REVIEW: Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
B Reviews / Book Reviewsaristocrats / Business woman / historical romance / Victorian England / virgin19 Comments
Dear Ms. Kleypas,
Having read both Cold-Hearted Rake and Marrying Winterborne within the past year or two, I was eager for Devil in Spring. The pretty cover and the connection to your past book, Devil in Winter, didn’t hurt, either.
Lady Pandora Ravenel and Gabriel, Lord St. Vincent, meet when she gets trapped in an openwork settee while attempting to retrieve a diamond earring for her chaperone’s daughter. Before her dress snags on the settee’s acanthus scrolls, Pandora is bored, bored, bored, but once Gabriel shows up and attempts to free her, only to be interrupted by two gentlemen, things quickly get all too interesting.
One of the gentlemen, Lord Westcliff, is willing to look the other way. Unfortunately, his companion, Lord Chaworth, has an ax to grind with Gabriel’s father and soon, Gabriel and Pandora are entangled in a scandal.
But Pandora is the last woman whom Gabriel should marry, since he is heir to a duke and she has none of the accomplishments that a duchess needs to have. Furthermore, Pandora has no desire to marry anyone. Her ambition is to run a board game company and given the property laws of the era, marriage would mean handing over control of her budding business to her husband.
Pandora’s guardian, Devon, assures her that she won’t be forced into marriage. Gabriel’s father, Sebastian, tells Gabriel that another husband can be found for the young lady Gabriel has compromised. But Gabriel is attracted to Pandora, ambivalent rather than wholly reluctant, so his parents invite the Ravenels to their country home in Sussex.
Thus, Pandora and Gabriel are given a week to get to know each other, a week in which to make their decision. Each is drawn to the other. Can desire make up for Pandora’s lack of suitability? Can Pandora trust Gabriel never to interfere with her business if they marry? And if they take a leap of faith, will it all be smooth sailing after that?
Devil in Spring is a book that works wonderfully well as a romantic fantasy, but it departs from reality in ways that I found myself questioning. One of the biggest was the way Pandora’s inexperience of the world was portrayed. There were certain aspects of it that I could believe, but others that I had difficulty buying.
For example, Pandora seems intimidated at the thought of meeting Gabriel’s family because of their rank. Her first thought at the sight of their country house is that it’s “an imposing marble palace, inhabited by haughty aristocrats.”
This sounds like the viewpoint of a commoner. But Pandora herself is an aristocrat. Her sisters are aristocrats. Devon and Kathleen, her guardians, are aristocrats. Lady Berwick, her chaperone, is an aristocrat. Besides her servants and her brother-in-law Rhys, almost everyone she knows is a member of high society, so it doesn’t make sense that this would be what intimidates Pandora.
Pandora’s sheltered, almost abandoned childhood, too, is something I’ve always had difficulty buying. Even if her parents didn’t value girls, surely they would have wanted those girls to make marriages that reflected well on them (the parents)? Wouldn’t they have at the very least provided a governess and lessons in the basics, if only so that when the girls’ come-out time arrived, they could wash their hands of their daughters and not have to provide for them any longer?
Further, while I can perhaps believe that someone as sheltered as Pandora could design a successful board game (though I think it might take closer acquaintance with board games than she had in Cold-Hearted Rake, and more trial and error), that she would also be equipped to run her own board game manufacturing company is a bigger stretch. Running a company takes some savvy and knowledge of the world.
Pandora was so childlike for her age that when Gabriel said things like “Easy, child,” “Poor mite,” and “Let me […] tuck you in like a good little girl,” I wasn’t as irritated as I usually find myself when a heroine is infantilized. But I liked Pandora, and enjoyed her whimsy and her made-up words, which were humorous and endearing.
Gabriel was a somewhat easier character to buy than Pandora, though this may be because he is more typical of romance heroes than she is of romance heroines, rather than because men like him actually exist. Gabriel is urbane, charming, the heir to a duke, great in bed and unbelievably handsome—in short, on the right side of perfect.
Despite the title of the book, there’s almost nothing devilish about him; his one flaw, if you can call it that, is his prior affair with Mrs. Black, a married woman but one whose impotent husband was willing to turn a blind eye to the relationship.
Even this flaw is something Gabriel is deeply ashamed of. Gabriel only stayed in this relationship because he believed Mrs. Black was unusual in her willingness to indulge his kinks. After the big fuss that was made of whether or not Pandora would be willing to do the same, the scene that settled this question seemed anticlimactic in its gentleness.
