DEVIL IN WINTER

(The Wallflowers #3)

Lisa Kleypas

BLURB

“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.

★★★★

FOUR POINT FIVE STARS

THE HUSBAND HUNTERS ARE BACK!
In London (1843) a pact is made between 4 wallflowers. They will help each other find husbands starting with the oldest and working down to the youngest.

(1) Annabelle is the oldest of the pact. Married – first book.
(2) Lillian is a rich American who has not acclimated to England.
(3) Evie is painfully shy and stutters.
(4) Daisy is the younger sister to Lillian.

Evie is in a predicament where her relatives are going to marry her off to her cousin so when her father dies his wealth will stay within the family. She’s not fond of her relatives because they are mean to her and have kept her from being with her dying father.

Impulsively, Evie asks the rake Viscount St. Vincent (Sebastian) to marry her to avoid being married to her cousin. To her delight, he agrees to this marriage of convenience. Because of the situation, Evie is not concerned about his faithfulness. But like any good rake on his way to being reformed he wants to prove he can be a one-woman-man. To have him prove himself Evie tells him no sex for 3 months after the wedding night. He’s up for the challenge.

I really enjoyed listening to this audio. Evie’s growth from an intimidated young woman to a strong woman not afraid to speak her mind happened gradually over the course of the book. At the beginning of the book, you notice Evie stutters a lot but part way through you forget that she ever had that issue prior.

I was all ready to read Devil in Spring book 3 in The Ravenels Series when I found out the hero is the son of Evie & Sebastian from this book. Even though it’s not necessary to first read this book before reading Devil in Spring I figured I would go ahead and read it. Ms. Kleypas writes her books so they can be read as standalones but if you want you can read them in order to see how other characters in series join into the stories. I’ve heard Cam from this book (Devil in Winter) is the hero in Mine till Midnight. I’m looking forward to reading about him after meeting him in this book. I only have one wallflower left to read about before I can move onto Cam’s book.

If you like historical romance then this series is a great one to read.

SERIES:

Can be read as standalones but it’s recommended reading the series in order.
Prequel:

(#0.5)
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Wallflowers series is followed by The Hathaway series:

Can be read as standalones but it’s recommended reading the series in order.
Novella:

(#2.5)