Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I relaxed and snuggled up with this book for the whole night because it was so great!
I liked the Duke a lot, especially as the book picked up pace, for his gallantry and honesty and just a sense of down-to-earthiness that I don't see in a lot of heroes. Of course, he's as sexy as hell, which doesn't hurt :D
Cressida is a likeable heroine and contrary to what other reviewers say, she is not the least bit contradictory. I can understand her: she is quiet and wishes for a peaceful life but there's an adventurous impulse in her that makes her go on this journey. That is totally understandable, and this is what results in her wild behavior at the orgy. Also because of...other circumstances that is beyond her control.The only thing I didn't think was believable was that THE whore Miranda got reformed at the end?!? That was a little farfetched, and the whole subplot with the treasure and the bastard cousin was a little TOO perfectly resolved to sound credible. It just so happened that everything falls into place like a dream! The ending is the reason why I give this book five stars when all is said and done. The ending is rarely seen in romance novels, where the last chapter would be devoted to the reconciliation and declaration of love by the hero and heroine. It is drawn out thoughtfully in like one-third of the book and Jo Beverley made sure not to rush, but rather concentrated on the unraveling emotions of the characters. I love the ending so much, not in the ending per se since all romance books end happily but in the well-roundedness of the ending. There are, of course, many faults in the book but they are minor and they are easily overlooked once you consider the general quality. Read it! You won't regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: It had a great begining...
Review: I was extremely disappointed in this book. It is my guess that this is the finale of the Rogue Series. I did not really enjoy the Rogue series because it would have been impossible for Nicholas to spend as much time as he did away from his new wife and child and be the father that all of the rogues seem to have needed. All at the age of 25. I was happy that he did not make even the slightest appearance in this story but the story was still bad. It was great until the end of the orgy, and then it just got boring. She became what I hate most about the heroine in a romance novel - a stupid female- I put this book down several times but I made myself finish it because I had hoped the last few chapters would save the book. They did not. They just made me angrier because I kept reading. I highly recommend the Maloren Series if you are a true fan of Jo Beverly.
Rating: 
Summary: pleasurable somewhat fervent historical romance
Review: In 1816, notorious highwayman "Le Corbeau" stops the coach of depraved Lord Crofton as the aristocrat journeys to his recently won (in cards) Stokely Manor accompanied by Cressida Mandeville. Le Corbeau demands a kiss from Cressida, but when their lips lock he realizes she is an innocent. Unable to leave her at the mercy of a nasty decadent like Crofton, Le Corbeau abducts Cressida and takes her to his estate. Le Corbeau turns out to be Tristan Tregallows, the Duke of ST. RAVEN. Though he risks his scheme to free the real Le Corbeau from incarceration, Tris learns the truth why Cressida accompanied Crofton. He honorably agrees to help her retrieve an Indian statue containing jewels from her family's former estate Stokely Manor. However, to do so they must attend a debauched masquerade in hell hosted by the devilish Crofton. Regency romance readers will relish the rousing ST. RAVEN though the three prime characters are very typical of the sub-genre. Crofton is so over the edge as a lecher, he is stand up comic hosting an orgy, but the lead couple more than make up for the villain's shortcomings. Tris is typical of the sub-genre as he safeguards a female stranger who he quickly admires and then loves. Cressida is also typical as the feisty independent willing to venture into hell for her heavenly cause. Any author who can weave a reference to noted medieval writer John Mandeville into her plot has to be good, but Jo Beverly is even better as she provides the audience with this pleasurable somewhat fervent historical romance. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT READ!
Review: in short -- excellent book! If you like adventure, romance, love and a great ending this book is for you.
