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Sons of Sin #2
To Save the Devil
Ex-spy and former Bow Street Runner Will Jones rescues a beautiful, unsullied virgin from a London brothel, but she is no swooning maiden. Instead, he faces a woman of wit who resists his aid, escapes his protection...and captures his imagination.
304 pages, ebook
First published October 5, 2010
12 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Kate Moore
25 books136 followersKate Moore writes stand alone and series romances set in contemporary California and Regency England for readers who want to fall in love again standing up, mostly fully clothed, surrounded by family. In Kate's stories, kind, quick-witted women find love with hot billionaires, lofty lords, and sexy spies; longing is leavened with humor; and readers say the blend of sparks and spice is "just right sexy." When life happens, let a Kate Moore romance lift your spirits. To connect with Kate and find the right romance for you, visit her website at https://www.katemoore.com or sign up for her newsletter at https://www.katemoore.com.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 28, 2012
To Save the Devil is the 2nd book in the Son of Sin trilogy. This is Will's story, 3years ago Kit the younger brother was kidnapped. The brothers have been looking for him ever sense. While out searching Will rescues a virgin name Helen from being auctioned off at a brothel. The story is poorly written their is no character development,the author is good at describing the backdrop and scenery, which you need in a story book not to the point the reader figures out if is just a way to full up the pages instead of developing banter between the characters. Their is little to no romance between the couple and the one Love Making scene in the entire book is at the end and I must say it was THE WORST LOVE MAKING SCENE I HAVE EVER READ!!! If was very brief and very poorly done; considering the book story is centered around Helen being a virgin!! If Ms Moore can't write Love Scene JUST DON'T WRITE THEM!!! Call the book a mystery instead of romance. Another big problem I had with the book was it has 284 pages which could have been condensed into about 200 pages when you consider all of the blank pages between chapters, the two or three word in one sentence, the double spaced lines in between sentences , the spacing and some pages could have been condensed into one paragraph. The book should have been a Short Story!! Shame on you Ms. Moore!!! for duping readers!!! I Can Not Recommend This Book!!! Very Poorly Done!!
April 14, 2011
Looking at this plotline by itself, all signs point to me enjoying it. The set up and the idea of the characters seem like my style. That’s why it’s so disappointing that it didn’t work for me at all. I debated between one and two stars for this book, but finally concluded that I just didn’t care enough about it to get a good hate going on. So two stars it is. :)
This was a relatively short book, filled with blank filler pages between chapters, but it seemed to take forever to read. My biggest problem with the book was the lack of motivation and logic. Sometimes the lack of logic can be ignored, as with humorous or campy books, but this wasn’t that sort of book. Without any real motivation for these characters and their behavior I was left feeling like I was listening to the author recite a string of actions. I was completely removed and couldn’t understand why I should care about these things.
For example, why were the hero and heroine attracted to each other? Why this heroine with this hero? There’s no reason, really, beyond the fact that the author says it’s so. The hero, Will, saves the heroine, Helen (we’re just going to call her that because you don’t learn her true identity until the very end), out of basic human decency. (We’ll go with that because it makes sense to me, not because it was actually stated as the reason.) He rescues her against her will, mind you—because she’s an idiot. After he takes her home he starts having odd lust-filled thoughts about her that broke the narrative. This is irritating for two reasons. One, it didn’t feel natural to his inner voice. Two, it was pretty skeezy. Just because a heroine and hero are in the vicinity of each other doesn’t mean they need to lust after each other. Time and place, people, time and place. And that time is not immediately after the heroine was drugged and sold to the highest bidder.
So, anyway, Helen steals from Will and escapes while he’s sleeping. For some reason he decides to follow her, even though he’s on his own important mission and doesn’t really care that she stole from him. So why did he follow her? No reason really other than the fact that he’s the hero and she’s the heroine and he needs to save her idiotic self from yet another dumb plan. He even says screw it later and lets her go her own way, but the heroine reverses her previous stance and decides that she needs to hang around him after all. It just wasn’t logical! There wasn’t any depth shown to explain why these characters would do these things. Even the most logical actions can seem organic to the character if the author is skillful enough, but here they felt too flat.
