Devil in Disguise

By: Lisa Kleypas

Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

New York Times best-selling author Lisa Kleypas returns with an enthralling and steaming romance between a Scot with a mysterious past and strong-willed lady looking for adventure - and love. 

“The devil never tries to make people do the wrong thing by scaring them. He does it by tempting them.”

Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed young widow who’s running her late husband’s shipping company, knows London society is dying to catch her in a scandal. So far, she’s been too smart to provide them with one. But then she meets Keir MacRae, a rough-and-rugged Scottish whisky distiller, and all her sensible plans vanish like smoke. They couldn’t be more different, but their attraction is powerful, raw, and irresistible.

From the moment Keir MacRae arrives in London, he has two goals. One: Don’t fall in love with the dazzling Lady Merritt Sterling. Two: Avoid being killed.

So far, neither of those is going well.

Keir doesn’t know why someone wants him dead until fate reveals the secret of his mysterious past. His world is thrown into upheaval, and the only one he trusts is Merritt.

Their passion blazes with an intensity Merritt has never known before, making her long for the one thing she can’t have from Keir MacRae: forever. As danger draws closer, she’ll do whatever it takes to save the man she loves...even knowing he might be the devil in disguise.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.  

©2021 Lisa Kleypas (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

This book was not worth a credit POSSIBLE SPOILER

This book was mediocre at best, especially for Lisa Kleypas. The problem is that I have so many of her books in my library that ARE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS ONE!
Those books are “Someone to Watch Over Me”, “Lady Sophia’s Lover”, “Worth Any Price”, “Dreaming of You”, “Stranger in My Arms”, “Secrets of A Summer Night”, “Cold-hearted Rake” and “Smooth Talking Stranger”. In all of these books you can feel the chemistry, the connection, the love that brings them together. Could not feel it in this book.
Also, there was an element in this book that was not only disgusting but COMPLETELY unlikely in 1880 England: public sex. Sex on the beach, when both her parents, his father, and various other family members (including children!) were mere feet away!! Ridiculous! I fast forwarded through that scene, and most of the other uninspired love scenes. Really it didn’t even seem like LK wrote this book.

This was a lot...

The Ravenel series has overall been a bit hit or miss for me in general. I loved some of it, felt indifferent about a few, and hated two with a fierce passion. I was hoping I'd fall in love with this one in particular because Lillian and Westcliff were personally my favorites of the original series. So, naturally I felt incredibly biases going into this book because we had already met Merritt and she was delightful. I had pre-ordered it the minute I found out about. I had shockingly high expectations.

imagine my surprise when I felt mostly indifferent to this story overall. I actually stopped for weeks on ended because I almost didn't want to finish it. Reading this book honestly felt like a chore to get to Wallflower moments more than anything else. Which Lisa Kleypas definitely delivered. It was so great seeing my two favorite ships from the original series. Lillian is amazing.

The main ship? I think if you love instalove stories this might be a good fit. But between the too many story plots, the rushed romance, the amnesia plot (like why?), and the convoluted way it ended. It was so much work to get through all the cliché. In general, there was certainly things that could of been edited out or prolonged (particularly, with the romance)... or really even just play on the class differences a little more.

For example, people kept telling Merritt that she would lose her reputation if she gets with this guy, and you would think that would play a role... and it doesn't. A lot of plots feel very much like that. Just really half-baked.

What's really interesting is LK never fully commits to the class struggle storyline despite having it featured as a point in every series in the Wallflower verse. Simon and Annabelle, went through a harder time than these two... plus we got to see their relationship from the time they met to their "courtship", to the marriage, and beyond. We as an audience see the struggles after they got together. So, it could definitely been done in a similar way with Keir and Merritt and it wasn't. It never really felt like Merritt was gonna suffer any backlash because two seconds later the problem was solved.

I just wish this story was a little more focused, or perhaps it would of been better as a long-ish novella. Something didn't work.

The performance of Mary Jane Wells is always a delight.

So Wonderful!

So good! It just love how favorite characters from other books were back and we got to see how they turned out! The main characters were adorable together! I love Lisa Kleypas, but this was so much more than I was expecting. Of course, Mary Jane Wells is an amazing narrator and should narrate everything.

I love all things Lisa Kleypas and MJW

Another great addition to the wallflower/Ravenal series. I enjoy the ongoing stories of the wallflowers’ adult children. So hoping the story continues with more tales of the large families. This was a fun listen to a witty love story mixed with some intrigue. MJW is a master with narration and my all time personal favorite.

i loved it

i love these series. i love that Merritt is a mix of her parents, their story is one of my favorites along with evie's story. and at long last the wallflowers are truly related by marriage. i truly hope there is another book coming.

So good!

This has to be one of my absolute favorite stories!! Keir and Merrit were so good together and it was amazing to see all my wallflower favorites and Garrett and Ethan. I loved everything about it ❤️ and as always MJW is top notch as a narrator. Will listen again when I need cheering up.

Loved it!!!!

I will listen to anything Lisa Kleypas writes and Mary Jane Wells narrates.

I particularly love this series. It is like visiting family. Kier and Merrit were perfect together.

Sebastian (Duke of Kingston) has a bigger part in this and he has been my favorite forever. I am so happy that Mary Jane Wells is narrating this because she can perfectly do his humor as well as Kier’s Scottish accent.

I can’t wait to see Sarafina, Ivo or any of the Earl of Westcliff’s children’s romances.

Lovely as usual...

I listened to this book the day it was released. I don’t normally write reviews but the over the top negative review below compels me to. If you like Lisa Kleypas books, you will like this one as well. I have read all of Lisa’s historical romances and I’ve enjoyed them all. This one does not differ greatly as the negative review stated. Oh and if you loved The Devil in Winter as I did, you will love all the scenes with Sebastian and Evie. I will also add Mary Jane Wells does an incredible job as always. Lisa and Mary are a wonderful combo. Enjoy

Good story

Don't pay no mind to the whiners, that lie. Sex on the beach, let's goooooo! BS about the family being in view. These are escapades wrapped up in historical drama. If you can't handle the mention of a "peen" then run away! Five starts for steamy. Great romp!

Lisa Kleypas and Mary Jane Wells are wonderful!

The team of Kleypas and Wells never disappoints. I love the writing and humor in this series and Mary Jane Wells brings the characters to life like no other historical romance narrator, at least for me. She does the voices of both women and men very effectively, in a huge array of accents, and her performance never fails to draw me deeper into the story. I loved both the main characters in this story and the clever connections between characters from earlier books. This was a solid thumbs up with all the stars.