A Lady's Secret by Jo Beverley
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Book Reviews of A Lady's Secret
Book Review: A-adventuring We Shall Go
Summary: 4 Stars
A Lady's Secret
Whenever someone disparages my taste for romance I ask whether they've actually read any romances and if they haven't I recommend that they read something by one of the genre's best writers. Quite frequently it's something by Jo Beverley. Ms Beverley has wit, humour and intelligence, all of which she brings to bear when she constructs her intricately plotted historical romantic adventures. This time she brings us a classic road story. When Robin Fitzvitry, the Earl of Huntersdown spots a nun swearing in the yard of inn on the road home from Versailles he is intrigued. When he meets the nun's shrew of an employer and her brats he offers his assistance. As they journey to England Robin and Petronilla "Petra" d'Averio face murderous thugs chasing them and peasants up to no good. All the while the attraction that grows between them threatens to make both forget the promises and vows they are meant to be keeping.
This is fun, fun, fun but I don't class it with the very best of Jo Beverley's Georgian books as Petra can be a little annoying but I know I'll read it several times and award it a place on my keeper shelf.
Book Review: wonderful book
Summary: 5 Stars
Love all of her books. I have gone back and read all of the previous books. She is just getting better.Book Review: Wicked, Wicked Good!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Tired of the continent, Robin Fitzvitry, the fun-loving Earl of Huntersdown is bored sitting in a French Inn and anxious to reach London. When he overheard what appeared to be a nun cursing in Italian, Robin was intrigued, amused, and couldn't resist discovering who this mysterious nun might really be.
Calling herself Sister Immaculata, Petra d'Avernio had spent time at a convent - living with her mother who had recently died. Upon her mother's death, Petra's half-brother planned to give her to a wealthy, titled, and married Count in order to curry favor for himself. Wanting to escape such a life of bondage, Petra disguised herself and was on her way to find her biological father, who, according to her mother didn't know she existed but would surely open his arms to her. Pursued by the Count's evil henchmen, speed was a priority and Robin offered an immediate departure. Petra knew at once the type of handsome rake Mr. Robin Bonchurch (as Fitzvitry was calling himself) was. She also assumed she could resist Robin's charms, in spite of how he made her heart race. As they raced across the continent to England their adventures would be numerous, and both would be overcome by passion, even as both kept their identities secret.
*** Ms. Beverly did a marvelous job in matching up these two! Petra's plan was to use Robin to safely get her to England then escape and seek out her father - one complication, she fell in love. Robin's plan was naturally to seduce, but somewhere along the line, he really came to care for Petra and knew he could not walk away.
Having been a long time fan of Jo Beverley's I just jumped right into this story, once again admiring how deftly Ms. Beverley grabs you from the very beginning - in this case from the very first sentence. "It isn't often a man hears a cursing nun!" It wasn't until much later in the story when I discovered who Petra's noble father was. Not only did the author create another thrilling on the road sensual adventure, but certainly surprised me of just who Petra's father really was. I should have guessed but didn't. Such fun, and as this particular Lord is one of my all time favorite Jo Beverley creations it was a special treat to enter into their world and enjoy this beloved family get together. No, I'm not revealing who - you'll just have to discover for yourself!
However, I jump ahead of myself for as stated the mystery of who Petra's father was took some time to unfold. During that time, you are treated to an outstanding adventure as Robin and Petra, along with darling little Coquette, race across France to escape Petra's relentless and vile pursuers. Beverly makes this road adventure dangerous, exciting, and artfully sensual adding perfect historical details and vivid imagery into the mix. Her dialogs are wonderfully titillating and she injects humor even when circumstances are most dire. Bottom line - as far as sensual romance and heavenly heroes go, no one does it better. Once again, Ms. Beverley's imagination takes wing with another stimulating, sensual, and engrossing romance. Wicked, wicked good!!
Marilyn Rondeau, [...]
Book Review: Enjoyed, but with a caveat
Summary: 4 Stars
When I began reading this book, I thought uh-oh I'm not gonna like this one. But I trudged through and began enjoying the story after about the first 130-150 pages. There were a couple of times while reading those first chapters that I wanted to quit reading it but I like Jo Beverley's books so that kept me going. There was just too much unnecessary dialogue that muddled down the story and the characters weren't properly introduced (to the reader that is), so I really couldn't grasp what I was reading or attach myself to the characters at first - definitely wasn't feeling their chemistry then. Although they were doing a lot of talking I didn't know them and wasn't learning much about them - very generic. I felt that what occurred in those 150 pages could have been written much more effectively in about 20 pages. There were also a few incidents that just didn't make sense -e.g. someone trying to pass as a nun threatening to "piss" on the guy...hmmmm (the cursing was plausible because she didn't know anyone else was listening).
After I began to know the characters I began to enjoy the story - quite entertaining from that point until the end. It was worth the read in spite of my earlier criticism. So if you find yourself bogged down at first, keep going, it gets much better.
Book Review: mildly entertaining
Summary: 3 Stars
i really wanted to like this book. a lot of the reviews said it was witty and fun among other things. i'm a usual julia quinn reader and so, i'm sorry to say, this author just couldn't keep up. It's hard to convince me that w/out any flare for humor and no real connection other than in a physical sense, these two fall deeply in love w/ in the space of 2-3 days. Yes, i know it's a romance novel and thus above the usual rules of time, but really...he was more of a dandy and she wasn't all that interesting. over all it was mildly entertaining in that the plot line was new for this genre and the author began the book well. other than that, well...think i'll revert to Quinn books.