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colorfulleo92's review against another edition
3.0
Needed a romance pick me up after reading a few crime novels in a row. The story was decent and enjoyable, will definitely read more from this author
zenithharpink's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Liz Carlyle and this book was a nice read, although I'm a little tired of the conflict in a story really just being a misunderstanding. I don't have high-falootin' expectations around romance novels, and this absolutely delivered. I enjoyed the characters, dialogue and dynamic of the love story. Sold.
mothgirlie's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nononanette's review against another edition
interesting set of characters. Carlyle sets up a hero who seems good and altruistic only to discover that he is fallible--willing to use his power and position to subjugate a young woman whom he desires.
abbythompson's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a while to figure out what bothered me about this book, but I think I finally put my finger on it. This is the first in the series where the characters changes aren't clearly motivated. Giles is a represeed political leader with no room in his life for anything else. Aubrey is a woman on the run, with dark secrets, who just wants to find some measure of safety and security for the child traveling with her. (Yeah, we've already seen Carlyle use that plot line before. See A Woman Scorned for another rendering of this theme.)
Aubrey's story was fine for me. I do think the conclusion came a little too late and was wrapped up awfully fast. It also seemed unlikely that NONE of the people from her past, who were so devoted to her then, tried to contact her at all to tell her things were safe. Anywho - tiny plot hole. Oh well.
What really kept me disconnected from this story was Giles. I really liked his character and how he was presented in the earlier books. His love for his "stepmother" was an interesting flaw. Giles' devotion to his political career, I thought, would provide ample opportunity to go interesting places with legal changes and challenges happening in London at the time. Perhaps Carlyle just didn't want to do the research, but once we are introduced to Giles and given a taste of what his job is like, he's shunted off to a crumbling castle in Somerset. Crumbling castle = romantic but uninteresting. Life of rising political star = interesting but unromantic.
Guess it's a good thing I'm taking a break from Carlyle for a while. I still love her characters and think her writing is top notch, but I think I've overdosed.
Aubrey's story was fine for me. I do think the conclusion came a little too late and was wrapped up awfully fast. It also seemed unlikely that NONE of the people from her past, who were so devoted to her then, tried to contact her at all to tell her things were safe. Anywho - tiny plot hole. Oh well.
What really kept me disconnected from this story was Giles. I really liked his character and how he was presented in the earlier books. His love for his "stepmother" was an interesting flaw. Giles' devotion to his political career, I thought, would provide ample opportunity to go interesting places with legal changes and challenges happening in London at the time. Perhaps Carlyle just didn't want to do the research, but once we are introduced to Giles and given a taste of what his job is like, he's shunted off to a crumbling castle in Somerset. Crumbling castle = romantic but uninteresting. Life of rising political star = interesting but unromantic.
Guess it's a good thing I'm taking a break from Carlyle for a while. I still love her characters and think her writing is top notch, but I think I've overdosed.
fleurette's review
3.0
For some reason, till now, I have only read one book by Liz Carlyle which is strange because I remember I really liked it and promise myself to read other books by this author. I did it now after five years and decided upon A Deal With the Devil. My previous book [b:The Devil to Pay|490471|The Devil to Pay (MacLachlan Family, #1)|Liz Carlyle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388787870s/490471.jpg|478700] was a part of completely different series.
Unfortunately, A Deal With the Devil disappointed me a bit. As much as I liked the characters, I couldn't find any real feelings between them. I mean they were talking about love but I found that strange and not so obvious. Their relationship seem somehow passionless to me, even though there were many sex scenes in the book.
I wasn't also impressed with the suspense part which was minor in fact. The answer to the question about the death of the major Lorimer was really disenchanting. And the mystery of Aubrey's past was not fully developed and introduced.
Although A Deal With the Devil was not as great as I hoped, I will definitely read other books by Liz Carlyle.
Unfortunately, A Deal With the Devil disappointed me a bit. As much as I liked the characters, I couldn't find any real feelings between them. I mean they were talking about love but I found that strange and not so obvious. Their relationship seem somehow passionless to me, even though there were many sex scenes in the book.
I wasn't also impressed with the suspense part which was minor in fact. The answer to the question about the death of the major Lorimer was really disenchanting. And the mystery of Aubrey's past was not fully developed and introduced.
Although A Deal With the Devil was not as great as I hoped, I will definitely read other books by Liz Carlyle.
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