I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

3.5* rounded up.

Devil in Disguise is the 7th book in the Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas, and chaotically for me- the second of the series that I’ve read!

Although part of the Ravenels series, it felt to me more like a 2nd generation Wallflowers book. Here we meet Merritt, the widowed daughter of Lillian and Marcus from It Happened One Autumn and Keir MacRae, a Scottish whisky distiller with a link to one of the Wallflower heroes (the ‘Devil’ is your clue). I liked how Merritt was a woman in business and headstrong and I thought Keir was great, but we didn’t get enough of them or their blossoming relationship in the book which is a massive shame as it was the highlight.

Overall I think that my experience would’ve been better if I’d read the full Ravenels series as we had so many cameos from a number of characters from the previous books in this series and the Wallflowers series. I was glad to see Sebastian being so soft for Evie (and I think I’ll be rereading Devil in Winter soon), and I do love reading an established relationship/getting slice of life snippets, but I think that the volume of the cameos detracted from the story as I felt like Merritt and Keir were not the primary focus. However, as I know the Wallflowers well and know the majority of the characters in some format I don’t think it mattered too much, but you may wish to be mindful of it, especially if you’re not a massive fan of Kleypas’ works.

There was a lot to like about this book and ultimately I did enjoy myself and had a fun time reading it (we love an amnesia plot)- I just really wish there hadn’t been a miracle baby storyline and had been more focus on the main characters!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy.

My favourite one of the series. This one was full of cameos from previous books and felt like a very nice finish to a really great series, I can’t wait to see what Lisa brings to the next series

‘Just a reminder. The devil never tries to make people do the wrong thing by scaring them. He tempts them.” Merritt’s forced laugh came out as brittle as overcooked toffee. “Dear, are you claiming Mr. MacRae is the devil in disguise?”

Lisa Kleypas is an author synonymous with Historical Romance and she has a huge following. This book is part of a series (The Ravenels #7) but apart from a few cameo appearances from previous books, this can be read as a standalone. One goes into these Regency reads knowing full well what to expect, yet somehow, this one was not really hitting the mark for me.

My biggest problem was the insta-love and lack of solid plot. The main romance between Merritt and Keir was too much too soon, no build up and just lots of sex. When that is all you get … you kinda wish for some story outside of the bedroom. The story that was there was weak and predictable with the ending of the mystery rather anticlimactic.

‘A life could change course in a few days. In an hour. A single moment. People could gain and lose the world.’

It is a light and easy read for that necessary brief, in between book one often seeks. I really quite liked Merritt and Keir and only wish that everything wasn’t so fast tracked. I like how they were both a bit older and Merritt is this strong, independent woman. Their chemistry was obviously great … I just wanted more.

“Let me go with you,” she said earnestly. A faint smile tugged at one corner of her lips. “I’ll be the extra rib that protects your heart.” Keir pulled back abruptly. The motion sent a stab of pain through his ribs, and he swore. Rising to his feet, he sent her a glance of mingled torment and frustration. “You can’t, Merry.” The hint of a smile had vanished. “Because you doubt my abilities,” she said rather than asked. Keir shook his head. “Because you are my heart.”




This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

3,5 stars

Lisa Kleypas is the historial author I enjoy the most. I love all her books , and this one is no exception It's sweet and steamy. I love the relationship between Merritt and Keir but the mistery about the Keir's past is resolved very soon. There's no tension in this part... However, the cameos are a surprise to me! Read again about these characters I adore is gorgeous!

Is it possible to not love a Lisa Kleypas book?

This is absolutely my favourite new Lisa Kleypas book, though the Ravenel connection is a wee bit tenuous! Meritt, our independent modern heroine, is a pure delight to read. I found her so fresh and sweet, both as a character and as a Kleypas heroine. She's obviously inherited her straightforwardness from her mother, everyone's favourite of the Wallflower heroines.

Keir Macrae was also an absolute delight to read. He is such a rough softie, and which is the most fantastic kind of hero! Kleypas is truly the best at writing this heartwrenching stories, and despite the fact I know they'll end up together, I'm always at the edge of my seat completely along for the ride.

