alisonb's review against another edition
4.0
Liz Carlyle is a fabulous writer. There was a mix of drama, romance, and humor laced into a plot of intrigue and deception.
I would have liked to see the main character’s together in more scenes, but the romance still worked brilliantly.
I have to add that this hero reminded me of Dane from Lord of Scoundrels for some reason, he just had that vibe, which made me like him even more. His loneliness amidst all his raking made him all the more receptive to his gentle friendship with Sidonie. I liked how she matched the two sides of Aleric’s personality-the side that was hurt and rebelling and the side that longed for connection and love.
I liked the bent of the story that revealed two people who came to heal from their parents mistakes when they learned that their parents are merely human. It seems to be a part of growing up that most of us go through when we hold our parents to a high standard, and when they fail to meet those expectations we feel cheated of a relationship that is sometimes idealized.
Liz Carlyle is an author that I highly recommend! This story was one of my favorites!
I would have liked to see the main character’s together in more scenes, but the romance still worked brilliantly.
I have to add that this hero reminded me of Dane from Lord of Scoundrels for some reason, he just had that vibe, which made me like him even more. His loneliness amidst all his raking made him all the more receptive to his gentle friendship with Sidonie. I liked how she matched the two sides of Aleric’s personality-the side that was hurt and rebelling and the side that longed for connection and love.
I liked the bent of the story that revealed two people who came to heal from their parents mistakes when they learned that their parents are merely human. It seems to be a part of growing up that most of us go through when we hold our parents to a high standard, and when they fail to meet those expectations we feel cheated of a relationship that is sometimes idealized.
Liz Carlyle is an author that I highly recommend! This story was one of my favorites!
lucy_qhuay's review against another edition
2.0
One of the things that most makes me sad is when a book doesn't live up to its potential and The Devil To Pay was one perfect example of this situation.
Sidonie Saint-Godard is a polite, charming, elegant young widow who makes her living teaching the daughters of London's nouveau riche.
But Sidonie has a secret. She is the infamous Black Angel, a Robin Hoodesque figure who stalks the night, preying on the men who exploit the weak, taking what she can from them and then giving everything to those who were exploited.
She is so called because of a scandalous tattoo of a black angel placed on a most improper place, which she shows her prey, so that they know who attacked them. No one knows her true identity, for she is a true chameleon, constantly changing her appearance and vanishing in the shadows.
From this, you would think the story would be really intense and exciting, but I found myself really disappointed.
I didn't, for one moment, felt more than a passing curiosity. Not one "OMG!" moment or a simply "What now?".
It was all very mild, which is truly awful. I prefer to hate a book than this, because, if I hate it, at least I know the book made me feel something more and that is precisely what I look fo. I want a book to make me feel more.
I didn't even feel something more intense when Aleric, or Lord Devellyn, our hero, got obsessed with our ilusive Black Angel and promised to hunt her down and make her pay for his humiliation, while, at the same moment, he started wanting something more from our Sidonie.
What a pity!
emreadswhatshewants's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent read, so different from everything in this category and I love a badass heroine
visceralworld's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: England, Victorian Era
Pairing: M/F
Perspective: 3rd Person
Steam: Explicit Open Door
Contains: Enemies to Lovers, Rake/Libertine/Womanizer, Alpha Male, Widow, Vigilante MC, Independent FMC
CONTENT WARNING: Dubious Consent
Thoughts:
This was entertaining to read, but the pacing felt inconsistent. I was not a fan of the 'eye dialect' used for the French and Cockney accents in the book. It was cringey and nearly caused me to DNF this book early on. In fact, on page 21 I made the note, "Make it stop", in regards to this lovely exchange:
The Marquess of Devellyn is very much an aggressive alpha male MMC. If that isn't your cup of tea I would go ahead and skip this book.
Now what I really love about this story is the FMC, Sidonie Saint-Godard. What a fascinating woman. Her back story is really compelling and made her feel multi-dimensional. I wish Carlyle had spent more time focusing on her inner world over Devellyn's. Although, Devellyn summed her up well:
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: England, Victorian Era
Pairing: M/F
Perspective: 3rd Person
Steam: Explicit Open Door
Contains: Enemies to Lovers, Rake/Libertine/Womanizer, Alpha Male, Widow, Vigilante MC, Independent FMC
CONTENT WARNING: Dubious Consent
Thoughts:
This was entertaining to read, but the pacing felt inconsistent. I was not a fan of the 'eye dialect' used for the French and Cockney accents in the book. It was cringey and nearly caused me to DNF this book early on. In fact, on page 21 I made the note, "Make it stop", in regards to this lovely exchange:
"Heez mood eez very ill, like a vicious dog. A souffle fell." Then he dropped both his voice and his eyes. "Madame," he whispered, "have you sometheeng for me?"It's ridiculous, right? Anyway, the story picked up after that, and I began to enjoy it even with the dubious consent between Devellyn and Ruby Black, aka, Sidonie Saint-Godard. [Click the spoiler to form your own opinion on that consent.]
Spoiler
"For a moment, his mind cleared, and he thought of stopping. This was wrong. Wasn't it? He must have hesitated in midthrust. Ruby's leg came round his waist, dragging him back down. "Don't stop," she choked. "Not--not now."
Now what I really love about this story is the FMC, Sidonie Saint-Godard. What a fascinating woman. Her back story is really compelling and made her feel multi-dimensional. I wish Carlyle had spent more time focusing on her inner world over Devellyn's. Although, Devellyn summed her up well:
Delicate. Elegant. Pragmatic. With the heart and the spirit of a lioness.Overall, Carlyle's writing style is great even if other aspects of her storytelling don't quite meet the mark.
elblackwell's review against another edition
2.0
So rapey and weird and I couldn't emotionally connect to the characters at all.
clonazine's review against another edition
No me gusto nada, me pareció plano y caricaturesco. Más que un romance parecía una parodia. Y no sé qué pasaba allá por principios del 2000 pero cómo se abusaban de los signos de exclamación, me desespera.
abbythompson's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I could give it 4.5 stars. Sidonie was such an interesting character with very interesting reasons behind her actions. Devellyn was a little more two-dimensional than Carlyle's other heroes, but he was at least different. A little more dissolute and rougher than usual. It was a nice change, if not fully fleshed out.
I also love anything that features Kemble. If Carlyle could write a m/m romance for Kemble, WHOOWHEEE!! That would be so amazingly awesome!!
I also love anything that features Kemble. If Carlyle could write a m/m romance for Kemble, WHOOWHEEE!! That would be so amazingly awesome!!
simran_reads's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
rjordan19's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Started out wonderful and so intriguing! However the middle dragged on and I began to lose interest. The fact that the heroines secret identity was causing conflict with the hero and the heroine including feelings of jealousy was just weird. And I didn’t love the way the ending pulled it together. Rather fizzled out.
Started out wonderful and so intriguing! However the middle dragged on and I began to lose interest. The fact that the heroines secret identity was causing conflict with the hero and the heroine including feelings of jealousy was just weird. And I didn’t love the way the ending pulled it together. Rather fizzled out.