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52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely wonderful! Another vote for the year's best!, April 21, 2003
I can't tell you how much I loved this book! This is only my second Liz Carlyle book - my first was "No True Gentleman" and that's where I first met thoroughly lovable scoundrel Bentley Rutledge. Now I'll have to go back and read all of Ms Carlyle's books to read the stories of the various wonderful secondary characters. Bentley is a complete rogue who spends next to no time in polite society. But it seems he's always been a part of Frederica "Freddie" d'Avillez's life, as he's her cousin's best friend. When Freddie is thrown over by the man she thought to marry, Bentley is there to console her (he's always had a soft spot for her). But one thing leads to another, and before either realizes it, Freddie's been ruined. Next morning Bentley writes a very pretty proposal letter that, unbeknownst to him, Freddie never receives. From her perspective, he's just taken off, no good-bye, typical Bentley. Though it hurts that he's just walked away, she does not hate him, for she threw herself at him and must also take some of the blame. When consequences from their night together develop, Freddie plans to leave for the continent to marry a non-existent husband, but when Bentley finds out, he's outraged (and hurt) that she's rejected his proposal to marry a stranger! How could she?! Eventually, Bentley convinces Freddie to marry him, then takes her home to meet his family. It is immediately clear to Freddie that there is bad blood between Bentley and his older brother Cam, but why? And Bentley seems different here - preoccupied, tense, unable to sleep - not the carefree Bentley she always thought she knew. As the days pass she knows that something is seriously wrong, but he refuses to discuss it with her. So how is she to help this husband she has come to love so desperately? Bentley is just so sweet and lovable - I just adored him. And he's carrying some heavy guilt and serious resentment over events from his childhood and early teen years. You just ache for him to resolve his difficult relationship with Cam, and you yearn for him to allow Freddie into his heart. He's a good man, if only he could believe it. And Freddie is a strong heroine, determined to help her husband anyway she can and keep her marriage together. It's rare that a book can have you laughing one moment and in tears the next, but this one definitely does! So well written, such wonderful characters, it's simply marvelous. Highly recommended!
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47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Regrets, Redemption, and Second Chances, March 31, 2003
Ever since his first appearance in Liz Carlyle's BEAUTY LIKE THE NIGHT, I have been intrigued by Bentley Rutledge. A scamp with a penchant for malicious mischief, who showed up in later books as an unrepentant rogue, Randolph Bentham "Hell-Bent" Rutledge has been screaming for a comeuppance, and I am delighted to report that Ms. Carlyle gives him a rather stunning one in THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. Bentley is visiting long-time friends at Chatham Lodge, and after one night's drunken revels, he encounters disconsolate and furious Frederica d'Avillez in the gardens. Freddie, whom he has long viewed as a younger sister but recently noticed as a woman, is smarting over being rejected by her almost-fiancé due to her "inferior" bloodlines. After crying on Bentley's shoulder, she seduces him - part pride, part secret longing. Bentley has never been one to say no to any sort of vice and obliges her. He wakes with some regret in the morning, and leaves a "pretty" proposal in her room before escaping. But he doesn't know that his proposal flies out the window with him and Freddie never received it. Soon it is announced that Freddie is going abroad to marry. Bentley's been waiting weeks for the axe to fall, and can hardly believe that Freddie won't have him - or that Freddie's male relatives don't want him dead. Once he discovers she is pregnant and the marriage abroad is a ruse, he proposes that they marry for six months, and that he will always provide for Freddie and the child financially. Bentley and Freddie journey to his family's estate, where Bentley is forced to confront his past while trying to set up a viable future for his little family. It was wonderful to get inside Bentley's head. I always suspected there was more to him than he let on, that he was more than just a debauched rake. And there is. Bentley's past is surprisingly heart-wrenching; his feelings of hopelessness and despair are quite tangible to the reader. I haven't talked much about Freddie. She is a very sympathetic character, especially since she is trying to do what readers want to do: figure out what makes Bentley tick. Bentley is most definitely the star of this show, but I for one did not mind him upstaging everyone else (except, perhaps, Kemble!). I was a bit dismayed when I realized this was to be a marriage-forced-for-pregnancy plot, as this is one of my least favorite devices. But in Ms. Carlyle I trust, and she did not lead me astray. THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is a testament to what can happen to a seemingly irrepressible rogue in the hands of a master storyteller.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best romance this year!, April 11, 2003
Don't be fooled by the devil-may-care undertone of Liz Carlyle's latest romantic hero Bentley "Hell-Bent" Rutledge who thrives on risk and hedonistic pleasures. Why should we find ourselves falling for the egregious rake who recklessly engages in a night of passion with Frederica d'Avillez which she initiates after being spurned by her longtime beau Johnny? Many reasons as you plunge into this sweeping romance by sensual mistress Liz Carlyle. He immediately proposes through a note that was unfortunately gone with the wind and hastily marries Frederica, leading her to believe this marriage was strictly out of honor. Their love spawns from passion but, alas not intimacy as Bentley buries a deep humiliation that threatens to fester the relationship between his brother Cam and demolish any hope of conjugal bliss. This is not the typical 'open-the-bedroom-door' romance. It evolves from a light-hearted mismatch to a great love story of unflinching power where Bentley grapples with his shame of incest afflicted upon him. You will feel for this fallen angel as he prays for redemption and forgiveness from his brother and Frederica. He shoulders an emotional turmoil that will choke you in its sheer ugliness, heaved upon by his own father and Cam's malicious ex-wife. And cried I certainly did. Liz Carlyle's latest is an emotional rollercoaster with deft touches of lively brio from her supporting ensemble like Lord Rannoch, Helene and gritty intrigue from the Signora Castelli with her damningly accurate tarot-card predictions. The happy ending is a heartfelt triumph well-deserving for the weathered couple. Why, The Devil You know might be the best romance this year!
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