Series: The Ravenels, #1
Traits & Tropes: widow; reformed rake; enemies to lovers; starched heroine
Genre/Setting: Historical; Victorian; Hampshire/London, England, 1875
Publication Date: 10.27.15
Heat Level: 5
Rating: 3/5
Narration Rating: 5/5
Devon Ravenel is happy with his life as a carefree rake with no responsibilities. So, when he inherits an earldom with a crumbling estate and crippling debt, his first thought is to sell off as much as possible. But he also must deal with his late cousin’s three young sisters and his lovely widow, Kathleen, Lady Trenear, whose backbone gives Devon an unexpected challenge.
Kathleen may be rather sheltered, but she knows she can’t trust the rakish Devon. Beneath their mutual animosity lies a simmering attraction neither can deny and when Devon finally gets Kathleen in his bed, he knows he must make her his. Kathleen gives in to him, but only so much; she knows the danger he poses to her heart and convincing her to trust him will be no easy feat for Devon.
Lately I’ve been working my way through the backlists of some of my favorite authors on audio. I’ve heard great things about this one and had high hopes, but I must say it was a bit flat. I enjoyed the supporting characters, especially the scenes we got between Helen and Rhys, but the romance between Devon and Kathleen never much manifested for me. Devon showed a tremendous amount of growth and character development, which I loved, but his honesty with Kathleen came very late in the book after my interest had already moved on to the relationship between Helen and Rhys. This just made Kathleen annoying to me as she continued to meddle, albeit good-naturedly, in Helen’s life without ever asking her what she wanted. I know this will all be unpacked in the next book but after Kathleen’s nagging and bleating on about propriety throughout this whole book, she was on my nerves too much for me to really be invested in her HEA with Devon. The sniping between Kathleen and Devon was never very charming to me, especially given they didn’t have much interaction that didn’t involve them being at each other’s throats or succumbing to their mutual desire. Neither really understood the other, but in the end, Devon showed growth and a willingness to communicate that Kathleen never exhibited and though I enjoyed them being flawed and having issues to work through, only one of them seemed to ever do any of that work and the romance suffered.
Overall, Kathleen and Devon spent too much time apart and other characters drew my attention more. I look forward to Rhys and Helen’s story but this one was sadly disappointing. I think the set up for the series and its characters worked, especially the growth and development of Devon and West, both as brothers and as individuals, but Kathleen learned nothing and I expect she’ll continue to annoy me with her presumption in the next book.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3029829850
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2425882830
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