Customer Reviews

An Arranged Marriage (Five Star Standard Print Romance)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I loved this book from beginning to end, and I thought Beverley did a great job of handling the complex story. Eleanor, our heroine, is raped at the start of the book by the Earl of Stainbridge - a rape organised by her own brother, who wishes to blackmail the Earl. Eleanor does not shrug it off - did that reviewer read the book, as opposed to just skimming it? - she was actually contemplating throwing herself into the lake to drown when she met Stainbridge again. Consumed by guilt, Stainbridge - who was already on his way to Eleanor's brother's house at the time - takes Eleanor under his wing, but lies and claims it was his brother who'd raped her.

Nicholas Delaney (who, as the son of an Earl, should actually be Lord Nicholas) is engaged on crucial espionage work, and under orders to conduct an affair with Therese Bellaire, suspected to be involved in a Napoleonic plot. However, he agrees to bail his brother out, hoping that he can tie up his investigation quickly and end his affair. Nicholas is like no other man Eleanor has met: he is kind, considerate, values her opinions and treats her in many ways as his equal, unlike most men of the time and unlike her own experience with men. On their wedding night, she learns the truth about her rape, and he makes love to her gently and considerately - yet another hangover from the rape is that she's, naturally, afraid of sex.

Of course, the affair in the background means that Nicholas's behaviour is erratic; some of the time he is loving to Eleanor and willingly seeks her company, but as Therese becomes more and more unco-operative and Nicholas comes to care more for Eleanor, he has to distance himself from her and act as if their marriage had never seemed likely to become more than one of convenience. Eleanor, who had guessed that Nicholas has a mistress, accepts it because it was the norm for men at the time, and because their marriage *was* arranged, and the understanding was that she and Nicholas would lead separate lives. Neither of them, after all, she thinks, had anticipated that she'd fall in love with Nicholas.

And who wouldn't fall in love with Nicholas?! He is a wonderful creation: charming, amusing, considerate, very capable, intelligent, a great lover, and - best of all - he has a vulnerable side.

He also has some fascinating friends. I wish I'd read this book before reading An Unwilling Bride (publishers, *please* make it more clear when books are part of a series, and what their place in the series is!); I would have understood Lucien a lot better if I'd read this first, much as I loved Luce's own story. Francis also appealed enormously, and I hope he gets his own story at some point.

Nicholas and Eleanor make a wonderful couple, and I hope to have many glimpses of them in future Company of Rogues books.

I so hate it when characters that have a great potential are used in a less than satisfactory plot! That's what happened with this novel.

I could have loved Nicholas. He is so warm and lighthearted and at the same time wise and responsible. He has one of the most magnetic and fascinating personalities I have encountered in romance novel heroes. He is a natural leader and the best friend one can hope for. But the way he acts in this story denies all that. That is why I was so frustrated with this book.

I understand the fact that he owed no loyalty to Eleanor, and he couldn't be expected to drop everything for her, since he only married her to save her from a difficult situation created by their brothers, but even so, I could not justify or understand his actions.

I think what bothered me most was his ambivalence. If he wasn't in love with his wife, I could have understood what he did. But to betray and hurt her "for his country", when he was desperately in love with her and despised his mistress is hard to digest, to say the least.

What is more, he betrayed more than his wife with his actions, he betrayed himself. He prostituted himself due to some misguided sense of duty, and that made me loose my respect for him. There had to be other ways for the government to obtain the information they were seeking. By the way, if he was so repulsed by his mistress, how could he keep sleeping with her? How could he even "perform"? This suggests the idea men are only animals, capable of getting aroused by a beautiful and skillful woman, even if they despise her. Maybe this is true for some men, but is not a trait I would like in a romance novel hero.

And to top it off, all his "efforts" were for nothing, because the treasonous plot he was trying to uncover turned out to be a hoax devised by Therese (his mistress) to swindle money out Napoleon sympathizers and to get back at him for rejecting her in the past.

One more thing, where is all that sexual skill this book mentions so often he posseses? The only two times he slept with his wife were rather boring, and one of those times he didn't even concern himself with giving her pleasure. Does that sound like a great lover to you?

