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Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers
Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers
Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers
Audiobook8 hours

Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers

Written by Lisa Kleypas

Narrated by Mary Jane Wells

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

2020 Audie Winner – Romance

Although beautiful young widow Phoebe, Lady Clare, has never met West Ravenel, she knows one thing for certain: he’s a mean, rotten bully. Back in boarding school, he made her late husband’s life a misery, and she’ll never forgive him for it. But when Phoebe attends a family wedding, she encounters a dashing and impossibly charming stranger who sends a fire-and-ice jolt of attraction through her. And then he introduces himself...as none other than West Ravenel.

West is a man with a tarnished past. No apologies, no excuses. However, from the moment he meets Phoebe, West is consumed by irresistible desire...not to mention the bitter awareness that a woman like her is far out of his reach. What West doesn’t bargain on is that Phoebe is no straitlaced aristocratic lady. She’s the daughter of a strong-willed wallflower who long ago eloped with Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent—the most devilishly wicked rake in England.

Before long, Phoebe sets out to seduce the man who has awakened her fiery nature and shown her unimaginable pleasure. Will their overwhelming passion be enough to overcome the obstacles of the past?

Only the devil’s daughter knows…

Editor's Note

Audie Award winner…

If you’re not reading Lisa Kleypas’ The Ravenels series, do you even know what love is? In this installment, West Ravenel meets his match with the widow Phoebe, who’s trying hard to remember to hate West for his past deeds. “Devil’s Daughter” was named the best romance audiobook production of the year at the 2020 Audie Awards.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateFeb 19, 2019
ISBN9780062908858
Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers
Author

Lisa Kleypas

New York Times Lisa Kleypas graduated from Wellesley College with a political science degree. Her historical romance and contemporary women’s fiction novels are published in forty different languages, and are bestsellers all over the world. Currently she lives in Southern California with her husband Gregory.

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Reviews for Devil's Daughter

Rating: 4.4330900243309 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

411 ratings23 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Brilliant. Loved every second. Love West, slay from the fact that he put himself down so much, when he turned out to be such a lovely guy. Loved having Sebastian in the story as well. Cant get enough of him.
    In fact can't get enough of both these families.
    Mary Jane wells was brilliant as usual.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Love West, but the story could have used a bit more substance.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wes is my favorite Ravenel. I am glad that he finally find someone worth it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing book! One of my favorite authors. I wish the story of Claire and West continued ❤️
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    West is my favorite Ravenal. I very much enjoyed this book but I felt that the conflict (West concerns about his past) was not very credible. I would give the first half of the book 5 stars, the second half 3 stars. I loved the interaction between West and the kids. I loved the back story between West and Phoebe's husband. I thought that the West in the second half was not true to character. That being said, I love the West and I love Lisa Kleypas. I give this book a four.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So beautiful, so utterly gripping and oh, the angst was perfectly heart wrenching. The narrator's voice was the perfect accompaniment, so well adjusted to the characters that it breathed more life into them. I love St Vincent, and the narrator's voice modulation was just perfect, just as i had always pictured St Vincent's voice to be.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Great story. A bit to much description in a few of the scenes to listen too.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved this book. I will be happy to read Sebastian the Duke’s story. He seemed like an interesting guy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved It! If you enjoy reading historical romance, you'll love this novel about a widow and a reformed rake.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Loved a lot of this but I really wanted West to man up on his own. Pheobe was so strong..I wanted her to make him chase her.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So glad that West got his HEA with Phoebe as he’s one of my favorite characters. I do wish the end hadn’t been quite so abrupt but it worked out as we already saw how well they live together when he visited her in Essex. All these later Ravenel books are interesting as they overlap and sometimes run parallel to each other.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    West has been one of my favourite characters in this series so I was delighted to have a book focus on him. I did really enjoy it though I felt like not much happened in the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Kleypas does an excellent job, especially in The Ravenels series, of creating characters that leave an impression. Even having read the rest of the series a while ago, I could pick up with these characters pretty much where I left off with them without having to jog my brain to dredge up all the forgotten characters and story lines. This was a delightful read.

