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That Devil Called Love
THAT DEVIL CALLED LOVE
Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 15, 2018
Now, I was given this book to read by a good friend of mine, who said I "HAD" to read it, as it was one of her favourite books EVER...
When I started to read it though, I seriously started to question her literary taste...and judgement.
To say that it is a bit cheesy and far-fetched is an understatement, and I very nearly put it down, but my friend urged me to continue. She didn't say why. All I can say is that I'm glad I did, as the book is not what it initially appears to be, and the cheesiness and far-fetched nature of the book is deliberate. It is a tale with a moral at the end.
The story follows Harriet, a middle-aged woman who is unhappy with her looks and her life, has just lost her job, is jealous of her best friend's "perfect" life, and is mooning over a man she believes doesn't even notice her. It all comes to a head at a party when she somehow summons the devil, in the form of Mephisto.
In a Faust-like deal, Mephisto agrees to give her everything she wants, in exchange for her soul.
Harriet thinks her soul is a small price to pay for youth, beauty and the chance to live her life over. That is, until she is thrust into the self-indulgent, shallow and insecure world of the wealthy LA set. Here Harriet learns that no one is interested in anything other than the way she looks.
Instead of loving her new lease on life, Harriet finds herself craving her old life and doing everything she can to get it back.
The moral to the tale is that the grass isn't always greener. Harriet soon comes to realise everything she believed about herself and her old life wasn't true, and that sometimes you just have to take a step back to see how much you really do have.
In the end, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, you just have to get past the cheesy bits!!
When I started to read it though, I seriously started to question her literary taste...and judgement.
To say that it is a bit cheesy and far-fetched is an understatement, and I very nearly put it down, but my friend urged me to continue. She didn't say why. All I can say is that I'm glad I did, as the book is not what it initially appears to be, and the cheesiness and far-fetched nature of the book is deliberate. It is a tale with a moral at the end.
The story follows Harriet, a middle-aged woman who is unhappy with her looks and her life, has just lost her job, is jealous of her best friend's "perfect" life, and is mooning over a man she believes doesn't even notice her. It all comes to a head at a party when she somehow summons the devil, in the form of Mephisto.
In a Faust-like deal, Mephisto agrees to give her everything she wants, in exchange for her soul.
Harriet thinks her soul is a small price to pay for youth, beauty and the chance to live her life over. That is, until she is thrust into the self-indulgent, shallow and insecure world of the wealthy LA set. Here Harriet learns that no one is interested in anything other than the way she looks.
Instead of loving her new lease on life, Harriet finds herself craving her old life and doing everything she can to get it back.
The moral to the tale is that the grass isn't always greener. Harriet soon comes to realise everything she believed about herself and her old life wasn't true, and that sometimes you just have to take a step back to see how much you really do have.
In the end, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, you just have to get past the cheesy bits!!
December 29, 2024
I loved this book it’s my favourite I’m sad I can’t find any more information on anything else from the author only two books and she’s disappeared this is a book I could read again and again
March 12, 2024
3.5 stars
The first time I read this I thought it was fantastic. But that was 20 years ago.
It's still a good book. Full of life lessons and some romance.
It's a definite be careful what you wish for type book.
Harriet/Cindy is someone you'll either like, or you won't. As Harriet, she's a little unpleasant and very unhappy. As Cindy, she's wishy-washy and you easily feel sorry for her.
Harley was probably the most annoying character for me, next to Trish. Honestly, I can't remember the late 90s that well, I was only a teen at the time, but Harley is vapid and shallow and weak. His brother David was creepy and slimy.
Trish is an opportunistic friend and kind of a bitch.
But, they're all cogs in the machine for Cindy to come to her truth and make an effort to change it.
I feel like this could have been accomplished through other means.
The Faustian pact Harriet made seemed like a minor plot device. If Mephestos had so much riding on this pact, you would think he would have been throwing curve balls in Cindy's way and honing in on the corruption aspect. But he waits until practically the last minute to try anything.
The first time I read this I thought it was fantastic. But that was 20 years ago.
It's still a good book. Full of life lessons and some romance.
It's a definite be careful what you wish for type book.
Harriet/Cindy is someone you'll either like, or you won't. As Harriet, she's a little unpleasant and very unhappy. As Cindy, she's wishy-washy and you easily feel sorry for her.
Harley was probably the most annoying character for me, next to Trish. Honestly, I can't remember the late 90s that well, I was only a teen at the time, but Harley is vapid and shallow and weak. His brother David was creepy and slimy.
Trish is an opportunistic friend and kind of a bitch.
But, they're all cogs in the machine for Cindy to come to her truth and make an effort to change it.
I feel like this could have been accomplished through other means.
The Faustian pact Harriet made seemed like a minor plot device. If Mephestos had so much riding on this pact, you would think he would have been throwing curve balls in Cindy's way and honing in on the corruption aspect. But he waits until practically the last minute to try anything.
February 7, 2010
I liked this book. Ok so I knew from the begining when I got this book at a Lifeline Bookfest it was going to be a cheesy book that folows the normal formula of delivering the usual characters with a happy ending. So I went into it with low expectations. However, it did deliver some meaningful paragraphs amongst the usual rubble which suprised me.
I didn't think it was too bad and can even say that I enjoyed reading it. I've been reading a few classics lately and needed a mind-numbing, don't-have-to-think-too-hard read, and this was it.
It's like a soap opera, you know it's bad quality, and that it's following a usual formula but you can't help watching and wanting to know what happens next.
I didn't think it was too bad and can even say that I enjoyed reading it. I've been reading a few classics lately and needed a mind-numbing, don't-have-to-think-too-hard read, and this was it.
It's like a soap opera, you know it's bad quality, and that it's following a usual formula but you can't help watching and wanting to know what happens next.
August 10, 2009
Terrible read... picked up the book for an easy read at the airport... spoiled my flight...
May 4, 2016
Mildly amusing. Started off quite well but didn't live up to it's earlier promise.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews