The Devil Who Tamed Her (Reid Family Series) [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Johanna Lindsey (Author), Laural Merlington (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2007 | Series: Reid Family Series (Book 2)

Ophelia Reid is an incomparable beauty with a reputation for starting rumors and spreading them. Having purposely wrecked her engagement to Duncan MacTavish, a future marquis, which her social-climbing father arranged, Ophelia wants to return to London’s marriage mart and make her own choice of a wealthy husband. But on her journey home, something unexpected happens… The heir to a dukedom, Raphael Locke, Viscount Lynnfield is – in spite of his disinterest in marriage – the most sought-after young lord in England. He instantly disliked Ophelia when she caused a scandal to avoid marriage to his friend MacTavish, but having comforted her in a tearful moment, he begins to wonder if she’s not all bad. So when MacTavish claims that Ophelia will never be anything but a spiteful beauty, Rafe bets his best friend that he can turn her into a kind-hearted lady who will one day make a good match, just not with him. With her parents’ blessing, Rafe commandeers Ophelia’s coach and whisks her – chaperoned, of course – to his remote estate in the countryside. There, as he tries to show his furious, sharp-tongued “guest” the error of her ways, he discovers the surprising reasons for her bad behavior. Soon his daily lessons with Ophelia take effect and he finds himself irresistibly attracted to her. When Rafe champions the new and improved Ophelia’s re-entry to London society, marriage proposals pour in. Only then does Rafe start to wonder whether he hasn’t gone and fallen in love with Ophelia himself.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ophelia Reid may be the most beautiful woman in England, but she is also the most ill-tempered and self-centered. At least that is the conclusion Raphael Locke, Viscount Lynnfield, reaches when Ophelia breaks her engagement, again, to his friend Duncan. Rafe decides someone needs to teach Ophelia a lesson in manners, and so, after betting Duncan that he can reform the shrewish harridan, Rafe "kidnaps" Ophelia, and takes her, along with his aunt Esmeralda, to his estate in a remote corner of Northumberland. But Ophelia isn't the only one learning a lesson, when Rafe, who has successfully avoided the matchmaking clutches of the town's most determined mothers, discovers he isn't quite as immune to the idea of love as he thought. In her latest elegantly sensual Regency historical, Lindsey deftly brews up a particularly potent blend of sexy chemistry between her expertly matched hero and heroine while skillfully constructing a neat and witty plot. Charles, John --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Simply riveting.... Excellent." --Charleston Gazette (West Virginia) --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD; Abridged edition (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423327853
• ISBN-13: 978-1423327851
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,786,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > Lindsey, Johanna

More About the Author

johanna Lindsey is one of the most popular authors of romantic fiction, with more than sixty million copies of her novels sold. World renowned for her novels of "first-rate romance" (New York Daily News), Lindsey is the author of forty-three previous bestselling novels, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. Lindsey lives in Maine with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some of Lindsey's best recent work, June 23, 2007

By 

K. Hinton "avid reader" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Devil Who Tamed Her (Hardcover)

Lady Ophelia Reid is, without a doubt, the reigning beauty of the London social scene. She has the face of an angel and the haughty demeanor to back it up--combined these two qualities keep her name on the tip of every London gossip's mouth. She becomes an even bigger topic of conversation when she breaks off her engagement to a brooding Scotsman with a lofty title--twice. With rumors circulating about the cause of the broken engagement, and the realization that her so-called friends are really spiteful and vindictive, Ophelia wants nothing more than to return to London and go back about the business of finding herself a husband. With her face and notoriety, she knows that the scandal won't be off-putting to her potential suitors.

Reputed rake Raphael Locke, Viscount Lynnfield and heir to a dukedom, is friends with Ophelia's jilted ex-fiance and finds it hard to believe that such a beautiful young woman is beyond redemption. Everyone else seems willing to believe that Ophelia is a lying, manipulative rumormonger who will do anything to get her own way. Rafe, on the other hand, believes that everyone can change, and makes a bet to that effect. He vows that he can tame the shrew that Ophelia Reid has become and unleash the kinder, gentler woman who must reside underneath her haughty exterior. To that end, he absconds with her to his country estate to get to the bottom of her treachery and teach her how to act like the lady he knows she can be. Somewhere along the way, he finds himself falling for Ophelia despite his residual doubts about her true nature... is the kind-hearted, sweet girl she eventually becomes the true Ophelia, or has she always been the callous, cold-hearted ice queen that she was reputed to be?

Johanna Lindsey has always been one of my favorite romance authors and, in the past, her stories never failed to leave me satisfied and eagerly anticipating her next effort. That being said, it bears mentioning that The Devil Who Tamed Her features two characters from a previous novel, The Heir, whose futures were left in question at the end of that story. In all honesty, I didn't like The Heir, didn't really care for Ophelia in that novel, and haven't been impressed with about the last five novels Lindsey's put out (If you've never read Captive of My Desires and Marriage Most Scandalous, consider yourself warned to run the other way). But The Devil Who Tamed Her has almost redeemed Lindsey in my eyes. It was not only good, it was great, and reminded me of how good Lindsey's work can be when she puts a little effort into it. Having read a number of her books, I can say that she hit her stride right around the late 80's and early 90's (Prisoner of My Desire and Love Me Forever, anyone?) and her more recent efforts have just been sub-par, halfhearted efforts designed at keeping her at the top of the bestseller's lists and not with giving her fans the stories they've come to know and love.

Not so with this story. I couldn't have cared less about Ophelia at the end of The Heir (another Lindsey novel I wasn't particularly impressed with), but in this story she was an engaging and fun to read about heroine. Her transformation from vengeful shrew to thoughtful companion was a joy to watch and it was great to finally know the motivation behind her previous vicious actions. In addition, Rafe Locke was the type of hero you can dream about and just wish that you could meet a man like him. He takes his decision to help Ophelia mend her broken reputation seriously, and the bet takes a backseat to his genuine interest in seeing her achieve her full potential. These two are a couple that you can root for and be happy when they finally find a way to make it work. I've got to say that as a Lindsey fan, this is the best she's come in a long time to showing me the kind of work I know she's capable of. That being said, it's no Prisoner of My Desire. But if you take into consideration the work she's been doing lately, and the quality of this story in comparison, I think any Lindsey fan will agree that this is some of her best recent work.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing to recommend, May 1, 2008

By 

Misuzmama (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil Who Tamed Her (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has nothing to recommend except a beautiful cover. Its the Taming of the Shrew which falls flat. The characters and the plot are just horrible. The heroine is the worst. Ophelia is a completely unsympathetic/shrewish heroine, who on top of everything is so beautiful that men literally trip over themselves to get to her. Rafe is a supposed rake/devil (although why I don't know since there is no evidence to back this up) who wants to 'reform' Ophelia's callous ways because of a wager and his self admitted I'm-a-hero complex -what?! is he Mary Poppins?!. The 'reform' of Ophelia I think goes too far. It seems that Rafe has confused Ophelia with a barking dog that needs to be muzzled and he's the dog trainer. I was just waiting for him to blow his whistle ala Captain Von Trapp style.

This wouldn't be so bad IF there was chemistry between these two, but alas there is none. And why she would give up her virginity to this man is beyond belief. And Rafe is *such* an honorable gentleman that he would take her virginity without the thought of the possible consequences or marriage! Rafe may be charming (again we see no evidence of this) but he constantly ridicules and puts Ophelia down. WOW! That would definitely turn me on -not!

I didn't like these characters any better in the end than in the beginning. No growth what so ever. They just argued the whole novel through. And everything seemed to be Ophelia's fault. Completely one sided. No tenderness or affection here. What ever happened to loving someone with all their faults? Not a believable romance if you ask me. And the ending was completely ridiculous! Again, why should Ophelia be the only one to suffer?

And the book was also chock full of modern phrases like 'lets not go there' which is extremely irritating to read in a historical romance. I wish writers would stop doing that!

In fairness to Lindsey, this plot is a difficult one to pull off. Reforming? spiteful/shrewish heroine is not an easy plot choice. It just doesn't work here. Skip this book and read Mary Balogh's Slightly Scandalous instead. Thats a five star book with the same type of unlikable heroine and charming hero scenario.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book, June 13, 2007

By 

M. Lam - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil Who Tamed Her (Hardcover)

I was re-reading The Heir just before this came out, having no clue what this new book would be about. Having read all her other books, I knew there had to be a story about Raphael Locke and Ophelia Reid. Well you can imagine my surprise when I picked up a copy of this last night! This bookw as absolutely wonderful. I finished it in one sitting, unable to put it down. I have to say that this is my favorite of all her books. You must read The Heir first though, because this book centers on Ophelia and her transformation, and knowing her background and her past evil deeds will help tremendously.

The end was very different from many of her books and I personally liked it. Most of her books tend to have slightly rushed endings, but at least this one shows you their life after the main story, which tends not to be the case in her other books where we see the main characters kiss and make up and then it's the end. This book actually has an epilogue!

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