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Charming the Devil

by Lois Greiman

reviewed by Valarie Pelissero

February 2010, 277 pages, Publisher: Avon, ISBN: 0061849336

I was very confused after reading the first two chapters of Lois Greiman's new book Charming the Devil because I had not read the preceding books in her Witches of Mayfair series so I felt like I had come in in the middle of a conversation, and my first thought was not another crappy book. And then, Ms. Greiman's words started to flow around the story of Faye and Rogan and I was mesmerized. Since I had not read the first two books and did not understand what was going on with the ladies of Lavender House, I pretty much just ignored those parts and focused on the best part of the story, and I really don't think I missed anything. Unlike some other books I've read recently, the mystery here was secondary to everything else.

Rogan and Faye are two tortured, damaged souls who find healing with each other, and I was so caught up in their story that I was sad to see the book end. The first time we meet Faye she is in a meeting in Lavender House having her mission explained to her. She is so frightened of what she needs to do that she can barely breathe, which tells readers that something very, very bad happened to her for her to become a recluse. When we first meet Rogan, he is attempting to save Faye from unwanted attentions and ends up with a potted plant hurled at his head. Faye is a witch, as are all of the ladies of Lavender House, and they all have different, special abilities. Faye can discern the truth from people, and when she herself tells a lie she gets headaches, and under extreme duress Faye is slightly telekinetic, which is how Rogan got a face full of planter.

Rogan is a decorated military officer and he has a sixth sense when danger is near. That sixth sense told him that a lady needed rescuing on the terrace where he found Faye attempting to fight off the attentions of an overzealous admirer. Rogan couldn't know that demons from Faye's past would make her see him as the devil incarnate, or that he will be able to do what years at Lavender House hasn't done…help Faye overcome those demons.

Rogan is battling his own demons in his insecurity about his large size (he sees himself as a troll) and he naturally keeps himself apart from everyone, especially women, thinking to save them from any harm he might accidentally do them. Rogan, however, is not afraid to leap into the fray to save those who are being abused by others, without thought to his own safety. I thought Rogan was a great hero, he wasn't the kind of hero that we normally read about. He wasn't a blustery alpha hero, he wasn't a bookish beta hero, he was rather shy, and very insecure without being emasculated, and he was that knight in shining armor that epitomizes the perfect romance hero, and it was his faults that made him so. It's been a while since I was so caught up in a story.

I have been going on and on about the love story between Rogan and Faye that I have neglected to mention the mystery aspect in Charming the Devil. There is a murder mystery which is at the heart of the story, but Faye's real “mission” was to discover her inner strength, which she was able to do with Rogan's help. Despite my confusion of previous events Charming the Devil was a phenomenal love story and I look forward to reading it again.

Reviewed by: Valarie Pelissero