Another of Gabriel’s conflicts was that as the heir to the dukedom, he will, upon inheriting, need a wife with all the social and household management skills that Pandora doesn’t possess. But this conflict is dropped without ever being resolved (unless you count his father Sebastian’s observation that Pandora could mature with time as a resolution; I don’t).
Late in the novel there’s also a suspense plot I was skeptical of:
Spoiler (Spoiler): Show
So what did I like about Devil in Spring? Quite a lot, actually. As I said, it works wonderfully well as a romantic fantasy, one in which love triumphs over all of the above.
Both Pandora and Gabriel are loveable, appealing characters. Pandora’s antics are amusing and Gabriel is lovely, kind and patient with Pandora. The two of them have good chemistry both in and out of bed. The sex scenes, though they depend on Pandora’s inexperience and Gabriel’s greater knowledge to work, are plenty hot.
More importantly, the romance is present. No part of it is skipped or missed—the meet cute, the reluctant attraction, the courtship, the falling-in-love, the trouble in paradise, the black moment, the resolution and the happy ending are all there, and most are executed very, very well.
Another thing I greatly appreciated was the fine writing (especially in Pandora’s viewpoint, where we get some delightfully whimsical metaphors that made me smile) and the attention to historical details, such as the department store, the railways, the discussion of the Married Women’s Property Act, and the medical stuff.
Speaking of the latter, as in Marrying Winterborne, Garrett Gibson, the intrepid female doctor, steals every scene she’s in. So does Sebastian, now the Duke of Kingston. It’s nice to visit with him and Evie, the couple from Devil in Winter, and I noticed that all their boys are named after angels, so maybe we’ll see more of Raphael and Michael (Ivo) in future books.
But the member of Gabriel’s family whom I am most interested in reading more about is Gabriel’s acerbic older sister, Phoebe. I really liked her, and after three books with virginal heroines and experienced heroes, I’d like to read about a widow with more worldliness.
As for Devil in Spring, I enjoyed it so much that I read it in one sitting. For that reason, it gets a B.
Sincerely,
Janine
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I also liked but didn’t absolutely love this book – but perhaps the bar was set too high. (Really – how can anything surpass Devil in Winter.) I would also like to see future books starring Garrett and Phoebe. I loved the glimpses of Sebastian and Evie, but what I really want (and know that I can never have) is another whole book with Sebastian and Evie when they are newly married, dealing with their growing family and his succession to the dukedom. And a few epilogues won’t do for me. Sigh.
oops, my proof reading skills are lacking today. Omit “those” before ‘Sebastian and Evie’.
Great review. I haven’t read Kleypas in a while but may give this a try. If it’s not too much of a spoiler, what are Gabriel’s kinks?
@andrea2: Garrett is such a great character. I’m really eager for her book. I don’t need more of Evie and Sebastian’s HEA, but I wouldn’t mind another hero in a similar vein to Sebastian.
@andrea2: I made the correction.
@Jennie: Good question. You know… after reading the whole book, I’m still not sure exactly what Gabriel’s kinks are! I think he was mainly looking for novelty, something to vary his sex life, and Pandora’s newness to sexual experiences provided that for the most part. The only slightly kinky scene in the book involved light bondage, but there was a sense that Gabriel and Pandora’s future might hold more than that.
I haven’t read much Kleypas (the first one I read I hated hated hated) but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Ravenel series on audio. I expect the stellar narration helped my enjoyment along but I found Pandora a delight and Gabriel’s wholehearted devotion to her was fab too.
You’re right about the plot point re Pandora’s household skills being dropped. I guess I assumed they would just make do with secretaries and assistants etc. I liked that in order to have Pandora as his wife, Gabriel had to completely reframe his ideas of what marriage looked like and how things should be done. This is so rare in romance, even contemporaries, that I was all “girl power!” with this one. LOL
I did get a copy of Devil in Winter to read because I’ve a feeling I need that book in my life.
I absolutely adored this book, and the bar is set pretty high for me since I’ve read all the other Kleypas historicals! I felt like there were a couple of things I’d have liked to have seen tied up a little better, but on the whole I really enjoyed the hell out of it.
Will definitely look for this since I LOVE “Devil in Winter” and have reread it more times than I care to admit.
