Wednesday

The Devilish Montague by Patricia Rice

August 24, 2011
Nooky Interrupt-us Warning


http://www.patriciarice.com/whatsnew.htm
Patricia Rice has been around a long time and I've enjoyed reading her books since I picked up Love Betrayed back in 1987. As happens with all authors of her longevity, I find that I enjoy some of her books more than others. In the case of The Devilish Montague, I was torn. I absolutely loved the first part of her book, but was a little disappointed in the last portion.

I found both the heroine (Jocelyn) and the hero (Blake) to be wonderful characters. Let's start with Blake - what a fantastic hero. He made me smile from the first moment; he had no social skills, he was cranky, he was brutally honest and he was an honorable man. And, his passion for Jocelyn was something he could barely control. I enjoyed every moment of dialogue between he and Jocelyn.

Jocelyn was the perfect mate for Blake. She didn't put up with too much of his nonsense. She's smart, witty, and she protects those she loves. And she totally understands Blake's insecurities. Along with these two great characters there are some especially strong secondaries, from the overprotective mother, the autistic brother (wonderfully drawn), to the foul-mouthed parrot. In fact, I found the parrot to be hilarious, he almost stole the show.

Now, we are going to visit the problem I had with this book. Maybe it was my mood or maybe I'm just a little weary of every author interrupting major love scenes. It's starting to be one of my pet peeves. And, I have to say this was a really hot hot scene - and whammo, it's interrupted. There has to be another way to create sexual tension. When the actual consummation finally happened, it was almost an epilogue and I was underwhelmed.

I also had a problem with the villain resolution. All I can say is New South Wales is getting very overcrowded with Romanceland villains. What a dumping ground for e-v-i-l people it has become.

The Devilish Montague is part of a series, however, it does stand alone. It is a fast-paced, funny book with an awesome couple. I just wish the sexual tension had maintained its momentum to the end.

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Could have been hot, wasn't

4 comments:

Melanie said...

Hey Chick!

I had to read this review :)
and since I'm not planing to review it on my blog, I was glad I did. I read the first in this series and loved it a lot, but for some reason I couldn't get into this one, BUT I'll make sure I do now after your words of praise for it :)

Have I told you how much fun I have reading your reviews?! Well, I do :)

Looking forward to your next one...

Mel

SidneyKay said...

Melanie: Give it another try, however, I was really disappointed in the sex or should I say the absence thereof. I debated on the rating...could have been higher if only. It almost received a lower rating, except I kept remembering how much I enjoyed the dialog between the two. Especially in the first part of the book.

UK said...

This is my first book by this author, but it won't be my last. We definitely started off on the right foot. As soon as I started reading, I was hooked. I smiled my way through the book and finished it wishing I had an easier time finding books that pleased me as much as this one did.

SidneyKay said...

UK: If you can get your hands on them, check out her "Merely Magic," "Trouble with Magic" and "Mystic Rider." And one her really old ones, a traditional Regency "Mad Maria's Daughter."