As a massive Lisa Kleypas reader, I really enjoyed this book. Devil in Winter was is one of my favourite books ever and this felt like a companion to that book. The amount of Sebastian ST Vincent we get was very exciting. This book felt like a Ravenals/Wallflower book which made me very happy.
This book is a perfect mix of romance and great storytelling. Any Lisa Kleypas fan will love this book. I know I did.

with great sadness and disappointment i am writing this review; joy and happiness i felt when i have received an arc of this book long gone.

firstly, i do admit that i had some expectations when it came to this story. lisa kleypas is one of my favourite authors and her wallflowers series books are my comfort ones. because of that, when i heard devil in disguise is about the children of two its couples, i was delighted. unlike many people, i did not have a problem with keir being a son of sebastian; i trusted kleypas to do him right and provide us with an excellent characters, amazing romance and an interesting story. unfortunetely, this was not the case of this book.

the plot of this book is chaotic, bad-written and simply boring. almost nothing that was happening made sense. it’s not something i mind when the romance is good, but since nothing was good here, i can’t help but notice how poor the storyline was.

and the romance, well, i did not expect lisa kleypas to cause me such disappointment in this area. i have felt nothing when it came to merrit and keir’s relationship. nothing except maybe annoyance at times. there was no spark, no chemistry between them. their conversations were dull and though it was said that they were extremely attracted to each other, it was impossible for me to feel it. there was no development either; everything was happening incredibly quickly and suddenly they were in love and i had no idea how that happened. and why. most of the romance was told instead of shown; they spoke about conversations that they had that we haven’t read about and about their feelings that weren’t portrayed. this is something i absolutely hate in romance and i did not expect to find it here.

characters weren’t, too, well-written. i feel very sad to admit that merrit sterling did not only not interest me, but bored me to death. furthermore, all the things that were said about her personality throughout the book weren’t true, because at the end of the story the way she acts has nothing to do with what kind of person she was supposed to be. keir was even worse; i still have no idea who he is. he is one of the most bland, non-descript characters i have ever read about. his only personality traits are being scottish and loving making whiskey. that’s all.

so, all things considered, merrit and keir’s story was a true wet weekend. i am very disgruntled that this book turned out this way. hopefully, the upcoming lisa kleypas’ stories will be better and more similar to her previous ones.

I loved Merrit and Keir, Their chemistry throughout was bubbling away and the plot was well-paced. A little Gem of a book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Challons and Marsdens are back, and I was hoping for another winner from Lisa Kleypas. This is the story of Merritt Sterling, Earl of Westcliff's eldest daughter. She is a widow managing her husband's shipping company when she meets Keir McRae, a whiskey distiller from Scotland. We all know where it goes from there but the twist in the tale is that unknown to all, Keir is the illegitimate son of the Duke of Kingston (hence the title of the book), is quite rough around the edges and someone is trying to kill him! To get Keir through his troubles, the Duke steps in along with Merritt.

While it is an enjoyable book to read with several characters from The Wallflower series making an appearance, this is not the writer's best effort. The difference in the upbringing and characters of both romantic leads is glossed over - I mean a woman used to all the luxuries of the world is not going to remain happy for too long in a cottage with stone floor and no indoor plumbing!! In addition, the ending of the book seemed rushed, almost as if the author realised she had written an adequate number of pages and it was time to end the book. It left me, as a reader, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

Lisa Kleypas is an amazing writer and I love most of her books. This is a pleasant one-time read, but I probably won't return to it- as I do with a lot of her other books.

Merrit and Keir are not only a great couple, but also the direct descendants of some of my old favorite marriages so I could hardly not like one of the books that derives, more or less directly, from the Wallflowers and allows me to meet them again!

Merrit e Keir sono non solo una bella coppia, ma anche i diretti discendenti di alcune delle mie famiglie preferite, quindi difficilmente potrebbe non piacermi uno dei libri che deriva, piú o meno direttamente, dalle Wallflowers e mi permette di incontrarle di nuovo!

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I love Lisa Kleypas's historical romances. They are perfect escapism. This is number 7 in The Ravenels series but it can easily be read as a standalone. When characters from earlier books pop up, it is fully explained who they are.

