Deal with the Devil (Harlequin Presents No. 1194

SANDRA MARTON

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin Books, 1989.

How acquired: Book Mooch.

First line: It had been a mistake to come to the market.

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts: Ok, so, I enjoyed this book for the most part. It's definitely dated, written prior to consent being a big deal (in romance books, I mean), back when (again, in romance books) no meant yes-but-I-don't-want-to-admit-it-to-you-or-myself-so-you'll-have-to-force-me-a-little-until-I-give-in. That scene occurs maybe three thirds in (if I remember correctly - I don't have the book in front of me), but I don't usually have trouble accepting a story for the time it was written in so that was basically just a little hiccup to get past. Actually, prior to that, there was a bit of sub/dom vibe, with the hero demanding that the heroine obey him without question or argument. But then, he WAS trying to save her life and get her safely through a jungle and out of a country being torn apart by insurrection. So I did often agree that she needed to just shut up and stop arguing and do what he said. However, if she had just meekly gone along with him, there wouldn't have been any conflict between them, and we all know a little conflict helps get the sparks flying. 

My biggest issue was her father, who arranged for the hero to marry her and get her out of the country (they had to be married because she had a San Felipe passport so would not have been allowed out on her own but he was an American so his wife would allowed to leave with him), but waited until the last possible moment to tell her, and then that scene was dragged out ridiculously long as he hemmed and hawed while the hero keeps demanding "tell her now or I will!" God, I wanted to kick him. Her father, I mean.

So for me this ended up being a four star read, because I was pretty captivated and read the book in two days. But, if you have issues with non-consent, it may not work for you.

Goodreads synopsis: She was given no choice!


Elena's father rushed her to the San Felipe airport to put her on a plane to Miami. Their homeland in Central America had just erupted in revolution, and no one was safe. But Elena held a San Felipan passport, and officials were not letting any residents leave. Then she spotted American Blake Rogan, a ruthless adventurer she had every reason to despise, and her stomach twisted. Suddenly she knew what was about to happen. "Querida," her father said to her, "when you leave San Felipe, it will be as Mrs. Blake Rogan..

The Lyon Legacy (The Lyon Legacy, Book 1; Harlequin Superromance, #847)

PEG SUTHERLAND, ROZ DENNY FOX, and RUTH JEAN DALE

Synopsis from Goodreads: It's fifty years since the Lyon family of New Orleans ventured into what was then an exciting new business - television. Despite objections from some in the family, Margaret Hollander Lyon believed it was the wave of the future...and the past fifty years have certainly proven her right!

The Lyons created a legacy for their children and grandchildren - a legacy of business success and family loyalty.

But the Lyon Legacy is also a history of feuding, betrayal, deceptions. Every family has its secrets, and the Lyons have more than most.

Margaret, Andre, Leslie - three generations of the Lyon family. Three stories about the power of family bonds...and the life-changing power of love.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin Books, 1999.

How acquired: I've had this book for a couple of years, but do not remember where or how I got it.

THE LYON LEGACY is actually three stories. The first story is "Beginning", by Peg Sutherland, a new to me author. Margaret and her seven year old son, André, reside in the Lyon mansion with her in-laws and her husband's siblings, but not her husband. Paul Lyon went off to fight in the war, and when it was over he lost himself in the bayous, leaving behind his illustrious career as a radio broadcaster, and the son who he was convinced was not his child. When the story opens, Margaret is pushing for the company to start a TV station, but she is getting a lot of dissent from the Lyon family, who think television is a fad that will eventually fade out. She needs an ally, so she tracks down Paul and drags him back into everyone's lives, where he finds himself intrigued with the idea of television, and of course still wildly attracted to the wife he'd tried to forget.

I really enjoyed this well-written novella. The characters were quickly established and fleshed out. Margaret is a strong-willed woman who refused to sit back and be a society wife. She wanted to go to college and she wanted a career with Lyon Broadcasting, a company her father was a partner in. The narrative jumps back and forth between the "present" day, which for this story is 1949, and 1941, when Margaret was a teenager hanging out at the studio, falling in love with the radio station. And with Paul.

After reading the short prologue, and then getting a few pages into the story, I was very confused about some things that just seemed inconsistent time wise. So much so that I reread passages in a desperate attempt to get things straight in my head, to no avail. I finally just had to let it go so I could enjoy the story. And then at the end, secrets were revealed that explained it all away. I was also a little surprised when the story ended, just because of the length. It was so good that I'd forgotten it wasn't a novel in itself until I reached the last page. And have tissues handy for those last pages, because I cried. My favorite passage:

He slugged back the last of his coffee and stood. "Nobody gets me, sweetheart. And if I want anything you've got, you'll know the minute I come after it. 

