FINAL DECISION: Fabulous ending for the Ravenels series although I admit to being much more interested in Tom than in Cassandra. Cassandra is a kind person and the way she gentles Tom is wonderful, but Tom is the compelling character in this one.

THE STORY: The first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel is enough for railroad magnate Tom Severin to know that she was exactly what he wanted. But Cassandra wants to marry for love and Tom knows that he cannot love.  There is a compelled by circumstances marriage and Tom and Cassandra try and manage their expectations of one another.

OPINION: Tom is definitely the star in this book. Indeed, this is really Tom’s book. That was perfectly fine with me because he is such an interesting and damaged character that his journey was compelling to me. I really loved how the gentle and kind Cassandra really shakes up Tom’s life and expectations of himself. Tom is a man who doesn’t know how to process feelings. Readers of the series will know that he also has a flexible version of right and wrong. Neither of those characteristics are things that Cassandra can accept. Tom doesn’t know if when he meets Cassandra, but he is going to be completely willing to change for her.

Tom’s character is so compelling that Cassandra seems to be lost. But on my second time through the book, I began to notice her more. To see how she guides the events in this book even if she isn’t as prominent in this book as other Kleypas heroines. This feels like Tom’s journey. I loved that change and loved the relationship between these characters.

WORTH MENTIONING: Content Warning for attempted sexual assault.

CONNECTED BOOKS: CHASING CASSANDRA is the sixth book in the Ravenels series. The romance in this book is self-contained and can be read as a standalone, but since these two characters have appeared in prior books in the series, I think this book is much better after reading the others in the series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Edelweiss. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

“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.

A Welcome Return by Lisa Kleypas to Historical Romance

“You are the vilest man I have ever met.”

FINAL DECISION: The return by Kleypas to historical romance typifies the heartwarming, character driven, deeply romantic books that made her a favorite among readers. COLD-HEARTED RAKE has one one my favorite storylines — a man who is changed for the better by a good woman.

THE STORY: Devon Ravenel unexpectedly inherits an earldom upon the death of his hated cousin. Devon has devoted his life to pleasure and lack of responsibility and the last thing he wants are floundering estates and caring for tenants and relatives of his cousin. He goes to the estate intending on sending the widow and sisters packing and selling the entirety of the estate. Kathleen was made a widow after only three days of marriage. She knows that the appearance of the new earl means that she must make her own plans for her future and is disgusted by Devon’s lack of caring about the history of the estate and the lives of the people who depend upon it. Open warfare emerges between Devon and Kathleen but the surprising result is that Devon wants to spend more time with Kathleen and begins to try and save the estate in order to spend more time with her.

OPINION: Devon and Kathleen are both strong willed and they have a passionate relationship. The relationship begins with passionate arguments and then turns to sexual passion. Kathleen is a woman who cares deeply although she constrains herself with rules and propriety. Her life has been filled with pain but she has reached out to others in response. Devon also has a painful past, but he has retreated to a life of excess in order to hide his pain. His interactions with Kathleen begin to change him. Determined never to marry or have children because of his own childhood, Devon slowly begins to change as his attraction to Kathleen compels him to reconsider his notions about responsibility. Kleypas writes wonderful rake stories. She realistically demonstrates how a woman can begin to change a man. Devon doesn’t even acknowledge that he is changing throughout the novel. He just knows that he is compelled to continuously make changes in his life in order to spend more time with Kathleen. Even better, Kathleen doesn’t become the catalyst for change by being a loving doormat…no, she changes him by challenging him to be a better person. It is only after he has changed that he becomes the kind of man who can love Kathleen.

This book is also filled with compelling secondary characters. I look forward to reading more about them as the series continues.

Kleypas fans rejoice. She has returned to historicals and hasn’t lost a step.

WORTH MENTIONING: I really liked this book but I am looking forward to the next book MARRYING MR. WINTERBORNE even more. The couple is introduced in this book.

CONNECTED BOOKS: COLD-HEARTED RAKE is the first book in a a new series about the Ravenel family and friends.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.