“Georgia, Countess of Maybury has it all, but then her husband is killed in a duel and she loses her homes, most of her possessions, and her reputation as well. Innocent of all charges, she returns to the beau monde determined to regain all through a second brilliant marriage, but a scarred ex-naval officer threatens to tempt her in a different direction.”

Dear Ms. Beverley,

I’m always up for a revisit to your 18th century Georgian world of the Mallorens. We recently had a discussion here about series and as I mentioned then, I enjoy seeing a few of the past characters but am also happy that Rothgar and Diana are peripheral, mainly mentioned but not present. Portia and Bryght have more face time and nice to see them again after an absence of a few books. As always I’m in love with little period details such as the mantua maker’s fashion dolls, the water systems of London, and how the grand lived. Plus when Georgie and Dracy visit with his Naval pals, I felt as if I were in Mrs. Miggin’s Pie Shoppe! The Perriam family is powerful and clever and knows how to manage the Polite World in which they move. The Countess of Hernescroft staging the morning after the duel is enough to scare lesser men. As well the reminder is there of their influence when the inquest is managed.

The basic plot here is a mix of beauty and the beast, wealth vs want plus a touch of a stalker thrown in. Georgie might be a difficult heroine for people to love. She is dazzling, flirty, showy, loves to be the center of attention and isn’t good at deflecting men away and towards other women. She has two main gal pals but gets along fine with men and is the kind of woman who seems to prefer them and their company. She just doesn’t DO the faux kiss-kiss “let’s do lunch” kind of thing. Men love her but most women don’t, especially any woman who thinks herself pretty. That plus the catty beau monde – ready for the next juicy scandal – ensures Georgie a rough time when she tries to slip back into Society after her mourning period ends. But the woman also has backbone. Society viewed her marriage as a constant party filled with a luscious London town home, clothes to die for and a handsome husband ready to indulge her. What it didn’t see – and would never see – is that it was also an escape hatch from her parents.

Georgie isn’t fluff. She’s made of sterner stuff than that – she’d have to be with that mother. Georgie might flaunt a few rules but she’s well aware of them. She thinks through a problem, sees angles and outcomes and doesn’t fool herself- she is eager to get to the bottom of who is threatening her and – what really got me pumped – she doesn’t go missish at the thought of the villain going down for what she’s suffered through. When push comes to shove, she takes matters into her own hands and delivers justice. True there’s a little breakdown sobbing before this when she seems intent on blaming herself For All but by the end, she appears to have got over that.

To contrast with beautiful Georgie there is Dracy who was handsome – still is when viewed from the correct profile – but who’s lost his perfect looks to a war injury. I kind of like that initially Georgie admits that she’d hate to lose her beauty – after all, it’s what she’s known for. But she’s got the guts to look him straight on and never flinches from his face. Part of her growth over the course of the book is to realize and admit that looks aren’t everything. Dracy has chutzpa and doesn’t hide his face – not that he’d do it anyway after mainly being in the presence of fellow Navy men who would be used to this. You’ve made Dracy a military man and thankfully included this mindset and appropriate details as part of Dracy’s personality – how he’s a man of action when trying to discover who threatens Georgie and then proactively protects her once the threat is identified. But also he doesn’t know the beau monde as well and needs some lessons in estate management. These little landlubber touches make him seem more rounded as a character.

Georgie’s family presents some realism of the day. Her sister in law is ghastly, her sister viewed marriage as a social contract with no thought of love, and Georgie is a marriage pawn – controlled and commanded by her parents. Her first marriage wasn’t great in the sack but while she still loved Dickon, truly mourned him – I smiled at this too, she also mourned the loss of her freedom, the money and the perks. You sprinkle some chilling examples of other couples who had made social mismatches so Georgie has plenty of time to think about the step she’s taking in marrying a man of lower rank. But then it’s not as if Dracy is a candlestick maker – she still will be a Lady Something even beyond her courtesy title as the daughter of an Earl. Then I gotta love a woman who lights up at the thought of tackling her husband’s clusterf*cked household account books . I also picture Georgie enjoying extreme couponing 18th century style.

While Georgie and Dracy contrast in looks, they are alike in personality which is shown from early on. Dracy initially thinks he wants a quiet life in Devon with a placid wife who knows about getting rid of moths and sleeping pig sickness. But does he really? The Earl of Hernescroft pegs Dracy and his military personality which relishes a challenge and wants to be stimulated. This is mirrored in the easy way Georgie and Dracy get along from the very beginning. They jest and joke and laugh and the falling in love seems so easy yet there’s still the money issues which Georgie is honest with herself about. Until her friends point out she loves a challenge and what could be better than the little fixer-upper Dracy has for her in the wilds of Devon? The Countess of Hernescroft’s reaction to her future son in law’s house is hilarious.

I thoroughly enjoyed my yearly visit to the Mallorens and watching Georgie and Dracy work out their differences while delighting in their similarities. Still the business of uncovering the vendetta plot had better hold the reader’s attention or they’ll be bored with this one. In the end, Georgie and Dracy are matched in what counts – love, commonality, boldness, laughter and friendship. B

~Jayne

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Related posts:

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2. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley

When I hear the name “Malloren,” I go to point like a champion gun dog. I’m there, poised and ready to read. But, after my disappointment that your last book didn’t work better for me, I opened this one mentally chanting, “please, please, please.” My prayers paid off as I enjoyed this book with it’s realistic view of the challenges 18th century women endured.

Prudence Youlgrave (love the name, BTW) allowed her anger to get her into a situation one dark night in Northallerton, Yorkshire. But luckily a knight errant charged, albeit drunkenly, to her rescue. In the aftermath of being escorted home as quietly as Prudence could make him act – the neighbors will talk you know – Catesby Burgoyne, second son and disappointment of the Burgoyne family, learns about why Prudence is living in near poverty.

After losing their home, she and her mother scrimped to allow her brother to train as a solicitor. Her mother recently died and now Prudence is waiting for said brother to come for her as he’s soon to be married to a prosperous merchant’s daughter. But he hasn’t come, hasn’t written, hasn’t made any move to rescue his sister. Catesby and Prudence part with fervent well wishes for her on his part but as a near penniless man he’s in no condition to offer more.

Tired of waiting, Prudence decides to take charge and head to her brother’s new house when she discovers he’s not even invited her to the wedding. She and her new sister-in-law take each other’s measure and come to an agreement that Prudence will be presented to Darlington society to find a husband. Prudence’s desires are modest – a home of her own, a man she can respect and children – but when only one man offers for her, she takes a deep breath, tries to ignore her inner longing for a man like the dashing Catesby and agrees to wed the older widower.

Meanwhile, Catesby’s fortunes have changed dramatically since the death of his older brother the Earl of Malzard. Though he’s never wanted the Earldom and its attendant duties, he is fiercely glad to be home again despite the fact that he knows his mother and widowed sister-in-law are just waiting for him to screw up. Escaping from the pressures for a day, he travels to Darlington where he discovers that Prudence is to be married that morning. But as he watches the wedding unfold, he knows it’s a disaster in the making. That inner voice which served him well as an Army officer pipes up and he objects right on cue when the vicar asks, “Does anyone know of any reasons….?”

But now the fat is in the fire and Catesby and Prudence must wed to maintain the fiction Catesby wove to support his actions and to keep her reputation from being ruined. After Catesby brings his most unsuitable Countess home, they have to learn about each other, face his scandalized family and dodge the attentions of a thwarted man bent on revenge.

Despite the fact that I love the fashions of the mid 18th century, I know I wouldn’t have wanted to be born then. Compared to the opportunities and freedoms I have, the position of women then could be ghastly. Under the control of men for almost their entire lives, their happiness depended on whether or not those men were saints or sinners. Denied the chances available to men, they were forced to make their way as best they could arrange it. The story upon which you based part of this book is heartbreaking. Thank goodness Prudence gets a fate better than that at your pen.

