I love Jo Beverley's romance and this is one of her best-to be recommended along with Emily and the Dark Angel and My Lady Notorious. The plot was deeper than most of hers.

Only Jo Beverley could come up with this story. So amazing, considering the times, of the hero coming home from the crusades to find, not only his son he'd never seen, dead, but his wife for whom he'd been celibate for 2 years, holding a few month old babe, who obviously was not his. Not only does he forgive her, but accepts this child whole heartedly because he would never conceive of hurting his beloved wife.

What Galeran goes through to overcome the betrayal and then the machinations to overcome all the difficulties of keeping the child are nothing short of heroic.

Then, on top of that, you have Aline and Raoul's story (which I truly enjoyed). I'll say like a previous reviewer, what an amazing tidbit the fact that ladies of the manor were supposed to bath high ranking visitors. This was truly an eye opener. What a way to weave historical fact into a delightful romance.

This is an amazing book, but anything by Jo Beverley, I've discovered is terrific.

Well, if Elizabeth Chadwick says this is a great book, it is certainly is worth looking at. That was how I came (via a Medieval Romance group) to this book, which is so unusual. Where else will you find an adulterous heroine (unwittingly so), and a hero who accepts his wife's illegitimate child - and then gets pulled up by the Church for doing so? A fantastic read, full of emotion. The heroine Jehanne is not always likeable, but boy, does Beverley pull you in. I think this is her finest book (of those I have read - medieval, Georgian, and Regency).

Just one problem stops it from being perfect. The secondary romance was sweet at first, and then got downright cloying. I wanted to kick both participants. Having said that (and got it off my chest), I recommend that you find a copy of this book and give it a try.

P.S. THE SHATTERED ROSE is one of my keepers, even after downsizing my keeper collection (down to 20, Heyers, Austen and Ellis Peters apart).

I have submitted a lot of reader's comments but I can't find the words to say how much I loved this book. The witty retorts, great characters, on ad infinitum. It is the first book that had me laughing out loud. The double-entendré on pages 235, 281 through 284 kept me in stitches. This book is beyond the beyond and much more that the rating allows. I have read all of her Company of Rogues, loved them all but now on to the Three Georges. Run, don't walk, to buy this book, I can't recommend it strongly enough.

In the previous Company of Rogues book, Forbidden, there are a couple of brief mentions of Miles Cavanagh and his 'wild ward', Felicity - including one reference to Felicity being tied to a chair to prevent her escaping. Quite naturally, that intrigued me and made me very curious indeed. So here, at last, is Miles and Felicity's story, and I got to find out why she and Miles were clearly striking sparks off each other.

Miles has just returned home to his Irish estate - where he is heir to the Earl of Kilgoran, one of the oldest and most respected Irish titles - when he discovers that his step-father's uncle has just died and left Miles, *not* his step-father, guardian to Felicity for the six weeks until she turns 21.

So Miles has to go to meet the young woman he is responsible for... but runs into difficulty when he is kidnapped and tied up. When he's released, it's by a local woman who offers him her body in exchange for his silence about what happened. He almost accepts... then discovers that *this* is Felicity. And now he knows what a hurdle he has to overcome - and he soon discovers that it's an even bigger one, once she informs him of her intention to marry a local *very* unpleasant character, whose son she seems very attached to.

Somewhat unusually for a romance novel, Miles and Felicity acknowledge their feelings for each other - first lust, and soon afterwards love - very early in the book; the plot, from there on, is concerned with ensuring that they are free to marry. As to why - as we know from Forbidden - Miles actually takes her prisoner; well, this all has to do with the villain of the piece, and you'll have to read the book itself to find out exactly what Felicity's relationship is to Rupert Dunsmore, a man she clearly despises yet insists she wants to marry.

In among all the drama, this is a hilarious book, full of witty dialogue humorous situations, and cats. Lots of cats! And also plenty of the other Rogues; no Nicholas, unfortunately, but Lucien and Beth, and Hal and Blanche, play quite significant roles. So if you're a Lucien fan, as I am, you'll love seeing him again.

The only slight niggle, for me, was Beverley's insistence on - again - picturing Ireland as a country in which magical things happen; as an Irish person, that vision of my country irritates me somewhat. However, I ignored that and thoroughly enjoyed the next in the Company of Rogues series. On to The Dragon's Bride!

