Rating: 
Summary: Devil's Love grabbed my interest from page one!
Review: The plot of Devil's Love is well constructed and brings the reader along at a fast pace. My interest was captured from page one and did not let up until I turned the last page - well into the wee hours of the morning!
Rating: 
Summary: Quite Impressive for a First Novel...
Review: This is my first of Julia London and was quite impressed by it, more especially after finding out that this is only her first book. I say, it's well done for a first try. THE WICKED PROMISE is the sequel for this book. Thank you again to other reviewers who've mentioned it. I will definitely order it this week.Read Editorial Reviews above for book description: Here is my opinion... I enjoyed the first and last part of this book the most, however, the middle part was a bit slow ---not all together boring but just a bit slow to get to the point. Also, the part where Abby recovered from her accident which she then turned around to hating Michael all of a sudden... hmmm, where did that come from? That scene didn't appeal much to me. I prefer a different rent than that. Or perhaps it just wasn't represented like it should be for me to appreciate it. In addition to that, if she was supposedly soooo angry, I was hoping for her to finally carry out her original plan of going back to America. She's been thinking, making plans to do this for the longest time that the idea was instilled in me. I expected her to do so but it didn't happend. She tells him this but doesn't do it. She should have just left and that's that. That would have been a great rift too -- seperation...then Michael going after her -- that sorta thing. But then again, this is only a very small self preferences. Overall, this book is an entertaining read. The initial plot was engaging. The characters are well defined and well executed. There's lots of funny moments as well as heart quenching ones as well. The Epilogue is my favorite of all. It was a satisfying conclusion to this heart warming story.
Rating:
Summary: Great Love Development between the two!
Review: This is my second Julia London book and I like this much better than Wicked Angel. There were too tormet in that one for my taste. This book is very well written and I love the relationship development between Abbey and Michael after their stubborness leading to their immeidate marriage. It was a little unrealistic and sad the way Abbey felt about Michael in the beginning, but she was a quick study and realized the lies. Their time togehter were beautifully written and full of love. Although I didn't enjoy reading about his one visit to his lover, I suppose it was unrealistic of me to assume that he would stop his activities just because Abbey showed up. My one issue with Abbey is that for being smart with people and talented in many ways, she was terriblly stupid with Galen which lead to the great one rift between the two lovers. I really did not like that fact that she resisted his love for so many weeks after her accident and insisted that he was totally at fault without taking any responsibility for her part in the deception. Although Michael was horrible in the beginning with his rude reactions to being forced into marriage, I did grow to love his character. I can not say the same thing about Abbey. Overall, it was a great love story with a huge misunderstanding. I love all her aunt/cousins. It was well-written and not as heart twisting as the Wicked Angel.
Rating:
Summary: A delicious arranged marriage gone awry!
Review: This is my second Julia London book. Both have been great stories and have each received a 5 star rating from me. London has a particularly charming ability when it comes to writing alpha males that are forced to reign in their strong personalities, grow up, and give of themselves. Her heroines are pleasant, innocent, and naive although a little too sweet for believability. Michael Ingram, Marquis of Darfield, had sailed the seas at the age of nineteen, upon Captain Carrington's ship as a member of the crew. Also sailing on that ship was the captain's young daughter, Abigail (Abbey), known to all aboard as a wild, undisciplined yet charming child. Abbey had not seen Michael since that voyage twelve years ago. But she had held, in her heart and mind, dear memories of Michael and had eagerly awaited their future marriage. Abbey's father, taking advantage of the young future marquis's financial problems, had loaned Michael, at that vulnerable age of nineteen, a large sum of money to repay his father's creditors. Michael's