I like both Prudence and Catesby. They are strong characters in a world which expected little from them and thought less. Prudence, as a woman, is supposed to be meek and allow her brother to run her life but instead she supports herself and tries to make her own pathway to a life she wants. Catesby, the ‘nail that sticks up’ in the Army, inherits a position he never wanted but is doing his best to see to those who depend on him. And not throw over the traces too much. As these two discover more about each other, they find a fellow comrade-in-arms and support.

But they’re also not perfect. Prudence really isn’t initially suited to step into the shoes of a Countess and flounders a bit before finding her feet. I like the way you impart information about what the position entails, the day to day running of the house, the servant heirarchy and the fact that simply marrying a peer was only the beginning of Prudence’s duties which were as demanding of her as Catesby’s were of him.

Catesby has never been trained to be an Earl and though he’s got the aristocratic bearing, he’s still learning about field drainage, crop rotation plus a 1001 other things. He does take advantage of his perks though when the occasion calls for it. I like that he’s honest with Prudence about certain situations her actions cause even as he shows his decency towards the people involved.

The romance proceeds slowly despite the short time span of the book. I didn’t feel it was rushed and it makes sense given the fact that though these two feel a deep immediate connection, they still really don’t know each other well and have another issued hanging over their heads given what Prudence’s first fiance alledges. There’s a delightful lack of stupid mental lusting though you make it clear that they each find the other very attractive and are looking forward to consumating their marriage. And when the “I love yous” are said, they are timely and believable.

As for the villains of the piece, the bloodthirsty wench in me agreed with Prudence and Diana, Countess of Aradale, that I wanted to see that man go down. The revenge Catesby engineers might not have done the man in but, as he says, losing power and wealth were far worse for that person than death. The other malcontents of the story might not ever change their baseline opinions of Prudence and Catesby but their guns are spiked and perhaps one of them might eventually come around.

I closed the book with a happy smile on my face and a feeling that all’s right in the Malloren World. Prudence might still need a bit of time to settle into her new life and Cate probably still needs to brush up on his agricultural knowledge but with the two of them standing side by side, they’ll do just fine. B+

~Jayne

Book Link | Kindle | Amazon | nook | BN | Borders
| Sony| KoboBooks

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Tempting Fortune by Jo Beverley

Dear Ms. Beverley,

Before there were Mallorens, before there were Rogues, there was the Daffodil Dandy. You are justly renowned for your ability to create a fully realized world inhabited by characters across multiple books, but readers who love your historicals are not always familiar with the Regency world you created in the 1980s and 1990s. Linked together by the inscrutable, yellow-clad character of Kevin Renfrew, your early Regencies conform to the standards of the genre but invest the characters and the setting with a depth and richness which few other authors and series have been able to match. The books were published in hardcover and are available in some public libraries, but used paperback copies can be hard to find and expensive, so when I heard that the six novels in the series were being reissued in trade paper and ebook formats, I was thrilled. The reissues began in 2008 with a 2-in-1 edition entitled Lovers and Ladies, which comprised The Fortune Hunter and Deirdre and Don Juan. In 2009 Lord Wraybourne’s Betrothed, the first of the series, was reissued, and then in 2010 the last three reissues were released, culminating with Emily and the Dark Angel in October. While Deirdre and Don Juan is probably my favorite of the set, Emily and the Dark Angel is arguably the strongest novel of the six, although I encourage fans of your other work and of Regency trads to read all of them, in order, and to hunt out a copy of the short story in the series, “If Fancy Be the Food Of Love”.

Emily and the Dark Angel is set in Melton Mowbray, the famous seat of English fox hunting and the home of the Quorn Hunt. Emily Grantwich is trying to keep the family estate together under trying circumstances. Her father is an invalid, suffering injuries in a misguided, tragicomic duel with a neighbor, and her brother, the heir, is missing in battle during the Napoleonic War. When the estate of said neighbor is inherited by Piers Verderan, a rake known as the Dark Angel, Emily is repeatedly thrown into contact with him despite the warnings and fears of her friends and family. Verderan, a jaded sophisticate, has come to examine his recent inheritance, whose situation in the heart of the Quorn makes it immediately appealing despite its dilapidated condition.

The plot is deceptively simple. Aging spinster meets rake, opposites attract, spinster tries to keep estate from falling apart, people and events from rake’s past reappear in the present, and the course of true love is eventually smoothed out after a series of bumps. But while the plot and context are drawn from familiar Regency traditions, the characterizations, relationship, and context are beautifully imagined and presented. Emily is an unmarried, inexperienced, unsophisticated woman in her 20s, but she is also intelligent and quick-witted. Verderan, or Ver, is a real rake, not a fake one. He is sophisticated and ruthless, and rumors about his youthful peccadilloes swirl. But he is also intelligent, sensitive, and surprisingly patient with both his young relatives and with Emily. By the end of the novel he is still the rake we met at the beginning, but we understand how he came to be the person he is, and we can see how marriage to Emily will soften some of the hard edges even as he retains his acerbity and sophistication.

Emily and Verderan make a wonderful match, even though they are drawn to each other somewhat unwillingly. Their interactions are by turns funny, sexy, and serious. The book observes the trad norms of avoiding explicit sexuality, but you convey the sensuality of their relationship and others, very clearly. And Emily and Ver don’t engage in the annoying banter that passes for wit in so many novels today. They spar, and their dialogue reflects their intelligence, but it feels like conversation real people would have.

“You must consider yourself fortunate, Miss Grantwich, to live in the heart of the Shires."

Emily focussed again on the road. "On the contrary, sir. The recent passion for hunting is very disruptive. As I have no taste for the chase, I get no benefit from the hullabaloo and a great deal of bother from the hunt charging across our land."

"I'll go odds your father and brothers don't agree," he remarked.

Maliciously she said, "As my father is an invalid and my brother has been missing in action for four months, I think their interest in hunting down foxes is limited." Emily was immediately ashamed of herself. His arrogance was no excuse for her to be positively catty.

She swivelled her head up again and saw a trace of disdain which she knew she deserved. Quickly she said, "I do apologize. There's nothing civilized you can say to such an announcement, is there? I can only excuse myself as being out of sorts after …" Emily found she could not think of a way to describe the recent contretemps.

His lips twitched with what appeared to be genuine amusement. "After being barrelled into," he offered. "Screeched at by a lady of obviously loose morals and drowned in revolting Poudre de Violettes? A powerful excuse for any incivility, I assure you."

Emily’s home circumstances are sympathetically and realistically depicted. Her father chafes at her assumption of control, and she finds it difficult as a single woman to conduct the business necessary to maintain the estate. She is clearly very competent, but she is constrained by the restrictions placed on her, and while she has no desire to marry her worthy but annoying and boring suitor, she knows how limited her life will be if she does not.

Verderan is a wonderful hero. His rakishness is real, his estrangement from his mother and home in Ireland understandable, and his reluctance to acknowledge his attraction to such an unlikely romantic object fun to read. When he falls, and falls hard, it’s very satisfying. The final scenes, fittingly set at the hunt, do both Emily and Verderan justice.

No review of a Jo Beverley book would be complete without a discussion of the context. This book is the penultimate book of a series, and characters from the rest of the books play major roles in it. But in your books the supporting characters never feel like series bait. There is no schoolboy organization to tie the characters together; rather, they are either related or have grown up together. You have stated in discussions of your work that you aim to create a world, and this book is an excellent example of what you mean by that. Our main characters are members of communities embedded in the larger society. They don’t exist in isolation, and their actions affect many others around them. Even Verderan, who has cut himself off from his immediate family, is enmeshed in social relationships.

