Lady Nilambari Reads HR's Reviews > The Devil and the Heiress

3.75 Stars

Plot Summary
A devilish Earl. An heiress. A stolen bride. Love can be found when you decide to lose yourself.

My Thoughts
- I was anticipating reading this book since I enjoyed the previous one quite a bit, but thank God I did not build my expectations over much, or it would have been a much bigger disappointment. Not that this story was bad, but it lacked a certain depth that the previous one had displayed.
- So, the things that I enjoyed about this story were the writing, pacing, some degree of humour, the road trip trope, the romance (up until a certain point), and a few aspects of the characters. It does seem like I liked all the things a book has to offer, but here is my problem, all of it felt half-assed to me.
- Starting with the plot, it had promise, yes, but it was not quite the fortune-hunter trope, nor was it particularly insta-love, and the misunderstanding resolutions were poorly handled as well. So what I am trying to say is this - it should have ended 25% sooner.
- The second problem was the main characters. Ms St George had been building and developing them wonderfully until she gave them both a severe setback. What had been budding tenderness and self-assuredness became self-doubt and punishing behaviour.
- The only way the element of mistrust would have worked was if the details of past irritants & the implications to the characters had been further clarified. That was not the case, and hence it did not work.
- Also, how shitty are Mr & Mrs Crenshaw? I thought them bad before, and now I think them to be idiots of the first order. But the other supporting characters were very interesting, especially Max Crenshaw.
- The romance was wonderful. I have come to realise that travel romances have a believability to them as the hero & heroine spend a lot of time getting to know one another truly. The road trip in this story provided exactly that. Violet & Christian developed a great rapport, and their attraction & chemistry was palpable.
- Violet & Christain were both standard example of a typical HR couple. Him affection starved and alone, her struggling to find her worth. They were predictably idiotic but in a warm, affectionate way until the final quarter of the book.
- God, I really cannot express how much I am lamenting the cock-up that was the ending. It was rushed, abrupt, punishing, and questionable. It just brought down the comfort level of this story.

My Recommendation
Not as good as the first one, but not terrible either. Though this review may seem scathing, I did enjoy reading most of this book, and I have rated it accordingly. I am looking forward to Max's story.