Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Between the Devil and Desire
    Between the Devil and Desire
    Between the Devil and Desire
    Audiobook11 hours

    Between the Devil and Desire

    Written by Lorraine Heath

    Narrated by Susan Ericksen and Antony Ferguson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Inspired by Dickens’ character The Artful Dodger, Lorraine Heath has created a page-turning, passionate romance. Jack Dodger has survived London’s streets to become the owner of an exclusive gentleman’s club and one of the wealthiest men in England. But when the late Duke of Lovingdon mysteriously makes him guardian of his 4 year old heir, Dodger is thrown together with Olivia, the boy’s mother, who wants to be rid of him as soon as possible. But soon Jack discovers a love that knows no bounds as he comes to care for Olivia. The young woman tames him, and he realizes he’ll give up everything he possesses to make her happy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMar 7, 2012
    ISBN9780062132864
    Between the Devil and Desire
    Author

    Lorraine Heath

    Lorraine Heath always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals, press releases, articles, and computer code, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her novels have been recognized with numerous industry awards and have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists.

    More audiobooks from Lorraine Heath

    Related to Between the Devil and Desire

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Four Of A Kind

      May 3, 2023

      Four Of A Kind
      4 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Jul 12, 2023

      Great Read
      7 min read

    • Article

      15 Most Notorious Witches

      Jan 31, 2024

      15 Most Notorious Witches
      14 min read

    • Article

      Fabulous Fiction

      Dec 11, 2020

      Defence attorney Mickey Haller is pulled over by police, who find the body of a client in the boot of his car. Mickey elects to defend himself and as he is unable to afford his bail, he must strategise and build his defence from his jail cell in the

      8 min read

    • Article

      Terror on Pendle Hill

      Jan 31, 2024

      Terror on Pendle Hill
      7 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Oct 2, 2019

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Feb 17, 2023

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Apr 8, 2024

      Books
      6 min read

    • Article

      Sounds Of Silence

      Mar 27, 2022

      Sounds Of Silence
      2 min read

    • Article

      It Happened to Me…

      Jun 16, 2022

      A genuine miracle occurred at the art opening of the Blinky 40th Anniversary Exhibition at California State University Northridge Gallery in Southern California on 2 February 2019. An artwork by Erika Ostrander of the “Shroud of Blinky” was found wee

      6 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Special

      Dec 28, 2023

      The distinctive depth of characterisation shines in this tightly knitted story of therapist Nick and retired solicitor wife Zoe, as they decide to view a deconsecrated Victorian church which is for sale. It’s “even more picturesque than it looked onl

      11 min read

    • Article

      Right Royal Madness

      Feb 9, 2022

      Taking up the latest fashion in one’s fifties is ill advised, but sometimes one just can’t help oneself. So it was when I was inadvertently catapulted into the ranks of the ultratrendy last year, diagnosed as mentally ill. Bipolar, to be precise. It

      3 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Apr 16, 2021

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Non-stop Drama

      Jul 22, 2022

      By DANYA KUKAFKA HarperCollins Ansel Packer sits on death row. In 12 hours he’s scheduled to die by lethal injection. He knows why he is there – years ago he brutally killed three young girls and later his ex-wife. No question about it, he is guilty

      3 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Special

      Dec 28, 2023

      Summer Reading Special
      11 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      May 18, 2022

      Great Read
      5 min read

    • Article

      Drift AWAY

      Dec 15, 2019

      Drift AWAY
      5 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Aug 16, 2023

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Only Rule

      Jul 13, 2020

      There is only one rule in polite English society, but it is iron clad. Of course, polite English society is a fiction. For one thing, its members are rarely polite. Politeness is for the middle classes rather than those who live off ancestral acres o

      5 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Aug 16, 2023

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      Mortal Peril

      Oct 25, 2020

      In that country known as the past, as recently as the 1970s, young people with little money, restless feet and rebellious souls used to hitchhike. This seems impossible to comprehend now: the idea of young people, especially young women, willingly ge

      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Between the Devil and Desire

