What do you think?
Rate this book
Devil's Gold
She blamed Joss for all her problems
Joss didn't deny he'd been responsible for Kelly's broken engagement. Kelly wished he'd just stay out of her life and let her get on with seeing something of beautiful California.
Joss, however, arrogantly ignored her protests, whisking her off to his beach home. "I feel responsible for you," he explained.
She resented his implication that she couldn't take care of herself. Then he proved just how innocent and vulnerable she really was....
Joss didn't deny he'd been responsible for Kelly's broken engagement. Kelly wished he'd just stay out of her life and let her get on with seeing something of beautiful California.
Joss, however, arrogantly ignored her protests, whisking her off to his beach home. "I feel responsible for you," he explained.
She resented his implication that she couldn't take care of herself. Then he proved just how innocent and vulnerable she really was....
- GenresHarlequin Romance
189 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1982
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Nicola West
46 books8 followersaka Donna Baker, Lilian Harry
Donna Thomson was born in Gosport, near Portsmouth Harbour, England, UK. Growing up during the terrifying years of the Blitz in a two-up, two-down terraced house, the youngest of four, she aspired to be a writer from an early age.
As a young woman she worked in the Civil Service and moved to Devon to be near her sailor husband. They had a son and a daughter. When the marriage ended, she and her two children moved to the Midlands, where she happily married again to her second husband. After living in the Lake District for twelve years, she finally moved back to Devon, and now lives in a village on the edge of Dartmoor. She lost her son Philip in 2008, and has two grandchildren. A keen walker and animal-lover, she now has a dog and three ginger cats to keep her busy, along with a wide range of hobbies she enjoys.
She started signing her romance novels as Donna Baker and Nicola West, now she also writes as Lilian Harry (inspired by the first names of her grandparents). Among her works are historical novels, romances and even two books giving advice on how to write short stories and novels.
Donna Thomson was born in Gosport, near Portsmouth Harbour, England, UK. Growing up during the terrifying years of the Blitz in a two-up, two-down terraced house, the youngest of four, she aspired to be a writer from an early age.
As a young woman she worked in the Civil Service and moved to Devon to be near her sailor husband. They had a son and a daughter. When the marriage ended, she and her two children moved to the Midlands, where she happily married again to her second husband. After living in the Lake District for twelve years, she finally moved back to Devon, and now lives in a village on the edge of Dartmoor. She lost her son Philip in 2008, and has two grandchildren. A keen walker and animal-lover, she now has a dog and three ginger cats to keep her busy, along with a wide range of hobbies she enjoys.
She started signing her romance novels as Donna Baker and Nicola West, now she also writes as Lilian Harry (inspired by the first names of her grandparents). Among her works are historical novels, romances and even two books giving advice on how to write short stories and novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 6, 2026
There are Harlequins that are so bad, they're good. My favorite example is the glorious awfulness of Diana Palmer. Devil’s Gold by Nicola West is not even a guilty pleasure. It’s just plain bad.
The story begins with the British heroine following her aloof fiance to Northern California, where he has recently relocated to go gold prospecting. No, this isn't a historical romance set in 1875. It is set at least a century later. But there you have it. The fiance is a civil engineer who left his cushy office job to go gold prospecting in Northern Cali. Oh, and apparently, also to sow his wild oats. When the heroine finally tracks him down, she discovers he is a cheating cad: Boom! Engagement over.
Heroine is so broken hearted by this turn of events she decides to stay in California for another 6 weeks at the mansion of her ex-fiance's rugged, macho, virile, American boss, as one naturally does. Hero makes it clear he would love nothing more than sex her up in his state-of-the-art hot tub that is specially built "for company.” Ew.
The heroine HATES the hero who she blames for encouraging her ex-fiance to cheat on her. She also constantly shrieks at him for 'kidnapping" her and keeping her "captive." Because apparently, letting you stay for free in a luxurious mansion, having you waited on hand and foot by the servants, and loaning you a luxury car to go sight-seeing wherever and whenever you want constitutes kidnapping and imprisonment. The hero wasn't even there half the time!
Our “kidnapped captive” takes several weeks to walk around, shop, and swim in the pool and the Pacific ocean. She samples many local delicacies such as the triple layer turkey and ham club sandwich sprinkled with ice sugar that she raves about as the height of American culinary delights. She also starts dating the local Lothario who of course promptly falls in love with her perfect, virginal, British self.
The jealous hero wastes no time in dangling an OW with the glorious name of Damask and the "sultry" looks to go with that "exotic" moniker, if by sultry, you mean a red bikini under a red jumpsuit and a black swimsuit cover up decorated with giant red dragons.
At some point,the heroine falls in love with the hero . She despairs of ever being able to compete with the sultry Damask or with the tragic ghost of hero's late wife, who died a day after giving birth to "an idiot child" (OW's words, not mine).
Hero jumps naked into the infamous hot tub where the heroine had been secretly enjoying sexual daydreams about the hero in the nude herself. Oh Lord...
