This is really 3.5 stars for me. It was good but I had higher expectations. ( )

I liked this book on its own, but after reading the others in the series I was slightly disappointed. I wish there was more Bey/Rothgar in it. I wanted to know more about him after reading the the other books, in fact I was dying to know more of him. Maybe I had too high of expectations of his story and that was hard to live up to. I still liked it though and it is worth the read. ( )

I totally adored Rothgar - this one is my favourite of the series. ( )

I loved this book! Rothgar is a compelling, complex character who has suffered loss and desperately needs love. Diana, Countess of Arradale, is a woman after my own heart: fiercely independent, yet very much in need of love. Jo's story-telling gifts shine through in this beautiful love story. It is one of my favorites! I have re-read my copy so many times the cover is taped on. :) ( )

I've gone through a spate of disappointing romances and so picked up an old favorite for a reread. It didn't disappoint. Devilish is the finale of the Malloren saga. Rothgar, so smooth, controlling and indeed, sinister and devilish, is the last in his family not married. He has sworn not to wed for fear of carrying his mother's insanity down to his children. His mother strangled his sister when she was a newborn and he witnessed it. Rarely are romance characters so well fleshed out. Rothgar has a legitimate psychological barrier to marrying and it would take and extraordinary woman to match him. Diana, Countess of Arradale, a peer in her own right, might not seem so extraordinary because she appears just like a modern woman. But instead of being a 21st century woman in corsets, she harkens more to the Virgin Queen, aware that she will have to sacrifice marriage in order to hold on to her possessions. So both have reasonable positions and both challenge each other.

I really enjoyed their romance and their fights and their joy in each other. You just want to spend more time with them, and it was lovely to see Rothgar finally happily settled. I also liked the Georgian feel, which is quite different to the regency setting and handled well. This is reread and a keeper for me, A+ ( )