The Demon's Mistress

Three Heroes #1

by Jo Beverley

Lord Vendeiman has returned from war to find his estate bankrupt and his father dead. When wealthy widow Maria Celestin offers to hire him to pose as her fiance, he agrees, but forbidden passion ignites between them. Dare he reach for happiness? But what will happen when Vandeiman learns the truth about the woman he has come to love?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Regency Romance, Novella

ebook

First published May 25, 2001

About the author

Mary Josephine Dunn was born 22 September 1947 in Lancashire, England, UK. At the age of eleven she went to an all-girls boarding school, Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool. At sixteen, she wrote her first romance, with a medieval setting, completed in installments in an exercise book. From 1966 to 1970, she obtained a degree in English history from Keele University in Staffordshire, where she met her future husband, Ken Beverley. After graduation, they married on June 24, 1971. She quickly attained a position as a youth employment officer until 1976, working first in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, and then in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire.

In 1976, her scientist husband was invited to do post-doctoral research at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. When her professional qualifications proved not to be usable in the Canadian labour market, she raised their two sons and started to write her first romances.

Moved to Ottawa, in 1985 she became a founding member of the Ottawa Romance Writers’ Association, that her “nurturing community” for the next twelve years. The same year, she completed a regency romance, but it was promptly rejected by a number of publishers, and she settled more earnestly to learning the craft. In 1988, it sold to Walker, and was published as "Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed". She regularly appears on bestseller lists including the USA Today overall bestseller list, the New York Times, and and the Publishers Weekly list. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Golden Leaf, the Award of Excellence, the National Readers Choice, and a two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. She is also a five time winner of the RITA, the top award of the Romance Writers Of America, and a member of their Hall of Fame and Honor Roll.

Jo Beverley passed away on May 23, 2016 after a long battle with cancer.

Reviews

[Alba Turunen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5 Estrellas. La verdad es que éste libro es un relato corto, no demasiado breve, pero puede leerse en uno o dos días. Lo he disfrutado lo bastante, y abre las puertas a un spin-off dentro de la serie de los "Granujas".

En éste caso tenemos a Lord Vandeimen, un noble menor cuya importancia es tan ínfima como su título que apenas le interesa. Tras la guerra ha vuelto a su casa, sus propiedades están arruinadas, debe un montón de dinero en deudas de juego, toda su familia ha muerto, y no le queda nada... Hasta que la viuda María Celestin se presenta en su casa con una propuesta.

María es una viuda respetable que hizo un matrimonio bastante desastroso. Sigue siendo un mujer hermosa y rica, y por ello es perseguida por cazafortunas. Así que se las ingenia para dar con Van y ofrecerle pagar sus deudas y un incentivo más con tal de que se haga pasar por su prometido durante seis semanas para quitarse a los moscones.

Sí, tenemos otra historia algo truculenta por parte de Jo Beverley, ágil y rápida de leer por su brevedad, pero con un gran fallo: el romance. No me ha quedado muy claro cuando o cómo se enamoran. Ése es el problema de los relatos cortos, se pasa de un extremo a otro sin explicar bien en qué momento se enamoran los personajes o por qué. Van me ha parecido muy difuso y no he sabido muy bien cómo ubicarle, con María lo he tenido más fácil para hacerme una idea de su personalidad, sus miedos y sus complejos; porque sí, en éste libro encontramos un tema tabú que podía ser escandaloso en la época, y que todavía hoy lo es en ciertos círculos, y es la mayoría de edad. María es ocho años mayor que Van, y ése será el hándicap de éste libro, unido a la supuesta esterilidad de la protagonista.

Repito, me ha gustado lo justo, y me ha parecido interesante para empezar éste spin-off dentro de la serie principal, creo que no tardaré mucho en leer los libros de los siguientes Georges.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short novella. If that. It feels like the setup to the three Georges (which is weird because they all took different names because of the George name collision so they're referred to as Con, Hawk, and Van). It's also the first that doesn't pull in any of the other Rogues so you can read it as standalone. That may not hold for the whole omnibus.

I plan on reviewing each piece separately, even though I'm reading the omnibus edition. I suspect they're complete stories in and of themselves, but I'll correct that if it turns out false.

