Summary: Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl's heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago? Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle's home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed. Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud's savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice's love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, I have to admit. I started reading it to get it read and get the review done, I'm in one of those phases, thank goodness they only last a day or so, anyway...I started to read it and about 2 chapters in, I was hooked. The book has wonderful character development, great plot-in movement and drama, steamy romance, raw emotion, and my personal favorite, excellent vocabulary. The characters are what draw you into the story, it starts with such a young (-ish for the time period) women who is wrestling with her mind about her age and naivety, but she is strong and an excellent heroine and complement to the wild and untamed Lord Hope. The plot was excellent, it progressed quickly, there were no awkward -move along- moments and there were balls, guns, Indians, royalty, and even a fairy tale. I will also say that there were a couple of moments I actually teared up, it was so sad, and I don't tear up very often. To conclude: Elizabeth Hoyt also has excellent vocabulary, I can't remember the last time I had to bust out the dictionary (ok, it was Google) and look up a word...it was great! Also, I love that Ms. Hoyt used the actual term for a certain part of a male anatomy ;) it was refreshing and surprisingly erotic. I very much enjoyed this book. I hope everyone else does as well.

For more information or for purchasing visit Elizabeth Hoyt's webpage.

Also posted: http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2009/11/book-review-to-desire-devil-by.html

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another good read by elizabeth Hoyt. This was the last book in the legand of the four soldiers and I loved how it ties all of the stories together to find the series off.

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I like Elizabeth Hoyt's books but I have to admit, I've been back and forth in this series. I first encountered the Legend of the Four Soldiers series and it was suggested I read the second book first. After reading To Seduce a Sinner I definitely agreed with that assessment as I really enjoyed the characters and their development in the second book. I enjoyed it enough that I went back and read the first book (To Taste Temptation) and was definitely glad I had read them out of order as I would never have continued with the series from the first book alone. I continued on with the third book (To Beguile a Beast)in the series, also enjoying it immensely and was greatly looking forward to To Desire a Devil.
However, I have to say, while I enjoy how the storyline wrapped up the series I really didn't enjoy this book as much as the the second and third books. I felt the hero was very angry and self focused for much of the book. His changes seemed sudden and predicated more by how far along in the plot the author was than any real building or changing of the character to get to these changes. I found the heroine's feelings and eventually love for the hero rather random as well. The fact that she feels she can love him unconditionally and have that love grow when she believes he does not love her and is no longer capable of love simply seemed naive to me.
That being said, it was worth the read to follow out the storyline. Its simply not a keeper for me though I'm looking forward to reading more of Elizabeth Hoyt's books (and I agree with the reviewer who said that the use of the anatomically correct word was different and erotic - it was).

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Well... I love Mrs. Hoyt's books. Can't help but love them all. This book was a great read also, though not my favorite. I thought that it wrapped up the 4 book series rather nicely but in comparison to the first three books, it was just an easy read.

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This final book in the Soldier series wraps up the long winding subplot of who betrayed a group of British soldiers to the enemy during the French and Indian War in the then American colonies. I felt that the ending when they found the traitor left some ends hanging. I was really looking forward to reading this book and was a little disappointed.

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Really enjoyed this finale to the Four Soldiers series. Reynaud is a man with terrible emotional scars who has suffered for his country, fought for his life, and was subjected to cruelty and humiliation during a long captivity. He is not, unsurprisingly, well behaved.

He connects with Beatrice, his "cousin"(not related by blood), who is able to find the humanity in him, the buried gentleman, and who helps him find love. She was supposed to be really devoted to her uncle (who had raised her like a father) but I wasn't convinced. We saw little of the devotion or loyalty.

Hoyt writes a compelling story for the pair and their chemistry was pretty steamy.

I'm not sure that after the four book series that the resolution to the overarching mystery (who is the traitor) was as satisfying as I would have wished, but it worked.

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Awesome--it's a keeper!

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Caveat: I read this book as a stand alone, and haven't read the others in the series. That being said, I never connected with the emotions of the hero & heroine here. She loves him based on years of staring at his picture. He loves her....because she's the first English woman he's seen in seven years? Well, blow me down but this did not set my heart racing. And the hero's sudden turnabout at the end of the book seemed to come from out of nowhere. I finished it, but it's not a keeper for me.

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Great finish to a wonderful series. Sorry it ended.

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At first I thought this last book would be the weakest. Nope, that honor belongs to To Taste Temptation (book 1). Reynaud is unlikable for a portion of the book. He is redeemed beautifully. I liked Beatrice and her questions to Reynaud. She gradually gets him to talk about his experiences. I appreciated the depiction of PTSD, I felt it was realistic.
I'm happy to say, the traitor is unmasked. What was disappointing to me, was there was this build-up over the last 3 books, and then (whisper) boom. It lost steam and I thought it was over too quickly.

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this series is awsome!

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From the back cover....

After seven years in hellish captivity, Reynaud St. Aubyn busts into ancestral home half mad with fever, demanding his due. Can this wild man truly be the last earl's son thought to be murdered by Indians?

Nothing is more intoxication...
Beatrice Corning is the niece of the present earl and a proper English miss. Yet she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in a certain portrait. Now, suddenly, he's here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed.

Than surrendering to a devil...
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud's savage ways to the noble man inside. And Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as her loyalty to her uncle raises his suspicions. But can she tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

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