Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

A Month of Romance Audio Favorites Selection

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

I’m a relative newcomer to the world of romance – both in terms of books and audiobooks – and even though I’m a voracious reader, there are still a number of older books on my TBR pile that I despair of ever getting around to reading. That’s one of the reasons my audiobook listening has increased so much over the last couple of years; discovering that a number of those titles I had on my TBR list were available in audio format gave me the opportunity to listen to a large number of books that would probably still be languishing on that very pile, of which, until last year, Devil in Winter was one.

I have no idea what made me choose it out of the list of titles I could have selected. I remember that a number of my Goodreads friends had urged me to read the book and, one day when I was poking around various websites looking for inspiration (as one does), I came across a very reasonably priced MP3 CD copy and bought it on impulse.

At its most basic, the novel is a take on the “rake-meets-wallflower” plot AND it also boasts my favourite of all tropes, the one of  “marriage-of-convenience-turns-to-love”, so it was a good bet I was going to enjoy it.  What an understatement.

Devil in Winter may be a collection of tropes, but the whole thing is so brilliantly written and wonderfully characterised that it deserves a category of its own. It’s easy to see why it’s such a firm favourite with so many romance readers.

I’m a total sucker for a smart-mouthed, witty, sexy, naughty hero with a bit of a tortured past, and Sebastian St. Vincent ticks all those boxes and then some. On the surface, he’s the epitome of the rake for whom life no longer holds any surprises. He’s been there, done that, done it again – several times over – and has reached the ripe old age of thirty-two staring financial ruin in the face (which, to be fair, isn’t completely his fault) and has nothing in his life of any meaning or permanence. Being the sort of chap he is, he masks all that hollowness under a veneer of ennui yet it’s clear from fairly early on in the story that, despite his divine good looks, his poise and incredible self-assurance, he doesn’t like himself very much.

Fortunately for Sebastian, salvation literally shows up on his doorstep one night in the form of Miss Evangeline Jenner, a young woman regarded as a perennial wallflower. She’s slight, red-haired, freckled, suffers from a stammer (which has led some young men of the ton to make very disparaging comments about her), and she’s also about to inherit a fortune from her dying father – a fortune her grasping relatives would do almost anything to get their grubby mitts on, so Evie has got to act quickly if she’s to evade their plans to marry her to her equally unpleasant cousin.

Knowing that Sebastian is desperate for money, she offers to marry him on condition that he allows her to care for her dying father until the end. She doesn’t want anything else – she doesn’t want Sebastian, she doesn’t want a huge fortune, she doesn’t really want to be married, but as a young unmarried woman who is subject to male authority – in Evie’s case, her avaricious uncles – the only way she can break their hold over her is to transfer their authority to another man. A husband. Then, of course, she has to hope that husband will hold to their agreement and not attempt to interfere in her life.

Sebastian has no alternative. He agrees to Evie’s suggestion that they marry quickly and afterwards go their separate ways and the pair leaves for Gretna Green immediately.

Their journey is long and arduous, and the cold and continual discomfort takes a real toll on Evie but Sebastian shows a surprising solicitousness for her comfort, and he’s not just doing it for the money. His care for her on the journey is both surprising, given his reputation as a heartless womaniser, and beautiful to behold; yet he is still recognisably the same man, as he teases Evie out of her funks and does his best to ensure her what little comfort is on offer.

And Evie is surprised to discover that this man she’s regarded as dangerous and untrustworthy – he certainly is those things – is also kind and caring, beneath the beautiful, hard exterior. She also discovers the delights of flirtation and enjoys the verbal sparring she engages in with Sebastian.

“I-I’m not making advances,” she told him as she flattened herself against his chest. “You’re just an available s-source of heat.”

“So you say,” St. Vincent replied lazily, tucking the quilt more tightly around them both.

“However, during the past quarter hour you’ve been fondling parts of my anatomy that no one’s ever dared to touch before.”

“I v-very much doubt that.” She burrowed even further into the depths of his coat, and added in a muffled voice, “You’ve probably been h-handled more than a hamper at Fortnum and Mason.”

The plot proceeds as one might expect, with the hardened libertine falling head-over-heels for the one woman who is determined to resist him. The wedding ceremony is a hoot – Evie and Sebastian are barely able to stay standing up and his exasperation at the blacksmith’s insistence on regaling them with history and his daughters as bridesmaids is very funny. All St. Vincent wants to do is collapse into bed to sleep (a rare preference for him!) and yet he’s already feeling an attraction to Evie that is both unexpected and undeniable.

