DEVIL IN WINTER
Series: Wallflowers #3
Genre: Historical Romance
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Release Date: October 13, 2009
“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.
Lately I’ve been trying to broaden my reading horizons, and I asked Jennifer if she had some historical recs for me since I haven’t read very many. What I got was a million exclamation points following an all cap proclamation of READ THIS BOOK! So I figured, ok, I guess she really liked it LOL! Jenn just so happens to know that I have a type when it comes to my alphas; manwhorish, alphaholish, and all of that to the nth degree. What? Like you don’t have a vice? Pfft! So knowing my preferences, she insisted this is the book I start with. OCD readers avert your eyes, because I’m starting with book 3 in a series…and I’m not sorry! I began listening to the audio of this book and while I’m only on chapter 3, I’m absolutely in love! I’ll likely finish it from my kindle though. Stay tuned for further progress report. But for now, check out Jennifer’s review!
~ Lana
My love is upon you.
This isn’t your ordinary romance. It’s real. It’s dry. It’s cold….like winter. The perfect book for curling up in a big comfy chair with some English breakfast tea (my favorite) while it’s raining or snowing outside (or you can just read this book all year-long, like me).
Sometimes the fractures in two separate souls become the very hinges that held them together.
Lord Sebastian St. Vincent is not a good man. He is a man whore. He is a spoiled rich boy. He is selfish. He is mean. His is penniless and must marry for money. He is desperate enough to attempt to kidnap a friend of Evie’s to force her to marry him (the previous book in the series). After this attempt fails, Evie realizes that Lord St. Vincent is as desperate as she. Thus begins the Devil in Winter.
He looked like a fallen angel, replete with all the dangerous male beauty that Lucifer could devise.
Sebastian has a dirty mouth, and I love it. He is sex on a stick. I just want to run my face up his body and purrrrrrr. He broods and smirks at the same time (swoon!). He doesn’t just walk….he prowls (yum!). Everything he says is sarcastic and hilarious (oops! My panties just fell off!).
My Sebastian:
Evangeline Jenner (Evie) has been physically abused by her Aunt and Uncle since she was a little girl. She stutters and is considered a wallflower. Her father is a gambling club owner and is dying, but her Aunt and Uncle refuse her wishes to see him. Ever since she was promised to her cousin for marriage, she is desperate to get away from her abusers and will do anything necessary to see her father before he dies, including asking Lord St. Vincent to marry her.
Evie is a fabulous heroine. She is shy but also strong and intelligent. She has had to depend on herself her whole life. I love that she is the one to make the marriage proposition to Sebastian, knowing that it would only be a marriage of convenience. She does what she has to do in order to survive.
My Evie:
The story begins with Evie and Sebastian fleeing to Gretna Green, Scotland to get married in haste. Because they are traveling from London, it is a long trip. This trip is very significant because Ms. Kleypas quickly shows us a side of Sebastian that we had not seen in the previous book, a softer side while still keeping his callous, sarcastic side. When they return as husband and wife, they hurry to Evie’s father before he passes. The rest of the book takes place in the gambling club in the streets of London.
If my love can hold you, I’ll keep you with me.
This is not your typical story of man-whore meets innocent and they fall in love and she doesn’t think twice about his past and he doesn’t think twice about his past. Trust me. It’s so much better than that. This book is much like Jane Eyre (which is my favorite story of all time). It has a darkness to it, and when you are least expecting it, a ray of light shines through. It shines through the characters as they grow and learn and love.
As high as the fire in me burns, Evie, I will stoke it in you.
I want to fill every part of you…breathe the air from your lungs…leave my handprints on your soul. I want to give you more pleasure than you can bear. I want to make love to you, Evie, as I have never done with anyone before.
I love you so much that I’m drowning in it. I can’t defend against it. I don’t know who I am anymore.
My prize…my pleasure and pain…my endless desire.
If you are looking for epic love, this is the book to read!!!!
THE WALLFLOWER SERIES
SECRETS OF A SUMMER NIGHT | IT HAPPENED IN ONE AUTUMN | DEVIL IN WINTER | SCANDAL IN SPRING | A WALLFLOWER CHRISTMAS
Your mission, should you choose to accept it- and you will, Livvie- is to stay this week with me, ” he murmured, his voice a weapon of thong-melting destruction. “We’re gonna fuck every last brain cell out of each other.
Kate Meader is a magician. A wonderfully, addicting smut producing magician. Every book she writes, I end up loving. It’s like the woman custom writes her books just for me. (Shh! Don’t rain on my parade with reality. I like to pretend she does)
She was also a Texas American princess, bright as the North Star, while he was the homeless on of an abusive alcoholic who relied on the Kanes’ charity to survive. Who lived on Olivia Kane’s smile like it was sunshine to a weed.
Flynn and Olivia have both been through a lot in their past: rough childhoods, failed relationships. But the story didn’t focus on the past. It was just enough to develop their characters, but the story still stayed in the present for the most part. And the present is steamy! This is my favorite type of writing, when an author can develop the characters through dialogue and behavior rather than having to jump back to the past. NO DRAMA/ANGST is the best!!!
This was my first Kate Meader book, and I will be reading all of her books FOREVER!
Swoon.
From the very second that Jude was introduced in 
Oh my god.
Psych!!! I’m just bluffin with my muffin. You’ll get no spoilers outta me, so don’t even try.[/su_spoiler]
Luke is the devil, the darkness. He encounters Mina when she tries to manipulate him and seeks him out in a time of weakness. After he discovers her true motive, he is still determined to keep her. I loved that Luke’s character wasn’t too serious. He was laid-back, yet powerful, with a sense of humor.
Mina can manipulate people with the sound of her voice. She uses this ability but doesn’t like using it. She initially comes across as a strong, sultry woman, but she is vulnerable and hurting at the same time. She doesn’t like her ability because her enemy has exploited her ability for their gain. She is running from someone who wants to hurt her, so she seeks out the devil himself to try to steal an item that will take away her power so that her ability cannot be used for evil any longer.