Anyway. This story. It's a great story. The (lack of) length is probably that that's all the story Beverley had to tell. It's simple in its structure, though there's depth in the emotion and events. I liked both Van and Maria very much, even though Van takes the tortured soul thing farther than I normally like. I couldn't help but fall for him in the end, though, as his strength asserts itself and his determination to help them both over the objections of their disparate ages (she's eight years his senior) and expectations. In the end, it was heartwarming and a perfect lead into the other stories.

A note about Steamy: There are two explicit sex scenes. Which is a lot for such a short story. It's still the middle of my steam range, though, if only because they were a crucial part of the emotional relationship they were building.

[Desi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leído en Junio 2010

LA AMANTE DEL DEMONIO, NUMERO 6 DE LA SAGA ROGUES
En la antología In praise of younger men

ARGUMENTO: Lord Vandeimen regresa a su país tras la batalla de Waterloo para encontrarse con que su propiedad está en ruinas y toda su familia muerta. Sus intentos por reconstruir parte de su herencia le dejan sumido en grandes deudas, y está dispuesto a suicidarse cuando una mujer irrumpe en su cuarto con una extraordinaria proposición. La señora María Celestin, viuda de un comerciante extranjero, va a pagarle una pequeña fortuna por fingir ser su prometido durante seis semanas. Van no puede rechazarlo, pero recela de ese golpe de suerte tan extraordinario. Pretende, además, meterse en la cama de la viuda. Lo que no esperaba era recuperar las ganas de vivir, el amor y verse envuelto en una lucha por ganarse a la mujer que ama…

[Dianne Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Van(Demon) and Maria. Van returns from Waterloo to find his family all dead(his by suicide) and a rundown estate. Trying to gain enough money to refurbish the estate,he gambles and loses 10000 pounds. Maria,whose dead husband played a part in Van's father losing money in an investment, tries to help Van. She pays his debt plus another 10000 pounds if Van will be her fiancé for six weeks. Van falls in love with her. She is eight years older than Van and tries to deny her true feelings.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was a little thin, honestly, but the characters were likable, such as they were. Being so short, there wasn't much time for a lot of plotting or real character development, and I was a little disappointed the Rogues didn't make more of an appearance, but oh well. It was a pleasant enough way to spend a couple hours.

[BJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novella introduces three men with a slight link to the Rogues. H is suicidal when the h finds him. She's trying to atone for the actions of her unscrupulous deceased husband. She's older and he's attracted but lost in his grief. It felt rushed to me but I did like their HEA, another convenient twist.

[Barbara Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!! This is part of the Company of Rogues series. The Rogues aren't really featured in this book, but it sets up some parts of Con Sommerford's story and introduces another character who will get a book in the series (he's not a Rogue either).

Lord Vandeimen - Van to his friends -- returns home from Waterloo to find his family are all dead, the estate is in ruin and he has no way to restore any of it. His father had killed himself. Van thinks it is because of the deaths of his wife and daughters in such a short time period and because he's lost his fortune in investments. Van is very despondent and is planning to follow is father's example by killing himself. He's even pulled the trigger -- luckily the flint is bad and the gun doesn't fire.

Mrs. Maria Celestin, widow of a wealthy foreign merchant, wants to rescue Van because she's discovered that her husband was the one who ruined Van's father by cheating him. She's trying to repay Van, but is afraid to just hand him the money -- because he's been drinking and gambling heavily. So, she 'hires' Van to be her betrothed for six weeks. She figures if she can keep him sober and out of the gaming hells for that long, maybe he'll continue and use the money to repair his estate and lead a normal life.

Van falls in love quickly, but Maria is very hesitant. First, she thinks she barren and then she is 8 years older. The story of Van proving that she might NOT be barren and showing her that he doesn't care about either her age or the fact that she may be barren is very sweet.

[Albagar90 · Rating 4 out of 5]

una historia corta, con unos personajes entrañables, aunque me hubiera gustado que la historia hubiera sido mas larga, que hubiera profundizado mas, pero me ha gustado bastante

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly the best of the Company of Rogues series! (At least, so far; I'm abandoning them and I'm not even halfway through.) In the opening scene, Lord Vendeiman attempts suicide, due both to his survivor's guilt after Waterloo and his impending bankruptcy. Maria interrupts and offers to pay him to pretend to be her fiance for the next six weeks. She's a widow, and since she has just discovered that it was her husband's secret business dealings that caused Van's bankruptcy, she feels obliged to fix things. This book was totally made for me (pretend dating! characters with self-destructive issues! experienced woman and younger man! tattoos!), but unfortunately it was more of a novella, because I would have read much more about them.

