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174th out of 262 books
—
329 voters
An Unwilling Bride (Company of Rogues #2)
by
Jo Beverley (Goodreads Author)
The Duchess of Belcraven committed a folly, and bore her husband another man's child. Only a third son, however, so all was patched over. Then the two older boys drowned, leaving disaster. Now, over twenty years later, the duke discovers that he has a daughter, a child of his blood, and he compels the two to marry -- the arrogant ducal heir, devastated to learn for the fir...more
Mass Market Paperback, 351 pages
Published
1992
by Zebra
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Ahhhh...*sigh*...Jo Beverley. It's like...coming home. Reading one of your novels is like wrapping myself up in a cozy blanket and sipping some hot cocoa and marshmallows while snuggling up with my teddy bear. They are just comfy, cozy, feel good reads.
I really liked this story. Jo Beverley's historicals always set the perfect tone for the period, with the impeccably detailed settings, the lively cant and jargon, and the mannerisms at all levels of society. When I pick up one of her books, I kn...more
I really liked this story. Jo Beverley's historicals always set the perfect tone for the period, with the impeccably detailed settings, the lively cant and jargon, and the mannerisms at all levels of society. When I pick up one of her books, I kn...more
I would say this book gets a 3.5 from me. I didn't remember reading this before, but a few pages in, I recognized the story. I think it had a great deal of potential, with many of my favourite elements: a sizzling hero, a long standing family angst, and a woman who is past her "prime", having reached the ancient age of 24, unmarried and from the wrong side of the blanket...
I didn't really warm up to the heroine, in that, yes she was "wronged", but she just never engaged my sympathy. I liked the...more
I didn't really warm up to the heroine, in that, yes she was "wronged", but she just never engaged my sympathy. I liked the...more
It is a truth universally accepted that a young woman of independent career and feminist leanings is not going to be happy about being forced to marry a titled young noble.
Through a series of family screw-ups too hilarious to spoil for you, the educatrix Beth and the scion of the duke are compelled to marry each other. Neither of them is especially thrilled about this, and they attempt various means of escape. Beth does not want to be a lady, and tries everything, including sabotaging her percei...more
Through a series of family screw-ups too hilarious to spoil for you, the educatrix Beth and the scion of the duke are compelled to marry each other. Neither of them is especially thrilled about this, and they attempt various means of escape. Beth does not want to be a lady, and tries everything, including sabotaging her percei...more
I’m not sure how many books of Beverley’s I’ve read – three or four including this one – but I always have the same reaction: dismay. I’ve read so many glowing reviews of her work, and I really enjoy traditional regency romances, so it seems weird to not enjoy her books.
This one starts out with a promising device – the arranged marriage between two unwilling protagonists. I'll admit I like this device, as artificial as it is; I typically really enjoy the often-slow process of overcoming the var...more
This one starts out with a promising device – the arranged marriage between two unwilling protagonists. I'll admit I like this device, as artificial as it is; I typically really enjoy the often-slow process of overcoming the var...more
Apr 02, 2012
Jane Stewart
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
regency-romance
Just ok, not emotionally entertaining enough. I liked some of the points made, but it could have been better.
I wasn’t pulled in to the characters. I didn’t see how they fell in love. There was a lot of emotional coldness and distance for a long time. She tried to make herself unattractive to him and then was hurt when he said he found her unattractive. She lied to him, making him think she had had many lovers and that his touch bored her. When he touched her breast, she said to him “must you mak...more
I wasn’t pulled in to the characters. I didn’t see how they fell in love. There was a lot of emotional coldness and distance for a long time. She tried to make herself unattractive to him and then was hurt when he said he found her unattractive. She lied to him, making him think she had had many lovers and that his touch bored her. When he touched her breast, she said to him “must you mak...more
I think this is one of Jo Beverley's best books - maybe her best. It's a very daring book, for the genre, but not because Lucien is an alpha male with a potential for violence - that description would cover most romance heroes pretty well; certainly it's nothing unique.
