Devil's Embrace (Devil's Duology) [Kindle Edition]

Catherine Coulter (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The New York Times bestselling author's very first historical romance...

Kidnapped and taken to the beautiful city of Genoa, Cassie Brougham finds love in the arms of her captor, while she is betrothed to another man.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 725 KB
• Publisher: Signet (May 1, 2000)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000OCXIGC
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,154 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Catherine Coulter is the author of the New York Times-bestselling FBI thrillers The Cove, The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh House, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take and TailSpin. She lives in northern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 139 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Devil is right... An Evil, Cruel, Sick, Twisted Novel., March 21, 2002

By 

L. J Lewis "Miss Amii" (Collierville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Embrace (Devil's Duology) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am aware that Coulter pushes the envelope sometimes, but this book is just inexcusible. I can't decide if I find I'm more amazed that it was published in the first place or that Coulter appears to be proud of this monstrosity. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Cassie.. I have nothing against the poor girl. In fact, I liked her quite a bit. She deserved none of the terrible things that happened to her. Apparently, Coulter hates her. It is the only way to explain the sadistic way she treated.
Cassie, seventeen and in love a soldier named Edward, forgoes her season in London to marry her sweetheart post haste. The day before her wedding, she sailing when Anthony Welles's, Earl of Clare, yacht over takes her small craft. He forces her onboard, wrecks her boat against the rocks so everyone will think she's dead, then cheerfully announces his intentions of taking her to Italy to marry, whether she wants to or not.
I hate Anthony. He should be castrated. I think he just be the most vile 'hero' to ever make his way into the genre. Anthony is twice her age and he loved her intitally because she looks like her dead mother who he was also in love with. He claims he loves her for herself after watching her blossom over the years. Cassie tries using logic to persuade him to take her back, but..oh, this jerk has an answer for everything. His smugness when he explains his skewed version of reality to Cassie as if she were a stupid child is what I hate most about him. Yes, and he does talk to her as if she were a child. Daddy knows best I guess. (Yuck!)In his twisted mind, the way to get her fall in love with him is to degrade her. Of course, he rationalizes it in his own speacial way to make it seem like she is acting like a hysterical ninny. When he first rapes her, it's taking her virginity to ensure she can't go back to Edward. When he whips her, it's light discipline. When he forces her to sleep naked with him, it's getting her used to him.
If there's anything to recommend about this book its the prose. They are very well written. Suprisingly, the dialogue runs smoothly. Absent is Colter's annoying 'sex dialogue' where the hero discusses the heroine's 'soft white belly' etc. Anthony has a few of those lines but they sound more clinical than stupid.
There is nothing in the least romantic about this book. I could finish it, but from other reviews I've learned many other tradegies befall poor Cassie. This book is just evil. Cassie and Anthony's relationship kept making me think of stepfather who rape their stepdaughters. When Cassie starts to feel desire for him, I can only shake my head and sigh. Obvisiously, he's repeated "You will come to love me" so many times she's become brainwashed. This is a stomach-churner and I can't concieve of why it was reissued. I thought the whole rape/captive stories had been dead and buried but I was wrong. It's novels like this that give the genre its bad name.
In short, 17-year old heroine + smug rapist hero= vomit inducer.
This is the story of the degradation and abuse of a young girl disguised as a romance.

63 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars there is NOTHING glamorous about rape!, June 4, 2000

By 

GV - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devil's Embrace (Devil's Duology) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the only Catherine Coulter book I have read. I have some serious issues with this book. First, real heros do not rape. Second, women do not fall in love with their rapists. Third, women do not climax while being raped. Fourth, the hero, who raped the heroine, was actually outraged when the heroine was gang raped by four brutes. Like he's the only one allowed to be a rapist! Fifth, calling it being "ravished" as opposed to being "raped" does not render it any less of a violation.

I understand that this is fiction, but it is EXTREMELY IRRESPONSIBLE to glamorize rape in such a way. I have no intention of finding out if all of Catherine Coulter's books are as irresponsible.

These books are supposed to make you root for the main characters. How can you cheer on a rapist? It is a shame that there are people who just look the other way when reading these horrific scenes. Some people actually gave this book 5 stars! Scary!

A very disappointing book from an author who came highly recommended.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So disturbing..., July 18, 2003

By 

D. Nguyen "DkNNy79" (CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil's Embrace (Devil's Duology) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was so angry at times, especially at Anthony and Cassie. Cassie is supposed to be full of life and sassy and while she is in the beginning, I just think she ends up settling. When he was beating her, I wanted to beat the living crap out of him and she just took it. Yeah, she disobeyed him, but he kidnapped her!! I guess in his own sick way he loved her and if it weren't for the beating and the rape I could see myself liking him. But sorry, I hate these type of stories where the male treats the female HORRIBLY and then the female just forgets about it and ends up falling in love with the guy. Poor Cassie, she not only gets raped by Anthony, but she gets raped later in the story too. I just think its ridiculous for her to forgive Anthony so soon or at all. This book was just too disturbing.