From the start, Kerry Bishop anticipated danger: She expected unimaginable fear. In a terrifying race to save nine children, she prepared for the fight of her life. But she wasn’t prepared for a passion almost as dangerous as the mission she had undertaken.
At the first, Linc O’Neil appeared to be exactly the kind of man Kerry needed: strong, ruthless and definitely too drunk to care about helping her steal a truck to get past the guards. Then she discovered her mistake. Linc was not a hardened mercenary; the heavy gear he carried was not guns but cameras. She had hijacked a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Now he was their last hope.
Dependent on a stranger, Kerry refused to let unexpected desire complicate their mission. If Linc had the mistaken impression that she was a woman of the church, she was not about to correct him. Certainly, it kept him at arm’s length, which was just where she wanted this man who, despite his bad attitude and constant stream of threats, was their one chance for survival through fifty miles of treacherous jungle.
And survival was all they could think about. But if they succeeded, what then? Could Kerry tell him the truth: that she was no more a woman sworn to chastity than she was immune to the powerful effect he had on her? That she desired him more and more? If freedom came, would they be free to love?
Yay!! We have a winner!!! Very adorable, classic Sandra Brown!!! The story was endearing and not at all cheesy like her older books. Very entertaining.
One of Sandra Brown's earlier books. Not much suspense or crime but it was an easy read and I enjoyed it. Linc, as per her heroes, was a bit of a macho man (hairy chest included) but this is par for the course in a SB book.
My previous book was a little bit intense so I wanted something a little lighter.
This guy might be a little young looking ... but he is cute.
Kerry was no pushover. I liked her. I also enjoyed reading about the characters from the previous book.
Wow!!! That was exactly what I was looking for when I chose to re-read this oldie goody from Sandra Brown wrote under her pseudonym Erin St. Claire. Sandra Brown’s earlier books deliver in spades on what I look for when I read romances. She gives me exactly what I need with her larger than life, tortured and hot as sin heroes and delivers on all fronts with the right kind of heroine to bring down the hero to his knees. I just love her older books and get my fix now and then to balance things along in my world of romanceldia.
The Devil's Own is book 2 in the Hell Raisers series book 1 of which is Led Astray which I re-read and reviewed earlier last year. 35 year old Lincoln O'Neal, one of the most renowned and prolific photojournalists of the world is celebrating his departure from the war torn Montenegro when he is waylaid by the woman who walks into the cantina and promises him a good time. Linc has earned his reputation as a photojournalist during the evacuation of Vietnam and has recorded 35 mm of film every war and catastrophe since then. On top of how much he has had to drink combined with the red hot desire that flashes through him when the wickedly sensual woman proposes to him, Linc who wants nothing more than to escape the war torn hell he has been living in for the past six weeks finds himself at the mercy of do-gooder Kerry Bishop who wants his help in rescuing 9 orphans from war ridden country to give them a better life in the US.
Kerry Bishop is the coveted daughter of rich parents who has led a sheltered life with her diplomat of a father until scandal had rocked her entire world leaving her with a bitter taste of reality. Wanting to make amends for her father's atrocities, Kerry has been living in Montenegro for the past 9 months or so, teaching the 9 orphans enlisted in her care, getting them ready for their new lives back in the US. However knowing that she alone would not be able to fulfill the task of getting the children safely to the point where they are supposed to take-off, Kerry does the next best thing and scouts the local cantina for the most disreputable mercenary soldier she can find.
What she finds is Lincoln, who has always looked out for his hide when push comes to shove, and what she mistakes for his weapons turns out to be his coveted camera equipment. However knowing that she is running out of time, Kerry forces him to work with her, knowing that resentment and anger would rule Linc's utmost emotions throughout the 3 day trek through the jungle. However that doesn't stop her from wanting what his blatantly sensual touch and kisses evoke and doesn't stop her from craving Linc with every fiber of her being. Respite from making a fool of herself comes when Linc mistakes her for a nun which puts an additional strain on Linc to keep his hands off of the woman who heats up his blood in a way that has never happened before.
