgiveness. There was also a light mystery side plot involving someone who was out to kill Evie, but it was rather anti-climactic since I figured out the person's motive long before it was revealed.
Since I've had a number of criticisms of this book and didn't really care for the hero, some readers may be wondering why I still gave it four stars and there are several reasons for that. Evie as the heroine was positively lovable, and even though I didn't feel like Sebastian was the best match for her, I liked her as an individual enough that she helped to carry a large part of the story. In spite of feeling that the characterizations and the mystery portion of the plot could have been better, I did think that the book as a whole was pretty well-written, at least equally as well as the first two books of the series, and Ms. Kleypas did stay true to the innate natures of the characters. Lastly, I do respect the author for making the attempt at redeeming a villainous character even though it didn't work for me. I also think that this story may have stirred up some personal issues (a very rare thing), and out of a sense of fairness to an author I've admired for a long time, I wanted to make sure that I didn't penalize the book/author due to my own objectivity being somewhat clouded by my personal prejudices. Even though Devil in Winter was not as enjoyable of a story as I was expecting, I do look forward to continuing the series to see what's in store for Daisy and what other developments the future might hold for all the Wallflowers.