Review: Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas.

Hero: Hardy Cates
Heroine: Haven Travis
Grade: 4.75 out of 5

MEET THE BLUE-EYED DEVIL.

His name is Hardy Cates. He’s a self-made millionaire who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s made enemies in the rough-and-tumble ride to the top of Houston’s oil industry. He’s got hot blood in his veins. And vengeance on his mind.

MEET THE HEIRESS.

She’s Haven Travis. Despite her family’s money, she refuses to set out on the path they’ve chosen for her. But when Haven marries a man her family disapproves of, her life is set on a new and dangerous course.

WATCH THE SPARKS FLY. . . .
Two years have gone by. Now Haven has come home. This time, she is determined to guard her heart. And Hardy Cates, a family enemy, is the last person she needs darkening her door—or setting her soul on fire.

It’s been quite a long time since I read the first book, Sugar Daddy but I hecka loved that book and knew that I was going to enjoy this one as well. I’ve seen rave reviews of this book everywhere and when I finally picked it up, I read and read and read until I was at the end and sad that it was all finished. This story sure did pull at the heart strings. It was one of those stories that has you rejoicing in the characters, saddened by the characters and just cheering on the characters to keep on pushing until they finally get it right.

Haven Travis is the only daughter of Churchill Travis. We met Churchill in Sugar Daddy. He’s a really good friend to Liberty and Haven is Churchill’s daughter. You can just imagine the kind of jealousy that went on inside Haven’s little mind because Liberty is not Churchill’s daughter and yet, he treats Liberty a whole lot better than he ever treated Haven. I’m really glad that Lisa Kleypas didn’t make this part of the storyline. I’m glad that we saw it and we saw Haven deal with it and I really enjoyed Haven as the heroine of this book. She wasn’t perfect but we saw the growth in her from the beginning to the end and we cheered her on throughout.

What I thought was incredible about this book was that even though I could never imagine the kind of pain and heartache goes into a relationship that was violent the way that Haven’s relationship was, I connected with Haven in a way that I didn’t think was possible. LK did a fantastic job of showing us the emotional side of what goes on in a relationship like that one. The mind games, the blame games, all of that made for a really emotional roller coaster of a story but it brought a depth to the story that I really enjoyed exploring.

I loved seeing Haven rise above that relationship and find happiness again. It wasn’t an easy road for her, that’s for sure but I loved seeing how she came out of one abusive relationship and rammed right into another one. There were times when I wanted to yell and scream at Haven for not opening her mouth about the abuse but I’m really happy with the way that both relationships ended. It was almost as if she needed to go through those things to figure out for herself that she was so much better than those people. She was stronger than them and she was confident enough in herself that she could take care of herself without running to her big brothers and her rich daddy. I respected Haven and I loved the woman that she grew up to be. I closed the book with tears in my eyes because I was so happy that Haven got that happy ending she deserved.

And I was so glad that her happy ending was with Hardy. Man oh man was Hardy a hottie. I so loved Hardy Cates in this book, a whole lot more than I loved him in Sugar Daddy. I think she totally got it right with Hardy and I was so excited whenever he came onto the pages of the book. He was so much more than I could have ever hoped him to be. His story was great, it was emotional and it was heart wrenching but it was right. Perfect even for him. I’m so glad that he got his happy ending and I’m so glad that he turned out the way that he did because in SD, I didn’t want to hate him. I’m glad that LK showed us that we weren’t wrong in loving Hardy.

What I loved most about this book was the relationship that evolved between Hardy and Haven. Hardy loved Haven the way that she was and he loved the man that he was when he was with her. I loved how after everything that Haven went through, she loved Hardy enough to stand by him when he was at his lowest and most dangerous. I loved that she trusted him enough to stay and be there for him because he needed her. I loved the way that they were there for each other and I just effing loved them.

I loved the way that this story unfolded. The easy way that Haven told the story, it was easy to read and easy to fall into. This story is definitely a keeper and man oh man I cannot wait for Jack’s story because man did I fall in love with him in this one. I loved his blunt way of talking to people and I loved how what you saw with Jack was exactly what you got. I loved the fierce way that he loved his sister (Gage and Joe too) and I loved the way that family was everything to him. I’m so looking forward to more from him. I cannot wait. Seriously, I cannot wait.

If you haven’t read this book yet, then you should definitely fix that because this book will have you absorbed in the life of Haven Travis and Hardy Cates. Lisa Kleypas definitely wrote a great romance story of two unlikely people overcoming obstacles to get to that happy ending. It’s well worth the time you put into this book and I can’t wait for more contemps from Lisa Kleypas.

Kudos to LK on a job well done.

This book is available from St. Martin’s Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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