This is the first romance novel I have read in which the villains win, and the hero is made to look like an idiot. Reading the next "Rogues" books, one finds that the villains get what they deserve, but I think one shouldn't have to read another book, to see the conclusion of a story started in this one....All in all, I think this novel was a great waste of great characters, and a waste of my time.

This is the first romance novel I have read where the hero spends at least 3/4 of the book sleeping with another woman.
Jo Beverley strains the boundaries of political correctness in AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE, her most controversial story I have read to date. There is no denying Ms. Beverley is a master storyteller and perhaps because of this political incorrectness she delivers a powerfully fresh stage for her story.

Eleanor Chivenham is drugged by her manipulative brother and raped by an equally drugged Lord Delaney. Lord Delaney hazed into the brutal act and not quite having his wits about him completes the deed but comes back the next day to find out exactly what happened. Upon meeting Eleanor planning to jump to her death, and understanding a child might come from this act, concocts a story that it was actually his twin brother Nicholas Delaney who stole her maidenhood. A marriage is arranged, and Eleanor and Nicholas are soon married.

She quickly discovers that it was not Nicholas who raped her, but his brother. Nicholas, a charming and handsome man is soon off spending time with his mistress. Serving his country, Nicholas is actually involved in a plot to foil the mistress who is involved in Napoleonic activities. Eleanor finds she is with child and also that she loves her dreadfully neglectful and cheating husband. Nicholas, knowing he will be gone most of the time, has surrounded her with his Company of Rogues, a group of handsome and dashing young men to act as her protectors and escorts.

The hero Nicholas is not one I liked much at all. His sleeping with this mistress for the greater good of the country and at the expense of his marriage is hard for any woman to swallow I think. The very idea that this romance began in a rape, although not by the "hero" is still distasteful and gives a dark shadow over the entire story. That said, the story is incredibly engaging and tightly woven from start to finish and is a very entertaining read. Jo Beverley once again takes us for a ride and doesn't let go until the end.

This is Book 1 in Jo Beverley's Company of Rogues Series.

Ok, Nicholas marries Eleanor because his brother ruined her and she may be carrying his child. Then he supposedly falls in love with her but keeps a mistress(he's only sleeping with her for the sake of his country...he doesn't enjoy it...what a load of garbage)and avoids Eleanor so that he won't hurt her by going from his mistress's bed to hers. Personally, I routed for Eleanor to run away with Lord Middleton. I mean I felt absolutely no sympathy for Nicholas..in fact I grew to seriously dislike him. I'm sure that England could have found some other way to get the information Nicholas was looking for without his mistress. In the end Eleanor just forgave him and took him back because of course he did it for his country and didn't mean to hurt Eleanor. If you are looking for a story that leaves you feeling like things worked out the way they should and the characters deserve to live happily ever after this is not the book for you!

When the Earl of Stainbridge calls him for help, Nicholas Delaney is far from imagining that this time, his brother is in deeper trouble than he'd ever expected. Kit has been misled by a rather unrespectable friend, Lionel Chivenham, and ravished Lionel's sister, whom he thought willing whereas she was drugged and unable to defend herself.

To save the honour of the family, Nicholas agrees to marry Eleanor, since his brother won't. But Kit makes things worse by claiming to Eleanor that it was Nicholas who raped her on that night, and Eleanor only learns the truth on her wedding night. Indeed, even if the marriage doesn't involve any feeling from either Eleanor or Nicholas, Nicky insists that it needs to be consummated: if Eleanor is with child, Nicky wants to think that it is his and not that of his brother's. Follows a beautiful scene where Nicholas treats Eleanor with extreme care and tenderness. When I got to this early scene, I wasn't convinced that the book would keep me interested the way it did. I was afraid that their story would be a bed of roses.

However, I had forgotten the thorns.

Marriage doesn't stop Nicholas from entertaining a relationship with Therese, his French mistress; his affair with this woman makes him appear as a dissolute rogue, but couldn't thee be more to him than what Eleanor expects?

