Rating: 
Summary: Snoozer
Review: I had a major problem just finishing this book. It goes nowhere very slowly.
Rating: 
Summary: WoW!
Review: I have a feeling that I wouldn't have cared for Lucien, Marquess of Arden, if I hadn't first read about him in the wonderful AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE. By the time we get to his story we know much about his character and understand him very well. He and Nicholas are good friends even though they seem different, but only on the surface.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it.
Review: I have read this book at least 4 times. It never gets old. It has to be one of my top 5 favorite books of all time. I just can't put it down. Jo Beverly is a great writer. I hope you will think so as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Abuse is NOT Romantic
Review: I have to agree with the other reviewers, hitting a woman is never alright, and I refuse to support a work of fiction which romanticizes such an issue.
Rating:
Summary: Wit, High-Drama, Fascinating Characters
Review: I love this book so much it's hard not to feel indignation when other reviewers give it less than five stars! I understand the objection to physical violence, but in the context of the story and the emotional turmoil that is wrought on Lucien and Beth and that they bring on themselves, it reveals the humanity and frailty of these two very headstrong people. Their difficult road to the discovery of their mutual love and affection for each other is fraught with repellence and duplicity that culminates in an act of violence both feared. They are forced to begin their love affair facing their faults and healing together. I loved the complexity of these two people, their intelligence, beauty, wit, and their weaknesses. This book is a tribute to the skill Ms. Beverley possesses as a writer of complexity and authenticity of both the period, and of human nature.
Rating: 
Summary: Unexpected Pleasure
Review: I picked up this book with relatively low expectations. And was thoroughly surprised. I have enjoyed Jo Beverley's writings in the past so that wasn't the surprise, but the description on that back doesn't really give you a sense of the depth of emotion and feeling you will get from both characters. It's funny, entertaining and, unusually intelligent.
Rating:
Summary: Wondrfully Written
Review: I realy enjoyed the interaction between Lucien and Beth. Lucien evolves into a wonderfully loving individual and Beth realizes that in order for the relationship to work there must be some give and take. I was also glad the Lucien parents were able to resolve their differences. I hope the rest of the Rogues series will be republished so I can read them.
Rating:
Summary: Such knee jerk reaction!
Review: I reviewed this book some while ago and have come back to look at ensuing comments from time to time with great interest. I do think it curious that readers of historical fiction so very often insist on applying contemporary behavioral standards to characters who peopled a world that is so different from our own that, if suddenly transported back, most of us would find life incomprehensible. Domestic and marital law and attitudes have changed so much in the last 100 years that even our grandmothers would seem to have lived lives of deepest deprivation in what was, in fact, a "man's world" - you can't change the past! So, why such vituperation at Jo Beverly for daring to present characters acting out situations from another world all together with a different set of morals and code of behaviour? The castigation she has received here seems to me to be ill-conceived at best. Would these critics be so scathing if reviewing science fiction? I doubt it but there is some similarity here in reading of a world radically unlike our own. Why read historical fiction if you prefer your stories and characters to be contemporary people dressed up in historical costume? I believe this was an excellently written, brilliantly peopled story and should be read with an eye to historical context and understanding that one is reading about a very different world which, whether we like it or not, we cannot go back and change.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This One
Review: If you are a stickler, as I am, for a well-written, well- plotted historical romance, you won't want to miss this re-issue of one of Jo Beverley's best stories. The heroine, Beth, is a "modern" 19th century woman who speaks plainly and enjoys her career as a teacher. The hero, Lucien, is the son of a Duke and a traditionalist who believes that the best wives are seen but not heard. The two come together through the machinations of Lucien's father, and the sparks begin to fly! The dialogue between these two is not only very witty and clever, but it is also very believable. There are a number of secondary characters in the book that are finely-drawn, and the plot contains a surprising suspenseful twist that keeps the reader intrigued. In short, if you have high standards and are tired of some of the "pap" that passes for romantic fiction nowadays, you will love "An Unwilling Bride." I can't wait for the re-issue of more of Ms. Beverley's older books.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This One
Review: If you are a stickler, as I am, for a well-written, well- plotted historical romance, you won't want to miss this re-issue of one of Jo Beverley's best stories. The heroine, Beth, is a "modern" 19th century woman who speaks plainly and enjoys her career as a teacher. The hero, Lucien, is the son of a Duke and a traditionalist who believes that the best wives are seen but not heard. The two come together through the machinations of Lucien's father, and the sparks begin to fly! The dialogue between these two is not only very witty and clever, but it is also very believable. There are a number of secondary characters in the book that are finely-drawn, and the plot contains a surprising suspenseful twist that keeps the reader intrigued. In short, if you have high standards and are tired of some of the "pap" that passes for romantic fiction nowadays, you will love "An Unwilling Bride." I can't wait for the re-issue of more of Ms. Beverley's older books.
| 
