Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers (The Ravenels, 5) Mass Market Paperback – February 19, 2019

"Phoebe had never met West Ravenel, but she knew one thing for certain: He was a mean, rotten bully."FINAL DECISION: I loved this book. I finished in in one sitting (stayed up late at night) and then immediately began to re-reading passages. Phoebe and West are so sweet and sexy together, and I loved the story of West having to overcome his past -- mostly in forgiving himself and trusting in the future.THE STORY: Phoebe, Lady Clare, is a widow with two small children. When her family attends her brother's wedding, Phoebe encounters West Ravenel who she has never met but knows all about. West was the childhood bully of Phoebe's beloved husband. Despite Phoebe's dislike of West's actions, she can't help but be attracted to the charming West. West realizes that his past makes him completely unworthy of Phoebe even as he cannot stop thinking about her.OPINION: The story of two people who have an instant connection, but any romance is threatened by West's past. I loved this book and the characters, and it will be one that I will put on my keeper's shelf.West Ravenel is a man who is just beginning to put his life right. In the two years since he has taken over managing his brother's estate West have been seen by all as a compassionate, intelligent, thoughtful and hardworking man. But West has a past. Before finding his purpose, West was a wastrel on all accounts. He drank too much, slept with too many women, caused fights and generally just behaved poorly.  When he meets Phoebe, he sees her as completely above him. What she needs is a decent man who will be good to her sons and will be a role model. West knows that he cannot be that man because of his past.Phoebe is a widow with two young sons. She married the love of her life, her childhood friend, and now out of mourning, she is ready to return to the family estate and protect her son's legacy. When she meets West at her brother's wedding, she is determined not to like him because he was the bully of her husband when they were children. But Phoebe cannot help but see the good in West -- his kindness with her children, his respect for her intelligence by being willing to teach her about estate management.This story is really about West and his demons and his inability to see himself clearly. He knows what he has done in his past and he cannot bring himself to forgive his own actions. To West, he is always on the precipice of being the drunk, bully, untrustworthy man he was. I loved seeing so many other people try and make West see that he is worthy of being loved, of having a full life with a wife and family of his own.Readers of the Ravenels series know of West's journey. Through the four prior books, he has become the rock and support of the other characters. I loved seeing him get a happy ending of his own after helping others get theirs.Another thing that really worked for me here is how Kleypas shows West as a supporter of Phoebe's taking charge of her life and her son's estate. He supports her -- he doesn't take over and become her protector. Instead, he values her for who she is and acknowledges her opinions and intelligence. Indeed, West's final capitulation to love in some ways a surrender to Phoebe's view of him and their possible future.Phoebe is a woman coming into her own. The death of her beloved husband has changed her and this book is about her finding out who she is going to be. A strong and compassionate woman (who else could the eldest daughter of Sebastian and Evie be), Phoebe was the strength in caring for her ill husband and now she is using that strength to protect her children. Despite her prejudices about West when they meet, she sees who he really is and is willing to put her judgment aside.This book is also pretty hot between West and Phoebe but everything is grounded deeply in their relationship.What really tips this book over the top is the number of characters from this series and the Wallflower series that make appearances. This book feels really grounded in the relationships between the characters. I am a sucker for appearances by favorite characters (and we even get a bit of Gabriel and Pandora's wedding itself).This series has been a real winner for me, and this book is a great addition.WORTH MENTIONING: Can I fall even more in love with Sebastian from DEVIL IN WINTER? He is simply adorable at the matchmaking dad here. But he is always the scandalous rake and I love, love, love that Kleypas allows Sebastian and Evie to continue to have a loving and sexual relationship even as grandparents.CONNECTED BOOKS: DEVIL'S DAUGHTER is the fifth book in the Ravenels series.  This book is much better if read as part of the series, but a new reader should also include DEVIL IN WINTER which is from Kleypas's Wallflowers series.  At the very least, a reader should read DEVIL IN WINTER, DEVIL IN SPRING before this book.STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

