Tempt the Devil **Advanced Book Review**

**SO NOT A FAN OF THIS COVER!!** :(

I have been a big fan of all of Anna Campbell’s books from the controversial Claiming the Courtesan, to Untouched, which had an interesting love story about a widow and her relationship with young man who never experienced physical love with a woman. Now with Tempt the Devil, she has written two characters who are on equal footing, perhaps not in society eyes, but when it comes to the bedroom, both her characters fight over the right to be on top. Julian and Olivia are both alphas who won’t back down from what they want. Julian wants Olivia’s total submission, where as Olivia just wants respect and the elusive joy that constantly escapes her ever she was forced into the lifestyle she hates because of the way she lost her innocence. Tempt the Devil is about forgiveness, trust and most importantly acceptance. If you are in the mood for a luscious and emotional read, Tempt the Devil is the book for you

Julian Southwood, Earl of Erith, has come back from Vienna to London, England for the marriage of his eighteen year old daughter. Julian has never gotten over the death of his young wife who he loved with such fervor, and because of that he does not have any relationship to speak of with both his daughter and son. Julian is also a man with intense sexual needs, and has the need for a mistress for the few months he will be residing in London. He sets his sights on Olivia Raines, who has quite the reputation of being London’s most notorious courtesan.

Olivia uses men for security and the money they bring to her. She allows Erith to be her protector for the moment, because she thinks she will be able to handle him, like all the other men that paid for the honor of bedding her. Erith thinks he will be able to break down her defenses to the point she will be craving his touch. Olivia is quite the skilled actress, especially in bed, and can give Erith what he needs even though she may not respond to his touch the way he expects her to. Olivia lays down some ground rules between them, such as no kissing and having as much freedom as she desires. Erith wants things his way and will not stop till Olivia is a pile of lust around him.

These two play an interesting cat and mouse game both in and out of the bedroom. Soon Erith is beyond obsessed with Olivia and wants not only her body, but her heart also. Olivia will not give into Erith because of her horrible past where another man ruined her for all other men, as well as a respectable life. Erith won’t allow Olivia to remain cold around him, and will use everything in his power to make her respond to his touch and the growing love he has for her. Erith thinks he can get Olivia to respond to him, even though her body can’t. The poor woman has never enjoyed sex and has emotionally blocked her mind and body from any pleasure she can received from a man. Erith decides he will be the man to break down these walls, and will make her come to the realization that she can let herself go with him.

Anna Campbell sure does write some of the most emotional and angst filled romances, and Tempt the Devil is no exception. The road to happiness between Julian and Olivia is a very long and hard one. Olivia fights tooth and nail against all that Erith is offering her. She is one of the most tortured heroines I have read this year, and at times, the way she and Julian interact with one another makes for some heavy and dark reading.

Julian is a character full of faults, which he realizes quite quickly due to his relationship with Olivia. He wants Olivia to confront her own issues and use him as support so they can have something worth while together. Olivia wants everything from Julian and that means marriage. But, Julian can’t give Olivia that even though he longs for her with every sense of his being. The scene where his daughter goes to confront Olivia, and where Julian finds them talking together will make most readers angry because of the way Julian acts. Olivia’s reaction is exactly as I would expect from her, and I couldn’t help but cheer Olivia because tells Julian to go to hell because she refuses to be degraded. And those who enjoy a good groveling scene, there is a nice one that Anna has written with Julian because of his fear of losing Olivia.

I would have to say that third time is a charm for Anna. Tempt the Devil was a very enjoyable read. The sex was pretty hot and Anna made her hero, Julian suffers very deeply because of Olivia’s indifference to him. Perhaps it was a bit evil on my part but I loved how Olivia wouldn’t fall for Julian’s charms. He was so dumbfounded, and because of that, he had to work for her heart. And when Olivia finally allowed herself to free and open with Julian, it is well worth it.

