#CBR11 Book 21: "King of Scars" by Leigh Bardugo

Page count: 527 pages
Audio book length: 16 hrs 13 mins
Rating: 4 stars

Spoiler warning! While this is the start of a new series, it does follow on directly from Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy and her Six of Crows duology. While you will understand the plot fine if you haven't read the previous books, you WILL be spoiled for events in both series. Spoilers may also appear in this review. Proceed at your own risk.

From Goodreads, because I finished the audiobook two months ago (sigh):
Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

Nikolai Lantsov is the young and struggling King of Ravka, a country still reeling from the effects of its brutal civil war. It's clear that Ravka will need powerful allies to help rebuild the country and to protect it from possible invasion by other neighbouring countries, and the best way to do that would be for Nikolai to marry. However, kept secret from everyone but Nikolai's most trusted advisors is the fact that since the end of the war, he's been possessed by a darkness, that is now more and more often manifesting as a fierce and savage creature. It's only a matter of time before the creature kills someone when it takes over and roams the countryside. Nikolai is determined to get rid of the possession and searches Ravka for a cure, accompanied only by his magically gifted general, the cynical Zoya Nazyalensky and a young monk who believes the Darkling is now a saint, whose miracles are appearing all over Ravka.

In another plot strand, we follow Nina Zenik, mourning the death of her beloved Mathias, on a deep cover mission for the king, trying to locate and rescue Grisha in the hostile Fjerda. She literally needs to lay her beloved to rest, while serving her king and homeland, and come to terms with the new abilities she appears to be developing.

Unlike a lot of people on the internet, I was never a huge fan of the Grisha trilogy. It was perfectly fine, but I never liked Alina much and found a lot of the plot difficult to engage with. The Darkling was an interesting villain, though, and Nikolai was clearly an outstanding supporting character, pretty much stealing every scene he was in. I know Zoya was also a supporting character in the books, but remember less of her role. I don't think it's necessary to recall the books in great detail, you get what you need from the characterisation here. Nina, of course, was introduced in the wonderful Six of Crows, an excellent heist narrative that I loved so much (and felt so different in tone that I almost wondered if someone else had written it). There are mentions of characters from that series in Nina's recollections - and those books are incredibly worth your time - I heartily recommend the audio books, which are great and narrated by a varied and very talented cast. Lauren Fortgang, who narrates this book, was one of the people involved, and here she narrates a large cast of characters of both genders, with a variety of different accents just so well.

The plot takes a while to get going in this book, mainly because there's quite some time spent just letting the reader get familiar with who the characters are and what challenges they are facing. The chapters alternate between Nikolai, Zoya and Nina's POVs. Most of the time, Nikolai and Zoya are together, but it's still interesting to see the story from their different perspectives. Nina, obviously, is in a completely different location, doing her own thing. When the stage is set, so to speak, and the story really does start to kick off, the book covers quite a lot of scope, while also setting up a lot of interesting drama for the next book. According to Bardugo, this is planned as another duology, so she needs to tie everything up in the next book. I will be very interested in seeing how she manages it.

I'm not sure when the next book in the series will be out, but after the cliffhanger this one ended on, I will be impatiently counting the days until I get to read the end of the story.

Judging a book by it's cover: Made to look like a gilded woodcut, I have come to like the cover more the longer I look at it. There are just so many intricate little details included, hinting at beats of the story without spoiling anything for an unsuspecting reader. The two-headed eagle is Ravka's national emblem, and the slashes across the centre of the shield could suggest either Nikolai's physical or emotional scars.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR11 Book 17-20: "Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight", "Captain Marvel:Down", "Avengers Assemble: The Enemy Within" and "Avengers Assemble: Infinity" by Kelly Sue DeConnick and assorted artists

Total page count: 544 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Back in the summer of 2016, I read what I believed to be the first trade in a run about Captain Marvel, but that turned out to be incorrect and Marvel had just been stupid in how they were rebranding and renumbering their comics. As I came to discover, the reason there was so little back story given about Carol Danvers, her powers and her role in the Avengers, is because despite being entitled Vol 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More, it was by no means the start of Kelly Sue DeConnick's run.