I’m not even bothering to go into the perplexing logic guiding Helen on this mad quest or Will’s mission that didn’t really explain why he was at that auction in the first place, but I do have to mention two things I found utterly ridiculous. One, Will decides to torture information out of Helen early in the story by tying her to his bed so she couldn’t escape and reading her porn. That’s right, that was his brilliant plan. Am I the only one that finds that ridiculous? Two, Will’s older brother, Xander is pissed that Will would bring his latest hook-up to their mother’s house. He says that it just proves his character. Now, I could understand this if said mother wasn’t a well known courtesan who had a bastard child with each of her noble lovers. I’m not really getting the whole stickler-for-propriety-sticks-and-stones vibe in that situation.
In addition to the previously stated problems, I also hated how long Helen’s deception went on. We, the reader, don’t even learn her name until the end. We learn nothing about her other than why she’s doing what she is. How can I, the reader, get to know the character well enough to care about her, let alone believe that someone fell in love with her, when I don’t even know anything about her? Plus, she called herself Helen of Troy because she admired her and kept speaking like she was Helen. I didn’t mind it at first, but hearing her use Helen and her relationship with Paris as a way to avoid having to talk about herself over and over and over and over got old. The fact that Will humored her in this just made it even worse.
The heroine has a talent for mimicry. She can hear a person speak one time for only a minute or two and can mimic them with dead accuracy. I rolled my eyes over this convenient talent, considering that a lot of things that occurred in the book wouldn’t have been possible without it. But maybe I’m being too harsh? I know of people who can recall whole conversations after hearing them once, but I’ve never heard of someone being able to instantly recall and recreate the accent of any person they hear.
As I’ve stated in the past, sex scenes rarely have a big impact on my enjoyment of a book. I rarely care enough to bring them up, but I have to talk about the sex scene here. It was painful to read. I had a problem with the attraction between them from the start (it didn’t feel engaging) but their sex scene felt like two strangers were together. Two unattracted strangers at that! There was no emotion there and the actions felt mechanical and tedious. The hero kept talking about how hot he was but it sure didn't feel like it. In a case like this I think a fade to black would have been a better idea.
Despite the fact that I didn’t like this book, I wasn’t engaged enough to truly dislike it. I think if someone sees motivation and depth where I didn’t they might actually even like it. If you’re curious about the book I’d recommend browsing it for a couple chapters and seeing if you’re engaged. If you are, chances are you’ll enjoy it way more than I did.
Favorite Quote:
Review originally posted on Fiction Vixen.
This was a relatively short book, filled with blank filler pages between chapters, but it seemed to take forever to read. My biggest problem with the book was the lack of motivation and logic. Sometimes the lack of logic can be ignored, as with humorous or campy books, but this wasn’t that sort of book. Without any real motivation for these characters and their behavior I was left feeling like I was listening to the author recite a string of actions. I was completely removed and couldn’t understand why I should care about these things.
For example, why were the hero and heroine attracted to each other? Why this heroine with this hero? There’s no reason, really, beyond the fact that the author says it’s so. The hero, Will, saves the heroine, Helen (we’re just going to call her that because you don’t learn her true identity until the very end), out of basic human decency. (We’ll go with that because it makes sense to me, not because it was actually stated as the reason.) He rescues her against her will, mind you—because she’s an idiot. After he takes her home he starts having odd lust-filled thoughts about her that broke the narrative. This is irritating for two reasons. One, it didn’t feel natural to his inner voice. Two, it was pretty skeezy. Just because a heroine and hero are in the vicinity of each other doesn’t mean they need to lust after each other. Time and place, people, time and place. And that time is not immediately after the heroine was drugged and sold to the highest bidder.
So, anyway, Helen steals from Will and escapes while he’s sleeping. For some reason he decides to follow her, even though he’s on his own important mission and doesn’t really care that she stole from him. So why did he follow her? No reason really other than the fact that he’s the hero and she’s the heroine and he needs to save her idiotic self from yet another dumb plan. He even says screw it later and lets her go her own way, but the heroine reverses her previous stance and decides that she needs to hang around him after all. It just wasn’t logical! There wasn’t any depth shown to explain why these characters would do these things. Even the most logical actions can seem organic to the character if the author is skillful enough, but here they felt too flat.
