Product Description

WHEN THE DEVIL MEETS AN ANGEL
Country bred Lucy Craddock-Hayes is content with her quiet life. Until the day she trips over an unconscious man - a naked unconscious man - and loses her innocence forever.

HE CAN TAKE HER TO HEAVEN
Viscount Simon Iddesleigh was nearly beaten to death by his enemies. Now he's hell-bent on vengeance. But as Lucy nurses him back to health, her honesty startles his jaded sensibilities - even as it ignites a desire that threatens to consume them both.

OR TO HELL
Charmed by Simon's sly wit, urbane manners, and even his red-heeled shoes, Lucy falls hard and fast for him. Yet as his honor keeps him from ravishing her, his revenge sends his attackers to her door. As Simon wages war on his foes, Lucy wages her own war for his soul using the only weapon she has - her love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41338 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780446400534
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Incredibly vivid lead characters, earthy writing and an intense love story buoy the third entry in Hoyt's Georgian-set romance series (following The Leopard Prince), which kicks off with Lucy Craddock-Hayes's page-one discovery of Viscount Simon Iddesleigh in a ditch near her home, naked and beaten almost to death. Though her blustery father fears for Lucy's virtue, they take the battered man in, and the insightful, beautiful Lucy is soon as drawn to the handsome, witty gentleman as he is to her. But Simon's mission, to avenge the death of his brother, pulls him in two opposing directions: his soul-deep need for revenge and his desire to protect Lucy. The exquisite romance, flawed slightly by a dearth of historical details, is touched by Hoyt's mesmerizing storytelling; in a less talented writer, the love story could easily have been overwhelmed by the revenge subplot, but Hoyt skillfully uses Lucy and Simon's internal and external conflicts—including the threats against their lives—to enhance her love story. (Sept.)
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From Booklist
Lucy Craddock-Hayes thought the man lying in the ditch was dead, but he survived the assault. With the help of her servant, Lucy brings the gentleman home, and learns that he is Viscount Simon Iddesleigh. As Simon slowly recuperates, he finds himself falling in love with sharp-witted and surprisingly sharp-tongued Lucy, but he also knows that the longer he stays, the more likely it is that his quest for vengeance will endanger Lucy and her family. Delectably clever writing, deliciously complex characters, and a delightfully sexy romance between two perfectly matched protagonists are the key ingredients in the third book in Hoyt's superbly crafted, loosely connected Georgian-era Princes trilogy. Charles, John

About the Author
Elizabeth Hoyt lives in central Illinois with three untrained dogs, two angelic, but bickering children, and one long-suffering husband.

Customer Reviews

A Sexy Historical
Lucy Craddock-Hayes is content in her quiet country life. She lives with her father, sketches in her spare time and every week goes riding with the vicar in the hopes that he will finally propose. Lucy is happy with her life...that is until the Viscount Simon Iddesleigh comes into it; he is opening new doors for Lucy.

Simon's life is consumed with avenging his brother's death; he won't rest until this task is finished. When he is rescued by Lucy, she introduces him to the softer, quieter side of life. Soon both Simon and Lucy are seeking a life different from the one they are currently living.

While I liked this story tremendously, I didn't love it like the previous two books in the series, The Raven Prince (Warner Forever)and The Leopard Prince (Warner Forever). I thought Ms. Hoyt concentrated a little too much on the sex and the revenge part of the story, missing out on developing the relationship between the two characters more. Despite that minor flaw, she still managed to write a thoroughly compelling read with loveable characters.

As in the previous two books there is a secondary story told throughout; a fairy tale quality story complete with princes, magic and the granting of wishes. This was a fantastic story and I am anxiously looking forward to her next book.

Great Expectations -- What happened???
The last time I read a book about a foppish Englishman and enjoyed it I was in Jr. High and the book was The Scarlet Pimpernel. Usually I find such characters shallow and boring. Thus I found myself absolutely SHOCKED to be reading - and loving - the first half of this book. I wanted the characters to fall in love, I wanted them to declare themselves somehow, I wanted it to go on and on... Until we found ourselves in London, and the revenge subplot began to take over. I kept reading and reading, wondering where these delightful people had gone. Where was the suggestive banter? Where were the clashes of class, taste, and expectations? Where had the book I was reading gone?
I don't remember ever reading a book that felt so abruptly different - as if two completely separate manuscripts had been mixed up at the printers. The second half could have been about any two boring, predictable characters who persist in keeping secrets and behaving like idiots with each other. It had none of the fun or life of the first section. I read it all, hoping to find those two delightful people hidden in it somewhere, but they never showed up again.The characters had no spark, no uniqueness. They behaved in totally predictable ways, moving through a plot so hackneyed it could have been from any ordinary novel, the kind you read once and wish you hadn't wasted your time on. I don't know when I have been so disappointed by a book! The Serpent Prince started out a five and ended up a mundane, generic waste of time. Two very disappointed stars.

One of the grittiest, darkest revenge plots in romance
With THE RAVEN PRINCE's (****) Edward de Raaf, THE LEOPARD PRINCE's (****) Harry Pye and finally THE SERPENT PRINCE's Simon Iddesleigh, Elizabeth Hoyt's heroes evince some of the most unconventional yet compelling guy-characterizations I've ever read in this genre. These are believable, passionate guys in love; not just rich, handsome, pining cartoon pimps to service the virgin heroine. Definitely one of the better virgin-heroine-saving-the-tortured-soul routines I've read in romance, THE SERPENT PRINCE paints the wounded story of Viscount Simon Iddesleigh's quest for revenge. Originally introduced in THE RAVEN PRINCE, we know Simon is an expert swordsman, and an accomplished duelist. Although I generally don't go for the virgin-heroine-rescuing-the-tortured-soul routines, that's not what I didn't like about THE SERPENT PRINCE. Thankfully, there were no ultimatums here and no emasculating the hero at the end like so many tortured-soul-revenge stories in romance. In fact, this was the darkest, most believable tortured soul/revenge stories I've read in romance, and better than Madeline Hunter's THE SEDUCER (**). Unlike Hoyt's prior two novels however, THE SERPENT PRINCE was mostly a *yawn* for 250-275 pages in this 362-page paperback. I also thought the settings and prose declined from THE LEOPARD PRINCE, but the disappointingly boring plotting and pacing may have contributed to the weak prose and settings.

I liked the characters, and again their interaction and passion is mutually giving which I always enjoy in Hoyt's stories. Hoyt isn't afraid to let her heroines grab their heroes by the balls, so-to-speak. Unfortunately, THE SERPENT PRINCE's profligate, handsome hero and virginal, sweet heroine dutifully mimics romance genre's strictures for the h/h (more so than Hoyt's characters from prior novels). Other than the h/h, I also liked one of our antagonists, Sir Rupert Fletcher. His characterization was unique, and although I didn't agree with him, I found myself understanding him. He is the perfect gray character, and I do like ruthless realists.

Since we don't learn the complete background behind Simon's plight for revenge until 275 pages into this novel, it was difficult to get behind his revenge. The book describes a convincing tale of a man who truly loses a part of his soul with each duel and each kill. We desperately wanted to see Simon drop the revenge for his heroine Lucy even though Lucy didn't lay down any such ultimatums so like other romances. Once we learn the full import of Simon's revenge, we finally begin to understand his demons, his rage, and his helplessness. But by this point, it's late in the novel, and we're rooting for him to give it up. Thankfully, love doesn't handicap Simon like so many other romance novels, and actually empowers him to redouble his efforts.

Like Hoyt's prior two novels, THE SERPENT PRINCE is very sensual. She never disappoints in that department.

Again, one of the most grittiest, realistic revenge stories I've read in this genre. I thought the background behind Simon's reasons for his revenge should have been revealed much earlier. Between Foley's DEVIL TAKES A BRIDE (***), Hunter's THE SEDUCER (**) and Hoyt's THE SERPENT PRINCE, all dealing with the hero's tortured plight for revenge, this is one of the better ones. Certainly better than Medeiros' awful THE BRIDE AND THE BEAST (*) which emasculates its hero.