Lisa Kleypas, Devil in Winter

Take London's most notorious rakehell in one hand, and a cripplingly shy (and unintentionally captivating) virgin in the other. Add a West End gambling hell, a magnetic/charismatic Gypsy, a resentful Cockney companion, some guns, and the rest of the delightful Wallflowers, and you have "Devil In Winter," the third book of the Wallflower series.

Evangeline "Evie" Jenner is the daughter of ex-boxer Ivo Jenner (who made an appearance in Lisa Kleypas's previous acclaimed novel "Dreaming of You"), who owns a gaming club. She stands to inherit the largest fortune of all her Wallflower friends; couple that with her unique beauty (flaming hair and freckles everywhere), and she should be one of the biggest catches in the London Season. However, she is painfully shy, which results in a stammer (and thus is a "suitor repeller"), and her maternal relatives, the Maybricks, are a controlling and abusive lot who wish to marry her off to her cousin Eustace in order to keep her father's fortune in their family. Needless to say, this Wallflower is in a tight spot.

Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent is a reprehensible rake who is in something of a tight spot himself. Mostly due to his spendthrift father, Sebastian doesn't have much of a fortune, despite his title. This led him to an *exceedingly* desperate action in the previous Wallflower book, "It Happened One Autumn": he kidnapped Wallflower (and soap heiress) Lillian Bowman, and tried to elope with her to Gretna Green. This abduction cost him his friendship with Lillian's fiance , the Earl of Westcliff, and has him feeling a bit down in the dumps.

Enter his salvation: equally desperate Evie, who summons great courage to propose marriage, of all things (though not with some reservations, namely her friendship with Lillian). They would elope to Gretna Green, consummate the marriage (at Sebastian's insistence, to make it legal), and the rewards would be twofold: Evie would be freed from her horrid family, and Sebastian could inherit her fortune and "go about his merry way." There is a catch, though: no sex after consummation. Evie doesn't want to give her heart over to someone who will only break it.

Sebastian agrees to the proposition, and they quickly marry, and... do everything else attached to the agreement. And then something inside him changes. It's as if he has been hit over the head with a blunt object known as Evie. She is unlike any woman he has ever known, and her effect on him was unforeseeable when he agreed to marry her.

Now, the formerly latent rake has several new responsibilities, including the reopening of the club, dealing with some people who don't really want him there, and caring for Evie's consumptive father. And he copes with all of them, while his beautiful wife remains in his life every day, and he can't have her. He doesn't want any woman but her--and that unnerves him.

Soon, the tension between them becomes unbearable, and something has to give. So, Evie revises their agreement: if he can be completely celibate for three months, then she is his. If he cheats on her, then he must apologize to the Earl of Westcliff for abducting his fiance (now wife) Lillian. Imagine the awkwardness...! So, Sebastian complies. And the sexual tension simmers continuously. Until he gets shot while protecting Evie, and his life hangs in the balance.

Sebastian's steady (if a bit quick) transformation is believable, as his interests are not only in his new wife, but also his new profession. His charm (which was evident in "It Happened One Autumn") is irresistible, and his character surprisingly sympathetic. He manages to melt Evie's shyness and reveal a truly wonderful spirit, and it becomes impossible not to fall in love with her. The romance sizzles, and the subplots (including Ivo Jenner's eminent death) are often heart wrenching.

All in all, a tale of two people who got married... and *then* fell in love.

LoveDevil in Winter. Love Lisa Kleypas. Can not wait until July for the next edition of Wallflower series. Read one and you'll be hook and have to read them all

Devil in Winter

Lisa Kleypas

Avon, Mar 2006, $7.50, 384 pp.

ISBN: 006056251X

In 1843 London, extremely reticent, probably the shiest of the four Wallflower pact members, Evangeline "Evie" Jenner knows she must find her courage if she is to keep her avaricious relatives from fostering her off in marriage to a man of their choice in order to control the fortune she will soon inherit. Evie figures she needs a brave person immune to the taunts of society who will agree to a marriage of convenience. Her choice is the notorious rake Viscount Sebastian St. Vincent, but first she must talk to him before she can offer him a proposal he cannot refuse.

Evie enters the lion's lair sans a chaperone. Sebastian is impressed with her courage, and her offer is most generous, except for her stipulation of no sex after their wedding night. He plans to wed the chit, seduce her with his lovemaking skills, and when has his full, he will go elsewhere for his needs. So why does he find going elsewhere suddenly an abomination, especially since the beauty rejects his advances by hiding her love for her spouse out of fear he will break her heart.

The latest seasonal Wallflower tale (see SECRETS OF A SUMMER NIGHT and IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN) is a terrific early Victorian romance. Evie, unlike her more vivacious Wallflowers, is the last person one would expect to dare to approach Sebastian, but that she does, encouraged by her teammates. Sebastian is enthralled by her courage as much as by her beauty, as he realizes how difficult the task to approach him must have been. Similar to the previous two historicals, no one will care, as Lisa Kleypas' fans will wonder if spring can be far behind.