4 stars out of 5 stars

Katiebabs (KB)

Tempt The Devil by Anna Campbell **COVER**

The cover for Anna Campbell's Avon January release, Tempt the Devil has been posted:

Synopsis:
"For Olivia Raines, London's most notorious courtesan, and the infamous Julian Southwood, Earl of Erith falling in love will be the greatest risk of all in this wicked and wild romance from Anna Campbell.
Any man in London would worship her. Yet Olivia is, quite frankly, bored of them all. Despite her many dalliances, she's never felt true passion, never longed for any lover's touch . . . until Julian, London's most notoriously wanton rake, decides to make her his mistress.
From the moment he first sees her, Julian knows he must possess her. And when he discovers her greatest secret, a scandal that could ruin her reputation and end her career, he knows just the way to use this damaging information to his most delightful advantage. He offers Olivia a deal with the devil: he'll keep her secret . . . if she allows him the chance to show her true ecstasy.

But Olivia must be careful, for Julian has a secret of his own: he will not rest until she is completely, shamelessly his."

Interested in an excerpt?

The synopsis really makes me want to get this one!

But I have to admit, the cover does nothing for me. Also he looks very familar. Which romance cover male model is he? Will this be a new trend in romance covers just to show a face with a sexy smoldering look on it? I hope not!

Katiebabs (KB)

Anna Campbell is a North and South Crusader!

Did you know many of our favorite authors are also fans of North and South? Avon historical romance author, Anna Campbell is a die hard fan of North and South and the handsome and swoon worthy Richard Armitage. The woman apparently has good taste! ;)

I asked her if she had any opinions about this movie and the man we have all come to love. Anna so kindly responded to my inquiry and she had this to say:

“Ah, what can I say about the magic that is 'North and South' and the gorgeous Richard Armitage? Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said by his legion of rabid female fans? Not that I'm rabid!! No, no. Not me. I'm a purely sensible female fan! Yeah, right.

I was a latecomer to N&S. I was away overseas when it was first on in Australia
and silly me didn't bother to video it. We get a lot of BBC adaptations and I
didn't know the book so nothing warned me this was going to be something extra
special. Then people started talking about how wonderful the serial was and
particularly how wonderful the hero was. Being a technophobe, I didn't at that
stage own a DVD so I didn't actually find out for myself what I'd missed until
the ABC, bless them, replayed N&S very late on Saturday nights last year.

Oh, Mamma!

Is that show a feast for romantics or what? And isn't John Thornton the
quintessential hero? He knows what he feels for Margaret almost from the moment
he meets her and nothing sways him. His love even leads him to betray his
principles and he's a man of incredibly strong principle (I love a man of honor
as a hero, sigh!). Yes, he's a bit of a rough diamond but the emphasis is on
'diamond' here. It's even refreshing to have a working man as hero rather than a
languid aristocrat like Mr. Darcy, much as I'm fond of Darcy too!

The romance builds and builds through hurt and misunderstanding and denial and
attraction. Until the best bit of all - that last kiss on the railway platform
when symbolically, she's going south and he's going north. I think it's the
tenderness of that scene that gets me every time. He holds her head as he kisses
her as if he has the whole world caught in his hands and he wants to treat it
right. What can I say? It's magic!”

And so the crusade marches on!

In other sad news, I had to return my copy of North and South to the library with only 50 more pages to read!! About 5 other people were waiting and I couldn't renew the book. And I am up to the point when Mrs. Thorton goes to Margaret because she thinks Margaret has been having late night nookie with strange men. Hopefully I will be able to get the book back and find out how it ends and if John and Margaret find love together!

For now I leave you with this:

Katiebabs

Duo Review

Katie and I are doing something different this time. I don’t know if anyone noticed, but we just happened to be reading the same book at the same time, I thought it would be fun to do dueling reviews.
So here you go – two for the price of one on