The second story is Silver Anniversary, by Roz Denny Fox, an author I'm already a fan of. It's now 1974, and the Lyons' television station, WDIX-TV, is about to celebrate it's 25th anniversary. André is all grown up now, and after a lonely childhood spent in the Lyon mansion he's now living in a rented shack in the bayou, where he and a partner run a swamp tour business. Margaret shows up at his door one morning, and demands that move back home and take his rightful place at the station. Paul had recently had a heart attack, and has had to cut down on the number of hours he puts in at work, and Margaret needs to cut down as well so she can spend time with her husband. It's time for André to learn the business so he can be ready to take over the reins after the anniversary celebration. He grudgingly agrees to do so, but requests that his parents also take in Rachel, a young neighbor girl who has a bad home life.

Gabrielle's mother and Margaret were close friends, and when Gabrielle's husband was killed, leaving her pregnant and alone, she sought Margaret's help. She's lived at the Lyon mansion ever since. She's Margaret's right hand at the tv station, and now that Margaret and Paul are cutting back, Gabrielle has assumed more responsibility. She thrives on the job, putting in long hours and is hoping with Paul and Margaret cutting back that after the anniversary celebration they'll put her in charge. She's not happy when Margaret announces her son is coming to work and Gabrielle will be training him.

It was a little disconcerting, after the first story and knowing how much Margaret loved young André and was so devoted to him, to now find out that he had a lonely and not always happy childhood. Margaret was so driven in her desire to make the tv station a success that she spent long hours at work rather than with her son. At one point Margaret muses that she sees Gaby doing the same with her daughter, and she hopes that one of the benefits of bringing André on board will be Gaby being able to slow down and spend more time at home with Leslie.

I loved André. He was a bit colorful, and while he did dive head first into learning all he could about running the station, he wasn't prepared to slave away his whole life. In Leslie he saw a kindred spirit, and he became determined to get Gaby to slow down and spend more time with her daughter. Of course part of what endeared him to me was his interactions with both Leslie and Rachel. I liked Gabrielle well enough, but for me André drove the story.

The third story is Golden Anniversary, by Ruth Jean Dale, another new to me author. It's now December 1998, and Leslie is a librarian. The station will be celebrating it's 50th anniversary in July, and Leslie has taken a leave of absence from her job to compile a history of the station. While not exactly shy, Leslie is a little awkward and out of place at the station. She has a phobia of public speaking, which her parents and grandparents think she's overcome or grown out of, when in reality she's just learned to avoid being put in situations where public speaking is required. But with the anniversary coming up, she's expected to be there with all the family for the press conference. When she panics in front of the cameras, Michael, the director of human resources, catches her eye and helps her focus and get through the ordeal. Leslie already has a crush on Michael, and get's tongue tied and embarrassed around him.

When the job opportunity at WDIX-TV came up, Michael, a widower, moved himself and his young daughter from New York. His mother-in-law is upset at not being able to see her granddaughter all the time, and has been threatening to sue Michael for custody on the grounds that his live in housekeeper has to raise the child while he works. She has a boatload of money, and Michael is worried about how that could all turn out. And then his housekeeper has to move away for family reasons, and he's really worried about his mother-in-law's reaction.

While I liked Michael well enough, I had a hard time connecting with Leslie. The women in the first two stories were such strong women, and then here was the shrinking violet Leslie, mooning over Michael like a love sick teenager. Where the first two stories moved quickly, this one seemed to drag a bit. And again, it was a little disconcerting to see how Margaret and Gabrielle both seemed to dismiss Leslie's feelings and steamroll her into doing what they wanted. Though I loved the scene where Michael cornered them and got in their faces about it.

The rest of the books in the series are full length novels, one by each of the three authors. I've already read the Fox book, FAMILY FORTUNE. Since it's a multi author series, I wasn't worried about reading them out of order, but after FAMILY FORTUNE I wanted to go back and read the other books. I'm really looking forward to Sutherland's book, FAMILY REUNION, although I have to find a copy of it first. And despite my lukewarm feelings about Dale's story, I will read her book, FAMILY SECRETS, which is the second book, and which I already have in my TBR pile.