This is actually a good book to read, especially the interactions between Miles and Felicity---very amusing when trying to outwit the other. Mixing two strong minded people together, you will gets lots of action. It makes me want to read her other Rogues books. But alas, they are all out of print. Oh well, even if I feel like I missed something about the side characters, this book is still great. Filled with passion, humor, Irish magic, and of course danger. Hey, do you need a villian somewhere. Hopefully, I can find the books somewhere.

I am 75, and have hesitated to buy books about the Internet, because I am not very technical and just use the Web to read email and research topics about geneology. But a friend loaned it to me, and I was amazed to find that it is written in a clear and friendly way, and that the technical details (including how to protect my home computer) were very easy to follow. The authors are interesting people who share a lot of their lives to help us understand privacy issues. In addition, I lent the book to my daughter-in-law, who discovered using the checklist in the book that someone had stolen her identity, and is using resources it recommends to fix it. You should read this book

what was happening with the personal information I gave my local grocery store when I signed up for their shopping card. And that, folks, is just the tip of the iceburg. This is a fascinating book that has great technical information but is still easy for the average computer user to read. Read it to find out what has changed in our lives since September 11, and how you can make informed decisions regarding your personal privacy. If you don't read it for yourself, read it to protect your children. (Chapter 4) You'll be glad you did.

The story of Anna and Roland is one that will never die. Anna is a sixteen-year-old teenage girl who meets The Earl of Cairn late one night, while looking around his house. After that night, They both started to fall in love without even knowing it. This story is one that will always live on!

I am working my way through a little horde of Regency Christmas anthologies, savouring them one at a time. I picked this one up whilst on holiday recently and just read it; what a pleasure it was! I don't ordinarly seek out short stories as a matter of course but I am very fond of this particular little mini sub-genre. Three of the contributions stood out for me.

"The Rake's Christmas" by Edith Layton is the poignant story of a young man, back from the Peninsular wars, saddened and a little self loathing, who throws himself into some half-hearted rakery in order to put the wars behind him. He is taken up by a truly accomplished rake, Lord Shelton. During a Christmas house party, the elder rake plays deus ex machina to young Ian, Viscount Hunt in order to bring him together with Miss Eve Thompkins. Eve is the daughter Shelton never had - the offspring of his true life-long secret and unrequited love. So, he stands in an almost fatherly way over Hunt, helping him to overcome his sombre loneliness and sad boyhood in making a match for him and Eve. Edith Layton is a favourite of mine and she packs a lot of emotion into just a few short pages.

Jo Beverley is a writer whose books I have been collecting with the aim of indulging myself. Why she and Layton and Balogh are not published in the UK is beyone my comprehension - such a shame! I was delighted with her contribution to this anthology. "A Mummer's Play" is the story of Col "Lucky Jack" Beaufort, by default the new Duke of Cranmoore. Justina Travers lost her fiance in the Peninsula when he was under the command of his close friend, Jack. Justina has some reason to suspect that Cranmoore may have been a traitor and, therefore, the cause of her fiance's death. She insinuates herself into Jack's first Christmas house party as the new duke by hiding herself amongst the mummers who come to perform. Her aim is to expose him as a traitor and murderer. The story takes place during the course of just one evening and, in just a few intense, emotional pages, Jo Beverley brings an almost unbearably high degree of tension and emotion as these two lonely, hurt but passionate people find an extraordinary and unexpected love and mutual redemption. Simply excellent.

Mary Balogh's contribution is, as always, as near to perfection as you can get. Hers is the story of three young orphaned children whose wastrel parents largely ignored them. Their maternal uncle, Viscount Morsey, and paternal aunt, Lady Carlyle, reluctantly leave London to come to the depths of the countryside to "do their duty" and make some half-hearted provision for their upbringing. It emerges that the two adults were once engaged but huge family problems, anger and recriminations tore them apart. The story is largely told through the eyes of the children and the theme of the story, as Lady Carlyle discovers, is that Christmas is about birth, parenthood, love, hope and commitment. In the context of this very brief piece, all five players find themselves turned into a loving family. Mary Balogh is pure magic. She writes such poignant, moving and emotional stories which are refined to pure gold. Wonderful.

Do find yourself a second hand copy of this anthology; reading it is simply a pleasure worth the effort.

According to Jo Beverly's website, this great book will be reissued in December 2003.

I own this book and I just think it is wonderful.

