Devotion [Hardcover]

Katherine Sutcliffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1996

1996 Jove Books BCE, 376 pages. ISBN 0-515-11801-X. The irresistible story of forbidden passion that could not be denied. DEVOTION by Katherine Sutcliffe. Trey Hawthorne, the Duke of Salterdon, had once been the most dashing, eligible bachelor in all of Northern England. But after being gravely wounded by a gang of thieves, and abandoned by his fiancee, he has become notoriously ill-tempered and lost his will to live. Maria Ashton, fleeing from her abusive father, arrives at magnificent Thorn Rose Manor to care for Trey. To his surprise, he finds himself aroused by the flaxen-haired young woman, who stays by him when others turn away. And Maria soon realizes how much she is growing to love Trey. But after Maria has nursed Trey back to health, Trey's grandmother, the formidable Duchess of Salterdon, insists that he marry his former fiancee, a young woman of suitably noble birth. Between a nobleman like Trey and a servant such as Maria, marriage is forbidden. But passion, once ignited, respects no boundaries....

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Jove Books (1996)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000E246P4
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,919,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Devotion"... then... "Obsession", March 14, 2005

By 

ruchan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devotion (Paperback)

WOW!!! I almost gave up on DEVOTION because of the cliff-hanging ending, until I found out the story continues in one of Ms. Sutcliffe's newer books, OBSESSION... Thank you very much for continuing the story... =). I'm soooo excited, couldn't wait to know the ending... =).

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The author is a quitter!, March 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Devotion (Audio Cassette)

If you need a tidy ending to a story, don't read this book. When I got to the last page, I had to look at the binding carefully to make sure no pages had been ripped out. The story ends with no resolution between the main characters. A happy ending may be implied, but given the difficulties the hero and heroine have throughout the story there is plenty of room to assume things could still go awry. I lost so much respect for the author (whom I had until then been truly enjoying). If she cannot respect her readers enough to wrap-up the loose ends of the characters she got us so invested in, then I cannot give her a higher rating. And the sad thing is, I don't trust her not to do this in other books, so why would I bother to pick up another Sutcliffe novel? Badly done, KS.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Angst driven novel; wonderful characters, March 23, 2005

By 

E. Lynch "romance book fanatic" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devotion (Paperback)

This book was recommended to me because of my love of "tormented" heroes. I can't quite decide who was more tormented, Trey or Marie.

Marie, a beautiful but abused young woman becomes a nurse/companion to Trey Hawthorne the Duke of Salterdon. She is beaten down both physically and mentally by her deranged father (a rather successful minister). Seeking a better life for herself and her mother, Marie answered an advertisement to nurse a child. Much later, after arriving at Thorn Rose manor, she finds her patient is not a child at all.

Injured in an attempted robbery, Trey spends his time either catatonic or totally frustrated and abusive to his staff. Eventually at the edge of consciousness, he begins to notice and respond to Marie. And not as expected! He is rather violent! Marie, seemingly with an endless amount of compassion and forgiveness, conquers all her fears and rather than running away, she works doggedly to bring Trey back from the brink of lunacy.

The storyline is harsh and frightening, yet you come to love Marie for her unfailing optimism and Trey for his desire to be free of the confines of being a duke. They both have suffered tremendous hurt as children and you realize how much they have in common, just as you realize how far in class they are apart.

Can this have a happy ending? Will she sacrifice him to his position and obligations. Will he sacrifice her to please his grandmother and society? I was not disappointed with the ending as others were. The ending was as gritty and real as the rest of the book.

Secondary characters are so well drawn out. Trey's twin brother was a delight to meet. The dour duchess (grandmother) was also. Every character added dimension to the story. I did not like the hurried ending of the novel which wrapped up some incidents regarding "highwaymen." This is not a light hearted novel but I can highly recommend it. I am off to read the "prequel" about Clayton, Trey's twin --