Devil's Daughter, by Lisa Kleypas

After three mediocre-ranging-to-outright-disappointing installments in her Ravenels series, Lisa Kleypas has made an unexpected return to form. With Devil's Daughter, we are suddenly back to her normal solid work.

Phoebe, Lady Clare, has heard nothing but terrible reports of West Ravenel. Back in boarding school, he was a bully who made her late husband miserable, and he's spent the intervening years as a seducer and wastrel. A family connection has brought them together, but Phoebe is determined to dislike him. West doesn't blame her. His past is ugly, and the fact that he has made some changes—along with his wit, intelligence, and unexpectedly kind heart—isn't enough to make him worthy of a woman like Lady Clare. The two are in perfect agreement about their lack of compatibility, but their unexpected chemistry is impossible to dismiss.

Devil's Daughter features endearing protagonists, a plot that centers around historically-relevant conflicts, and (thankfully) no health crisis scene. And for fans of Kleypas's Wallflowers series, there are several cameos by earlier characters that happen in an organic, entertaining fashion. It's not the most memorable novel the author has ever produced—the stakes simply aren't high enough—but the worst thing I can say about this installment is that you'll have to slog the previous books in this series for everything to make sense.