Narrated by Mary Jane Wells

I think it’s fair to say that Devil in Spring is the most highly anticipated historical romance of 2017. I know that I – along with practically every other fan of the author and the genre – was excited at the prospect of meeting Lord St. Vincent mark II in the form of Gabriel Challon, eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of Kingston; aka Sebastian and Evie from Devil in Winter, surely one of the genre’s most beloved couples.

In the book’s prologue, Sebastian – who is as gorgeous at sixty as he was at thirty – and Evie discuss the fact that a couple of nights earlier at a ball, Gabriel was found in a compromising position with Lady Pandora Ravenel. Pandora, who had been attempting to do a favour for a friend, became stuck in the ornate scrollwork of a piece of furniture, and when Gabriel was helping her get free, they were seen at the worst possible time by their host, leaving Gabriel no alternative but to offer marriage.

Those who are familiar with the previous books in this series will recall that Pandora is one of the younger, twin sisters of Lady Helen, who was the heroine of Marrying Winterborne. Pandora is not at all like Helen, however; she is a veritable ball of energy, finds it hard to sit still for very long, her brain works at a mile a minute, and she doesn’t care much for appearances. She’s vibrant, imaginative, forthright and quite unique – and in the last book, had declared her intention of setting up and running her own board-game company. Rhys Winterborne, owner of the largest department store in the country has already promised to back her, and she has recently filed a patent for her first game. Marriage is not on her agenda, principally because the laws of England prohibit married women from owning anything; if Pandora marries, the company will automatically belong to her husband and she will be precluded from signing contracts, making payments and doing anything else that should be the province of the owner and manager of any company. Any male owner and manager, that is.

When Gabriel – who, besides being gorgeous, is the independently wealthy heir to a dukedom – asks for her hand, Pandora turns him down flat. He’s surprised, knowing that her reputation will be almost irretrievably damaged if she doesn’t marry him, and is equally surprised when her brother-in-law, the Earl of Trenear (Devon Ravenel) tells Gabriel that he doesn’t plan to force Pandora into marriage. But while Gabriel certainly isn’t looking to get married just yet, he can’t deny that he’s intrigued by Pandora, who is completely unlike any other young woman he has met. So when his father suggests inviting the Ravenels to the Challon estate in Sussex as a way for the two young people to get to know each other better, Gabriel likes the idea immediately, and the invitation is issued.

The bulk of the book thus tells the story of the developing relationship between Pandora and Gabriel, and it’s thoroughly charming and romantic with some nicely sensual moments along the way. Ms. Kleypas has – wisely – chosen not to make Gabriel a chip off the old block; he and his father resemble each other physically to a great degree, but they are otherwise quite different. Where Sebastian was an impoverished, conscienceless rake, Gabriel is fully awake to his responsibilities, has already made his own fortune through his talent for spotting a good investment, is running Jenner’s (the club Sebastian took over in Devil in Winter) as well as certain aspects of the dukedom and is generally a model son. The one thing he and his family don’t see eye to eye about is his continuing relationship with Mrs. Black, the wife of the American ambassador, who has been Gabriel’s mistress for the past two years. In a nicely done father/son tête-à-tête, the author hints that Gabriel has some… darker sexual appetites that Mrs. Black is only too happy to satisfy, but this aspect of his character is never really built upon, so we’re left with the impression that Gabriel is pretty much perfect. So while he’s clever, sexy and witty, he’s also – and how it pains me to say this – just a teeny bit bland.

One of the things I really like about Pandora is that what you see is pretty much what you get, which makes her an incredibly refreshing character in a genre littered with wallflowers, shy ingénues and downtrodden bluestockings. She says what she thinks, she doesn’t dissemble and her curiosity knows no bounds. She also suffers balance and hearing problems as the result of a childhood injury to one ear, and (I am guessing) from what we would today call ADHD, given that she’s always on the go and either finds it difficult to concentrate or becomes focused on something to the exclusion of all else – either way, she’s an oddity, but a refreshing one, and Gabriel is quickly completely smitten. He’s determined to have her – and given that honesty is one of Pandora’s great strengths, it’s not long before she makes clear to him that her reservations about marriage are not really to do with him, but with the institution itself because the moment she says “I do”, she will become little more than her husband’s property. I was particularly impressed with this aspect of the story; Ms. Kleypas doesn’t invent an easy way out of Pandora’s dilemma, but shows her having to make some difficult choices about her future. Luckily for her, she managed to get herself compromised by an equally unique man, one who is prepared to do everything he can to ensure she retains as much independence as possible. But as the story progressed, I began to wonder exactly what Gabriel was getting out of the deal (other than the obvious!). He really goes out on a limb for Pandora – even going so far as to arrange for different wording in the nuptial service – but even near the end of the book, she can’t bring herself to trust him, and it seemed to me that he was doing all the giving and she was doing all the taking in the relationship.

The romance is very well developed, however, and the first two-thirds of the book gets at least an A- from me, but given that Gabriel and Pandora are married long before the end, it was obvious that something was going to have to happen to upset their newly married bliss. I’d expected this something to come in the form of the vengeful former mistress, but it doesn’t; instead, there is what I can only describe as a tacked-on plot concerning some political insurrectionists that comes more or less out of nowhere – and which I can only deduce was included as a way of mirroring a key event from Devil in Winter. As a result, I felt rather deflated by the end of the book, and found myself pondering missed opportunities for character development – especially on Gabriel’s part.

The extremely talented Mary Jane Wells is back at the microphone for this third instalment in the Ravenels series, and her superb performance undoubtedly contributed a great deal to my overall enjoyment of the book and, I suspect, bumped my content grade up a little. Her pacing is just right and wonderfully naturalistic, her differentiation is excellent, her acting choices are spot-on and her characterisations are all impeccably tailored according to gender, age and station. Pandora and Gabriel especially, are both superbly realised. Pandora generally speaks quickly, her words just tumbling out of her; and her voice can be strident, verging on the harsh – but it works in context, and also serves to show how different she is from the other ladies around her. And by means of a drop in pitch, a slightly slower pace and darker timbre, Gabriel comes to life as a smolderingly sexy hero who oozes warmth, genuine charm and good humour. Ms. Wells also tackles Evie’s stammer nicely, and differentiates particularly well between Sebastian and Gabriel in their scenes together. Her ability to perform a variety of accents is also showcased, with Welsh, Scottish and American all perfectly articulated.

Overall, I have to say that Devil in Spring didn’t quite meet my expectations, but then to be fair, they were quite high to begin with. There is much to enjoy in the story in spite of my quibbles; the romance is lovely, the characters are well-drawn, and I can’t deny that getting to spend a little more time with Sebastian and Evie – who aren’t allowed to take over – was very enjoyable. Add in another superb performance by Mary Jane Wells, and, even with its faults, this is an audiobook I can’t do otherwise than recommend.

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