Rating: Summary: not impressed Review: The characters are strange. Not sure exactly what their history was, so it's hard to understand why they act the way they do. I didn't enjoy it and I didn't like the characters.
Rating: Summary: Not bad... Review: The story in this book was what caught my attention, but I found the writing hard to swallow. It was almost like she was writing to a younger audience, with adult themes. The story was great, but I can't give it five stars because to be honest, the book didn't hold my attention like it should. I found myself skimming, instead of reading.
Rating: Summary: Not so good Review: The story line was alright...but I got lost with all the many different family members histories. If you haven't read any of her other books this one may be confusing....I do not plan to read any of her books again.
Rating: Summary: The "good parts" are in the first chapter! Review: This bad boy needs a good spanking...Bentley is the black sheep of a family that already had one too many of those, in the person of his late, unlamented father. Papa was a hedonist who spent most of his time ravishing chamber maids, gambling, and encouraging his youngest son to follow in his footsteps. What no one in the family knows is that Bentley is haunted by a childhood secret that makes him feel unworthy to be loved for anything other than his sexuality and his enormous...personality. Voila! We've got ourselves a Tormented Hero With A Shameful Secret. Add the fact that he is great-looking, experienced beyond his years, and has the bad judgement to get drunk and impregnate his best friend's virginal little sister...Let the fun begin. You might want to begin with the "prequels" to this book, although I read them later. "Beauty Like The Night" is the story of Bentley's repressed and duty-bound older brother and his renewed relationship with a woman from his past; the Bentley character is introduced here a 17-year-old boy with so much resentment for his brother that he not only imagines himself in love with the brother's intended bride, but seeks to seduce the woman his brother is falling in love with...In "No True Gentleman," Bentley is again the bad-boy side character, whose reputation as a wastrel and gambler makes him one of the suspects in a murder. All three are wonderfully dark and sexy romances, but "The Devil You Know" is the hottest of the bunch.
Rating: Summary: Heart Wrenching Review: This is an excellant novel with well developed characters and people that you want to care about. Even the elements that are annoyingly overdone in the romance genre (eg. Freddie's pregnancy and subsequent forced marriage) are done reasonably well. There are no real bad guys except the ghosts in Bentley's head. Freddie is a simpathetic character, only because she is young - she should have left the very imperfect Bentley very early on - right after she catches him kissing some maid. She doesn't know what's going on in his head nor does she get any feedback from him. He loves her in his head - But very few of his actions actually show that. That he is so self-loathing and clueless as to how to be an adult it's sort of endearing - but this is complicated by the fact that she's pregnant. How can she wait for him to grow up and be what she needs when she can't just think about herself and him, she has to think of her child. There are times I wanted her to just leave him. In most romance novels I'm able to fall for some aspect of the hero. There will be one scene that makes him totally wonderful. In this book I fell for Cam in a scene where he is laying on the floor letting the kitten crawl all over him talking to his wife. The hero just didn't catch me like that. The revelations at the end of the book are easy to believe and even easier to see how that effected Bentley's character and marriage and family. It made me happy that Freddie stuck with him. But the fact is this is supposed to be a romance novel. I don't like too much reality in my romances. I want them simple and more light. Escapism. This was so well written and definately made me feel so I couldn't give it less than the stars it deserved - for that (5). I was just so unhappy that it had to be so dark and painful. It wasn't what I was looking for at the time.
Rating: Summary: Unique style and an engossing storyline Review: This is my first Liz Carlyle book, and I am thoroughly impressed. Her writing style is quite a departure from the majority of romance authors--more literary and delving more into psychological issues. Except for a few lines here and there when the wording almost seemed to be from the pen of another author, Carlyle's style was both refreshing and consistent. The characterizations are superb. Bentley appears to be a rogue of the worst possible sort. But from the very beginning, the reader senses that beneath his dissipated lifestyle lie a heart of gold and a world of pain. What a splendid hero he turns out to be! The likeable Freddie is not as richly drawn, but you still understand that her gentleness, her willingness to forgive and to work at their marriage and her devotion to family will be the keys to Bentley's redemption. The plot never sags; there are no underdeveloped B plots or side trips that detract from the main storyline. Everything forms a wonderful and cohesive whole. The emotions are intense and real; tears pricked the back of my eyes when all was revealed. I have a new name to put on my favorite authors list.
Rating: Summary: Awesome! Review: This is one of my favourite romances ever! It has lots of character development. You can feel for the hero and the heroine. Defintely great! The heroine is pretty tough, which is good because I'm tired of reading about simpering ninnies.
Rating: Summary: Liz Carlyle never disappoints... Review: This story has been a long time coming and it fulfilled all of my expectations. It was great to catch up with characters from previous books, including Freddie and her family, who have grown into interesting adults. As usual, Liz Carlyle's writing is exceptional...she can write a story that you hate to put down!
Rating: Summary: Devilishly dull and flimsy Review: This story is complete fluff. Neither character has any real depth, and apart from [physical activity], nothing in common. Their forced marriage is so wretched it is a wonder it lasts as long as it does, especially since Bentley does so many stupid things any sensible woman would never trust him and walk out. The whole issue with his family squabble is nearly pointless even taken in the context of his supposed deep dark secret which any reader with half a brain could figure out. When it is revealed the whole book diverts away from the love story. Poor old Freddie gets a final mention in the book, and that is it. The recurrence of characters from her previous books No True Gentleman and A Woman Scorned, who were never that interesting to begin with are also a big yawn. Reminder to all-a romance is two people falling in love. Not having plain [physical activity]and trying to make the best of a bad job when she gets pregnant. Any sensuality in this book would have been a relief. As it was it was dire, a simple idea padded out of all proportion (like most of her other books) and could have been better as a short story. Save your time and money.
Rating: Summary: Well worth buying Review: This was my first Liz Carlyle. I loved this book so much that I bought all her others.
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