My Review: Don't Bargain with the Devil

In case you couldn't tell by the picture on the cover, this book is NOT Christian fiction and it contains no faith elements. It also contains explicit sex scenes and sex between unmarried people.

Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, I 'll tell you I really enjoyed this book and would like to thank Nancy Berland for sending it to me.

Don't Bargain with the Devil is the fifth book in a series called School for Heiresses, which are all set at a girls' English boarding school in the 1800's. The heroine in this one is a young woman who is a recent graduate and now a teacher at the school. She is the adopted daughter of an English colonel. The hero is a Spanish magician who moves into the estate next door with the stated purpose of turning it into a pleasure garden (kind of a show house from what I gather; not immoral on its face, but likely to attract unsavory folks). His ulterior motive is to find the kidnapped granddaughter of a Spanish nobleman and to return her to her grandfather. The two meet, sparks fly....

Yes, this is a happily ever after romance, and no, there is no real deep meaning to be found in the story. However, the characters are well-developed and the resolution is more than just them getting together.

As noted earlier, this book is part of a series. I haven't read the rest of the books, but judging by a few clues in this book and a preview of the next one, the owner of the school, widow Charlotte Harris, rents the building and grounds from "Cousin Michael" at far less than market rent. The only proviso to this arrangement is that she is not to know his real identity; she communicates with him through his attorney. Each chapter beings with a short note from one of them to the other. Charlotte is becoming curious about Michael's identity, and it sounds like she'll discover it in the next book Wed Him Before You Bed Him, which will be out in July. I'll certainly add it to my list of books to be read. Don't Bargain with the Devil will be available in June.