by Jo Beverley
Buy it on Amazon
Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
So I've been reading a lot of regency the last few months, since I started writing it. (Shameless plug, check me out here) Honestly, it's taken a lot of wading to find stuff I like, but I do like Jo Beverley's writing style a lot, and her characters are a lot of fun too.
So, From the Amazon description:
A Lady with a Quest…
Cressida Mandeville agrees to Lord Crofton's vile proposal, but secretly she has other plans. She will trick the loathsome man, find her father's hidden wealth, and save her family from ruin. All goes well, until a daring highwayman stops their carriage, whirls Cressida up onto his dark horse, and demands a kiss….
A Duke with a Conscience…Tristan Tregallows, Duke of St. Raven, doesn't plan to rescue a damsel in distress, but he can hardly leave an innocent in Crofton's power. One kiss confirms his prisoner's innocence, but instead of grateful, she is furious. When he discovers that Cressida is on a quest, one that will take her into the darkest parts of Regency society, St. Raven knows he must become her partner and protector. But he doesn't expect the dangers to his heart….
Cressidia was a really fun heroine. She was strong and adventurous (though many of Beverley's heroines are) and willing to take risks. St. Raven I admit wasn't the most interesting of heroes, but he is honorable and a pretty nice guy. There's a few minor characters that are a lot of fun as well, including a whore and a highway man.
This book has a pretty sexual plot, a large portion of the action in the first half of the book revolving around an elaborate orgy scene. There are two actual sex scenes. The first one was better than the second, but really it was the tension during the orgy that I really enjoyed.
The thing that bothered me about this book is that it is book 10 in the 'Company of Rogues' series. St. Raven is one of 12 men in the company, and normally quite a few of the Rogues end up in each others' stories helping out with whatever problem is at hand. This book not only didn't have any of the other Rogues in it, but it didn't even mention that they existed, even though St. Raven is in a bunch of the other books.
Still, it was a good read. There haven't been many of Beverley's books that I haven't liked.