At first, Eleanor thinks she can accept the situation. Her union to Nicky is nothing more than a marriage of convenience, so she can't expect more from him than the protection he offers. But can she deny that her husband's charm affects her in ways she would rather deny?

My main regret was that we didn't get more of an epilogue. I would have wished for a better denouement, particularly where Therese and Lord Stainbridge are concerned. Therese, after all, kept Nicholas to herself for most of the first months of his marriage. And of course I still have doubts about Lord Stainbridge's honesty. I couldn't bring myself to like him.

I was a bit frustrated with parts of the book that were kept silent, even though those nitpicks weren't enough to spoil my enjoyment. But I would have liked to see more of Nicholas, see more proof of his blooming love for Eleanor, and how and when he started to be aware that he felt more than a simple affection for his wife. I didn't see him be transformed by the experience of love; his feelings for Eleanor seemed like a completely natural thing that had existed from the start, and yet it's not possible under the circumstances. He wanted to protect her, yes, but he didn't love her at first. And then quickly enough he comes to feel a deep love for her, which is half driven by his guilt and fear to hurt her. What saves his feelings from looking completely out of the blue is that they seem indeed to develop naturally, but I wish we'd *seen* them develop through more introspection parts from his point of view, about Eleanor.

On the other hand, there were scenes in the book that were so beautiful that they made up for that, though. For example, the poignant conversation where Nicholas tells his friend about the feelings that his wife arouse in him. It was a beautiful confession, and I wish there had been more of that.

All in all, it was a delightful book, where the characters' reactions were unpredictable and kept me interested throughout.

I adore Jo Beverely. She generally combines interesting situations with characters who react intelligently to them. But this particular book made me sick. The heroine is raped by a man who was "forced" by the heroine's wicked brother (the man is trying to still rumors that he is homosexual). The brother then tries to force the rapist to marry his sister. Instead, the rapist engineers a marriage to his brother, the hero of the book, who is a spy and abandons his wife and... Ick. It is incredibly demeaning to read a book where the heroine is raped (there is no 70's Kathleen Woodwise-ese malarky about "forced seduction" -- she is definately sexually assalted) and find that the heroine has a few token moments of unease from her experiance, but generally shakes it off as though someone had spilled wine on her dress. Not to mention the fact that the rapist (the hero's brother) is suposed to be a sympathetic character -- as horrible as homophobia is, it does not excuse his actions against an innocent person. Jo Beverely, what were you thinking???

As a reissuse, I would have been better off buying it from a second hand bookstore. What a ripoff. I felt no sympathy for Nicholas. He was not a hero at all and he really had no redeeming qualities.

Eleanor and Nicholas are two people struggling to make the best of a bad situation. Even though Eleanor believes Nicholas is the man who raped her, she agrees to marry him because the alternative is unthinkable. Once married, Nicholas is torn between his duty to his country and his marriage vows to his new wife. Unfortunately, his duty to his country includes seducing a beautiful and dangerous spy. I read and loved this book several years ago. A recent re-read proved that it stands the test of time as a powerful, emotionally gripping story. A word of caution- once you read it you will have no choice but to begin the search for the rest of the Rogues' stories!

Jo Beverley has done it again with this stellar Regency-set historical. Her research is, as always, impeccable. (Contrary to what a previous reviewer has said, her hero's name should not be Lord Nicholas. Daughters of an earl are "Lady Firstname," and sons of an earl are "The Honourable Firstname Lastname.") The historical detail, however, only serves as a delicious garnish for an impeccably drawn, complicated romantic entanglement between an unwilling bride trapped by circumstances not of her own creation, and a brave gentleman willing to (temporarily) sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of his country.

This is a grown-up tale of two people who, thrown together in the most uncomfortable of circumstances, learn first to live with each other, then to love each other. Jo Beverley more than earns her reputation as the thinking person's romance author in this touching novel.

This is the first book I bought by author Jo Beverly. It will probably be my last too.

