St. Raven

Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Read
Review: This was a great book to be stuck on a train with! I'd just finished a rather amateurish novel; it was such a relief to read something by an author who knows how to construct a solid plot, interesting characters, strong conflict, and then flesh it out with a wonderful command of the language.

Was the orgy too long? Yes. Other than that the book held me in suspense by the twisted path to retrieve the treasure, and the fact that we went so long without a "hard" love scene was a surprise. Imho the heroine (and almost everyone else) should have been more shocked by the statue (and etc.), but otherwise the period seemed correct. What we were left with were two fascinating, dynamic characters caught in a skewed and tangled web where they could be discovered at any moment.

Excellent escapist fare.

Rating:
Summary: 1/2 * Entertaining sexy caper
Review: Though Jo Beverly's latest Regency on the Rogues bears uncanny shades of resemblance to her RITA-award winning novel My Lady Notorious, she acquits herself nicely in this nimble lark of a tale. Duke of St. Raven, Tristan Tresgallows chances upon the spirited Cressida Mandeville when he disguises as the notorious highwayman Le Corbeau and halts Viscount Crofton's carriage. Determined to save the innocent from the reputed lecher, he whisks her away to his retreat Nun's Chase, oblivious that he has foiled her plans to snatch back the treasure-secreted ivory statue that her father had lost, together with Stokeley Manor, in a gambling game with Crofton.

The rollicking adventure begins when Cressida bares her predicaments and St. Raven as the chivalrous knight errant steps in. They decide to penetrate into the Manor when Crofton holds his infamous sexual orgy and masquerade as a sultan and houri. Cressida is shocked by the decadence and oddly disappointed at Tristan's unsavory associations. She is however tantalized to the seductive masculine appeals of Tristan and knows love can never bridge the rank schism between them. Both of them fall in love against their wills.

Much of the intrigue is in the pursuit of the statue and Crofton's tenacity to unmask Cressida as the houri, which climaxes in a sharp battle of wits and lies to contradict Crofton's accusation. Corbeau, as Tristan's bastard cousin is the charming rogue who plays cupid to the reluctant pair. Jo Beverly is a master at her craft in creating simmering sexual tension and chemistry that sizzles and deftly avoids being vulgar in the detailing of the orgies. Her smooth narration compels readers to overlook the lack of resolution to the class distinction between the couple and the lack of emotional gravity that is surprising for a Jo Beverly's novel. No regrets though, St. Raven self-admittedly is fluff-light and every bit an entertaining sexy caper that packs escapism to the hilt.

Rating:
Summary: Sensual Hero and Lovely Heroine
Review: Tristan Tregallows, Duke of St. Raven won my attention with his small part in Jo Beverley's Hazard. Although very small part indeed, his romantic tendecies and decidedly mysterious role as a highwayman intrigued me greatly. So when I heard St. Raven was coming out, I was truly pleased.

In fact, Tristan's character grows quite well with detail and I thought him truly enigmatic and sensual all rolled into one person. His humanity was especially touching. As we see the brashness and crassness of character fall away under Cressida Mandeville's puritanical scrutiny, he develops into a delicious display of masculine sensitivity.

Cressida on the other hand tended to be a bit more emotionally disinclined than I liked. Her rationalization was a bit overdone although her spirit and spunk very admirable. She did display some of the better attributes that Beverley gives her heroines, but they didn't seem to fit her as well as they did Beth Armitage from An Arranged Marriage or even Lady Anne from Hazard.

Overall, this story is a touching, sweet love affair between the have and the have not. In Regency England that means no marriage can take place. But times are changing and so are some people's perspectives. Thanks much to Beth and Lucien from the Company of Rogues series, St. Raven is given to fanciful thoughts of marrying Cressida. In the end, of course like every true romance, love conquers all.