    4/5

    131 ratings10 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Jack Dodger, a wealthy man who owns a prestigious gentleman’s club. Having lived on the streets when he was younger, he craves wealth. So when he hears that the Duke of Lovingdon has died, but his will leaves him all his entailed wealth, if he agrees to be guardian to his son, he agrees but meets resistance with the mother, Olivia. Olivia is furious, after hearing the will and that she has no power, even as the mother of her son, to repute the offer to Jack Dodger. Jack is only doing this for the power and wealth, but despite tension between him and Olivia escalate, he starts to care for this young boy he is responsible for. And he starts to realize that there are a lot more important things besides wealth, but when desire and passion are cultivated between these two, they come to realize that love is the most dangerous weapon of all when it comes to defeating the shield around one’s heart.This is the second in the series, and I just fell in love with Jack Dodgers story. Jack grew up on the streets being a pickpocket and now he is more than ever determined to make as much money as he possibly can. So when he hears that he is supposed to be the guardian to a young impressionable boy. But his mother Olivia matches his strong will, and tension flows between them both. But as time continues there is a desire that rises and unable for either of them to resist. I truly fell in love with this story and the characters as well. Not only Olivia and Jack but the little boy, Henry. From the beginning Jack starts to learn what it means to have a family, and the bond between Jack and Henry become undeniably strong. At first, Jack’s goal is to get Olivia married off to someone so he can just enjoy the rewards and not have to bear the responsibilities, but time passes and his relationship with Olivia strengthens to the point where he doesn’t know if he can live without her in his life. This is such a heartwarming story, where love can melt the ice of any hardened heart and teach the true value of the healing power of love. This is probably one of my favorite series written by Lorraine Heath, for the plot flows and the characters are engaging, and the passion and love these two feel will brighten up any stormy day. Such a wonderful read!!!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Enjoyed the second book in an intriguing series. Love the connections of Feagen's lads.
    • 3/5
      Whilst I really liked this book, the author did no research on The Artful Dodger, including getting his name right. An extremely quick Google search reveals his name is Jack Dawkins. I found this irritating as the only thing resembling the Dickens character was his name. The Artful Dodger could have been so much more with just a little research or making him another of Fagins boys.
    • 5/5
      Great story with many twists. Another great from Lorraine Heath.
    • 5/5
      This book was awesome. The ending was unexpected. I am so happy I read it. I almost didn’t as I’d already read Minerva’s story but it was still a delight to read
    • 4/5
      Rounded up. The narrative bounced around quite a bit, I prefer when it's just the two main characters switching back and forth every chapter or so. This one went about wherever and whenever it was convenient for the author. The heroine was over-dramatic, and it took quite a while for me to enjoy her (even then I don't think she'll be very memorable for me). The pieces didn't fit together quite as well as in the first book in the series, but it was still entertaining and I'm glad to be learning more about this group of friends from the streets.
    • 4/5
      I feel like I should not have rated this book 4 stars. In truth, I have a lot of quibbles with it. The subject matter was trapped somewhere between super dark/upsetting and a romp? It was a very light-hearted tone for a book that, ultimately, hinged largely on a child molestation background.

      SPOILERS

      Alas, by the end of it, I was literally rolling around on my couch delighted because, "DID IT SERIOUSLY JUST? IS THAT. I MEAN. REALLY?"

      Because somewhere around halfway (maybe less) through the book I realized, "Oh my God, she's his step-mom. The kid is his half-brother. Oh my God." And from that point on, ridiculously, I was sold. 5000% sold. Especially because I knew all through the typical influx of sex scenes toward the latter 1/3 of the book, that EVENTUALLY, they would get to realize and acknowledge, "Oh my God, your dead husband was my biological father."

      It's much like the Highlander series I recently read where William Wallace was, for seemingly no particular reason, a minor character.

      Since this book just whole-heartedly went for schtupping the step-mom without realizing it trope (is that even a trope?) I just let it do its thing and entertain me. I still have issues with the handling of most of the darker issues brought up.

      But.

      She's his step-mom. Did I mention that? AMAZING.
    • 4/5
      I've already read the first and third books in the Scoundrels of St. James series, and like the other two this one is a four-star for me.

      What I Liked
      Jack Dodger, whose persona is a bit darker than his cohorts in crime, is infuriating and appealing at the same time. And once again, I was charmed by the relationship that develops between the rogue and a child, in this case the five-year-old Duke of Lovingdon. The romance between Jack and the boy's mother develops gradually and in a believable manner.