Had long been awaiting this book—because I long await all Lisa Kleypas books! I ended up enjoying the book a lot, though it is definitely not my favorite LK book. Also not crazy about the cover or the book title, but those are asides.Overall, both West and Phoebe are terrific characters and I loved the dynamic between them. West is a great hero—hardworking, caring, passionate, sweet. And I loved that we see Phoebe kind of come into herself (again) after having been shut-up following losing her husband—and even with him, it seems like she had to suppress a little bit of herself. I loved her strength and that she's such an active pursuer of West once she decides on it.I think my biggest hang-up was that everything seemed a bit too easy ...? Now, it's a careful balance for authors to achieve, because there obviously has to be some obstacle, otherwise there's no book and nothing preventing the HEA from happening immediately. On the other hand, we don't like for the obstacles to be too over-the-top (which they can sometimes get to be when the villain gets out of hand) or not believable.In this instance, it's basically West who is the obstacle to them getting together, because he's convinced that he's not good enough for Phoebe or her sons and that his past escapades and scandals will harm them now and/or in the future. To me, it felt like a bit of a stretch; part of it might be because West is so different now, so it's kind of hard to imagine how bad he much have previously been to warrant such a reaction. I also didn't read either Cold-Hearted Rake or Hello Stranger (I know, I know—I own them, but life happened and I never got to them). Given this, and since West appears in both of these books quite a bit (I believe), it may have been that had I read those books, I would have better appreciated his transformation and his reluctance. Generally speaking though, I think it's usually better for these books to be able to stand on their own, so it would be a shame if the only way to fully appreciate West and his reluctance would be if you had read those two books.Don't know whose story is next, but I look forward to it! Am really hoping we get to Tom Severin soon, because he seems like such an intriguing hero and I can't wait to see what type of heroine takes him down!!!EXCERPT[ "You seem marriageable enough to me.”“Not for you,” he said without thinking, and immediately regretted it as he saw her face. “I didn’t mean—”“I see.” Her voice could have sliced a green apple. “You desire me only as a mistress and not a wife. Is that it?”The conversation was not going at all in the direction West had expected. “Neither,” he said hastily. “I mean, both.” He wasn’t making sense. “Damn it!” After a hard swallow, he turned ruthlessly, painfully sincere. “Phoebe, you’ve always been sheltered from men like me. You’ve never had to face the consequences of someone else’s sordid past. I wouldn’t do that to you, or the boys. They need a father to live up to, not one they would have to live down. As for me—I’m not meant for marriage. And if I were, I’d never take a wife so far above me in every way. I’m aware of how small-minded that is, but even men with small minds know their limits.”“I’m not above you,” Phoebe protested.“You’re too perfect to be entirely human. You belong to some higher order—not quite an angel, but close. No woman in my life, before or after you, will ever thrill me as you do. I don’t know what to call this. But I do know you should be worshipped by a man who’s earned the right—and that man is not me.” He paused. “I’ll take the cat now.”“Wh-what?” Phoebe asked dazedly.“The cat. Put her in a basket and I’ll take her back to the barn. Unless you want to keep her.”“No, I . . . thank you, no, but—”“Go get her. I’ll wait.”Seeming disoriented, Phoebe disappeared, leaving the door ajar. Soon she returned with a large, lidded basket, a few plaintive mewls slipping through the woven reeds.West took it from her. “When you leave, I won’t be there to see the carriage off. I can’t. If I try to say good-bye, I’m sure to do something that would embarrass us both.”“Wait,” Phoebe began, sounding breathless, “I need to ask—”West didn’t want to hear whatever it was. He couldn’t bear it. Keeping the basket tucked in one arm, he reached out with his free hand, clasped the soft nape of her neck, and kissed her. He felt her lips tremble beneath his. The delicious warmth of her response stole through him, melting through the frozen despair. Finally, he could take a deep breath again. He savored her full, sweet mouth, pulling and teasing the silkiness, stealing as much of her taste as he could. He wanted to spend years kissing her. Instead he finished with a strong nudge and let go of her.“Let’s forget about that one too,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse. And he left her while he was still able, carrying away the protesting cat in the basket. ]

I loved it! Kept me interested, read it in just a few hours. Love scenes were perfectly descriptive, and seductive.

I finally read everyone’s favorite Ravenel man, West, and it was such a good time.I absolutely adored West and Phoebe (and her children and her cat). West is so funny and charismatic, and boy do I LOVE a reformed rake. Phoebe is a really good heroine. She’s strong and smart and willing to do whatever she needs to do to provide for her children and give them the best life possible. I loved seeing her confidence grow and her really come into her own throughout this book. Her backstory with her husband was really sad, but I was glad to see her and West both get their HEA. Their chemistry was great, and I felt like I was flying through this book dying for them to get together. Also, I loved how naturally West took to Phoebe’s children. He will, no doubt, make such a good dad.I ended up rating this one 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars. My reason for deducting half a star was that I felt like the end was a little rushed and I would’ve loved to see some groveling from West. I also would’ve liked a little more time spent with Phoebe and West together towards the end and less time spent with them talking to other characters. But overall, I enjoyed the ride and am so glad I finally read this book and got to see what all the hype is about.

It was great to see the wallflowers characters in this book. Devil in winter was my favorite. West and Pandora also walked by other stories and it was lovely seeing them finding each other in this one.

Enjoyed the whole series :)Nice story line and different.Definitely recommendLisa keypad is a gifted writerI enjoy most of her books

I laughed a lot reading this. TIt was nice to see a Female protagonist who 5akes charge of the relationship

I like that Phoebe is stronge and balanced and follows Hera heart, I really like West for me just his plot sounds a little loose for me

West Revenel's past was filled with unpleasantness. Drunkness, philandering and abandonment issues have lead him to believe that he doesn't deserve the love of a good woman. When he meets Phoebe, a widow, his attraction to her has him struggling. Can the love of a good woman be the redemption he needs?