Demon Lover
4.5 rounded up
Victoria Holt absolutely owns me these days and this book is a clincher. This one steps out of her usual mode and takes the path of the bodice ripper. Hell, this guy just did away with the bodice altogether and made her stay naked for three days. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
This is a story about a talented artist who clandestinely fills in for her father who is losing his eyesight. They travel together to do a painting of the Baron, pretending it’s her father doing the work when it’s actually her. They go down this route because, as you know, vaginas negated all talent in those days. They think they have the Baron hoodwinked but he’s no fool. But he thinks the heroine is a nice package so he lets her and her father get away with it and even helps launch her career. A real progressive kind of guy, wouldn’t you say. *cough* Sure.
The H is an egomaniac baron who is getting ready to marry a princess. However, he has this mistress problem and is trying to pawn her off on a cousin, but the h ruins the Baron’s plans by being so delectable that the cousin wants to marry her instead. The cousin dooms himself and the h, though, by defiantly stating that he would never marry a mistress of the Baron. Um um um.
To teach cuz a lesson, the Baron drugs and kidnaps the h and locks her in a tower where he proceeds to rape her, complete with fighting and scratching, repeatedly for three days (though much later, she reminisces fondly. Uh, right). VH is usually such a beat-around-the-bush kind of girl. I totally wasn’t expecting her to bust out with WTFery like that. Very surprising to say the least. Unlike so many stories, there were no last minute saves, no changing his mind about who to marry, no prettying it up, whatsoever (though he was lovey dovey with the heroine...as he assaulted her). When he drags the cousin in for the showdown, the Baron’s all gleeful when he tells him that the h fought him like a tiger (or some animal/action like that) and to enjoy his leavings. What a nice guy.
Of course, the h decides she could never marry the cousin now and goes off to live her life. Just when you think that she might be able to recover and move on we find out she’s pregnant. But it’s all good and she gets help and has a success of it.
Five years go by before the Baron makes a reappearance in the story. There’s a bunch of other stuff, mixed in before and after: mistress friends, father stuff, wars, and then they end up back at the castle...where his wife and other son live. You know there’ll be trouble.
There’s a bunch of stuff that goes on at the castle with the wife and sons, mixed in with a ton of ambivalence on the h’s part, though she luvs him, while the H continues to pressure the h to ignore that wife person upstairs and be his lady love.
The ending totally wiped the rug out from under me. I have purposely not talked about anything that could give it away, because it’s just too much fun to be floored like that to ruin it.
I definitely recommend this but recognize that there's a lot in this one that would turn some people off. I have to admit that I love this book probably for reasons that a lot of people hate it. It doesn’t sugar coat anything or make nice. It didn’t try to fix everything and make it fit into a little feel-good box. The hero is ruthless and had little time for anything but his own desires and those he loves. Many people we care about get the shaft and we never get to see how it turns out. Or maybe we know in our hearts and are in denial (if you read it, you’ll know who I mean.) If you need everything tied up in a neat little PC bow, then this one will sorely disappoint. If you like stories that depict people realistically in their baser element, then you’ll probably like this one.
