Don't Bargain with the Devil

When I originally began this I wasn't so certain I'd like Lucy. She seemed too impulsive and reckless in her feelings. Then also her 'love' was such a jerk I worried for her common sense. It's one thing if the man is a jerk to the heroine, but is secretly doing so for her own good, or out of a twisted sense of revenge or because he was hurt in the past--pretty much any reason would assauge my irritation, but for money? Really? I was ready to thwap him upside the head!

Luckily the jerk wasn't the man 'destined' for Lucy anyhow. Oh Diego! Its not too often that I read a regency romance with a Spanish hero--read plenty with them as secondary characters, but not too often as heroes. I kind of see why if they are all as charming as he is! show more Forget the French--I would have fallen head over heels in love with a Spaniard back in the day. I also wonder that he shouldn't have given the 'rake' lessons that Madeline convinced Anthony to give in Let Sleeping Rogues Lie, or the two of them together because between them I think they could have covered almost every pick up line, seduction technique, charming grace and wicked words that any rakehell would try on the girls.

Lucy was spirited, but as I said I worried for her common sense at first. Well I worried for it as the book wore on, but less so when I realized she had lost her common sense for love with an honorable man. She was clever though, resourceful and surprisingly open-minded honestly. Without revealing too much there is a scene a little more then halfway through that Lucy proves just how dangerous a woman on a mission can be. Her technique to make Diego bend to her will worked and one can only hope she doesn't pass it on to her friends looking to snag a husband.

The 'letters' between Mrs. Harris and 'cousin' Michael grow decidedly more tense as the book goes on as well, reflecting the dire straits that Mrs. Harris finds herself in, but also reflecting on her growing concern and suspicion over her supposed relation. By the end their relationship has hit an appropriate plateau to make the next book, Wed Him Before You Bed him, eagerly anticipated. I have thoughts, and hopes, for the next book in regards to who 'cousin' Michael turns out to be and have been avoiding spoilers as much as possible.

A lot of familiar faces re-appear all throughout the novel. Most of the heiresses husbands appear and everyone else is at least mentioned. There is a scandal, a true sad scandal, that happens as a sub-plot (that has been built upon throughout all the novels), regarding a heiress dubbed 'Silly Sarah' by her peers, who married Kirkwood, but the matter isn't given a lot of time as it happens around the time of a scandal involving Lucy. Just as well, since the heiress in question did not have a book of her own and was a vain, silly creature.

As I said Wed Him Before You Bed Him is the next, and last, installment of the School For Heiresses book series. We finally get to know all of the secrets teased throughout the book about Mrs. Harris and her mysterious relation! show less

"Don't Bargain With the Devil" is the sixth book in Sabrina Jeffries 'School for Heiresses' series. This time we get the story of Lucinda, one of the former students but now stepping in as a teacher to help out the owner. This is a tale filled with Jeffries' humor, sensuality, and the search for a missing heiress.

Lucinda Seton is furious, hurt and furious. The man she thought was going to propose DID come up with a proposal...but not for marriage! Well, she'll show him! Her Spanish blood doesn't mean she can't behave like a proper society miss and as soon as she finds a husband, she'll make sure the ex knows just what he passed up! Of course, the husband will need to be a proper British lord, not that Spanish magician...even though he show more is very handsome, and flirtatious, and WHAT! trying to build a pleasure garden next to the school? NEVER!

Diego's lost everything during the war. His father to maurading British soldiers, his family's estate to try and care for his mother afterwards, his mother who never recovered from her treatment by the same soldiers that killed his father, and his pride when he was caught stealing. But instead of turning him in, the man taught him his trade...that of the magician, and now Diego is one of the most famous in Europe. Yet when the wealthy and influential Spanish Marques de Parama offers to return his family's estates, Diego is determined to get them back. All he has to do is track down the Marques' granddaughter, stolen by her nurse during the war and taken back to England. Which will be stronger? Love or land?