I’m not even bothering to go into the perplexing logic guiding Helen on this mad quest or Will’s mission that didn’t really explain why he was at that auction in the first place, but I do have to mention two things I found utterly ridiculous. One, Will decides to torture information out of Helen early in the story by tying her to his bed so she couldn’t escape and reading her porn. That’s right, that was his brilliant plan. Am I the only one that finds that ridiculous? Two, Will’s older brother, Xander is pissed that Will would bring his latest hook-up to their mother’s house. He says that it just proves his character. Now, I could understand this if said mother wasn’t a well known courtesan who had a bastard child with each of her noble lovers. I’m not really getting the whole stickler-for-propriety-sticks-and-stones vibe in that situation.
In addition to the previously stated problems, I also hated how long Helen’s deception went on. We, the reader, don’t even learn her name until the end. We learn nothing about her other than why she’s doing what she is. How can I, the reader, get to know the character well enough to care about her, let alone believe that someone fell in love with her, when I don’t even know anything about her? Plus, she called herself Helen of Troy because she admired her and kept speaking like she was Helen. I didn’t mind it at first, but hearing her use Helen and her relationship with Paris as a way to avoid having to talk about herself over and over and over and over got old. The fact that Will humored her in this just made it even worse.
The heroine has a talent for mimicry. She can hear a person speak one time for only a minute or two and can mimic them with dead accuracy. I rolled my eyes over this convenient talent, considering that a lot of things that occurred in the book wouldn’t have been possible without it. But maybe I’m being too harsh? I know of people who can recall whole conversations after hearing them once, but I’ve never heard of someone being able to instantly recall and recreate the accent of any person they hear.
As I’ve stated in the past, sex scenes rarely have a big impact on my enjoyment of a book. I rarely care enough to bring them up, but I have to talk about the sex scene here. It was painful to read. I had a problem with the attraction between them from the start (it didn’t feel engaging) but their sex scene felt like two strangers were together. Two unattracted strangers at that! There was no emotion there and the actions felt mechanical and tedious. The hero kept talking about how hot he was but it sure didn't feel like it. In a case like this I think a fade to black would have been a better idea.
Despite the fact that I didn’t like this book, I wasn’t engaged enough to truly dislike it. I think if someone sees motivation and depth where I didn’t they might actually even like it. If you’re curious about the book I’d recommend browsing it for a couple chapters and seeing if you’re engaged. If you are, chances are you’ll enjoy it way more than I did.
Favorite Quote:
He had his mother's eyes and her capacity for extremes. He was the lion in the old tale with a thorn in its paw. Wounded, trapped in anger at the world's evils, he would not find his lost brother. He could search all of London and find only injustice and pain.
She was the mouse, the partner, who could free him as he had freed her.
Review originally posted on Fiction Vixen.
July 15, 2012
I loved the first book, To Tempt a Saintand was very taken with Will, the middle brother. This is his story. This middle book is about the middle son of a famous courtesan. I would have given it a higher than a three and a half star rating save for two things: First I didn't warm up to the heroine, who kept secrets until the end, and really lacked the faith in Will I think he earned. Secondly, the resolution was in the last chapter and felt like it deserved more.
Having said that, I look forward to the third of the trilogy, To Seduce an Angel which is about Kit the younger son, abducted and missing through the first and much of the second books. I think this is a fresh and unique trilogy.
"she tasted like Spain, like wine and spice and oranges, like a city opening its gates to the victor, and he plunged in,taking sighs like prisoners."
The story resumes the search for the youngest brother, abducted and assumed lost or dead (by Will at least) and told from the perspective of the middle brother - Will Jones. Will has been quite affected by both his younger brother's loss, his older brother's "success" and his mother's tendency to drama. As any middle child will tell, it is hard to live up to the eldest and compete with the needs of the youngest, so Will does what many in his position do, and that is try harder.
