ok so I had to pick it up due to the hype.. much older man, abduction, rape and on and on... I'm glad I did though. Maybe it's because I married my husband at the ripe old age of twenty, keep in mind my dshing hero in real life is sixteen years my senior. so the age thing, while it shocked some, didn't phase me. I like a good abduction, don't mind a rape or whatever the more drama and chaos usually the better I like it but Devil's Embrace wasn't anything special, to me.

I see why the Ladies love and hate Anthony, yes his ego was large and in charge, hmmph, and yes he was one of the most self entitled men but really was he all that bad or just stubborn and deseprate to have his own way at the cost of all others? again spoilt little boy grows up to be over bearing Lord! And Cassie, well geez, she was just so smart and so stupid I found I was ranting at her, "you hussy"..."why you deserved that you little shit"! anyways far from my favorite heroine but ok I didn't write this so I can't be true dissapointed in it as I did finish it and it didnt get thrown at the wall.

Horrible book ! I love a good bodice ripper ! rape cool. arrogant guy cool. girl that can be a bit of a ditz cool (I read manga as well if I can take the girl from fruit basket I can take anything). I rarely get annoyed about a book. I read flowers in the attic a bunch of times.... I don't get werided out ! I wanted to bathe in fiji water after reading this mess! she kept saying "no" I felt no passion. I read Captive bride that had the same premise as this but he actually ASKED HER TO MARRY HIM AND WHEN SHE DIDN'T OH WELLL I'LL MAKE YOU MY MISTRESS ! He was young and hot the first day he was like I want to marry her didn't know her but I was with it ! but this guy in Devil embrace was so annnnoying and old omg . It would be one thing if the either one was funny and enjoyable to read but the guy was obnoxious ! I like the girl at first but she was stupid sooo stupid. I had to stop reading I started to care less and less if cassie died heck I wish she actually would die so I could stop reading. Sad thing is if this was written in a different way I would be okay with the plot. I like a good kidnap or manipulation but not when there is no chemistry ! kind of reminded me of Flame and the flower but atleast with them it was bad relationship in the beginning and I didn't care much for the guy but I felt the chemistry and he was waaaay older too so I know it not that... I don't know

Read all you need to know about this squick-making Rape-A-Rama with overtones of pedophilia in the splendid review by Karla (Mossy Love Grotto). She 'splains things.

The earl of Clare, Anthony Welles kidnaps 18 year old Cassandra in England, rapes her en route on his yacht and takes her to his Italian villa in Genoa. She was engaged to another and is quite angry. He had been planning this for years as he used to be in love with her mother. He is 34. Her time in Italy is fraught with peril, but she falls in love with him. She manages to escape and meet up with her old fiance, Edward Lyndhurst, Discount Delford in New York. Things don't work out, and she returns to England and winds up with the Earl. The story kept my attention, with some violent twists. The Earl is nothing but kind to Cassandra, though she is a captive. Sometimes Cassandra acted stupidly, but she gets her HEA.

Quite disturbing at times, but I still enjoyed it...

A good Boddice-Ripper has the ability to take you out of your comfort zone, drag you through scenes of rape and abuse, while still leaving you wanting to thank the author for the emotional journey. Devil's Embrace turned my stomach a few times, to be honest, and left me a weepy mess as well. The characters are far from perfect, and at times I hated the hero and heroine equally. Saying all that, this story definitely engaged all of my emotions and left me extremely satisfied with the ending.

Devil's Embrace is the kind of story where you're not sure who you want the 'hero' to be. I even had to do a bit of investigating towards the end, because I was concerned that Cassie was going to end up married to the wrong man. It's hard to admit to wanting the heroine to be attached to a man who has done terrible deeds, but I can't deny it. I wanted Cassie to pick the wrong man...who also happens to be the right man for her.

There are some truly UGLY scenes that left me feeling shattered and horrified at how depraved our fellow humans can be. When I came across some of these scenes, I was actually a touch surprised. Devil's Embrace was written years ago and I'm pretty sure I haven't read a recently written historical romance as dark as this. But, from the darkness, there was light. I think Catherine Coulter managed to make the darkness more bearable because of that light.

Devil's Embrace was dark but I really did enjoy the journey. This is not a story I would recommend to sensitive readers as there are some really disturbing scenes including rape and abuse.

The characters were interesting, the storyline captivating, and the love between the hero and heroine believable by the end. I will definitely be going on with Book 2 in the Duology.

The guy literally kidnaps a girl half his age and rapes her repeatedly, but it’s okay because he loves her so much?

Poorly written, with odd breaks in the story line, horrific tale with the happy ending of falling in love with the first man who raped her-?
Just plain odd. No thank you-

Let me first say that Catherine Coulter is one of my favourtie authors. But this book... OMG. Triggers: rape, miscarriage, extremely violent gang rape, attempted rape... this is not my idea of a historical romance.

I found both the "hero" (if you can call him that) and the "heroine" unlikeable. The only people I liked were the earl's staff.

Cassie is to marry Edward who she has known forever. But the day before their wedding Anthony, the earl, kidnaps her and makes it look like she died in a boating accident. She has known him all her life as well, but he is 16 yrs older then her. He then rapes her (he's not brutal but it's against her will). However, she finds despite her anger, her passion is awakened and she willing she consents to sex with him after that first time. Really?

Most of the time Cassie spews verbal assaults at the earl and he normally fluffs them off. It becomes tedious.

When she becomes pregnant someone decides to kill her and she is kidnapped again, this time by 5 men, 4 of whom violently beat and rape her, including sodomizing her.

She finds some letters and is appalled by who wrote them, takes off and finds Edward in America.

Later in the book there is an attempted rape and murder of her.

This is not what I call a Historical Romance. It is a very unpleasant read and I don't know why I finished it. Perhaps it was like watching a train wreck.

**********************SPOILERS******************

In reality, Anthony is a stalker. A handsome, virile, wealthy and most of the time, pleasant stalker, but a stalker none the less. Cassie falls under his sexual spell and masculine beauty but continues to be a shrew in almost all her interactions with him.

We find out he had hired her nanny and was actually grooming her from a very young age to be suitable for him - encouraging interest in his interests, having her study Italian since he's part Italian, etc. If that's not creepy, I don't know what is.

When Cassie finds letters to the earl from her nanny she feels manipulated (rightly so) and runs off to America to find Edward. She claims to be his wife so the captain of a ship will take her to America. She then has unpleasant sex with Edward knowing she is pregnant with Anthony's baby, telling Edward after the fact! He is not amused but will marry her out of honour. Meanwhile, Edward has a woman in his life who he's also had sex with, so where's the honour there?

The ending was very unsatisfactory as the remaining villians and their demise are just briefly talked about in a letter to Anthony.

Nope. I will not continue with this. She's an idiot to fall in love with a guy who was willing to hurt her by kidnapping and rape.
DNF

I know this book has received a lot of bad reviews, but it just happens to be one of my favorite books...so here I am trying to defend it. Yes, Anthony kidnaps, rapes, and beats Cassandra...but it's not a story about a sadistic man who LIKES to inflict pain upon women. It's the story of a man in love who intends to properly court a woman during her first season in London. However, Cassandra decides to skip her first season in London to marry her childhood sweetheart. Anthony wants Cassandra so badly that he does go so far as to kidnap her. He does rape her...but in his mind it is so she can't go back to her fiance. He tries to teach Cassandra pleasure along the way. And the one time he does beat her, he doesn't really want to do it...she disobeys his orders on his ship and she assumes she will be punished after he scolds her and actually urges him to 'get it over with.' Despite having kidnapped Cassandra, Anthony treats her kindly and tries to earn her affection. And despite some very bad things happening to the heroine, the book ends happily enough. If you love historical romances and can deal with the 'harsher' parts of history in regards to how women were treated back then, then I recommend giving this book a try!

Total waste of time! Coulter built up more between Cassandra and Edward so that when Anthony came out of the blue you were as shocked as Casandra. Moreover, 60% into the story I was still wishing for and missing Edward just like Cassandra. I felt NOTHING between Cassandra and Anthony other than some maniac kidnapping her and forcing her to like him and be his wife. Ridiculous.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It has a lot of rape and has a lot of violence - but it is fiction and it is taking place in a different time when people did a lot of raping looting ravaging and stuff like that - we still do but you know maybe some point in the future will write about the war is all over the world now are these things happen then make them historical romantic fiction but I still have an issue with it.

The fact that the heroine falls in love with the person who has abducted and raped her is a time honored if you want to say that kind of story. There is too much melodramatic travel and war and stuff like that for me but I like the author and I read the book.