"Don't Bargain With the Devil" is the sixth book in Sabrina Jeffries 'School for Heiresses' series. This time we get the story of Lucinda, one of the former students but now stepping in as a teacher to help out the owner. This is a tale filled with Jeffries' humor, sensuality, and the search for a missing heiress.

Lucinda Seton is furious, hurt and furious. The man she thought was going to propose DID come up with a proposal...but not for marriage! Well, she'll show him! Her Spanish blood doesn't mean she can't behave like a proper society miss and as soon as she finds a husband, she'll make sure the ex knows just what he passed up! Of course, the husband will need to be a proper British lord, not that Spanish magician...even though he is very handsome, and flirtatious, and WHAT! trying to build a pleasure garden next to the school? NEVER!

Diego's lost everything during the war. His father to maurading British soldiers, his family's estate to try and care for his mother afterwards, his mother who never recovered from her treatment by the same soldiers that killed his father, and his pride when he was caught stealing. But instead of turning him in, the man taught him his trade...that of the magician, and now Diego is one of the most famous in Europe. Yet when the wealthy and influential Spanish Marques de Parama offers to return his family's estates, Diego is determined to get them back. All he has to do is track down the Marques' granddaughter, stolen by her nurse during the war and taken back to England. Which will be stronger? Love or land?

I laughed through most of this one. Reading about Lucinda, with her fiery temper and quick retorts, trying so hard to be proper...it was almost impossible not to laugh! And Diego, ahhh Diego. I think we should all get a shot at a Diego once in our lives, don't you? Although at times I did keep picturing Gomez from the Adams family show when he would start kissing Morticia's arm...well, maybe that was just me.

So a bit of a mystery with the whole missing heiress and who are the real parents bit, lots of steamy seduction, scintillating battles of wit, and even a kidnapping. "Don't Bargain with the Devil" is a delight for regency lovers and historical lovers both. And Sabrina Jeffries' final book of series "Wed Him Before You Bed Him" is already out (Jun09) so I can mark these off my list. ( )

This was a pretty typical Sabrina Jeffries romance, not really anything out of the ordinary. If you like her writings, you'll like this book. The kidnapping and everything at the end seemed a little drawn out and over done, and it seemed to drag a lot towards the end, but all in all it was entertaining and a good read. ( )

I was pretty disappointed in this book. I felt like half the book was spent revisiting old characters and setting up for the final book in the series. I normally love when old characters pop up but not at the expense of the current plot. Also, because this book basically set up the last book in the series, all the potential "cousin Michaels" were introduced and had impact on the plot. There were also actions that occurred in the book that weren't necessary for this book's plot but I think were needed for the next book. This book space would have been better spent making this book's plot more crisp. The plot wasn't well developed and the hero and heroine did a lot of things that were out of character but moved the plot along. ( )

~ Outspoken and friendly heroine + mysterious and charming hero = great historical romance! (4 stars) ~

DON'T BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL is a wonderful read - I rushed out to buy it this afternoon and didn't put it down until I had finished! If you haven't read all (or any) of the other "School for Heiresses" books don't worry because this book can be read alone - though many of the characters from previous ones do reappear, so that's something to look forward to if you have. I myself only read the first book, NEVER SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL, yesterday and am looking forward to catching up on the other ones before the final one, WED HIM BEFORE YOU BED HIM), which comes out June 23 and in which "Cousin" Michael is *finally* revealed. I've only read two books and I'm already dying to know, though personally I'm rooting for Mrs. Harris's anonymous benefactor to be the Marquess of Stoneville (Jeffries teases you at the end of this book with the possibilities - so cruel!).

