Don't Bargain with the Devil [Mass Market Paperback]

DON'T BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL is a wonderful read - I rushed out to buy it this afternoon and didn't put it down until I had finished! If you haven't read all (or any) of the other "School for Heiresses" books don't worry because this book can be read alone - though many of the characters from previous ones do reappear, so that's something to look forward to if you have. I myself only read the first book, Never Seduce a Scoundrel, yesterday and am looking forward to catching up on the other ones before the final one, Wed Him Before You Bed Him, which comes out June 23 and in which "Cousin" Michael is *finally* revealed. I've only read two books and I'm already dying to know - personally, I'm rooting for Mrs. Harris's anonymous benefactor to be the Marquess of Stoneville (Jeffries teases you at the end of this book with the possibilities - so cruel!).

BASICS:
Lucinda Seton (20), our heroine, is outspoken, energetic, trusting, loyal, smart and friendly; she's very caring and we see this throughout her interactions and exchanges with the other characters. Lucy is searching for her place and trying to find where she belongs. Diego Montalvo (28) is the delicious hero; he's mysterious, charming, seductive, clever, and tender. He's the type of hero who is haunted and driven by his past and aside for his mentor-turned-assistant, he's quite alone in the world - without home or family.

Sabrina Jeffries combines a strong and sympathetic hero and heroine, great sexual tension, several laugh-out-loud moments, wonderful secondary characters, some *very* confusing genealogy, family secrets, a kidnapping, and the backdrops of the English countryside, a ship, and the Spanish coast for a delightful historical romance.

SUMMARY:
Lucy has recently had her heart broken by a man whom she had hoped to - and been led to believe that she would - marry. As a graduate of Mrs. Harris's finishing school, she offers to help the headmistress when her drawing teacher quits without warning, thinking that the opportunity to put her drawing skills to use will be the perfect distraction from her pain. The post will only be temporary, after which she'll return to London for the Season with her father, Colonel Seton, and her stepmother, Lady Kerr. However, once rumors spread that a certain Man of Mystery magician, Diego Montalvo, has rented the property next to the school and is planning on buying it to convert it into a pleasure garden, Lucy finds herself with a cause to take up - and a school to defend! She's just that day met the sinfully handsome Spaniard in the orchards and she knows that he cannot be up to any good ...

Diego is an illusionist, but this time his goal of building a pleasure garden is the illusion - Diego is actually there searching for the long-lost granddaughter of a wealthy Spanish marqués. Don Carlos has promised Diego the return of his family's property, Arboleda, in exchange for the return of his grand-daughter and it is an offer that Diego cannot refuse. For many years he has been seeking to regain possession of the family estate that was lost due to debts, for as a young boy he promised his dying father that he would protect and restore the family lands that had been ravaged by war. Diego has no love for the English, but traveling around their country is what he's had to do to search for the don's long-lost heir and he thinks he finally may have found the young woman, but his success is bittersweet ...

The attraction between Lucy and Diego is immediate, but they are both suspicious. Lucy has already had her heart broken and doesn't know if she should trust the mysterious foreigner who seems intent on ruining her precious school by building a pleasure garden, while at the same time focusing his attention on her and even acting in ways that go against his supposed business interests. For his part, Diego knows that he dare not get involved with Lucy; he has promised the don to return the man's granddaughter untouched and he knows the old man's future plans for her do not include a penniless count with no estates or family. How can he threaten his dream of regaining Arboleda by letting his feelings for this young English chit get out of control?

COMMENTS:
Overall I thought this was a great book; the two main characters are easy to root for and Diego had me practically sighing out loud with some of the things he says to Lucy (and the Spanish endearments that he always uses - give me a Diego anytime!). There was no mystery or villain subplot thrown in, which was a nice change - one does start to wonder why it seems true love *always* has to happen amid some serial killing spree or old family murder scandal. Jeffries does still provide us with some unlikable and/or nasty characters, so all you readers out there who love them, don't despair.

One tool that is often employed in the genre is the "I'm going to lie to you and say ___ for your own good so that you go away or don't fall in love with me or whatever" and this was definitely used by BOTH main characters several times. It got to be kind of annoying, *however* I do have to say as someone who absolutely cannot stand those books that are dominated by big misunderstandings, this was NOT one of those and DON'T BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL will definitely be put on my reread shelf.