father was gambling away all the family's ancestral fortune and lands - thus Michael was desperate for the Captain's financial aid. Included in this financial contract was a betrothal agreement between Michael and the captain's daughter. This betrothal clause would be evoked only if Michael had failed to repay the Captain in full at some future specified date. Since the signing of that agreement, at least ten years ago, Michael had amassed a fortune himself and had repaid all of his father's debts. Michael, now Marquis of Darfield, had essentially forgotten the old agreement since all debt had been paid off. However, Captain Carrington had not been totally upfront with the young man all those years ago. The captain had hidden a large portion of Michael's father's debts from him and, prior to the his death, had evoked the betrothal portion of the agreement. No matter what Michael attempted to do, he discovered he was truly bound by the contract and - most unhappily - was forced to marry the captain?s daughter, Abbey. Abbey, blissfully unaware of Michael's hostility and hatred of the marriage agreement, sailed from America to England believing herself totally in love with her future husband. Her father had told her, through the years, how much Michael wanted the forthcoming marriage and the love he held for her. Abbey discovered, much to her horror, that Michael was not the willing bridegroom. Not only was he unwilling - he treated her terribly - hoping that she would break the agreement. However, idyllic in her belief that Michael would someday love her, she refused to break the betrothal and they married. All of the above happenings occur within the first 57 pages of the book. Immediately after the rushed wedding, Michael leaves Abbey at one of his country estates and travels to another for an indefinite period of time. He is determined to make Abbey suffer tremendously for the enforced marriage. During this period of the book, Michael is a really mean guy. He treats Abbey with contempt, suspicion, hatred, and is out for revenge. Abbey, conversely, is an extremely naive young woman and seeks happiness despite Michael's attempt to make her life a misery. Not only is she naive, she is also sweet - a little too sweet. One of my two complaints about The Devil's Love is her character is too sugary. She is seen as such an innocent and draws everyone to her with her never-ending optimism and enjoyment of life. It makes her character appear as unrealistic - she is too super-sweet with too many talents for one person. The interaction between the leads is excellent although they are at odds a lot of the time. Just when we think Michael can get no meaner, Abbey begins to stand up for herself and he begins to reluctantly respect her and more reluctantly finds he is strongly drawn to her. Yes, love develops even in this big mess of an enforced marriage. However, I began to get uncomfortable about halfway through the book. I saw all of the signs of The Big Misunderstanding lining up and dreaded it. This was the second complaint that I mentioned earlier. The Big Misunderstanding was very, very big and it took a lot of the pages for it to be resolved. However, this book does deserve it's five star rating because London does a wonderful job of writing this portion of the book. I was caught by surprise, more than once, as the events unfolded. Although I was able to sense the upcoming misunderstanding, I was not able at all to guess how it would eventually be solved. The story is vastly entertaining. I eagerly consumed each page and every time I had to put it down - I enthusiastically resumed reading. You will find this love story at times heartbreaking and at other times exciting and fresh. You will want Michael to get his comeuppance more than once as well. The chemistry between the leads certainly is vibrant and warms the pages. The actual sensual scenes, although fairly frequent, are somewhat tame and rate about a 3.0 to a 3.5 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). The Devil's Love is the first in a series followed by Wicked Angel. I read Wicked Angel first and although I probably would have preferred only slightly to read them in order, they are truly stand-alone books. I loved each book on it's own merits although I could have picked up on a few situations a little more quickly in Wicked Angel if I had read The Devil's Love first. However, in order or not, this is a great two book series that I wholeheartedly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A delicious arranged marriage gone awry!
