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Avg. Rating: 3.47
Past choices and emotional pain
There's plenty of those in this book. Beverley makes the reader feel the weight of the characters' mistakes and the pain it has caused them -- and the way those mistakes continue to influence their decisions. Because Susan had so hurt Con in the past and because he is still dealing with emotional wounds from war, he hurts her in this book -- sad, perhaps even cruel, but totally human. Forgiveness is one of the themes of this novel. On the other hand, Con is my least favorite of the Georges for some reason. This book didn't live up to my expectations of him from his appearances in other Beverley books. Susan is a strong heroine and their love is deep and genuine -- it merely takes time and circumstances to get through the remnants of the past. Often Beverley's books contain dark elements; this one is a case in point. The previous Earl of Wyvern was insane, a madness that manifested itself in torture and debauchery. Con's explosive reaction to this is fact is quite memorable. But the book has some very disturbing imagery because of this theme. Perhaps the most engaging character in the book is Con's friend, Race de Vere. He shows up later as a hero in his own right, but he is absolutely delightful in this book and provides some much-needed lighter moments. There are spans of narration, description, and inner monologue, but perhaps not as many as it might seem. This book is more slowly paced than many historicals and than many of Beverley's books. All in all, I'd place it on a par with St. Raven -- good, but quite dark and not her best. I might have given this book three stars, but it's a gem with compared to so many books out there; so I'm giving it 4.
Bittersweet
After reading the back description of this book, I immediately liked it and bought it regardless of the unknown author to me. I got even more excited when I read the 5 stars ratings here in Amazon. The housekeeper vs a Gentleman initial plot intrigue me, not to mention their childhood friendship and their romance. That was enough to encourage me to start reading. The first part and the middle part of the book was luring, sharp and fast moving. I liked Susan, she is more human than a fantasy book heroine. She makes mistakes, she makes wrong choices but accepts her faults and LEARNS from it. I enjoyed reading the detailed thoughts of Susan&Con. Ms. Jo Beverly picks her words very well. My heart tightens in reading Con's resentment and Susan's regrets. Con's sharp remarks and hurtful rebukes makes me ache for Susan just as much as for Con. Their Romance and love for each other is simply bittersweet. They both try hard to forget the past and to move on as friends. They try to deny the feelings that is still burning deep inside... but it just can't be done. It makes you ache for them&with them. The smuggling operation as well as the Wyvern's wierd description was an excellent spice to the story... However, towards the end of the book, I am sad to say that the story drags on and then ends abruptly. I expected more towards the end. I expected more action twist. I think Gifford gave up too easily. I also wanted to read more hearty situations where Susan can prove herself to Con. I wanted to read more circumstances for Con to be able to rebuilt his trust back towards Susan. There is no question about their love for each other but Con and Susan are also often times avoiding each other that I was unconvince towards the end. I would have love to read more of them together. Togetherness to improve their relationship... to rebuilt... to develop a newer, stronger bond. That would have been a good way to erase any doubts and forget the hurtful past. This book also contains a lot of secondary characters, all are interesting but I think I will appreciate the secondary characters much better if I have read Jo Beverley's previous books that is in the ROGUE&the GEORGE SERIES.The Rogue Series goes: AN ARRANGE MARRIAGE.....AN UNWILLING BRIDE.....CHRISTMAS ANGEL......FORBIDDEN.....DANGEROUS JOY. The George Series goes: THE DEMON'S MISTRESS (Novella:In Praises for Younger Men).....THE DRAGON'S BRIDE.....DEVIL's HEIRESS (Aug., 2001). Hope that helps! This is my first book of Ms. Jo Beverly and I can't say I am very impressed by her work but then I am not thoroughly disappointed either. Perhaps I will give her another try by reading the next book of this GEORGE series, THE DEVIL's HEIRESS. It would be nice to read updates of Susan and Con anyway. Despite my "unconvinced" complaint, I still rated this book a 4 stars because it was afterall an entertaining read.
I would give this 3 1/2 stars
I have just discovered Jo Beverley and started with the Arranged Marriage and have read them all so far in order (except Miles Story). And I have read them all in a week - so the stories are all fresh in my mind. I found this book book really boring. I agree with some of the other reviewers this just lacked something. But I do love her writing and am psyched to get started on the next book.
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