20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Historical, May 10, 2001
This review is from: The Dragon's Bride (Paperback)
In 1816, along the coast in the southern part of England, Con Somerford and Susan Kerslake come face to face again after youthful betrayal tore them apart. Eleven years ago, at the tender age of fifteen, they shared a magical time together which ended abruptly when, after Susan seduced Con, she callously rejected him when she found out that he was not heir to the Earldom of Wyvern.
Ironically, Con is now the new Earl, and Susan is the housekeeper, a position which she has retained in order to recover some gold due her family from the late Earl. Susan's brother, David, and their father before him, are the infamous Captain Drake, leader of the local smuggler operation. Susan believes that the gold belongs to her because the late Earl received a portion of the smuggling profits in exchange for protecting the smuggling operation. Not only did he fail to protect the smuggling business, he aided in the capture and transportation of the previous Captain Drake.
Despite Susan's prior ill-treatment of Con, he finds himself still drawn to her and wonders if she still harbors a desire to become the Countess of Wyvern. Susan, likewise, is attracted to Con,though he is no longer the boy she spent hours with in youthful exploration. He is now a hardened man, embittered by war and her previous rejection. Can Susan and Con overcome events of the past and find love again?
Jo Beverley has definitely done it again. This is a wonderful read, rich with emotion between hero and heroine. She makes it clear that Susan betrayal of Con, her youthful lover, is so devestating simply because she is the one he has loved all these years. And Susan,likewise, was never able to get over him even though she tried with two other men.
The imagery of the dragon and his bride as represented by the statue is skillfully woven into the relationship of the protaganists as Con discovers that he is not really the dragon he has tatooed on himself, but St. George, the slayer of dragons, who he wanted to be so long ago. The main characters have come full circle, having learned so much about themselves in the eleven years that they spent apart,that they now know that they were truly meant for one another. We will eagerly await THE DEVIL'S HEIRESS, the next installment in this series.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
NO MORE JO B. FOR ME, January 25, 2002
This review is from: The Dragon's Bride (Paperback)
I discovered Jo Beverley in IN PRAISE OF YOUNGER MEN and enjoyed Demon's story, so I looked for the two sequels. I am plagued by the thought that each of these stories should have been like the first...120 pages. Then maybe all three could have been put into one book that would have been enjoyable. The Susan character was, in a word, awful. Don't know if it was truly because she was so unlikeable or because Beverley's writing was so see-saw: "I shouldn't sleep him, but, no, I'm going to anyway"; "I should tell him the truth, but, no, I'm going to lie (again)"; "I need to leave Crag Wyvern immediately, but, no, I'll hang around for another day or two". Honestly, how can you like someone like this for 360 pages? It just had the feel of a well-plotted short story that had been s-t-r-e-t-c-e-d o-u-t unmercifully.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bittersweet, May 29, 2001
This review is from: The Dragon's Bride (Paperback)
After reading the back description of this book, I immediately liked it and bought it regardless of the unknown author to me. I got even more excited when I read the 5 stars ratings here in Amazon. The housekeeper vs a Gentleman initial plot intrigue me, not to mention their childhood friendship and their romance. That was enough to encourage me to start reading. The first part and the middle part of the book was luring, sharp and fast moving. I liked Susan, she is more human than a fantasy book heroine. She makes mistakes, she makes wrong choices but accepts her faults and LEARNS from it. I enjoyed reading the detailed thoughts of Susan & Con. Ms. Jo Beverly picks her words very well. My heart tightens in reading Con's resentment and Susan's regrets. Con's sharp remarks and hurtful rebukes makes me ache for Susan just as much as for Con. Their Romance and love for each other is simply bittersweet. They both try hard to forget the past and to move on as friends. They try to deny the feelings that is still burning deep inside... but it just can't be done. It makes you ache for them & with them. The smuggling operation as well as the Wyvern's wierd description was an excellent spice to the story... However, towards the end of the book, I am sad to say that the story drags on and then ends abruptly. I expected more towards the end. I expected more action twist. I think Gifford gave up too easily. I also wanted to read more hearty situations where Susan can prove herself to Con. I wanted to read more circumstances for Con to be able to rebuilt his trust back towards Susan. There is no question about their love for each other but Con and Susan are also often times avoiding each other that I was unconvince towards the end. I would have love to read more of them together. Togetherness to improve their relationship... to rebuilt... to develop a newer, stronger bond. That would have been a good way to erase any doubts and forget the hurtful past. This book also contains a lot of secondary characters, all are interesting but I think I will appreciate the secondary characters much better if I have read Jo Beverley's previous books that is in the ROGUE & the GEORGE SERIES.
The Rogue Series goes: AN ARRANGE MARRIAGE.....AN UNWILLING BRIDE.....CHRISTMAS ANGEL......FORBIDDEN.....DANGEROUS JOY.
The George Series goes: THE DEMON'S MISTRESS (Novella:In Praises for Younger Men).....THE DRAGON'S BRIDE.....DEVIL's HEIRESS (Aug., 2001). Hope that helps!
This is my first book of Ms. Jo Beverly and I can't say I am very impressed by her work but then I am not thoroughly disappointed either. Perhaps I will give her another try by reading the next book of this GEORGE series, THE DEVIL's HEIRESS. It would be nice to read updates of Susan and Con anyway. Despite my "unconvinced" complaint, I still rated this book a 4 stars because it was afterall an entertaining read.
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