No, the reason why An Unwilling Bride is daring is because instead of just picking up the old cliche (alpha male, potential for violence) Beverley decides to put it on trial: what happens when the dreamy alpha male crosses the th...more
No, the reason why An Unwilling Bride is daring is because instead of just picking up the old cliche (alpha male, potential for violence) Beverley decides to put it on trial: what happens when the dreamy alpha male crosses the th...more
5 likes · like · see review
This was a train wreck of a book for me. I'm still surprised I didn't just toss it into the trash without finishing, but I think I may have finished just to see how much the author could throw into the plot. The blurb on the back of the book makes it sound like your typical historical romance(to be fair the Goodreads desciption is far more accurate,but of course this time I didn't have my phone with me to check it out before I bought it)A book that starts out with two illegitimate children being...more
I'll give it this much: The premise is unique. Many years ago, The Duchess Belcraven became pregnant with a child who could not possibly have been her husband's. That was bad enough, but to make matters worse, the Duke's two older sons both die in a tragic accident, meaning his heir is not of his own blood. The duke, hurt by the betrayal, has his own affair, but doesn't realize he had a daughter for nearly twenty-five years. When he does, he comes up with a brilliant idea: Lucien can marry his d...more
I accidentally skipped this book when I read the first few in the seires. I went right from AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE to FORBIDDEN. And this is a seires you really can read out of order, but reading them in order is more entertaining. I was reading Forbidden and I realized that Lucien, who I had LOVED in An Arranged Marriage, now had a wife. So I went back and read this book because I adore Lucien.
ONe thing I love about this series is that Jo Beverley is not afraid to take it to a darker level. If yo...more
ONe thing I love about this series is that Jo Beverley is not afraid to take it to a darker level. If yo...more
An Unwilling Bride if possible had an even stranger concept. Our Hero Lucien, Marquess of Arden is told by his father that he is not his offspring, but in fact the result of an affair on his mother's side. To continue the bloodline, he is told to marry Beth (someone), who is actually... his father's bastard daughter. Brady... bunch incest? Very strange. Beth is a bluestocking and unused to someone ruling her life and Lucien is as arrogant as a man with his position is expected to be. There seems...more
I LOVE the angst involved in arranged/forced marriages, and in that aspect, this book was a joy. While the "romance" between Lucian and Beth wasn't really full of chemistry or sexual tension, I did enjoy their battles of wits, and the injustice of having to give up everything you've ever wanted in life because of the whims of someone more powerful.
However, the fact that we get the same level of explicit detail (which, I admit, isn't all that much) when the hero schtups his mistress as when he d...more
However, the fact that we get the same level of explicit detail (which, I admit, isn't all that much) when the hero schtups his mistress as when he d...more
There were a lot of things I liked about this book, but one major thing I didn't. The whole mistress thing. I didn't like how friendly Lucien was with his mistress, Blanche, I didn't like how after meeting his future wife, Beth, he went and had one more night with his Blanche to say goodbye and I didn't think it was very realistic that Beth would want to be friends with his Blanche, KNOWING who she was. Especially after feeling so much jealousy towards her after seeing Lucien gazing at her with...more
This one just didn't do it for me,I'm not sure why but I just didn't care for either the H or h.
Meh. Don't know why I keep expecting these to be good. The plots are creative for romances, but who needs a creative romance plot? Characters you can like, that's the ticket, not this weird-almost-creepy relationship stuff Beverly puts out. This time the hero (who is not the son of his "father") and the heroine (who is the daughter of the hero's father but not by the hero's mother, got that, no incest here) are being pressured into marriage but despite the absurdity of it historically, legally,...more
I liked it, but I wouldn't reread it. The heroine, Beth, was a feminist and, I felt, a little over the top. I think you almost have to consider the time the book was written to appreciate the context of the feminism. She was just too radical and stiff at times. Her situation was strange in that she was convinced to marry by a threat to ruin her friend and employer. The threat came from her betrothed's father. She never does reveal this treachery though. Her betrothed, Lucien, is also threatened...more
Again, Ms. Beverley gives the reader the opportunity to dislike the lead character. The second story in the Company of Rogues has be thoroughly disliking Lucien, after LOVING him in the first book. However, he is under much pressure from his family (and their secrets) and the threat of war. He doesn't take his stress very well. I like the fact that Ms. Beverley chose to make him more "normal" than a man of great looks, great wealth and a perfect personality. I didn't love Lucien in this book, bu...more
The Duke of Belcraven has a plan. Turns out his son, Lucien, really isn't his son. Unfortunately, his two actual, legitimate sons perished in an accident, and now Lucien is his heir. He's been OK with that, even fond of the young man who is something of a self-indulgent rogue, but then he learns that he has a bastard daughter. Since he would very much like to see his own bloodline continue in the Dukedom, he hatches a plan by which his illegitimate daughter will marry Lucien.