Untouched by Anna Campbell

Kristie’s Thoughts

I heard all the buzz and controversy about Claiming the Courtesan. Of course that meant I had to buy it. I haven’t read it yet – but I bought it. So when I noticed her newest book was on the shelves I decided to get it too. Then I read ‘virgin hero’ and I decided to bump it ahead of CtC.
I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t perfect and I had a few issues, but overall, I thought it a decently good read.
The Very Handsome Mathew, Lord Sheene had been held as a prisoner on a country estate since the age of fourteen when he had a fit of madness. His Evil Uncle John declared him a madman and kept him away from society for years. After a number of escape attempts Mathew finally stopped trying.
In order to calm his nephew, Evil Uncle John decided to get him a plaything – a young doxy. But his evil henchman grabbed a young widow by mistake.
At first the Very Handsome Mathew is quite rightly suspicious of our Vulnerable Young Heroine, Grace Paget. But he eventually believes her tale. Well naturally nature takes it’s course between The Very Handsome Mathew and the Vulnerable Young Heroine. I give the author kudos for the first love scene. It was Not Good for her. I found that very refreshing in a genre where it’s usually multiple orgasms first time out of the gate for hero/heroine.
But because our Very Handsome Hero was the studious sort, he managed to get things right by the second go-round and made things very good for our Vulnerable Young Heroine. When it was brought home to him how much danger she was in from the Nasty Bad Henchmen, he planned her escape at great cost to himself.
All kidding aside though, this was a pretty descent book. Mathew was delicious as the lonely young man and is pretty high up there with other very good heroes. Grace I found a bit too self-sacrificing. There is a bit at the end where I found her a little overboard in her sacrificing ways. I could see where she was coming from and kind of understand why she did what she did, but I thought the length of time much too long. I know I’m being vague here but those who’ve read this book will know what I’m talking about and those who haven’t – well, I don’t want to spoil it for them.
Also – the bad guys were pretty over the top bad, but I found this a bit campy and I could deal and enjoy that.
I don’t think this one will create quite the stir her first book did. But now I will certainly read Claiming the Courtesan and I will read future books by this author. And if you know the publisher, you will note that’s quite a concession for me *g*.

Grade: 4 out of 5




Katie's Thoughts

I have been hearing great buzz about Anna Campbell’s latest- Untouched. Last year she had created quite the stir with Claiming the Courtesan, which reminded me greatly of Anne Stuart’s A Rose at Midnight. Claiming the Courtesan is one of those books that brings out a great deal of emotion and many were burning up the message boards about this book and Anna herself.
So this weekend I grabbed a copy of Untouched not knowing what to expect. I read an excerpt from the book off Anna’s website and I had some email conversations about her thoughts about her second release. Untouched is a very different book from her first. I seriously read Untouched in less than three hours and I am on the fence on what grade I would give.
First off Anna has a way of writing remarkable characters. In Claiming the Courtesan I adored her heroine, Verity. With Untouched it is all about Matthew. Now the main reason I had to read this book is because Matthew is a virgin. There is nothing sexier to me that having a virgin hero. And Matthew is truly a virgin in every sense of the word. His evil and diabolical uncle has held him hostage since he has been eleven. Matthew is now in his mid twenties and has never kissed a woman, let alone been intimate with one. Matthew is a truly wonderful hero. He is the reason to read Untouched. When he realizes Grace, the pious widow is the ONE for him, he is a goner. He falls headlong into love. He admits his love first, has a holy experience from making love to Grace and even though she will not say those three little words back to him, he doesn’t care. He now knows love and would shout it to the sky if he could. He is faithful and generous. Yes, very, very generous when it comes to showing his love for Grace.
Now with Grace I had some issues with. Yup, she is one of THOSE widows. Not the one that is married and never had sex because her first husband is missing some parts down below, which I really hate. But Grace eloped with a much, much older man when she was only sixteen. Her husband at the time was in his fifties. Just plain…ewww. Grace has been disowned by her parents, has no money, is mistaken for a whore, kidnapped, drugged and wears black mourning clothes. If I was Grace I would have had a breakdown. But then comes Matthew and he becomes Grace’s protector and knight in shining armor.
There are also some small things that took away from my enjoyment of this book. Evil uncle gets Matthew a whore so he can have a mistress. We really never know why. He thinks Matthew will continue to go along as is, as long as he is getting some loving. Evil uncle is so… evil, just because. He is very one-dimensional and I really could not understand why he acted the way he did. Of course it comes down to money, but come on his character is a little too much.
In essence, this is a very passionate love story. Anna has an excellent way in writing some luscious love scenes. Matthew is a quick learner, and a believable one. And Grace does act the way I would expect a woman like herself to be.
The title is also very appropriate. Matthew has been untouched physically, no hugs, kisses or slaps on the back, that is until Grace enters his world. Grace is untouched in her emotions and never feeling any love from her husband or even her parents.
Even though I do have some issues with Untouched, Anna Campbell has a way of writing stories and characters that get people talking. There are not many authors out there that can do that. I have to applaud her for being able to do that.My grade is a bit lower but I would give it a 3 out of 5. The “3” is all due to Matthew. Thank you for writing a hero like Matthew!