Her father married for love, throwing away his title and his being disowned by his family to be with a merchants daughter. Now, the heroine, grieving his death, is sent back to England to be with the family that didn't want him and certainly doesn't want her. But she longs to belong somewhere, to have roots and love and a family. Innocent and hopeful for the future, she is turned away by her grandmother and sent instead to be ward to the devil earl. There, she meets the hero and immediately becomes attached to him. He is kind and funny and he makes her feel safe and wanted. She almost immediately falls in love with him, but who could really blame her? He is charismatic if a bit of a recluse and hounded by rumors of madness. But she is too timid to tell him of her true feelings in fear of betraying his hospitality but also because she feels it's her duty to do as she's told and find husband. But all she wants to do is paint. She sees the world through an artists eyes and the hero is the focus of all her sketches. At the castle in Cornwall the heroine is tutored to become a lady while she longs for those brief moments of companionship with her benefactor. Then they are away to London to begin her season. There, the hero is put to test. As a vampire he knows it's forbidden to feel the way he feels toward the heroine but she makes it so damn hard to resist. He beautiful eyes and siren voice have hold of him and he fear his ability to let her go. The idea of another man touching what's his makes him see red with rage but she deserves better than he can offer her. Then one night the heroine gains the courage to seduce the man she loves and succeeds in getting him to take her to be where they spend one night of passion. But in the morning the hero is gone. When the heroine overhears hurtful gossip about the hero's intentions, she runs off, heartbroken. There she is attacked and nearly killed, resulting in the hero breaking the vampire law and changing her. Thinking she must hate him for what he's made her the hero puts a wall between them. He distances himself from her out of self disgust as well as with the intention of saving her from the councils wrath all well. The heroine in turn feels burdened by the idea that the hero must hate her for what she forced him to do. But with the looming trial ahead, she's willing to battle the devil himself for the man she loves. I enjoyed this book to a point but I felt a disconnect from the other 2 awesome books in the series. I don't know why, as I loved the heroine characters. She embodied everything I look for in a female lead. She was innocent, naïve, funny and yet strong willed but with the intelligence to understand her limitations. I also loved the ease and reation manner in which she handled becoming a vampire. The hero was a great character as well but I didn't absolutely love him. I guess I could have done with a bit more angst from him. Or humor or anything passionate really. I thought him a bit on the monotone side. I also longed for a bit more conflict in the story as there wasn't a true villain per say, rather the threat of consequence for the hero's actions and the less than compelling evil grandmother figure. Regardless, I did really like this story. I guess I'm just comparing it to the first book in the series and longing for that same intense love that I felt towards that one. Still a lovely book though. ( )