The Irish Devil

Rating:
Summary: THE IRISH DEVIL = HOT & YUMMY!!!!!
Review: Diane Whiteside has written one of the HOTTEST books I've read in a long time! THE IRISH DEVIL is an erotic Western and William and Viola are great characters. William is Irish, self-made and "to-die-for". Viola is spirited and not afraid to take chances.
Buy the book -- you will NOT be disappointed!! Thank you Ms. Whiteside, and trying to wait patiently for the next one!!!

Rating:
Summary: Always a sure bet
Review: DW is always a must buy in my book.....I have all of her Elloras Cave stuff and I love being able to buy her in paperback. TID does not disappoint with a great heroine and lots of page turning action of one sort or another...

Only problem with having all her stuff is waiting for what's next..

Rating:
Summary: WHEW! (But still only 3 stars!)
Review: I liked the hero of this novel, William Donovan, at least up to a point, but the heroine, Viola, left much to be desired. OK, so initially she didn't know much about enjoyable sexual experiences but once they got together, she was like a babyish-woman-child in her manner toward him; it was annoying. The minute they became lovers, SHE seemed to lose all her spine and HE became the alpha male, ordering her to wear what HE wanted; do what HE wanted...with just little flaky bits of reluctance on her part...Intially the hero fantasized about the heroine as a unobtainable fairy princess, and he really seemed to *love* or at least, feel tenderness for the heroine, but once they got together he was all about dominating her...(kind of disappointed with that.)

Oh, it all works, but for this reader, the H/H's lack of communication and what I can only describe as a sense of reality or believabiity in the characters makes them fairly one-dimensional. (Yeah, I know, it's "just a romance novel", but darn it, I need believeable motives/characterization.) However, the "scenes" are certainly erotic & sensual enough for those readers who want that in their romance novels (almost along the lines of R. Schone et al., with raunchy language by page 2!) and the plot certainly moves along -- the book is hard to put down despite its faults. A solid 3 stars for me, but I realize it could be more from any other romance reader who likes 'em "strong".

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected...No Depth
Review: I was hoping for something with more substance. It had a lot of potential but seemed to lack development somewhere.
The character of William Donovan was well fleshed out but the heroine Viola was vague. Sort of like an afterthought to the storyline. She was strong in the beginning and we were getting to know her then she seemed to vanish into a weak-willed girl without depth. No match for strong William. He deserved better IMO.
The only thing that disappointed me in William was the fact that he supposedly loved Viola and adored her from afar all this time and then when she goes to him in desperation and offers herself as a mistress for money he accepts. I was curious to why this deep and godfearing man would let a woman he so adored and cherished and respected go through with this without offering her some other task to earn enough money to leave? It left me cold. It said a lot about his character IMO and I would've enjoyed the story much more had he acted on his respect and then let nature take its course. There seemed to be a lack of true passion here between them and I never accepted the fact that they fell so much in love by the end.
Viola's character really took a nosedive IMO when she thought throughout the book about her 'so loved' brother and then when she sees him she seems preoccupied and nonchalant. In all, Viola left much to be desired in a heroine and William was too much man for her.
All those looking at this as a 'historical romance' beware. It is more of an erotic romance set in the West.

Viola Ross was desperate after her money ran out and her husband murdered on the Arizona frontier she goes to sexy as sin William Donovan, an Irishman who has a business in town and quite a bit of money to offer herself up for sale.
Donovan has longed for Mrs. Ross from afar for a long time and is shocked when she approaches him. Not able to deny her he accepts for a large sum and three months, never knowing that he will face numerous dangers being around her and possibly being killed. Not to mention losing his heart for good...

Tracy Talley~@


Rating:
Summary: A Super Steamy Western!
Review: I won't go into great depth on the story synopsis. Suffice to say this was a rather steamy western that I truly enjoyed due to the fact that there really aren't a whole lot of good western romances out there anymore and this fit the bill.

