Rating: 
Summary: A Raunchy, Funny, And Classy Romp!!
Review: Aahh!! Where to begin. Picture this: A moonlit night, a dashing highwayman awaiting a carriage to rob. The carriage our highwayman decides to rob is none other than the odious Lord Crofton, on his way to an orgy with the enchanting and innocent Cressida Mandeville. When Le Corbeau (a.k.a. St. Raven) spies Cressida he sees her for the innocent she is. On the pretense of demanding a kiss, he successfully rescues her. Little does our hero know he just ruined Cressida's plan to retrieve her fathers jewels hidden in an erotic Indian statue. When St. Raven discovers this, he decides to help her on her quest. By "help" he takes her to an orgy dressed in a risque costume. The orgy is delightful (because of Cressida and Tris) and repulsive at the same time. The orgy is also only the beginning of quite a few adventures that this pair goes through, including falling in love. The pages sizzle with sexual tension, and the love scenes burn up the pages. I've said this before but Jo has the ability to create so much heat without too much description, just a sentence can make your pulse race. I am forever grateful for discovering this magnificently talented writer, if you haven't read one of her novels you are depriving yourself of one of the greatest historical romance authors of all time, and that is a shame.
Rating: 
Summary: Unconventional duke meets his Matlockian destiny
Review: Another success-story from Jo Beverley, St Raven is a semi-member of the Rogues series. Regular readers of Jo Beverley will have met Tris Tregallows, the Duke of St Raven, in her last book, Hazard. In one of his appearances in that book, he plays the highwayman, Le Corbeau, and that is how we first meet him in his own story. He holds up the carriage in which Cressida Mandeville is travelling and is immediately intrigued by what is obviously a lady in distress, travelling under duress with her escort. And yet a lady who does not wish for his rescue. Cressida, in a desperate attempt to regain her family fortune, has agreed to accompany Lord Crofton to an orgy. In return for partnering him there and sacrificing her virginity to him, he has promised to return to her some ivory erotic statues - within one of which is hidden the precious gems which will recoup her father's gambling losses. She had a cunning plan to escape becoming Crofton's mistress too, or so she thought. But all of her plans are destroyed when the highwayman steals a kiss from her and then rides away with her into the night. When she discovers that her abductor is the Duke of St Raven, she is no less furious. But Tris offers to help her regain the statuette. The only problem for Cressida is that she will need to accompany him in order to identify exactly which statuette it is that she needs. And so she has to dress as a houri and attend an orgy. This is just the beginning of a chase around different parts of the country, at different times, in search of the statuette, and of course the beginning of Tris and Cressida's relationship. It's an exciting, and at times passionate, story, which also - unlike books by other authors set in the same era - faces head-on the realities of life within polite society. Being a duke involves sometimes onerous responsibility. It means not being able to behave exactly as one wishes in every matter. Being a young lady, especially one of not particularly good family, means that one cannot put so much as a little finger wrong, otherwise one is ruined. And never can the duke and the unfashionable gentlewoman meet on anything even approaching equal terms. I didn't enjoy this book quite so much as Hazard, and I think part of that was the fact that Hazard focused solely on Anne and Race's relationship, while in St Raven there is the plot of the statuette and the sub-plot of the highwayman Le Corbeau. For me, these distracted from what I really wanted to read about, although I accept that Cressida and Tris could never have met except under this sort of circumstance. They didn't move in the same milieu. Cressida is the daughter of a nabob, a gentleman who made his fortune in trade in India and, although now knighted, is certainly not of haut ton. The family normally lives in provincial, unfashionable isolation in Matlock, Derbyshire. And this is largely the conflict in the story: how can Cressida and Tris be together when he is so far above her in status? How could she cope with being a duchess when she hasn't been raised to it? It was interesting to see the other side of the coin immediately after Hazard, in which a duke's daughter finds a way to be allowed to marry a social nobody. I was pleased to see that the example of the Marquess of Arden, who married a governess (Beverley's An Unwilling Bride) was cited, although it appears that Beth Arden has had some problems being accepted into Society - going to tell us more at some point, Beverley? It felt to me as if Tris fell in love with Cressida very quickly - too quickly, almost. Admittedly, the main conflict of the book related to their disparity in social standing, but I didn't really feel that I'd seen them fall in love - not in the way I saw Anne and Race or Lucien and Beth fall in love. This is probably the main reason why St Raven gets four stars rather than five. I was also hoping for further glimpses of Anne and Race in this book; it seems as if they may well face problems of acceptance, and I wanted to know that their married life has begun well and that they have plenty of friends who will champion them - Tris being one, but the Rogues in addition. However, Anne and Race were only ever mentioned in passing. I would love to see the two couples meet! Finally, who is Caradoc Lyne? He's clearly a friend of Tris's, and possibly someone who travelled on the Continent with him. He appears to be employed by Tris in some capacity, or at least dependent on him; Tris gives him things to do and asks him to find things out. His role in Tris's life is never explained. Will we see him again? The hero of a future novel, perhaps? This dedicated Jo Beverley reader is waiting with her fingers crossed!
