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Buddy Read - The Devil's Own by Janet Louise Roberts
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Thanks Karla for getting me on the right track here. You are doing a fine mod job woman. Has anyone told you that lately???If I could invent a GPS for navigating websites I'd finally reach my monetary goal and become a billionairess. That is of course figuring I wouldn't be my one and only best customer.
That's a humbling thought. Especially because it just might be accurate. :/
No problem. I've been slacking in the mod housekeeping duties. :P
Enjoy the book. I've got a few other JLR books somewhere in the TBR.
Enjoy the book. I've got a few other JLR books somewhere in the TBR.
Great Jeanine! Looking forward to our discussion.Are we good to go Evelyn? I got the book this weekend and having no self control, popped it open and read a few pages last night. Surprised at how short this book is.
The 14 pages I read is already setting up the scene for weirdness....
I could finish this book in a few hours. I kind of feel guilty about it though. Never been one to savor books I like.Anyway, up to page 89 and for some reason, all I can think is (view spoiler) The dialogue is very strange. I'm guessing this is supposed to be present time (late 70's) but the people talk in a mixture of historical and present. They use very few contractions, but they also use words that only modern people would use. It's like college students trying to sound really grown-up. I don't think they talked like that in the 70's. I'm not sure if this is on purpose, or if the author really doesn't know how young people talk.
Other than that, (view spoiler).
A demon huh! Guess I shouldn't have read your spoiler, damn.Learned my lesson.
I'll pick the book up again tonight. I was almost a teenager in the 70's so will keep in mind your thoughts on the authors writing style for these teens Evelyn. I'm not that old that I can't remember :D I think.
Ok, so this is a gothic. I may have gotten my hands on 1 or 2 in my reading career. We shall seeeee.
Like I said, it didn't say anything that even hinted at him being a demon. That's just my wild guess. I've just read so much and watched so many movies and TV shows, that I've picked up a habit of predicting twists.
You are funny.If he is a demon, it's probably not going to turn into a very workable relationship...you think?
Right now I'm more curious about that little gal's adoptive parents. Something VEEEERY fishy going on there. Oh well, since I'm only on page 14 guess that won't be revealed for some pages.
I knew immediately that woman Camilla was up to no good. She's got something sinister going on.
Well tonight maybe I'll get thru a chapter or two.
Sharon wrote: "If he is a demon, it's probably not going to turn into a very workable relationship...you think?"LOL, I've seen worse matches.
Evelyn wrote: "LOL, I've seen worse matches."Are you referring to my current marriage?
Oh well, you are right. I've seen some bad BAD matches myself. As a matter of fact, more bad than good. :/
Okay, page 167. Those #@$&*#$%@! Grrr! My God, those people are evil. *shudders* I just want to leap into the book and strangle them.
I'm on page 67 now. My mind has been wandering as I read. At the beginning of Chapter 2 the thought crossed my mind that maybe Isabel is Camilla's daughter. I can't figure out how the adoptive parents would even know anyone like Camilla in the first place.Reading further, I am getting flashes of ROSEMARY'S BABY. That movie came out in '68 with a sweet gentle h (Mia Farrow) that reminds me of sweet gentle Isabel. Maybe that is the catalyst for this story. I feel like I'm playing the game CLUE here.
At this point, I feel like all these 'adults' are behaving like a bunch of kids playing a naughty game.
Oh, and I am very suspect of Matthew. He's playing a game with Isabel. Obviously he's watching our little gal very closely (or somebody is) and he knows just when to step into the picture.
♥ Cheshire Catt ♠ wrote: "There seemed to be a strong surge of Occult/Devil Worship interest in the 70's ...You can see their emblem was an inverted pentagram with a goat's head!"
Oh, that's interesting. Beautiful covers. I didn't notice the emblem on them til you pointed it out Jeanine. The book makes a little more sense to me now. Waiting for them to pull out the ole Wee Gee board :D
Okay, I finished last night. I see what you mean about the twist Jeanine. This author always seems to give me what I didn't dare to hope for in an ending. I mean, wow. What a weird and fantastical ending. I can't wait 'til you finish this one, Sharon. Should be fun to talk about.
Evelyn wrote: "Okay, I finished last night. ..."I knew you were going to finish this book Evelyn. I'll finish up my work early and get right on it before you lose some of your thoughts on it.
Otherwise, the way I'm going it could be a least a week by my reading pace. :/
Some musings on the book. I took a break and read a couple of chapters putting me 1/2 way through it.Now know who Isabel's mommy is. HA
And Matthew...the more I read about this guy, the more I know he is not what he seems and my thoughts fly. Odd that he is a Senior in college, yet he has ultimate authority over all the adults who bow to his decisions. Too, his constantly calling Isabel 'child', makes me think he is MUCH older than he appears. I've got this feeling....
Well, I will pick it later. The story has me intrigued...got my sleuth hat on. I want to see if I can figure it all out before it's revealed. Love this kind of challenge. :D
Done.Figured right on the money pretty much...hoping I'd be wrong.
