{"id":12048,"date":"2019-08-16T18:26:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T22:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12048"},"modified":"2021-12-16T19:10:39","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T00:10:39","slug":"devils-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12048","title":{"rendered":"Devil’s Daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Devil’s Daughter<\/a><\/em> (2019) Lisa Kleypas<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1877<\/p>\n

This is a sequel to Devil in Spring<\/em>, which I really liked, and enjoyed Hello Stranger<\/em> so this ended up on my wish list.<\/p>\n

Phoebe, Lady Clare married her childhood best friend and love, even knowing he would make her a young widow. Now that she is out of mourning, one of her first society events is the marriage of her brother Gabriel to Pandora (of the first book I mentioned above). There she meets the man who made her husband’s life a misery for the two years he spent at boarding school, West Ravanel. She has always hated West (despite never meeting him) because he made Henry so miserable.<\/p>\n

West Ravenel spent several years as a scoundrel and a wastrel, but learning to care for his brother’s estates saved him from himself. But he assumes that he is beyond redemption, and that his past will haunt him for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

There are funny and cute things that happen here.<\/p>\n

“Gabriel has been urging her to take a stronger hand in the management of the Clare lands\u2014just as Mr.\u00a0Ravenel advised a minute ago.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBut she doesn\u2019t want to?\u201d Pandora asked sympathetically. \u201cBecause farming is so boring?\u201d <\/p>\n

West gave her a sardonic look. \u201cHow do you know if it\u2019s boring? You\u2019ve never done it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell by the books you read.\u201d Turning to Kingston, Pandora explained, \u201cThey\u2019re all about things like scientific butter making, or pig keeping, or smut. Now, who could possibly find smut interesting?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The problem is this story just didn’t hold my attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of your old friends will be there.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYes and no. I want to see them, but I\u2019m nervous. I\u2019m afraid they\u2019ll expect me to be the person I was.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ernestine paused in the midst of unfastening the buttons on the back of her dress. \u201cPardon, ma\u2019am\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. but aren\u2019t you still the same person?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid not. My old self is gone.\u201d A humorless smile tugged at her lips. \u201cAnd the new one hasn\u2019t turned up yet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I mean, that’s a nice and wise piece of self-realization, which is probably part of the problem. The only real conflict was her childhood hatred of a boy who had been abused and unloved in his own childhood. Which is initially understandable, but she really quickly gets over it, seeing how kind he is now, but without any real understanding of what made West the child he was (even if we see a bit of that.)<\/p>\n

There was no tension. No worry. She was perfectly nice, and he was a reformed rake. There were bits that were problems, but they came to seemingly nothing. In fact, Edward seems to have gotten completely away with being a terrible human being.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely it\u2019s not wrong of them to want their work to be less grueling. They could be more productive with less effort, and perhaps gain some leisure time in the bargain.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do they need leisure time for? What would they do with it? Read Plato? Take violin lessons? These are farm people, Phoebe.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not concerned with how they might spend their leisure time. The question is whether they have a right to it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously you think they do.\u201d Edward smiled fondly at her. \u201cThat\u2019s evidence of a soft heart, and womanly sympathy, and I delight to find those qualities in you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not that his father is much better.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhoebe, complex accounting is a strain to the female mind. If you tried to read one of those ledgers, you would soon have a headache.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI keep the household account books and they don\u2019t give me headaches,\u201d she pointed out. <\/p>\n

\u201cAh, but household expenses are in the feminine realm. Business accounting pertains to matters in the masculine realm, outside the home.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But really, Edward is an ass and a jerk, and I really wanted something terrible to happen to him, and nothing really terrible DID happen to him, which was a TERRIBLE disappointment.<\/p>\n

I guess I’m saying that the problems all felt minor and almost manufactured. They didn’t feel as if there were any consequence to the issues. I liked the characters, I just didn’t care about their relationship, other than wanting West to see that he deserved happiness and for Bad Things to happen to Edward.<\/p>\n

So: meh.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Avon
\nRating: 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Devil’s Daughter (2019) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1877 This is a sequel to Devil in Spring, which I really liked, and enjoyed Hello Stranger so this ended up on my wish list. Phoebe, Lady Clare married her childhood best friend and love, even knowing he would make her a young widow. Now that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,204,33,26,56],"tags":[50,165,557],"class_list":["post-12048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british","category-good","category-historical","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-lisa-kleypas","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-38k","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11358,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11358","url_meta":{"origin":12048,"position":0},"title":"Hello Stranger","author":"Michelle","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Stranger (2018) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1876 Dr. Garrett Gibson is the only female doctor in England, and has spent so much time proving she's good enough, she's spared nothing for herself. Ethan Ransom is a Ravanel bastard, former detective for Scotland Yard, and secret agent for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Hello-Stranger.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11368,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11368","url_meta":{"origin":12048,"position":1},"title":"Seduce Me at Sunrise","author":"Michelle","date":"January 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Seduce Me at Sunrise (2008) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1848 Kev Merripen was found beaten and ailing by the Hathaway family, who took him in and treated him as one of their own, despite his obviously being a Rom. He's stayed only because since the day he laid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Seduce-Me-at-Sunrise.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11361,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11361","url_meta":{"origin":12048,"position":2},"title":"Mine Till Midnight","author":"Michelle","date":"January 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Mine Till Midnight (2007) Lisa Kleypas Set in England in 1848. Amelia Hathaway has been holding her family together since her parents died, but after scarlet fever leaves her family in even worse shape, holding things together becomes almost too much for her. Especially when her brother, the head of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Mine-Till-Midnight.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11377,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11377","url_meta":{"origin":12048,"position":3},"title":"Devil in Winter","author":"Michelle","date":"January 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Devil in Winter (2006) Lisa Kleypas Set in London in 1843 Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent is an unrepentant rake whose only interest is pleasure. But he's also broke, and needs a rich wife immediately. \u201cDo you ever think of anyone other than yourself?\u201d The question seemed to pull him out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Devil-in-Winter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11352,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11352","url_meta":{"origin":12048,"position":4},"title":"Devil in Spring","author":"Michelle","date":"January 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Devil in Spring (2017) Lisa Kleypas Set in London in 1876 Lady Pandora Ravenel doesn't want to marry. She wants to make board games and live on her own, because women lose all their right as soon as they marry. But when she's found in a compromising position with Gabriel,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Devil-in-Spring.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11019,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11019","url_meta":{"origin":12048,"position":5},"title":"Dreaming of You","author":"Michelle","date":"August 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Dreaming of You (1994) Lisa Kleypas Set in historical London some time after pistols but before trains There was so much I liked about this story, yet so much that I found problematic about it. 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