    2nd read- This is perhaps 4.5 stars rounded up. I quite like both leads though and the way things unfolded. The characters clung to the notion that they couldn't possibly have a future together longer than I care for, but overall it was good.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    3.3 starsAs Justin crouched to stare at the carving more closely, a glass marble dropped out of his pocket and hit the inlaid parquet floor. Dismayed, Phoebe and Justin watched the little sphere roll away rapidly. But its momentum was brought to an abrupt halt as the dark-haired man pinned it with the tip of his shoe in a display of perfect timing. As he finished his conversation, he bent to pick up the marble. The housekeeper bustled away, and the man turned his attention to Phoebe and Justin.Kleypas writing can be such a soothing balm to my soul. I talked about this in a reading update but the way she gives me those feelings of anticipation, giddy, excitement when our leads meet is just chef's kiss. brought to an abrupt halt as the dark-haired man pinned it with the tip of his shoe and the man turned his attention to Phoebe and Justin this is the moment where romance readers know these two are about to have their lives changed and it is on. I loved it, had me smiling like a dork. I wanted more moments with Phoebe and her parents together and separately, but I'm a freak for Devil in Winter so I'll never get enough of reading about Evie and Sebastian. Phoebe was a little quiet as a character and I wish we could have seen her coming out of her shell earlier as toward the end we saw her starting to emerge a little. With a faint curve of his mouth, West reached up to touch the low brim of his hat. Then he was out of sight.West had some sexy devil moments but I also thought he was a little washed out, he didn't want to scare Phoebe off but could he have gritted his teeth for me?Muttering beneath his breath, he paced away from her, swung around, and returned to her with heightened color and a scowl. “I’m haunted by you,” he said brusquely. “I can’t seem to stop looking for you everywhere I go."We do get a scowl and fan yourself line, I mean, I'm haunted by you. *Wheezes*. Kleypas' writing has built me back up from a very empty tank for Regency/Victorian romance, even though this wasn't my favorite by her. These two were more quiet and I would love a novella of them, in say, their 20th year of marriage because I think they would use that time to grow together very well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was really good and I am now caught up on this series!

    I had been looking forward to West's book ever since he was introduced. He seemed like a character that would be really interesting to know more about. I did like him in this. He's wasn't my favorite hero of this series, I think that would be Gabriel, but I did really like reading more about him. There wasn't as much about his rake-like past as I was expecting and I would have liked to have seen more about that. This premise of this book is that Phoebe knows that West was a bully to her dead husband when they were in school. I thought that would be a bit more central to the main story but it was resolved a bit quicker than I was expecting.

    Phoebe was also a really interesting character. She's a widowed mother, which is new to this series and it was fun to see how West treated her children. I liked her plot of rethinking what he previous marriage was like in a way that didn't cause her to hate her husband or anything but still opened her eyes to other possibilities. She says at one point that her only interest was her children and that really seemed true to the point that I wanted her to have another hobby. She does start to take an interest in managing her estate, which becomes a major plot point, but that's only at the urging of West and not something she brings to the relationship herself.

    There isn't really an external plot until about halfway through the book. The first half is just Phoebe and West getting to know each other at Pandora's wedding. I didn't mind this because I enjoyed those getting to know each other parts and I enjoyed the way the plot moved at the end. I liked seeing Phoebe become more assertive and I enjoyed the little bit of action at the end. I always appreciate a little bit of peril in my romances so it was a fun end for me.

    I'm excited to be caught up with this series and I'm looking forward to book seven. I hope I can also dive in to some of Kleypas' other series. I really like her writing and characters and so far everything I've read has worked for me and hopefully that will continue.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm pretty fond of Lisa Kleypas' historical romances and in particular anything that has to do with her Wallflowers series. With Sebastian and Evie being one of my favorite romantic duos ever, I was excited to see a book about the romance of their oldest daughter.This book did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the romance between Phoebe and West. I thought they had good chemistry and enjoyed the book as a whole. I loved the addition of the children and "Galoshes" to the mix. Although it isn't an absolute "favorite" I'm very happy to have this story.I know I've read at least one of the other Ravenel romances (West's brother's romance), but I had a hard time remembering it. I may try other ones of this particular series in the future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Imagine me hovering between 3&4 stars. This book felt too strong for 3, but there were some choices I didn't love, along with others I did.

