Tempting Fortune [Paperback]

Jo Beverley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2002

Portia St Claire's brother has gambled and lost, throwing her into the power of ruthless men. Their price for his life is her virtue, to be auctioned off in London's most notorious brothel. To retrieve an incriminating letter, Bryght Malloren once broke into a house where he was greeted at pistol point by a resolute woman...a woman he could swear stands before him, masked and trembling, on a madam's auction block...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Portia St. Claire's half-brother gambles away the family estate, leaving them penniless, she sets off in search of a wealthy family friend, the Earl of Walgrave, from whom she hopes to secure a loan. Unfortunately, although Walgrave proves elusive, Portia has repeated, disturbing run-ins with handsome and notorious rake Bryght Malloren. Poor, plain and past the usual age for marriage, Portia recognizes that the well-connected Bryght is out of her league; moreover, she despises him as a gambler who, she suspects, contributed to her family's ruin. To her chagrin, she finds him strangely compelling. And Bryght, increasingly captivated, sets himself the difficult tasks of proving to her that they are truly soul mates and that he is not the rogue she thinks him. But circumstances and various scheming associates continually conspire to thwart Bryght's efforts. Beverley's latest fast-paced romp through 18th-century London is tremendous fun, and the hero and heroine are likable and satisfyingly complex. The chemistry between them is compelling, and the well-constructed plot keeps the pages turning. This is romance fiction at its best.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

"Lucky in cards, unlucky in love" was how Lord Arcenbryght, the worldly scion of the wealthy Malloren family, cynically viewed himself until the night he was accosted at gunpoint by a daring, fiery-haired innocent who turns his life upside down-and who soon learns herself what the phrase "to dice with the Devil" really means. Although occasionally too stubborn, the heroine is well matched to the determined and surprisingly "heroic" lord; the pair eventually fall neatly into place within the Malloren family. Intricately plotted, fast-paced, and delightfully wicked, this book details the bawdy, risk-loving decadence of mid-18th-century Georgian England; it is the second in the Malloren series, following the award-winning My Lady Notorious (Avon, 1993). Beverley, a well-known writer of Regencies and historical romances, sits in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame.
Kristin Ramsdell, California State Univ. Lib.-Hayward
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082177347X
• ISBN-13: 978-0821773475
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #643,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jo Beverley writes bestselling historical romance set in her native England. She was born and raised in the UK, and has a degree in history from Keele University in Staffordshire, but she lived in Canada for 30 years. Now she's returned to England she enjoys doing even more on-the-spot research.

Her 30+ novels have won her many awards, including 5 RITA awards, the top award in romance, and 2 career achievement awards from Romantic Times. She's a member of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame and Honor Roll. Publishers Weekly declared her "arguably today's most skillful writer of intelligent historical romance."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enter the world of the gambler, June 30, 2003

By 

Tara A. Green (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tempting Fortune (Paperback)

Enter the world of the gambler - where stakes are high and all could be lost or gained at the turn of a card. Portia St. Claire's brother, Oliver is an addicted gambler who loses their estate. In order to try to pay off the debt, Portia and her brother travel to London to ask for help from a family friend.
Bryght Malloren, 2nd in line to the Malloren Fortune is on family business to attempt to retrieve a damning letter in the home of the Earl of Walgrove. He finds instead the short, fiery Portia St. Claire instead who holds a pistol on him and demands he leaves. Sparks fly immediately between these two.

This good is interesting on several levels. First it very accurately portrays the addiction to gambling, the inability to control it, and the dangers of bidding beyond your means. Secondly, and completely unassociated the characters and secondary characters each hold their own weight, are interestingly created and weaved into the story. Unlike the 1st Malloren book (MY LADY NOTORIOUS), Rothgar, the head of the family does not overshadow Bryght who in his own right is sensual, intelligent and handsome. Portia, though not a traditionally beautiful woman has such a fiery nature, though perhaps a bit prudish and still, is a nontraditional heroine.

Though Portia is actually auctioned in a Brothel at one point, for her virginal qualities this book is much lighter on explicit sex then it's predecessor and indeed the story seems much richer. However, perhaps it is that you truly began to care about this family. And this being book 2, you get to know and like them a lot more!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another intriguing glimpse of the Malloren family!, May 14, 2000

By 

B. S. Andrews "barbiesa" (Toledo, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tempting Fortune (Paperback)

Portia St. Claire has come to London with her brother to beg for assistance from a family friend. Her brother lost the family estate in a card game and they are desperately trying to get a loan from the Marquess of Walgrave to cover the debt. Unfortunately, the earl is not in town after all, and Portia must deal with her bored half-brother's determination to resolve the situation by gambling away their remaining funds. It doesn't take long for him to get in over his head with some unsavory characters, who threaten him physically unless he agrees to pay the debt by allowing them to take Portia to a brothel to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Fortunately, Bryght Malloren, who has been intrigued by the spirited Portia ever since she threatened to shoot him when he broke into their lodgings to retrieve a letter, finds a way to rescue Portia from her plight. Resigned to his fate, he sets about trying to help resolve her problems and persuade her to marry him.

Portia, however attracted physically to Bryght, cannot imagine anything worse than being married to a gamester, and nothing Bryght says or does can convince her that he is not addicted to gambling, especially after she discovers that the man who won their estate is one of his best friends.

Tempting Fate is a worthy successor to My Lady Notorious, the first in the five-book (so far!) series about the Malloren family. If you like books with determined, marriage-minded heroes and strong-willed heroines that are not too easily won, you will LOVE this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read - much better if read in order!, October 17, 2004

By 

J. Brennan (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tempting Fortune (Paperback)

I read this book several months ago - and relly was quite confused - recently I read My Lady Notorious and realized why - these books need to be read in order. Why authors do not make this more clear is beyond me - one would think they would want us to enjoy them to the fullest. So much of what happens in Tempting Fortune is based on the relationships of the first book. Tempting is a good book - I loved Bright Malloren a lot as the male rouge hero - he had for me great appeal. There were many times though that I found Portia a little hard to take - she seemed attracted but so difficult. If I were Bright by the end of the book I would have told her to perhaps hit the road. I thoroughly do enjoy this series of Beverley books and I did the series of the Rouges. Jo Beverley is one of the best!