"At the tender age of seven, Sterling Harlow, the seventh duke of Devonbrooke, was virtually sold to his coldhearted uncle to pay off his own father's gambling debts. Sterling won his uncle's title in the bargain--but lost the playful spirit of his youth. Dubbed 'the Devil of Devonbrooke,' Sterling's exploits have earned him a reputation as a notorious rake. And when his mother dies, he is determined to take possession of her home--even if he must remove his mother's ward, Laura Farleigh, to do it. But while he is returning to Arden Manor, a riding accident knocks Sterling unconscious--and when he awakens, his memory is gone.
"Laura Farleigh has turned down more marriage proposals than she can count--for no man can compare to the noble and handsome man of her dreams. But when her benefactor dies, Laura learns that the woman's prodigal son, the infamous due of Devonbrooke, plans to return to Arden Manor. Laura has never laid eyes on the duke, but his reputation precedes him--and Laura is determined to keep him from casting her and her young siblings into the streets. Her only hope is a stipulation in the will that says if Laura marries by her twenty-first birthday--a mere three weeks away--the house will be hers.
"Laura prays for a miracle--prayers that seem answered when a morning walk yields a remarkable discovery: a mystery man with the face of an angel and the body of Adam. Best of all, he seems to have no memory of who he is--or more important, who he's not! Desperate, Laura does the unthinkable. She lies. Not only does she tell the mystery man that he's her fiancé; she convinces him that he possesses all of the qualities of the man of her dreams! As she nurses her 'betrothed' back to health, Laura thinks her problems are solved. That is, until she realizes that her handsome stranger and the duke of Devonbrooke are one and the same--and that the man she has convinced to act like a pussycat is really a dangerous panther.
"As the wedding night approaches, there's only one way for Laura to atone for her deception--she must with the heart of the Devil himself to save both their souls...."
This is another re-read of a book I read quite some time ago; the very short original review can be found HERE. On that review, this is listed as Book Three in the Fairy Tale Series, but FantasticFiction.com lists it as Book One of the Farleigh Sisters series. I may research the proper reading order because this annoys me...
I seemed to really like this book the first time around and I enjoyed it this time as well. I didn't love it, though. It simply was not my favorite book by Teresa Medeiros. If I am entirely honest, I think it's because Laura was simply SO pious and, yet, her selfishness in believing the handsome, unconscious stranger was sent just for her irked me. I know Medeiros is religious, herself, so I can understand the tones in this book and can respect them for what they are, but I found Laura to be pretty hypocritical. I can't tell if this was intentional or unintentional. I've just never found a (steamy) romance novel where piety and religiousness really suit the characters well. There's just something about the belief system that doesn't quite go. This is, of course, just my personal opinion. I'm sure some out there won't mind it as much as I did. That being said, I still liked the book. The characters were vivid and lively, especially Laura's siblings, George and Lottie. Diana, Sterling's cousin, and Thane, Sterling's best friend and Diana's ex-betrothed, had a particularly amusing dynamic. This time around, I've quickly realized that one of this author's trademarks is creating stories within her main story; accomplishing this with well-rounded secondary characters. Medeiros doesn't seem content with creating one love story, but she usually seems to create undertones for another -- either writing one directly into the book (like this one), or creating the foundations for another in a sequel story. It takes a lot of craftsmanship to write this way and not lose any of the magic from the true main characters.
As a male lead, Sterling had a complicated backstory. While so many characters believed the world to be very cut and dry, he is evidence that this is not necessarily the case. His past and the events that made him into the man who would be the Duke of Devonbrooke. The explanations of how any why he became so cold and removed were believable and poignant. I will say, however, that I liked him a great deal more when he was Nicholas, Laura's imaginary fiancé. His personality was rich and multifaceted; we get a glimmer of the man he probably would have become had he not been sold off to his uncle. This, I thought, was probably my favorite part of his character.
Laura was a decent female lead. I've already voiced my opinions on the contrariness of her character and her religion, so I won't go over this again. I loved what a romantic she was at heart. This lent her character an air of believability and realism without which she would have fallen rather flat. It made the fact that she turned down so many proposals more realistic than snobbish. I liked her interactions with her siblings quite a bit. They're such close-knit family that it made it easy to believe how and why she was willing to stay with the Devil of Devonbrooke, even after she finally realized his true identity.
The tension between Sterling and his mother was a poignant undercurrent. Though his mother wasn't physically present for a vast majority of the story, she felt very alive and real. I thought the excerpts from her letters at the start of each of the chapters was a very nice touch. When Sterling is finally forced to face his feelings about his mother and his sense of abandonment...boy did I get choked up. It was raw and painful and beautiful all at the same time.
Arden Manor was a wonderful setting; so much so, in fact, that I actually enjoyed that bit of the book much more than when the setting shifted to London. This was a great bit of writing by Medeiros because I, too, felt as if I'd left "home" when we abandoned Arden Manor for the cold London mansion.
As far as the "retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story" goes, I found this one quite successful. Having the maiden wake the prince made for a nice twist; Sterling's amnesia was well-written, and the story (as usual) had a touch of magic. It's a fun variation that I can appreciate, especially because it's far from blatant.
I do recommend this book even though it was not one of my favorites by Medeiros. I still enjoyed the lively characters and the fun, unique plot. There were aspects that I didn't love, but that didn't prevent me from liking the overall story.
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