Outstanding plot with audacious characters. This is a romance written in BOLD letters. Enjoyable, good minor characters, excellent setting.

A great choice for a not-so-traditional Regency ( )

I have no idea how I keep managing to allow so much time to pass between reading Liz Carlyle's book. Somewhere in the past three years, I squeezed in one of her novellas, but I was shocked to discover that it's been that long since I last read one of her full-length novels. I really need to stop doing that, because thus far, she's never failed to enchant me with her stories and The Devil to Pay was no exception. I absolutely loved this story of a seemingly proper widow who's harboring a very high-profile secret identity and the rakish, scandalous Marquess who's finally met his match. From their opening scene together, they set the pages on fire and their romance certainly doesn't disappoint. I also very much enjoyed learning more about long-time secondary character, George Kemble. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was always excited to get back to it each time I had to put it down.

Our heroine, Sidonie, is George's sister, and both of them are the illegitimate children of a duke and his mistress. They also both struggled a lot with their identity growing up. With no father to guide her and her mother sending her away to live with grandparents, who then sent her to a convent school in France, Sidonie harbors some resentment toward her mother. She eventually ran away and married a sea captain, spending most of her marriage to him sailing the globe. When her husband died, she put down roots in England, where she now lives under the guise of a proper widow who teaches young ladies of the merchant class proper deportment so they might snag a titled husband. She has an adventurous spirit, though, and when she witnessed a young woman being mistreated, it reminded her of what her own mother went through as a young woman. With the help of her companion, who was also a close friend of her mother's and an accomplished actress, Sidonie took up the disguise of the Black Angel, under which she imparts justice to those in positions of power – mostly men – who've wronged others, particularly women and children. I absolutely loved Sidonie's avenging angel persona. She's almost like a historical version of a super-hero. She's not always infallible, though, and when she witnesses yet another of the Marquess of Devellyn's mistresses leaving the house across the street in a huff, she mistakenly assumes he's a terrible person to have driven so many women away. What she does to him in retaliation for his perceived slights is LOL funny and completely priceless, but when he moves into the house vacated by his mistress and Sidonie starts to get to know the man on a more personal basis, she can't help feeling guilty for what she did to him. She sees into Devellyn's heart and understands him better than he understands himself, but she wishes she didn't see so much. He tempts her beyond belief, but she believes nothing can ever come of it without revealing her secret identity which she refuses to do. Another thing I found refreshing about Sidonie is that she's a hot-blooded, passionate woman who fully embraces her own sexuality and desires. She's a perfect match for Devellyn in more ways than one.

Aleric Hilliard, the Marquess of Devellyn, is a dissolute rake. He's described in the cover blurb as "the least noble nobleman in ton, who uses and discards women as he pleases." This didn't make him sound very appealing (and I might mention it's not entirely accurate), so I wasn't sure how well I would warm up to him. I shouldn't have worried, because right from the outset, Devellyn is quite amusing. He also shows some vulnerabilities early on that go far beyond his cavalier attitude and give him a lot of depth. First of all, he harbors a fair bit of guilt over his involvement in the accidental death of his brother, which was only compounded by his father shutting him out after that. Secondly, the reality of his situation with the women in his life is that they always leave him, not the other way around, so he wonders if he might be unlovable. In fact, he seems bothered by the fact that he can't keep a woman – even one he's paying – around for more than a few months. Dev also knows that his size is intimidating and he's not the charmer that his best friend, Alasdair, is. After his run-in with the Black Angel, Dev vows revenge against her, but at the same time, he can't stop thinking about how she made him burn with desire. Unfortunately, the same is true of his lovely neighbor, Sidonie, which leaves him wondering what's wrong with him that he so desperately wants two very different women at the same time. Even though he's strongly attracted to Sidonie, he believes he's not good enough for her. Despite being the heir to a dukedom, he's lived the life of a rakehell, courting scandal everywhere he goes, so he feels like he would taint her by association. Dev is a very complex hero, and I enjoyed watching all the different facets of his personality unravel as the story progressed.

As is typical for Liz Carlye's books, she has some common characters that play secondary roles. As always, I loved George. He's been a scene-stealer throughout many of her books, and never fails to entertain me. In this one, we get to see deeper into his background and learn a little more of how he came to be the best purveyor of information on just about anyone in the entire country. George has always been an eclectic character, a man with many different facets. Here we get a glimpse of his dark side, and on the flip side of things, we also see a touch of his personal life and it was nice to see him settled down with a special “friend.” Another character who keeps popping up in Ms. Carlyle's books is Isabel, Lady Kirton. In this one, she's bosom beaus with Dev's mother, and as one of the main forces behind the Nazareth Society, she soon figures out Sidonie's secret identity, when Sidonie brings some of her spoils to the charity home. Isabel also conspires with Dev's mother to get him and Sidonie together. Last but certainly not least, Dev's best friend, the charming, outgoing Alasdair MacLachlan played a significant role. I really liked him, so I'll look forward to seeing what kind of heroine it takes to make him settle down in his book, One Little Sin, which is the next in the series.

