Rating: 
Summary: Wished I Could Have Liked It
Review: I'm sorry to say I didn't want to finish this one and I'm a huge JB fan! It started out okay, but boy, the characters faded into nothing! It wasn't at all interesting after the first few chapters. Con was a fine man but he didn't shine here as he should have. His character fizzled. Susan wasn't THAT bad, but she always had to stop and think if she should lie or tell the truth. Never did she just say what was on her mind in a truthful manner.
Nicholas from AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE is still the best rogue.
Rating: 
Summary: Still not the best of the Rogues
Review: I've been reading Jo Beverley avidly ever since I picked up a copy of _An_Arranged_Marriage_ several years ago. While I enjoy her light Regencies and her medieval romances, I am a huge fan of the Rogues and the Mallorens. It's been hard to complain about not having any new Rogues books for several years, since we got so many Malloren novels in the meantime. However, I was extremely excited by the release of the latest Rogues book (which also happens to be in another series, the Georges -- how many authors can pull that off without looking stupid? Not many, but Beverley does it beautifully in this novel). Anyway, it's a good book, certainly much better than the average Regency historical novel. And like all the Rogue books, it provides a hero who is sharply distinct from his Rogue-ish mates. The heroine is believable, and unlike many romance heroines, she not only made a serious mistake in the past, but she has figured that out all by herself before she is reunited with the hero (the man with whom she made the mistake). I missed the actual participation in the action of the novel by any other Rogues besides Nicholas. And I particularly missed the interactions between Susan and the other Rogue-wives who were present at the wedding. I also found the plot to be a bit predictable. I knew who the murderer was very early on, and there were plenty of hints to tell me where the gold was hidden. Also, some of the edge characters seemed a bit wooden and flat, not a mistake Beverley usually makes. So why did I give this book 5 stars? Because even when Jo Beverley is not up to her usual standards, she writes books I want to read and reread. It was great fun to see the Rogues back on stage, and I enjoyed the book immensely. While the plot definitely suffered as I described above, the resolution was both surprising and satisfying. It's not as good as _An_Unwilling_Bride_ or _Christmas_Angel_, which are the two best Rogues books (in my opinion), but it's a fine book, fluently written, nicely paced, and a darn good way spend a weekend.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Historical
Review: In 1816, along the coast in the southern part of England, Con Somerford and Susan Kerslake come face to face again after youthful betrayal tore them apart. Eleven years ago, at the tender age of fifteen, they shared a magical time together which ended abruptly when, after Susan seduced Con, she callously rejected him when she found out that he was not heir to the Earldom of Wyvern. Ironically, Con is now the new Earl, and Susan is the housekeeper, a position which she has retained in order to recover some gold due her family from the late Earl. Susan's brother, David, and their father before him, are the infamous Captain Drake, leader of the local smuggler operation. Susan believes that the gold belongs to her because the late Earl received a portion of the smuggling profits in exchange for protecting the smuggling operation. Not only did he fail to protect the smuggling business, he aided in the capture and transportation of the previous Captain Drake. Despite Susan's prior ill-treatment of Con, he finds himself still drawn to her and wonders if she still harbors a desire to become the Countess of Wyvern. Susan, likewise, is attracted to Con,though he is no longer the boy she spent hours with in youthful exploration. He is now a hardened man, embittered by war and her previous rejection. Can Susan and Con overcome events of the past and find love again? Jo Beverley has definitely done it again. This is a wonderful read, rich with emotion between hero and heroine. She makes it clear that Susan betrayal of Con, her youthful lover, is so devestating simply because she is the one he has loved all these years. And Susan,likewise, was never able to get over him even though she tried with two other men. The imagery of the dragon and his bride as represented by the statue is skillfully woven into the relationship of the protaganists as Con discovers that he is not really the dragon he has tatooed on himself, but St. George, the slayer of dragons, who he wanted to be so long ago. The main characters have come full circle, having learned so much about themselves in the eleven years that they spent apart,that they now know that they were truly meant for one another. We will eagerly await THE DEVIL'S HEIRESS, the next installment in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful story about second chances
Review: Jo Beverley has always been an author who can make what seems to be a hackneyed plot seem fresh and new, and THE DRAGON'S BRIDE is no exception. In this tale, we meet Susan Kerslake and Con Somerford, reunited 11 years after an adolescent affair that ended very badly. Con has come to Crag Wyvern to claim the inheritance he never wanted and never expected to get, but for the death of his older brother. The first person on his mind -- and the last person he wants to meet -- is Susan. Fate, naturally, is against our hero. He arrives to find a smuggling operation in place on the coast, and Susan in the thick of it. Not only that, but she is his housekeeper! Worse yet, he discovers that underneath all the anger, pain, and rejection of 11 years ago, he still wants her. For her part, Susan expected to be gone by the time Con came to inspect his new holdings. But with her younger brother involved in the ages-old smuggling operation, and said operation being threatened by the government representatives and rival smuggling gangs, she can't leave. She is terrified when Con shows up so unexpectedly, for now she has to worry about his silence with regard to the smuggling. In addition, she is horrified to discover that she never stopped loving Con, that she had just boxed her feelings up inside, and all the love and regret from when they were 15 comes rushing back. What makes this plot so unique is that there is no "big misunderstanding" to frustrate the reader: Susan and Con are very human and there is genuine blame in their brief affair, not the usual lack of trust that leads to ridiculous assumptions and partings. Nor is there is a huge mystery and terrifying villain to threaten our erstwhile protagonists, although the intrigue is still very present. Instead, this story provides stripped-down emotions, a visceral relationship between two very realistic and fallible people that is almost as wrenching to read as it would be to live. Another element that makes this story so beautiful is that without the "big misunderstanding" there is no "I hate you; no, I love you" nonsense going on. Con and Susan acknowledge their past and try to deal with it, but they work with each other, rather than against each other, in both their own relationship and in digging for secrets in the deeper past. Some authors get sloppier or less appealing in their writing as they get more popular and publish more, but I have been delighted to discover that Ms. Beverley is certainly not among them. If anything, the writing in THE DRAGON'S BRIDE is better than in some of her previous works: a wonderful backdrop, witty and amusing secondary characters (including visitors from past works), and finally, fantastically strong and appealing protagonists. THE DRAGON'S BRIDE is on my keeper shelf, and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: JB has her moments; this was not one of them.