I particulary liked that the auther did not end the book quickly. It was very though out and complete. For once I was not looking for an Epologe.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing book
Review: It's difficult to believe Jo Beverley actually wrote this book. She used to weave an interesting plot with believable characters. The heroine is supposedly a middle class virgin with a strong moral sense. However, thirty minutes into her visit to an orgy, she is playing sex games with a cucumber and other games with the hero. The plot seems to exist merely as a device to allow the author to write "sensual" scenes-and I use that term loosely. It was difficult to believe in the romance of the couple. There was no character development here-the author was too distracted in emphasizing the physical attraction. In the end, it was very boring and I couldn't finish it. I have read very book she has ever written, but if this is where she is heading, I won't waste my money buying another.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Up to Jo Beverley's Usual High Standards
Review: Jo Beverley is one of the pre-eminent writers of romantic fiction. I have read everything she has written, purchased many of her backlisted, out-of-print books on the used book market, and looked forward with impatience to her newest novel, St.Raven. When the bar is set that high by an author, any book that falls short is bound to disappoint, and St. Raven was a disappointing read for me. First of all, the plot was far-fetched. It revolved around Cressida Mandeville's search for family jewels (no pun intended) secreted inside one of ten...statutes that Cressida's father had brought back from India. Her quest for the jewels takes her to a [wild party] thrown at her family's former home, which was recently gambled away ... by her father to the dissolute Lord Crofton. Lord Crofton had a plan to escort the [young] Cressida to the [party] to perform intimate acts in public. Cressida had agreed to become Crofton's mistress and was accompaning him willingly in his coach to her former home. Her plan was to try to outwit Crofton by taking a [medicine] that would make her vomit in the hopes that he would send her to bed alone and she could search the house unimpeded for the jewels later that night. The Duke of St. Raven thwarts both of these plans by kidnapping Cressida during a hold-up of Crofton's coach, while posing as the infamous highwayman, Le Corbeau, who also happens to be the Duke's long-lost, illegitimate, French half brother. Having rescued Cressida from the [party], the Duke then takes there anyway, costuming her in the revealing "disguise" of a harem slave that he just happens to have on hand..... I might have been willing to suspend my disbelief if the main characters had been great, but I found them to be inconsistently drawn.... At the same time, he unselfishly (and inexplicably) puts his own life on hold for weeks to assist a stranger to find her family's treasure. He possesses all of the usual Dukely accoutrements of a fine wardrobe, multiple estates, and a stable of horses, yet he refuses to sell any of those horses to pay the bills and bemoans the fact that he is unable to help out Cressida's bankrupt family financially, thereby leaving her with no choice but to track down a... statute through the English countryside in the Duke's unchaperoned company. Cressida is also an inconsistent character, at one point reveling voyeuristically in the sights at the [party]...and at other times displaying a self-confessed "middle-class" frigidness to the Duke when he gets a little over-amorous. What bugged me the most about this book, however, was poor editing. The lack of care in the editing process is evident in the pacing of the story: The [party] scenes drag on for five chapters and even mere carriage rides take two chapters to complete. The Duke refers on at least four occasions to the "stink and din" of the [party], which was descriptive the first time I read it and boring the next three times. Were there no other adjectives that could have been used? Finally, I was irked to read (on page 139) the Duke telling Cressida that he fled abroad "in a fit of funk." ... What kind of 19th century expression is that? I think you get the point. This is not a terrible book by any means. There are enough moments of witty dialogue and character chemistry interspersed here and there to keep you from throwing the book into a corner in disgust, but they were just not enough to carry the day for me. If you are a die-hard Jo Beverley fan, you will probably read this book anyway, just as I did, but prepare yourself for a bit of a disappointing experience.
Rating:
Summary: St. Raven is a winner
Review: Jo Beverly is absolutely wonderful with sensual Regency romances. I enjoyed this book tremendously. Except anthologies, I've probably read everything Jo Beverley has ever written. St. Raven is a great read - I ate it right up and passed it along to my mom as soon as I could; she's a fan, too. The resolution of the story of Le Corbeau was satisfying and the romance was great.
Rating:
Summary: The only thing good about this book is the cover!