Overall, I found The Devil to Pay to be a fun, flirty, emotional, and sexy read. I really liked both Aleric and Sidonie, while their story was something a little different than most historical romances, especially the way they meet. Their love scenes are laden with intense, deep feelings that perfectly express their burgeoning love, while also being very steamy. The secondary characters helped to build the hero and heroine, as well as add flavor to the story. The ending was sweet and wrapped everything up in a neat little bow. So for me, this book was a perfect read that I would highly recommend.

Note: Ms. Carlyle didn't used to officially consider her books as series, but somewhat recently she began grouping them together on her website. The Devil to Pay is now listed as book #1 in the MacLachlan Family & Friends series. However, I would advise readers that Ms. Carlyle's character web is very complex, with past and future characters popping up throughout most of her books. With this in mind, it is my opinion that the reading experience would be greatly enhanced by beginning with her first book, My False Heart, and continuing to read them in their publication order. The entire backlist, in order, can be found on her website. ( )

Better than expected. The writing is witty in places and there appears to be the scratchings of a plot outside of the hero/heroine getting together.

The plot is similar to the plot description of Connie Brockaway's "All Through The Night", which I have not read. But no more so than I'd say Laurie McBain's Moonrise Madness. There is trope - where the woman is a sort of Robin Hood character by night and a lady or widow by day. It's rare, but if you scrounge a bit you can find it. Most romance novelists prefer the traditional roles of dashing male Robin Hood and long suffering Lady who frets for his life. Very few have reversed the roles. Note - you can't plagiarize a trope - any more than you can claim trademark infringement on a title.

The plot here is the widow of a swashbuckling French sailor settles down in London and decides to avenge women who have been taken advantage, by masquerading as the Black Angel. She steals from fops, rakes and scoundrels who have treated women unjustly. Taking little more than what lines their pockets and making fools of them. One night she decides to take down the Devil of Duke Street - The Marquesse of Devellyn, who owns the house across the street from hers. The house has been set up for his various mistresses. After witnessing the latest mistress throw a hissy fit and leave - Sidonie Saint-Godard decides to right the implied wrong.

The story is split between Sidonie and Devellyn's point of view, and Devellyn's life in the beginning chapters is rather comical in places.
This plot arc provides the book with a bit more heft than the other romances I've read. In addition the characters back stories are provided in a smoother fashion. They are told in conversations. So we get both the back-story and the reactions of the listener. In addition the characters feel a shade more developed and less one dimensional.

Yes, we have the rogue with a heart of gold...but the comedy takes the taint off of it.

A fun romp for $5 on the Kindle.
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So rapey and weird and I couldn't emotionally connect to the characters at all. ( )

This book begins a new arc and ends another. Our hero is Aleric Hilliard, Marquess Devellyn. Aleric is a disreputable rake that is beginning to find his life missing something. I think that the first time he meets Ruby Black a/k/a Sidone Saint-Godard pushes in the direction of redemption. While some of what Aleric does as far as Ruby is concerned is questionable he is so confused by what is happening to him I don’t think that he realizes what he is doing. He has lived with guilt and anger so long that feeling a positive emotion is unknown to him. For all his disreputable behavior he is a compassionate and caring man. He may sleep with many women but he does try to take care of those under his care. He is also kind and respectful of his mother.

Sidonie Saint-Godard is a widow that is fed up with traveling the world and comes home to England. She starts a Robin Hood crusade to help those that are used and abused by their employers, mostly the haute ton. Her heart is in the right place but during this time in England she would have found little sympathy from the peers that would have judged her. Sidonie also teaches young woman of the merchant class to navigate the parlors and ballrooms for the haute ton. She is just a little bitter about the circumstances of her birth and the way her mother was treated by the peers of the realm. I think that I have to agree with her brother, none other than George Kemble, that her efforts to humiliate the men that have taken advantage of their maids and governesses is Sidonie's attempt to make sense of what happened to her mother.

It was nice to get a better idea of George’s family and the things that happened to him as he was growing up. He definitely didn't have an easy childhood. It was nice to see him acknowledged by his cousin, the Duke of Gravenel. It turns out that if George’s father had married his mother he would have had that titled. I was a little surprised and I would have loved to see the reactions of some of George’s friends when they found out. I am sure some of those people would have had some things to say about the whole thing.

There are so parts of this book that some will find offensive. If you can get past those parts this is another wonderful story by Ms. Carlyle. There is a lot going on and there is the introduction of several new characters. I loved the footman Henry Polk and his interactions with Aleric. I also loved Alistair MacLachlan. I understand that his story is the next book for Ms. Carlyle. I continue to love all these stories and I look forward to each new book. ( )