@Kaetrin: I agree that Pandora was delightful, but she didn’t feel entirely real to me. Maybe she was too cute? It’s hard to articulate. Gabriel was lovely.
With regard to the skills thing, I thought what was needed was social skills in situations where a secretary or assistant might not be able to be present, such as dinner parties with important guests, etc. Pandora might be able to learn some skills with effort, but the book didn’t go in that direction. You’re absolutely right that Gabriel having to reframe his concept of marriage instead was romantic, but that’s one of the reasons why the book works well as a fantasy, yet requires suspension of disbelief.
I’m curious, what was the first Kleypas you read?
@Kitty: I enjoyed it a great deal too.
@Little Red: I hope you enjoy it!
@Kaetrin: I forgot to mention this before–I recommend at least reading It Happened One Autumn before Devil in Winter so you can get a sense of Sebastian’s transformation from villain to hero.
Janine! Excellent review…..Devil in Spring, the most anticipated historical of 2017 failed in my opinion. Too many plot devices and Pandora was just too naive and immature for my taste. I was very interested in Evie and Sebastian’s children though, they and Dr. Gibson intrigued me more than Pandora and Gabriel. While I was reading I was constantly questioning the author’s characterizations and direction….what was she thinking? Why? Why? Why? It was like sitting in the cinema and watching an “okay” film that “could’ve” been fantastic. The whole experience (for me) was very frustrating.
Thanks for your articulate review.
@mel burns: You’re welcome! Pandora’s immaturity was too extreme somehow, and I had a similarly questioning experience while reading the book to yours, but I still enjoyed it. I really like Kleypas’ way with words.
@Janine: Kleypas is one of the best for sure, which is why I was so frustrated. I did enjoy many moments of the story before they married, I liked Gabriel’s siblings, the arrival with the dog and the beach scenes were delightful.
I found Gabriel very bland, especially when compared to his father. I found Pandora a little over the top – or maybe a lot over the top – which gave the book a real sense of unreality. I know we’re talking fiction here, but I just didn’t find it believable.
I reread Devil in Winter again, just to cleanse my palate. I doubt I’ll be continuing this series, since I didn’t really care for the first two books. Now, if she writes a book about West, I’m all on board, despite my disappointment so far. I really took a liking to West. :-)
I loved Marrying Winterbourne and liked Pandora as a character in that book. But I didn’t warm to her as a heroine in this one. I agree she felt too young.
And I kept waiting for Gabriel to bring out the whips and chains. Good lord, how much did he angst over his speicla sexual needs and we didn’t get so much as a glimpse of anything not vanilla.
And finally there was a needle scratch moment for me when she blithely renames Drago. She spends an entire first half of the book talking about her freedom and self determination and going on about husbands basically owning their wives and then she turns around tells a servant “Nope, your name is not your name — it is what *I* want to call you.”
@mel burns: I agree, those early scenes were great.
@Carolyn:
You put that better than I did. That sense of unreality was my biggest issue with the book. I expect West to get his own book–I will certainly be disappointed if he doesn’t! I don’t know what Kleypas has planned for him, but I would love to see him with Dr. Gibson.
@Tina: I think the bondage scene was supposed to provide the moment that Gabriel reveals his kink, but it was too sweet to do that. And OMG the Drago / Dragon thing! I can’t believe I forgot to mention that. The kicker for me was that not only did Pandora rename him, but then, instead of setting her straight he took her name for him as his own!
@Janine: I can’t remember what it was called – it was set in New Orleans and involved an amnesia plot. It was re-released and re-written/re-edited and it was (IMO) really REALLY bad. Quite a few other readers who adore Kleypas have said the (whatever it was called) was not great. It turned out to be definitely the wrong one to start with!
As for Pandora; I wonder if listening helped me there? The narrator is really good and she made Pandora sound delightful. Perhaps I’d have read her slightly differently if I’d only encountered her in print?
@Kaetrin: I think that was When Strangers Marry. I never read the rewrite, but I read the original version, Only in Your Arms, back in the 1990s. I liked it okay (though the age difference bugged me some) but we’re talking 25 years ago now, and my tastes were different then. It is interesting to revisit books from that era–some hold up but many do not.
@Janine: I think that sounds about right. I did not enjoy it at all. Although I have learned that re-written books are generally the kiss of death for me anyway, it was probably not the best Kleypas to start with. :)
I generally avoid rewritten books too. My luck with them has not been great.