Clara Dawson always followed the rules, until one terrifying night when her inheritance is stolen and the man responsible is left for dead. Desperate to outrun her troubles, she accepts a governess position at the crumbling gothic manor of the mysterious Ravensdale family. Caring for three orphaned children gives her a purpose, but her vulgar employer, Bly Ravensdale, holds dangerous secrets that … that may shatter Clara’s newfound safe haven. Yet this stubborn brute compels Clara to abandon her etiquette at every turn, and she can’t stay away.
Disowned by his family, Bly Ravensdale travels the globe as an explorer and agent of the British Crown until his brother’s passing leaves him saddled with three young wards. Charged with returning them to the family’s vacant ancestral seat in the English countryside—the one place he wishes to avoid at all costs—Bly quits the role of spy to play family man. But a man nicknamed Devil rarely gets a clean start in life, even with the aid of the prudish yet lovely governess, Clara. Despite her cold exterior, Bly finds himself drawn to her, even as an enemy from his deadly past resurfaces seeking vengeance. Can he protect all that he has suddenly come to hold dear?
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Slow turn of events escalates into revelations of convictions, emotions and passion good and bad. Broken souls mend in the best of ways. Excellent characterization and atmosphere. An enjoyable read.
I loved this unique and intriguing book. The characters were dark and interesting, the plot kept me turning the pages and I look forward to reading more of Rebecca Paula’s novels!
storyline kept me interested to the end.
Loved it.
I just loved these characters. Tiger and all.
Good story line
loved it
This is the first I’ve read of Rebecca Paula and did not know what to expect.
Very gothic start – desperate woman traveling (in the rain) to take a position as governess and arrives soaking wet into chaotic living conditions. Interesting characters, not a boring moment. Even some amusing scenes. I especially liked the scenes with the 3 innocent young children, who help tame Blys.
I would have liked to have had more information regarding Clara’s background and explanation of her flight. Towards the end some information is provided, but not enough for my taste.
4.5*
A Proper Fallen Angel and An Unrepentant Devil
Desperate and on the run, Clara is willing to take any position, even if it is working for the devil himself. Walking through the doors of Burton Hall, she literally stumbles into is a madness and chaos that will test all of her resolve and challenge her fears. Little does she know that she just stepped into her future.
Angry and feeling trapped, Bly only plans to take the least amount of time necessary to bring order to chaos, and then leave England for good. Then an annoying and stubborn etiquette angel turned his world upside down as she stumbles through the doors of Burton Hall. Little does he know she’s the one who will alter his future.
Beautifully written, Etiquette with the Devil is an emotionally charged saga that spans an eight year period. Rebecca Paula weaves together a tender but messy love story with truly interesting characters. Although the plot moves a bit slow, still each scene propels this engrossing story forward to a very satisfying and smile-worthy conclusion.
Content alert: All in all, I really liked this book. However, this is an adult read due to the vulgarities, addictive use of substances, violence and sexual intimacy.
To much sex and to “wordy.” Bur a good story.
Toxic Relationship
The hero in this book behaved like a self-centered, obnoxious jerk. The heroine was so emotionally needy she was attracted to him! This man was not a dashing rogue flaunting the rules of society. He was unnecessarily rude and disrespectful toward the h, yet in a relatively short time, she wanted him.
For a spy, the hero didn’t seem very clever. He was too impetuous. He allowed himself to be bullied into making a reckless decision without much thought about the people affected by it. The heroine, for all her strength under the circumstances, couldn’t manage to resist a man she couldn’t even trust.
The book has some typos but reads well enough so that I read to the end. Even at the end of the book, I found very few redeeming qualities to improve my dislike of the hero.
The transitions between scenes were jerky and it never flowed. Was overwritten. I liked the idea of a Jane Eyre sort of re-telling but the writing was poor and I couldn’t get into the characters. I didn’t get but a third to halfway through before I quit.
“What did you like about this book?” The cover? The male lead, a rich nabob from India, is not emotionally attractive; the female lead is deeply concerned with people’s correct speaking. They don’t work for me.
This book, to me, seems disjointed. It jumps forward with a terse explanation on how it got there. This happened more than once. Yet, it was too long, I just wanted it to end.
Liked the contrasts between prim-and-proper and worldly experience
Loved this book! Had romance, heartbreak, suspense and humor. Couldn’t read fast enough. Give stars from me.
You can’t help but love sassy Clara and the little monsters she cares for who becomes important to the story. I think we all want to fix Bly and make everything wonderful. Great story of struggles before they can have their happy ending.
Quick and interesting story. You can easily get swept up in it. Sometimes it feels redundant, but keep going. A nice story unfolds. Lots of grammatical errors in the Kindle edition.
A great romantic susoense thriller.