Customer Reviews

The Devil's Lady (Harlequin Historical No 241)

5 star:		(6)
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3 star:		(1)
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Aisley de Laci proud and beautiful, was ordered by King Edward to pick herself a husband from any of his Knights of the realm - but marry she would! So in what she thought would be a foil to the King's plans she choose the legendary Red Knight! The tales of his darkness were the tales to strike terror in the hearts of any who would go up against him. Much to her surprise, the King rather than refuse her request granted it to her - so she was hastily bundled off and sent on her way to Dunmurrow - lair of the Red Knight.

Piers, the Red Knight, rather than directly refuse the King's edict took her to be his bride. That was Aisley's first surprise, the second was that all this was done without her seeing her husband's face. Her Red Knight lived in the darkness of this cold and dark castle. How long would it take for Aisley to discover the secret of her Red Knight?

This is a book that will keep you up all night long because you are going to be kept in such suspense that it will drive you crazy! Aisley, in spite of her resolve to get out this marriage, is bewitched by the Red Knight - perhaps as all the rumors say - he is immortal, and practices black arts. Who could tell - not I - you are just going to have to stay up all night like I did to find out. Find this book - fabulous read.

It's not very often that I read a book that blows me away, or that I can't guess what going to happen next. Well, this book did just that. Dark, Scary, Old Castle with shadows. Piers Montmorency is the Red Knight whispered to be more than a mortal and has struck a devil's bargain. Aisley de Laci needs a husband and claims the Red Knight never believing any of the stories, but when she arrives things aren't right. Start this book in the morning or you'll be up all night.

Lady Aisley de Laci is a feisty woman who needs no man. She's successfully managed her own estate for over a year, but the king declares that she must marry one of his knights. Determined to outfox the king, Aisley picks the Red Knight, a fearsome warrior by reputation who has not been seen in months. Rumor has it that the Red Knight is in league with the devil and practices black arts as he hides in perpetual darkness, but Aisley is undeterred - she wants someone to refuse to marry her, and she believes the Red Knight is the only one who will reject the king's edict.

Piers, the Red Knight, has been shrouded in darkness for too long, and when Aisley disrupts his sedate life, she is like a bright ray of sunshine. He has no intentions of rejecting the king's request, and before he knows it, Aisley is staying in his castle Dunmorrow for good. Piers is loathe to give away all his secrets, however, and Aisley is left wondering - why does her husband keep himself locked away in the darkness? Is he truly a sorcerer, or is he hiding some other secret?

I usually don't go for medieval romances, but this one was excellent! I could scarcely bear to put the book down - as another reviewer said, start this book in the morning or you will be up all night (like me!). The characters are lovely and complex, the author keeps up a slight mysterious tension throughout the first half of the book as you wonder why exactly the Red Knight cloaks himself in darkness, and there is a wonderful literary play between light and darkness, sunshine and shadows. The book was also incredibly sexy, with powerful love scenes and a clear view of the tender love growing between the two characters inspite of the hardships they faced. The book had a Phantom of the Opera feel to it, and I loved it, I was completely captivated by this book! Definitely a keeper, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel to the book, Maiden Bride by the same author.

I'm on a Deborah Simmon's kick at the moment. Having discovered this wonderful author recently, I've been scrambling to get all her books. I'm happy to say that this one's a keeper!

King Edward has agreed to allow the Lady Aisley to choose her own husband. Trying to outsmart him, Aisley names the completely unsuitable and notorious Red Knight as her choice to the king. One that she is sure he will reject, thus freeing her to remain unwed and return to her beloved home. But her plan backfires and she's forced to marry the "Red Knight", thats when the fun starts in. For the knight is feared by many and tales of his evil run rampant.