She agrees to have sex with him once, so the marriage is legal and binding, but having no desire to become one of a fast-moving succession of women who fall into his bed, that’s all Evie agrees to. The problem, of course, begins after the consummation, when Sebastian comes to the incredible and unwelcome realisation that once wasn’t enough for him.

There are a number of things which make this book so memorable. St. Vincent, obviously, is a hero to die for – gorgeous, witty, and endearingly vulnerable beyond the gilded surface; his story is not merely one of the debauched rake reformed by love. I’m not always convinced by that particular narrative anyway, because I think that in order to make the sorts of changes in one’s life Sebastian makes, there has to be something more than an outside influence at work and that’s what Lisa Kleypas has written so skilfully here. Not only does he find love with Evie, Sebastian finds himself, too, discovering talents he’s always had and never used, and putting those talents he’s always known about – his charm, his sense of style, and flair – to better use than heretofore. For me, seeing Sebastian find his purpose in life is just as important an element to the story as the romance. And shy, diminutive Evie turns out to be tenacious and strong-willed – things Sebastian hadn’t expected and isn’t sure he likes – as well as clever, witty, and sensual which he likes very much indeed.

Devil in Winter was originally published in 2006 in print format with the audio version following in 2010. Rosalyn Landor has narrated a number of Ms. Kleypas’ books including the Wallflower Series (this is the third entry to the series). I confess I have yet to listen to the rest, mostly because I get distracted by Devil in Winter and end up listening to it again rather than to one of the other books in the series!

Listening to Ms. Landor narrate this audiobook was a revelation. I said in our Valentine’s Day round-up that I’ve been a long-time listener to audio drama, but that listening to books read by one narrator has been a relatively new development for me. Not to say I hadn’t listened to any, but I remember them being a little dry without much differentiation between characters of different genders (or the same gender, come to that). So when I heard someone actually acting rather than simply reading the story, it was as though a whole new medium had opened up.

Having now listened to a considerably larger number of audiobooks than I had at the time, I realise how lucky I was not only to have chosen a terrific book for my first romance listen, but one read by Rosalyn Landor as well. For me, she’s unparalleled when it comes to historical romance, although I admit that she now shares my “top narrator” spot with a certain Mr. Boulton. Ms. Landor brings out the humour, the sensuality, the pathos, and the drama in the story; all the characters are clearly differentiated and characterised in ways that perfectly fit their ages and stations in life. Her portrayals of the female characters are always note-perfect, and her version of Evie is no exception. She handles the stammer well and subtly shows Evie’s growing confidence by means of a gradual strengthening of tone and the flirtatious manner she adopts with her husband.

I imagine it was a challenge to determine upon a suitable interpretation of Cam Rohan, who is described as having “an unusual accent, cultured, but tainted with hints of cockney and a sort of foreign rhythm, all blended in a unique mixture.” Not having read the book, I hadn’t formed an idea of how Cam should sound and Ms. Landor arrived at a suitably different accent, which is not outlandish or over the top.

She’s also good with the Scottish accents but the real revelation for me first time around was the fact that here was a woman who could use pitch, resonance, and timbre in such a way as to sound convincing when portraying men.

Her performance of Sebastian works perfectly. Yes, he sounds like a pompous arse at the beginning – but then he is a pompous arse at the beginning! Ms. Landor expertly captured his arrogance while hinting at the self-loathing beneath the surface. One of Sebastian’s most endearing traits is the fact that he is under no illusions about himself or his lifestyle, and she imbues him with a combination of just the right amounts of hauteur and self-mockery. As the story progresses and he begins to fall for Evie, his tones soften, although his voice never quite loses the edge that goes with centuries of aristocratic conditioning.

Devil in Winter continues to be one of my “go-to” comfort listens. The story is superbly told and the chemistry between the leads just leaps off the page. The audiobook benefits from an extremely talented performer and narrator who fleshes out all the characters, even the minor ones, and adds another dimension to this most beloved of romances.

I can’t see my own love affair with it ending anytime soon.

Caz

Narration:  A

Book Content:  A

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence:  Minimal

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Brilliance Audio