The fictional world of these young people is located in the larger, real-life world of Melton and the hunting culture. While I’ve read any number of books which namecheck Melton Mowbray, Assheton Smith, and Leicestershire hunting boxes, I’ve never read one with a more fully realized depiction of that world. You weave real-life characters, such as George Osbaldeston, together with your fictional creations seamlessly. As a reader who focuses on context as closely as I do relationships and characterizations, I think this world is as successfully realized as any historical romance, especially given genre and space constraints.

The Regency trad genre has almost disappeared today, although there are a number of good authors writing somewhat related books. But for readers who miss the trad format, or who want a romance that focuses primarily on the hero and heroine and the world in which they live, and who don’t mind a book which foregoes explicit sex but retains subtle sensuality, Emily and the Dark Angel is a must read.

Grade: A

~Sunita

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All right. Here we go with “The Secret Duke” the third book in this series set in mid eighteenth century England. As with the first two books, it involves hidden and/or secret identities and takes place partly on the road which allows the characters to let their hair down – so to speak – and get to know each other outside of rigid constraints of 18th century and aristocratic society. Parts of the book worked very well for me while others…hmm, maybe not so much.

The Duke of Ithorne is a man of power and consequence. Born after his father’s death, being a Duke is what he was raised to be. But occasionally, he assumes an alter ego as Captain Rose, sailing out of Dover. And it’s after one of these voyages that he first meets a young woman who will rock his world. Who is she? Well, he doesn’t know – then – as she slips away after he’s saved her virtue and possibly her life. But four years later, the two meet again, and again, cloaked in disguises and attempting to keep their identities hidden as they tack through the swirling events of London court and country life.

Those who haven’t already finished the first two books might be slightly at sea when characters from them pop up in this one. I still think that people could start here but only if they don’t mind spoilers, especially from “The Secret Marriage,” since many of the events at the end of that book overlap with the early action of this one. I found a lot of that to be slightly awkward, since I already knew about it, and very dragging as there’s a whole lot to be recapped. And while the cat-rabbit of Hesse was interesting enough for one book, I didn’t care to see her again, and for so many scenes, in this one. I think she’s got more dialogue in the book than Rothgar does.

Of more interest to me is the portrayal of the position of women at this time. The heroine, Bella Barstowe, finds out exactly how easy it was for a woman to lose her reputation and how that would blight her life. She makes a small mistake which gets compounded by the actions of the men “in charge” of her then has to face a future that pretty much sucks. If not for the legacy left to her by another woman, she would never have escaped being house bound. Then you show us, through the coterie around Lady Fowler, the other ways women could slip through the cracks and be left destitute. With no money or family, being a woman alone then would have been truly terrifying. Even a young woman such as Bella has to learn how to deal with the world of commerce outside of her home.

Yet, as precarious as you show a woman’s position to be, I’m glad that not all men are portrayed as ogres and tyrants. Women from all ranks of society could find love or at least good men to be in their lives. Otherwise, Bella’s sudden change of heart about marriage would have seemed to quick. Thank you that the Christmas at Rothgar Abbey serves a purpose other than as a sickly sweet Hallmark Card moment in showing Bella that she could live this kind of life with Thorne.

Again, and I know I’ve mentioned this before, I love that we see the power that these aristocratic people, men and women, had in society. Ithorne is well aware of his responsibilities – both day to day and over the holiday – to his people and his duties. He also knows he needs to put in an appearance when George III becomes King. Perhaps not quite the “hell for leather” charge of the court towards a new monarch as in Tudor days but still one Must Be Seen. I wasn’t aware that King had shown signs of his illness so early in his reign. And behind all the great men were the secretaries and valets. I loved the little bit about Ithorne asking his valet about the correct dress for a nobleman to wear when intervening in the affairs of distressed gentlewomen.

This is not a democratic society, heavens no, and I think you make the distinction very nicely. I would never have thought of the fact that a working class person with a silver cross and chain might be thought to have stolen it. Bella worries that the family servants who help her might be made to suffer for it. Rothgar and Ithorne show noblesse oblige toward those they feel responsible for. Ithorne worries about how Bella would fit into upper echelons of society since even being a lower level aristocrat might not be enough to make her transition to Duchess a smooth one.

In Bella’s initial appearance in the story, she’s still young and impetuous. As the book progresses, and she’s had four years to think on things, she’s grown and shows restraint in her actions. She still has her “March hare” moments but they’re tempered with experience and she thinks things through. When she has the chance to take revenge on those who did her wrong, she’s got intelligence enough to know when she needs some assistance. Ithorne, though he doesn’t change as much as Bella over the course of the story, will hopefully have learned something about the place of women in this world.

But the revenge section, as much as I was glad to see Bella get a bit of her own back, dragged for me. As I mentioned, too much cat – and this is from a person who loves cats – and too much time spent with Ithorne as a common man. Perhaps this is due to the fact that you used this plot device in all three books and maybe it’s partly because you show the aristocratic power behind the pomp so well that I want to see more of that. In any event, I wasn’t sorry to see this section end.

I am sorry that this mini-series is now over as I adore Georgian era books and am always delighted to peek into the world of the Mallorens. Poor Bryght and Portia will have to sweat out another pregnancy before their offspring are “off the hook.” And poor Rothgar, along with Robin, will have to pace through another delivery. Will we see more Mallorens? I do hope so.

~Jayne

| Book Excerpt | Kindle | The Secret Duke | Nook | BN | Borders |
| Sony EBookstore published by one of the “Agency 5″ |

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1. REVIEW: A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley
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You keep writing these Georgian novels and I can guarantee I’ll keep reading them. Witty, historically well researched, filled with characters I want to root for. Yep, I’m happy. But why did the release information that accompanied the book say it’s a Regency?

Ten years ago young Lieutenant Christian Hill tries to do the right thing. And ends up in a duel during which he kills his opponent. This causes him to nearly be strung up for murder before fate, in the form of a local tradeswoman who could strike fear into lesser men, intervenes and offers him the chance at life. If he’s willing to marry the ruined young woman he fought for in the first place.

To save himself, Christian agrees but he insists on some form of marriage contract and holds an ace up his sleeve by giving a false name. Since he’s on his way to the Americas to fight, he might be killed anyway and even if he survives he doubts the marriage is legal.

Now it’s a decade later and he’s the heir to his father, an earl due to second son roundabout inheritance. News that someone is asking around the regiment for Jack Hill, the false name he used, leads him to begin to question the letter he got telling him his bride had died. A hasty confab with his childhood friend and foster brother, Thorn, makes him determined to discover if his wife is alive and if the marriage is valid.

Caro Hill has her own reasons for wanting to be sure the letter she got saying Jack Hill had died gloriously in the service of King and country is true. She can’t very well accept a proposal of marriage until she’s sure. But when a man suddenly appears asking for her, she ducks and hides.

In the interim since that dreadful day, her father’s business has prospered and Caro has no intention of letting Jack, if he lives, or Jack’s family, if he doesn’t live, swoop in and take it all due to the laws giving a man total control of his wife’s property.

Until she’s sure about the situation, she decides to beard the lion, go undercover and investigate this man who might be the key to discovering if she’s wife or widow. Meanwhile, Christian decides to enjoy the company of this mysterious woman he meets. Until fate takes another swipe at them and sends them on a road trip across Yorkshire that might end in true love after all.

So we get a road romance x second chance at love x misunderstandings with a dollop of Mallorens tossed in. I can totally understand Caro’s reluctance to hand her inheritance over to Christian or any other man to do with as he wishes. Women of the age – including Diana who is a Countess in her own right – had such little true control over their lives or property.

Also it’s a nice change to have a hero be a little bit poor and have to deal with that in a society where money and show accounts for so much. Christian isn’t dirt poor but he’s got to watch his money. The Hardwicke Act, which serves as a valuable part of the plot, saves Thorn from having to worry about money grubbing misses after his position and wealth.

Christian is a military man so it makes sense that he can quickly summarize the situation after the ring theft and move to get Caro out of danger. That he can adapt a disguise and that he’d have the chutzpah to dive right back into the mob. As he says, Caro isn’t used to such things so her adaptability is a bonus.

The cat stuff is cute but I’m not sure of its purpose beyond cute. Unless it’s to show how country people of the time, without access to the Internet, believed what they were told.

“Fearsome Froggat” with a Yorkshire accent that could grind corn. I loved the regional details here. The differing accents that Caro (in the South) and Christian (in Yorkshire) had trouble understanding and mimicking. How Phyllis uses the Yorkshire distrust of Southerners to keep her servants from gossiping about her friend Caro. Christian’s attempts to remember the name of the town in which the story started were hilarious. Nether Greasebutt, indeed!

Christian and his man Barleyman have a great period relationship. Respect but no chummy BFFs nonsense. Also, the scenes with the Mallorens and their servants – again there’s respect but they are servants and expected to serve. Diana also shows her realistic awareness that even though the Mallorens respect and pay their servants well, some gossiping will go on.

One thing niggled at my mind. Caro had a terrible introduction to physical love. Yet the first time she and Christian are intimate – that doesn’t seem to bother her. It’s only later, while fleeing the mob and Christian attempts to provide a cover for why they’re sitting out behind a building that her memories assail her. And that’s the last we hear of this from her POV. There are a few token references to it from Diana but Caro appears over her experience quite quickly.

Thanks for including even a little time for Christian and Caro to get (re)aquainted after discovering who the other really is before making any lifelong choices. Yes, they are married for good (especially after the consummation) but there were other choices rather than living together. The information about the separation a mensa et thoro. was interesting. I would assume this was a real life option. I also enjoyed how you worked the information about the Hardwicke Act into the story.

As in previous books, we see the power that Rothgar wields and his noblesse oblige by taking Caro under his protection while in York even though he doesn’t really know her. For once we see that all things are not (quite) possible for a Malloren. Caro and Christian are married and there’s nothing under the law that can be done about it. But Rothgar can throw his weight around, as at ball, and in polite society by spreading information that they wish to be disseminated. I think Christian and Caro will be glad of his friends-in-law comment.

I love that Christian jokes that Caro is staying with him because she loves his family. I love his family. We can see that he’s been raised right (while he was at home and not with Thorn) and that they raised Thorn right (disciplining him for sheep incident whether he’s a Duke or not) while he was with them.

But we can also see how he would think he’s being slightly smothered since he was with Thorn for so long. And it’s so true about his comment that in the military, others respected his privacy which he doesn’t have at home. Ditto how he is chagrined that the family prayed for him each night while he was fighting in America while he didn’t spare them much time in his thoughts. Well, he was in his late teens and thought it all a lark.

I like the scene with Christian and his father discussing the secret wedding and how his father 1) sees the good deed that Christian did, 2) doesn’t berate him for what can’t be changed 3) doesn’t load guilt on Christian’s head for losing the chance to bring money into the family and 4) applauds Christian for doing the right thing in regard to Caro’s money.

I had to laugh at Christian and his mother talking about marriage and life. There’s nothing like hearing your mother talk about sex to shake your day. The scene later when Caro and Christian meet with them and are basically told – in a polite English manner – to go start trying to have children was funny too.

SPOILER WARNING – in case the spoiler cloak doesn’t work.

The mess with Ellen was rather sudden and too convenient with the Silcocks vendetta – all that multi year conspiracy. But Rothgar and Diana’s solution to the problem seems like something a powerful noble would do in that age. Ellen gets some kind of sentence but doesn’t go to jail or risk being hung for attempted murder. In their case, I agree with Caro that I’d be damned before paying any money to the Fowl Flock for Christian’s bet.

All in all, I enjoyed “The Secret Wedding” very much. The focus of the story stays on Christian and Caro but with a brief glimpse of some previous characters as well as a slight preview of Thorn. I can’t wait to see who snags him. And we get a new saying, “With the Hills, things always turn out for the best.” B

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in mass market from an independent bookstore or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley

• PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by   Geraldine Brooks, Grade A
• THE END OF THE ALPHABET by C.S. Richardson, Grade A-
• THE SPYMASTER’S LADY by Joanna Bourne, Grade A-
• THE TENTH GIFT by Jane Johnson, Grade A-
• YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS by Loretta Chase, Grade A-
• HIS SECRET PAST by Ellen Hartman, Grade A-
• SHAKEN AND STIRRED by Kathleen O’Reilly, Grade A-
• A LADY’S SECRET by Jo Beverly, Grade A-
• MYSTIC HORSEMAN by Kathleen Eagle, Grade A-

Related posts:

1. Best of 2008 List: Reviewer Jennie F
2. REVIEW: The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne
3. REVIEW: Ghost Hunter by Jayne Castle aka Jayne Ann Krentz

First off, this book not only has many of the same characters as WINTER FIRE, it is a direct sequel. For readers who haven’t read that one or don’t know the world of the Mallorens, then they can probably muddle along as you do a good job of giving a quick synopsis of events so far without dumping copious amounts of information into the story. But people will understand things better having read the other books first.

Plot: Miss Damaris Myddleton (may I ask what’s with the ‘y”s in your characters’ names) is a suddenly wealthy heiress who had her solicitors draw up a list of needy, titled, single men in England. She picked the Marquess of Ashart, went to his drafty, cold, falling down home and met his formidable grandmother who, for Damaris’s loads of money, gave her approval to the match. However, before Ashart actually gets around to proposing, he falls in love with Genova Smith (see WINTER FIRE) and proposes to her.

Damaris is humiliated as everyone at the Marquess of Rothgar’s Christmas house party knew of her expectations and watches Ashart’s very public, very impassioned proposal to Genova. It is left to Ashart’s impoverished friend and dogsbody Mr. Fitzroger to save her from making a cake of herself and show her a way to save face.

Octavius Fitzroger is a man with a past scandal in his life who survived the Army and now works in the shadows as a sort of bodyguard. What no one knows is that Ashart is under a dire threat to his life and Rothgar has hired Fitz to guard him until his marriage is over and the threat can
be eliminated. He has also come to admire Damaris but realizes that he is a most unsuitable man for her hand in marriage. With this in mind, he and Rothgar have devised a plan for him to flirt with Damaris to a) divert her from the happy couple of Ashart and Genova and b) to ready
Damaris for court life and the number of men, fortune hunters and otherwise, who will try to woo her.

But danger lurks as attempts are made on Damaris’s life and the secret that threatens Ashart must be solved. And as Damaris finds herself falling in love with a man whose honor forbids him to try to win her even as she decides he is the only man for her.

This book is hard to grade as I really liked some parts and others annoyed me. I love the world of the Mallorens. 18th century England, with the flamboyently dressed men and women, the age of reason, inventions, wigs, power and wealth. I like how your titled men in this series don’t go around spying for England but rather act as Marquesses and Earls of the age would have. They stay in England, they take care of their dependents, they go to court and hold public levees and try to influence the King. No smugglers, no spies, or anything of the sort. They are considerate of their servants but aren’t out marching for servants rights or allowing them to call their betters by first names. They have immense power and by gosh, they act like it. I like the brief glimpses we get of some of the other Mallorens but it’s not used as a chance to trot
each and every one of them out and some aren’t mentioned at all.

But…I just never really did warm up to Damaris. She has moments of selfishness and tries to manipulate things to her own liking with little regard for others, including the man she is supposed to love. Only after the possible negative impact of her acts is pointed out to her does she regret them but then goes right ahead and does further things. She is intelligent but you are constantly having Fitz or others remark on this as if to convince us all of how wonderful a
heroine Damaris is. And Fitz keeps allowing Damaris to control him and get her own way. Plus the first love scene is one of those “oh, God I can see this coming from a mile away and it makes no sense” scenes.

