The Devil in Winter (The Wallflowers, Book 3)

by Lisa Kleypas

Paperback, 2016

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Collection

Publication

Avon (2006), 384 pages

Description

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)

User reviews

LibraryThing member quigui
A disclaimer first: Historical Romances are not my thing. I knew this when I started this book. But Jen's reviews made me wonder if I was missing on something good by not giving them a chance, and then the book bingo asked for a romance book, and Jen begged to help me choose one. I gave her carte
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blanche to pick a book for me (actually, it was three, but she only picked one historical romance).

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
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LibraryThing member Jen7waters
Wow…this one was SO GOOD. Just WOW…
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.
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Maybe it was the combination of her being the most vulnerable of them all, the most shy, the less spirited, and basically a prisoner within her own house, amongst her own family. Finally, in Devil in Winter, she gets tired of being abused by those awful family members that WANT TO KILL HER to get her money, runs away and asks St.Vincent, the villain from the previous book -It Happened One Autumn, to marry her since she knows he’s desperate for money.
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!
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LibraryThing member aapike
Part of the Wallflower series, this is the story about Evie and Sebastian, St. Vincent. Sebastian is a jaded rake, whereas Evie is a shy, young woman who lives with an abusive extended family. In an attempt to escape the cruelty of her family, Evie runs to Sebastian with an unlikely proposal- marry
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her and get her inheritance from her dying father, Ivo Jenner, owner of a gaming club. What comes of this proposal is unexpected- most especially for Sebastian who begins to find that he desires his wife more than any other woman. A great addition to the Wallflower series, where characters from the other novels reappear and add to plot line! Lisa Kleypas is a wonderful, fluid writer whose characters are personable and well defined.
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LibraryThing member irmgard06
This is a great book. Evie, the heroine and St. Vincent, the hero, were great together. I liked their interaction and the chemistry of these characters. The other books in the Wallflower series could not live up to the characters in this book. It was wonderful to read the struggle both characters
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had to make to acheive happiness at the end of the story.
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LibraryThing member onyx95
Living as a notorious rake, the Viscount Lord Sebastian St. Vincent thought he was as happy as he could be. He knew he needed a wealthy bride to help keep him in the way of life he had become accustomed to. Taking Lillian Bowman against her will and trying to force the American heiress to marry him
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had not been one of his best moves. It had cost him his best friend and his position was no better. When Lillian’s shy ‘wallflower’ friend Evangeline Jenner, showed up on his doorstep in the middle of the night with a similar opportunity for him, he was very skeptical. Evie had to get away from her mothers family, they had been abusive most of her life, but she drew the line at them stopping her from seeing her dying father. Evie wanted to trade her soon to be wealth for a marriage of convenience. She was willing for the infamous rake to continue his life style of women and drinking, in fact she insisted on it. Tenderhearted Evie knew she would be risking her heart if she allowed him to get to close. Accepting each others conditions, they start off on a journey that leaves them both more aware of the other than they ever thought they would become.

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.
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LibraryThing member theshadowknows
Despite being unimpressed with the other books in this series, I was looking forward to reading Devil in Winter, partly because it seemed the most popular, and partly because Evie Jenner was my favorite out of the four Wallflowers. I was also intrigued by the seemingly incongruous pairing of shy
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Evie with a the purportedly ruthless villain. Unfortunately, Evie's character isn't much dealt with in this story. The Devil in Winter is mostly about St. Vincent and his path to redemption. It's a bright, fun read that is alternately hot and heart warming. St. Vincent isn't nearly the evil cad he pretends to be, (there's not much in the way of his so called redemption), and Evie is the gentle, ministering angel that brings him into the light. I guess some concessions are made to anguished remorse on his part, and reservations regarding his capacity for fidelity on hers, but really those are incidental, no more than the smallest of hiccups on this smooth, easy ride to true love and happiness - if you don't go into this book expecting more than that, then you will have a good time reading it. Besides that, I don't see what's so special about this book.
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LibraryThing member RogueBelle
Of the Wallflowers books, this one seems rather haphazard. I still enjoyed it, but it's a bit of an uneven read. St Vincent shines more than Evie does -- he's a true Rake, and a devilish charmer; watching him reform is a delightful treat. It's also always fun to watch Kleypas treat with the lower
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strata of society, though -- unlike many Regency authors, she doesn't constrain herself just to the ton, but plays as freely with low as with high.
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LibraryThing member reneebooks
This is Evie Jenner's story. She's the shy one who stutters and is an absolute sweetheart. Shy does not mean doormat by any means. Evie approaches Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, and asks him to marry her so that she can escape the clutches of her greedy, abusive family who are trying to force her
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into marriage with her repulsive cousin so that they can control her fortune. In return for marrying her, Sebastian, a true rake and fortune hunter, will instead get Evie's money. Her only condition is that she be allowed to care for her dying father. So they set off for Scotland in a long arduous journey and during the trip forge a bond between them. Sebastian is the villain of the previous book, It Happened One Autumn, where he attempted to kidnap the heroine, Lillian, and was stopped by the hero, Lord Westcliff, who beat him up. Oh, yeah, Evie makes one more condition.... no lovemaking after the wedding night.

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-)
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LibraryThing member lifeafterjane
"My father, the duke, has failed in his one responsibility in life: to keep the family fortune intact so that he can pass it on to me. My responsibility, on the other hand, is to pass my time in profligate idleness and wait for him to die. I've been doing my job splendidly. The duke, however has
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not. He's made a botch of managing the family finances, and at the present he is unforgivably poor, and even worse, healthy."