Review: This is the dumbest book I've ever read. It's about a maidenly miss who is trying to restore the family's wealth by recovering jewels her father lost gambling. (familiar enough plot). But the jewels are hidden in a sexually explicit statue at the home of sexually depraved man. So the hero (who spend the whole book complaining about the fact that he is a duke and has too much work to do because of it) takes her to an orgy to recover the statue! PULEEZE..........The only entertaining part of the book was the first chapter when the duke plays a highwayman but it's definitely a short lived part of the book. No more Jo Beverley books for this reader.
Rating:
Summary: Sts. Preserve Us!
Review: This story begin with lots of promise, but was stretched out FAR longer than was necessary and I found it difficult to feel much sympathy for the whiney hero and the (excuse the vulgarity) p---- teasing heroine. The sexual tension, also, was done so choppily that rather than building delicious suspense, was simply frustrating. Pages and pages later, I realized that the resolution to this build up had come and gone! 'That's it!' I muttered, quite grumpily. Ms. Beverly went to a great deal of trouble to highlight (with painstaking fequency) the differences between the hero and heroine, both in personalities and socially. I began to wonder why they thought they were friends and "so close" when much of the time they are disdaining and unsympathetic to each other's lifestyles and viewpoints. Even in romance novels, where love is able to leap a variety of tall obstacles in a single bound (it's why I love 'em!), there must must be a bit more plausability in the connection between the primary lovers of the tale. I think it's one small difference between an out and out fairy and a romance: the reader does require some details ironed out, not just wholesale acceptance of the thing foisted upon them. Ms. Beverly is a talented author, so I began to suspect that she made the chapters-long orgy sound so dreadfully tedious deliberately so. But then I had to think that she might have accomplished the same goal (and wasted less paper and my time) by having a character from the book make this assessment as part of the narrative, but what do I know? Although the ending was rather sweet, the most accurate analysis of "St Raven" takes place in the book itself when a bored female participant at the afore mentioned orgy is complaining to her less than enthusiastic partner: "Come on, get on with it or give over!" I concurred with an 'Amen!'
Rating:
Summary: Sts. Preserve Us!
Review: This story had lots of promise in the beginning (more than a few women have fantasized about being 'forceably' whisked away by a masked rogue in the dead of night, yes?), but the rest of the tale was stretched out much longer than was strictly necessary. St. Raven whines alot about the responsibilities of his title and some of the sexual tension was so choppy that instead of building delicious suspense was simply irritating. Pages and pages later, I realized that the climax to this situation had come and gone! Frustrating. The differences between the hero's and heroine's personalities and social viewpoints were so frequently and painstakingly declared that one often wondered what was it that made them believe they were friends and attracted to each other. Much of the time they are disdaining and unsympathetic to each other's lifetstyle, and, lust aside, thin excuses are offered as to why the hero agrees to help the heroine out of a jam. Even in romance novels, where love is able to leap tall social obstacles and other differences in a single bound (why I love 'em), there must be a bit more plausability in the connection between the hero/heroine. I think that's one small distinction between an out and out fairy tale a romance novel, the reader does want some details ironed out, not just wholesale acceptance of the thing foisted upon them. I found that I was heaving annoyed sighs quite frequently when reading this book and skimming ahead at times. I got more done around the house during my days off with Ms. Beverly's book than I had intended (gee, thanks!) One has to wonder about the author's intentions with a five chapter-long description of an orgy: if it begins to sound more than tedious, maybe it has dragged on too long? Even if done deliberately, couldn't economy of language (and my time less wasted) have been exercised by someone in the story summing up this assessment? If not, I don't know what Ms. Beverly was at when she decided to write this way. I usually like her writing and thus graded this anti-climactic effort sentimentally with two stars instead of one. I must also say that though the ending was rather sweet, by then I felt so ill-used for having wasted my vacation. In my opinion, the most accurate analysis of "St. Raven" takes in the book itself when a bored female participant at the afore mentioned orgy is complaining to her partner: "Come on, get on with it or give over!" I concurred with an 'Amen!'
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