The Devil You Know: The Devil DeVere, Book 3 by  Victoria Vane

 

Narration:

Eva Hathaway has a voice that is perfect for the period of this story.  Her male voices sound most masculine when the discourse involves both women and men. Moreover, once you get used to them, they pretty much register on the ear as masculine even when the exchange is between two men or a group of them. I liked her controlled narration of the story; there’s nothing jarring in the performance, and her pacing is excellent. Her inflections and vocal attitudes closely match those of the speaker tags.  This is always a plus. 

Book Review: The Devil You Know: The Devil DeVere, Book 3

This is a sex-driven story; make that an explicit-sex-driven story. Think of a large chunk of Swiss cheese with random melon-ball-sized hollows in it. Squeezed into those hollows is the minor storyline, and the remainder of that block of dairy is . . . ? You guessed it. Nevertheless, the sex scenes are well-written and visual, to say the least. There is a questionable note, in that with all their decadence, certain characters deign to criticize the sexual enjoyments of other characters.

My favorite part of this story is the way the author handles the essential yet succinct details and the vocabulary of the period in which this story takes place.

Despite its secondary status, the minor storyline is intriguing. In fact, I like this particular secondary plot because it doesn’t compete so much with the “lust-mance.” This book is more like a family drama and doesn’t depend on the British fighting the Scots or on the couple saving the world. It’s designed for listeners who like relatively uncomplicated plots with lots of sex.

The story is four hours long. About 2.5 hours into it, the author breaks a promise she has made concerning the progression of the plot. For me, once that deal is broken, the tension is diminished.

I liked the way all the characters are presented. I didn’t care for the behavior of some of them, but even those major players aren’t one-dimensional.

I didn’t start at the beginning of this series, so I don’t know as much about the male protagonist as I  would know if I had. Maybe he has a side in those previous books that he’d lost by the time he arrived on the scene in this one. I can say that at this point, I’ve not yet warmed up to him; he’s too mercenary. The relationship in this story spans two books. This is the first one; maybe, I’ll like him better  in the second one. I do like the female protagonist, Diana.

Since Diana and DeVere’s story was meant to be continued in the next book, this book ends with cliffhangers strong enough to encourage listeners, who have enjoyed this first part of the couple’s tale, to want to listen to the second book.

An audio sample  and purchase options are available.

Bibliography: The Devil You Know: The Devil DeVere, Book 3 by Victoria Vane
Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins (unabridged)
Publisher: ©03-06-13 Victoria Vane