I was not as enamoured of the female lead, mostly because she didn't let Will in, till very late in the game, and even then she held to her secrets. It was harder to get into her head, so my empathy was not sparked. Marianne AKA Helen of Troy, acted for honourable reasons, but when it mattered, didn't trust Will and believed he betrayed her.
I think I would have liked this story more if there had been resolution before the last chapter, and the epilogue felt like it should have been a chapter itself.
I am off to read To Seduce an Angel, Kit, the youngest brother's story. I love this author's unique take on what is a difficult genre to bring a fresh perspective to.
December 24, 2015
Well, I'm reading this series at about a book a day...which means I'm enjoying them. I suggest you read them in order to get the most out of them. I love the careful continuity of this series and the characters are written in depth, with great background of London as it truly was in early 19th century. I'm off to read the last installment of the series!
Currently reading
March 19, 2023I'm halfway through and thinking if I should continue? the girl is driving me crazy with her being all secretive. I read reviews and she doesn't reveal everything to him until the end? outrageous! I really feel with the middle child syndrome the male lead seems to be experiencing, the author could have given him a better story. at this point, I'm trying to make myself finish the book so at least someone is not doing him dirty.
March 15, 2024
Kate gives you a glimpse of old time London...Loved all the characters..even the law breakers :)
September 30, 2010
To Save the Devil by Kate Moore
Historical Romance –Oct. 5th, 2010
3 Stars
To Save the Devil is the second novel by Kate Moore featuring the Sons of Sin, three brothers whose mother was an infamous London courtesan. This book continues the story that was started in the first novel in the series To Temp A Saint.
To Save the Devil tells the story of Will Jones the second oldest of the sons who is an ex-spy and former Bow Street Runner. Will is forced into action when he hears about an innocent virgin who is about to be sold at a London brothel. He takes immediate action and saves her but instead of a swooning maiden he discovers a woman of wit and charm who immediately grabs his attention and desire! But the mysterious lady is only known to Will as Helen of Troy and is on a mission of her own to reclaim documents from the brothel in question that would destroy her and the ones she loves. As Will and Helen are forced to team up together and get back into the brothel they must learn to trust each other and their prolonged interaction with one another makes them more and more attracted to each other.
I thought that the author did a excellent job of creating two main characters that were both interesting on their own as well as being compelling to read. I liked as the two characters got to know each other and began to develop more fully. I also enjoyed a lot of the secondary characters that continued to develop the story of Will’s family and the search for his missing little brother by Will and the rest of his family. I greatly enjoyed the interaction and interesting secondary characters that included an involving additional story.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novel that included interesting characters in complex and difficult situations which was very enjoyable to read. The only complaint that I have is that with the inclusion of a secondary story that began in the first book in the series “To Temp A Saint” without having read the first novel it was somewhat confusing to orient myself.
I think this is a great series and worth reading just double your enjoyment and read the whole series starting with To Temp A Saint first.
Reviewed by Mary from Bookaholics Book Club
Historical Romance –Oct. 5th, 2010
3 Stars
To Save the Devil is the second novel by Kate Moore featuring the Sons of Sin, three brothers whose mother was an infamous London courtesan. This book continues the story that was started in the first novel in the series To Temp A Saint.
To Save the Devil tells the story of Will Jones the second oldest of the sons who is an ex-spy and former Bow Street Runner. Will is forced into action when he hears about an innocent virgin who is about to be sold at a London brothel. He takes immediate action and saves her but instead of a swooning maiden he discovers a woman of wit and charm who immediately grabs his attention and desire! But the mysterious lady is only known to Will as Helen of Troy and is on a mission of her own to reclaim documents from the brothel in question that would destroy her and the ones she loves. As Will and Helen are forced to team up together and get back into the brothel they must learn to trust each other and their prolonged interaction with one another makes them more and more attracted to each other.
I thought that the author did a excellent job of creating two main characters that were both interesting on their own as well as being compelling to read. I liked as the two characters got to know each other and began to develop more fully. I also enjoyed a lot of the secondary characters that continued to develop the story of Will’s family and the search for his missing little brother by Will and the rest of his family. I greatly enjoyed the interaction and interesting secondary characters that included an involving additional story.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novel that included interesting characters in complex and difficult situations which was very enjoyable to read. The only complaint that I have is that with the inclusion of a secondary story that began in the first book in the series “To Temp A Saint” without having read the first novel it was somewhat confusing to orient myself.
