Review: The Devil's Own (The Wicked Wayward’s #1) by Liana LeFey
Print Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Entangled Amara (June 22, 2020)
From Goodreads.com: Lord Devlin Wayward, gambler and dedicated rake, returns home for the first time in years, and lands himself and his identical twin, Daniel, the good reverend, in deep trouble. Devlin ends up with a broken leg and unable to travel to London, yet he must return. He’s got an important deal that will make or break his fortune. He persuades the reluctant reverend to take his place in London while he temporarily minds his brother’s flock.
Miss Mary Tomblin is taken with the devastatingly handsome reverend. He represents everything she desires in a husband, after narrowly evading a ruthless rake last Season. Mary knows she'll make him an excellent wife, but the vicar rebuffs every advance – until he suddenly accepts her help with pastoral duties while his broken leg heals. Mary seizes the chance to show the good reverend what an excellent helpmeet she will be.
The devil takes on the role of village vicar and discovers it's nowhere near as easy as he imagined—especially when he falls in love with an angel who mistakes him for a saint.
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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5
I was instantly intrigued by the plot of this one. How could a rake and the owner of some of the most infamous gaming halls in London possibly trick a town full of parishioners that he the vicar they have come to know and love?
And while this story definitely had its moments, I have questions. To start, with their families home close to the village (in fact, the family attends the very church Daniel is the vicar at), how did none of the older parishioners NOT know their vicar had a twin? Added to that, when the brother's personalities were so different from one another, how did no one (especially Mary who fancied herself in love with Daniel) guess the truth? There were moments when Mary started to question things (one example being before the switch, Daniel would barely look at her, another stronger example being when she found him drunk) and I was hoping she would figure it out - thinking that watching Devlin try to win her back would be an even more exciting story. Unfortunately, we don't get to see that except for a few rushed feeling pages at the end of the story.
For the most part, I enjoyed their interactions. I liked the way Devlin forced Mary to look inside herself and realize that she was not the pious person she had thought she was. I also liked how the two of them challenged one another to grow in other ways as well. In fact, I was surprised to find out that Devlin acted the way that he did (and seriously never considered there might be repercussions to his actions)?
Some of the interactions with his "flock" seemed to drag on a bit, as did some of the inner musings of our two characters. I also wish that Devlin hadn't been so "hot and cold" with Mary. I understand he was conflicted in his feelings, but at times he could be awfully confusing (not to mention judgemental of her actions and reactions considering he was the one who was a fraud). However, I can understand why the author chose to include them as a way to show character growth and give our two main characters a reason to be alone so that they could get to know one another.
All things considered, I do believe this story was a good start to a new series (and in fact am hoping to read book number two when it comes out - I am insanely curious to find out how a vicar managed the day-to-day business dealings of his brother, not to mention the countless women I'm sure his brother was "acquainted with". I am also hoping to find out just what happened between him and Miss St.Peters).
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
I was instantly intrigued by the plot of this one. How could a rake and the owner of some of the most infamous gaming halls in London possibly trick a town full of parishioners that he the vicar they have come to know and love?
And while this story definitely had its moments, I have questions. To start, with their families home close to the village (in fact, the family attends the very church Daniel is the vicar at), how did none of the older parishioners NOT know their vicar had a twin? Added to that, when the brother's personalities were so different from one another, how did no one (especially Mary who fancied herself in love with Daniel) guess the truth? There were moments when Mary started to question things (one example being before the switch, Daniel would barely look at her, another stronger example being when she found him drunk) and I was hoping she would figure it out - thinking that watching Devlin try to win her back would be an even more exciting story. Unfortunately, we don't get to see that except for a few rushed feeling pages at the end of the story.
For the most part, I enjoyed their interactions. I liked the way Devlin forced Mary to look inside herself and realize that she was not the pious person she had thought she was. I also liked how the two of them challenged one another to grow in other ways as well. In fact, I was surprised to find out that Devlin acted the way that he did (and seriously never considered there might be repercussions to his actions)?
Some of the interactions with his "flock" seemed to drag on a bit, as did some of the inner musings of our two characters. I also wish that Devlin hadn't been so "hot and cold" with Mary. I understand he was conflicted in his feelings, but at times he could be awfully confusing (not to mention judgemental of her actions and reactions considering he was the one who was a fraud). However, I can understand why the author chose to include them as a way to show character growth and give our two main characters a reason to be alone so that they could get to know one another.
All things considered, I do believe this story was a good start to a new series (and in fact am hoping to read book number two when it comes out - I am insanely curious to find out how a vicar managed the day-to-day business dealings of his brother, not to mention the countless women I'm sure his brother was "acquainted with". I am also hoping to find out just what happened between him and Miss St.Peters).
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
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The Devil's Own is available from Amazon.com
 by Liana LeFey){kind=link}
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