Simmon's does a fabulous job keeping the reader hooked on the mystery surrounding the Red Knight. Is the hero practicing witchcraft? Is he hideously scarred? Does he have horns or a hoofed feet? Is he REALLY the devil? And why is the keep shrouded in darkness? Goodness, I was flipping those pages fast. You could probably figure it out easy enough if you paid attention, but that doesn't matter. The story is VERY intriguing and will keep you guessing for many pages. There is also PLENTY of love scenes and they were REALLY good -fanning myself-. Not what I expected from a book written over 10yrs ago. A pleasant surprise.

Loved this book! Go find yourself a copy -its worth the effort, especially for those who like medieval settings.

This is the second book of Deborah Simmons that I've read and it has really blown me away ! I liked it even better than Taming the Wolf. The characters were likable and the story was heartwarming, the mystery that involved it was really interesting that it makes you want to keep on going on and on non stop just to find it out.

Aisley De Laci is beautiful, smart and confident. After the death of her father and three elder brothers all of the estates and the riches of her family are left under her care and although Aisley is indeed female she has proven herself a good estate keeper and obviously is in no need of a husband or any male guardian to help run her estate. But wait a minute ! A Medieval woman running her own estates ? that's unthinkable and unheard of it is also outrageous ! or at least that's what king Edward thinks after all Aisley is in marriageable age and she needs a husband and what better than to offer her the variety of the best of Knights in the land to tempt her to marry ? But Aisley won't take anyone in fact Aisley will not wed anyone, after spending years supervising her households and enjoying her freedom why would she abandon all to be under the mercy of a husband who will lock her away and take her wealth just to please a greedy, sexist king ? No ! the thought of losing all is unthinkable Aisley must find a way to get out and quick. Her only scheme is to choose the scandalous Red Knight as her husband after all he's been locked up in a dark castle for so long and there are rumors involving him saying that he is a wizard who had sold his soul to the devil surely the Knight would refuse her proposal of marriage for why would he want anyone to disturb his darkness ? The Aisley can got back to her estates and the king can mind his own business but to her utter surprise the Red Knight does not refuse her proposal in fact he even takes her as his wife ! Aisley is shocked her scheme has gone wrong, realizing that she is stuck in a dark castle full of mystery and with very little inhabitants Aisley tries to find a way to get out of this marriage but there is something holding her back, Her curiosity about her husband since they've been married Aisley didn't even see his face all what she can see is a dark form in the shadows, she can hear his voice and feel his presence but she can't see him. This almost drives Aisley mad why would he not show her his face ? Why is he always hiding and doesn't appear in the day of light ? Is he scarred or misshapen ? Is it possible that he is so ugly ? Or is the rumors surrounding him are true ? Is he really a wizard who eats other people's hearts and suck in children's blood ?

I really enjoyed this story and Piers was a very likable hero, he is soft, gentle and is not afraid to show his compassion. The story made me laugh out loud at times and want to cry in another. The relationship between Aisley and Piers is so strong that it will leave you in awe at the end. I especially liked it where Aisley and the Red Knight came to know each other. The story is beautiful ! Grab a copy and read this book you won't regret it ! I'm looking forward to reading Nicholas's story in the Maiden Bride its supposed to be the sequel to this book.

This book was better than Maiden Bride; I liked the hero better and there was no annoying revenge plot. There were, however, several problems with this story.

One is inconsistencies. For example, at one point Aisley is pondering why Piers always keeps himself and the castle shrouded in darkness. She supposes that he could be disfigured by losing a limb in battle. Aisley is thinking this (and here's my beef)AFTER Piers has already WALKED across the room to grasp her with BOTH hands. How could someone who had lost a limb accomplish this??! And then there's the darkness issue. How could the castle have been kept SO dark that Aisley can't see Piers, yet she can share meals with him and move about without any great difficulty? I find this hard to swallow.

Still, despite these quibbles, The Devil's Lady is an enjoyable, romantic love story, and could be worth reading if you have a few hours to kill.

Really good, great characters, and a heroine I actually liked, a strong Knight and an interesting twist to the story. The book started out good and just continued to get better and better! What a nice surprise.