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Devil's Match
THE DIVINE EVIL
Patrick Danvers, the Viscount Westover, was known by another name among the proper people of society. “Devil Danvers” he was called, and no respectable young lady dared be seen in public with this man whose scandalous escapades quite overshadowed his startling good looks.
Caroline Ashley was a very respectable young lady, but also one with no one to protect her and no money to call her own. How could she resist Devil Danvers made her a cold-blooded proposition to be the wife he needed to win a wager and claim a fortune that hung on his producing an heir?
Thus the battle was joined–between the dazzling lord who had every means to make a young lady say yes to his every desire, and a young lady determined not to surrender her pride…not even for love…
Patrick Danvers, the Viscount Westover, was known by another name among the proper people of society. “Devil Danvers” he was called, and no respectable young lady dared be seen in public with this man whose scandalous escapades quite overshadowed his startling good looks.
Caroline Ashley was a very respectable young lady, but also one with no one to protect her and no money to call her own. How could she resist Devil Danvers made her a cold-blooded proposition to be the wife he needed to win a wager and claim a fortune that hung on his producing an heir?
Thus the battle was joined–between the dazzling lord who had every means to make a young lady say yes to his every desire, and a young lady determined not to surrender her pride…not even for love…
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1987
22 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Anita Mills
44 books68 followersA former history and English teacher, Anita Mills turned to writing in the mid-1980's. After her regency romance SCANDAL BOUND was published followed by her highly acclaimed LADY OF FIRE, Anita Mills went on to enjoy an award filled career. Her historical novels and regency short stories are ranked among the best in their respective genres. The parents of four children, Anita and her husband Larry find peace on a small farm near Plattsburgh, Missouri. This former teacher has drawn upon her love for both history and English to enrich her novels.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 5, 2023
Read: 5/5/23
2.5 stars
This was just an okay read! It seemed to be a light but pointless story. Maybe I was expecting something deeper from Mrs. Mills. I was expecting an MOC story. Disappointing 😞
I liked both of the MC. The only time the h was acting immature was when she was kidnapped (not H) and taken to France. Despite having feelings for the H, she doesn't want to marry him bc the poor campion dreams of love. I can't stand non practical hs with very modern views. Any fool would not risk being ruined and never working again.
Again, if I knew this book was supposed to be a light story, with flip-flopping partners and crazy high jinks, I might have felt differently and accepted the silly story better.
2.5 stars
This was just an okay read! It seemed to be a light but pointless story. Maybe I was expecting something deeper from Mrs. Mills. I was expecting an MOC story. Disappointing 😞
I liked both of the MC. The only time the h was acting immature was when she was kidnapped (not H) and taken to France. Despite having feelings for the H, she doesn't want to marry him bc the poor campion dreams of love. I can't stand non practical hs with very modern views. Any fool would not risk being ruined and never working again.
Again, if I knew this book was supposed to be a light story, with flip-flopping partners and crazy high jinks, I might have felt differently and accepted the silly story better.
August 24, 2024
Review from 2014
C+ for narration / C for content.
In Devil’s Match, Patrick Danvers, newly-minted Viscount Westover, is in a bit of a bind. The black sheep of the family, his exploits on the duelling field have earned him the nickname ‘Devil’ Danvers, and his reputation is so black as to send any right-minded, gently-bred female running in the opposite direction lest being seen in his company irrevocably ruins her reputation. But under the terms of his late uncle’s will, he must marry a respectable woman and produce an heir within a twelvemonth if he is to inherit the bulk of the lands and fortune that accompany his title.
Patrick’s cousin Judith is the one family member who does not shun him, and it’s she who comes up with (she thinks) the perfect solution to his problem. Her companion, Caroline Ashford, will soon be leaving and because Judith’s mother dislikes her, she will have no recommendation, no prospects and nowhere to go. Caroline is attractive, intelligent and well-bred, so why doesn’t Patrick marry her and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak?
Patrick naturally dismisses this as a silly suggestion – until he meets Miss Ashford and wonders if perhaps Judith has the right idea after all.
While she was brought up a lady, Caroline has no family or connections and has to make her own way in the world. When she meets the handsome and charming Patrick Danvers, she cannot help but be rather smitten with him – until he makes what she interprets as an inappropriate proposition, which leads to her storming off and leaving him in the middle of the dance floor, mortified when he realises just how badly she has misconstrued his proposal.
Patrick – who can see what he has begun to think of as his only chance to fulfil the terms of his late uncle’s bequest slipping away from him – is naturally miffed, especially as he had been rather taken with Caroline. Enter Patrick’s friend, the bluff and rather endearing Bertie Bascome, who can’t bear to see his friend’s distress and thus determines to “get” Caroline for him. Unfortunately, however, Bertie’s manner of “getting” the young lady is to kidnap her and take her to France, then send for Patrick who will then rescue her and restore her ruined reputation by doing the right thing and marrying her.