Review: Jo Beverly has her moments, but this was not one of them. If you are a huge fan of monotonous internal dialogue with absolutely no character development, no action whatsoever, and no emotion, then this is the book for you. Since I am a fan of JB, I suffered through the entire book, to my great disappointment. If you want an excellent JB read, I highly recommend Something Wicked.
Rating:
Summary: Past choices and emotional pain
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay - too much blah...
Review: This book was an okay read. It wasn't that good. Beverely talked wat too much and didn't let her characters talk! That is to say that there wasn't much dialogue and even though Beverely converyed the characters feelings quite well, she repeated herself too much. She kept on saying the same things all the time, she described too much and basically after the all the blah, blah, blah I got bored! I thought the plot was good and Con was great. The heroin needed to be worked on a bit more becuase she seemed too selfish and quite frankly she was so unbelievably annoying you wanted to burn the book. How can she evn think that she deserved another chance at Con after what she did to him. And believe me I was a fifteen year old not so very long ago and I know that at that age I would have had the sense to see that Con was the perfect guy for me and I would have never let him slip away! Just because he wasn't an earl! 15 year olds aren't that dumb! The "love scenes" or "sex scenes" as would be the correct term for them were sizziling hot and if you like that sort of thing then they were great - even though there weren't many of them! The most disapointing aspect of this book that the end was very abrupt - and when I say very, I mean VERY abrupt - and by the end of it I wasn't convinced that they were in love. The only reason I gave this book 3 stars instead of two is because I liked the part when Con goes crazy, starts hacking down the torture room with an ax and then starts ruthlessly kissing her. That scene was really good. Plus when all is said and done Jo beverley is a good writer and even though I'm not fond of her style (no dialogue) her language and writing skills are superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Vulgar and Difficult to Read
Review: This book was painful to read. I got hooked on Jo Beverley's books back in the early 1990s when she was writing the small regencies. There, she focused on bringing light romance to a good story. Then, she moved into the heavier material. This book is the perfect example why Jo Beverley's "Sensual" romances are only the genteel ladies' substitute for a porn movie. It was quite obvious that Beverley was not focusing on the plot of this book and putting romance into it. It seems that she simply wrote a few skanky sex scenes and put them in a book with a sketchy plot (with every contrived plot twist imaginable to let the characters have pre-marital sex, and lots of it). The characters here are harsh, bitter, and unlikable, especially the heroine. They deliberately hurt each, when they are not making vulgar and over-the-top suggestive remarks to each other. This is supposed to be romance?!? However, this is Beverley and not as bad as many other similar books in the genre, thus saving the book from only one star. However, this is a very skippable book, even if one wants to read the Rogues and George series. Just check the book out at the library, read the back, read the first and last chapters, and move on to the next books of the series (that at least have some plot wrapped around the sex scenes).
Rating:
Summary: A little too convenient
Review: This was my first Jo Beverly novel and it wasn't bad. I liked the heroine Susan, she made mistakes, but didn't consider herself a tragic heroine. Con was okay. A little dense. Where I had problems were some of the "twists" in the plot. I thought they were a little too tidy. I also thought the inclusion of the Georges and the Rogues were unnecessary at the end. Like I said, not a bad book, but not really a keeper either.
Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining
Review: Though Napoleon has become history, smuggling remains a way of life on the English coast even in 1816. Susan Kerslake has been housekeeper to the Earl of Wyvern for several years. Now that a new Earl is coming soon, she wonders how he will react to the local illegal activity. However, she worries more about how the Earl Con Somerford will act if he sees her for the first time in over a decade. Frightened, her plan is to flee the Craig before he arrives because the one-time lovers broke apart in a not so friendly manner. However, Con reaches his new home before Susan escapes. The passion between them remains torrid, but the shared history provides a spectre that threatens to destroy both of them. Will they find happiness with the maturity of adulthood love or will they consume each other with hatred enflamed by their distorted memories? Jo Beverly is a sure thing when it comes to entertaining historical romance readers and her latest tale, THE DRAGON'S BRIDE, will do just that and more. The story line centers on the relationships between the lead characters that are mostly present but somewhat past. Because Con and Susan seem genuine with real emotions, they carry off the plot, which turns into an enjoyable reading experience for sub-genre fans. What else is new ñ this is Ms. Beverly at her best. Harriet Klausner
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