[Victoria Vane · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were a few plot issues I had to overlook. The main one being the heroine inviting the hero to live with her after only two days acquaintance. Even engaged I can't see how this could ever have been acceptable during the Regency, BUT in the end I truly enjoyed this story and will look forward to reading others in this series.

[Cary · Rating 3 out of 5]

THis was quite short (less than 100 pages) but sweet. A woman who doesn't want to fall in love with a younger man (8 years) and an younger man who does fall in love with an older woman.

[Lyuda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story: short and sweet with gentle handling of age difference between hero and older heroine.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and more complex relationship between the two main characters although somewhat fanciful.

[Elspeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book which after starting I realized was a part of the series I had already started and loved. This book is one of three about a group of men named "George" who gave themselves crazy nicknames as kids and were in the army together.

In this book. "Demon Van Demon"'s father had killed himself because he lost all their money and "Van" was just about to do the same when Maria let herself in and offered him a contract to be her fake fiancee for 6 weeks. It turned out her former husband had swindled Van's father out of the money and when she found out she was trying to get the money back to him.

During the fake dating, they fall in love but Maria doesn't think they should be together since Van is 8 years younger than she is and she never got pregnant while married so she cannot give him children.

Van shows her that they can be in love in spite of those issues, and I don't know if this would be more triggering to a reader than just having her be barren (and talk about it a lot), but the book ends with a HFN and a *possibility* of it not having been Maria's body that couldn't have children.

I will definitely start this series in earnest. I didn't remember Jo Beverley's books being quite so spicy and I already loved Con's book which was a wonderful second chance book.

Tropes: widow, second chance, younger man, regency, infertility, war, soldier, fake dating, spicy+

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read backwards as I was interested in Van and Maria’s romance after meeting them in Hazard (#8). But I didn't read any of other Company of Rogues books.

TW: suicide attempt in first few pages, infertility

Van Vadeiman is twenty-five and at a low point, even though he is one of the three Georges (highest in the Ton) and has returned home from war, he has lost his family, his estate is in ruins and gambled to major debt. He tried to take his life but is stopped by Maria Celestin "the Golden Lily" with a proposition: she will pay off his debts if he protects her for six weeks by being her fiance and will give him extra at the end

Oh, did I mention he is a scarred hero? He has one in his cheek.

Maria knows she must right her ex husband's wrong and sets herself to getting Van back on the right track. the truth of why she comes to Van is because her ex husband caused his father to commit suicide by cheating him of his money. The older richer woman and younger, broke man dynamic was interesting because typically it is the other way around. Maria (eight years older) doesn't need him to take care of her financially and is independent. Not many women in that era or even modern day can say that.

I was uncomfortable with the casual way Van talks about killing himself if things do not work out with Maria.

Generally, I liked the length of their story being a novella though the "I love you" felt too fast for me. I have only read 1 of the Company of Rogues books. Maria's motivation to make up for her husband and save Van was noble. I liked how she thought of him though her reasons to push him away felt annoying after awhile.

Tropes: fake engagement, older woman-younger man

[ike pauh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Insta lust. Another reviewer mentioned there being likable characters, a sentiment I heartily agree with.

However, it tasted like a half-baked potato. A paper thin plot and seriously, a proclamation of love from the H after two weeks of well...nothing really. Most of the exposition aka racy, somewhat heart thumping (not really) parts happened in the last few weeks. h was no shy maiden and like any human being, showed her vulnerability and weaknesses at certain points of the book.

The part about it not being her infertile but just Maurice's machinations..such a deus ex machina. Gosh, I did not like that part one bit. What's wrong with just the two of them, growing old together? Demon was prepared to forgo his hopes (at least that's what he said) but I felt like there was no way Maria would go through with the marriage with all her infertility issues swirling around. Despite their "last night together". Hmmmm

[Laine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Within the constraints of a novella, the author has done an amazingly throrough job. It starts with a bang (actually a near-bang) that brings together two well drawn main characters with the male 8 years younger for a change. Widow Maria in her 30s wants to fix what her unscrupulous husband did to bring returned military hero Van to despair at age 25. She is believably torn between wanting to mother i.e. "save" him and be ravished by him. Her plan to do the first puts them in close quarters for 6 weeks of platonic getting acquainted but they cross the line into hot yet healing sex. She rejects his sincere marriage proposal altruistically, thinking he deserves a younger wife who can give him an heir unlike herself who was barren in a long marriage to a man with multiple bastards. Van eventually tells her in no uncertain terms that he is her lover, not her child. She understands that their life experiences have brought them together as fitting partners. Lovely.

[Nightwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had Beverley's strengths - angst, sense of place/time, passion - without her sometime weaknesses. It's an age-gap romance - the heroine is eight years older than the hero - and the issues that causes are very well-grounded in a feeling of historical accuracy, where a woman eight years older than a man very much belongs to an older generation, with stepchildren perhaps only eight years her junior. The romance is very sweet, the hero and heroine both feel very real (as does the heroine's late husband, which was a neat trick), but the story as a whole was simply too short - we go from "this will never work" to "by golly I'll make this work" in the space of like a page. A novel, with more of an actual plot, would have been stronger.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to this series, the writing was strong but I didn't see the connection between the two main characters. Van is a young veteran of the Napoleonic wars, and Maria is a widower that is 8 years older than Van. Their age difference is one of many obstacles. I enjoyed that she was older, its a dynamic that's not often seen in romance and even less in the historical genre. But it was constantly brought up and while I know it would have been an issue at the time it got tiring. I was also hoping to be introduced to more of these characters from the previous series and especially Con since his book is next. So on to the next book and hopefully it works better for me.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of a 3 story collection set in Regency England. All 3 of the heroes are named George, so to set them apart from each other they take nicknames based on their last names. Vandeiman becomes Demon. This is novella length.

So, the trope of this story is - she's older than he is. In this case by 8 years. We get a lot of the "I'm too old for you" crap that always accompanies this trope. JB is a good writer though, so she makes it interesting enough to finish.

This is a reread for me, but not for a long time. I kind of remembered the story, but kind of didn't. Even still, not one of my favorites.

[May Mostly Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

เล่มนี้มาคั่นเพราะไม่ใช่เรื่องของตัวละครที่เป็นสมาชิกก่อตั้งของ TRC แต่เป็นเพื่อนของหนึ่งในตัวละครชุดนี้ (นี่เป็นยุทธวิธีในการขยายชุดที่นักเขียนเขานิยมทำกัน)

และเรื่องนี้ยังถือเป็นเล่มแรกในชุดขนาดย่อยสามเล่มที่เรียกกันว่า "Three Georges" เพราะพระเอกของเล่มนี้และถัดไปอีกสองเล่มชื่อจอร์จเหมือนกัน (หนึ่งในจอร์จบังเอิญเป็นสมาชิกของ TRC)

เล่มนี้แม็กซ์ชอบจ้า เพราะว่าพล็อตโดนนนนน นางเอกแก่กว่าพระเอกแปดปี รวยกว่า และเป็นฝ่ายเข้าหาพระเอกก่อน น่าเสียดายว่าเป็นแค่เรื่องสั้น (เช็ดน้ำลายหน่อยคร้าบ)

คะแนนที่ 83

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella. Almost a novel but for Jo Beverley, very much a novella! I really liked the heroine's motivations - they veered into Mary Sue territory, but there were a couple of redeeming qualities that kept it from being way too much. Vendeiman's motivations are extremely clear and I thought some of the early moments comical. I liked the gradual back and forth and renegotiation. Less melodrama than might be expected (a good thing).

[Christiane Robillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Equally heartrending and heartwarming

I enjoyed this book. It was both joyous and heartbreaking. I deeply felt the desperation and hopelessness of the main character and was so relieved that our heroine could give him something to live for. The storyline was original, the characters were well defined and their feelings and emotions relatable. Thank you for a great read.

[Twila Leininger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Story

It happened fast, but when you know, you know. I found the story to be passionate and interesting. I rather enjoyed that a lady comes along and saves a demon… and the demon fights for the lady!

[Kazia Gemmill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but fully realized with interesting characters.

[HatGirl8]

4/11/18

[ChristineZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a widow Maria, eight years older than the younger man she pays to act as her fiancé to save her from fortune hunters. Of course, they fall in love.

[Patty☇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 *'s

[Mum · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read

[Ramonita Roldan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Van & Maria's story was quite compelling. An disillusioned Lord & a very lonely widow fight against all odds to give their lives meaning & purpose. Enjoyed this story very much. Recommend.
Happy Reading.