Caroline will have none of that, however, not least because, having now learned more about Patrick and his unsavoury reputation, she thinks that it was his plan – and not Bertie’s – to abduct her and force her into marriage.
With our hero and heroine seemingly at an impasse, the author then introduces a secondary romance into her story, which at times threatens to become more interesting than the relationship between the central couple. Then somehow our quartet of lovers – and Bertie – become attached to the wrong person – and I really wanted someone to speak up or DO something to sort out the mess and restore all the participants in the courtship dance to their rightful partners!
As is so often the case with books that have “Devil”, “Wicked”, “Rogue” or similar epithets in their titles, the character to whom such description is applied is very rarely any of those things, and that’s certainly the case here. Patrick is actually a likeable, sensible and kind young man who has, through no real fault of his own, been placed in a number of difficult situations which have led to his being ostracised by society. Deciding that if society doesn’t want to know him then he damn-well doesn’t want to know society, he has turned his back on it – which has had the unfortunate consequence of enhancing his “devilish” reputation rather than quashing it.
I found it hard to warm to Caroline after first few chapters, because she was overly self-righteous and intractable in her opinion of Patrick. Once she knows of his reputation, she chooses to believe the worst of him, mostly because she is scared of the attraction he engenders and doesn’t want to fall in love with him. She tries to distance herself by believing that he’s an unsavoury character, which feels very contrived.
Rosalind Ashford does a decent enough job with the narration, but it’s not enough to lift this story above the run-of-the-mill. Her voice is pleasantly mellow with a slight huskiness to it that is attractive and easy to listen to, but her enunciation, while very clear, is sometimes a little on the slow side. She differentiates well between characters, and is able to sustain a suitably lower pitch for the male characters without sounding strained. Her portrayal of the two leads is good, but it’s her interpretations of Bertie and the enigmatic Earl of Rutherford that stick in the mind, with Bertie coming across in a way that reminded me of his Wodehouse namesake (a bit of a slowtop, but with his heart in the right place) and Rutherford’s measured speech having a quiet menace to it that is nonetheless attractive and which is very appropriate for his character.
I would, however, advise Ms Ashford to try to steer clear of stories which require her to perform using foreign accents. In Kate Noble’s Compromised , she had to portray a German character, and here she has to voice a Frenchman, and I’m afraid that in both cases, her accents were ridiculous – and not in a good way. Perhaps “ridiculous” what she was aiming for – but if so, it didn’t work because it sounds as though she can’t do the accent rather than that she’s deliberately overplaying it.
Devil’s Match is one of those audiobooks I can only describe as “average” in terms of both content and narration. Ms Ashford’s narration, while sound, doesn’t have the deftness of touch required to enliven such a story, but If you’re in the mood for a traditional (clean) Regency romance which doesn’t require a huge amount of brain-power, I’m sure there are worse ways you could spend your time!
C+ for narration / C for content.
In Devil’s Match, Patrick Danvers, newly-minted Viscount Westover, is in a bit of a bind. The black sheep of the family, his exploits on the duelling field have earned him the nickname ‘Devil’ Danvers, and his reputation is so black as to send any right-minded, gently-bred female running in the opposite direction lest being seen in his company irrevocably ruins her reputation. But under the terms of his late uncle’s will, he must marry a respectable woman and produce an heir within a twelvemonth if he is to inherit the bulk of the lands and fortune that accompany his title.
Patrick’s cousin Judith is the one family member who does not shun him, and it’s she who comes up with (she thinks) the perfect solution to his problem. Her companion, Caroline Ashford, will soon be leaving and because Judith’s mother dislikes her, she will have no recommendation, no prospects and nowhere to go. Caroline is attractive, intelligent and well-bred, so why doesn’t Patrick marry her and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak?
Patrick naturally dismisses this as a silly suggestion – until he meets Miss Ashford and wonders if perhaps Judith has the right idea after all.
While she was brought up a lady, Caroline has no family or connections and has to make her own way in the world. When she meets the handsome and charming Patrick Danvers, she cannot help but be rather smitten with him – until he makes what she interprets as an inappropriate proposition, which leads to her storming off and leaving him in the middle of the dance floor, mortified when he realises just how badly she has misconstrued his proposal.
