Outstanding plot, good character development.

An arranged marriage in the best sense, Jocelyn Carrington needs a house, and the best house of all would be her former home, Carrington House.

Blake Montague needs money to buy his colors in enlist in the army, but his family wants him home so badly they offer him Carrington House if he'll marry.

Jocelyn says she'll buy him his colors if they marry and she gets the house....

Blake and Jocelyn, unknown to them, are connected to some shady characters who do not have their best interests in mind. After some detective work and calling in favors, the facts become clear.

All this time, Blake and Jocelyn are slowly steadily falling in love. ( )

I pre-ordered this book after reading and enjoying [b:The Wicked Wyckerly|7720667|The Wicked Wyckerly|Patricia Rice|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311704038s/7720667.jpg|10468652].

A few dozen pages into the story I found my attention straying, put it aside to dip into another book on my To Read list, and never returned to The Devilish Montague.

I've no idea why this happens (it's not the first time). It could be an aversion to more-of-the-same series, but I've enjoyed every book in Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse series, and every book featuring Keating's Inspector Ghote. Not to mention Frank Herbert's Dune saga and a dozen more. And I can get just as hooked on an episodic TV series as any other viewer. (Completely entranced with both Castle and Haven at the moment, and waiting impatiently for The Mentalist and Fringe to return.)

The disturbing thing is that, after abandoning The Devilish Montague for no reason better than loss of interest, I find it impossible to write a review of [b:The Wicked Wyckerly|7720667|The Wicked Wyckerly|Patricia Rice|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311704038s/7720667.jpg|10468652], which I know I read with great enthusiasm and pleasure.

My personal reaction aside, I can recommend, unreservedly, both books to fans of the genre.

Blake Montague wants to rejoin the army so that he can obtain more examples of French code to perfect his decoding. Jocelyn Carrington just wants a home for herself, her eccentric mother and brother, and her brother's birds. When they meet over a stolen parrot, they decide that marrying my solve both their problems. But their problems are just beginning.... ( )