There was just too much going on in this book. Insta-love, amnesia, secret parentage, an assassination plot. So much soapy drama, I just couldn't get into it.

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.

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).

I tend to forget how much I enjoy the stories of Lisa Kleypas until I pick another one up to read. She knows how to weave a story that draws the reader in and makes them feel like they are part of the story. As it opens up, we meet Lady Merritt Sterling, widow. We next encounter Kier MacRae, a rough fellow from Scotland. Hmm, can we say attraction? Why, yes we can! Of course, there are issues. She is definitely a lady and well, he is a little rough around the edges to say the least. Will they smooth those edges out? Will she take a walk on the dark side? Only way to find out is to read this story or love, intrigue and mystery to find out!

I loved this book and thought it was a great addition to the fabulous Ravenels series. I really hope we get more books in this series that are second generations of characters we love.

I reviewed this book in a YouTube video. The link to the video is below!:)

Devil In Disguise by Lisa Kleypas is such a strong entry into the Ravenels series. I'll admit, it's been awhile since I picked up a book from this historical romance series. However, I loved this audiobook. The story opens with Lady Merritt Sterling who is a widow running her late husband's shipping company dealing with an incident involving Keir MacRae, who is Scottish and runs a distillery. Merritt promises to make it up to Keir and the two collaborate. Meanwhile, someone is trying to kill Keir for some reason. And so, the two are thrown together a lot but also trying to resist each other. 

I really liked the plotting of this book. It felt like there wasn't way too much going on which I appreciate. There were threads that were very easy to follow. We also got appearances from characters from the other Ravenel books. Keir learns the reality of his birth and who his birth parents are. We also see why someone is trying to take him out. Oh, and Merritt is amazing, I loved her. The audiobook is narrated by Mary Jane Wells who makes the 9 hours and 9 minutes go by so fast. If you are looking to get into historical romance, Lisa Kleypas is classic for a reason.

I can’t explain how much I love this book. First of all, it’s always wonderful to see the original wallflowers. I love the fact that we are now seeing their kids love stories. It’s such an interesting story with a widow, who is wealthy and from an aristocratic, family falling in love with a whiskey distiller. There are secrets revealed that affect previous beloved characters. But even with all of the intrigue, the love story takes center stage. This was such a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

I have been reading Lisa Kleypas's work for years, she is one of my go-to authors when it comes to this genre and true I haven't read one for a while now (way too long which is embarrassing) but whenever I do pick up an LK book I just know that I am going to be whisked away and this one is no different!!

I do have to admit that as much as I did love Devil in Disguise, I hate to say that it's not up there with my favourite LK books, but it's still a stocking great read, it has everything we Kleypas readers have come to love with her work;

Exciting plot!
Swoon-worthy heroes!
Lovable heroines!
Gorgeous setting!
Atmospheric and sexy scenes!
Glorious historical detail!
What more could you want?

But despite all of that, this does feel as though it was lacking something, it didn't seem to have the old Kleypas magic which we have all become accustomed to, maybe it s just me and that my reading tastes have changed over the years. But this is certainly not a Hathaway or Wallflower book (and no hero can replace Rhys in my eyes) but I do think this will appeal to loyal fans and for those who have yet to discover the wonder that is Lisa Kleypas, I think this would be a good start, even though it is book seven in the series I don't see why you couldn't read them as stand-alone, after all, I haven't read all of the Ravenels and still enjoyed this.

I do love a historical romance. Not entirely "historical," but definitely fun. The romance really took a while to win me over (not really one for "insta-love"), but overall I really enjoyed this book. The characters were fun and I really liked the character of Merritt.

Widowed Meritt Sterling has taken over her late husband’s shipping business and falls for a client: Scotsman Keir MacRae. Their chemistry is immediate and off the charts. I did find the lust at first sight believable, as she seems to have had a healthy relationship with her late husband and knows what she’s missing out on. I appreciated the female gaze in this book. At any rate, she tries to resist as she’s trying to avoid scandal…and he seems to have a price on his head.

This is a suspenseful, passionate tale. The writing is impeccable; MacCrae’s description of scotch whiskey will have you craving a wee dram for yourself. The characters are fiesty, the setting feels historically accurate, and savvy readers will probably figure out the plot twist pretty quickly. I haven’t read all of the other books in the series, and didn’t feel like I was missing out.

I did listen to the audiobook as well; narrator Mary Jane Wells goes effortlessly from patrician British to Scots brogue to flat American accents to give a sense of each character. The gorgeous, lush painterly cover is appealing but implies our heroine might be the namesake of the book.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #DevilInDisguise from #NetGalley.

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This is the 7th book in the Ravenels series. I am a huge fan of Lisa Kleypas writing style and am always impressed by how multifaceted her characters are. I was not disappointed in Merrit and Keir. Merrit is unconventional for her time, since she runs a shipping business. Keir and Merrit meet and there is a strong attraction, but they know that to avoid a scandal a relationship would not work. Then Kleypas throws an assassin into the mix and caution is thrown to the wind.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Kleypas' Wallflowers series.

I was provided an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review of the material.

I think this one is by far my favorite in the Ravenel series!!! Not that it had anything to do with the Ravenel family and more so with the original Wallflowers!!! So if you are a fan of the Wallflower series and haven't read any of the Ravenels then you'll be just fine with other characters being explained!!!! Also this is whirlwind romance with so much chemistry and passion I felt like it should be awarded a PHD!!!!!!!!!

After years of procrastinating, I finally read the Ravenels series, and what a fun ride it was! Devil in Disguise, feels a bit Ravenel-adjacent, but it fits well within the broader Lisa Kleypas universe. Like any good Lisa Kleypas novel, there is romance, action, and a character on his deathbed who must be nursed back to health by his one true love. Overall, a very fun and swoony-worth read!

Having not read the previous books in this series, I didn't get any lift from the character cameos that were made, but other that that, this book can be read as a standalone.

This is a spicy romance between a Scottish mystery man and an English woman who isn't afraid to go after what she wants.

There was a lot of time spent with these side characters that I found a distraction from the story and actually made me a little bored, wondering if I wanted to continue on.

I would say this is an OK standalone but probably a better series read.

It is another great Kleypas romance. I love returning to the world of the Wallflowers, and it is always great revisiting Evie and Sebastion's love story.

This book is the seventh in the series. I really look forward to reading this series. The characters were great and I didn't want the story to end. Recommended!

Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels #7). By Lisa Kleypas. 2021. Avon (ARC eBook).

I never pass up reading historical romances by Lisa Kleypas. They are delightful and swoonworthy adventures. I enjoyed the mashup of unconventional characters from her other books and series as Lady Merritt Sterling and Keir MacRae navigate business dealings, dangers, families and their passion!

Thank you for the opportunity to review-I enjoyed this story and loved the characters! I will be going back and reading the additional books of the series!

I've been a Ravenels stan from the very beginning, so of course I was thrilled to read an early copy of this one. a At first glance, it hits a lot of my favorite tropes - rough-and-rugged Scottish hero, characters on the run, etc.

That being said, it definitely was not my favorite Lisa Kleypas book, nor my favorite in the Ravenels series. Nothing "bad" per se, and certainly nothing to prevent me from reading any future installments in the series.

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A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.

Very cute and sexy. I always enjoy a Lisa Kleypas novel and this follows the success and style of her previous books which I also enjoyed. Always a pleasure in reading her books.