    Also: excuse typos. I'm on my phone and away.

    Shall I get the most controversial piece out of the way first? If West and Phoebe are sharing pages with Sebastian and Evie, proceed with caution. Phoebe and West started strong enough characters to do that, but in the end although I liked those bits Sebastian was constantly upstaging West. Call me crazy, but I want the hero to be the hero in his own book. Especially because West is no slouch.

    Second issue: did the characters ever discuss anything other than each other with side characters? If they did, I don't remember it. Maybe there was some stuff on land management or something, but side relationships were quite weak and relied on previous novels.

    Third issue: West's hesitation over his worthiness went on too long. If we aren't looking his mistakes in the face and they are two years in the past, it's ok to feature them as a baby bit. Instead, they became the tired conflict of every hero. In the end, I loved Phoebe's approach to this. (And also what she says)

    Speaking of Phoebe. In prior books, she felt a little more like her father in humor at least. It didn't shine here. I actually would've loved to see a little more of her relationship to her parents.

    The external conflict got a little messy. It was fine, but it was never a source of tension for me as a reader.

    Now the good, which is much more fun, am I right?

    The witty banter is back. Their first longer conversation in this book was fabulous. (And where she did smack of that prior Phoebe)

    Henry, and everyone's relationship to Henry. Phoebe really loved Henry. There aren't really comparisons, just respect.

    The kids. I know you all don't like kids in your romances, but I do, and I loved seeing the characters interact. It was also one of the things that made Phoebe's desire for West hard to ignore, and I think that really worked. Because it works for me too. There were lots of great moments featuring them.

    Generally, West.

    Also generally, Phoebe. She felt like a strong lead born and operating in her time. I won't say there was nothing outside that, but nothing as egregious as Garrett to my horribly unrefined HR eyes. In fact, was it just me or was her interest in managing the estate meet with more resistance than Garrett as a practicing physician?

    Even though West's presence was swallowed whole and I was kind of annoyed, one if the final chapters and particularly with Sebastian giving permission that wasn't requested

    I liked that Phoebe, in the end, was the architect of her own future. I think this might have been the choice in making her a widow, but it was really wonderful.

    The little nods: there were a few-to Sebastian and Evie. It want overdone but there were a couple.

    the shaving scene would easily be added to be favorite acts of love, on both their parts

    And for crying out loud, that book.

