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A review by visceralworld
The Devil to Pay by Liz Carlyle
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.