      I enjoyed the reappearance of characters from the other books too. While they were secondary characters, their roles were much more than just walk-ons. In this sense, the series reminds me a bit of Mary Balogh's Bedwyn Saga, where the brothers and sisters show up in every volume and we learn more of the back story in each.

      What I Didn't Like
      I suppose that it's inevitable when you're reading the same author repeatedly, but the love scenes in all of the books resemble one another so much that I found myself skimming. Skimming the sex scenes? What's up with that?

      Conclusion
      This was a touching and humorous love story, with lots of surprises about Jack Dodger. I recommend that the series be read in order.
    • 4/5
      Read from April 14 to 19, 2013Read/Listened for Fun (Kindle/Audible)Overall Rating: 4.25Story Rating: 4.25Character Rating: 4.25Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)First Thought when Finished: Jack Dodger was super wicked and probably my favorite Scoundrel!Story Thoughts: Historical romance must have two things to make me happy: a man to swoon for and a woman who puts him in his place. Between the Devil and Desire delivered on both counts. The story had the added kick of a little boy who brought out the best in Mr. Dodger. I cried at the back story, laughed at the shenanigans, and loved watching Jack/Olivia fall in love!Character Thoughts: Normally I would start with the man but to me Olivia was the rock of Between the Devil and Desire. She was a woman who could have just cowered to Jack but instead she was a fierce mama bear who held her own. What I loved most? She was willing to expand her thought process even where her son was concerned. Jack was just awesome. I liked him the first book but loved him here. I am so glad he finally found love and a little peace.Audio Thoughts: Narrated By Susan Ericksen, Antony Ferguson /Length: 11 hrs and 15 minsSusan and Antony did a great job with Jack and Olivia. I do think they work really well together and really enjoyed this audiobook.Final Thoughts: I am really enjoying this series so far!
    • 4/5
      Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Jan09Lorraine Heath’s books are a bit of a treat for me. Her characters are always interesting (both male AND female), the plots always have a bit of a twist, and the heat between the hero and heroine is always sizzling. “Between the Devil and Desire” lives up to all of the above and includes a subplot of heroes in rags-to-riches circumstances in her ‘Scoundrels of St James’ series.Olivia is a Duchess who prides herself on her proper behavior. She was a dutiful daughter who married a much older man at her father’s behest and provided the required heir. Her husband never visited her bed again and she spends all her love and devotion on her young son. After her husband dies, she’s shocked to find out that the man her husband the Duke named as guardian to her five year old son and the future Duke is none other than the “deliciously wicked Jack Dodger”. How long can a woman who’s never experienced real pleasure hold out against a man who’s an expert at delivering it?Jack Dodger’s mother sold him when he was a boy of five. He escaped from his cruel ‘owner’, renamed himself, and found a new home and family under the tutelage of Feagan—manager of the best gang of child thieves in London’s rookeries. He’s come a long way since those days, as have his childhood friends. He’s currently the owner and manager of the best and most exclusive ‘men’s club’ in London, Dodger’s Drawing Room, where for a high fee, men can safely and anonymously indulge their vices. They can gamble, drink, dance…but no one, NO ONE is allowed to harm anyone who works for Jack, he protects what’s his because he remembers being vulnerable. Jack’s life revolves around his quest for more money—because money equals safety. When he’s offered a king’s fortune to act as guardian for the son of a Duke he hardly knew, Jack’s suspicious…but he’s also not about to let a nagging virago of a Duchess keep him from earning a fortune!Jack was such a complex character. The bad boy with a heart of gold…badly tarnished and totally wicked, but only in the best ways! Heath did a great job of portraying the gradual change in her lead characters’ relationship; once you accept the premise of her plot, the unfolding of the story is believable and gradual. I must confess that I found Olivia mostly forgettable and I did find the connections at the ending a bit dubious, but after enjoying the rest of the story I won’t quibble.“Between the Devil and Desire” provided me a few hours of enjoyable escapism. It made me laugh and smile and even the bit of danger at the end wasn’t too terribly menacing. That’s another point in Lorraine Heath’s favor, in my opinion, she writes stories that don’t try TOO hard. They’re smooth, they’re hot, they’re enjoyable, and they just make me feel lighter when I’m done.