Ashart and Genova have large supporting roles. Genova holds one’s sympathy but Ashart comes off as a cross between a goo-goo eyed idiot in love and a bratty bully. Was he like this in Winter Fire and I just don’t remember?

Then, the mysteries surrounding Ashart and Damaris are solved fairly quickly after a big to-do is made for most of the book. Both sort of felt rushed. Another problem was the resolution of Fitz’s past scandal. At first it seemed so bad but by the end you have made Fitz out to be little more than a poor misused young man.

I can’t recommend this one wholeheartedly but if readers enjoy this series, then they’ll probably at least want to read it. Oh, one kind of neat point is that Fitzroger is the descendant of the couple in DARK CHAMPION. C+/B-

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Tempting Fortune by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley

Oh why don’t you write medievals anymore? Is the market not there? Are the only periods that will sell Georgians and Regencies? Not that I don’t like the books you set in those eras but your medievals were so good. I’ll pause a moment to blink back a tear. Sniff. Okay that’s finished.

Yet another “what does this title have to do with the book?” book. Unless
it’s referring to Renald’s black Damascus steel sword. But he’s never called this
in the book so…well, anyway on to the book. Since this is such a close sequel to “Dark Champion” I’m doing it next.

I won’t recap the plot as there is a wonderful DIK review at AAR that actually inspired me to read the book. LOM isn’t a DIK book for me but it was interesting and I’m sorry that when I finished it, I knew I’d read your last medieval. The hero is the friend in “Dark Champion” but I like that I didn’t need to read that one first. In fact, readers might like LOM better if they don’t
read DC first as we see a totally different side of Renald’s character in his own book. I was somewhat disappointed in that but friends had mentioned it so I was expecting it and I had waited a year and a half to read LOM so the change wasn’t as jarring.

Once again you do a good job setting the stage in the medieval world and
the religion and politics of the times aren’t just wallpaper but woven into the plot. The dirt and filth of the age are slightly toned down but I still get a strong feeling for the period. For how little power women had, how powerful the king was, how you’d really want a strong man to guard you and yours and how openly bawdy the time was.

One of the best characters for me was Claire’s grandmother who had been a young Saxon woman at the time of the Norman invasion and who had faced a fate similar to Claire’s. I would love to read her story or at least a novella about her and how she and her Norman husband worked out their marriage. She’s down to earth and extremely blunt when urging Claire to marry Renald. “It’s you who’s got what men like. Curves and big titties. Your hair’s
gold…, your skin good, but it’s the curves and titties that count. You can use those to rule a man.” There were a few nice scenes which showed how the women passed on the knowledge of how to control men and get their way in life.

Now for Claire and Renald. Claire has a few feisty moments but she doesn’t ever get herself into stupid situations so that Renald can save her. She struggles as well as she can to get what she wants but she “acts period.” You do a good job showing her changing feelings toward Renald and how Claire does come to understand why he did what he did and accept it.

My main problems are with Renald. We see very little of his POV. At first it worked, as Claire needed to find out his true feelings and thoughts but I felt after a while, we really needed to see more of what was going on in his head. We are told halfway through the book that he’s madly in love with her but I didn’t see it happen. There is really no hint that he feels anything but healthy lust and determination to do his duty by marrying one of the Somerbourne women. After we know he’s in love, he shows it a lot but I needed to see it happening. And there is the fact that he’s very different as a hero than as a hero’s friend.

There’s a bit of a mystery in the middle part of the book that is resolved at the end. However, I felt that it was kind of useless and could really have been taken out of the story with no loss to the plot. Plus, it slows down the action. At the end of the story, we get to see some of the hero and heroine from “Dark Champion” but it’s mainly to show how smugly happy they are. No loss if they hadn’t been included.

Winding up, there was a lot I liked about Lord of Midnight but parts that didn’t work so well for me. Overall, I’d give it a qualified B. It’s not as good as some of your other medievals but it is well worth the effort to track down.

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells. No ebook format.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Tempting Fortune by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley

Since it seems you’ve settled down into writing just Georgians and Regencies, I’m afraid new romance readers won’t be aware of the wonderful medievals you used to write. With that in mind, I’m going to try and dust off a few golden oldies, flog my gray cells to remember details and maybe entice some new readers in their direction.

Imogen of Carrisford is a pampered miss who has just been hurled into the real world. An orphan since her father’s mysterious death from a festering arrow wound, she knows she’s one of the richest prizes in England. After all, she’s had eligible men lined up courting her for months but when one storms the castle, she’s forced to flee for her honor and maybe her life. With no one to help her but a loyal servant, she heads towards the nearest man who might be willing to help her, FitzRoger of Cleeves. Bastard FitzRoger.

Imogen’s rude awakening continues as FitzRoger agrees to help her but after retaking the castle, appears to take over no matter how nicely things are phrased. Realizing that she’ll soon be married off and knowing that it’s for the good of her land and people, Imogen is determined to have a say in the man she marries. After long and careful analysis, and swallowing a great deal of gall at the thought, she decides that no man would be a better or stronger lord for the lands. As to how he would be as a husband, well, he’s no worse than any other out there she might have been handed to like a prize sow at a county fair.

With his friend King Henry’s blessing, the marriage takes place but only after FitzRoger has agreed to her terms that she remain as administrator of Carrisford. But some of her thwarted suitors aren’t content to let the Flower of the West slip though their greedy hands and decide to make attempts to regain not only Imogen but also the treasure that goes with her. When faced with death and dishonor, Imogen truly grows u and together with the man she’s come to love, fights to save her world and marriage.

Your grasp on medieval times and mores is fantastic and you set me down in Gloustershire during the reign of Henry I. Life is hard, woman are not really considered capable of much beyond bearing sons and the church could make one’s life hell. Imogen starts out as a sheltered 17 year old (fair warning for those who don’t like very young heroines) who has to grow up in a hurry. FitzRoger remains more of a mystery both to us and to Imogen. Both she and I get to slowly learn of his fairness, loyalty, honor, and eventually, his tenderness. Imogen might exasperate him at times but he also comes to admire her courage and resourcefulness. There is an incident at the end of the book that is fully in keeping with the thoughts of the day towards liege lords and women that might disturb some modern readers but I felt you were being true to the times.

One of the book’s weaknesses is the paucity of the hero’s POV but I do finally learn something of what makes FitzRoger tick. All in all, I was very pleased with this one and give it an A-.

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Highland Champion by Hannah Howell
3. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley

Dear Mrs. Beverley,

When you posted to one of my earlier reviews that your next book would be back in the world of the Mallorens and feature a rake with a ‘nun on the run,’ I started salivating. Me wuvs the Mallorens and Georgian historicals so I was bugging Jane to make sure we got a copy. Then silly me got it in my head that it was due out in June so I sorted it after a few other books I wanted to finish. Well, yesterday afternoon I saw it listed at Fictionwise. I said a bad word. I reshuffled my book stacks and read half of it in one evening. Today I finished it off and here I am, lost again in the world of the English aristocracy where “all things are possible.”

I enjoyed reading your “how I wrote this story” entry after I finished the actual story. How you figured out exactly who this cursing nun is whom Robin overhears in a French inn, how they get together, how it turns into a road romance and ends so happily. When Petra and Robin end up in England at about the halfway mark, I did wonder, “okay, so what’s she going to do with the rest of the book?” Drive your hero mad and show us how enterprising Petra is, that’s what. Oh and let Robin finally prove both to himself and to his family, servants and tenants that he’s ready to admit that he’s grown up.