I just flat-out loved everything about this novel. Linc turns out to be one of those heroes you cannot forget because he demands nothing less when he steps into the picture. Handsome, cynical and lethally attractive, Linc doesn't know what hits him when he starts coveting Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes who lands him in trouble in the first place. Knowing that she is a woman he can never have doesn't stop him from craving her and neither does it stop the sexual tension that lingers between them that can be cut through with a knife. One of the best parts of the book for me was the explosive tension between the two which comes to its heady conclusion delivering fireworks of all kinds towards the end! *Sigh!!*
The romance and heady attraction between the two doesn't detract from the adventure aspect of the novel. The danger that surrounds them in a country that has been stripped bare by the civil war that has raged in it continues to hound them through their trek to reach safety. The last moments right before they board the plane are edge-of-the-seat variety moments that makes this story a well-balanced romantic suspense on all aspects.
It was an additional plus point to revisit Cage and Jenny from Led Astray and experience their happily ever after in this novel. A tale of opposites attract with Linc being the proverbial bad boy hero who was brought up by a drunken lout of a father and never had any sort of formal education after high school meets his match in the society school bred Kerry and gives them both a love that leaves the reader breathless on all accounts.
A very highly satisfying romantic suspense, which makes me wonder why authors today do not write classics such as this one where heroes do not turn into wimpy puddles just because the woman of their dreams walks into the picture.
Recommended for fans of Sandra Brown and fans of romantic suspense that delivers on all counts.
I never read the Led Astray because it did not really interest me. You don't actually have to read #1 to understand this book. I liked it but did not love it. An older release for SB and not much mystery to it. I liked the H&h together after all was said and done. Linc was brash and rude but he grew on me. I always enjoy a HEA :)
I enjoy almost anything from Sandra Brown because she has a way of making me fall in love with her characters. This was another really good romance with adventure in a South American jungle thrown in. This was almost a 4 stars but I have to give it 3.75 sweet romantic stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Devil's Own started out really well, set in Montenegro where Kerry Bishop walks into a bar having stolen a truck, to find the most down on luck guy and then pay him to help her, she finds one drinking away merrily and his bags convince her he is a mercenary, so despite his refusal, she makes use of her dress and in the role of a prostitute convinces him to come with her. Then she takes away his weapons so that he doesn't attack her once he is awake.
Linc O’Neal gets up to find that he has missed his flight from the hell-hole that he worked hard to get out of and that the woman he came with is no whore and instead thinks he's a mercenary. He quickly sets her straight, he's an award winning photojournalist but no humanitarian. Kerry destroys his reels, she's desperate, she works for the Hendren foundation and needs to escort nine orphans through a terrain filled with rebels and onto US soil.
After this the book went down-hill for me, Kerry acted all haughty despite forcing Linc to help her, she even pretends to be a nun so that he doesn't try and get her into bed. They have some harrowing times but get back to US.
I just didn't care for both of them. Kerry grew up privileged with a father who turned out to be corrupt. Then of course there is a forced seduction once Linc found out the truth, there were never any loving or tender feeling between them and I had a hard time buying the HEA.
I’ve read a single Sandra Brown book and found it to be an okay read, and I was curious about more of the author’s work. When I requested a Sandra Brown book from the library, I’d been hoping for another romantic suspense… yet, they gave me a contemporary romance that doesn’t really have the romantic suspense elements I’d been hoping for.
Although this wasn’t what I had hoped for, I was curious about it and happily gave it a read. My feels towards this one ended up being mixed. A part of me wanted to give this a three-star rating, but, in the end, I had to round it down to a two-star rating. The Devil’s Own had the potential to be interesting, but it failed to live up to what I had expected. Things never went as far as they could have, and I kept hoping for more. I was happy to read it in a single sitting, but there were a lot of things that made me feel uncomfortable – mainly, the male lead had plenty of moments where he was not a romantic lead with his behaviour.