Hoping Isabel would follow through with her original idea when she was recovering from her last fun picnic. It would have been almost perfect then and even better if she had taken her "mother" out with her.
Glad it wasn't the Texas Chain Saw Massacre # II.
Wasn't it odd that my first wild guess was almost completely accurate? I mean, Mehmet was repeatedly summoned by Camilla and Matthew really was a demon.*sigh* I'm getting so jaded these days. You know, it actually surprised me that Matthew was lying so blatantly to Isabel. He was even the one who suggested that it was gang rape and even faked being angry about it. I think that's actually pretty uncommon in most books. It makes it really hard to predict the mystery when you don't know what's truth and what's lies.
And yes, I noticed the authority over adults thing too. That's why I originally thought he was a demon summoned by Camilla. It was pretty obvious who was in control in that relationship. They did not act like student and professor. And if they did, Camilla was the student and Matthew was the professor.
So, what did you think of the dialogue, anyway? Did it sound odd to you too?
And, of course, what did you think of the book? I loved it, personally. I really love books like these.
Yes, I agree, the dialogue was off. The way it was written made me think the author was 'unseasoned'. That threw me off the story a bit...but the other areas of her writing drew me right back.Yep, you were right with your first hunch Evelyn. I'm glad you didn't give it away completely though and let me come to my own conclusions about Matthew. :D Thanks.
Obviously something was fishy with this guy pushing her to tell him immediately if she found out she was pregnant. Dead give away and got me really zooming into his character. His reactions where just too unrealistic for the situation.
Interesting blip about the author's background Jeanine! You know what they say...if you're going to write a story, write about something you know. I'm very curious about her now. Love to have a conversation with her, sounds like she was an interesting lady.
Well, the story kept my attention with it's weirdness. I like gathering clues and the fun of solving the mystery. I just didn't like Isabel's turn face at the end. She was just too wishy washy for my taste. She should have blown her brains out and taken her 'mother' with her, then I would have been more satisfied.
Nowadays, Jeanine, demon heroes are a common occurrence. But they're never really the real deal, it seems. The authors always seem to tone them down so they can be more heroic. Sometimes I wish that wasn't the case. If you've ever read Lords of the Underworld, that series's version of Lucifer is so cool. I so wish that the author would do a book about him, while still keeping him satanically evil. And yeah, I'll have to check Her Demon Lover out. I didn't know JLR was a preacher's daughter. I alwayswondered why she had so many pseudonyms.I knew those people didn't sound right! The dialogue in that one would have (and did) fit better in Lord Satan. Regency era is the most recent that it would fit in.
Wow, that's gotta be a first. I'm terrible at keeping twists to myself. I hate keeping secrets.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about his reaction to her possible pregnancy.
I actually loved Isabel's reactions at the end. I really hate heroines that are super feminist. They just really make me mad, because if I was in their place, I would totally fall for the anti-heroes. That's why I equally love and hate Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. The heroes are awesomely almost-villains, but the heroines are just bitchy brats. I do understand your wish for her to commit suicide, though. I felt the same way at that point, right after her second encounter with Mehmet. Somehow, it just seemed just revenge on all the other evil characters, especially those stupid wannabe witches. Man, I hated those people. I think Isabel was actually better off with Mehmet/Matthew than with those morons.
Well Evelyn sorry about dragging you away from your birthday present. :DI was really interested in hearing what you thought of this ending.
I liked that little gal too. Just didn't like the twists to her character the author gave her at the end. Didn't fit her IMO.
Seems no matter what choice she made, oops, that is an illusion ... she actually had no choice did she? I just wanted her out of that nightmare...go to more dances, make friends her own age, laugh, and just have fun...like you baby girl...playing her new video game, excited to go back to college, taking martial arts classes and lovin it.
Oh well.
But, since she couldn't do that...like I said, I would have rather seen her dead.
Don't feel bad. Usually it's considered bad when someone is obsessed with something to the point of ignoring everything else. ;)To answer your question, I absolutely loved the ending. I love stories like this, where the hero really is more of a villain. Authors just can't pull that off anymore. I also love stories about demons. I don't why, they just really fascinate me.
Evelyn wrote: "Don't feel bad. Usually it's considered bad when someone is obsessed with something to the point of ignoring everything else. ;)"
HA...you're talking about you and your new video game ... right?
Actually, that applies to books with me too. I have a horrible problem with stopping doing something I'm enjoying.
Well, when you read another book by JLR let me know what you think. I'm passing on this author unless she does something really exceptional. Like I told you before, I like my dreams Sweet....Since I mostly read at night...got to watch what I put in my mind before drifting off into dreamland.
Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous
Books mentioned in this topic
House (other topics)The Oath (other topics)
The Devil's Own (other topics)
Original post, moved from another thread:
I (Sharon) and my Buddy Evelyn are going to do a Buddy Read (if my stinkin Amazon seller ever gets my book off in the mail to me). If anyone has this book to read or would like to join in with us here...please do.
The book we will be reading is Devil's Own by Janet Louise Roberts.