I laughed through most of this one. Reading about Lucinda, with her fiery temper and quick retorts, trying so hard to be proper...it was almost impossible not to laugh! And Diego, ahhh Diego. I think we should all get a shot at a Diego once in our lives, don't you? Although at times I did keep picturing Gomez from the Adams family show when he would start kissing Morticia's arm...well, maybe that was just me.

So a bit of a mystery with the whole missing heiress and who are the real parents bit, lots of steamy seduction, scintillating battles of wit, and even a kidnapping. "Don't Bargain with the Devil" is a delight for regency lovers and historical lovers both. And Sabrina Jeffries' final book of series "Wed Him Before You Bed Him" is already out (Jun09) so I can mark these off my list. show less

I was fortunate enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of the new book, Don’t Bargain with the Devil by Sabrina Jeffries. It is due to be released in June 2009 and it is surely worth the trip to the nearest bookstore to get it.
This is another book in Jeffries’ School For Heiresses Series. One thing I have always enjoyed about this series is the correspondences between Charlotte Harris, the owner of the school and her mysterious “Cousin Michael.” In this book they were very enjoyable and sometimes humorous.
Lucy Seton, a former student at the school, has been hired temporarily to replace the art teacher. She arrives at the school to find out that the property next door is for sale and could be sold to a magician who says he show more would like to build a Pleasure Park there. Obviously this would not be good for a girl’s school to have such a park next door. Enter the hero Diego Montalvo ,conjurer par excellence. There is an immediate attraction between Lucy and Diego which Lucy tries to deny. As their relationship develops it is obvious that there is more to the reason why Diego is living next door to the school. Lucy, Mrs. Harris and the school’s supporters do everything they can think of to raise money to try and thwart the purchase of the property. All of this makes for some very interesting events and interactions between characters.
Without giving away the meat of the story let me just say that Jeffries has written a book that immediately draws the reader in. I found myself so involved with Lucy feelings that I was actually getting angry on her behalf at the way she was being manipulated. I shared her frustrations and her tears. She is a bright “hoyden” of a heroine who is full of spunk and in her own way tries very hard to do the right thing.
Diego is a handsome hero and I had some sympathy for him but his manipulation of Lucy and his friend Gaspar certainly made me dislike him at times.
I thought the characters were well developed and I liked seeing how they changed as the story progressed. The setting changes from England to Spain and while I usually dislike that feature in a story it was necessary and was done in a very seamless fashion. Jeffries has her own way of including humor into her stories and I always appreciate that.
As usual Sabrina Jeffries delivers an excellent tale for which I give it 5 stars. I highly recommend this book. Even better at the end she gives us just a glimmer into her next book in the series which is Charlotte Harris’ story and she gives us several clues to chew on as to the identity of the mysterious “Cousin Michael.” I think I will be so disappointed if he turns out to be Charles Godwin!!! That book Wed Him Before You Bed Him will be released in July 2009 and believe me I will be first in line to by it! show less

I was pretty disappointed in this book. I felt like half the book was spent revisiting old characters and setting up for the final book in the series. I normally love when old characters pop up but not at the expense of the current plot. Also, because this book basically set up the last book in the series, all the potential "cousin Michaels" were introduced and had impact on the plot. There were also actions that occurred in the book that weren't necessary for this book's plot but I think were needed for the next book. This book space would have been better spent making this book's plot more crisp. The plot wasn't well developed and the hero and heroine did a lot of things that were out of character but moved the plot along.

This was a pretty typical Sabrina Jeffries romance, not really anything out of the ordinary. If you like her writings, you'll like this book. The kidnapping and everything at the end seemed a little drawn out and over done, and it seemed to drag a lot towards the end, but all in all it was entertaining and a good read.

This was a pretty typical Sabrina Jeffries romance, not really anything out of the ordinary. If you like her writings, you'll like this book. The kidnapping and everything at the end seemed a little drawn out and over done, and it seemed to drag a lot towards the end, but all in all it was entertaining and a good read.