The characters of this story were...different to say the least. We have a strong male lead with William Donovan, our heroine Viola Ross was probably the weakest part of the story but still redemable since she found William worth loving despite his humble beginnings (she comes from wealth and high standing back east), and what story would be complete without "evil bad guy" in the form of Paul Lennox. The fact that Lennox owns more then half of the small Arizona town of Rio Piedras and decides that Viola needs to be his wife seems to be the main storyline rather then the secondary as I think the author was counting on. The relationship between Viola and William was good, but could have been fleshed out more, and truly had more pontential then I think Ms. Whiteside gave it. There was the sideline story regarding Viola's brother and his search for her and this was truly a letdown since the storyline was introduced then dropped within a few pages to be totally forgotten until the final chapter.

Despite the things that I mentioned I felt were lacking, I still found this to be an entertaining read. The tension of just how far the bad guy would go, not to mention the chemistry between William and Viola saved this read from being tedious in the extreme. Fans of the western romance genre should be appeased by this latest offering by Ms. Whiteside, and I look forward to her next effort.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com



Rating:
Summary: Interesting story & super hot! Not for the faint of heart!
Review: Ms Whiteside is a new author for me and when I read about this book I was intrigued. I don't read Americana or Westerns as a general rule but the fact that it was an erotic western with an Irish hero piqued my interest. It's the story of two people from opposite ends of the social spectrum whose fortunes in life are radically changed.

Recently widowed Viola Ross, the daughter of a genteel, wealthy Cincinnati family, was disowned by them after she married a man of whom they disapproved. After realizing that her family had, indeed cut her off, he drags Viola all over the Western Territories in search of the gold that will make him rich. Unfortunately in Arizona he met his demise and Viola is left virtually penniless in the mining backwater of Rios Piedras. She is being relentlessly pursued by Paul Lennox who is desperate to marry her. After her experience with her husband she is determined not to marry again, but she needs money to sustain herself. She decides to approach the only other man in town with as much wealth as Lennox for help - Irishman William Donovan. He's a gorgeous man with a reputation for fairness (and for his skill in bed according to the local doxies).

William has come a long way from his poor beginnings in County Cork, Ireland. He's overcome poverty, starvation, the loss of his entire family and the "no Irish need apply" attitudes he encountered along the way. He's now the wealthy owner of a freight company with a government contract to haul supplies to the forts in Arizona being built to protect against the Apaches. He's acutely aware of Viola Ross and regularly fantasizes about her - she's his perfect faerie queen - but he's sure she'd consider him beneath her. So when she approaches him with a proposition to become his mistress, he is momentarily shocked, but he'll take any chance to have her, if only for three months.

And oh what heat these two generate! William wastes no time in initiating Viola in the ways of erotic pleasure and soon she's a willing partner in these activities. But is there more than just sexual attraction between them? And a few of the questions you'll wonder about are: Why did Viola marry her husband in the first place? Why does Paul Lennox pursue her to the point of obsession?

While I enjoyed the story, I'm not sure I bought into the erotic "education" he received back in (repressed, Catholic, Victorian!) Ireland, but I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility. And I'm not fond of, shall we say "equestrian" metaphors for sex so every time he referred to "riding" or called her his "filly" I cringed a bit. Those looking for an obvious building of affection may feel that their relationship was primary based on sex. I also agree with another reviewer that "sweetheart" was way over used, though I loved that they used some Gaelic endearments (mo mhuirnin and mo cridhe) at the end. Still, the woman can write some seriously erotic sex scenes that really are hot, hot, hot! If you can take the heat and enjoy erotica with a capital E this story is for you!

I think there may have been some subtle hints that stories about William's friend and business partner Morgan Evans and Viola's brother Hal Lindsay may be in the cards. If so, I'll be in line to read them!



Rating:
Summary: Not So Hot
Review: Please do not waste your time with this tripe, I beg you. I cannot qualify this request even with an 'unless you have nothing better to do'!

Although I expected, after reading the reviews on this site, to be at least charmed by Donovan and titillated by the 'love scenes,' I was disappointed in every way possible.

How can I explain it? The story of our characters, Viola (quite the most terrible name I have ever heard) and Donovan are woven into the current story with arbitrarily placed vignettes based upon past events in the lives of said characters. These snippets did not win any of my compassion or understanding for either of the characters. They simply served to confuse and further delay an already dragging, dull story.

