Sandy M’s review of In Bed with the Devil by Susan Mallery
Contemporary Romance released by Silhouette Desire 7 Aug 07

I’m bummed. I’ve read a few of Susan Mallery’s book and absolutely loved them. So much so that I always anticipate picking up another one of her books whenever I can. This is my first category romance by her. It is an older book, a couple years old, but since it’s a Mallery, I anticipated a good read. That didn’t happen, not by a long shot. I just didn’t care for this book all that much. Surprised the hell out of me.

Meri is a genius. Literally. She has one of those brains that just won’t turn off. As a young child and a teenager she was overweight, so that combined with her intellect usually scared the boys off. She adored her big brother Hunter and she’s always loved his best friend Jack. On her seventeenth birthday Jack finds Meri in an emotional state, her brother has just died and now she has no friends but for Jack, but she wants more from him than just friendship. But Jack has always looked at her as Hunter’s baby sister and when she blurts out she wants him, he doesn’t know what else to do but walk away. He then walks away again after Hunter’s funeral and eleven years pass before Meri sees him again.

Hunter’s will stipulates that each of his six best friends must stay a month in the cabin he’s slated to give to a charitable foundation for kids. When it’s Jack’s turn for his month, Meri has wrangled her way into being there on the administrative side of the deal just so she can exact her revenge on Jack for leaving her all those years ago. Up to this point, I was able to live with this book. I felt for Meri, especially those pages when she’d lost her brother and blurted out her love for Jack. It’s when she puts her plan into motion that everything went south in a huge hurry.

She doesn’t mince words at all when she confronts Jack with her revenge. She’s there to seduce him, make him want her, and she tells him flat out that’s what she’s going to do. For eleven years later, Meri acts like a petulant child. Her actions just didn’t go over all that well most of the time, except when she’s actively seducing him and not talking about it. There are moments she acts like the woman she is, but those are few and far between. And I didn’t like the fact that she’s still looking at her grudge through the eyes of a hurt seventeen year old. Her revenge is the same as it was back then, nothing new to reflect her growth over the years. And, of course, it all backfires on her.

Jack is determined not to let Meri get to him because he promised Hunter he’d look out for her. Only thing is, he’s done a half-ass job of that, all done from afar through investigators and whatnot. But he’s just a man and with that sexy body being thrown at him every which way, what man wouldn’t eventually give in? I didn’t blame him one bit. I actually wanted him to turn it all around and show her the fire she’s dealing with. Then there’s the current boyfriend-almost-fiance of Meri’s who shows up missing her. That didn’t sit well with me either. She’s nearly engaged to this guy but is out seducing another man and does have sex with the other man. No, no, no, no!

The only thing that I did like other than Jack is Meri’s brainiac friends. They give some comic relief and, boy, is that needed every now and then. By the time I got to the HEA, I just didn’t care anymore and didn’t think Meri really deserved it. Sigh. Now I need to find a Susan Mallery book I do like to get the taste of this one out of my system.

Grade: D-

Summary:
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Millionaire of the Month: Jack Howington III
Source of Fortune: International security corporation
The woman he can never have: Meredith Palmer
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When he arrived at Hunter’s Landing, Jack got the surprise of his life. His best friend’s shy little sister had become a breathtaking young woman–with an ax to grind. Still smarting over Jack’s long-ago rejection, Meredith was now intent on luring the mogul into her bed…and her bed was right across the hall. At what cost would Jack keep a decade-old promise?
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No excerpt available.