Some of the reviews were good and stated they just loved this author and book! They thought it was sexy, romantic, deep and loving. I know we are all entitled to our own likes and dislikes so, I respect that we'll have to agree to disagree on the greatness of this book. The thing I can't get past in this one is, what is to enjoy about a love story that has our heroine being raped, then put into an arranged marriage with the rapists brother, the husband then cheats on his wife with his enemy and prostitute lover ....need I go on? Where is the romance and tenderness in all of that?

I have to admit I was turned off by the first parts of the book. The rape scene even though not wordy and extremely detailed was enough to make me cringe and be unsure of the story line. Make no doubt, this situation can and probably did happen more than any of us knew in history and modern times. But...it's hard to put such a realistic and awful event into a book you want to be a love story. Eleanors own brother set up the incident which was revolting. Then, when Eleanor figures out that it was Christopher and not his twin Nicholas who violated her she didn't even have a serious fit of the vapors ( a minimum for those times) when the truth came out. She was upset but, not overly disgusted or angry. She agreed to whatever plans Chris came up with - not an independent and thinking woman there. Nicholas in turn did whatever his twin brother Chris asked - such as marrying the women he violated - even though Nick was clearly the strong, intelligent and dominate brother. Who would just marry their brothers intimate partner, consider taking on a possible pregnant woman and her child as his own and never have many fits of consciousness over such events?

This story did not get better for me as time went on. Everyone was just way too accepting of the situation instead of fighting back the right way. The rape scene and resulting child were mentioned too often. I feel this content belongs in modern stories or biographies not love stories meant to take you away to a softer, kinder and more beautiful place. Many reviewers felt Nick was dashing, courageous and wonderful but, I felt he was too wimpy and accepting for me. His actions in some ways could be considered honorable but, in other ways I felt he was a doormat doing what he was supposed to do. Plus...he was cheating on her on the side and the sex scenes here was even steamier than with his wife. Why would that make you like this man? He was committing adultry of the worst kind. After knowing what his wife went through...he deserved to treat her with more respect and dignity than he did.

Eleanor in turn just seemed to always sit back and let things control her world instead of her being the controller. The two of them seemed often apart and that didn't help to make their relationship seem solid and strong. Luck have it...things did work themselves out but, this just was not a story line I found memorable and tender. It simply did not work for me. I was hard pressed to even give it one star. Very, very disappointing.

After reading thousands of historical romance novels since the mid 80's when I was in high school, I have been able to select and keep good authors and their stories and let really bad ones like this go. I don't think I'll be buying any more books by Jo Beverly - this one turned me off that bad.

Instead, I would like to recommend some stories I have found memorable over the years - they are strong, passionate, often funny but, above all - will contain characters you can relate to and enjoy without being appalled. Authors and books such as: Katherine Sutcliffe - Dream Fever & A Fire In The Heart, Brenda Joyce - The Prize & After Innocene, Judith McNaught - Whitney My Love & Almost Heaven, Lisa Kleypas - Dreaming of You, Only In Your Arms, Because You're Mine, Gaelen Foley - The Duke, Jacquie D'Alessandro - Not Quite A Gentleman, Pat Grasso - To Love a Princess, Mia Ryan - The Duchess Diaries, Laura Guhrke - His Every Kiss, Cathy Maxwell - Because of YOu and The Lady is Tempted, Christina Dodd - My Fair Temptress, Victoria Alexander -The Wedding Bargain & Until We Meet Again, Susan Wiggs - A Summer Affair, Laveryl Spencer - The Endearment & November of The Heart, Julianne MacLean - To Marry A Duke and Sabrina Jefferies - The Pirate Lord.

These are some top books that will not only draw you in but, also leave you inspired. I like a heroine with wit, intelligence and some spunk. That was not to be found in this story. I also like a hero that is strong, loyal, commanding and brave...once again not to be found this story. I like a story that is passionate and intense - that happened in this book just not between our main characters! I like a book that has a detailed story line and one that is interesting and inspiring - this one flat lined sorry to say.

If you like this author, by all means continue with her. If you felt like I did, consider those I mentioned above to get the bad taste out of your mouth. This book should have been titled, "An Awful Rape, Empty Marriage & Outside Affair"! Yuck...I'm moving on.