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After finishing my new releases and having a little bit of time before needing to get to some book club books, I decided to finally get back to my Ravenels series reread. I had meant to read book 3, Devil in Spring, and book 4, Hello Stranger, last month (in June), but ran out of time. Now I have 4 to read by the end of the month. In case you're new around here, I am rereading Lisa Kelypas's Ravenels series since book 7, Devil in Disguise, comes out later this month on the 27th. It's also the August book for the Rake Appreciation Society hosted by Crystal and Jen. But back to Devil in Spring. I was able to apply this read to the travel or vacation prompt for the Summer of Swoon board 2.
So a little bit of a preface here. If you didn't know, one of Lisa Kleypas's biggest series is the Wallflowers. Book 3, Devil in Winter, has a hero, Sebastian St. Vincent, that is redeemed (he kidnaps the heroine in the previous book) and is a fan favorite (between him and Derek Craven). Personally I prefer Westcliff, the hero of It Happened One Autumn. But back to Sebastian, he and his wife Evie are the prologue of this book. It's such a great intro, even more so to touch base with them years later and just brings that nostalgic feeling that sets this book up so well. A fun note, there are a couple books in this series that have "devil" in the title. If it does there is some sort of connection to Sebastian and Evie. This is also why there's a lot of speculation about Devil in Disguise because fans can't quite figure out the connection beforehand. Back to Devil in Spring.
Gabriel, our hero of this book is Sebastian and Evie's eldest son. He's in line for the dukedom and is the current Lord St. Vincent. Our heroine is the dark haired twin Pandora. As we know from the first two books, she's more the eccentric and energetic twin. She assists a friend in getting an earring and just so happens to get caught in the wood filigree on the back of a settee. Gabriel happens upon her and rescues her. However they are in a carriage house and get caught by Westcliff and the host of the ball. Of course this leads to Pandora being "ruined" and starts their connection. Pandora is dead set against getting married and her board game designs are starting to take off. Gabriel doesn't think, at first, she's the best personality to be his wife, but is super drawn to her and wants to do the right thing. Sebastian and Evie decide to invite the Ravenels to a house party for the families to get to know each other better.
It's never quite spelled out directly, but it's pretty much assumed by a lot of readers that Pandora has some sort of behavioral disorder like ADHD. She gets sidetracked very easily and has her habits to reset her mind. I love the way she portrayed without it being constantly shoved in your face that she's different. Gabriel also seems to be able to understand her more than others and know how to bring her back to the present. He's so good and starting conversations that are more engaging for her brain and really keeps her more present. I also loved getting to see more of the twin dynamic from Pandora and Cassandra. I also love seeing sibling relationships, but even more when there's that twin connection. It always fascinates me. I've heard that twins tend to skip generations, so if that's true there's a change that myself and/or my siblings will have twins. My grandmother had twin boys, but unfortunately they passed not long after birth.
I'm really excited to get back to my reread and am a little mad at myself for not getting back to it sooner. Lisa Kleypas is such a great writer and her books always sweep me away. She is known as the historical romance queen among romance readers and for good reason. If you haven't tried historical romance or Lisa Kleypas yet, the Wallflowers series is a great place to start (and is a shorter series). I can't wait to continue my reread and eventually get to her new release. I've seen some reviewers that received arcs for review really rave about it. There hasn't really much been said about plot (outside of the blurb), but they all have really enjoyed it.
Have you read Devil in Spring?
Bookishly Yours,
Stasi🍎
STATISTICS: Devil in Spring, Lisa Kleypas, 5-stars, 1 day, paperback, 370 pages, published in 2017
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