Beth Armitage is ha...more
Beth Armitage is ha...more
Sep 17, 2009
Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Company of Rogues Series reader completists
This was my first Jo Beverley and I was underwhelmed. Too bad, because I love the arranged marriage/marriage of convenience theme, and I do like my bluestocking heroines. I'm glad I decided to read her again after this one. I didn't like Lucien at all, and I found Beth rather cold. I wasn't buying the romance in this one, and I felt like I never got pulled into the story. But I do have to say that Beverley is a great writer, because I did finish the book. I liked that Lucien's mistress, Blanche...more
6 likes · like · see review
Very long commentary, but I think it is an example of this writer's progress and various genres and gender conventions:
uptoandincluding18: He finally backhanded her so she is thrown bruisingly against the wall (verbatim). I've anticipated this event with as much anticipation as she did her deflowerment, which still hasn't happened and won't take much space from the few pages that are left. Before he hit her they told each other they loved each other, which was necessary because Beverley was so t...more
uptoandincluding18: He finally backhanded her so she is thrown bruisingly against the wall (verbatim). I've anticipated this event with as much anticipation as she did her deflowerment, which still hasn't happened and won't take much space from the few pages that are left. Before he hit her they told each other they loved each other, which was necessary because Beverley was so t...more
2 likes · like · see review
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This is an unusual premise for a romance novel. The summary hides the basic of the plot so I won't give it away. I have a few issues with this story. I found a few icky things, like the father being this incredible rigid man and not at all sympathetic. No an once of compassion in his blue blood. The whole women are propriety is icky to me, especially the way Beverley brings it into the plot. But... the qualities balance out the icky factor overall. The author has a involving style, that provoked...more
Aug 12, 2011
♆ BookAddict ~ La Crimson Femme
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
historical-romance,
library-book
Why is it people think that illegitimate children happen only now, not in the past? Probably because it was considered shameful back then and now, people feel no shame and actually boast about it. In this story, I'm not impressed with the woman straying from her husband and then becoming knocked up. The two characters are forced into a marriage that neither one wants. Doesn't this just keep the vicious cycle going? At least it does end in a happily ever after.
Hero and Heroine are forced to marry but their mutual dislike makes for tension and conflict. She is a teacher and feminist and he is heir to a duke and a rake. The first half of this story is entertaining but the second half becomes boring as the couple becomes friends. The heroine's refusal and the hero's understanding nature to postpone consumating the marriage was irritating and soon I did'nt care about finishing this book at all....
A scandal has rocked the house of de Vaux, and the only solution to the problem is a marriage between the heir Lucien and a feminist school teacher named Beth. I enjoyed the story of how the two come to terms with their "arrangement" and bring down the evil Deveril (I hated him from book one), and I particularly liked Beth's relationship with Robin and Blanche. Of course, it helped that the Rogues were still involved.
Oct 13, 2010
Karen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
romance-mf,
historical-fiction
This is generally well-written, as are all Jo Beverley's books, but the actions of the main character, Beth, are completely unbelievable.
Beth is supposed to be a highly intelligent, spirited, strong woman and a staunch feminist yet when threats to her aunt coerce her into marriage she meekly goes to the house and acts all polite and good as you please. She doesn't want to make a fuss in front of the servants--ridiculous! Later she actually goes to the man who made the threats and forced her int...more
Beth is supposed to be a highly intelligent, spirited, strong woman and a staunch feminist yet when threats to her aunt coerce her into marriage she meekly goes to the house and acts all polite and good as you please. She doesn't want to make a fuss in front of the servants--ridiculous! Later she actually goes to the man who made the threats and forced her int...more
A good story. Classic unlikely couple--with the step-sibling aspect thrown in as well as the forced marriage. Beth was likable and remarkably independent for a woman of that time period. Lucian was rich and somewhat spoiled, yet finding out the truth about his parentage was a painful blow. I am liking Jo Beverley as an author.
The story starts off well and catches my attention. Unfortunately it slows almost to a crawl and I found myself becoming impatient. I liked the main characters generally though there were times when their actions were confusing and thus irritating. Having said that I enjoyed reading this book, though it is not one I will keep.
I recall liking this, I am pretty sure. I'm currently listening to it again because it was mentioned as this month's read on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. With that jog of my memory I decided to relisten because I need to fill my head with as much English period goodness as possible during my current rewrite.
Interesting to say the least, not unlike your usual historical novels. Begining with the novel concept that the protagonists are half siblings, and that one of the underlying currents of the book was the return of the napoleon to France and war.
Starts out good but you literally have to drag yourself through the ending. Just a whole bunch of stuff went wrong, Beverley should have stopped the book before the whole Clarissa storyline and gave more attention to developing the storyline more.
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Mary Josephine Dunn was born 22 September 1947 in Lancashire, England, UK. At the age of eleven she went to an all-girls boarding school, Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool. At sixteen, she wrote her first romance, with a medieval setting, completed in installments in an exercise book. From 1966 to 1970, she obtained a degree in English history from Keele University in Staffordshire, where she met her...more
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Feb 03, 2012 10:03am
I liked Forbid...more
Feb 03, 2012 10:05am