All in all, this one had potential, but it failed to hit the right spots for me.
I skimmed a lot of this book, especially the sex scenes. About halfway through I realized I had already read the book many years ago. The plot was good, but the relationship between the hero and heroine felt very dated.
There is unrest in a Latin American country. She has nine children she wants to get to freedom and needs a mercenary to protect them. She spots one in a cantina. He is sitting at the bar, dirty, disreputable and drunk {Tell me if you've heard this before}, his heavy bags of equipment at his feet. She sidles up to him, "A drink, senor?" Eventually she gets him in a truck and off they go.
Once he sobers, she finds he is not a mercenary but the equally surly, profane award-winning photojournalist Lincoln O'Neal who was in the cantina waiting for his plane out. The bags contained photographic equipment and photos from the last assignment.
She is Kerry Bishop and she destroys his work. If he wants to publish, he'll have to help them and photograph as the go. The children call her Sister which keeps her safe for the time being.
The sister/rescuer and the mercenary/photojournalist fight the jungle, each other, and evade the authorities.
This novel is not a great book but I found it highly entertaining and re-readable. It is a sequel to Led Astray, and in the last half of the book you meet Cage and Jenny.
One thing I noticed this time around, either Ms. Brown forgot what she named the Latin American country or her editor slipped up. The country is Monterico in Led Astray and Montenegro in Devil's Own. A bit jarring because there is a real Montenegro---in the Balkans.
The plot and characters remind me of Anne Stuart's The Soldier, The Nun and The Baby and not in a good way. It's nearly the exact same story, and according to publication dates this book came first, but the hero and heroine are so hateful I couldn't stand them. And on an unrelated note, every time I saw the name "Montenegro" I kept thinking not of Latin America but of the country Serbia and Montenegro in Europe, which -surprise!- was one of the former Yugoslav states that had civil unrest in the 1980s. My poor brain kept getting confused.
So, yes, skip this one. And if you really want a romance story with a soldier, a nun and kids in the jungle, read "The Soldier, the Nun and the Baby" instead. It's a nicer and lighter reading experience.
My first book I have won for the chance to read and review and I was very pleasantly surprised.
It only took a few pages before I became absorbed in the story and I really enjoyed reading this.
A young lady risks her life to save 9 children from almost certain death mainly to proove a point to society that she is nothing like her corrupt father. She tricks a man she thinks is a mercenery into helping her but he isn't what he appears to be.
A lot of drama and heated scenes between them and the situations they are facing to save the children.
The end is predictable but it makes for the happy ending you want to read.
This book is well written and definitely a good easy read that makes you smile.
I haven't read a Sandra Brown book before but I will most definitely be seeking out more of her books.
I used to find Sandra Brown a reliable source for snack reading--romantic thrillers, great stuff for a long car ride or on the beach. This book doesn't match up to Brown's better work.
Much of the plotline is just unbelievable, beginning with the fact that Brown uses a made-up country (perfectly fine) in Central America that already exists in Eastern Europe. There is so little subtlety in the way the characters are drawn, and midway through the book, after a big adventure shootout, the action moves to Texas, and becomes a couple hundred pages of ridiculous romantic tease: phony arguments, will-she-or-won't-she, pathos around adopting adorable orphans and even a pregnant lady. Will she go into labor at a crucial moment? What do you think?
This was a great book of romantic suspense. Kerry Bishop coerces Linc O'Neal, a famous photographer, into helping her rescue some orphans from a Central American country where a revolution is occuring. Lots of action occurs during the course of the story as they make their way through the jungle to freedom.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love Sandra Brown's books?? Even her older romances are wonderful. I liked the adventure in the jungle and the saving of the kids in this one. I'm curious though if Cage and Jenny have a story out there somewhere. The only problem with older books is that they are hard to find now.