Scandal's Bride (Cynster, Book 3)

STEPHANIE LAURENS

Synopsis from back cover: Catriona is aghast to learn that her guardian's will decrees that she must marry Richard Cynster...within the week! How could the proud Scottish lass possibly consent to a union with the English rake they call “Scandal”, a masterful man with a deplorable reputation? It is true his commanding presence charms her, his heated kisses excite her --- and the mysterious Lady of the Vale whom she serves has prophesied that they will wed. But Catriona will never give up her independence!

Richard is equally stunned by the will's command, since marriage was not on his agenda. But lately he's been feeling strangely restless –- and perhaps taming the exquisite lady is just the challenge he needs. He burns for Catriona – but can he entice her into the marriage bed without making any binding and revealing promises of love?

And when passion and love are truly destined, can even the most stubborn of hearts resist?

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Avon Books, 1999.

How acquired: Book Mooch

First line: She'd never had a vision like it before.

My thoughts: From the very beginning I was a little thrown by the slight supernatural aspect. The heroine, Catriona, is a healer, and mistress of a small vale, that apparently is so remote it's existence isn't even known to many. Catriona and her mentor, Algaria, are disciples of the mystical Lady of the Vale, whom she and her tenants all worship. The vale and its lands have always been held and ruled by a woman, and therefore the mistress cannot marry a strong man who will try to take over. When Catriona has a disturbing vision of a man, it occurs to her he might be the man the Lady intends for her to wed.

Catriona's guardian, Seamus, passes away, and she is summoned to his estate for the reading of his will. Richard Cynster, aka Scandal, has also been summoned to the estate, his connection being that his birth mother was the deceased wife of Catriona's guardian. Catriona is shocked to recognize him from her vision, and distressed when, after appealing to the Lady for further guidance, she is told “He will father your children”.

Then comes the next shock. The will states that Richard must agree to marry Catriona, or the entire estate will be left to the church, leaving Seamus' own children and grandchildren homeless and penniless. The solicitor informs them that he will return in one week for Richard's answer.

I'm not sure why that supernatural aspect with the divine Lady bothered me. Maybe because the first two books had nothing of the sort in them, so it just kind of came out of left field for me.

I liked Richard well enough. Once he decided he wanted Catriona, he went after her singlemindedly. She, on the other hand, fought hard to avoid him. She decided that since the Lady only told her he would father her children and did not specifically say he would be her husband, she could simply get with child, and then go back to her vale and leave Richard none the wiser. How to do that? Drug him three nights in a row, slip into his room, have sex with him, and slip out before he awakens the next morning. It was, in my opinion, a stupid idea, and while it initially worked well enough, of course Richard was smart enough to figure out something was going on.

Once they are married and settled back in Catriona's vale, there was a Huge Misunderstanding, since neither of them could talk openly and honestly to the other. Catriona was determined that she would continue to run the vale by herself, leaving Richard to wander around and be bored. He had vowed that he would not interfere with her duties, so even when he was sure he could help her with something that she struggled with, he kept his thoughts to himself, afraid to say anything without being asked lest she interpret his intentions the wrong way. It was one of those typical situations where you want to slap both of them and yell “talk to each other!”.

I'm not sure if I like this entry in the series more or less than the the first book, but the second book is definitely still my favorite so far. And while I didn't love this, I have collected almost the entire series, and will continue with the next book, eventually. 

The Flame and the Flower (Birmingham Family, Book 1)

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

KATHLEEN E. WOODIWISS

Synopsis from back cover: Fearing for her innocence, doomed to a life of unending toil, Heather Simmons commits a shocking and desperate act. Now she must flee – and seek refuge in the arms of a virile and dangerous stranger.

Captain Brandon Birmingham is a lusty adventurer married to the sea. Though courting scorn and peril through his actions, he abducts the beautiful fugitive from the tumultuous London dockside. For it is destiny that has brought Heather to Brandon's side, and no power on Earth will force him to relinquish his exquisite prize. Only she can unlock the tenderness in his heart; and Brandon vows she will be his – to love, to cherish, to desire, and to carry off to uncharted realms of sensuous passion.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Avon Books, 2003

How acquired: Bought.

First line: Somewhere in the world, time no doubt whistled by on taut and widespread wings, but here in the English countryside it plodded slowly, painfully, as if it trod the rutted road that stretched across the moors on blistered feet.

My thoughts: This book got off to a slow start, as we meet the orphaned Heather, living in servitude to her horrible aunt and meek, brow beaten uncle. She is literally a slave, wearing her aunt's cast off dresses that are like twenty-three sizes too large, working from sunup to sundown, with no hope of any kind of future.