The mystery about Lucy's past - who were her real parents and how did she get to be the Colonel's adopted daughter? - was very interesting and definitely kept me hooked. You don't really know who to believe and Jeffries does a very good job with this in that the players in that whole mystery are not either evil or pure-as-the-driven-snow - instead she gives us three-dimensional characters full of regret, doubt, love, and the feeling that they thought they were doing what was right.

"THE SCHOOL OF HEIRESSES SERIES":
(1) Never Seduce a Scoundrel - Lady Amelia Plume and Major Lucas Winter
(2) Only a Duke Will Do - Louisa North and Simon Tremaine, Duke of Foxmoor
(3) Beware a Scot's Revenge - Lady Venetia Campbell and Sir Lachlan Ross
(4) Let Sleeping Rogues Lie - Madeline Prescott and Anthony Dalton, Viscount Norcourt
(5) DON'T BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL - Lucinda Seton and Diego Javier Montalvo, Conde de León
(6) Wed Him Before You Bed Him - Mrs. Charlotte Harris and _________ (alias: Cousin Michael)

Magician Diego Javier Montalvo is causing havoc for Charlotte Harris's finishing school. Seems that the exotically handsome new neighbor has plans for the dilapidated estate next door. Shockingly they include a Vauxhall-like pleasure garden! Appalled by the very idea that such a scandalous place would be located next to her beloved school, and knowing full well the disastrous effects on enrollment it would cause, art teacher Lucinda Seton takes it upon herself to put a stop to it at once. But the illusionist has put up a smoke screen thus cloaking his true mission -to find, and return, a long-lost Spanish heiress. The reward is the return of Diego's family estate, thereby keeping a deathbed promise to his father. Soon a positive confirmation is made. Lucy is the one. The lovely Lucy, completely unaware of Diego's true intentions, is duped. And those smoldering glances, the passionate embraces, and the longing kisses have been a ruse. Or have they? For his part, Diego is finding it more and more difficult to let go of his carino, a woman he can see spending the rest of his life with while rebuildinig all that was lost from his family. But he can't have both. Or perhaps the Master of Mystery has one more trick up his sleeve?

A devilishly dashing and simply swoon-worthy Spanish hero make book five in The School for Heiresses series an absolute keeper! Diego Javier Montalvo (now doesn't that name just roll off your tongue?) is the perfect passionate hero whose driven by conflicting emotions -one towards his family and one towards Lucy. I loved how he struggled with his self worth and deep desire to have the one woman unattainable to him. Lucy, on the other hand, has to deal with all this new information, and possibly sinister developments, about her birth and later adoption.

A delightful romance sure to please any historical romance reader looking for adventure, passion and a bit of magic. Besides who can resist a hero who looks are modeled after Rodrigo Santoro? Feast your eyes on that man!

Order of The School Of Heiresses Series-
Never Seduce a Scoundrel
Only The Duke Will Do
The School Of Heiresses anthology Ten Reasons To Stay
Beware A Scot's Revenge
Let Sleeping Rogue's Lie
Snowy Night With A Stranger anthology When Sparks fly

My other Jeffries shelf keepers-
To Pleasure a Prince (The Royal Brotherhood) (v. 2)
The Forbidden Lord (Lord Trilogy, Book 2)
Beware a Scot's Revenge (The School for Heiresses)

Can't wait for the sixth and last of the series Wed Him Before You Bed Him (The School for Heiresses) -finally *cousin* Michael's identity will be revealed!

Lucinda Seton has always been a free sprit, after her heart was broken she takes a temporary job at her old school. Lucinda father adopted her after her parents died in the Spanish war, her mother being of Spanish decent. Diego is a Spanish count who is sent to find the stolen granddaughter of wealthy man in Spain. Diego was told to keep his hands of Lucinda and bring her to Spain .... This was another wonderful book by this author - great twist and turns in the plot, great romance, strong characters and nice journey into the Spanish culture, Enjoy. Looking forward to final book in the series Wed Him Before You Bed Him (The School for Heiresses) due out June 23, 2009 when we find out who Charlotte's anonymous benefactor, Cousin Michael really is!!!

School for Heiresses Series; Never Seduce a Scoundrel (The School for Heiresses) (book 1), Only a Duke Will Do (The School for Heiresses) (book 2), Beware a Scot's Revenge (The School for Heiresses) (book 3) , Let Sleeping Rogues Lie (The School for Heiresses) (book 4), Don't Bargain with the Devil (The School for Heiresses) (book 5) and final book Wed Him Before You Bed Him (The School for Heiresses).

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