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.
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LibraryThing member lindsaydiffee
This might be my favorite Lisa Kleypas novel. I just love these characters.
LibraryThing member rainrunner
I thought this was book one in the series and it's book 3. Oh well, I liked it and hope that when I read numbers 1 and 2 it's not too weird.
LibraryThing member wolfangel87
As the shyest wallflower in the group, Evangeline Jenner, makes an outrageous proposal of marriage to the most rebellious of rakes, Viscount St. Vincent, to escape her relatives her world is forever going to change. As Evie’s conditions weight on Sebastian will he choose to risk his heart in this
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endeavor or run when things get too serious?

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.
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LibraryThing member SimonW11
Third in the series and This time our heroine is the only one who said she wanted to marry someone she loves.
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
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off they trot to Gretna Green can her innocence against her expectations transform the rake.
Well it is a romance. light enjoyable mind candy. just what i expect of a romance.
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LibraryThing member slvoight
Evangeline Jenner needs a husband to escape from her abusive family and Sebastian St. Vincent needs a wife with a fortune and he decides to accept Evie's marriage proposal. This marriage of convenience soon becomes more and after Sebastian almost is killed they find out their true feelings for each
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other. I liked the story and enjoyed the characters.
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LibraryThing member WeaselOfDoom
I am having the worst luck with Lisa Kleypas's novels. It took me over a year to finally finish "Devil in Winter," and I still need to get back to "Dreaming of You." I have no idea why - I enjoy reading the books, but then I would put them down, and next thing I know, it's been a two months and I
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am out of renews at the library. The fault is all my own - Mrs. Kleypas writes engrossing historical romances, and I like reading them, so perhaps I am just picking them up at bad times in my life.

"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!
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LibraryThing member bookwormdreams
Bad boys are always one of my favorite characters in this type of books and Sebastian was not a by any means disappointing.
LibraryThing member coffeenut1992
This was a cute story. A nice match with the shy, bookish wallflower and the "lady's man". Nice story and great way to wrap up a really nice trilogy.
LibraryThing member renrav
I'm being lazy and reviewing the entire series as one. Also many of my thoughts apply to all the books. I've never been a big romance person but I've never been opposed to them either. I discovered this series on a list for top romance series when I needed something for the 2013 Challenge Group
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Februray Challenge. Spoilers for the series follow:


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.
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LibraryThing member cranberrytarts
This is one of my top 5 favorite LK book. It might even be #2.

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
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previous book. He is unapologetically a bastard. He doesn't just act like an ass to cover a true heart of gold, he really just is an ass. But events in the book and Evie start to change him. I love watching his transformation.

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.
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LibraryThing member LadyWesley
Sebastian, Viscount St. Vincent -- what a hot mess. The total degenerate who, after marrying solely for money, discovers he has not only a heart but also a talent for running his bride's inherited business. I do believe that LK has created the hottest bad boy in all of Romancelandia (although Lord
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Dain is a close second).
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LibraryThing member Azacia
After her mother died, Evangeline's (Evi) father leaves his beloved daughter in the care of her mother's relatives thinking it would provide a better home for his infant daughter than at the gaming club he owns. Little does he know of the cruelty and abuse Evi would suffer at their hands. Reduced
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to a stuttering wallflower, Evi's relatives plot to force her to marry her cousin so they can inherit her fortune when her father passes away. Desperate, Evi makes the only escape she can think of - she runs off to meet a man who is equally desperate Sebastian, Viscount St. Vincent.

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
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LibraryThing member Clx.Bkwrm
Book 3 in the Wallflower quartet, "Devil in Winter" tells the tale of a shy woman who marries a scandalous duke in order to save her fathers business and to save her from marrying her heinous cousin. No two people are less than suited for each other, but whether its time or the fact they actually
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get to know each other and see each other in a different light that soon has them living for and with each other. I found this book to be very similar to "Beauty and the Beast" in the context that there is beauty in a wallflower and even a beastly gentleman can be tamed and love another.
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LibraryThing member CyndiTefft
I didn't enjoy the first book in this series, but I bought all four of them at once, so I thought I'd made a big mistake. However, I saw that this one was highly rated on Goodreads, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was much better than the first! Even though I
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jumped over the second and went straight to the third, the story was still easy to follow.

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!
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LibraryThing member mom2lnb
In all honesty, I approached Devil in Winter with a mixture of enthusiasm and trepidation. I was excited by the prospect of reading a book that had been so highly praised, but at the same time, all the hype made me anxious. In my experience, a book that has so many ardent fans can either be a
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sure-fire winner or a huge disappointment. I had also finished It Happened One Autumn feeling a little skeptical about the possibility of redeeming a character whose villainous actions had made me go from mostly liking him to really disliking him in very short order, but I figured if anyone could make me like St. Vincent again, it would be Lisa Kleypas. Unfortunately, I finished Devil in Winter feeling that Ms. Kleypas did not fully accomplish that redemption (at least not in my eyes), and therefore the story as a whole ended up being something of a let-down to me. Of course, this makes me very keenly aware that I'm now part of a very small minority who was not wowed by this book and its hero, so I'll be ducking all the rotten tomatoes from St. Vincent fans as I continue with the rest of my review.;-)

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.
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LibraryThing member thatotter
I thought St. Vincent was a good character, clever and sexy.

Awards

AAR Top 100 Romances (#7 — Most Recent Rank - 2007)

Original language

English

Original publication date

2006-02-28

Physical description

368 p.; 4.19 inches

ISBN

006056251X / 9780060562519
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