SUMMARY:
Lucinda Seton has recently had her heart broken by a man whom she had hoped to - and been led to believed that she would - marry. As a graduate of Mrs. Harris's finishing school, she offers to help the headmistress when her drawing teacher quits without warning, thinking that the opportunity to put her drawing skills to use will be the perfect distraction from her pain. The post will only be temporary, after which she'll return to London for the Season with her father, Colonel Seton, and her stepmother, Lady Kerr. However, once rumors spread that a certain Man of Mystery magician, Diego Montalvo, has rented the property next to the school and is planning on buying it to convert it into a pleasure garden, Lucy finds herself with a cause to take up - and a school to defend! She's just that day met the sinfully handsome Spaniard in the orchards and she knows that he cannot be up to any good ...

Diego Montalvo is an illusionist, but this time his goal of building a pleasure garden is the illusion - Diego is actually there searching for the long-lost granddaughter of a wealthy Spanish marqués. Don Carlos has promised Diego the return of his family's property, Arboleda, in exchange for the return of his grand-daughter and it is an offer that Diego cannot refuse. For many years he has been seeking to regain possession of the family estate that was lost due to debts, for as a young boy he promised his dying father that he would protect and restore the family lands that had been ravaged by war. Diego has no love for the English, but traveling around their country is what he's had to do to search for the don's long-lost heir and he thinks he finally may have found the young woman, but his success is bittersweet ...

The attraction between Lucy and Diego is immediate, but they are both suspicious. Lucy has already had her heart broken and doesn't know if she should trust the mysterious foreigner who seems intent on ruining her precious school by building a pleasure garden, while at the same time focusing his attention on her and even acting in ways that go against his supposed business interests. For his part, Diego knows that he dare not get involved with Lucy; he has promised the don to return the man's granddaughter untouched and he knows the old man's future plans for her do not include a penniless count with no estates or family. How can he threaten his dream of regaining Arboleda by letting his feelings for this young English chit get out of control?

Sabrina Jeffries combines an honorable and mysterious hero, an energetic and outspoken heroine, great sexual tension, several laugh-out-loud moments, wonderful secondary characters, some *very* confusing genealogy, family secrets, a kidnapping, and the backdrops of the English countryside, a ship, and the Spanish coast for a delightful historical romance.

MAIN CHARACTERS, Diego and Lucy:
Diego (28) is mysterious, charming, seductive, clever, and caring. He's the type of hero who is haunted by his past; he's basically homeless and family-less and his memories of what the war did to his family have driven him to become what he is now: all with the goal of restoring his family name and honor. He's extremely successful as an illusionist and has traveled the world, entertaining royalty and aristocrats, however he doesn't see this as something his father would want for him and dislikes that often people - especially women - seem to only want him or like him for his fame.

Diego is very honorable and this is a really strong part of his personality that runs throughout the book. There was one incident in the book that for me in which he was just *way* too high-handed, but he makes up for it in the end when he defends Lucy's right to decide her own future regardless of what others - including him - want. He's sweet, tender, and possessive towards Lucy and though he keeps telling himself he cannot have anything to do with her personally because it would risk the don's wrath (and therefore jeopardize him regaining Arboleda) he can't help himself and is drawn to her. Watching him stand-up for her to Peter (guy who broke her heart) and get jealous when his friend Rafael shows interest is just priceless! :-)

Lucy (20) is outspoken, energetic, trusting, loyal, smart, and friendly. She's very caring and we see that through all of her interactions and exchanges with people. Although she's sweet and innocent, there is still the "hoyden" in her and I really enjoyed Lucy's spitfire side. Despite the fact that she's grown up in a wonderful home with a loving father, she still feels somewhat out of place in the world. Her (adopted) father is a military man and so she started attending Mrs. Harris's boarding school when she was only 12; she doesn't remember her real parents and although she's asked her father about them, he's never told her much.

COMMENTS:
Overall I thought this was a great book; the two main characters are easy to root for and Diego had me practically sighing out loud with some of the things he says to Lucy (and the Spanish endearments that he always uses - give me a Diego anytime!). There was no mystery or villain subplot thrown in, which was a nice change - one does start to wonder why it seems true love *always* has to happen amid some serial killing spree or old family murder scandal. Jeffries does still provide us with some unlikable and/or nasty characters, so all you readers out there who love them, don't despair.