I don't usually write reviews but I just had to make a comment on this one. I read this book in 2 evenings. I couldn't put it down. The horse race had me laughing out loud at 2am in the morning, probably with the neighbors wondering what was going on. And the next day at work I was thinking about it and burst out laughing, and definitely had my coworking wondering what was wrong with me. Without giving much away, I thought it was a nice change of pase regarding the sexual state of Francis.

This is definately my favorite of the Company of Rogues Series. I was intrigued with Francis when I first visited the Rogues in Beverley's first installment, An arranged Marriage. I felt so bad for him at the end of the first novel, and I was relieved that he got his own story.
It's an wonderful read full of wit (that characterizes most of her other novels) and humor. We get to visit most of the other Rogues in this installment and get to hear more of Blanche's and Hal's story(their story is threaded through out the series).
I would recommend,however, to anyone who hasn't read any of this series to start with An Arranged Marriage and work your way thru the rest, because the entire series is excellent. You'll fall in love with most of the Rogues and constantly change your mind on which characters you like the best. Happy Reading!!

Julie Beard - My True Love Gave to Me Anne Clancy looks to be celebrating Christmas alone - not even her black cat Niner is around having been missing these last four days. Hearing what she thinks is his bell, she rushes out in a snowstorm calling for him and is hit by a car. When a most startling blue-eyed gorgeous hunk of man revives her, she assumes it is her neighbors friend who she was to meet that evening - darn but she could have warned her he was drop dead gorgeous! Only it wasn't the neighbor's friend - and it wasn't even Wisconsin, USA 1975 anymore either. She was catapulted back in time and mistaken for this gorgeous hunk of a medieval knight's intended bride. Now what's a modern girl to do? Divine short story with a lovely ending.

Jo Beverley - A Gift of Light Kitty Mayhew was alone working on a tapestry trying to figure out what was wrong with her mother's cat who was making the strangest sounds and putting her body through some very strange contortions. It was her maid Polly that let her know that the problem was that the cat was in heat and hadn't she heard the 'tom cats' making all kinds of racket at night. The very worst of the 'tom cats' was a big black one that she found out belonged to a neighbor. Armed with all the dignity she could muster Kitty went to the neighbor insisting they control their 'tom' cat from courting her female. What she discovered was a very impudent owner who didn't seem to see that this was as much of a problem as she did. In fact, this rascally 'Lord Chatterton' thought that this little spitfire needed to be taught the finer points of courting - human style. Through a ruse using the servants courtship as an excuse, he talked Kitty into the two of them acting as chaperones to find out if the servants budding courtship would last if it didn't have to be kept clandestine and would be brought into the open.

This was a cute, lovely story with some sweet and sassy dialog. Lord Chatterton was the initiator of trying to teach a lesson in courtship, but it was Kitty who finally taught Tom, Lord Chatterton, what it really meant to let in the 'light of the Christmas season' and truly love.

Barbara Bretton - Home for the Holidays This was a darling story told partly from Sebastian, a Maine Coon cat's perspective and partly from his human owners, Jill and David. It is Christmas Eve and David and Jill are divorcing. Jill and David had been together since college; loving each other thru the hard times then slowly falling apart as David's need to advance his career and make more and more money was more important than spending time with his family. It would take Sebastian, the cat they both loved, on a journey that they could follow - to make David remember that the most important thing he needed was Jill and that they were partners - and that they were once happiest when all they had was a little money but whole lot of love. Sweet story.

Lynn Kurland - The Gift of Christmas Past I really liked this offering from Lynn Kurland. Sir Sweetums, Abigail Garrett's cat, has been missing, and her life feels as though it has gone down the drain, no job, no cat, no unemployment insurance, and no boyfriend just a couple of days before Christmas - she felt like George Bailey and was ready to jump off a bridge into the river. Well, she didn't exactly jump but she did fall in and when she came up for air she found herself in a cesspool of a moat. Not only a moat, but she was no longer in Wisconsin, but England and it wasn't 1998 anymore but 1238! She dragged herself out of the moat, and made her way to the gate at the top of the drawbridge - only to find a surly man dressed up like a medieval knight holding a sword and he didn't quite know what to make of her either! This was a really darling story with Sir Sweetums, who had passed by his ninth life, and was now a guardian angel cat who had one last human he had to find a suitable mate for. Very nice and romantic as these two people from different times had to come to grips with each other and the truth of who they were! Very humorous as well!

As usual I bought this anthology for Lynn Kurland's story, but found the whole anthology to be excellent. And I liked all the cats involved as well. But it's on Lynn's story that I would like to focus my review. After losing her job, boyfriend and social security Abigail Moira Garrett is led back in time by the ghost of her dead cat Sir Maximilian Sweetums by way of Murphy's pond and a castle's moat. Abigail finds herself in thirteenth century England at Miles de Piaget's keep (Miles is the uncle of Kendrick Stardust of Yesterday's hero). After having cleaned up Abigail faces her situation. She and Miles fall in love and marry, and De Piaget family welcome Abigail warmly into their midst. Lynn proves she knows how to write the novella too. It was humorous and witty and the love of Abigail and Miles portrayed with her costumary tenderness. Abigail and Miles are a great pair: She a warm and independent heroine and he a gruff but outspoken knight (quite liberal for his time). And it's exclusively set at Miles' dilapidated keep Speningethorpe. Abigail and Miles are back in The More I see you and Miles has a supporting role in his brother Robin's story If I had you. But I still wish that this one had been a full length novel. Anyway Abigail and Miles are two of my favourite characters in Lynn's De Piaget series.

I bought this book for the Lynn Kurland story. It is wonderful. Miles and Abby are made for each other. I loved it for the time-travel aspect. Lynn knows how to capture the essence of the times she sends her hero's and heroin's back to.

If you want to carry on reading about Miles and Abby's life together read THE MORE I SEE YOU, it is set about 20yrs. after this story. You won't be dissapointed.

This book has been out of print for quite a while and seems to sell for quite a lot now. I was very glad to have a chance to read it, if it reaches theses prices must be good, right? Not quite.

The concept is intriguing and so is the "Dark Angel" but the novel is just too short to do justice to the story. I was reaching the end of the novel, and I kept thinking I must have skipped some chapters, some scenes because we are told Vers fell in love with Emily, but quite frankly I still got no idea why. She is nice, and supposed to be witty and intelligent, but in their conversations it never seems like she is his match. So while this type of romance sounds fascinating, this novel falls short.

A light-hearted and wonderful historical romance!

This book was really good it had alot of humor in it and i love a funny book, i mean the little names that emily picked out for people The daffodil dandy and the violet tart that was just funny, and Ver and Emily were fully developed characters which is rare in s short book such as this, i think this is one of her best books, it had a a little bit of everything.of course it dealt with real romance too not just physical attraction.

This 1st book in the Malloren Series by Jo Beverley includes gender bending, cross-dressing, seduction, and adventure. What a combination! Though the first quarter of the book is slow-moving if you are patient you will see it is only the beginning of a very multi-layered and enjoyable tale.

We are first introduced to Cyn Malloren as his carriage is hijacked by Lady Chastity Ware dressed a highwayman. Desperate to help her widowed sister and baby escape the man intent on taking her child from her, she resorts to thievery in order to aid her sister's plight.

However, Cyn is bored and wishing for adventure and is a willing victim. Immediately noting "Charlie" is not truly a man he is intrigued and willing to go along for the ride.

We are introduced several times to the head of the Malloren Family, Rothgar, a charismatic man who is both bold and one we find dipping in the snuff quite a bit! What might be a major flaw in the story is the very overshadowing of the hero Cyn by his more intriguing brother. There is no fault in the character build up of Lady Chastity who proves to be both passionate and a victim of her father's cruelty, however Cyn comes across as a much lighter version of his brother. Rothgar had a previous tryst (although fairly innocent) with Lady Chastity and there seems to actually be a rather deep connection between the two of them.

The much talked about LADY NOTORIOUS, the 1st book in Jo Beverley's Malloren Series, was not at all as I expected. Perhaps a book and series with such a reputation must perform immediate miracles or one is disappointed. Rest assured, this book picks-up
tempo quite swiftly mid-way and was indeed a joy to read. The sensual scenes becoming quite explicit, and due to the beginning being a rather slow and innocent tale, you can see that Ms. Beverley has merely played you into her talented hands. The story engulfs you in it's fun, depth, and layers.

The 2nd book in the Malloren Series, TEMPTING FORTUNE, tells the story of Lord Arcenbryght Malloren and Portia St. Claire.

