Between the Devil and Desire

Scoundrels of St. James, Book 2

By: Lorraine Heath

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen, Antony Ferguson

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

London's most notorious rogue - decadent, depraved, forbidden:

The ladies of the town won't stop whispering about deliciously wicked Jack Dodger - once a thieving street urchin, now the wealthy owner of London's most exclusive gentleman's club. There's no pleasure he hasn't enjoyed, no debauchery the handsome scoundrel won't provide for the lords who flock to his house of carnal intrigue.

London's most virtuous lady - honorable, uncorrupted, and all too human:

Olivia, Duchess of Lovingdon, would never associate with such a rogue. So when Jack is named sole heir to the duke's personal possessions, the beautiful, well-bred lady is outraged. Now, Olivia is forced to share her beloved home with this despicable man.

But Olivia's icy disdain is no match for Jack's dangerous charm. His touch awakens desire. His kiss demands surrender. She will struggle to bar Jack from her heart....but her body, coveting divine release, will not let her bar him from her bed.

©2009 Jan Nowasky (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

even better than the first

Wasn't sure how I could like Jack after the first story, but wow, loved this one even more. Really become involved with this group of adults who grew up with such hardships. As the secrets from their childhood are revealed, very skillfully, and their adult lives remain so intertwined, I find myself wishing there was a story for all of them. As with the first one, enjoyed the time period in which this occurs. I like the way rules of society are questioned, and the way the author brings in so many aspects of life outside of aristocracy. Could not stop listening to this one. The plot twists kept me from turning it off, in spite of not getting other stuff done! Can't wait for to listen to the rest in this series.

Great, fun story!

Love the 2nd installment in the Scoundrels of St. James series! This story is about the relationship between Jack Dodger (borrowed from the Artful Dodger in Dickens' Oliver Twist) and Olivia, the Duchess of Lovingdon. When Olivia's older husband dies, everyone is stunned when he places known scoundrel and owner of the infamous gaming hall, Jack Dodger, as he guardian of their young son. No one, including Jack, is aware of any connection between them and he does not seem to be particularly well suited to raising a young Duke. Olivia, of course, is horrified, and becomes more so when Jack insists on moving into the home that she shares with her young son. He seems to delight in tormenting her.
This story is fun, fast paced, and interesting and the romance is steamy, but not vulgar. I loved Susan Erikson's narration and really enjoyed learning more about the characters that appeared in the first novel. I cannot wait to listen to the next book. Five stars, indeed!

Yay! It's Jack's story!--Be Still My Heart!

Jack is a mystery, AND dangerously delicious, AND savvy AND uniquely stylish…
AND….

I could just keep going, but the gist is that I think Jack is really appealing. So, after listening to about 20%, I skipped to about midway to jump to the nitty gritty of his relationship to the lovely duchess Olivia. Even though I got immediate gratification, it was nice to slowly listen to the complete book again.

Out of Feagan's lads, Jack is the most secretive and cunning of the bunch and yet he plays a vital role in the previous books as he helps his friends when they're in trouble (I've read the 1st book & 3rd book already).

One of the aspects I loved about this book is that the reader is invited to enter the labyrinth of psychological presses and motives that move the Leads forward. Jack is complicated because his life has been complicated. This book reveals the traumatic events that are responsible for creating the dichotomous person that Jack is. He is so giving, and takes boys off of the streets by providing them with employment and protects them. Yet, the other side of the coin (pun intended :-), is that Jack invests too much value in the absolute love and need for money, and lots of it.

So when Jack is named sole heir to a duke's personal possessions, and is appointed the guardian of the young, Duke Henry (I believe he's 4 or 5 years old), the beautiful, and well-bred lady Olivia (Henry's mother) is outraged. Olivia is forced to accept Jack into her home as the overseer of her most prized possession, her beloved son Henry.

The romance between Olivia and Jack is nicely paced. It was so touching when they both finally come together…the moments of indulgent romance are great. Both Olivia and Jack grow personally in this book and fulfill a need for intimacy, trust and healing in each other. The cat and mouse games they play were so cute and funny at the beginning of their relationship. And, the moments in which they bear their souls to one another was just so touching.

As always…I loved the camaraderie between the gang (Jack, Luke, Jim, Bill and Frannie). I especially enjoyed Jack's conversations with Frannie (I'm such a Frannie fan) and I felt as though he understood and "saw" her more clearly than the rest of Feagan's lad did. I thought his close relationship to Feagan was really nice and sentimental. Jack still looked out and cared for Feagan.

There are many shocking details and surprises in this book. There are heavy themes that are tragic and dark. Yet, perhaps the greatest theme is how life can sometimes balance the tragedies of childhood, by unlocking the weightiest and mot beautiful gift of all…..LOVE. And, Olivia and Jack most certainly find it.

I thought the narrator was good. Enjoyed her performance.

Oh I love this series...

Does it ever have to end? The narration and story line is superb, entertaining and page turning. Each character in the book is depicted with style, purpose and motivation.

Now, I'm moving on to the next review of Book 3 which, by the way shall be extremely positive.

Love anything by Lorraine Heath!

An amazing book, read perfectly! If I could, I would give it 10🌟! The characters are wonderful and Susan Ericksen brings them to life.

Fairly good story.

I don't have any real complaints about this book. The story was generally very good. It wasn't the most exciting book and had a few sections that got a tiny bit boring, but not to the point that I thought about not finishing it. I like the characters and the story line, but I probably won't get another book in the series. I prefer a little more excitement.

The narration was good. It shows that there are two narrators, but the second narrator is only used when reading a letter. I don't think it was necessary for the performance of the book, but it didn't really detract from it.

It was ok..

Very lovely. The ending however threw me. Definitely a plot twist I wasn’t expecting. Susan Ericksen is still the GOAT! Really enjoyed her narration and he ability to bring the characters to life.

Awesome voices

Amazing!!! Love the story and Susan does a excellent job on the characters she is still my favorite. Love the steamy love making chapters and the high society and the scoundrel absolutely again awesome story.

Loved Jacks story!

Oh I just loved reading Jacks story and boy did I feel bad for him! You sure can't blame him for having some of the hangups he had, but I loved that even though he had so many reserves, a little boy and the love of a woman brought him to a place of normalcy and happiness.
There was a disturbing storyline regarding sodomy but it was addressed with good taste and well written. The story had a lot of surprises and semi surprises and kept me engaged throughout.
The narration, in my opinion, was stellar. I love Susan Erickson and save her stories for when I really need a pick me up. She did as good here as always. (If you like her narration, read "Ruthless" which is part of "The House of Rohan" series. It's fabulous!!)

I got this book for the ridiculously amazing (for once!) price of $3.60 and it was absolutely worth every penny. This is a great series and I can't want to read Fanny's story next!

Not much substance

Any additional comments?

Story was too slow. I had to skip chapters just to get to the main plot..as one of the readers said most of the story was just argue, argue, argue...