this was the first lisa kleypas book that really worked for me - i came to romance in 2019, so my first LK was Devil's Daughter, which did not do it for me, and i had yet to experience the glory of Dreaming of You, let alone Devil in Winter or Marrying Winterbourne. a reread is certainly satisfying, and this is a solid showing from Kleypas, but it's honestly just really difficult to compete with St. Vincent Senior or Winterborne, and some of my other favorites from other series.

tom severin is redeemed much as sebastian is in DIW - the personality traits that grate against the reader in earlier novels and make him almost an anti-hero are the things we love about him in his own book. he's now apologetically in pursuit of success, able to realize that sometimes his tactics make him no friends and focused more on relationships than winning. to me, this is one of the funnier kleypas books, too; tom's outlook is simultaneously naive and jaded, and it's delightful to watch him come to a more human understanding through popular literature.

overall, i think this book is a good entry point into the series as devil in winter is for the wallflowers: someone who has been more or less antagonistic finally comes with his heart in his hand for his match, and everything that would irritate us in other books is giggle-inducing. i can't say that this is the strongest installment in the series, but it's definitely a good one.