The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt~~DIK READING CHALLENGE

WHEN THE DEVIL MEETS AN ANGEL
 
Country bred Lucy Craddock-Hayes is content with her quiet life. Until the day she trips over an unconscious man—a naked unconscious an—and loses her innocence forever.

HE CAN TAKE HER TO HEAVEN

Viscount Simon Iddesleigh was nearly beaten to death by his enemies. Now he’s hell-bent on vengeance. But as Lucy nurses him back to health, her honesty startles his jaded sensibilities—even as it ignites a desire that threatens to consume them both.

OR TO HELL

Charmed by Simon’s sly wit, urbane manners, and even his red-heeled shoes, Lucy falls hard and fast for him. Yet as his honor keeps him from ravishing her, his revenge sends his attackers to her door. As Simon wages war on his foes, Lucy wages her own war for his soul using the only weapon she has—her love…

My Thoughts:
I started reading this trilogy about two years ago. I was really impressed with EH's The Raven Prince and honestly couldn't wait to read the remaining two books. Things definitely did not go as I had planned. I did not immediately grab up book two, The Leopard Prince, or the third The Serpent Prince...other books just seemed to fall into my lap or these titles didn't fit into the challenge that I was doing. I sincerely regret this. I do believe that The Serpent Prince is my favorite.

Lucy is a country mouse set to wait out her time until the Vicar finally gets up the nerve to propose to her. She does her duty to her town and her father and life is just the same old thing until she stumbles across a man that she presumes dead lying face down along the roadside. When Lord Simon Iddesleigh moans she knows she is mistakened. Lucy does what any caring person would do, she has him carried home with her.

In the week or so that Simon spends in the Craddock-Hayes home he is bowled over by Lucy's beauty, strength, honesty, and her brow. His Angel sees through him right to his very soul, and a black soul it is. He has already sold his soul to the Devil to get revenge on the men who murdered his brother. Loving his Angel the only thing he can do is set her free to live her merry life with the Vicar, this is the only way to keep her safe from the would be assassins and his own devilish needs.

I almost instantly fell in love with the characters in this book. Lucy's father is a blowhard with a foul temper, but you have to laugh at his conversations. Poor Lucy doesn't know how to subdue either man when in each others presence and the banter is comical at times. Edward de Raaf shows himself a few times throughout...I don't remember him being so humorous in his book The Raven Prince.

This is my favorite part of the book. The hopeless romantic was rearing its ugly little head while reading apparently.

"You won't speak, won't tell me,' he said huskily. 'Are you taunting me? You taunt me in my dreams sometimes, sweet angel, when I'm not dreaming of...' He sank to his knees before her. 'You don't know me, don't know what I am. Save yourself. Throw me from your house. Now, While you still can, because I've lost my determination, my will, my very honor--what little of it I had left. I cannot remove myself from your presence." p.152

Simon is pouring his heart out into Lucy's lap after leaving and spending a week in London. He is looking ragged and not all together healed from his last ordeal that landed him on Lucy's doorstep to begin with.  My heart definitely did the pitter patter while reading this particular part of the book. Elizabeth Hoyt did a wonderful job with the hero and heroine and their story and at the same time she weaved the Serpent Prince's fairytale into the plot of the book with an expertise that I have grown to love. The Serpent Prince definitely earns high ratings!!

5 stars