Patrick – who can see what he has begun to think of as his only chance to fulfil the terms of his late uncle’s bequest slipping away from him – is naturally miffed, especially as he had been rather taken with Caroline. Enter Patrick’s friend, the bluff and rather endearing Bertie Bascome, who can’t bear to see his friend’s distress and thus determines to “get” Caroline for him. Unfortunately, however, Bertie’s manner of “getting” the young lady is to kidnap her and take her to France, then send for Patrick who will then rescue her and restore her ruined reputation by doing the right thing and marrying her.
Caroline will have none of that, however, not least because, having now learned more about Patrick and his unsavoury reputation, she thinks that it was his plan – and not Bertie’s – to abduct her and force her into marriage.
With our hero and heroine seemingly at an impasse, the author then introduces a secondary romance into her story, which at times threatens to become more interesting than the relationship between the central couple. Then somehow our quartet of lovers – and Bertie – become attached to the wrong person – and I really wanted someone to speak up or DO something to sort out the mess and restore all the participants in the courtship dance to their rightful partners!
As is so often the case with books that have “Devil”, “Wicked”, “Rogue” or similar epithets in their titles, the character to whom such description is applied is very rarely any of those things, and that’s certainly the case here. Patrick is actually a likeable, sensible and kind young man who has, through no real fault of his own, been placed in a number of difficult situations which have led to his being ostracised by society. Deciding that if society doesn’t want to know him then he damn-well doesn’t want to know society, he has turned his back on it – which has had the unfortunate consequence of enhancing his “devilish” reputation rather than quashing it.
I found it hard to warm to Caroline after first few chapters, because she was overly self-righteous and intractable in her opinion of Patrick. Once she knows of his reputation, she chooses to believe the worst of him, mostly because she is scared of the attraction he engenders and doesn’t want to fall in love with him. She tries to distance herself by believing that he’s an unsavoury character, which feels very contrived.
Rosalind Ashford does a decent enough job with the narration, but it’s not enough to lift this story above the run-of-the-mill. Her voice is pleasantly mellow with a slight huskiness to it that is attractive and easy to listen to, but her enunciation, while very clear, is sometimes a little on the slow side. She differentiates well between characters, and is able to sustain a suitably lower pitch for the male characters without sounding strained. Her portrayal of the two leads is good, but it’s her interpretations of Bertie and the enigmatic Earl of Rutherford that stick in the mind, with Bertie coming across in a way that reminded me of his Wodehouse namesake (a bit of a slowtop, but with his heart in the right place) and Rutherford’s measured speech having a quiet menace to it that is nonetheless attractive and which is very appropriate for his character.
I would, however, advise Ms Ashford to try to steer clear of stories which require her to perform using foreign accents. In Kate Noble’s Compromised , she had to portray a German character, and here she has to voice a Frenchman, and I’m afraid that in both cases, her accents were ridiculous – and not in a good way. Perhaps “ridiculous” what she was aiming for – but if so, it didn’t work because it sounds as though she can’t do the accent rather than that she’s deliberately overplaying it.
Devil’s Match is one of those audiobooks I can only describe as “average” in terms of both content and narration. Ms Ashford’s narration, while sound, doesn’t have the deftness of touch required to enliven such a story, but If you’re in the mood for a traditional (clean) Regency romance which doesn’t require a huge amount of brain-power, I’m sure there are worse ways you could spend your time!
May 20, 2012
It's been a while since I've read a traditional regency! A friend suggested I picked this one up and I just couldn't resist it. I have very greatly enjoyed Anita Mill's medieval books and I was curious at what she would do with regency.
The beginning of the story sets up the character of Patrick Danvers, he has just inherited his title but to claim his fortune he has to marry. It is quite obvious that this is another of those cases where people call him the devil but he is actually a nice and misunderstood gentleman, if a bit hot headed, who doesn't bow to other people's opinions.
When he meets Caroline Ashley she is a companion to his young cousin. Danvers' cousin really likes Catherine, who is only a few years older than she is, and it is she who first comes up with the idea of marrying them. Danvers would get his inheritance and Caroline, who works for a living, would be taken care of. Caroline doesn't know the cousin his Devil Danvers and she actually likes him till her starts to make his proposal... and she misunderstands his intentions and leaves him standing in the middle of a ballroom.
So far nothing really stands out... they eventually understand each other but Caroline doesn't want to marry without love and rejects his offer. Enters the Devil Danvers best friend. Trying to help his friend, Bertie decides to kidnap Caroline, take her to France and when they get there, since she will be ruined, she will have to accept Danvers' proposal. I thought this kidnapping scene was quite funny and from then on I really wanted to continue reading and see how Mills was going to pair everyone up. There are a few misunderstandings, the funny kind not the annoying kind, before everyone finds their match but I thought this was a really nice story. I kept hoping she would actually write something for Bertie too but I guess he was really not in the petticoat line!
