Devilish

Beverley has created two of the more unique heroes among historical romance writers - Cynric and Beowulf Malloren. (Actually, Cyric is the more unique, Beowulf having much in common with Mary Balogh's Wulfric Bedwyn; but that is another review.) I find the controlled simmer of the relationship between Beowulf and Diana, held just below a boil, perfect and perfectly written. On this, my third or fourth reading, I notice lovely details that underscore the heat. When Bey has been massaging Diana's foot, she, with aching regret, pulls her foot away and stands. Beverley writes, "He, against etiquette, remained seated." Now why is that? Perhaps something uncomfortably noticable should he stand? Something even the oh-so-in-control Marquess of Rothgar can't quite control? A lovely moment, and this story is filled with many. While this series is enjoyable throughout, the bookend family stories of Cyn and Bey carry the most potent heat.

Beowulf Malloren is the oldest and most mysterious Malloren yet. Outwordly cold, he hides his feelings beneath a rapier sharp wit, and lives his life through the manipulation of others. I waited for this book patiently, praying that it wouldn't be a letdown, as some authors have a tendency to do with their last character in a series. I wasn't dissappointed. Bey was every inch the type of hero I love, and Diana the strong but not annoyingly headstrong heroine that I relate to the most. I love books set in the glittering Georgian period, and think more historical romance novelists should adopt this time as the settings for their books. Jo Beverley is sparklingly witty, and wonderfully intelligent, and her characters seem like living breathing people that you would want to know in real life. I thought this was a wonderful book and would reccommend it to anyone.

Like everyone else I have been waiting for Rothgar's story. He is one of the most charasmatic characters in romantic fiction! So strong, compelling, gorgeous and mysterious - throughout all the other Malloren books he was the one that did everything for his family - he made all things possible. And yet he was such a lonely sole and totally intended to never ever marry becuz he felt his mother was mad and he would never want to wed. He intended to remain alone forever! One just knew the minute he met Diana in Secrets of the Night that she was finally the one woman that would be able to reach through his armour and finally make him realize that he too needed someone to complete his life. And for love it was worth taking the risk that he was never able to even consider taking before. This is a wonderfully written love story, with just enough drama and danger as all the Malloren novels have. I will say again that it is so beneficial to read these books in order - especially to understand the depths of Rothgar's defenses against love and having a family of his own. I just do not see how one could be disappointed in Devilish!! I did not think I could enjoy a series as much as Stephanie Laurens Cynasters but the Malloren's are totally in the same first class category!!

I'd read my way through My Lady Notorious, Something Wicked, and Tempting Fortune, with increasing dissatisfaction, and hadn't intended to read Secrets of the Night or Devilish. However, a friend with whom I often share books recommended Devilish to me, so I felt obliged to give it the old college try. I blazed my way through it in one night (by no means a record, but uncommon with books I don't feel strongly about) and when I was done I wished there were more. Sigh, drool, melt. But I've been surprised and confused by the amount of negative reviews of the book, to the point of wondering if I read the same book everyone else had. Bey cold? Diana whining? Bey disappointing? Perish the thought. But then again, the Marquess of Rothgar has been a presence in the entire Malloren series, from My Lady Notorious onward, leaving plenty of fertile ground for readers to build their own idea about him (indeed, part of my dissatisfaction with the other three books that I read stemmed largely from the fact that Rothgar consistently overshadowed the heroes). So it's not really surprising that the book might not have lived up to what many readers hoped for Bey. The other complaints (dealing largely with two issues; Diana's suitability as a heroine and the lack of sex scenes) are largely a matter of taste. I don't like the heroines of the books I read to be sweet, simpering virgins with hearts of gold (another problem I had with some of the Malloren books, particularly Tempting Fortune); I like them to be strong, stubborn, and independent, which Diana was. I don't think that a gentle, delicate, naive young woman could have had the courage or the resolve to keep pushing Bey until he had to give up some of his control. Nor do I read this sort of book for the sex scenes; I read it for the plot, and for the romance. Therefore I wasn't disappointed with the lack of sex, and I feel that much more would have been hard to justify, considering that Rothgar's determination not to have children has been well-established. As for what I liked about the book--most everything. I appreciated that Jo Beverley didn't resort to tired old cliches (silly misunderstandings keeping hero and heroine apart, etc). I heartily approve of the fact that Bey acknowledged his love for Diana relatively early on in the book, instead of holding out until some great crisis puts her life in danger and forces him to admit how he feels. Bey and Diana had rational (if occasionally misguided) reasons for staying apart, a nice change from many romance novels. Diana made a solid, if largely unremarkable, heroine; Bey carries the book, walking the line between strength and romance. All of the parts of the book that melted my heart centered around him and were usually from his point of view. Devilish is a book I'll keep and read over and over again, a sure sign of a good, satisfying read.

... I didn't much like Rothgar in MY LADY NOTORIOUS or TEMPTINGFORTUNE. He was dark, mysterious, and powerful, but not terriblysympathetic. My feelings began to change in SOMETHING WICKED, whenRothgar admitted that he'd been wrong in his treatment of Fort following events at the end of NOTORIOUS. By the end of SECRETS OF THE NIGHT, I'd finally begun to see a human behind all the glamour and power. In DEVILISH, Jo Beverley does a masterful job of chipping away at Rothgar's carefully constructed walls, breaking her readers' hearts a little along the way. Diana is the perfect heroine for Rothgar -- strong, intelligent, not afraid to take risks for the man she loves, and utterly determined to save him from himself for both their sakes. Rothgar and Diana's adventures on the way to London and then amidst the court of King George III were exciting, amusing, and filled with wonderful dialogue. No one knows the Georgian era better than Jo Beverley, and her portrayal of the king and queen brought them alive as no history book ever could. But in the end, this was Rothgar and Diana's story, and it was lovely to witness the kindness of the gods at last.