I enjoyed the clash of personalities here and the concept of an evil half called a geminus fascinated me. I will be reading the others of the series. ( )

As a member of a club of 5 who call themselves the Hell raisers, the hero has always strived to live up to that name. Ever since a school lad, he and his friends have conquered London and beyond-living only for the next thrill. He himself has always had a gambling compulsion. Though he is rather good at it and is wealthy enough because of it-although being a titled Earl has helped- he doesn't acknowledge the fact that the gambling truly is an addiction and controls his life. Regardless, when he and his friends travel to a Gypsy camp for some entertainment and discover a nearby ruin that actually is home to the Devil himself, the hero willingly opens up the box holding the evil inside thus unleashing the Devil into the modern world. As gratitude for his release, the Devil offers each of the Hell raisers a gift. The hero is granted the ability to control possibility. Now, he has absolute control over the outcome and therefore nothing can stop him from becoming a God of the gambling world. The power and the control is like an aphrodisiac so when he's offered the Gypsy girl as a slave, the evil within him eagerly accepts. The girl, whom had actually be attracted to the hansom Earl back at the camp and raced off to the ruins in a bid to stop him from unleashing evil, is enraged as all she gets in return for her aid is imprisonment. Bound to a playing card and therefore bound to the hero's whim, she's brought to London and into his home. But if he thinks she'll surrender to him in any way he's sadly mistaken. Instead, she tries to make him understand the magnitude of what he's done. He's accepted evil into him, evil that has compromised his soul and is turning him into a demon. The hero himself never quite lost himself in the drug of his new powers, at least he had the decency to feel guilty over enslaving the beautiful Gypsy girl but his desire for her always won over his remorse. But when she breaks free with the help of a ghost and her new found pyro abilities, he doesn't hesitate to go after her. Because he's finally come to realize what she's been trying to tell him has been the truth all along. His 'gift' isn't a present at all but rather a curse and with it the Devil now has control of his soul. Despite all he's done to her, the heroine willingly offers to help him partly because the fate of the world hangs in the balance but also because the gentleman she met by the fire has resurface and he is a man whom she desires above all others. Together they journey across the countryside, following the devastation that evil has wrought- seeking his soul. Along the way, the hero begins to realize that though the devil owns his soul, the beautiful gypsy owns his heart and he'll do anything to see her safe and in his arms. This was a marvelous book and a stellar first addition to the series. This author is very creative and original and as such I find her a pleasure to read at every opportunity. One part of the book I was a little bit confused over was the ease in which the hero switched sides and began to defy the devil and his growing deviance. As soon as he realized that the gift he'd been given only works when it's something he desires the guy flips out and suddenly the Devil is evil and everything it wrong with the world. I was a bit undersold about this change of heart but regardless, I loved the hero as a character. He battled demons long before unleashing the Devil in the form of his gambling. It truly was an addiction and he fought against it's compulsion every single day on the journey to find his soul but lucky for him he had the heroine. Now if I loved the hero, I can say that I freaking LOVED the heroine. She was the strength in their story, the back bone- the voice of reason. She saw deep inside the man who captured her and though she was enraged with him, she knew that he was a good man and that allowed her to work at convincing him to see the truth of his actions. She gave up everything because of him and did so without hesitation. Her character was so lovely and so strong. Together they made for an awesome story filled with passion and excitement and understanding. As I've already read the follow 2 books to the series I can say this is this a sign of the good things to come and encourage readers to discover The Hellraisers for themselves. ( )

Short. Entertaining. Not sure why this was set in the 18th century since there's very little that marks the setting or dialogue as such. Not sure I'll read the rest of the series. ( )

Free on Amazon today. 3/20/2013

I've been enjoying Archer's "Blades of the Rose" series, so I was excited about this book, especially after reading the synopsis. Unfortunately, I didn't find it nearly as engaging as I'd hoped. It was a surprisingly slow read, fairly flat, and didn't give me the same sense of urgency that the "Blades" books did. I'll keep an eye on this series, but no promises. ( )