In Bed With the Devil (Avon Romantic Treasure)

Great book! I am almost done with this book, but just wanted to give quick review on this book.

This is my first Lorraine Heath and to be honest I wasn't sure I'd even like the book but I was in for a surprise. I loved Catherine and Luke and I enjoyed watching them get past first impressions and learning about each other because it felt like I was doing the same. The writing was great, the story was entertaining and way more than I expected. I'm now looking for other books by this author.

Lorraine Heath really knows how to write a romance hero, Lucian Langdon, the Earl of Claybourne, is splendidly charming, a little wicked, noble and really sexy. It was very easy to like him. Heroine Lady Catherine really is in his shadow, it wasn't that she was a bad heroine it was just she lacked that special charisma that Luke possessed.

Admittedly, I was not sure if I was going to like Lady Catherine. She invites herself to Luke's home in the middle of the night and calmly asks him to murder someone for her. It was insulting that she would think Luke would have no scruples and would agree to her request because of his childhood in the rookery.

Luke did have an awful life as a child and was facing the gallows when he was saved by the old Earl of Claybourne who was convinced he was his grandson. The old Earl saved him despite the fact Luke had killed is son (Luke's uncle) for a heinous crime. Like jumps at the chance to escape his horrible life at fourteen but he has never been accepted by the ton.

Luke at first balks at the idea of doing Lady Catherine's bidding but decides that he will if she will tutor the woman he wants to marry in the world of the ton. They come to an agreement and so begins their acquaintance.

Lady Catherine is at first distant with Luke and hides behind her properness. Luke likes her despite the fact that she is strong willed, opinionated and not marriage minded. Lady Catherine began to grow on me in the second half of the book and this was mainly because she allowed herself the opportunity to know Luke. She found him utterly delightful but she also worries about her growing feelings for him, he claims to love another, albeit even he questions his feelings for his almost fiance.

For his part Luke is wonderful with his almost fiancé from the rookery, and his friendships with Dodger and the other thieves who lived with him. (There is a lot of Oliver Twist in this novel). He is wonderful in action when it comes to Lady Catherine. There are some very sweet and also awkward moments in this novel. For instance, I had a hard time imagining that the french kiss that Catherine and Luke share with a doctor less than a foot away to really be all that consuming. The sexual tension was on low till the end of the novel for me.

This is a good novel but could have been better if Lady Catherine's personality was as expansive as Luke's. She was loyal and committed to her friends but wavered in her all out commitment to Luke. I thought she should have fought for him tooth and nail. The ending for me was okay but not fantastic, I have never been a big fan of non-communication (Catherine does this more than Luke does), especially on life changing events.

I must agree with most of my fellow reviewers. This was a great book! You should get it!

Wow, this lady really knows how to tell a story, with great characters. This is the first book I've read by Lorraine Heath, I can't believe it took me so long to discover her books. I found her thru reading a best of list somewhere. I now plan to check out all her books.