When heroine doesn't succumb to hero's hot tub moves, he proposes a marriage of sex-venience because he is convinced she will be "dynamite" in bed plus she will save him from the evil claws of the OW. Heroine says no and takes off in a yellow rental car to go mope in a motel. Hero overtakes her car and confesses that he loves her, he really loves her. The late wife was a cheating scumbag who gave birth to some other man's doomed premature baby. The OW was a one-time girlfriend but never meant anything deep. The ex-fiance and the subsequent OM have both conveniently faded in the mist of Harlequin-Landia. So it is HEA time for our protagonists.
The story begins with the British heroine following her aloof fiance to Northern California, where he has recently relocated to go gold prospecting. No, this isn't a historical romance set in 1875. It is set at least a century later. But there you have it. The fiance is a civil engineer who left his cushy office job to go gold prospecting in Northern Cali. Oh, and apparently, also to sow his wild oats. When the heroine finally tracks him down, she discovers he is a cheating cad: Boom! Engagement over.
Heroine is so broken hearted by this turn of events she decides to stay in California for another 6 weeks at the mansion of her ex-fiance's rugged, macho, virile, American boss, as one naturally does. Hero makes it clear he would love nothing more than sex her up in his state-of-the-art hot tub that is specially built "for company.” Ew.
The heroine HATES the hero who she blames for encouraging her ex-fiance to cheat on her. She also constantly shrieks at him for 'kidnapping" her and keeping her "captive." Because apparently, letting you stay for free in a luxurious mansion, having you waited on hand and foot by the servants, and loaning you a luxury car to go sight-seeing wherever and whenever you want constitutes kidnapping and imprisonment. The hero wasn't even there half the time!
Our “kidnapped captive” takes several weeks to walk around, shop, and swim in the pool and the Pacific ocean. She samples many local delicacies such as the triple layer turkey and ham club sandwich sprinkled with ice sugar that she raves about as the height of American culinary delights. She also starts dating the local Lothario who of course promptly falls in love with her perfect, virginal, British self.
The jealous hero wastes no time in dangling an OW with the glorious name of Damask and the "sultry" looks to go with that "exotic" moniker, if by sultry, you mean a red bikini under a red jumpsuit and a black swimsuit cover up decorated with giant red dragons.
At some point,the heroine falls in love with the hero . She despairs of ever being able to compete with the sultry Damask or with the tragic ghost of hero's late wife, who died a day after giving birth to "an idiot child" (OW's words, not mine).
Hero jumps naked into the infamous hot tub where the heroine had been secretly enjoying sexual daydreams about the hero in the nude herself. Oh Lord...
When heroine doesn't succumb to hero's hot tub moves, he proposes a marriage of sex-venience because he is convinced she will be "dynamite" in bed plus she will save him from the evil claws of the OW. Heroine says no and takes off in a yellow rental car to go mope in a motel. Hero overtakes her car and confesses that he loves her, he really loves her. The late wife was a cheating scumbag who gave birth to some other man's doomed premature baby. The OW was a one-time girlfriend but never meant anything deep. The ex-fiance and the subsequent OM have both conveniently faded in the mist of Harlequin-Landia. So it is HEA time for our protagonists.
March 11, 2017
I was going to take a bath and needed a short easy read so as not to get a nice book all damp and misshapen. I found this on a shelf in the house. Usually after reading a book I pass it on to other people to enjoy, but this one is going straight into the recycling bin (I've never done that before). I just can't, in good conscience, allow anyone else to be subjected to this tripe.
June 8, 2023
I quite enjoy this one, finding myself invested in their romance. Anticipating the blooming of it all, the emotional rides & turnovers, the fall, the jealousy & angst in between to a happily ever after. Yes, it delivered pointblank-ly. Although it lost a star because the heroine simply fell in love too quick. Have she forgotten that she just got out of an engagement? Have she forgotten she really don’t get along with this new, foreboding specimen of pure male sexiness? Lol. Not only did her feelings, her self acknowledgment of her newfound love came early on but it was also extremely abruptly in writing. I wasn’t near ready for that. It was a turn off; it should have been rearranged to be known a tad bit later than that to make it more considerable at the least. Oh well. At least we have a smitten hero, so it works out for her.
August 8, 2019
Just a quick read, predictable characters and storyline. Just filling some empty time with this book.
January 7, 2011
description
She blamed Joss for all her problems
Joss didn't deny he'd been responsible for Kelly's broken engagement. Kelly wished he'd just stay out of her life and let her get on with seeing something of beautiful California.
Joss, however, arrogantly ignored her protests, whisking her off to his beach home. "I feel responsible for you," he explained.
She resented his implication that she couldn't take care of herself. Then he proved just how innocent and vulnerable she really was....
She blamed Joss for all her problems
Joss didn't deny he'd been responsible for Kelly's broken engagement. Kelly wished he'd just stay out of her life and let her get on with seeing something of beautiful California.
Joss, however, arrogantly ignored her protests, whisking her off to his beach home. "I feel responsible for you," he explained.
She resented his implication that she couldn't take care of herself. Then he proved just how innocent and vulnerable she really was....
December 14, 2013
3 1/2 stars. Would have rated this a 4 if the heroine hadn't been such a pain.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews