Customer Reviews

Devil's Bargain

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is not your usual erotic. It's as much about mind set as it is about the physical. In the tug of war that romance stories are often about, this is a reminder that passion is as much in the brain as the body. If you're into explict sex scenes, (put tab a in slot b type descriptions) try another book.

Lynette is the very proper young miss that for finacial reasons becomes one of the Marlock brides. Adrian, our hero is known for producing brides that are not just willing but eager in the bedroom. To do this, he does everything but actually take their virginity. As Lynette warms to passion, she also warms to Adrian. While some degree of closeness is inevitable, Adrian finds himself feeling more and more for Lynette. Unfortunately, the growing attraction doesn't necessarily mean the two will be able to marry, neither one has any money. In the end, Lynette, the student, teaches Adrian the difference between sex and making love.

I wasn't certain I was going to like this book after reading the first several chapters. The hero, Adrian, appeared to have no redeeming values and humiliated the heroine, Lynette, again and again. He has chosen a path to save his estate by selecting women to train not only as to how to run a household and understand finances, but also to awaken their sensuality. His goal is to find husbands for each of his students who are rich, but old enough that he expects that they will not live more than a decade. For this type of husband, he must teach them all about sex and sensuality without having sex with them. Once a contract is signed with the potential husband, he receives a sizeable portion of the money from the marriage contract.

Based on that scenario, Adrian sounds terrible. But as this book progresses the true nature of Adrian slowly unfolds until the reader sees an honorable man who has been abandoned as a child and dealt many blows. He sees the path he's taken as a way not only to teach women how to take control of their lives but also to take control of his own life by amassing enough money to save his estate. He does not enjoy the indignities he puts the women through but wants them to understand that no matter what happens to them, their lives are what each woman makes of them. He cares for all the women he's taught and worries whether he did the right thing by them.

With Lynette, we also see her character unfold from a seemingly priggish daughter of a clergyman to a woman who was abused by her father throughout her life but did not loose her sense of self and her spirit. We see a woman who has a sensual nature but who's father has always punished her whenever he thought she exhibited any signs of this. With Adrian and his hands on training, she acknowledges this side of herself and is able to loose her shame about it.

The ending was beautiful - I new the author would have to find a way to allow Adrian and Lynette to marry but I didn't see a whole lot of options since both of them had no money. But she came up with one that left the main and secondary characters with a wonderful future.

I had a very hard time getting into this book. The character's were cardboard to me, and although the storyline had potential, it fell flat. With Lynette constantly being put in the position of "student", and Adrian our wicked Viscount constantly being put in the role of "teacher", I had a hard time warming up to the idea of them having any sort of connection let alone fall in love.

Secondary character's were helpful to the storyline and were rather interesting. This story had a lot of potential but I feel that this book fell short of the mark. This is not to say that I will write off Ms. Lee with this first for me introductory read, on the contrary I will pick her up again. I just don't recommend this book as the sole read you take with you on a road trip.

I had a very hard time getting into this book. I agree with the other reviewers, inasmuch as the characters were somewhat cardboard. I found it hard to believe that a man would take innocents and teach them erotic behavior to get an old rich husband and get a settlement from the future husbands to invest into his crumbling down castle. It was quite advantageous for the future brides, as their future husbands had quite literally one foot in the grave so to speak, so all they had to do was cater to them until they expired and then they were for the most part, very rich widows and free. He was a member of the peerage but his family squandered his inheritance so he was left with nothing but debts. He was quite innovative in his way of making money to restore his life. It was a very unique storyline. Have not read anything like it before. Don't know as I would recommend it to anyone. Took until the last third of the book before I could say it interested me, and even then it didn't really have me hooked.

Devil's Bargain's premise sets this delicious book up as a traditional erotic tale, but Jade Lee takes it one step farther and creates a smart, sexy read that's a pleasure from beginning to end. In true Lee fashion, the author develops characters who are multi-dimensional and appealing. Then, she delivers a truly satisfying ending that raises this book out of the realm of the steamy historical novel and into the realm of really great reads. A definite keeper!

The premise sounds like the making of a great erotic romance. Penniless after her father's death, Lynette goes to the Viscount Marlock to learn how to catch a rich husband. Marlock wants nothing more than to take the high bride price Lynette will fetch and restore his family's fortunes and standing. He doesn't count on her being any different from the other girls he's created into marriages, and she doesn't plan on the Viscount.

As a fan of erotic romance, I was surprised how sensual and steamy this book could be without a consummated love scene until nearly 2/3 of the way into the book. I found the vivid descriptions riveting, and the characters compelling. The lush prose creates a world into which the reader wishes she could escape with clear-cut hero(ine)s and villains. I loved the setting, though not a big fan of historical romances, and thought the two characters well suited for each other.

Yes, some will call the ending trite, and I could see it coming from a mile away (it is a romance, is it not?, I thought the book fulfilled on its promise, and created a sexy historical read.

I enjoy reading Katherine Greyle's books. I don't particularly like erotic. But when I heard Greyle was writing under the Jade Lee name and writing erotic...I thought I would give it a chance. I truly ENJOYED the book. The characters were marvelous and so true to life. I laughed and enjoyed the whole story.
WAY TO GO KATHERINE/JADE....keep those books coming!