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+ ( )

This is one of the Mallorens clan, Lord Rothgar is the head of the family consisting of his (half) brothers and sisters for whom he has been responsible since the death of their parents(HIS STEP-MOTHER). Lord Rothgar has sworn never to wed and have children as his own mother was mad and killed her infant daughter when he was a young lad. Lady Diane Westmount is a Countess who wants to be seated in the house of Lords and is summoned to Londen by the King for her audacity.She also has declared that she will never marry, as all of her power and holdings would come under the control of any man she choose as her husband, she has too much to lose to get married. Rothgar escorts her to Londen, while on the way they are set upon by highway men indent on killing Rothgar as he is very influenctial with the King. This action took close to 200 pages and I gave up on this very slow moving book. The focus is on these two characters and with the rest of the cast so far in the background the story does not hold my interest.