I think this is a great series and worth reading just double your enjoyment and read the whole series starting with To Temp A Saint first.
Reviewed by Mary from Bookaholics Book Club
December 2, 2010
TO SAVE THE DEVIL by Kate Moore is an exciting historical romance set in 1820 London. It is the second in the "Sons of Sin" series but can be read as a stand alone. The first in the series was "To Tempt A Saint". This is a series of three brothers whose mother was an infamous London courtesan. She raised them to be gentlemen, although the youngest was kidnapped three years earlier and believed to be dead. The other two brothers are determined to find him, bring him home and find out who is out to kill him. The hero, is about Will, the middle son. Who is an ex-spy, former Bow Street Runner, handsome, tough, and determined. This book has passion, intrigue, romance, family ties, betrayal, truth, secrets,adventure, sweet sensuality,fighting villians, injustices and bringing family together.The heroine, Helen, so she is called, Helen of Troy, is rescued by Will from a brothel, where she is auction as a virgin. She is beautiful, has secrets, looking for letters from her mother from years prior that could destroy her family.She is fiesty, escapes Will's protection, returns to Will, decides she needs his help and they should become partners.She knows Will is searching for his missing younger brother.Together, they take on the dangerous London streets and fall in love. This is an exciting story of family, and never giving up on lost ones. If you enjoy spies,love, family,fighting injustices, and completion of a family you will enjoy this one. This series is a keeper.This book was received for review from the publisher and details can be found at Berkley Sensation, a division of Penguin Group and My Book Addiction and More.
April 12, 2016
I’m sorry to say I didn’t care for this newer historical at all. I was genuinely interested in the mystery involving the heroes kidnapped younger brother, Kit, but it overtook this ‘romance’ novel. When I realized that was happening, from just a few pages in, I quickly lost interest. This is not a romance novel at all.
I’ve said this several times before lately and I’ll continue to say it when necessary; these characters were underdeveloped and there was really no backstory on them. I need to know where they came from and what their lives were like before they met one another. Something else I’ve noticed with the last few newer books I’ve read; hero and heroine are strangers when they meet yet it doesn’t seem like it. They almost seem like old acquaintances.
I rate this ‘romance’ a D/2 stars.
I’ve said this several times before lately and I’ll continue to say it when necessary; these characters were underdeveloped and there was really no backstory on them. I need to know where they came from and what their lives were like before they met one another. Something else I’ve noticed with the last few newer books I’ve read; hero and heroine are strangers when they meet yet it doesn’t seem like it. They almost seem like old acquaintances.
I rate this ‘romance’ a D/2 stars.
February 25, 2011
Will and Helen are one of the most evenly matched pairs that I have encountered. Despite their wildly different upbringings, they are both brave, bold, and determined. They are also both loyal to those they love, even Will, who has a severe case of middle child syndrome. He feels inferior to his brother, Xan, the Saint, and his missing brother, Kit, both of whom get more attention from their beautiful mother. The plot is totally absorbing and an intriguing look into another side of London life. There are few instances of Ton life and many of the seedier underside. The subplot involving the missing youngest brother is also engrossing and bodes for a thrilling third book of the trilogy.
Maura
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
Full Review: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Book...
Maura
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
Full Review: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Book...
October 24, 2010
I enjoyed this second outing in the Sons of Sin series. I highly recommend reading the first one, To Tempt a Saint, first. There are references to characters and incidents that will just confuse you if you're not familiar with the first story. I found Will to be a compelling characters, darker than his brother Xander. Will saves a drugged Helen from a brothel, who escapes from him. He is determined to find his brother and to keep Helen safe; Helen is determined to retrieve something important that will save her family. The story is very sensual without having a lot of sex scenes. A solid continuation of the Sons of Sin story.
