Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleypas (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Although beautiful young widow Phoebe, Lady Clare, has never met West Ravenel, she knows one thing for certain: he's a mean, rotten bully. Back in boarding school, he made her late husband's life a misery, and she'll never forgive him for it. But when Phoebe attends a family wedding, she encounters a dashing and impossibly charming stranger who sends a fire-and-ice jolt of attraction through her. And then he introduces himself...as none other than West Ravenel.

West is a man with a tarnished past. No apologies, no excuses. However, from the moment he meets Phoebe, West is consumed by irresistible desire...not to mention the bitter awareness that a woman like her is far out of his reach. What West doesn't bargain on is that Phoebe is no straitlaced aristocratic lady. She's the daughter of a strong-willed wallflower who long ago eloped with Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent—the most devilishly wicked rake in England.

Before long, Phoebe sets out to seduce the man who has awakened her fiery nature and shown her unimaginable pleasure. Will their overwhelming passion be enough to overcome the obstacles of the past?"

My Thoughts:

Whelp!  I read my first book by Kleypas and now I'm completely hooked!  I started this book only knowing that I had previously heard tons of  high praise for Lisa Kleypas and her historical romances.  Let me tell you that I can honestly join in on singing this author's praises now!  I was hooked on this book from the very beginning.  I was so completely invested in the relationship developing between West and Phoebe.  What I really liked about this book is that the author took a difficult situation with the recent death of Phoebe's husband, whom she genuinely loved, and still managed to create a believable romance between her and West that I could't help but root for.  West was delightful to read about and not at all what I expected him to be from reading the summary of this book.  He was just perfect for Phoebe in every way even if neither of them knew it right away!  I literally could not stop reading this book!  I found myself sneaking in pages every free second that I had (and that's no exaggeration).  That feeling of anticipation and would they be able to get their happy ever after kept me reading long after I should have gone to bed.  And I enjoyed every minute of it!  I also have to say that I really appreciated that Phoebe's husband was remembered in a positive way.  I think this comes from me reading so many thrillers where the deceased spouse may not have been the best type of person but I didn't feel like this author went there at all.  She kept the love between Phoebe and him as something separate but important all the same.  I also felt like it opened Phoebe up to an even deeper relationship with West which I adored.  If all of the books in this series are this good, I am certainly in for a treat!  I feel like I say this every time but with books this good, I really, really need to add more historical romances to my reading life!  

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely and will certainly be reading more by this author!  I have a few of her other romances already on my shelves but I think that I would like to start at the beginning of this series first and catch up.  I've heard such good things about the earlier books so I want to read the rest of the books before trying anything else.  Plus, the covers for this book and the rest of the series are absolutely gorgeous!!  I am so glad that I've finally read this author and will not be waiting long before reading more by her.  I would recommend this book to fans of romance and historical romances alike.  As will most historical romances, you don't have to read these in order.  I certainly didn't and it didn't effect my enjoyment in the slightest.  Highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  A book that I couldn't help but fall a little bit in love with!

Source:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher.  All thoughts are my own.