Grade: 4/5
The beginning of the story sets up the character of Patrick Danvers, he has just inherited his title but to claim his fortune he has to marry. It is quite obvious that this is another of those cases where people call him the devil but he is actually a nice and misunderstood gentleman, if a bit hot headed, who doesn't bow to other people's opinions.
When he meets Caroline Ashley she is a companion to his young cousin. Danvers' cousin really likes Catherine, who is only a few years older than she is, and it is she who first comes up with the idea of marrying them. Danvers would get his inheritance and Caroline, who works for a living, would be taken care of. Caroline doesn't know the cousin his Devil Danvers and she actually likes him till her starts to make his proposal... and she misunderstands his intentions and leaves him standing in the middle of a ballroom.
So far nothing really stands out... they eventually understand each other but Caroline doesn't want to marry without love and rejects his offer. Enters the Devil Danvers best friend. Trying to help his friend, Bertie decides to kidnap Caroline, take her to France and when they get there, since she will be ruined, she will have to accept Danvers' proposal. I thought this kidnapping scene was quite funny and from then on I really wanted to continue reading and see how Mills was going to pair everyone up. There are a few misunderstandings, the funny kind not the annoying kind, before everyone finds their match but I thought this was a really nice story. I kept hoping she would actually write something for Bertie too but I guess he was really not in the petticoat line!
Grade: 4/5
September 16, 2014
Sigh, the problem with most books titled "devil's whatever" is that the supposed devil, never is one, but the book states repeatedly "he's a devil" in the hopes the reader will feel the book matches the title.
Patrick Danvers, the supposed devil, is a gentleman, a bit misunderstood, but infinitely patient, kind and level-headed. On the other hand Caroline Ashley, the supposed level-headed companion, makes bad decisions, keeps running away, incompetently, is unreasonable. Mr. Bascome is bumbling and annoying instead of providing comedic relief. The only redeeming character is Rotherfield, loved all his scenes. I really wish Rotherfield had his own book. For example, Rotherfield knows Caroline, his newly betrothed, just had a disastrous encounter with Patrick, Rotherfield himself just had a bad encounter with Judith, but trying make the best of the situation, as a gentleman, he doesn't comment on Caroline's emotions and calmly hands her her syllabub. The tension in that little scene was worth the rest of the bland contrived book. Overall the plot seems drawn out for no reason, characters do stupid unexplainable actions, doesn't add to the plot only annoyance factor.
Patrick Danvers, the supposed devil, is a gentleman, a bit misunderstood, but infinitely patient, kind and level-headed. On the other hand Caroline Ashley, the supposed level-headed companion, makes bad decisions, keeps running away, incompetently, is unreasonable. Mr. Bascome is bumbling and annoying instead of providing comedic relief. The only redeeming character is Rotherfield, loved all his scenes. I really wish Rotherfield had his own book. For example, Rotherfield knows Caroline, his newly betrothed, just had a disastrous encounter with Patrick, Rotherfield himself just had a bad encounter with Judith, but trying make the best of the situation, as a gentleman, he doesn't comment on Caroline's emotions and calmly hands her her syllabub. The tension in that little scene was worth the rest of the bland contrived book. Overall the plot seems drawn out for no reason, characters do stupid unexplainable actions, doesn't add to the plot only annoyance factor.
June 22, 2014
Patrick has a devilish reputation, but I find it hard to believe that he's really that respectable when his reputation is so tattered. And Caroline's situation is just absurd. She's just so stupid sometimes - like running off in some random coach, then running off with some random man on a boat just to escape Patrick.
June 8, 2013
This is one if my favorite authors but I didn't even finish.... I didn't care for the main characters and I didn't care to read the end...
April 26, 2016
Not worth the time
I have read other books by this author and they are entertaining and easy reads. However this book was very silly and guess what not one sex scene .
I have read other books by this author and they are entertaining and easy reads. However this book was very silly and guess what not one sex scene .
July 11, 2017
Sigh…
This book is completely driven by over blown misunderstandings and all I wanted to do was scream, “EVERYBODY, SHUT THE F**K UP!!! Listen to everything before you jump to conclusions.” But alas, yelling at a book is useless. DNF @ 60%
This book is completely driven by over blown misunderstandings and all I wanted to do was scream, “EVERYBODY, SHUT THE F**K UP!!! Listen to everything before you jump to conclusions.” But alas, yelling at a book is useless. DNF @ 60%
January 19, 2019
Mills is an exceptional writer. Don't miss her. One of the very best.
September 29, 2023
This was fun. A good woman helps a rake reform and everyone lives happily ever after.
July 9, 2014
Intriguing! Two mismatched couples and another gentleman eventually find their true lives.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews