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Company of Rogues #6
La novia del dragón
Susan era poco más que una niña cuando conoció el amor en los brazos de su amigo Con, en una caverna en los acantilados de Dover. Quizás por su juventud reaccionó como lo hizo, y lo apartó de su lado cuando descubrió que él no era, como ella creía, el heredero del condado de Wyvern. Once años después, vuelven a encontrarse en las mismas tierras. Pero Con ya no es el mismo: la guerra en Europa ha curtido un corazón ya dolido por el rechazo, y además, por un capricho del destino, ha vuelto convertido en conde. Susan vive ahora al filo de la ley, entregada al peligroso negocio del contrabando. Se ha arrepentido muchas veces de aquel impulso que la privó del verdadero amor, y ahora está convencida de que sería imposible intentar siquiera recuperarlo? ¿o quizás aún tiene una oportunidad?
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
148 people are currently reading
800 people want to read
About the author
Jo Beverley
140 books1,128 followersMary 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 future husband, Ken Beverley. After graduation, they married on June 24, 1971. She quickly attained a position as a youth employment officer until 1976, working first in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, and then in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire.
In 1976, her scientist husband was invited to do post-doctoral research at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. When her professional qualifications proved not to be usable in the Canadian labour market, she raised their two sons and started to write her first romances.
Moved to Ottawa, in 1985 she became a founding member of the Ottawa Romance Writers’ Association, that her “nurturing community” for the next twelve years. The same year, she completed a regency romance, but it was promptly rejected by a number of publishers, and she settled more earnestly to learning the craft. In 1988, it sold to Walker, and was published as "Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed". She regularly appears on bestseller lists including the USA Today overall bestseller list, the New York Times, and and the Publishers Weekly list. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Golden Leaf, the Award of Excellence, the National Readers Choice, and a two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. She is also a five time winner of the RITA, the top award of the Romance Writers Of America, and a member of their Hall of Fame and Honor Roll.
Jo Beverley passed away on May 23, 2016 after a long battle with cancer.
In 1976, her scientist husband was invited to do post-doctoral research at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. When her professional qualifications proved not to be usable in the Canadian labour market, she raised their two sons and started to write her first romances.
Moved to Ottawa, in 1985 she became a founding member of the Ottawa Romance Writers’ Association, that her “nurturing community” for the next twelve years. The same year, she completed a regency romance, but it was promptly rejected by a number of publishers, and she settled more earnestly to learning the craft. In 1988, it sold to Walker, and was published as "Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed". She regularly appears on bestseller lists including the USA Today overall bestseller list, the New York Times, and and the Publishers Weekly list. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Golden Leaf, the Award of Excellence, the National Readers Choice, and a two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. She is also a five time winner of the RITA, the top award of the Romance Writers Of America, and a member of their Hall of Fame and Honor Roll.
Jo Beverley passed away on May 23, 2016 after a long battle with cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
May 7, 2017
2'5 Estrellas. El libro no está del todo mal, pero no me ha cautivado lo suficiente. Sí, sé que Jo Beverley no ha sido de las mejores escritoras de romántica, pero hay algo de ella que me gusta mucho, y son las ambientaciones de sus novelas. Por desgracia donde flojea, es en la historia romántica de sus protagonistas, creo que he leído muy pocas suyas donde ésta me haya gustado (quizás en los Malloren sus romances son mejores).
El problema que he visto con éste libro es que todo el rato he tenido la sensación de que estaba ante una novela de transición. Una idiotez sí, porque realmente sobre los tres Georges, éste sería el segundo libro, y el primero fue el relato anterior. Pero tengo la impresión de que éste libro introduce los dos siguientes de la serie gracias a los amigos de Con.
Éste libro se ambienta en un lugar distinto, en la costa sur de Inglaterra, un pueblo pesquero que vive del contrabando. Nuestra protagonista, Susan es hermana del actual líder de la banda y ella también está metida hasta el cuello. ¿Qué ocurre? Que el protagonista llega en el momento más inoportuno y se la encuentra en medio de una incursión.
Susan y Con tuvieron una historia cuando tenían 15 años. Él era el hijo de un primo lejado del conde de Wyvern que estaba de visita en la mansión, y Susan la "hija" de los hacendados del pueblo. Se hicieron amigos, se enamoraron, y cuando Susan descubrió que él no era el heredero se lo echó en cara y le repudió de la peor manera. Éste acto parecería muy mercenario ¿no? Cuando lo lees puede parecerlo, pero sus motivos fueron mucho más profundos, hay que conocerlos, y desde luego no voy a desvelarlos.
Han pasado once años, y aquél acto tan humillante aún sigue llenándolo de rencor a Con. Tras la muerte de su padre, su hermano mayor, y su pariente lejano, el conde de Wyvern, ahora él es el nuevo conde, esperaba encontrarse a Susan, pero lo que no esperaba es que sus sentimientos por ella serían iguales a los que tuvo cuando era un crío de 15 años.
Pues bien, con éstos antecedentes que nos pone la sinopsis, admito que esperaba una buena historia que estuviera entretenida, pero a mí personalmente me ha aburrido bastante, y la primera mitad se me ha hecho bastante tediosa, tienes la sensación de que pasas páginas y páginas y capítulos, y no pasa nada interesante. A favor suyo, el libro mejora en el último tercio, el problema que he visto es que he adivinado en todo momento lo que estaba por llegar, así que me he llevado muy pocas sorpresas y todo me lo esperaba. Sin duda lo mejor del libro han sido los dos últimos capítulos, siempre es una delicia ver a los Pícaros en acción, quizás sólo por esto el libro ha merecido la pena.
Y el romance, pues flojo, muy flojo. Mucho rencor y resquemor, tarda en llegar y no es muy concluyente, Con ha sido muy frío y Susan no acertaba en ningún momento para mejorar el asunto, al revés, había veces en que la suya me parecía una relación enfermiza. Desde luego en ésta serie tengo que decirlo: lo flojo son los romances, y lo fuerte la historia de trasfondo. De su otra serie, los "Malloren" los romances me han gustado más.
De modo que aquí nos encontramos con otra historia truculenta, sí, a Jo Beverley le encantaba crear historias truculentas con personajes esperpénticos, y familias y lazos más extraños todavía. Me gustaría decir que la historia ha estado mejor, pero repito, ha sido muy predecible y el romance flojo. En breve espero ponerme con el libro de Hawk para ver si es mejor, que espero que lo sea dado quién va a ser su protagonista femenina.
El problema que he visto con éste libro es que todo el rato he tenido la sensación de que estaba ante una novela de transición. Una idiotez sí, porque realmente sobre los tres Georges, éste sería el segundo libro, y el primero fue el relato anterior. Pero tengo la impresión de que éste libro introduce los dos siguientes de la serie gracias a los amigos de Con.
Éste libro se ambienta en un lugar distinto, en la costa sur de Inglaterra, un pueblo pesquero que vive del contrabando. Nuestra protagonista, Susan es hermana del actual líder de la banda y ella también está metida hasta el cuello. ¿Qué ocurre? Que el protagonista llega en el momento más inoportuno y se la encuentra en medio de una incursión.
Susan y Con tuvieron una historia cuando tenían 15 años. Él era el hijo de un primo lejado del conde de Wyvern que estaba de visita en la mansión, y Susan la "hija" de los hacendados del pueblo. Se hicieron amigos, se enamoraron, y cuando Susan descubrió que él no era el heredero se lo echó en cara y le repudió de la peor manera. Éste acto parecería muy mercenario ¿no? Cuando lo lees puede parecerlo, pero sus motivos fueron mucho más profundos, hay que conocerlos, y desde luego no voy a desvelarlos.
Han pasado once años, y aquél acto tan humillante aún sigue llenándolo de rencor a Con. Tras la muerte de su padre, su hermano mayor, y su pariente lejano, el conde de Wyvern, ahora él es el nuevo conde, esperaba encontrarse a Susan, pero lo que no esperaba es que sus sentimientos por ella serían iguales a los que tuvo cuando era un crío de 15 años.
Pues bien, con éstos antecedentes que nos pone la sinopsis, admito que esperaba una buena historia que estuviera entretenida, pero a mí personalmente me ha aburrido bastante, y la primera mitad se me ha hecho bastante tediosa, tienes la sensación de que pasas páginas y páginas y capítulos, y no pasa nada interesante. A favor suyo, el libro mejora en el último tercio, el problema que he visto es que he adivinado en todo momento lo que estaba por llegar, así que me he llevado muy pocas sorpresas y todo me lo esperaba. Sin duda lo mejor del libro han sido los dos últimos capítulos, siempre es una delicia ver a los Pícaros en acción, quizás sólo por esto el libro ha merecido la pena.
