The Ravenels and The Wallflowers: A Tale of the Devil's Daughter

G. Hanhart: Phoebe grew up hating West Ravenel due to the reports of his bullying behaviour towards her childhood friend Henry from the letters Henry sent her from his boarding school.

She married Henry and they had two children together before the longtime health problems which had dogged him all his life eventually killed him.

She accompanies the rest of the family to Hampshire for the wedding of her brother Gabriel and Pandora Ravenel. The first person she sees is West and he is much changed from the boy Henry had described (we have witnessed this change over the course of the previous books in this series).

Gradually Phoebe revises her opinions of West and when problems involving the estate she is caring for on behalf of her son come to light it is West she turns to for help.

West is still wrestling with the demons of his past and the guilt he feels for his previous behaviour- can Phoebe help him get past these and get him to accept her love?

United Kingdom on May 17, 2023

Janine Taylor: The criticism I have of this book - there was no epilogue to tie up the ends of Edward Larson, or some of the details of Phoebe and West’s “happily ever after”!
Otherwise, read the series, be entertained and enjoy these likeable characters.

Australia on Feb 24, 2023

Kindle Customer: Loved this book, the ongoing story of the Ravenels, is fun to follow and this one was a bit different which is always worth a very late night.

United Kingdom on Jan 26, 2023

MG: West Ravenel is the brother of the current Earl of Trenear (Devon), and never in their wildest dreams would either have them ever thought that would be the case. Both he and Devon grew up just barely above the poverty line with parents who were absent at best and abusive at worst. When Devon is identified as the distant cousin of the recently deceased earl and only male relative, both his and West's lives change. West has taken on the role of estate manager for his brother, and he has been instrumental in turning the neglected properties and tenants around so that they are now productive and profitable. One of the ways he has done this is by personally performing the tasks the tenants and the household staff undertake so that he can better understand their roles, and also so that he can determine if there are ways to modernize some of the processes that will make the lives of the people easier as well as increase production.

West's methods have not only led to success, but it has also earned him the respect of those who work with and for him. In fact, he is one of the most liked men on the premises, but West recalls all too well when he was anything but... He was once an...

United States on Apr 26, 2021

J. P.: Had long been awaiting this book—because I long await all Lisa Kleypas books! I ended up enjoying the book a lot, though it is definitely not my favorite LK book. Also not crazy about the cover or the book title, but those are asides.

Overall, both West and Phoebe are terrific characters and I loved the dynamic between them. West is a great hero—hardworking, caring, passionate, sweet. And I loved that we see Phoebe kind of come into herself (again) after having been shut-up following losing her husband—and even with him, it seems like she had to suppress a little bit of herself. I loved her strength and that she's such an active pursuer of West once she decides on it.

I think my biggest hang-up was that everything seemed a bit too easy ...? Now, it's a careful balance for authors to achieve, because there obviously has to be some obstacle, otherwise there's no book and nothing preventing the HEA from happening immediately. On the other hand, we don't like for the obstacles to be too over-the-top (which they can sometimes get to be when the villain gets out of hand) or not believable.

In this instance, it's basically West who is the obstacle to them...

United States on May 18, 2020

Carol Cork: I had difficulty in deciding on a rating for Devil’s Daughter. While there were many things I loved about the book, there were certain aspects that I had issues with. In the end, I settled for 4 stars.

I absolutely loved West. When he first appears in Cold-Hearted Rake, he is an overweight drunkard with a reputation for being a wastrel. When his older brother, Devon, inherits a run-down estate and puts him in charge of running it, West finds a purpose in life for the first time.

In the course of the earlier books I enjoyed seeing West become a better man through his own efforts. He shows a genuine affinity for farming and embraces the new scientific farming methods and treats the estate workers with respect and understanding, even willing to get his own hands dirty when required. I also love his dry humour.

I’m not sure whether is was intentional on Ms. Kleypas’ part, but I saw a parallel between West and Sebastian in that they had both been self-centered, idle womanisers but each had ultimately found a purpose in life; West running his brother’s estate and Sebastian running Evie’s late father’s gambling club

I liked Phoebe who has inherited...

United Kingdom on Jun 28, 2019

Rani: I struggled with how to rate this but going with my gut, after weighing everything.

There were moments where I loved the dialogue, banter and interactions between Phoebe, Lady Clare and West Ravenel, but there were also times the intensity and depth I’ve come to expect from Kleypas when it comes to her characters was missing, especially in the latter part of the book.

This book at times was a very lovely read that had me smiling, I very much, overall, enjoyed the first half of the book – it was fun! But the book as a whole never attains the consistent, magic quality and high level of charm that is found in the Hathaway series and the Wallflower series.

It was ace seeing Evie and Sebastian from Devil in Winter pop up in this book, and I had fun with Sebastian’s fatherly machinations.

Phoebe’s sons, Justin and Stephen, were adorable and West’s engagement with them was lovely.

Protective of her husband’s legacy, Phoebe is reluctant to come back to society and feels guilty initially about her attraction to West, I can understand this although the force of her dislike at the beginning due West picking on/bullying her late husband as a...

United Kingdom on Feb 22, 2019