I wasn´t expecting this book to be so good. I have to admit that I was expecting silly story with awkward sexual scenes with no plot. But it was excelent written heart warming passionate story about steadiness, self-denial and real love. First book where I was enjoying even the sexual scenes, there were no awkward moments. Really great relaxation choice.
This was short and sweet without much depth to the plot. The potential was there - escaping from a war torn third world nation with nine orphans offered many opportunities for plot development that just didn’t happen. Still, it was an enjoyable book.
well the story itself was awesome. little too heavy on the romance part for me. the whole rescuing the kids and adopting out was totally cool. my kind of reading
Una de esas novelitas genéricas que publicó Sandra Brown en los ochenta. The devil's own fue el Silhouette Intimate Moments, n.º 180, y salió en febrero de 1987. Tópico harlequinero: chico malo, chica virtuosa. Aunque ella le toma por un mercenario, Linc O’Neal es en realidad un fotoperiodista a quien le urge salir de un país centroamericano imaginario. Kerry Bishop pide su ayuda para salir del país... con una recua de churumbeles. Un auténtico tostón, solo válido para nostálgicos de harlequines ochenteros de aventuras en la selva. En plan cutre. Acumulando tópicos sobre hispanoamericanos renegridos y crueles. Y con serios problemas cuando te ponen algo en español (la leí en inglés). Cosas como «buenos noches» y tal. Por si queréis saber más, en mi blog desbarro más.
This is the first book by Sandra Brown that I've tried. It was a huge disappointment. Kerry acts ridiculous and very unbelievable. I actually wanted Linc to just leave her when she destroyed all his film. Then she tells him she's a nun to keep him from seducing her? Pleeeeze...I just wanted to shove her off a bridge and shout "Run, Linc, Run!" ;-)
I couldn't even finish this book. Maybe I need to try one of SB's more recent books. Considering her popularity, surely all her books aren't this bad.
The book has its usual 80's read feel to it. So if you are a feminist, or even someone who is all for gender equality, the chauvinism will choke you.
There is some thrill in the setting though. Kerry Bishop is on a mission to save nine orphans from a war fraught country. In the process she kind of kidnaps a mercenary (she thinks he is one) to make the transfer easier. The rest of the book comprises the rescue, the disclosure about the lie Kerry told the male lead Linc O' Neal, and some well known star crossed lover fare.
This book was way too cliche, not to mention cheesy. Sandra Brown's books always seem to have the same theme: rugged, handsome, bad boy falls in love with the typical damsel in distress. The whole premise is getting pretty tired. I was sorely disappointed in this book, because I have enjoyed many of her other books. This one was just a little too unrealistic.
This is the second book in Ms Brown's "Hellraisers" series & it's more suspenseful than the first book. I enjoyed it & the book kept my attention till the last page. The reason behind 3 star rating is angry sex. I really dislike when the hero punishes the heroine for something she did or didn't do or tell and acts like a jerk. Anyway, give this book a try.
Kerry had to find someone to help her get nine orphans through the jungle with a war going on. She found someone but He wasn't who she expected. Seemed a quick read as you followed along with the characters with all the problems they run into. Hard to put down as kept you involved in the story.
I give this book 5 stars. I recommend everyone read books by sandra brown her books are all worth my time. Sometimes i feel like i am a character in her books.
I love all of Sandra Brown's books. She make reading easy and keeps you on your toes. I have never been disappointed in her books.
As always Sandra Brown delivers reading pleasure on several levels. Line almost came across too alpha, but the master she is she balanced it perfectly with Kerry's character and feminist you. The Devil's Own is highly entertaining and I loved it. Reviewed by Heide Katros. Winter Haven News, FL
Renee Raudman 5 star performance but this 1980s romance barely worked for me. I have such a problem with lies and the heroine lied most of the way through. Overly demanding hero turned to pussy cat in the end - way too 80s for me.