Then her aunt's brother comes along, and whisks her off to London, where he's claimed he can get her a job at a nice school. Of course his real intentions are completely unhonorable, and when Heather stabs him with a fruit knife in a desperate attempt to get him off her, she sets herself on a new path, fleeing his home and terrified of being caught and hung for murder.

Then she finds herself aboard Brandon Birmingham's ship, and I won't go into how she ends up there. But this part of the book was discussed a bit in a Facebook group I'm part of, due to our hero devirginizing our heroine by brute force. It's not romanticized - it's rape and it's never called anything else. In fact, much later, after they've professed their love for each other and are having a wonderful life together, Heather reminds Brandon that he once raped her. Laughingly, because she's gotten over it. But at least neither of them pretend it didn't happen.

And regarding the rape...the whole situation of how she came to be in his cabin on the ship was a little ridiculous. I know she was in shock and she's young and innocent of the ways of the world, but still. Rape, in and of itself, does not always bother me in a book. In the world of romance novels, rape can even be a little subjective at times. Brandon didn't intentionally rape her out of malice. The first time, anyway. It was due to a Big Misunderstanding. Bit having realized he'd just deflowered the girl, taking her again, and again against her will, was a bit much. At this point in the book I was disgusted with him, and thought he was going to have to really work hard and grovel to redeem himself. It would've all been a little more palatable if, say, he'd had too much to drink and wasn't in total control of his faculties. Still wrong, still disgusting, but easier for him to come back from and convince Heather that he's not a monster.

So now their lives are intertwined, and I'm not completely taken by the story, or the characters, just yet. Fortunately Brandon vows to himself that he will never take her by force again, and he keeps that vow. And Heather vows that she will never submit to him, and then in the same breath tells herself that since he's now her husband she will have no choice but to submit to him if he so demands. And from this point on for many months (the length of a pregnancy and then some) they both run hot and cold, lusting after each other, yet both believing the other has no desire to share a bed, having little tender moments amid exasperated all out yelling at each other moments. All very will they or won't they.

And at some point during all this, I became very engrossed. Knowing that deep down inside Brandon was head over heels about his “young wife” as she was often referred to, I could realize that a lot of his cruel jibes and frosty behavior was a defense mechanism. He wanted her, he would not rape her again, and he'd be damned if he begged her, or for that matter even asked her politely, to make love with him, so all that frustration was poured out on her in mean words and slammed doors. Heather, being only seventeen and having lived a sheltered life, is too young and naive to realize the power she holds over him.

An interesting aspect to the story that I really liked was Louisa, who was engaged to Brandon before he sailed off to London and debauched Heather. Her first meeting with Heather set the tone for that relationship – Louisa was rude, condescending and cruel to Heather, and shamelessly tried to win Brandon's favors back to herself. I was looking forward to more meetings between the two women, expecting some outrageous scenes to occur, and while they did have a few run ins, Louisa was not around nearly as much as I had hoped.

In the end of course love conquers all. I teetered between giving this book three or four stars on Goodreads. It took awhile for me to get past the slow, undignified beginning, yet towards the end I was eager to crawl into bed at night and lose myself in the pages, not wanting to set the book down and go to sleep. Brandon managed to charm Heather and make her fall in love with him, and I fell right along with her. 

The Sheikh's Impatient Virgin (Harlequin Presents No. 2901)

KIM LAWRENCE

Synopsis from back of book: Set up against her will as a potential Arabian queen for the notorious Sheikh Karim, unworldly Eva has a plan to deter the desert king. She will convince him she's a modern, sexually experienced woman - and definitely not marriage material - even though she is really still a virgin.

However, the next thing she knows, Eva's become a bride! And her new husband is having a startling effect on her...She finds herself increasingly impatient; could it be that shy Eva is curious about what lies ahead in the sheikh's marriage bed?

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 2009; purchased at a library sale.

My thoughts: Royalty is not one of my favorite tropes, much less sheikhs, so I went into this book with low expectations. Putting aside the sheikh factor, I still would not have loved it. Every scene seemed to be so drawn out, an exchange between the two characters that probably would have lasted five minutes would take that many pages to get through. A character would say something, and then one of them would be thinking thinking thinking and in my mind I pictured the other character just frozen in place waiting for the first character's internal monologue to end. And at one point, the heroine puts a small dog in the pocket of her coat and then forgets about him for pages and pages, while she walks and then gets in a car and argues with the hero and gets out of the car and I just can't imagine a dog lying quietly in a pocket for all that time and I worried that she would accidentally sit on it.

