Rating: 
Summary: VERY disappointed in an author I love
Review: I adore Jo Beverely. She generally combines interesting situations with characters who react intelligently to them. But this particular book made me sick. The heroine is raped by a man who was "forced" by the heroine's wicked brother (the man is trying to still rumors that he is homosexual). The brother then tries to force the rapist to marry his sister. Instead, the rapist engineers a marriage to his brother, the hero of the book, who is a spy and abandons his wife and... Ick. It is incredibly demeaning to read a book where the heroine is raped (there is no 70's Kathleen Woodwise-ese malarky about "forced seduction" -- she is definately sexually assalted) and find that the heroine has a few token moments of unease from her experiance, but generally shakes it off as though someone had spilled wine on her dress. Not to mention the fact that the rapist (the hero's brother) is suposed to be a sympathetic character -- as horrible as homophobia is, it does not excuse his actions against an innocent person. Jo Beverely, what were you thinking???
Rating: 
Summary: First of the Rogues, but not the best
Review: This is the book that got me hooked on Jo Beverley, but in comparison to some of the later books, it is not as compelling. The story is interesting and the writing is fine, but the complexity of her later books is missing. Also missing are the laugh-out-loud and cry-out-loud scenes that make the later books so readable.However, I was very intrigued by both characters. Nicholas is realtively young, and has always been a leader. He's charismatic, smart, capable, and (for what seems like the first time in his life) in over his head. He fails to anticipate the effects of his actions, and so in an all-too-human way, he muddles through. On one hand, in areas where he has not made any fundamental errors, he is able to be generous and understanding with Eleanor; he makes room for her to discover who she is and to be that woman. On the other hand, having failed to see what the results of his spying would be, both on his wife and on himself, he leads them both to the edge of disaster. Eleanor, meanwhile, has been ruthlessly repressed her entire life, never pleasing her parents, and getting in the way of her brother's pleasures. After a traumatic series of events frees her from her family's control, she is somewhat lost and very much alone. Trapped in a marriage which seems the best of several awful choices, she is suddenly faced with a husband who is willing to let her be whoever she is, but who also seems maddeningly variable -- available one moment, but emotionally and physically distant the next. In order for these two characters to have a good marriage, they each must work out the dilemmas they face. I found the last part of the book, where they reconcile, to be painfully true-to-life. Even then, having learned a great deal about themselves and about each other, they each make mistakes in understanding one another. In the end, it all depends on their trust of one another's intentions. Not blind forgiveness, but something deeper. This is not the strongest of the Rogues books, but it is certainly a very good book.
Rating:
Summary: No Warm Fuzzy Feeling Here!
Review: Ok, Nicholas marries Eleanor because his brother ruined her and she may be carrying his child. Then he supposedly falls in love with her but keeps a mistress(he's only sleeping with her for the sake of his country...he doesn't enjoy it...what a load of garbage)and avoids Eleanor so that he won't hurt her by going from his mistress's bed to hers. Personally, I routed for Eleanor to run away with Lord Middleton. I mean I felt absolutely no sympathy for Nicholas..in fact I grew to seriously dislike him. I'm sure that England could have found some other way to get the information Nicholas was looking for without his mistress. In the end Eleanor just forgave him and took him back because of course he did it for his country and didn't mean to hurt Eleanor. If you are looking for a story that leaves you feeling like things worked out the way they should and the characters deserve to live happily ever after this is not the book for you!
Rating: 
Summary: Great writing, a definite keeper!
Review: I loved An "Arranged Marriage". The characters were very likable. Nicholas was so sweet, responsible, caring and brave. He was worth "hanging in there" for. Eleanor had a good head on her shoulders and I believe she acted as women of her time were expected to act. I mean, keeping her chin up and maintaining her dignity when she knew there was another woman in her husband's life. Lionel was detestable and deserved to be exterminated. Maybe JB is saving that for another book. I'm keeping this one though I don't usually hang to a book after I finish it. Please keep writing JB.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Though Not Tops
Review: Having never read this author before, I have nothing to compare this work to. That being said, I found the book enjoyable, a little better than the fluff passed off as romance in some works, but definitely not in the same class with other, more complex stories. An atrocity is committed against the heroine by her own brother, and rescue comes from an unlikely quarter, in the form of another sibling pair equally flawed. The heroine seemed a bit weak, but probably consistent with her time and culture. The hero was puzzling - on the surface, noble enough to allow himself to be used in the rescue of a lady's, and his brother's honor, yet seemingly too cynical to really accept such a role permanently. I read Dunnett's six-book Lymond series twice, at ten year intervals, and in retrospect, I can see some parallels - I never could figure out Francis, either! The plot of this book was fair - maybe I've been reading too many stories where Napoleon plays an unseen cameo role, and I'm getting jaded. At any rate, the book kept my attention, and I didn't find myself skipping pages just to get to the end to see what happened; I also, despite the flaws, found myself liking the two central characters, and wanting a happy ending for them. I'll have to try some of JB's other books for comparison.
Rating: 
Summary: not one of jo's best, i'm afraid...
Review: An Arranged Marriage is one of Beverley's earlier works, which, as far as I have seen, aren't as good as her more recent works. This book was rather slow-going and lacked any good scenes (e.g. funny ones that make you laugh out loud as you read or tear-jerking ones). The characters are good, but need to be developed more. I'm interested in seeing her next sequels to see if her writing style improves. Note that this is a reissued work that was written earlier, but her later works are much better...
Rating:
Summary: An excellent regency
Review: While 'An Arranged Marriage' is not my favorite of the Rogues series (that would be the fabulous 'An Unwilling Bride), it is still head and shoulders over most of the romance offerings now. Eleanor and Nicholas face an impossible situation and deal with it in a realistic and moving fashion. Beverley has mentioned that she was very influenced by Dunnett in this novel, and that is apparent. I think the similarities between Nicholas and Francis Crawford merely strenghten the book. Nicholas is a complex hero, one that challenges the reader because he is not always likeable. Eleanor, while not my favorite heroine, manages to grow in a realistic fashion that remains true to the time period that the book was set in.
Rating:
Summary: Love it-Not
Review: Well as characters go they deserved each other, sorry wimps the two of them. If they got together at the end or didn't who cares. The girl gets raped, arranged by her brother mind you, marries the brother of the guy who rapes her, he has a mistress to save his country, what a crock. Well I gave it 5 stars because they deserved each other. Oh is that what Romance is suppose to be? No thanks.
Rating:
Summary: A mockery of Jo Beverley's true style and capabilities
Review: Eleanor was a simpering fool, who ruined the entire book. Nicholas was almost as bad. But Eleanor takes the cake for the most distasteful, idiotic, and annoying character ever created. I am disappointed in this aimless and pithy story. Where on earth is Rothgar's story? I am dying of impatience- I don't want anymore of these reproductions of lame old stories when the last Malloren story is not out there to make all of us happy. Hopefully Jo Beverley will not disappoint me again with another superficial attempt at romance.
Rating:
Summary: Did not like it.
Review: As a reissuse, I would have been better off buying it from a second hand bookstore. What a ripoff. I felt no sympathy for Nicholas. He was not a hero at all and he really had no redeeming qualities.
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