Devil in My Bedby Celeste Bradleyreviewed by Cheryl SneedAugust 2009, 352 pages, Publisher: St. Martin's, ISBN: 0312943083 Back Cover Blurb: The three-year-old girl sitting on the steps of Brown's Club for Distinguished Gentlemen insists that one of its members is her papa. Aidan de Quincy feels obligated to help the wee thing, even though she certainly isn't his - or is she? To find answers, Aidan must first track down the lovely widow he swore to forget when their passionate affair came to a painful end. It doesn't help that Madeleine Chandler is as sensual and enticing as ever…
For three years, Madeleine had dreamed of seeing Aidan on her doorstep. The secret that once forced her to leave him now compels her to pretend that this sweet child is hers - a lie Aidan will surely never forgive. Yet the contented days and exquisite nights that follow are worth the heartbreak she knows must come. The truth will out - and when it does, there will be the devil to pay…
Celeste Bradley begins a new trilogy - "The Runaway Brides" - with Devil in My Bed. The trilogy tells the story of three men, one of whom must be the father to adorable poppet Melody who was left on the doorstep of Brown's Club for Distinguished Gentlemen.
Since there are only three members of the club young enough to have fathered the child - Brown's is full of fossils, which oddly suits our three friends - Aiden de Quincy reflects on what he was doing four years ago and acknowledges that the child may be his. He had a whirlwind affair with the widowed Madeleine Chandler which abruptly ended when she coldly refused his offer of marriage. Aiden has studiously avoided Madeleine during the intervening years but now must seek her out to learn if they are the parents of little Melody.
Aiden and Madeleine were deeply in love, but Madeleine had to refuse the marriage offer for she was already married and hiding out from her abusive husband. Aiden now arrives on her doorstep just in time to save her from being hauled away by her husband's nasty henchman. After she allows him to believe she is Melody's mother, Aiden rescues her and takes her to hide out with the child in his rooms at the club full of deaf old men. Can Aiden and Madeleine keep the old flame from igniting? What of her dastardly husband and just whose child is Melody?
I enjoyed Devil in My Bed very much. It has a real Three Men and a Baby vibe to it - including some similar dialog - as Aiden and his friend try to deal with caring for a very young child in some fun, laugh-out-loud scenes. Aiden and Madeleine were both interesting and likeable, I enjoyed the deaf old men of the club and Melody was a terrific character. It's tricky to write small children well but, while Melody's vocabulary may be a tiny bit advanced, anyone who has been around children will recognize this three year old.
It's been a while since I read a Celeste Bradley romance, but I am back on the bandwagon with Devil in My Bed and looking forward to the next installment in the "Runaway Brides" series.
Reviewed by Cheryl Sneed, September 17, 2009
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