Review of The Devil Devere Series by Victoria Vane (Recommended Read!)

I'd like to welcome another ebook reviewer to History Undressed! Callie Hutton (author of the Oklahoma Lovers series) has joined out team! Thank you, Callie!!!

The Devil Devere by Victoria Vane -- Four Scorching Novellas, One Continuing Story

A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE  (book #1)

What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake? With the devil in charge there will be hell to pay!

She’s a lonely lady down on her luck... Phoebe Scott, alias Kitty Willis, is a struggling Covent Garden actress with a bruised heart and a closely guarded secret. 

He’s steadfast and eminently respectable..Sir Edward Chambers, Ned to his intimates, is guilt-ridden over his beloved wife’s death and avowed to live out a rustic and mundane life … of celibacy. 

With the devil in charge — there will be hell to pay. Devil in disguise, Viscount Ludovic DeVere, is determined to return his best friend, Ned, to the land of the living. His meddling machinations result in a night of mind blowing passion after which “dull dog Ned” awakes to find himself in the King of England’s bed! A WILD NIGHT’S BRIDE, a sexy, rollicking Georgian romp!

Callie's Review...

In Georgian England, Actress Phoebe Scott is looking for a Protector. The theater where she had a brief run as the sultry Kitty Willis, has closed its doors. She decides to adopt the persona of Kitty, so different from her own, to secure a Protector who can support her now that the theater has closed, and help her in her career.  Because of a closely guarded secret, and her financial circumstances, the marriage she’d always dreamed of is not an option.

Sir Edward Chambers, Ned to his intimates, is dragged by his friend, Viscount Ludovic DeVere to a night of debauchery where he meets the lovely, and obviously out of her realm, Phoebe. He is not the ‘Protector’ sort of man, but after a night of passion, he isn’t about to let Phoebe go.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Wild Night’s Bride. Ned is a hero in the true sense, and Phoebe, although down on her luck, does not come across as a victim. She’s sassy, brave, and is willing to put aside her dreams for her reality.

Since this is the first in a series of four stories centered around the debauched Devil DeVere, I look forward to the next three from this talented author.

THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS (book#2)

Desperate times call for devilish measures… when the object of one's passion has eyes for another… it's time to take matters in hand!

Lady Vesta Chambers is accustomed to getting what she wants…Coddled and pampered, since her mother's death, Lady Vesta Chambers is beside herself when her father goes to London to prepare for her come-out and returns with a young bride of his own. With her world turned upside down, Vesta accompanies her godmother, Diana, to town, where she is smitten the moment she lays eyes on a certain captain of the Seventeenth Light Dragoons. 

But when the object of her passion has eyes for another… Captain Hewett DeVere, younger brother and heir to Viscount Ludovic "The Devil" DeVere, has returned from the American war scarred, disillusioned, and looking forward to settling down to a quiet and respectable life. But when the handsome and straight-laced captain turns his eyes toward the widowed Diana, Vesta is prepared to take devilish measures to prove she is no longer a little girl, but a woman with the passion of …a huntress.

Callie's Review...

After thoroughly enjoying the first book in the Devil DeVere series of four stories, this second book, The Virgin Huntress, was a bit of a disappointment. I always find it difficult to appreciate a story when I dislike the heroine so much. There is no other way to describe Lady Vesta Chambers other than a spoiled brat. She goes after what she wants, regardless of the consequences to others. Captain Hewett DeVere was a likeable, albeit a somewhat unbelievable, hero.

That being said, the story was well developed, and kept my interest. If you like a strong-willed, loose cannon type of heroine, you’ll love The Virgin Huntress. I now look forward to book three in the series. 

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW (book#3)

When dealing with the devil it's easy to be burned… especially when passion ignites the flames.

Who can find a virtuous woman… Beautiful, respectable, and dutiful, Lady Diana Palmerston-Wriothesley has long resigned herself to her decade-long loveless and childless marriage to a feckless husband…until his gambling pushes them to the brink of financial ruin.

Sometimes the devil is in disguise…as a gentleman… Viscount Ludovic, "The Devil DeVere", is a man accustomed to taking what he wants according to his whim and heedless of the cost…until he encounters a woman who won't be had at any price.

When dealing with the devil, it's easy to be burned… When Diana discovers a secret that shatters the carefully built façade concealing her private pain, she seeks aid and comfort from the most unlikely place…the devil's arms. But will a single night of heavenly passion damn them both forever?

Callie's Review...

Lady Diane Palmerston-Wriothesley, who we met briefly in book one and two of the DeVere Devil series, has a starring role in Victoria Vane’s third book, The Devil You Know.

Lady Diana’s dreams of a comfortable, happy marriage have withered and died in the reality of her ten year union with Baron Palmerston-Wriothesley. Not only does he ignore her needs, he has brought them to the door of financial ruin by his gambling. At a gathering for horse races at the home of Viscount Ludovic DeVere, a man of notorious sexual appetites, Diana is confronted with the true horror of her husband’s predilections, and the reason for her unsatisfying marriage.

I will stop here in the description to avoid any spoilers, but I will offer high praise for The Devil You Know. The pages (or ebook screen, depending on your preference) literally pop every time Ludovic and Diana appear together.  The sexual tension is riveting, his desire to have her, and hers to resist, a palpable thing. I loved Diana, and oftentimes moved by her predicament. The Devil is, well, the Devil. Despite his debauched ways, the author has made him not only likeable, but down right loveable. I wait with bated breath for the fourth book, and the finale.

Well done, Ms. Vane!

THE DEVIL'S MATCH (book#4)

Once burned twice shy… but when old flames come together…passion reignites...

When burned once… Arriving in London as her goddaughter's chaperone, Baroness Diana Palmerston-Wriothesley wants to avoid her erstwhile lover at all costs. Once nearly consumed by passion, four years has reduced the former inferno to bitterness and ashes.

By an old flame... A world-weary master of seduction, Ludovic "The Devil" DeVere is bored with his chosen life of debauchery. When Diana's charge disappears, she is forced to seek help from the devil's lair, and their mutual desire reignites with undeniable ferocity.

Fire is best fought with fire… While DeVere is hell-bent to have her back for keeps, Diana is equally determined to bring him to his knees…by acquiring some sensual secrets of her own.

 Callie's Review...

What a fabulous ending to a wonderful series! In the last book of the Devil DeVere series, “The Devil” and Baroness Diana come back together years after their interlude together. Still hurt and confused by Ludovic’s rejection, Diana is disturbed when she and her former lover are thrown together because of their mutual goddaughter’s antics and subsequent engagement and wedding. Ludovic is anxious to renew their alliance, but Diana wishes to keep him at arms length, even though her desire for him has not ebbed.

I was happy the appearance of Vestra in this book did not spoil it for me, since I disliked the girl in The Virgin Huntress. She was certainly more tolerable in The Devil’s Match. But overall, the series was well written, interesting, and kept me turning the pages. I highly recommend Ms. Vane’s series.