Rating:
Summary: Solid Gold Beverley
Review: As a great Jo Beverley fan I always look forward to her new releases and having had a glimpse of the mysterious and handsome Tristan Tregallows, Duke of St. Raven in "Hazard" I was totally intrigued and couldn't wait for his story. The book description sums up the story with Cressida Mandeville agreeing to the swarmy Lord Crofton's vile proposal with her naively thinking she is going to put one over on him and retrieve her father's hidden wealth. Rescue, in the guise of a 'highwayman' messes up her plans, as she and Crofton are held up by a 'highwayman' who recognizes and knows Crofton for the slime-monster he is, so thinking of doing a good deed he rescues Cressida from his clutches. Instead of grateful Cressida is furious! Tristan, our knight-errant 'highwayman' is a complex character, not withstanding his very wild tendencies, he treated Cressida like a lady, once he realized she was an innocent, and her very naivety would make even him blush. Cressida is, for all her attempts at proving to be a lady, curious enough and naïve enough to have thought she could have gotten away with her plan. Realizing how tenuous her reputation is should word of this escapade be known she convinces herself to grasp whatever 'pleasurable' experience Tristan so succinctly offers her. Tristan develops extremely well and the orgy he brings Cressida to was, to me, a highlight of this story and not to be missed. The extremely sensual loveplay is tastefully and skillfully woven under the expert pen of Ms. Beverley. If any part of this romance were to bother me, it would be the reality of the historical era that they lived in and the division of classes. All through the story, you see Cressida, wanting so much to be able to spend her life with Tris, and his thoughts as well on the dilemma, with both rationalizing that they could never cross over the barrier that separated the high-born from the masses, especially when their very association would have led many to speculate as to how they met which could have very well ruined her. Bottom line, this is Beverley at her best, a keeper and a must read!