I’ll also admit that up until right before you revealed it, I was wondering how these two tied into the Mallorens. I kept muttering the name “Robin” to myself and trying to place him in past books. Then it all fell into place and I said “AHA!” Perfect. It makes total sense, ties in with the well established “Grand Tours” young men of good family made at the time and gave me the delightful chance to (major spoilers here) see the Eminence Noir as a father. I also had to laugh at poor Robin’s realization that Rothgar will be his father-in-law. Somehow I don’t think it’s something most men of the time would have lightly taken on. I was not surprised that Bey would accept Petra. He’s still so eager to take responsibility for everyone he can lay his hands on which is something you’ve made a part of him since book one.

Lemme see – other things I liked. That Robin grows and matures as the book progresses. I’ll be honest and say that, like Petra, I would have been annoyed with him some during the early stages. But as he tells Petra at one point, he can ‘do’ serious if the need is there. I like that we see him do it and come to the point where he decides to fully take up the responsibilities of his Earldom – something he’d put off since the sudden death of his father a year ago. And any man who’s willing to deliberately lose a 1000 guinea bet in order to win his lady love is a man in love. His declaration as he asks her to marry him is great. Kudos that he asks her before he finds out who she really is.

In this day when people think nothing of a single woman hitchhiking around South America, I feel we probably won’t have as much an appreciation for the job Petra does in dodging the villains who are after her and managing to make her way across Europe without the aid of a man. We see how men were ready to take advantage of a woman traveling without a male to make arrangements for them in the tale of Lady Sodworth. By the way, my eyes popped open when I read that title! If I didn’t know you were English, I would have guessed it was a really bad name choice by someone unfamiliar with British slang. Oh and I heart the fact that Petra remembers the little people who helped her along the way. Nice touch.

I liked learning about the everyday life of the 18 C English countryside as Petra progresses from Folkstone to her final destination. However, she seems to do this without as much difficulty as one might imagine. I especially like the fact that you have your noblemen characters doing nobleman things and more concerned about that then trying to be Lord Spy. Sure Robin does a little on the side while he’s romance a lady at Versailles, but I think he’s now put that behind him with his decision to really be an Earl. I love Coquette who certainly doesn’t suffer from any size inferiority complex.

So, what didn’t work so well pour moi? The villain Ludo – man he’s really obsessed. I just don’t like villains like this as the real life versions scare me. This is a personal preference and obviously might not bother others. Did Petra have to get preggers? It’s not as if this really propels the proposal as Robin has already sincerely asked by the time he finds out. I would also have loved to see Lady Sodworth find out exactly who Petra is.

Is this the set up for Thorn and Grandison? From your author’s note, I would think so. Please, pretty please. But oh, another Duke. What happened to ‘plain misters and misses can be high born in England?’ I’m sure Bryght and Portia were glad to hear Diana’s news.

I’ve gone on and on about what I liked about the book but I think the best way to show how much I like it is to say that after I read the free arc we got, I went out and bought my own copy. A-

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in mass market from Powells or ebook

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Tempting Fortune by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley

I’ll be honest up front and state that your Georgian and Medieval books are my favorites. In fact, I haven’t really read that many of the Company of Rogues books outside of the “3 Georges” novels and the ensuing single title books that followed them. I liked them, I enjoyed reading them but…see the first sentence. In addition, I’m usually beyond anal about reading a series in order. But at this point, I’m so far behind on the CoR that I decided to just jump in with “Lady Beware” and see how well a new reader could do with it.

For generations, the Cave family has been marked by scandal, madness, and violence. But after earning a reputation for bravery in the army, Horatio Cave, the new Viscount Darien, has come home to charm London society and restore the family name. He means to start with the lovely Lady Thea Debenham.

The magnetism between them is immediate, but can Thea trust the dark, sexy “Vile Viscount”? And will Thea’s brother Dare-the most dashing member of the Company of Rogues-believe that Horatio does not deserve the cursed Cave reputation?

The novel starts almost explosively with the initial meeting between Darien and Thea. We instantly know these two will repeatedly clash and seek to control the other. They’re intelligent, stubborn and each determined to come away the victor. And then….they don’t meet again for what seems like ages. And this initial energy slowly seems to dissipate. We get to peek into the life of an influential peeress (Thea’s mother) and see her live her view of noblesse oblige. Then we get lots of information about how awful Darien’s life was while he was growing up. It’s nice to see that not all Regency women spent their time at a mantua maker or gossiping over tea cakes on afternoon calls and you certainly fill us in on how Darien’s childhood shaped him as a man but there was a lot that felt like unneeded padding. I wanted to see Thea and Darien together and I didn’t get to for a long time.

As for Thea and Darien: I like that Thea isn’t one of these wild Regency Misses. She’s actually a bit staid and aware of it. Her wilder cousin twits her often enough about it. She’s devoted to her family, especially Dare, yet not quite willing to totally martyr herself for him. As a non-fan of the “martyr heroine” I enjoyed that. Yet I find myself agreeing with the AAR reviewer’s opinion on when Thea takes the plunge into adventure. If it were a movie, I’d have been yelling at the screen “don’t go there, you twit! I can’t believe you’re falling for that old ruse.” And after reading or hearing about so many CoR books in which those men are admired by all and envied for their long term friendships, it’s a nice, wicked twist to see that at one point, they acted like typical teenagers and were less than honorable in how they treated Darien. And that Darien wanted to make them pay for it to his advantage.

As to the Rogues themselves, well there was too much time spend hauling in old Rogues, new Rogues, the Wraybournes, and all 3 Georges…..you did give a reason for needing all of them in the story (to ease Darien’s way into society) but the combined total was Rogue overload. Every time a character turned around, it seems he or she was tripping over a Rogue or Rogue wife. Yet, it does point out how small were the circles in which these people actually moved and how everyone knew everyone. And since you’ve stated on your website that you plan to feature the Rogues in some way in all future Regency set novels, I’ve been warned and should be prepared to suck it up if I read them. Also, must every scene with Nicholas and Eleanor be mushy, gushy baby stuff? Thank you for making Thea more than a little uncomfortable with it, though.

Also I appreciate wild cousin Maddy. Actually it’s kind of a relief to see a character who’s just self-absorbed (though the contrast to Thea was rather obvious) and who ends up bored out of her mind (is this suitable punishment in the eyes of society for what she did?) in Wales. Pup served as refreshing humor but can anyone be this happily oblivious and malleable his entire life? The costumes for the masquerade, and what they revealed about the Yeovils as a couple, were a treat too. And the men in this book are questionably easy for the women to order around (exception towards the end when the Duke of Yeovil puts his foot down a few times).

“Lady Beware” is interesting and I didn’t skim or skip anything but large chunks could be trimmed and increase the pace. Overall, it’s a pleasant addition to CoR series but not anything that really tugged at my heartstrings or brought out great emotion in me. I think it can be enjoyed by people who haven’t read any or all of the other books in the series but newbies would do well to check your website to brush up on who’s who. C+

~Jayne

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: My Lady Notorious by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley

At last, Rothgar’s story. I think that you did a good job considering the fact that you’d built Beowulf Malloren, the Marquess of Rothgar into an almost superhuman figure over the course of the other four books in this series. He needed a strong woman to balance him and he got it in the person of Diana Westmount, Countess of Arradale.

I do admit to loving Diana in Secrets of the Night. Especially when she manages to best Rothgar not once, but many times over the course of that book. Something that not many men could claim to have done. And I enjoyed the fact that that is what Rothgar freely admits first caught his notice about her. Her strength and courage. She both grows and slightly falters in their book though. The growth comes from her association with Rothgar and seeing the halls and places of power in London. She has exercised power in her own sphere as a peeress in her own right (a rare and, for most men of the time, unsettling creature) but it is not until she sees the glitter and intrigue at court that she both fully comes to appreciate her place in that world and grows up some. As Rothgar says, she had only played games with power before.

