Lady Merritt falls fast for Mr Keir MacRae, a burly Scots whiskey distiller down to London to sell his wares. Their instant attraction has a few setbacks, as MacRae's past comes to light. They weather the storms and revelations in what is another excellent historical from Ms Kleypas.

4.5 stars - I would read anything Lisa Kleypas writes and this is no different. I really love the continuation of the Wallflowers & Revenals and this entire world just makes me so happy. Quintessential historical romance and hits all of the bases for me.

Fans of the Wallflower and Ravenels series will absolutely fall in love with Devil in Disguise. 

Lady Merritt Sterling and Keir MacRae sizzle from the moment they first meet. Merrit runs her late husbands' shipping company, and MacRae runs a Scottish whisky distillery. A shipment mishap leads MacRae straight to Merrit and from there sparks fly.    

Keir's arrival to London starts off as business, but ends with his life being at risk. Without giving too much away...His mysterious past is revealed and his world is turned upside down. An explosion leaves him completely vulnerable with brief memory loss. Merrit is determined to protect him, and with the help of a few familiar characters, they work together to solve the mystery of who wants Keir dead. 

The Duke of Kingston, Phoebe Ravenel, Ethan Ransom and Dr. Garrett Gibson all play a role in assisting Merrit & Keir. Lord Westcliff and Lady Westcliff make an appearance, as well. 

Thank You NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

No one writes HR like Lisa Kleypas, just no one. Her books strike the perfect balance between humor and drama, all with strong family ties and a ton of heart.

Lady Merritt Sterling, daughter of Marcus and Lillian, is a widow, running her late husband’s shipping company. She has a run in with handsome Scottish whisky distiller Keir MacRae after his cargo is partially destroyed. His anger quickly dimmed when he meets the beautiful widow, but he knows she’s too far out of his league for anything to happen.

To his surprise, Merritt does not care about their social statuses and wants to be with him, but before anything can develop further, he realizes someone is trying to kill him. Merritt will do anything to protect her new beau, no matter what it takes.

UGH I loved this book so much. Merritt is so strong, just what you’d expect from Marcus and Lillian’s daughter. She’s finding herself after being widowed, and she knows what she wants when she sees Keir.

Keir is from a small Scottish isle, not used to London and all it’s rules. He likes the simple pleasures in life, fishing, spending time with his dog, and whisky. When he falls in love, he does so with his whole heart. He begins to find out the truth behind his lineage and that brings danger to him and possibly those around him. When he finds himself lost in this new world, Merritt is the only one he wants close to him.

It was so swoony, so romantic, so steamy, so funny, so everything. This is definitely my favorite historical I’ve read this year and I know I’ll be re-reading it again soon. All the stars, all the hearts, all the whatever scale you want to use.

(I’m not sure why this is a Ravenels book other than Ethan is in it a little, but that doesn’t really matter. )

I loved this book so much! Actually, saying I loved it would be an understatement!!! I highlighted so much in this book, there's probably more highlighted than not!

I really just let myself enjoy this book! I always lose track of how characters are related and where they pop up in previous books but as always, Kleypas handled it all so well. I loved seeing the second generation and the first generation together. All the characters interacting with one another was such a pleasure! Really, I could talk about this book for hours!

Kleypas, in my opinion, is one of those authors that can build such an intricate world and then build on top of it perfectly. This story was everything I needed and more. Fans of Lord St. Vincent (the one true king of Kleypas' heroes) will fall over themselves in this book. Everything is such so GOOD!!!!! Ugh!!! I just want to happy dance all over the place!

I think I need to reread this one again.

I was so excited to get an ARC copy of this book it went instantly to the top of my TBR pile. Full disclosure, I've read the other six in the Ravenels series and was thrilled there was a new romance. The cover itself would have drawn my eye and I never want to pass up a Lisa Kleypas novel.

The setting is 1880 London and Lady Merritt Sterling is a young widow who runs her husbands shipping firm since his death three years prior. Keir MacRae arrives in her office after a mishap with arrival of whisky from his Scottish distillery. She is surprised by her attraction to him and after taking care of the problem invites him to an intimate dinner at her home. Unfortunately he is attacked on his way there.

This is a fun, sensuous novel and Merritt is a very independent and strong heroine. Keir is handsome, rough and tumble and is a Scottish romantic at heart. Their meetings together are playful and steamy. This is very much an insta attraction situation but in a beautiful scene with her best friend Phoebe she tells her that ten years from now "I'll still say it was love. It was love from the beginning." The plot isn't very complicated and I won't give away spoilers. But beyond the romance there is the mystery of who and why someone wants to kill Keir.

This can definitely be read as a stand alone. My enjoyment was enhanced by seeing Phoebe and Dr. Garrett Gibson who were main characters in two previous books. Other reoccurring characters are especially fun, the Duke of Kingston and Lord Westcliff (Merritt's father), who originated in the author's Wallflower series. For anyone who loves a delightful romance with heat. A big thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The end of the book needs some editing. A person's name changes, a conversation repeats itself, there are some words missing in places, and there are some slight formatting issues. All easily fixed. Otherwise I really enjoyed this book. At first I thought it was going to be obvious and unoriginal but I was pleasantly surprised by how the story unfolded. Well worth the read.