Rating:
Summary: quite a romantic
Review: For starters, I didn't think that Jo Beverly's "St. Raven" was lackluster romance novel at all. I found it to be a compelling and lightly steamy book. True, there are some things that some readers may find exasperating, but if you're looking for a romance novel that is a little bit more than what you'd usually expect, and one where the sensual-rating is slightly higher than usual (note: no heavy x-rated scenes though), than this is just the novel that may satisfy. Tristan Tregallows, the Duke of St. Raven, is masquerading as the highwayman Le Corbeau (for reasons of his own), when he comes across Cressida Mandeville and Lord Crofton. That Cressida is a respectable lady is fairly obvious -- why she is with the loathsome and villainous Lord Crofton, however, is another matter. And in a fit of chivalry, Tristan decides to rescue Cressida for Crofton's clutches. However, the lady is anything but grateful. It so happens that Crofton has won a fortune off Cressida's father at cards. Facing near penury, Cressida and Crofton have struck a deal: she will be Crofton's mistress for the duration of a few nights in exchange for some of the Indian artifacts that her father had wagered and lost. Unbeknownst to Crofton is that one of the artifacts hides a small fortune in jewels, and that Cressida actually has a plan to retrieve the treasure as well as hold on to her virginity. But all goes horribly wrong when Tristan decides to rescue her. Upon hearing her tale however, Tristan finds himself volunteering to help Cressida retrieve her treasure. But what starts out as a deed in knight-errantry becomes something more when Tristan finds himself becoming totally enamored with the incredibly ordinary but courageous Cressida Mandeville, while Cressida discovers that falling in love with a rakish duke is one thing but expecting that love to lead to something more is an exercise in folly. For who would expect a duke of the realm to fall in love with and marry an ordinary miss of no particular birth or distinction... I'll admit that while I did find "St. Raven" to be a rather romantic read, Cressida as a heroine sometimes had me rubbing my brow with frustration. Her vacillations and her frequent verbal jabs at Tristan because she thought that he was an unrepentant rake got rather old fast. Also, given that he had never really caused to doubt his sincerity and honour, her ability to believe the worse and jump to conclusions made me long to shake some sense into her. But every good novel needs obstacles and I suppose Cressida's whole trust problem was as good as any! What makes "St. Raven" unique is that Jo Beverly has decided to write a romance novel that actually focuses on how two people from different strata of society fall in love and the problems that they face. Cressida Mandeville is a young lady who exists on the fringes of Society, and is someone with little money and no connections, while Tristan is a duke of the realm. She values the quiet life, while Tristan's duchess would always be Society's focal point. This is not a match made in heaven, nor would it be one that Society would actually sanction happily. And Jo Beverly focuses on the anguish that both Tristan and Cressida feel over their situation. It is the stuff of romance -- the love that they feel for each other, all the while knowing that it can come to nothing, and the eventual finding of happiness and the much longed for happily-ever-after ending. Along the way, one does become mildly irritated with Cressida (but not for long, thank goodness). But Tristan as a hero was a dream come true -- no neanthethal male here, but a take-charge, honest and rakishly charming man. (Also, for a rake, he didn't really behave all that rakishly at all -- there were actually instances where he left off a forceful seduction and left the decision on whether or not to give into temptation completely in Cressida's hands.) Much of the novel flowed smoothly, though the whole finding-the-treasure subplot did meander a little. I would have been happy if the authour had spent the entire novel deciding how to get Tristan and Cressida together and how they would surmount all those odds without having them become even more entangled in the treasure subplot. But that's just me. My vote: this is a truly romantic novel, and just the thing for Valentine's Day.
Rating: 
Summary: don't bother with this book
Review: I am a very big Jo Beverly fan, but I could not get into this book at all! The two characters did not interest me (I am not at all a fan of highwaymen) and the plot just seemed so--well--stupid. "I am innocent and lovely, earnest and true. Even though I have agreed to be this horrid lecher's mistress, I just know it won't happen." Blech. I am so tired of idiot heroines saved by idiotic heroes who fall for them. I could not get past page 50. I paged through to see if it got any better, and was glad I never bothered when I came across the line :"I want... I want to be closer to you, Tris, than I have ever been to anyone since I slid messily from my mother's womb." Oh my lord. I can't believe Jo Beverley wrote that. I am so very disappointed as I have devoured Jo's earlier books. Her last four or five have been very unsatisfactory in my opinion (starting with absolutely, totally ruining Rothgar by pairing him with that whiney, insipid Diana). Maybe if I had even recognized one of the characters in this book I might have been tempted to continue, but.....
Go back to the Rogues.
Rating:
Summary: St. Raven is an e-ticket ride!
Review: I found Jo Beverly's St. Raven to be a fast paced,intriguing story that let us into the darker side of Regency London. Cressida's father has lost all their money and she finds herself having to make a deal with the same devil that he lost it to in order to try and regain something for the family. Her plans go awry when they are stopped by a notorious highwayman. Who turns out to be St. Raven and they set about to recover the family fortune by going into the bowels of this particular devil's hell. Cressida finds herself falling for her guide into this world. But she feels she and St. Raven can never be together as she is not titled and he is a rake. She fears he would be too like her father and she couldn't live with that. Jo Beverly makes you live her stories and St. Raven is no exception. I strongly recommend this book to all of her fans and all of you that love an exciting, romantic tale.