March 5, 2012
I felt for Will, when he found out his brother was a Marquess. I can't imagine how much it would hurt to think that your brother who should be on your side against the world as it calls you a "son of sin" and a bastard is a legitimate heir and a peer besides. Not only that but Xander is knighted. Sure it's not by a very popular prince/king but still.
Helen, er, Marianne, was both brave and foolish. Brave to do what she had to for her mother, but foolish for ignoring Will who had more experience in the kind of thing they were trying to do. And Will was infuriating, although his choice of torture? Miss Yeeld and Lord Thrustsome - hilarious!
Helen, er, Marianne, was both brave and foolish. Brave to do what she had to for her mother, but foolish for ignoring Will who had more experience in the kind of thing they were trying to do. And Will was infuriating, although his choice of torture? Miss Yeeld and Lord Thrustsome - hilarious!
July 1, 2014
The Heroine is (once again) completely obnoxious. Also, there is no character development at all between everyone who is important in this series. Were the Hero and Heroine supposed to be in love? Because if the answer is yes, then it expect them to break up every other day - or stay married for as long as Kim Kardashian and Kris. Humphrey was. If anything, I'm rooting for the antagonist to kill off every protagonist. I'm hoping the last book will be better, but at this rate (and by the star average), things aren't looking good..
February 16, 2013
I loved the first book in this series and this book is very entertaining too, but I didn't like the heroine of this book as much as I liked the heroine in book 1. Sometimes she's a little too stubborn for my taste. The hero is incredibly intriguing and the ending is fantastic.
I would definitely recommend to a Regency lover because what I didn't like in the heroine may not bother another reader, and it really is a good book.
I would definitely recommend to a Regency lover because what I didn't like in the heroine may not bother another reader, and it really is a good book.
December 2, 2014
I enjoyed the this book more than I thought I would since sometimes the second book doesn't live up to the first. This one was great, getting to know Will and his past demons was interesting and made you relate better to him than in the first book. Helen keeps him on his toes and keeps him guessing. Storyline is a great pace, characters are interesting and real. Looking forward to the third in the series.
June 30, 2011
Great historical with lots of unexpected going on. My only complaint was the one love scene in the book simply left me turning pages asking... "What? Is that all?" Yet the build up and tension before it was so well written. Still a wonderful historical. My friends who like their romance mild... this is for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2011
This was a solid, straight-up romance. Nothing earth-shattering but no real stoppers. I found that I didn't get a good sense of WHY this hero with this particular heroine. They seemed to fall in love more next to one another than with one another. But, I will read another Kate Moore.
February 21, 2011
This is definitely different than a lot of historicals that I'm used to, because the hero is not a part of the aristocracy. I actually liked that a lot. However, I felt like there could have been more to this book, especially in the beginning. It went by too fast for my taste.
August 20, 2016
Really god story. The heroine takes the opportunity to be someone else and live a life she only could imagine. Will is a great hero-a spy/solider and he recues his princess in distress, can't wait for the third book.
January 18, 2011
Simply Amazing! Easy to love H/H that will keep you turning the pages and looking for more when there gone.
October 8, 2010
Full review will be posted at The Romance Dish next month.
http://www.theromancedish.com/2010/10...
http://www.theromancedish.com/2010/10...
May 11, 2011
A fast-moving historical with a thin plot and an almost TSTL heroine, but I loved this line: "Take her, Captain. Steal her, if you must."
February 28, 2011
In this case, "resists his aid" = TSTL. Can't make myself finish reading it.
July 2, 2011
Illogical plot twists and erratic narrative jumps made this book almost unreadable. I wanted to see if Kit made it home so I pushed through to the end, but I won't read the last in the series.
August 10, 2011
It started out promising and held my interest through half but then it just lost steam. I never did connect with the characters and the one love scene in the book left much to be desired.
November 6, 2011
Rated 4.5 Blue Ribbons
Review courtesy of Romance Junkies: http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artm...
Review courtesy of Romance Junkies: http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artm...
December 21, 2013
WHY IS EVERYTHING SO RUSHED ALL THE TIME.
June 23, 2022
Historical romance. Will Jones and "Helen of Troy".
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews