Review: The Devil to Pay (The Devilish Devalles #1) by Catherine Gayle

Print Length: 114 pages

• Publisher: Night Shift Publishing (May 9, 2013)

From Goodreads.com: Over the years, Gabriel Devalle has more than earned his reputation as one of “those devilish Devalles.” No one is more surprised than Gabe, therefore, when a debutante tosses herself into his path, only to have her gown “accidentally” ripped by her mischievous and alluring sister, all in the name of causing a scandal. Or was it to prevent a scandal? Either way, the gown-ripping sister has certainly drawn his notice.

Miss Miranda Hunt will do anything to prevent her sister from making a mistake which would bring scandal down upon their family…even make a deal with the devil. Mr. Devalle is no angel—fallen or otherwise—but he is devilishly handsome, shamelessly wicked, and as infamous a gentleman as Miranda has ever known. He promises to circumvent her sister’s schemes…for a price. What is a proper young lady to do when she has The Devil to Pay?

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 My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Let me start off by saying that this is a novella. That, of course, means that the story is very faced paced. The characters come with a back story, but the overall feel of the story is that it should have been longer. As a reader, I feel that I missed out on so much detail simply due to the fact that the book wasn't as long as I felt it had the potential to be. 

There were so many good parts to this novella, that it seems a shame to keep it as a novella, and not use it as a springboard to jump into a full length story. I would have liked to see more of a relationship flourish between Miranda and Gabriel. More courting, perhaps a wedding, or even a glimpse into their happily-ever-after, should they have one. I felt that I was left with a lot of questions after the last sentence had been read, and I would have liked to have had at least some of those questions answered. What happened after Gabriel brought Miranda home? How did society as a whole react to their sudden relationship? What did Miranda's sister think when Miranda came home betrothed to the man she had originally wanted for herself? 

That isn't to say that this wasn't worth reading, it definitely was, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a quick, clean romance, and/or is a fan of the historical romance genre.  I look forward to reading more by this author, and hopefully seeing more of these characters in her future works. 

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 The Devil to Pay (The Devilish Devalles #1) is available from Amazon.com