Rating:
Summary: Another fine work by Beverley!!
Review: I found Tris to be a great hero!! He was such a complex individual - having been such a wild young man, he is beginning to fight some of his rakish ways - feeling compelled to settle down and be a "Duke" but in so many respects, really just wanting to be a good, carefree and decent person. Enter into his life, just when he is beginning to come into what he will be, Cressida - a young lady with so very many problems of her own. And Tris just becomes her knight in shining armor. What a knight he is too - wow he was so gallant, caring, romantic and just a delightful unassuming person. I loved some of the dialog between these two. Cressida also is the first woman that really emotionally and romantically takes ahold of Tris's heart. Because of that he seriously questions how far he is willing to allow the dictates of what is supposed to be a Duke's life and a Duke's wife and what will really compliment Tris's life. Cressida was the one thing that would make him the best that he could be - she truly brought out the best in him and it was a wonderful romantic tale. Great Beverley rouge book!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not entertaining
Review: I have to disagree with what seems to be the general feeling - I didn't like this book! The plot was terrible. Cressida's father loses everything to an evil man in a card game - including some erotic statues. One of these statues has gems in it that would save the family from ruin. So Cressida sets out to get the statue by agreeing to be the man's mistress but a highwayman kidnaps her and ends that plan.
The highwayman is actually Tris, our hero, playing at larceny. From there, nothing happens as the pair try to get the statue back.
Ms. Beverley tried to make it a very sensual book with the couple dressing up in silk and attending an orgy. But it just didn't seem to work in this case. "I want...I want to be closer to you, Tris, than I've ever been to anyone since I slid messily from my mother's womb." To me, things like that kill the mood.
I still enjoy Jo Beverley's books, just not this one in particular.
Rating:
Summary: statue erotica
Review: I liked this book. Beverley has a unique touch on presenting material that may be somewhat borderline for the time period. She obviously has done research. As I was reading, I almost became overwhelemed with the details of the party. I seriously get into a book with it has some good description. Probably why I like Beverley so much is because she is good at remembering to include the details of a setting which allows me to be there. The content surrounding the orgy held by Crofton reminded me of "Devil's Bride". There were quite a few similarities between the two stories aside form the plot. I just wish the heroine was as good as the hero in this book. I felt like Cressida didn't really have that desperation that would be required for a gently bred female to sink to the treatment Crofton shows her in the beginning. Her spirit didn't make her a rescue candidate in my opinion. Though St.Raven takes her because he notes a definite lack of sexual experience in her I don't think that was adequate enough to material for his decision to take her from Crofton. And after what she could have been subjected to at the orgy in the hands of Crofton, it was a definite rescue! The story had a nice flow to it. And the hero was perfect. I just thought the heroine lacked continuity.
Rating:
Summary: statue erotica
Review: I liked this book. Beverley has a unique touch on presenting material that may be somewhat borderline for the time period. She obviously has done research. As I was reading, I almost became overwhelemed with the details of the party. I seriously get into a book with it has some good description. Probably why I like Beverley so much is because she is good at remembering to include the details of a setting which allows me to be there. The content surrounding the orgy held by Crofton reminded me of "Devil's Bride". There were quite a few similarities between the two stories aside form the plot. I just wish the heroine was as good as the hero in this book. I felt like Cressida didn't really have that desperation that would be required for a gently bred female to sink to the treatment Crofton shows her in the beginning. Her spirit didn't make her a rescue candidate in my opinion. Though St.Raven takes her because he notes a definite lack of sexual experience in her I don't think that was adequate enough to material for his decision to take her from Crofton. And after what she could have been subjected to at the orgy in the hands of Crofton, it was a definite rescue! The story had a nice flow to it. And the hero was perfect. I just thought the heroine lacked continuity.
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