Casee‘s review of To Desire a Devil (The Legend of Four Soldiers series, book 4) by Elizabeth Hoyt.
Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl’s heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?
Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle’s home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed.
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud’s savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice’s love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?
This is the fourth and final book in The Legend of Four Soldiers series. Reynaud St. Aubyn is a character that has been “dead” since the beginning of the series. After the massacre at Spinner Falls, Reynaud was taken captive by Indians. After seven years of captivity, Reynaud has made his way back home if not a little worse for wear.
Beatrice Corning is the niece of the man that took Reynaud’s title when he was assumed dead. She gazed at the portrait of a young Reynaud St. Aubyn and romanticized him countless times over the years. The man that bursts into her home bears little resemblance to the wild eyed man in front of her.
Reynaud knows nothing except he is the rightful heir of the title that Beatrice’s uncle has taken. Reynaud is a bitter, hard man and with good reason. After seven years of basic isolation, Reynaud is nothing like the proper Englishman he used to be. Crowds make him wary and his mind tends to wander from past to present. The only person that seems to give him any sort of comfort is Beatrice.
Beatrice was drawn to the portrait of Reynaud. She has a hard time reconciling the man she thought him to be with the man that he is now. As her feelings for Reynaud grow, she feels torn in two. On one hand, is her uncle. Her uncle took her in when she had nowhere else to go. He’s the closest thing to a father that Beatrice has. Losing the title will destroy him. Yet Reynaud is clearly the rightful heir. After his hellish years away from home, Beatrice believes that Reynaud deserves to be happy.
I was looking forward to this book just b/c it seemed like a non-fluffy historical. The mystery of who the traitor at Spinner Falls continues in To Desire a Devil. Other than the mystery, I really didn’t love this book like I’ve loved EH books in the past. Beatrice came off as wishy-washy and immature. I wanted to like her, but I just didn’t.
This book had politics in it, something that I don’t like as a reader. True it was a small part. It was also an issue that I would agree with. I just thought it was too prominent in the story.
3.5 out of 5.
This book is available from Forever. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Other books in the series:
I loved Hoyt’s Princes Trilogy, my favorite being The Leopard Prince and I read the first 3 Soldiers books. TDAD is definitely her weakest book to date, from plotline to characterization it just fell flat – it was not how I envisioned the wrap up of such an intense 4 book series but Hoyt did tie up all the loose ends, so overall I graded the book a
B-. I think a subpar Hoyt is still alot better than most of the mediocrity out there in romanceland. Hoyt will remain a must buy on release date for me. I am anxiously awaiting her next series, MAIDEN LANE, I hope TDAD was just a blip…it’s tough to top oneself!