She falters in the tendency to become distracted at key moments and moon over Rothgar. Over and over. She knows what is at stake but can’t seem to keep her mind focused. I also hated to see her wings clipped by the constrictions on her actions that occurred over the course of the story. I know that as a Countess in her own right, she had far more officially sanctioned power than most women of the time could even dream of but it still galled my 21st century mind a bit. But this was balanced a bit by her prowess with a pistol and bow. I had to laugh at Rothgar’s exasperation when he asked her “just who was supposed to be protecting whom here.” I wonder if they would ever fence together?

On to Bey. What a dark, à©minence noire. We got to see Rothgar using his power in the previous books but this one showed not only that but also the monumental daily responsibility of his position in the world of Georgian England. It wasn’t all Hellfire clubs and minuets for the great men of the time. The burdens that came with those aristocratic ranks were heavy and Rothgar, with his need to control everything around him, feels that even more than most men. I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes view of what was involved with all that and watching him interact with the movers and shakers of the age. The French bit was a trifle silly but I think it served to show that Rothgar was not only important on his own lands and in England but was also a figure of some European influence.

However, I felt that his capitulation to marriage came a bit quickly. He’d fought falling in love and marrying for years and then fought against Diana to the point of pain then, suddenly, voila!, the shell cracked and he was willing to risk marriage and children. Yes, life is a risk, and Diana’s research showed that there weren’t any other loonies in the Malloren family but I didn’t really see anything that might have lessened his fear of passing on insanity. And I would also have liked to have seen him “taken with a violent passion upon that virginal bed” in the fluffy pink and white spouse’s chamber at Arradale.

It was nice to also see the other Mallorens and spouses again even if you did skirt dangerously close to nauseating happiness and fertility moments when the clan first descended on Arradale for Brand and Rosa’s wedding festivities. And we got to (Finally!) meet Hilda and her husband Steen. I was beginning to wonder if they were just collective figments of the Mallorens’ imagination. I think the fact that I originally read this series over a short period of months instead of waiting the nine years it actually took you to write them helped me not to build Rothgar to such mythic proportions and I do feel that you wrote his story in the only way that you could to remain true to his character and the times.

So, while this has both pluses and minuses, they all balanced out to a B grade from me. And for 5 books in an entire series to maintain such high grades is astounding.

~Jayne

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: My Lady Notorious by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley

Once again you manage to take an almost unbelievable plot and get me totally involved in it. This is book four of the Malloren series and truly exemplifies the unofficial Malloren motto: With a Malloren, all things are possible.

Rosa, Lady Overton is in a fix. Well, actually everyone on her husband’s estate is in a potential fix. Sir Digby and Rosa have no children and Digby is in failing health. He is much older than Rosa and married her after she was badly scarred in a carriage accident. If he dies without a child, his estate will be taken over by a nephew who adheres to an extreme religious sect who will make life for the tenants a living hell. Rosa, with Sr Digby’s unspoken consent has set off on a mission to get knocked up at a masquerade ball. Only she chickens out and leaves only to find a drunk man left by the side of the road. Moved by Christian charity she takes him to the dower house of her cousin, the Countess of Arradale. Once there she screws her courage to the sticking point and asks the recovering man for a favor for having saved his life. One night of sex.

Lord Brand Malloren awakes without knowing where he is or who this mysterious masked woman is. But she asks a simple boon and he feels obliged to accommodate her. So simple really and he’s on his way with a debt paid. And, hey, what man would turn down this particular way to pay off a debt? What follows is not just a simple night of passion as Brand senses that his lady is not some cheap, cheating wife off for a fling. She is uncomfortable with this and something is compelling her on to do it. He soon finds himself stirred by her in more ways than one and proposes that he stay another night.

During the next day, Brand and a stilled masked Rosa find they share a common interest in estate management and animal husbandry programs. Each is aware of feelings stirring for the other but it takes the last night to cement them into love. A last night of bedspring breaking, headboard banging, soul searing sex during which Brand desperately tries to convince this mysterious soulmate of his to escape with him. He knows she’s married but he thinks to a neglectful husband who doesn’t truly appreciate the treasure that is his wife. Rosa is in agony at the thought of leaving this man she has swiftly come to love but even if she didn’t truly love her husband, there is still the need to provide him with an heir and keep his estate and tenants out of the fanatical hands of his nephew. Plus she knows who Brand is now and with that comes the knowledge that the son and brother of a marquess can never be for her.

So with the help of her young cousin the countess, she drugs Brand, leaves him for his brother to find and tries to disappear from his life. And almost succeeds. But the Mallorens are tenacious and Rothgar is determined to find this woman who hurt his brother and Brand knows he can’t rest until he has a chance to win the woman of his heart.

I love Brand and Rosa. They are honorable people trying to do the best they can for those who depend on them. Rosa only agreed to try and get pregnant to help her tenants and keep her estate safe. She never looked to find love and even once she’s found it, she renounces it and heads back to her duty. I’ll be honest and say martyr heroines usually leave me cold but Rosa’s reasons are beyond the general “my sisters need a Season and baby brother just has to go to Eton.” Brand never thought to have a night of debt payment lead him to his heart’s delight. And once he knows the stakes involved, he leaves with the determination not to try and take his child. Or create problems for anyone involved. It’s a wild tangle and tests the limits of Malloren ingenuity to work all things toward their end goal but it is managed in the end with a small sacrifice and dignity for all.

I got a better feeling for the people of the Yorkshire dales with this book than with others I’ve read. And once again saw how a bit of it must have been when the aristocracy ruled supreme. Plus got introduced to the two women who have anaged to do the almost impossible: thwart the powerful Marquess of Rothgar. I ended this book salivating at the thought of watching Rothgar and the countess cross swords again. I was kind of bummed that we didn’t have the usual decadent Georgian England upperclasses sex debauchery scene but I guess sex with a masked stranger will have to suffice. There is some running around and a subplot involving the religious sect that got a touch outlandish at times. But, this one is a strong B/B+ for me even with its admitted faults.

~Jayne

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Something Wicked by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Tempting Fortune by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: My Lady Notorious by Jo Beverley

Book three of the Malloren series takes up right where book two left off. With the Mallorens neck deep in intrigue and sophisticated plots.

Lady Elfred Malloren has been pampered and over protected for all her 25 years by her four brothers. When fate leaves her alone in London with a married friend, she seizes the chance to do something a little wicked. A little wild. And winds up fleeing for her life through the back lanes of Vauxhall Gardens after overhearing part of a Jacobean plot and realizing that one of the speakers is Fortitude Ware, Earl of Walgrave and sworn enemy of all things and people Malloren despite the fact that his sister married a Malloren in My Lady Notorious. He’s also the man Elf has secretly lusted after and teased much to his conventional male distaste.

Fort sees a young woman in disguise who might know more about his affairs than he wants known and hustles her off to his London home for a night (he hopes) of wild sex with no strings attached, as he tells her upfront. But Elf has no intention of submitting and escapes during the night leaving Fort to worry (slightly) about the young woman he thinks is a French gentlewoman. But he’s soon dragged further into the plot to kill the king. A plot he plays along with in order to expose the traitors. But when the mysterious woman reappears and wants to seduce him, Fort plays along there as well which brings the plot to a head. Elf’s brothers arrive and along with Elf and Fort, save the day. Now can Elf convince a man she’s come to love that she might be his chance at lifelong love and happiness. Even though she’s a Malloren and someone who coaxed him into revealing the demons that haunt him?

You continue our tour of bawdy sex in Georgian England with a trip to Vauxhall Gardens. Though, alas, we have to wait a bit for the sex between our hero and heroine. And yes, they really do do it on a coffin at one point. The whole Jacobean plot part of the plot is really a bunch of running around that gives Fort and Elf a chance to be together. I didn’t see it as the main story interest and admit that it is rather weak. What is the focus of the story is watching Elf and Fort heal and grow.