Review: This is my second Julia London book. Both have been great stories and have each received a 5 star rating from me. London has a particularly charming ability when it comes to writing alpha males that are forced to reign in their strong personalities, grow up, and give of themselves. Her heroines are pleasant, innocent, and naive although a little too sweet for believability. Michael Ingram, Marquis of Darfield, had sailed the seas at the age of nineteen, upon Captain Carrington's ship as a member of the crew. Also sailing on that ship was the captain's young daughter, Abigail (Abbey), known to all aboard as a wild, undisciplined yet charming child. Abbey had not seen Michael since that voyage twelve years ago. But she had held, in her heart and mind, dear memories of Michael and had eagerly awaited their future marriage. Abbey's father, taking advantage of the young future marquis's financial problems, had loaned Michael, at that vulnerable age of nineteen, a large sum of money to repay his father's creditors. Michael's father was gambling away all the family's ancestral fortune and lands - thus Michael was desperate for the Captain's financial aid. Included in this financial contract was a betrothal agreement between Michael and the captain's daughter. This betrothal clause would be evoked only if Michael had failed to repay the Captain in full at some future specified date. Since the signing of that agreement, at least ten years ago, Michael had amassed a fortune himself and had repaid all of his father's debts. Michael, now Marquis of Darfield, had essentially forgotten the old agreement since all debt had been paid off. However, Captain Carrington had not been totally upfront with the young man all those years ago. The captain had hidden a large portion of Michael's father's debts from him and, prior to the his death, had evoked the betrothal portion of the agreement. No matter what Michael attempted to do, he discovered he was truly bound by the contract and - most unhappily - was forced to marry the captain?s daughter, Abbey. Abbey, blissfully unaware of Michael's hostility and hatred of the marriage agreement, sailed from America to England believing herself totally in love with her future husband. Her father had told her, through the years, how much Michael wanted the forthcoming marriage and the love he held for her. Abbey discovered, much to her horror, that Michael was not the willing bridegroom. Not only was he unwilling - he treated her terribly - hoping that she would break the agreement. However, idyllic in her belief that Michael would someday love her, she refused to break the betrothal and they married. All of the above happenings occur within the first 57 pages of the book. Immediately after the rushed wedding, Michael leaves Abbey at one of his country estates and travels to another for an indefinite period of time. He is determined to make Abbey suffer tremendously for the enforced marriage. During this period of the book, Michael is a really mean guy. He treats Abbey with contempt, suspicion, hatred, and is out for revenge. Abbey, conversely, is an extremely naive young woman and seeks happiness despite Michael's attempt to make her life a misery. Not only is she naive, she is also sweet - a little too sweet. One of my two complaints about The Devil's Love is her character is too sugary. She is seen as such an innocent and draws everyone to her with her never-ending optimism and enjoyment of life. It makes her character appear as unrealistic - she is too super-sweet with too many talents for one person. The interaction between the leads is excellent although they are at odds a lot of the time. Just when we think Michael can get no meaner, Abbey begins to stand up for herself and he begins to reluctantly respect her and more reluctantly finds he is strongly drawn to her. Yes, love develops even in this big mess of an enforced marriage. However, I began to get uncomfortable about halfway through the book. I saw all of the signs of The Big Misunderstanding lining up and dreaded it. This was the second complaint that I mentioned earlier. The Big Misunderstanding was very, very big and it took a lot of the pages for it to be resolved. However, this book does deserve it's five star rating because London does a wonderful job of writing this portion of the book. I was caught by surprise, more than once, as the events unfolded. Although I was able to sense the upcoming misunderstanding, I was not able at all to guess how it would eventually be solved. The story is vastly entertaining. I eagerly consumed each page and every time I had to put it down - I enthusiastically resumed reading. You will find this love story at times heartbreaking and at other times exciting and fresh. You will want Michael to get his comeuppance more than once as well. The chemistry between the leads certainly is vibrant and warms the pages. The actual sensual scenes, although fairly frequent, are somewhat tame and rate about a 3.0 to a 3.5 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). The Devil's Love is the first in a series followed by Wicked Angel. I read Wicked Angel first and although I probably would have preferred only slightly to read them in order, they are truly stand-alone books. I loved each book on it's own merits although I could have picked up on a few situations a little more quickly in Wicked Angel if I had read The Devil's Love first. However, in order or not, this is a great two book series that I wholeheartedly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: This is the first book I read by this author. I read in one day. This is an original plot and wonderful characters. The Heroine is strong willed, intelligent and cheerful. The Hero brooding, arrogant and rakish. When the two finally come together through the manuplations of her father the sparks fly. He resents her because he is being forced to marry her. She has been raised to love him and thinks that he is the most wonderful man in the world. I have since read several of Ms. London other books they are all wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Fabulous read... GREAT Characters
Review: This was the first book I've read of Julia London and I can't wait to read another. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Julie Garwood and Jill Barnett, just fabulous
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Fabulous read... GREAT Characters
Review: This was the first book I've read of Julia London and I can't wait to read another. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Julie Garwood and Jill Barnett, just fabulous
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