One tool that is often employed in the genre is the "I'm going to lie to you and say ___ for your own good so that you go away or don't fall in love with me or whatever" and this was definitely used by BOTH main characters several times. It got to be kind of annoying, *however* I do have to say as someone who absolutely cannot stand those books that are dominated by big misunderstandings, this was NOT one of those and DON'T BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL will definitely be put on my reread shelf.

The mystery about Lucy's past - who were her real parents and how did she get to be the Colonel's adopted daughter? - was very interesting and definitely kept me hooked. You don't really know who to believe and Jeffries does a very good job with this in that the players in that whole mystery are not either evil or pure-as-the-driven-snow - instead she gives us three-dimensional characters full of regret, doubt, love, and the feeling that they thought they were doing what was right.

"THE SCHOOL OF HEIRESSES SERIES":
(1) NEVER SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL - Lady Amelia Plume and Major Lucas Winter
(2) ONLY A DUKE WILL DO - Louisa North and Simon Tremaine, Duke of Foxmoor
(3) BEWARE A SCOT'S REVENGE - Lady Venetia Campbell and Sir Lachlan Ross
(4) LET SLEEPING ROGUES LIE - Madeline Prescott and Anthony Dalton, Viscount Norcourt
(5) DON'T BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL - Lucinda Seton and Diego Javier Montalvo, Conde de León
(6) WED HIM BEFORE YOU BED HIM - Mrs. Charlotte Harris and _________ (alias: Cousin Michael) ( )

I was fortunate enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of the new book, Don’t Bargain with the Devil by Sabrina Jeffries. It is due to be released in June 2009 and it is surely worth the trip to the nearest bookstore to get it.
This is another book in Jeffries’ School For Heiresses Series. One thing I have always enjoyed about this series is the correspondences between Charlotte Harris, the owner of the school and her mysterious “Cousin Michael.” In this book they were very enjoyable and sometimes humorous.
Lucy Seton, a former student at the school, has been hired temporarily to replace the art teacher. She arrives at the school to find out that the property next door is for sale and could be sold to a magician who says he would like to build a Pleasure Park there. Obviously this would not be good for a girl’s school to have such a park next door. Enter the hero Diego Montalvo ,conjurer par excellence. There is an immediate attraction between Lucy and Diego which Lucy tries to deny. As their relationship develops it is obvious that there is more to the reason why Diego is living next door to the school. Lucy, Mrs. Harris and the school’s supporters do everything they can think of to raise money to try and thwart the purchase of the property. All of this makes for some very interesting events and interactions between characters.
Without giving away the meat of the story let me just say that Jeffries has written a book that immediately draws the reader in. I found myself so involved with Lucy feelings that I was actually getting angry on her behalf at the way she was being manipulated. I shared her frustrations and her tears. She is a bright “hoyden” of a heroine who is full of spunk and in her own way tries very hard to do the right thing.
Diego is a handsome hero and I had some sympathy for him but his manipulation of Lucy and his friend Gaspar certainly made me dislike him at times.
I thought the characters were well developed and I liked seeing how they changed as the story progressed. The setting changes from England to Spain and while I usually dislike that feature in a story it was necessary and was done in a very seamless fashion. Jeffries has her own way of including humor into her stories and I always appreciate that.
As usual Sabrina Jeffries delivers an excellent tale for which I give it 5 stars. I highly recommend this book. Even better at the end she gives us just a glimmer into her next book in the series which is Charlotte Harris’ story and she gives us several clues to chew on as to the identity of the mysterious “Cousin Michael.” I think I will be so disappointed if he turns out to be Charles Godwin!!! That book Wed Him Before You Bed Him will be released in July 2009 and believe me I will be first in line to by it! ( )