Devil in Spring (The Ravenels, Book Three): Lisa Kleypas

"An eccentric wallflower...

"Most debutantes dream of finding a husband.  Lady Pandora Ravenel has different plans.  The ambitious young beauty would much rather stay at home and plot out her new board game business than take part in the London Season.  But one night at a glittering society ball, she's ensnared in a scandal with a wickedly handsome stranger.

"A cynical rake...

"After years of evading marital traps with ease, Gabriel, Lord St. Vincent, has finally been caught by a rebellious girl who couldn't be less suitable.  In fact, she wants nothing to do with him.  But Gabriel finds the high-spirited Pandora irresistible.  He'll do whatever it takes to possess her, even if their marriage of convenience turns out to be the devil's own bargain.

"A perilous plot...

"After succumbing to Gabriel's skilled and sensuous persuasion, Pandora agrees to become his bride. Bur soon she discovers that her entrepreneurial endeavors have accidentally involved her in a dangerous conspiracy -- and only her husband can keep her safe.  As Gabriel protects her from their unknown adversaries, they realize their devil's bargain may just turn out to be a match made in heaven..."

This is book three in The Ravenels series.  I flew through it!  The series started off rough with Devon and Kathleen (whose romance I found a little bit forced), then Helen and Rhys (which I thoroughly enjoyed), and now Pandora and Gabriel (which was very nearly on-par with the story in Marrying Winterborn).  Those who have read my reviews know I wasn't really a fan of the antics of Pandora and Cassandra -- they felt overly contrived and didn't quite fit in with the rest of the characters.  I was truly surprised by how much I actually ended up liking Pandora.  She was much more fleshed out than the caricature I'd experienced in the other books.  To my great surprise...I found her funny and enjoyable.  She had an absolutely perfect foil in Gabriel.  His constant striving for perfection mixed with his excellent sense of humor and playfulness were written perfectly.  Their banter was charming.  He had just the right amount of protectiveness and a backstory that served the plot extremely well.  I loved how Gabriel didn't fight the way in which he was drawn to Pandora -- it felt refreshing and made this (mostly) light-hearted romance very readable and fun.

I thought -- given the first chapter or two -- that this would be a fairly "common" plot for the genre (i.e. man and woman caught in unintended compromising situation, they're forced together, they resist, but they end up falling in love anyway, etc.), but some very unexpected twists toward the latter half of the book were a pleasant surprise

***SIDE NOTE:  Gabriel's parents have their own love story told in "Wallflowers" book 3. Devil in Winter (see the trend with the titles going on here?  Clever, Mrs. Kleypas...very clever.  In case you want to see how much I enjoyed that book when I read it back in December of 2008, HERE is the review.)

I enjoyed this book a great deal more than I thought I would.  I finished it very quickly, attesting to the enjoyment I found in the plot and the ease of the reading.  I also really appreciate how Kleypas has woven different series together -- quite the tricky thing to handle well.

Educating Caroline: Patricia Cabot (Meg Cabot)

"Lady Caroline Linford is horrified to discover...

"her fiance, the Marquis of Winchelsea, in the arms of another woman. Unfortunately, Victorian society considers such masculine peccadilloes a trifle; canceling their imminent wedding would be unthinkable. But Caroline's wish is for the man she is to marry to desire only her...and she seeks lessons in the art of romance from the best teacher: London's most notorious rake.

"Braden Granville may be a famous lover...

"but he has no intention of taking part in Caroline's scheme--until he learns she has something he wants: the name of his own unfaithful fiancee's lover. As their passionate tutelage begins, sparks fly--and the lines between teacher and student fall away. Now there is just one last lesson to learn: on the subject of true love, the heart chooses its own unpredictable ways."

I think it's pretty awesome that the woman who wrote the Princess Diaries has switched over to writing for a more adult audience. She took her talent and wit, wrapped it up in a bit of maturity, and came up with this book.

I really enjoyed it! The plot was complex and nicely interwoven. Writing something like this took a lot of planning and I can appreciate that. The characters were wonderful and their situations really were unique. So often are characters and bits of plots recycled that they all seem to blend together; but not with Cabot's writing. She's fun and brilliant in her ability to write memorable characters that stand out.

Though this book took me awhile to finish, it really was worth every page. However, I now remember why I never got through her Princess Diaries books: the sentences tend to be long and drawn out. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate what the author is including in her sentences--all of the structure and word choices which actually made my reading experience extremely enjoyable. It definitely takes some getting used to, but it's well worth it.

I really liked this book and look forward to reading more by this author!