Review: Wrath: The Devil Duke (Seven Deadly Sins #1) by Christi Caldwell

        

Print Length: 332 pages

Publisher: Christi Caldwell (April 18, 2024)

From Goodreads.com:  An Eye for An Eye

Once a respectable, sought after bachelor and do-gooder, Edward de Vesy, the Marquess of Malden, took a fall to rival Satan’s. A single decision cost him everything, including the gaming hell he helped build. From past betrayals has sprung a new man—one who is merciless, cruel, and incapable of pain. Now, Malden is applying every lesson he learned from his partners on the art of ruthlessness and raising a fortune to build an empire. And he will have revenge against those who wronged him.

Righting a Wrong
Having watched her eldest sister perish, Miss Edith Caldecott is no stranger to loss. Society may be content to accept Evie's death as an unfortunate twist of fate. Not Edith. She spent years digging to discover who was responsible. Now, she’s taking matters into her own hands. To avenge her sister, she'll require the help of a man who has his finger on the pulse of evil.

An Unlikely Partnership
What begins as nothing more than a relationship born of vengeance slowly dissolves into something sinful, decadent, and dangerous as Edith falls deeper under Lord Malden’s spell. When further betrayals come to light, Edith realizes she’s crossed a bridge too far. But the damage is done as she’s found herself falling for the last man who’d ever give Edith his guarded heart.

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My Rating: 1 star out of 5

This book was such a hot mess that I honestly had to struggle just to finish it.

Right out of the gate, the author’s inability to tell the difference between claret, brandy, and whiskey made my head hurt. More than once, Edith is given one drink (usually claret or brandy), only for it to be referred to as whiskey a few minutes later. It’s a small detail, sure, but getting something that basic wrong does not inspire confidence in the rest of the story. Unfortunately, that lack of attention to detail turned out to be a theme (as you will see later on).

But let's forget that for a moment and talk about the story itself.  

Unfortunately, none of the characters are likable. Not one. In fact, every single one of them could have met a tragic end and I wouldn’t have cared in the slightest. I’m not sure what the author was trying to accomplish with Edward, but he does not come across as a tragic hero. He comes across as an absolute jerk. When he first meets Edith, he wastes no time informing her that she has “absolutely nothing” to entice him other than her body, and this is after he repeatedly thinks to himself how mediocre her looks are. At one point, he even refers to her as a “marm,” yet continues to lust after her and take liberties with her person anyway. He even says her name in such a way that Edith perceives it as the ugliest of insults. Her own name.

Edith, meanwhile, is written as naïve and innocent enough to convince herself that she somehow enjoys this attention, even though there is absolutely no reason she should. She goes to Edward for help, and he takes advantage of her. It really is that simple. Her family is no better. Her elder brother is entirely absent, and when Edward compromises her publicly, her father simply accepts it. Frankly, I can see why Edward neither respected him nor trusted him to keep Edith safe.

As if the those issues weren’t bad enough, the continuity errors continue to pile up quickly. Remember the drink confusion? Sadly, that wasn’t the only glaring mistake that was made. You seem, Edith passes out while in Edward’s care, and while she’s unconscious, he removes the stopper from a decanter with his teeth to try to revive her because his hands are full. Several chapters later, while she’s with another man, she thinks about how he’s different from Edward because this man didn’t remove the stopper with his teeth, a detail she literally could not have known. There’s also a moment where she grabs the Duke of Argyll by the lapels of his jacket… after he had already removed said jacket.

The rest of the novel is just an exhausting cycle of Edward being cruel and Edith lamenting that she’s in love with him. For what reason, I never did figure out. I spent most of the book wishing she would bash him over the head with something and leave. Edward constantly snarls, growls, mocks, and treats Edith as though she is beneath him, yet despite knowing full well that he is likely mocking her, she still falls in love with him. When? How? I understand there are dom/sub undertones here, but if this is meant to be a humiliation kink, it is handled terribly. 

At one point, he even tells Edith outright that he cannot give her love or tenderness, but he can give her children, once again reinforcing that he only values her for her body. Edith’s response? Convincing herself that just because he doesn’t love her now doesn’t mean he won’t someday.

And then, of course, something happens that magically forces Edward to admit that he loves her, and we’re supposed to accept the happily-ever-after that comes next.

Considering this was the first book in this series, I honestly don’t know if I’ll continue on or not as while it didn't leave the best impression, I've read other stories by this author that I've enjoyed. So I guess we will see.