Devil of the Highlands

LYNSAY SANDS

Synopsis from Goodreads: He is the most notorious laird of Scotland: fierce, cold, deadly...and maybe even worse. Yet Evelinde has just agreed to wed him. Anything, she thinks, is better than her cruel stepmother. Though Evelinde should be wary of the rumors, she can't help but be drawn to this warrior...for the Devil of the Highlands inspires a heat within her that is unlike anything she has ever known.

They may call him whatever they wish, but Cullen, Laird of Donnachaidh, cares only for the future of his clan. He must find a wife, a woman to bear him sons and heed his commands. He has no need for beauty or grace, but one taste of his lovely bride's sweet lips and the sultry feel of her skin arouse an untamed passion. Perhaps there's more to marriage than he thought.

Stats for my copy: Large print hardback, published by Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning, by arrangement with Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2009; borrowed from my local library.

My thoughts: If I didn't have a job to go to every day, which means having to get up of a morning, I might have read this entire book in one night.

This is the third of the author's non-vampire books I've read (the first two being The Brat and What She Wants.) As with all of Ms Sands' heroines, Evelinde is very likable, although she felt somewhat familiar, being similar, personality wise, to the heroines of THE BRAT and WHAT SHE WANTS. Cullen, however, was much more distinctive and I was quite enamored of him. But then he was the very description of “the bad boy”, and aren't we drawn to those men? At least on paper.

Since her father's death, Evelinde has been under her stepmother's power, and treated quite badly by her. Step-mama is thrilled to have arranged a marriage for Evelinde with the man who is fearfully known as the Devil of Donnachaidh, anticipating that Evelinde will be miserable in her new life. If she survives her marriage. After all, the devil is rumored to have killed his first wife when she did not bear him any heirs. And other relatives have died under suspicions circumstances.

But of course a reputation is sometimes just a reputation, and we all know there will be an HEA in the end. In the meantime, the characters have to deal with Evelinde constantly having accidents and close calls that become more and more suspicious, while she is determined to get to the bottom of the aforementioned deaths and clear her husband's name.

The situations Evelinde gets into are sometimes ridiculous, but I laughed out loud several times. I can always count on that happening when I pick up a Lynsay Sands book. 

By His Majesty's Grace (The Three Graces of Graydon, Book 1)

JENNIFER BLAKE

Synopsis: Much to her chagrin, Lady Isabel Milton has been given to Earl Rand Braesford – a reward from the Tudor king for his loyalty to the throne. The lusty nobleman quickly claims his husbandly rights, an experience Isabel scarcely hoped to enjoy so much. But youth and strength may not save Braesford from his bride's infamous curse...

Accused of a heinous crime with implications that reach all the way to King Henry himself, Braesford is imprisoned in the Tower, and Isabel is offered her salvation – but for a price. She has the power to seal his fate, have him sent to the executioner and be freed from her marriage bonds. Yet the more Isabel learns of Rand, the less convinced she is of his guilt, and she commits to discover the truth about the enigmatic husband she never expected to love.

First line: Braesford was finally sighted in late afternoon.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by MIRA Books, 2011; 373 pages; purchased at a library sale.

My thoughts: While Isabel is a plucky heroine and Rand is a decent hero, I struggled a little to enjoy the book. Rand, despite being baseborn, has developed a close friendship with Henry VII, having been in exile with the king. When he sees Isabel and decides he wants her, Henry makes it happen. Isabel and her two younger sisters have been overseen by their step-brother since their father's death, and of course being women of their time they have no say in their own futures. I can deal with that, I've ready plenty of books with heroines in the same situation. But the king is a step up from the male head of the family, capriciously arranging the lives of not just young unmarried women, but of anyone around him as he sees fit. One minute he could be a great friend to Rand, and the next he's accused Rand of a murder and had him imprisoned. He just left a sour taste in my mouth that impeded my enjoyment of the story.

And then Isabel summed it up:

She hated it, hated that anyone, even a king, could so discompose her. It was the power he held, she knew, the power to decide the life or death of others in an instant, to extend pain or joy, to shut someone away from the light forever or to set them free. No one should have such arbitrary control over another soul. (pp 330-331)

I read that paragraph twice, and suddenly I looked at the whole story in a different light. Like, before that paragraph, Henry's whims and decrees were just matter of fact and accepted. That's life. That's just the way it is. But after reading that paragraph, I saw Henry as just another obstacle for the hero and heroine to overcome.

Okay, I realize that I'm not really making sense here. I've been thinking about this all day, and I'm just not sure how to express my thoughts any better. But putting the whole Henry issue aside...the book was okay. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it.