Lady Chastity takes on the role of a highwayman and kidnaps a coach and its aristocratic occupant in order to rescue her widowed sister and baby nephew from their crazed father. But Cyn Malloren doesn't remain a captive for long. A soldier recovering from a life-threatening illness, Cyn impulsively offers to help the young "Charles" and his widowed sister escape their pursuers. When the handsome reward offered for their capture tightens the web around them, Cyn dons feminine apparel to throw off the scent. The scene where Cyn (dressed as a lady) avoids detection by engaging in a passionate liplock with Chastity (dressed as a man) is real jewel!

The sexual tension between Chastity and Cyn is explosive, even though Chastity doesn't know that Cyn is not fooled by her male apparel. Cyn falls deeper and deeper in love as he tries to ferret out the truth of Chastity's reputation and family secrets. Chastity knows that her unsavory reputation makes her unsuitable to become the wife of a Malloren, so she clings all the more closely to her bitter secrets.

Originally published in 1993, this book is the first of a series of five (so far) dealing with the Malloren family and its dictatorial head, Rothgar. Before reading the highly-acclaimed fifth book, "Devilish," I decided to acquire the first four and read them in order. (I do love books with recurring characters!) If the other four books turn out to be as engrossing as this one, I may not be able to get any sleep this week!

This is my favorite book by Jo Beverley. The story is very good- Lord Cyn (insert your own joke here) is the youngest son of a powerful family tired of being coddled by his protective siblings, and Lady Chastity is living in exile and dressing like a man because her hair was cut off after she would not marry the man her father tried to trick her into having. When she robs his carriage and takes him prisoner, he sees through her male disguise and is intrigued enough to try to help her. The true reason for her father's wrath and the enmity between her and Cyn's families are revealed with help of Cyn's oldest brother, the handsomely devilish Marquess of Rothgar. Rothgar is my favorite character of all time! He needs his own story fast. The way he is able to manipulate other people and situations is almost like magic. I have read, re-read, and marked all of the pages where he appears in this book, and also Tempting Fortune and Something Wicked (we get a glimpse of his softer side) which are all about the Malloren family. Bring on Rothgar! Ms. Beverley, I am waiting impatiently!!!

And this new book didn't let me down. I read a lot of romance and am often annoyed at how the primary characters wring their hands and waffle. Although I am nothing like Rose or Brand, I could sympathize with them. They seemed like sensible people caught in an unreasonable situation. I was never tempted to throw the book against the wall because I could see an obvious solution to their problems to which they were oblivious. Further, I could see why the protagonists fell in love with each other (rarer in books than you would think).

As a longtime fan of Jo Beverley I look forward to her rule-bending risk-taking romance novels. Adultery is often a tough sell to fans of the genre, but in Beverley's deft hands, the adultery is not only understandable, but both hero and heroine are made to suffer for an arrangement that becomes a love match. The wonderful hero, Brand Malloren, is very different than his siblings. If this is your first Malloren novel, don't worry, you do not need to have read the others to enjoy this one. But I'm betting you'll want to know more, especially about the intriguing Marquess of Rothgar, Brand's oldest brother. One of Jo Beverley's strengths is her heroines who are reliably feisty and capable. Rosamunde is no different. Scarred from an accident during adolescence and married to a much older man, you can't help but forgive her for falling in love with Brand, the man she needs to father her child for the sake of others. Jo puts a lot of obstacles in Brand and Rosa's path, which makes their ending all the sweeter.

I didn't care for Cyn and Chastity's story (My Lady Notorious)so I didn't really make the attempt to read any more Malloren stories. Then I read Bryght and Portia's story (Tempting Fortune)and liked it somewhat more. So I picked up this book. And oh am I glad I did! I think Brand was the most well-rounded hero I have come across in a long time. He is of course a typical male; when asked to provide sexual service he doesn't need his arm twisted. I appreciate the fact that Rosemunde doesn't justify her nights with Brand strictly as duty. I like the "real" human element Rosemunde brings with her acknowledging that the real part of the situation being wrong is that she liked sex with him. I think there is a real symbol of human nature there. And Beverley didn't play it off with typical "book character" conscience. I was anxious to see how it was going to work out in the end. I was glad the ending wasn't your typical perfect. When a story's framework involves adultery how can the end be perfect. I have also enjoyed the tidbits about Bey in the novels in this series. I am definitely going to read his story. I hope he is the bad boy in bed that he seems to be!