    It was solid. But it wasn't magic. It was underscored by a slightly weak external conflict and the characters didn't feel like they or their relationship had a lot of breathing room, but it, for me, felt like a reminder of why I read this author, particularly because this novel, while not her best, felt like growth. And maybe that's my issue with this series (growth often looks like a set back). But I didn't have it here. I do think it deserved 50 more pages, and it could've been magic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a wonderfully entertaining period romance. I'd never read any of Lisa Kleypas's books before, but after reading this one, I'm going to go back and start at #1 of the Ravenels series. This one stands alone just fine, if you haven't read the previous four.Lady Clare (Phoebe), a young widow with two young sons, attends a family wedding and meets a devilishly handsome and charming man who ignites in her feelings that she hasn't felt since before she became a widow two years prior. Phoebe later discovers that the man is none other than West Ravenel, who had attended boarding school with her late husband Henry and was the bully who had made Henry miserable. Determined to hate him, Phoebe tries futilely to tamp down her attraction to him. Can enemies become friends -- or more?Kleypas is an excellent writer, infusing her characters with depth and plenty of humor -- sometimes unexpected and laugh-out-loud funny. (For example, in describing a porter's uniform, Kleypas writes, "Very discreet and simple, tailored for ease of movement. It looked like a uniform for killing people.") I laughed out loud at that unexpected sentence. The book is peppered with such humor and witty repartee between characters. Presented in equal measures from Phoebe's and West's points of view, the book allows the reader to get into the minds and hearts of both the hero and the heroine. And there were no annoying exaggerations of stereotype. I also like the thought and care that Kleypas takes with the supporting characters, especially Phoebe's father Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent.Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When Lisa Kleypas is really on she is simply best in class, and here she is really on. I loved Phoebe and West. Their relationship was so sweet. Yes they were beautiful and very sexy, but also people of substance. This is part of the Ravenels series and Wallflowers. Both have been mostly very strong, but bringing them together creates some lively synergies.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sebastian and Evie are two of my favorites. This book is about their daughter Phoebe who sadly doesn't seem to have inherited their 'better' qualities, being more of a milksop. Now a widow with two small boys, she meets West Ravenel at her brother's wedding. West was a rake but now runs his brother's estates. Honestly, they're both a little disappointing in the beginning.However, they seem to get it together about halfway through the book and finally acknowledge their sexy attraction to each other. There was some Sebastian and others of the Challons and Ravenels to add to the story, but there's too much dithering between the hero and heroine. I'd give it a 3 1/2 stars.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another great story revolving around the Ravenels. I love this series. This is West's turn and it's a little flashback to Pandora's wedding when West first meets Lady Phoebe Clare. It was love at first sight but his reaction was "she's out of my league." She learns that he was the hated childhood bully of her late husband but as the manager of the Ravenels lands he has information to help her with her son's inheritance which is currently being mismanaged by her late husband's cousin. He comes running when she calls for help and goes after what she wants. I'm calling it . . . the next book has to be about Cassandra and my guess is that Tom Severin is going to fall hard for Lady Cassandra.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the second book I have read in this series. I thoroughly enjoyed the prior novel with the humor and engaging characters. Thus, I was looking forward to reading this book. Sadly, I did not enjoy this one as much. While, I liked both Phoebe and West; I did not get the same fun banter as I did from the prior novel. Although, I did still like this book. In regards, to historical romance fiction novels go, I am slowly becoming a fan of this author and series. While at times this was a slow read for me; other times it went by fast. So I would say it was middle of the road. Yet, I was transported back in time. Phoebe is no wallflower and West is a gentleman. He is better than his reputation. These two did share nice chemistry. Overall, this is a fun read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a wonderful romance this book turned out to be! I have been a huge fan of Lisa Kleypas for a long time and this book was a perfect example of the quality of her storytelling. I was swept away by Phoebe and West's story. This is the fifth book in the Ravenels series but it works well as a stand-alone. Longtime readers of Kleypas will enjoy getting the chance to catch up with some well-loved characters. This is a book that I went into with incredibly high expectations and I am pleased to report that they were all met.Phoebe is a widow and mother of two young sons. At the start of the story, she goes to the Ravenal estate for her brother's wedding. Soon after arriving, her path crossed with West Ravenal and sparks fly. Phoebe knows that West is the one that bullied her deceased husband when they were children and has no wish to get close to him. Phoebe does need to learn some skills to help her run the estate that her son will inherit and West is more than happy to teach her what he knows.I adored West in the previous book in this series so I was thrilled to find that he would take the lead in this story. He was such a capable man and I loved how natural he was with Phoebe and her children. He was highly thought of by everyone but himself. Phoebe had been married to a very tame and proper man. She had always done her best to be a good wife and didn't ask too many questions. I really enjoyed seeing Phoebe start to reach for the things she wanted out of life and stop trying to meet everyone else's expectations. Phoebe's oldest child, Justin, was such a fun child and loved how big a part of the story he was.I thought that West and Phoebe were perfect together. The chemistry was there between them from the start of the book and it grew throughout the story. There were quite a few really hot scenes between the pair. I think that what I liked best about these two was how real they were together. They were able to show their true selves to each other and as they did their connection grew. I really enjoyed the scenes with Phoebe, West, and her children that illustrated how they were growing into a family. It was just a joy to watch these two find their happily ever after.I highly recommend this book to others. This was a fantastic romance filled with wonderful characters that you couldn't help but fall in love with. I can't wait to read more from Lisa Kleypas!I received a review copy of this book from HarperCollins - Avon.