Devil in My Bed
Grade : B+

It's been a long, long time since I read a romance novel that sought to provide laughter, tears, drama, suspense, and a heartily deserved happily-ever-after – and succeeded on all accounts. Golly, this is a fun book.

Three years ago Aidan de Quincy and Madeleine Chandler fell in love and had an affair. But he, being an idiot, proposed clumsily and she, having major secrets to hide, refused. He stalked out of her life and both endeavored to forget the other. When Aidan arrives one day at his club and sees Melody, a three-year-old girl sitting on the doorstep clutching a satchel, pinned to which is a note informing the finder that the girl's father is a member of the club. Since the establishment is primarily inhabited by a passel of geriatrics, Aidan and his friend Sir Colin Lambert realize that Melody could only be theirs or their friend Jack's, the latter of whom is currently abroad. So Aidan and Colin sneak Melody into the club (which bars any female from entering its portals, naturally), and Aidan goes off in search of Madeleine, his lover at the time the child was conceived.

He catches her just as she is about to leave for Jamaica, but Aidan manages to convince her to return to the club to meet Melody. For the next 300 pages hijinks ensue as the two bachelors learn about children, Aidan and Madeleine sort out their differences, Madeleine's past returns to haunt her, and Melody gets a doll named Gordy Ann (you'll have to read to find out the etymology behind Gordy Ann).

I was kind of shocked the first moment I laughed out loud; it's been awhile since I read Celeste Bradley and I don't remember her being so bawdy and humorous. But this story is hilarious, with much of the amusement provided by Melody, the club's aging denizens, and its omniscient house man Wilberforce. There is not an iota of historical accuracy to any of the characters' speech (well, except Wilberforce's) but, by gods, I loved their banter. This is screwball at its funniest.

Aidan and Madeleine are both adults who make their share of mistakes, but through it all is a conviction (and my conviction as well) that they love each other. They grow as the pages progress, learning about each other and themselves and becoming even more mature by the end. Madeleine's past understandably influenced her refusal of Aidan three years earlier, and even now it affects her actions. Aidan is a funny, sympathetic hero who cruises along nicely until he has a TSTL moment towards the end (yeah, the hero, not the heroine) that helped bring the grade down a little. But he recovers nicely and his proposal to Madeleine shows exactly how much he has grown. At the end, all is revealed, they forgive each other, and the villain comes to a suitably danger- and suspense-ridden end (and it's been a while since I read an ending that left me on the edge of my seat).

My biggest complaint about the book (besides Aidan being an egregious idiot) is the prose. There are too many exclamation marks in the narrative for my liking and the prose seems a little simplistic when the rest of the story demonstrates such a high level of professionalism. Ms. Bradley can do better.

I closed the book with a gigantic grin on my face, astonished out of my knickers that it provided so much unexpected pleasure. Now I have two things to do: Wait for Colin and Jack's books, and dig up all the Celeste Bradley books I've missed. If Devil in My Bed is any indication, it's been far, far too long.

 

Reviewed by Enya Young
Grade : B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : August 6, 2009

Publication Date: 2009

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Enya Young

I live in Seattle, Washington and work as a legal assistant. I remember learning to read (comic strips) at a young age and nowadays try to read about 5-6 books a week. I love to travel, especially to Europe, and enjoy exploring smaller towns off the tourist track though London is my favorite city in the world.
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