As the Earl of Blackmore, Lucas Devalle is no stranger to the scandals propagated by Society’s elite, particularly since more than a few of those scandals have come about due to the Devalle family’s affairs. As such, it comes as no surprise when a young lady in search of a scandal attempts to entrap him at the ball he’s giving to honor his brother’s betrothal. He is surprised when second young lady intervenes in the name of freeing him from an undesirable fate. Why would anyone feel the need to safeguard his name when he is one of the devilish Devalles? When she escaped into the gardens at Lord Blackmore’s ball, Miss Julianna Selwyn’s intentions had merely been to escape from an elderly, marriage-minded marquess’s unwanted advances. She never planned to eavesdrop on her host. But no matter how wicked Lord Blackmore is purported to be, he doesn’t deserve to be forced into the parson’s mousetrap when he’s done nothing wrong. Had Julianna not overheard every sordid detail of a young lady’s plan to ensnare the earl, however, she might have avoided initiating her own scandalous to-do. With his curiosity piqued, Luke does what any reasonable man, rogue or not, would do—he seeks out an introduction to his charming liberator. Upon uncovering Julianna’s dilemma, he’s determined to return the favor as only he he makes certain his rescuer gets more than just A Dance with the Devil.
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Catherine Gayle is a USA Today bestselling author of more than forty contemporary hockey romance and Regency-set historical romance novels and novellas. Soon, she'll be launching her debut contemporary small-town romance series. She's sold more than three-quarters of a million books. She’s a transplanted Texan living in North Carolina with two extremely spoiled felines. In her spare time, she watches way too much hockey and reality TV, plans fun things to do for the Nephew Monster’s next visit, and performs experiments in the kitchen which are rarely toxic.
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In the first book of this series, Catherine Gayle introduced the devilish Devalles, although in truth, their devilment may be primarily high spirits of the type not generally accepted in high society. With brother Gabriel safely engaged, the Earl of Blackmore hopes to return to his normal pursuits. But alas, the same devious miss whose scheme to trap his brother into marriage ended with Gabriel engaged to her sister is now scheming to trap Luke! The escape from that predicament, and subsequent tumble of the protagonists in this story are quick, and while the story is predictable, the way to the end is delightful. The more books I read by this author, the more I admire her use of our language. She has a way of turning the phrase to maximize humor, and I suspect she puts in more puns than I pick up. For this book, the dance with the devil could refer literally to the dance at the beginning of the book, which really introduces the outline of the story. Or it could refer, instead, to the figurative "dance" of the characters through the tightly choreographed story. Based on the short time I have had this book, it's going to be in the group that end up on the bookshelf to be re-read. Thanks for yet another lovely escape.
I liked the story and it was a fast book to read. I liked the characters. I read this very fast. I am looking forward to see what happens to their sister.
I enjoyed this very much, but as with the first book in the series I though it could have been even better as a full-length novel. The characters of the Devalle Siblings and their mother are intriguing enough to support the longer format and I think it could have given both stories a far greater depth. However, as it stood this was an excellent novella and I enjoyed the premise behind it very much. I hope that Gayle chooses to write Amelia's story one day in the near future, as I think that she could prove to be the most interesting sibling of all. Recommended.
Really enjoyed reading both books. Am waiting for the third Devalles sibling to make her appearance. Her book should be even more fun, and her brothers have a lot to answer for considering their past behavior. And of course the elder Miss Hunt is still lurking in the background.
I picked this up after reading Gabe´s and Miranda´s story, this one follows the same basic structure with a few accommodations. It was a fun read, quite quick and easy to read. Sweet, though not really historically accurate.