Rather let down by the experience, I put Captain Marvel on the back burner and decided to read other things instead. Then she became the first female superhero to get her own standalone film in the MCU, and it felt like I should probably give her another chance. I always prefer to read the source material before seeing a movie (although honesty forces me to admit that when it comes to the MCU, Captain Marvel is more the exception than the rule. My husband has nagged me for years to read Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America (which forms the basis for much of The Winter Soldier and some of Civil War and that's still firmly on the TBR list). Anyway, I had some of the comics and sat down to read them the weekend before I was going to the cinema to see Captain Marvel. As is sadly the norm for these reviews now, that was more than two months ago now, so my recollection of the various stories is a bit fuzzy.

Hence this review is going to to be light on the various plots of the books and focus more on my reactions to the stories (as far as I can remember them now). All this vagueness makes for thrilling reading, I know. Sorry. I should also mention that if you haven't read these comics before seeing the film, there are some spoilers regarding the motivations of some characters. Nothing major, because the film does its own thing, with mostly the costume and Carol's name taken from the comics, but still - I was able to predict some things that could be considered spoilery.

In In Pursuit of Flight, Carol Danvers actually ends up travelling back in time when trying to set a new flight record, and helps a group of female fighters battle a sinister enemy during World War II. In Down, she reunites with the previous Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and they work together to fight an alien threat coming from the ocean depths. There was also a Captain Marvel/Avengers Assemble cross over focusing on Carol's past, which gave insight into how she got her powers in the first place (in flashbacks), in the actual story, she's having seizures every time she tries to fly and horrible headaches. There is an old enemy of hers staging attacks all over New York and she needs the help of the Avengers to stop the various enemies and figure out what is going on. There was also more of a big space cross over thing, which was less interesting, probably because I suspect it would have helped to read more of the surrounding issues, and they weren't included in the trade.

I read the comics, not knowing all that much about Carol Danvers, and then shortly afterwards watched the film. I've now seen the movie twice, and I really like Carol as a character, both in these comics and in the film. I think it's absolutely abysmal that it took the MCU twenty one films to make one focusing on a woman, but this review is not really the place to go into that. Because it's been two months since I read the comics, it's difficult for me to separate my view of comics Carol with movie Carol. Suffice to say, having now read a lot more of Kelly Sue DeConnick's early run on the title, I should probably go re-read Higher, Further, Faster, More, since I suspect it'll make a lot more sense.

Judging a book by its cover: As this review covers a number of Captain Marvel trade collections, let's just skip over this part. The covers are cool, some using art reminiscent of the golden and silver age of comics. Carol's new Captain Marvel costume looks awesome, so much better than her old "bathing suit" one.

#CBR11 Book 16: "The Hollow of Fear" by Sherry Thomas

Page count: 336 pages
Audio book length: 10 hrs, 51 mins
Rating: 4 stars

Spoiler warning! This is book 3 in an ongoing series. For those who prefer to go into a series completely unspoiled, this review will probably reveal details about the earlier books in the series. The story will also make a lot more sense if you start at the beginning, with A Study in Scarlet Women. 

From Goodreads:
Under the cover of “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” Charlotte Holmes puts her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use. Aided by the capable Mrs. Watson, Charlotte draws those in need to her and makes it her business to know what other people don’t.

Moriarty’s shadow looms large. First, Charlotte’s half brother disappears. Then, Lady Ingram, the estranged wife of Charlotte’s close friend Lord Ingram, turns up dead on his estate. And all signs point to Lord Ingram as the murderer.

With Scotland Yard closing in, Charlotte goes under disguise to seek out the truth. But uncovering the truth could mean getting too close to Lord Ingram—and a number of malevolent forces…

In the two previous books, Charlotte has appeared calm, logical, unflappable and unemotional. In this book, all evidence suggests that her best friend, Lord Ingram, has murdered his estranged wife and disposed of her in the ice house of his country estate and rather than investigating matters that merely provide an intellectual challenge, the stakes are deeply personal for Charlotte and the stakes have never been higher. While Charlotte is convinced that Lord Ingram is blameless, the evidence really is rather damning, and she and her associates will have to work ceaselessly to prove his innocence to the police and society at large.

Complicating matters is the fact that the dead body of Lady Ingram was found during a house party, when Lord Ingram's estate was full of guests (one of them being Charlotte's sister Livia). While Charlotte has previously posed as Sherlock Holmes' sister in previous investigations, she now dons the disguise of yet another fictional man, Sherringford Holmes, an indolent dandy and brother to the legendary Sherlock. This allows her to question guests and investigate more closely, without having to worry about Charlotte Holmes' already fraught reputation.

While the case could have disastrous results for Lord Ingram if Charlotte cannot clear his name, the investigation also forces him and Charlotte into much closer proximity than usual, and the attraction between them (always palpable, but never acted upon because of Ingram's marriage) becomes impossible to ignore. While he has become widowed by terrible circumstance, Lord Ingram and Charlotte suddenly face no impediments, should they decide to act on the simmering passion between them.

As with the previous books, this mystery takes a number of unexpected twists and turns. With each book, it also becomes obvious that Charlotte is a lot less of an unfeeling automaton than society perceives her, she just experiences emotions differently from a lot of others, and she is deeply private. Her best friend (and the man she quite probably loves) is accused of murder, and if she cannot clear his name, he may face the gallows, leaving his children orphaned. Even with the aid of her many friends and associates, she needs to work harder than ever before.

With this book, I am also caught up with the series, and now have to count the months impatiently until the next book is released. Sherry Thomas' newsletter suggests that the fourth book will be more light hearted in tone, featuring an art heist, among other things (it sounds awesome!), and I await the release with bated breath.

Judging a book by its cover: I absolutely love the various shades of blue and the feeling of cold and slight menace it somehow evokes in me. I'm not entirely sure why our cloaked lady with her back to us is walking through a snowy landscape, this book does not take place in the winter at all. It would be nice if the publishers could take things like that into account when selecting cover images.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR11 Book 15: "A Conspiracy in Belgravia" by Sherry Thomas

Page count: 336 pages
Audio book length:
Rating: 4 stars

This is the second book in a series. While it can be read independently, and probably makes sense on its own, you'd be better off starting with book one, A Study in Scarlet Women. 

From Goodreads:
Being shunned by Society gives Charlotte Holmes the time and freedom to put her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use. As “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” aided by the capable Mrs. Watson, she’s had great success helping with all manner of enquiries, but she’s not prepared for the new client who arrives at her Upper Baker Street office.

Lady Ingram, wife of Charlotte’s dear friend and benefactor, wants Sherlock Holmes to find her first love, who failed to show up at their annual rendezvous. Matters of loyalty and discretion aside, the case becomes even more personal for Charlotte as the missing man is none other than Myron Finch, her illegitimate half brother.

In the meanwhile, Charlotte wrestles with a surprising proposal of marriage, a mysterious stranger woos her sister Livia, and an unidentified body that surfaces where least expected. Charlotte’s investigative prowess is challenged as never before: Can she find her brother in time—or will he, too, end up as a nameless corpse somewhere in the belly of London?

Now, there are several downsides to having sped through the audiobook version of this in about 24 hours, and having finished the book over a month and a half ago. While I remember very much enjoying it and thinking it builds excellently on the very strong beginning of the series, the details of the plot are decidedly hazy to me (it's a bit tricky for me to recall exactly what was revealed in each of the three books, as I read all of them in a week quite some time ago now).

Despite the misgivings of Mrs. Watson and her niece, Charlotte Holmes chooses to accept a case from Lady Ingram, the wife of  her best friend (a man who very clearly regrets his marriage, and also most likely loves our heroine - it's uncertain whether Charlotte acknowledges and/or returns the sentiment). Lady Ingram claims that once a year, she walks in the park and nods politely at her first love, the man her family didn't approve or would allow her to marry. They never speak or interact in any other way, but he never made their current rendezvous, and she is worries that something bad has happened to him. Charlotte and Mrs. Watson try to suggest that there may be a rational explanation for his absence, and he may just have moved on with his life, yet Lady Ingram insists she needs a definite answer as to why he didn't show up.

Of course it turns out that the case isn't as simple as it first appears, involving, among others, Charlotte's half-brother and a number of other complications. The police need help identifying a young man found dead who may or may not be connected to the case, and on top of everything else, Charlotte receives a marriage proposal from Lord Ingram's older brother, Lord Bancroft Ashburton. There would be many obvious advantages to the match, especially in terms of restoring her ruined reputation in society, appeasing her outraged parents and furthering her sister Livia's chances at a good match. On the other hand, there is Lord Ingram and what becoming his sister-in-law might do to their current connection.

I must admit that even though I was expecting some twists and turns, I had not for a second foreseen where Ms. Thomas ended up taking the story. I don't usually read too many mysteries these days, but it's always fun when the plot of one is constucted in such a way that you're always guessing, and still pleasantly surprised at the end, when all is revealed.

Judging a book by its cover: This is such an evocative, atmospheric cover, with the beautifully attired woman apparently running through the London fog, with the colours of her dress almost blending with the surroundings. It doesn't really have much to do with the story of the book, but would absolutely make me pick up a copy in a bookstore.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR11 Book 14: "A Study in Scarlet Women" by Sherry Thomas

Page count: 336 pages
Audio book length: 11 hrs
Rating: 4.5 stars

I keep struggling to summarise the plot in a good way, so I'll just let the blurb do it:

With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. 

When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She’ll have help from friends new and old—a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her.

But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society’s expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind.

True fact, with the exception of a couple of extremely abridged and adapted easy reader short stories that we've used as examples of classics when teaching my pupils (which I doubt are really very representative of the real thing, as both the plot and the language have been simplified to an utterly ridiculous degree), I have never read a single Sherlock Holmes story. I have watched both the Guy Ritchie directed movies, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. I watched the first three seasons of the BBC Sherlock, including the Christmas special, but steered clear of the disastrous fourth season, because the show's creators were clearly not taking the story or characters anywhere I was interested in going and life's just too short, you know? My husband and I have so far enjoyed the first five seasons of Elementary (or The Adventures of Mr. Elementary and Joan, as we like to refer to it, as its protagonists are quite a ways away from the original source material by now, and it's just another amusing TV procedural). I've read several YA books with teen sleuths inspired by Sir Conan Doyle's stories, and yet I have never felt the need to read one for myself. I find the concept of the Sherlock Holmes a lot more interesting and appealing than I suspect I would the actual character.

Now, Sherry Thomas, on the other hand, is an author whose career I've followed since she started publishing back in 2008. The only books of hers I haven't read by now are the last two in her YA Elementals trilogy, but I aim to get around to that too. So when she decided to stop writing excellent, if somewhat angsty historical romances, and decided to start gender flipping Sherlock Holmes, I knew I would have to read this books eventually.

For several months now, the pressures of my very time-consuming job and trying to cope with mothering a beautiful, cheerful, but absolutely demanding toddler has been wreaking havoc with my ability to concentrate. On bad days, I feel about two steps away from a complete burnout, and I seem to mostly just want to mindlessly scroll through social media on my phone, as it demands little to nothing of me. For most of my adult life, reading has been an escape and a means of relaxation for me, but since I returned to work in November, it's been hard to find the time, enthusiasm or energy for books. However, when I started the audio books for Ms. Thomas' Lady Sherlock books, I finished the existing three books in less than a week. I found myself making excuses, just so I could listen more and the books absolutely captivated me. As this is a rare feeling nowadays, it made me all the more grateful.

Now, having never read the actual source material, I can't compare it as a reimagining. I can just speak for what works remarkably well in Ms. Thomas' books.

All of the modern depictions of Sherlock Holmes (be it the ones set in actual Victorian times, like the movies, or in the modern era, like the TV shows) portray him as in some way neuroatypical. It seems likely, based on what we now know about the autism spectrum, that Sherlock Holmes is probably on it, if a very high functioning individual. Sherry Thomas' Charlotte Holmes is certainly not like other women of her era, and her portrayal fits into this same pattern. We are told that Charlotte didn't choose to speak until she was four years old, but when she did, it was to make a fairly astute deduction. Sherry Thomas has also chosen to give Charlotte Holmes an older sister, who is much more afflicted by ASD, and needs to be kept under constant supervision, as she cannot take care of herself. So neurodivergence is absolutely something of a theme in these stories.

When we meet our unusual heroine at the start of the book, she has just been publicly ruined and finds herself ostracised from polite society. Unwilling to deal with the scorn of her disappointed parents, Charlotte leaves home and tries to fend for herself. Her sister Livia worries terribly about her, and due to some uncharacteristic lapses in judgement, Charlotte almost finds herself desperate and destitute, when she makes the acquaintance of a widowed actress, Mrs John Watson, who is intrigued by her powers of deduction and observation and offers to hire her as a ladies' companion.

Even prior to her ruination, Charlotte had entertained herself by occasionally assisting the London Metropolitan Police with enquiries (aided by her longtime friend Lord Ingram), using the pseudonym Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to a series of murders being publicised in the press, the name of Sherlock Holmes has become well known, and Mrs. Watson proposes a clever scheme in which Charlotte can earn a living, without anyone discovering that she, a mere woman and publicly disgraced to boot, is in fact the master detective. The two women begin soliciting clients and meeting them in rented rooms, with Charlotte posing as the detective's sister (and Mrs. Watson occasionally pretending to be Mrs. Hudson, the housekeeper), claiming that the great man himself has been struck down by an illness and has to remain bedridden. Charlotte goes into the bedroom next door and "consults" for a few minutes, and then helps the clients. The business savvy Mrs. Watson makes sure the clients pay a suitable fee for the consultation.

The high profile murder case in question is one Charlotte is most eager to help solve, as it casts suspicion on both her father (his mistress is one of the murder victims) and her sister Livia, who was one of the last people to see one of the other victim's alive, and they were witnessed having an argument. With some help from Lord Ingram (who is still unhappy that Charlotte will not accept his protection directly), Charlotte is able to advise Inspector Threadles, the man in charge of the investigation. It turns out to be a much more complicated and involved case than it seemed at the beginning, uncovering some truly horrific secrets and conspiracies to cover them up.

There is so much to love in these books. While Charlotte is frighteningly brilliant and her emotional register is not the same as those around her, she's by no means unfeeling and is in fact capable of great affection and feelings of loyalty. She just doesn't outwardly show a lot of emotion and processes things differently than others. Outwardly, she looks deeply frivolous and silly, with golden ringlets, a propensity for ribbons, ruffles and flounces and a love of food, especially sweet things. She loves to eat, but knows she cannot support "too many chins".

These books are so very feminist, with capable and very different women in so many roles. There's Charlotte, her sisters Livia and Bernadine, there's the excellent Mrs. Watson and there are women in more villainous roles. There's Inspector Threadles' wife, whose father is a wealthy industrialist, but who married "down" because she loves him. I doubt women feature much in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, except perhaps as victims, which is another reason why I'm in no rush to read any of them.

Adding to my enjoyment of this book was Kate Reading's pitch perfect narration. I've heard her narrate a number of historical romances in the past, and her arch and proper tones suit this sort of material so very well. A lot of audio book narrators struggle with a large cast of characters, but Ms. Reading manages to give each character a distinct and believable voice, be they male or female, and her narration is now how I hear all these characters in my head. I highly recommend the audio books if you haven't already checked this series out.

Judging a book by its cover: I'm a sucker for a good Victorian dress, and this impressive red one is especially lovely. There seems to be quite a trend of Victorian-set, lady-led mysteries with similar covers, I seem to recall the first book in the Veronica Speedwell series featuring another beautifully attired woman moving away from the reader.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR11 Book 13: "Skinwalker" by Faith Hunter

Page count: 320 pages
Audio book length: 14 hrs 29 min
Rating: 3.5 stars

Jane Yellowrock is, as far as she's aware, the very last of her kind. She's a skinwalker of Cherokee descent and has never encountered anyone with the same powers as her. She makes a living hunting vampires, but finds herself in the unusual position of working for the vampire council in New Orleans, to track down a rogue vampire. Jane has ten days to locate the creature if she wants to get the exclusive bounty, but there are other individuals in the city who seem to be on the same mission. As her hunt intensifies, it seems as if the vampire doesn't just feed on humans, but other vampires, and has the ability to change it's scent - which just shouldn't be possible.

In my experience, it's a rare paranormal/urban fantasy series that has the perfect first book and just hooks you in right away. Most series tend to take at least a book or two (or until book 4, in the case of The Dresden Files) to really get good. Even my beloved co-writing team Ilona Andrews doesn't hit it right out of the park with their Kate Daniels books (but in later series, they had me hooked right from the start). Faith Hunter is a new author for me, but considering there are currently 12 full novels in this series, as well as a number of novellas, I'm guessing she's doing ok for herself and the books are popular enough to justify the extended series length.

While our kick ass heroine, Jane, projects a pretty serious loner vibe to everyone she meets in New Orleans, it's clear that she has a found family that she adores and misses. In the universe Faith Hunter has created, there are vampires and witches, but she hints at the existence of other paranormal entities like were-creatures and possibly fairies as well, plus there is Jane's possibly unique ability as a skinwalker (call me cynical, but I'm willing to bet that somewhere down the line of the series, Jane is going to discover that she's not as alone as she believes herself to be and that her heritage is more complicated than she realised - that's just storytelling 101 in a series like this). Jane's best friend is a witch, who has at least one plot moppet daughter who is apparently off the scale powerful (I did not enjoy the lisping way the narrator voiced the child AT ALL).

There are a bunch of vampire clans in New Orleans, and because they're paying her bills, Jane forces herself to set aside her aversion to them. Like most paranormal heroines on a mission, she doesn't exactly exude charm and make friends whereever she turns up. Jane manages to piss off several high ranking vampires, as well as members of the city's police force while she snoops around and unearths secrets. While there are some guys that Jane clearly finds attractive introduced over the course of the novel, no clear love interest has presented itself, which I like. Romance doesn't have to be a leading subplot for these books to work, and I would rather that the author take a bit longer to establish the world and her main character before introducing potential love interests into the mix.

This book entertained me enough that I will probably check out more in the future. With several of my long-running paranormal series completed in the last few years, I'm on the look-out for new examples of the genre. I didn't hate how Khristine Hvam narrated the book, but didn't love it either, so may read the next ones myself, rather than get them in audio.

Judging a book by its cover: While the cover model portraying our heroine no  doubt looks pretty bad ass, I'm not sure whose marketing decision it was to do the cover pretty much exclusively in shades of black and brown. It brings to mind smudging and dirt, and I'm not a huge fan. It's could also only be a more stereotypically paranormal/urban fantasy cover if the cover model was wielding a crossbow rather than shotgun.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR11 Book 12: "Devil's Daughter" by Lisa Kleypas

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

This is the fifth book in the Ravenels series. While you don't have to have read the previous books in the series, it would probably enhance your enjoyment and make you more familiar with most of the cast of characters. While you also don't NEED to have read it, you really should read Devil in Winter, because it's a classic of the genre, and will give you more insight in some of the supporting characters here.

Plot summary from Goodreads, because I finished this book over a month ago:
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...

For the previous four books in this series, I have been rather impatiently waiting for Lisa Kleypas, writer of some truly classic historical romances, to deliver something even half as enjoyable as some of her best books. While Devil's Daughter by no means can compete with the best of Kleypas' back catalogue, it was a very satisfying read and I didn't want to spend most of the reviews nitpicking all the things that didn't work.

I liked the premise of headstrong, young woman finding herself reluctantly attracted to her husband's former bully. In West Ravenel's defence, a lot of teenage boys are exceptionally thoughtless and stupid, and his own social standing and family connections made him prone to lashing out at others, one hapless victim of which was Phoebe's sickly, now deceased husband. Considering the redemptive arc that Phoebe's own father had to go through in Devil in Winter and West seems like a choir boy instead.

West has been possibly my favourite supporting characters in the series so far. He's quite the worthless, drunken layabout at the start of Cold Hearted Rake, but over the course of the series becomes a truly changed man, devoting himself to land management and taking care of his family members, yet always feeling like he can't atone for his boorish and uncouth past. So when he falls head over heels for the beautiful Phoebe, he never believes himself good enough for her.

Phoebe married her sickly childhood friend, who lived long enough to give her two sons. The daughter of strong-minded and very formidable parents (so beloved by romance readers everywhere), she keeps repressing her passionate nature and inquisitive mind, devoting herself entirely to the raising of her two sons, while letting her husband's cousin deal with everything involved with her estate, even though both her father and brother feel she should take a more active role in caring for her sons' inheritance.

While she wants nothing to do with West, remembering all the bullying her late husband wrote to her about in his letters from school, her family members keep pushing her in his path, because he's clearly the best person to teach her how to properly manage her own lands. That everyone around them can see the sparks flying every time West and Phoebe are near each other, probably doesn't hurt either.

West is an excellent example of a properly reformed rake and while his own self image is wildly distorted, he eventually comes to understand how much good he could do for Phoebe. She needs time to properly come to terms with the loss of her husband, yet realise that she's still young, and deserving of love and some of the promises she made to her husband while he was dying were unreasonable in the extreme.

As I said, this is the first book in the series I would recommend without reservation and I'm now very intrigued by what I'm assuming will be the final book in the series (all the other Ravenels are now married off). Kleypas is good at making complicated and rather dislikable individuals into very interesting romance heroes, so I can't wait to see how she redeems Tom Severin next year.

Judging a book by its cover: All the books in this series have had absolutely awful covers, and while this one isn't great, it's not quite such an eye sore of anachronistic prom dresses as some of the previous ones. Considering Phoebe is still a widow in half mourning, the golden meringue monstrosity she's wearing on this cover seems deeply inappropriate (if not as bad as half undone, pastel pink tulle nightmare that the cover model wears on the cover of Cold Hearted Rake, where the heroine is a widow whose husband JUST died. She literally wears full black throughout the whole book!) Also inappropriate for a proper widow and mother of two is this lady's unpinned hair, which appears to be part tentacle - so when I feel this is the best cover of the series so far, it is not complimentary in the slightest to the four previous books.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.