Rating: 
Summary: AN EMOTIONAL, MOVING, FUNNY, AND ROMANTIC STORY
Review: This is the first novel by Jo Beverley that I read and I loved it. The writing style is intelligent, delightful, moving, and doesn't patronize the reader. I found myself crying, laughing, and could not stop reading. The h/h are both very well developed characters and both are very nice persons that the reader can feel empathy for. The secondary characters are also very well developed and contribute to the story, I especially liked Digby, the heroine's elderly husband. The setting is an integral part of the story and Ms. Beverley takes the reader there very artfully. The story, although, unlikely, is very romantic. There are two reasons why I didn't give this novel 5 stars: The first is that the h/h don't spend enough time together (although the time they do spend with each other is maximized) and the second is that the resolution of the conflict is very complicated and takes a long time, which means that the reader doesn't get to enjoy their happiness. Considering Ms. Beverley's evident talent, I was expecting something more and felt a little let down. I will be reading the other books in the series, since finding a writer this satisfying is rare indeed.
Rating:
Summary: A Nice Read
Review: This was a very pleasant read. I thought it was somewhat different than Ms. Beverley's other Malloren's in that there was relatively no conflict between the hero and heroine (I kind of missed that). It was mostly them against the world, it was refreshing to have a couple who had so much in common and have so much honor. It was truly inspiring that they were willing to sacrifice so much in order to have their family intact at the end. I also like getting a peek at Rothgars softer side and see him bested by his future heroine. I look forward to Devilish. Where I got hung up in the book was in Brands easy capitulation to his masked lady's request for sex in payment for saving his life. It was not the fact that he was willing to accomodate a stranger, this is after all historical fiction and a Georgian at that. It's just that, in his shoes, having been drugged, suffering from memory loss, and finding myself locked in a room in a strange house with a woman who won't remove her mask and who "claims" to have saved my life I would have been a lot more wary. He was way too trusting and he did pay for it later.
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