The plot, to which I've already alluded, is unimaginative: a scoundrel seeks the money and associated social status of the the beautiful Viola whom he has coveted from afar since before her misfortune (which he incidentally had a hand in causing in the first place); Viola looks for 'protection' from the beautiful, hero (who has a domineering edge) who also has been secretly infatuated with her. Did I mention the hero is also rich?

Viola...Viola...Viola.... Such an ugly name. Such a mass of contradictions: Our heroine, who refers to herself as "short, scrawny, and pallid," contemporaneously receives proposals on a regular basis in the fictional Rio Piedras--SIX IN ONE WEEK, she recounts early in the story. There was little to help me take an interest in the story of Viola. She is weak and boring and flat.

And the details of Donovan's character and motivation are not clearly culled one from the other. It is unclear why we are to love this 'dom' and be interested in what happens to him.

The characters are just not compelling. They do not stick with you, make you see them in your mind, relate to them with affection, anger...or any emotion really at all.

The Irish Devil is just not very deep, intelligent, thought-provoking or stimulating. I do not even feel that the author gave me a very good history lesson--painting me a picture of the period and culture. And though this is less important even to a lover of romantica such as myself, the love scenes were not even hot. If you want to be inspired, read something else.

Two Thumbs Down.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!!!!
Review: The Irish Devil is a book that is HOT to read! If you want something that is set in the old west with some steamy scenes then this is the book for you. Diane has written a book that is an exceptional read, so all I can say is "BUY IT" because I plan on enjoying my copy, again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Warm, exciting and passionate story.
Review: Viola Ross is living in Arizona territory at a time in history where women who are unmarried have a very difficult time of it all. Viola is a widow, being pursued by the town's most uncouth, and possibly most influential member, a Mr. Lennox. In the meantime, Viola's business partner has sold their laundry business right from underneath her, and left town with her new husband. Viola has few means of survival left to her - marry Mr. Lennox, go to the Apaches to be a bride of theirs, or approach the man who has a terrific reputation at one of her customers' businesses - a house of prostitution.

William Donovan is a successful businessman, despite the pressure of the one man who'd claim the town where his business - Donovan Sons - is thriving - Mr. Lennox, the same man who's been harassing Viola Ross to marry him. William is an Irishman who's made an unusually successful life for himself. Part of his success comes by the way he treats all of his employees - their loyalty and respect is of the highest order. Though William has his favorites at the local house of ill repute, even pleasuring two women 'til all hours of the night, he constantly fantasizes about Mrs. Viola Ross. Imagine his surprise - and delight - when she approaches him for protection against Mr. Lennox. They work out a deal, where she is to pleasure him, for a period of three months, and she will earn a fee to get out of her dead husband's debt, and be able to start her life over again.

After only one night, William realizes the little woman is a hidden sensualist, and that three months might not nearly be enough time to teach her every pleasure, while receiving incredible pleasure in return. What proceeds is a titillating experience for the both of them. Though a widow, Viola is very much an innocent. On the contrary, William has been trained in the art of sensual pleasure, yet his experiences and time with Viola nearly make him lose control.

The Irish Devil is a warm, exciting, passionate story of two people who meld together like none other, who find delight in even the smallest ways, but most certainly, in the most carnal ways. Viola's shy nature takes a sharp turn the more time she's with William. However, her persistent suitor has not given up, which gives cause for concern for her safety, as well as their future. Ms. Whiteside has done a marvelous job of writing such a sensual story, with careful consideration of protection against disease and pregnancy, at a time in history where women's rights were few, and their happiness and pleasure was of least concern. What an enjoyable read to see William's gentle and generous nature when it comes to his dealing with Viola.

(For In the Library Reviews, September 2004)

Rating:
Summary: Hot, Hot, Hot
Review: You must buy this book. If you like Jaid Black or Lora Leigh or steamy sex scenes with great characters. Donavan is so hot and once Viola gets her hands, mouth etc. on him- Whew!!!