9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I'm neutral about this book, June 24, 2005
This review is from: Devil's Bargain (Mass Market Paperback)
Devil's bargain is an odd story that fans of Gothic romances might enjoy. I, personally, am not a fan of these kind of romances. The eroticism in this book is great, something that I love in a historical romance. The more sensual the better in my opinion. But I agree with another reviewer who said that the characters were like cardboard, not showing any potential. I don't understand how the the viscount and the ministers daughter fell in love, (I just finished this book today, but already, I can't remember their names).
The viscount takes women who are poor or unfortunate enough to need a rich husband, and molds them basically into courtesans to marry rich old men. He is doing this because he needs the financial gain that it brings him once they are married off. The minister's daughter is the seventh and final woman in this scheme. In one scene close to the end of the book, one of these "sold" women come up to the minister's daughter and tells her that he can't love, and that everything that he's done with her, he done with the prior six. It made me feel, at the end of the book when they realize they are in love, that this love was a last resort for him. That he could have fell in love just as easily with the prior six, not just the minister's daughter because she was unique. I gave this story three stars based soley on the sensuality. It's certainly steamy reading. But really, don't waste your money on this book. Not worth it.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't find it particularly erotic or romantic either, October 19, 2004
This review is from: Devil's Bargain (Mass Market Paperback)
This book had some buzz and so I thought I'd read it to see if Katherine Greyle's Jade Lee erotic stories would be something to watch. For me, the answer is - maybe. The premise, while improbable, sounded intriguing but the execution fell a bit short of the mark.
On the death of her parson father, Lynette Jameson does not want to be a penniless drain on her relations and so, on the advice of a family friend, writes to Baroness Huntley who will assist her in finding a wealthy husband. When she arrives in London, however, it is not only the baroness, but her handsome, brooding nephew, Viscount Marlock who will participate in her instruction. For not only will she learn comportment, manners, fashion and how to move in Society, she will also learn how to entice and please a man. The "Marlock brides" are, for lack a a better word, marketed to a select group of older, often sickly gentlemen who want to be pleasured and taken care of in their dotage. Marlock's sales pitch to the destitute girls who come to him is that in five, ten, fifteen years the old boy will kick off and then the women are free to carry on and do as they please as wealthy widows. While Lynette struggles with "selling herself" and often has misgivings, she feels this is the best course open to her and resigns herself to her fate. She suffers indignities, insecurities and a blossoming sensuality that Adrian awakens in her that both thrills and frightens her.
Adrian takes no satisfaction in what he has been reduced to in order to save his crumbling family estate. He feels anger at his family (especially his aunt), his fate, shame for his actions and sadness for these women who become such a large part of his life and then leave him to his loneliness. He wonders if he is helping them to a better life or selling them into slavery with the hope of a distant payoff years down the road. But from day one Lynette is different. She is much more sensible, curious, intelligent, and innately sensual than any of his prior "girls". He admires her and does not look forward to the day when she walks down the aisle - eventhough his part of her marriage portion will finally allow him to quit this wretched business and begin to set his estate to rights.
Of course they fall for one another and now have a dilemma: he needs her to marry to ensure his financial future and she needs the security of a rich husband. What to do?
While I enjoyed aspects of this story, I found it surprisingly slow, lifeless, and flat. I liked the characters on an intellectual level but they never really touched me on an emotional level. And I had expected much more of a sustained erotic undercurrent between Adrian and Lynette from the moment she entered the house, but there really wasn't much - only during the admittedly steamy scenes in the last quarter of the book, which was very disappointing. Surprisingly the only character that I truly felt empathy for was the baroness, Aunt Agatha whose guilty over Adrian's fate and the fate of all those girls drives her to the bottle - until Lynette challenges her to take another stab at life. While enjoyable on some levels, it's just not a book that I would heartily recommend to others. I will keep an open mind, however, as her next books will be set in China and delve into the Dragon/Tigress sect. If she can infuse a little more life and emotion into her characters, she'll be a force to be reckoned with.
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I really didn't find this very erotic., July 10, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Devil's Bargain (Mass Market Paperback)
First off - I must say I Love Katherine Greyle (Jade Lee)! I was really looking forward to this book since I do love the more erotic writing of Cheryl Holt, Emma Holly, and Nicole Jordan. And the premise of this book would really make you think that it was going to be steamy! Wrong! The first thing that drove me nuts was that the Viscount states he had once been in debtors prison. During the regency period a peer of the realm could not be thrown in debtors prison. Another thing - the viscount began to sell girls to old men for marriage to get money for his entailed home. It didn't sound like to me he would have had such a bad reputation had he not started peddling flesh. I'm sure he could have found a rich banker's daughter to marry instead of selling young women. I thought the book would be filled with erotic scenes from the start - but no! There really was only one erotic scene towards the end of the book. I didn't think that he taught Lynette anything more than she could have taught herself - in fact it sounded like he taught Audra and the other girls much more. It also sounded like he loved all the Marlock girls - I really didn't think he had any real chemistry with Lynette. I actually don't think Lynette had any real chemistry with him either - she was ready to marry another man when he twisted her boob and played with her hand - actually that was more erotic at that moment then anything the viscount did to her. Another thing that threw me off was the mention that Lynette had a chipped front tooth. In my mind I imagined a giant chip out of the tooth and could no longer think of her as attractive. I also was ready to throw the book across the room after the 100th time that she mentioned that Lynette was a minister's daughter! The main reason Lynette was searching for a rich husband was to get her brother a commission and her sister a season. At the end she stays with the Viscount who although his debts are paid will obviously not have the money to pay for a season for her sister or a commission for the brother. I think that the book could have been much better if there was an epilogue at the end that showed the couple living happily in the future. I just don't get the feeling that this couple would make it through the test of time.
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