Devil in Disguise is about Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed widow who is running her late husband's shipping company. London Society has been dying to catch her in a scandal but so far she has been too clever to provide them with one. Then she meets Keir MacRae, a whisky distiller from a remote Scottish island, and all her plans disappear like smoke.

Devil in Disguise is definitely going on my favourites pile, right up there with Love in the Afternoon (#5 The Hathaways) and Devil in Winter (#3 The Wallflowers). I loved that Merritt is such a strong, independent character, running her own business (would we have accepted anything less from Lillian's daughter?) I absolutely adored Keir, who is not an aristocrat but a working class Scot trying to get his head around the strange customs (and language) of the upper class English. It makes for some very funny moments. As well as a scorching (literally) romance there is also a mystery - someone wants Keir dead, the sooner the better.

It took me a chunk of the book to realise that Merritt's mother is Lillian from It Happened One Autumn (#2 in The Wallflowers series). Despite being a Ravenel book, other characters from The Wallflower series also appear, including Marcus and Sebastian. While it was lovely to see how these characters were getting on, I felt that too much time was given to Sebastian. There were even scenes and chapters written from his viewpoint. Now, I do love Sebastian. He's one of my favourite Lisa Kleypas characters, but he is also a very strong character and this was supposed to be Kier's story.

Despite that, Devil in Disguise is utterly fabulous and I am sure the author's fans will love it, along with anyone who loves escapist historical romance and authors such as Julia Quinn and Tessa Dare.



Thank you to Lisa Kleypas and Piatkus for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

I found this good paced story to be a captivating read. I just couldn’t put it down and read it in a day. The characters were very engaging. Lady Merritt Sterling was a strong minded and intelligent lady, who had taken over the running of a shipping interest. Keir MacRaen was her complete opposite in many ways. He was hard working, cared not a jot for society’s rules and was very much his own man. Keir was also a very handsome man. The chemistry between them was sizzling. As well as romance there is a mystery concerning Keir and why someone should want to attack him. I liked the strong family bond and the humour, that came through and how they supported each other. Even though this is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone, but having read it I will certainly want, to read more of the series. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am relatively new but very ardent fan of Lisa Kleypas and Devil in Disguise hit a sweet spots for me! The romance between Keir and Merritt was just so adorably swoony and like Merritt, I honestly wanted to wrap Keir up in cotton wool.

This book is part of the Ravenel series but we don’t really see characters from there and instead I would classify this as more of a Wallflowers Second Generation book. (Merritt, now a widow and head of shipping company, is Lillian’s and Marcus’ daughter!). We see Sebastian from Devil in Winter quite a bit (and he’s still delicious) and I think that the reader will have a deeper reading experience if you’ve read the Wallflowers quartet. Although, the book can be read on its own, it was really nice catching up with the characters from that series and seeing how they’ve developed.
As described by Sebastian, Keir and Merritt were absolutely ‘moonstruck’ by each other and I really enjoyed how the author played with insta-love in this book. They were just immediately drawn to each other and it was fun seeing a confident heroine pursue a shyer male character. The quick development of their romance is evened out however, with MY FAVOURITE TROPE! Amnesia! Keir is attacked and there’s a nice little suspense as they band together to figure out why.

Why you should read this book?
* Smitten Grump and Protective Sunshine
* More ‘naïve’ hero
* Can I say amnesia trope twice?
* Suspense and explosions!
* Lovely and loving family scenes
* MCs just taking every opportunity to have sexy times lol!!

Overall, this was a fun read and  I loved how sweet the MCs were with each other. It was just such a warm book despite said explosions and much bonking! 😝

Devil in disguise is a winner in my cards. I’ve been reading the author’s books for years now and therefore I keep coming back to her stories. I loved it and I honestly can’t recommend it enough.

While Meritt becomes a widower at a very young age, she doesn’t show her grief or inexperienced life. Keir is a whiskey Scottish seller and they get on the right foot from the first moment they met.

It’s lighthearted and funny at times but also tackles some heavy topics as infertility and amnesia. The chemistry is on the page at all times, and his persuasion had me grinning like an idiot. The side characters were intriguing, and I loved the friendship and caring side of everyone.

Another must-read book from a favourite author.