Elf has been sheltered and not allowed to really see what her intelligence and abilities will let her accomplish. She learns some hard life and death lessons about taking charge and I enjoyed watching her rise to the occasion. She does make some mistakes but learns from them and matures into a capable woman. A woman who can make the decision to let Fort go to seek his happiness even if it isn’t with her.

Fort is a typical aristocratic man of the times. Used to being in charge, being obeyed, having wild adventures if he wishes and not having the women in his life create waves. Elf is a blast of fresh air but not always welcome. I enjoyed watching him come to realize that women aren’t just decorative dolls who are there for his pleasure. Fort also has events from earlier books which haunt him. I thought some of that started to sound like an Oprah show at times and wish that we could have seen a little more of his resolution of them. But the scenes where Elf turns courtship on its head and woos Fort, much to his consternation, are sweet and delightful to watch.

It was fun to see some of the earlier characters in this book and a relief to see them actually do something to further the plot and not just stand around giving us a fertility update and gushing about how deliriously happy they are. One thing that puzzled me was the fact that Brand didn’t take an active part in this story as he will be coming up next in the fourth book. But once again, the Mallorens prove that family loyalty is everything and that they will support each other no matter what.

Overall, this one has its weaknesses but still winds up as a strong B for me and further wetted my appetite for the last two books of the series.

~Jayne

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Tempting Fortune by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: My Lady Notorious by Jo Beverley
3. REVIEW: No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

In this second in the Malloren series, you pick up right where My Lady Notorious left off. It’s nice to have read that one for a teensy bit of
backdrop and some more insight into the characters but it’s not necessary as I think you’ve done a great job telling just enough of it so readers aren’t lost in TF, without retelling the whole story as some authors do in series books.

In this book we get to see the seamy side of Georgian London. It’s a world where men and women are seduced by the lure of easy pleasures and where gaming is a right of passage for England’s elite. Portia St. Claire’s brother has learned that the hard way after staking his estate on a turn of the cards. Desperate to find the funds to redeem the debt before their estate is taken from them, Oliver and Portia seek the aid of Fort Ware, Earl of Wargrave. But instead they find themselves tangled up with the second of the Malloren brothers, Bryght.

Bryght is a gamester but only to help fund his many investments and keep up appearances in high society. He finds Portia a novelty and as he sinks deeper and deeper into her life, he finds himself falling in love with her. Even though he knows that she’ll turn his world upside down. Now he just has to a) convince her that he loves her and that b) she loves him and then c) solve her family’s money problems while d) keeping Portia’s virtue from being sold in a brothel to pay her brother’s debts at the same time that he e) fends off an angry Fort out for revenge against the Mallorens even as he is f) trying to thwart his former lover from her revenge on him. Got that, readers?

In MLN we got to see a Georgian house orgy. TF takes us into a high class London brothel. When I read the series, I couldn’t wait to see what other sexually decadent places you were going to find for the rest of the series. I think you do a good job in showing Georgian society in all its beauty and sordidness. It was a world of promise and opportunity, change and exploration.

I enjoyed this book in spite of some flaws. The first time we meet Portia, she veers towards TSTL territory and every now and then she’ll turn her head in that direction if not watched closely. I also thought it ironic that even as she condemed gamesters, she was hoping her brother might win back what he had lost at cards. But she’s one heroine I wound up liking in spite of those facts. Bryght I love. I would marry this man. He has a delicious sense of humor and goes into his topsy turvy relationship with Portia knowing full well what he’s getting into. He also has just enough doubt about whether or not she loves him to keep him from too much arrogance.

Once again we meet the Malloren clan and those around them and learn that for the Mallorens, nothing is impossible. B+

~Jayne

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: My Lady Notorious by Jo Beverley
2. REVIEW: Fate and Ms. Fortune by Saralee Rosenberg
3. REVIEW: Tempting the Wolf by Lois Greiman

I had fond thought of this book before I even started it because it was the subject of the first email I ever exchanged with someone who’s become a dear friend of mine. I had mentioned after the year 2000 AAR Top 100 that I was looking for a copy and Deb, the consummate bookstalker, emailed me saying she had one. Plus about 10 other books I’d been looking for. Deb, this review’s for you!

Mrs. Beverley, you work for me yet again with this one, the first in the Malloren series. Cyn, Captain Lord Cynric Malloren, is a great hero who is bowling along in his brother, the Marquise of Rothgar’s coach, when it’s held up by some very interesting highwaymen. Sensing something isn’t quite right, he goes along with things til he finds himself kidnapped to drive the coach to an out of the way cottage where things get even weirder. He soon concludes that the two *highwaymen* are actually women, one of whom resumes her female identity and turns out to be the mother of a months old infant. The other, the one who intrigues him, stays in her male persona and Cyn, not being able to resist a challenge or turn down an opportunity for some fun, decides to join their mad adventure.

Lady Chastity Ware is not quite sure what to do with this dangerous man, this pretty sweet-seeming viper, as she thinks of him. He’s a fly in the ointment of the desperate flight that she and her sister are on but as he slowly takes over the operation, she has the sense to realize that without his help, they’re doomed. Chastity and Verity are fleeing from not only their father, the unforgiving Earl of Ware, but also from Verity’s brother in law. While not being able to deduce why those two are after them, they know that they must stay out of the clutches of both dangerous men who appear willing and able to go to any lengths to get the women back. At first Cyn thinks that their tales of menace are just overblown women’s delusions, but soon he realizes that there is something sinister afoot and that he’s falling in love with Chastity. Which makes his sexual teasing of *Charles* all the more fun.

Chastity also finds herself attracted to Cyn but unlike him, she knows it can lead to nothing but heartache for she is the Notorious Lady Chastity Ware. A woman who has fallen from society’s graces as part of the devious plot of her father and brother in law. No one will listen to her protestations of innocence and she despairs as she falls in love with a wonderful man she can never have. The plot thickens as the entire Malloren clan is enlisted to not only unravel the mystery but also clear the name and reputation of the woman their little brother longs, with all his heart, to make his wife.

The action in this one is pretty much nonstop but it isn’t running around to no purpose. The danger is real even if the villains turn pretty much over the top by the end (the denouement ball scene is a touch too much). I usually don’t care much for women dressed up as men books because they seem so improbable but Chastity has had a while to practice and is quite good in her disguise. Plus, all she wants is to go back to her female life instead of running around pretending to be a man for no good reason. She is smart and acts true to the times instead of TSTL.

Cyn, as I’ve said, is great. And boy does he know how to do fun sex. The sexual tension in this one is quite hot and the love scenes are too. We also get a glimpse of the Bacchanalian decadence of a Georgian orgy (My God!) and the scene with Chastity (in disguise) listening to the bawdy songs of Cyn’s fellow officers and friends, is a hoot. Cyn also goes in disguise at times and during one scene I couldn’t help but think of an illustration from The Wind in the Willows of Mr. Toad running in his dress.

As I said before, Chastity’s father goes over the top as far as villainy is concerned and becomes something of a cartoonish character by the end which brought down my final grade just a bit. Also, some readers might not care for the depiction of Georgian society’s views on women and children. It is not only accepted but expected that men will physically discipline not only their wives but also their children. And the fact that the subjects of the disciplining seem to accept it as the fact of life, gets a bit hard to read about sometimes. But it is true to the times and I applaud you for not trying to sugarcoat that reality. My final grade is a B+ and this is one reason by I’m thankful you have chosen to write romances.

~Jayne

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Red Adam’s Lady by Grace Ingram
2. REVIEW: Lady Anne’s Dangerous Man by Jeane Westin
3. REVIEW: Captain Sinister’s Lady by Darlene Marshall