***SPOILERS***
I'm a huge Lisa Kleypas fan. Huge. And I mostly enjoyed, but was ultimately left a little disappointed by Sugar Daddy. I was beyond excited for this one because I loved Hardy and from the glimpse we saw of Haven in the last book, I thought she had strong potential. Like Sugar Daddy, though, I finished Blue-Eyed Devil rather disappointed.
One of my disappointments was the abuse story line. I just had trouble relating. It's such a difficult topic, and I think Kleypas had a good idea there, but I found it unconvincing. The brief glimpse we get of Haven in Sugar Daddy is of this bubbling-quirky-advocate for the underdog sort of person. In fact, Gage remarked that the biggest disappointment of Haven's life was not being born disenfranchised. My point is, Haven in Sugar Daddy and Haven in Blue Eyed Devil did not match up- they seemed like two different people. And when the abuse starts, I just didn't buy that Haven would have allowed it to happen. Even the bit we see about her mother's treatment of her and her lack of "boundaries" just wasn't enough for me. I simply didn't believe that Haven would have allowed it to go on so long. It completely lost me by the time Nick renamed her to Marie. I thought she would have/should have left him right then and there. And because of the abuse story line, I felt like we never really got to know the real Haven.
The story line about her boss, Vanessa, was also really frustrating for me. First of all, she and Nick felt like two dimensional villains. They were sooo ridiculously bad it was absurd. For one character, Nick, to be this way was ok. For two, was just too much. I also became rather annoyed with Haven for being such a victim (again, because I didn't find it believeable). She didn't need the money and therefore didn't need to put up with Vanessa's crap. For her to just take it every day without protesting made it really difficult to read.
I also felt like Kleypas had a better handle on Hardy in the beginning of Sugar Daddy. What happened at the end of that book felt like a contrived plot device. He wasn't like that before, and he-from what we read of him in Blue Eyed Devil- wasn't like that after. Unfortunately, the Hardy of Sugar Daddy (at least the beginning) was missing. Like Haven, I felt like we only got glimpses of the real Hardy- more so towards the end. For most of the book, he felt kind of romance hero generic.
What was enjoyable was seeing Liberty through someone else's eyes. It was also intriguing to read about Churchill from the eyes of a daughter who had been disappointed by and sparred with him too many times. On the other hand, I missed the old Churchill. The resolution between Haven and her dad wasn't what I was hoping for, either, and also left me disappointed.
With all that being said, I still raced through Blue Eyed Devil. It's kind of a weird feeling to enjoy and yet be disappointed by a book at the same time. Perhaps it's because Kleypas is just such a good writer. Perhaps it's because I'm such a fan and am so biased in her favor. Whatever the reason, I know I'm in the minority here, but it just left me dissatisfied. |
Blue-Eyed Devil Books In Print, Audio Books.