4.5 stars
arc review

This is the first book I read by Lisa Kleypas and enjoyed it.
It's engrossing, highly entertaining and I rooted for the characters.
I think that some characters were featured in other series and I was left wondering if I missed something.
My only issue is that the romance was a bit weak and too fast. The characters are interesting but their chemistry was somehow lacking.
It's an entertaining read and I recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Lady Merritt was sadly widowed at a young age and has been left her husband's shipping company to run. Whilst running the company she meets Keir MacRae who is a Scottish whiskey seller. As soon as they meet they are instantly attracted but it seems that someone is out to kill Keir following a fire at the docks. Lady Merritt will do anything she can to help Keir.

This book was amazing and I loved it. I have read from Lisa Kleypas but I haven't read all of The Ravenels and The Wallfowers but this didn't stop me from loving this book and the characters.

I loved the characters in this book and the romance between Merritt and Keir was perfect. If you have read the two series mentioned above there are characters that appear in this book from that series.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I love Lisa Klepays writing., the characters she created, and the romance between them. I need to go back and read the rest of the books in this series.

I absolutely love Lisa Kleypas style of writing, her books are so immersive and her characters, while not hundred percent likable, all of the time they are really relatable and you can empathise with them.
This book links characters between two series effortlessly, if you've read The Wall flowers series ( which I loved) then you feel like you're visiting old friends, if not this doesn't impact on the storyline , the author fills in any relevant information so it all makes sense.
I've read most of this series but there were a few books I missed, you can easily read this as a standalone without it impacting on your understanding, character's that appear from previous books are reintroduced so that you understand their relevance.
This really was an immersive read, I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend Lisa Kleypas to readers who enjoy Mary Balogh and Grace Burrowes. 5 stars from me!

I devoured this book. Lisa Kleypas gives fans exactly what they want with the story of Lady Merritt and Scotsman Keir MacRae.

Lady Merritt Sterling (eldest daughter of Marcus, Lord Westcliff and Lillian Bowman) is a widow and is running her late husband's shipping company.

Keir MacRae is a rough whisky distiller from the Scottish Isle of Islay. When Keir accompanies a shipment of whisky to London, he is immediately captivated by Lady Merritt as she is by him. Merritt insists that Keir come to her home to share a meal, not caring if it could cause a scandal, but Keir is attacked and stabbed on the short walk to her house. The story gets exciting from there as Sebastian, Duke of Kingston, involves himself in the police investigation, indicating that the attack was not random.

Without spoiling the rest of the book, longtime fans of Devil in Winter will crave every sentence featuring Evie and/or Sebastian, much like Devil in Spring and Devil’s Daughter. On top of that, fans will root for Keir and Merritt. They are immediately drawn together in a magnetic, love-at-first-sight kind of way. They are full of love and passion for each other, and I melted when Keir calls Merritt his heart.

There are a lot of different plot threads and elements in this book, but unfortunately it didn't quite work for me.

Starting with the characters and the romance, the connection between Merritt and Keir is instant. Insta-lust is something I expect from most romance novels, but it's been a while since I encountered insta-love in an adult romance. Much as with YA romances, this is one of my least favourite tropes. It didn't feel very believable. The relationship between them lacks depth and never develops satisfactorily, and even the two main characters themselves remain fairly flat and 2D. Most of the character development we do see has nothing to do with the romance, but instead comes from one of the many secondary plot threads, namely Keir's connection to "one of England’s most powerful families" as the synopsis states.

Aside from insta-love, the book also throws in other tropes that don't usually work for me, but especially not in this specific combination.

I will say that this book got me to laugh out loud in public transit at one scene involving Sebastian, which is why I added half a star. My favourite interactions were between Keir and Sebastian, and I think they were honestly the best parts of the book, and the only parts where we see any character development for Keir. I liked exploring that dynamic, and was rooting for their relationship a lot more than I was rooting for Keir and Merritt.

The ending also felt way too much like "everyone needs to end up married and with babies or it's not a happily ever after", which made no sense considering one of the main conflicts Merritt struggles with when it comes to her relationship with Keir. To have it just resolved like that was strange.

Not a hardship to read, but far from my favourite book by the author.