Y el romance, pues flojo, muy flojo. Mucho rencor y resquemor, tarda en llegar y no es muy concluyente, Con ha sido muy frío y Susan no acertaba en ningún momento para mejorar el asunto, al revés, había veces en que la suya me parecía una relación enfermiza. Desde luego en ésta serie tengo que decirlo: lo flojo son los romances, y lo fuerte la historia de trasfondo. De su otra serie, los "Malloren" los romances me han gustado más.
De modo que aquí nos encontramos con otra historia truculenta, sí, a Jo Beverley le encantaba crear historias truculentas con personajes esperpénticos, y familias y lazos más extraños todavía. Me gustaría decir que la historia ha estado mejor, pero repito, ha sido muy predecible y el romance flojo. En breve espero ponerme con el libro de Hawk para ver si es mejor, que espero que lo sea dado quién va a ser su protagonista femenina.
July 2, 2016
This was a good deal of fun in a creepy setting with lots of fun actiony bits for spice. I particularly liked the background of the two main characters with such a battering event when fifteen. That's an emotionally vulnerable time and I can totally see how Susan's rash rejection would have stung in ways that would last the decade and more since.
Of course, people grow in a decade, not least from their teen follies. It was good to see the mature Susan, while traumatized by her folly, doing her best to move on. She accepts responsibility for the hurt and does her best throughout to mitigate and atone with a kind of quiet strength that only grows through the novel. She starts out trying to hide a little by moving past the past but she never fails to own up when it comes up and is, by the end, unflinchingly honest even in the midst of the most trying emotional fallout. I admired her a great deal, particularly in the end.
Con not so much. He starts out as something of an emotional cripple who has spent the last year avoiding anybody who might help him heal from the trauma of Waterloo. Which comes across as a bit weak, frankly. Oh, I get the trauma part. It's the actively running away from friends part that had me wondering what kind of guy he was. And I'd have bought the sensitive soul aching from the toll of an army career if there'd been any indication that he was such. I could even get some of his harshness towards Susan in the beginning. But I lost sympathy with him completely when . This is far enough along he should really have known better and his treatment of Susan at that point reflected very poorly on him, even if he had been right. All of which was actually rather subtle until I tried to figure out why I was reluctant to give the book the five stars it seemed like it should have had.
In the end, my dislike of Con dragged this down to four stars, even though the other elements were outstanding. The central plot was lots of excellent salacious detail (in a good way) and the surrounding characters were fun, colorful, and interesting. Even the setting was a great break from the usual. It's too bad Con was such a dork and squandered all that good feeling.
A note about Steamy: There's only one explicit sex scene, but enough sexual content from the setting to put this in the middle of my steam tolerance. That old earl was one sick puppy.
Of course, people grow in a decade, not least from their teen follies. It was good to see the mature Susan, while traumatized by her folly, doing her best to move on. She accepts responsibility for the hurt and does her best throughout to mitigate and atone with a kind of quiet strength that only grows through the novel. She starts out trying to hide a little by moving past the past but she never fails to own up when it comes up and is, by the end, unflinchingly honest even in the midst of the most trying emotional fallout. I admired her a great deal, particularly in the end.
Con not so much. He starts out as something of an emotional cripple who has spent the last year avoiding anybody who might help him heal from the trauma of Waterloo. Which comes across as a bit weak, frankly. Oh, I get the trauma part. It's the actively running away from friends part that had me wondering what kind of guy he was. And I'd have bought the sensitive soul aching from the toll of an army career if there'd been any indication that he was such. I could even get some of his harshness towards Susan in the beginning. But I lost sympathy with him completely when . This is far enough along he should really have known better and his treatment of Susan at that point reflected very poorly on him, even if he had been right. All of which was actually rather subtle until I tried to figure out why I was reluctant to give the book the five stars it seemed like it should have had.
In the end, my dislike of Con dragged this down to four stars, even though the other elements were outstanding. The central plot was lots of excellent salacious detail (in a good way) and the surrounding characters were fun, colorful, and interesting. Even the setting was a great break from the usual. It's too bad Con was such a dork and squandered all that good feeling.
A note about Steamy: There's only one explicit sex scene, but enough sexual content from the setting to put this in the middle of my steam tolerance. That old earl was one sick puppy.
December 17, 2019
“Fuisteis amigos, creo, hace tantos años. Cuando somos jóvenes tendemos a no valorar esas amistades como es debido, creyendo que el mundo está lleno de ellas. Con el tiempo vemos que llegan muy rara vez en la vida y que hay que apreciarlas como un tesoro.”
Se lleva las cinco estrellas porque es maravilloso. Es maravilloso Con, es maravillosa Susan y la ambientación es perfecta. Quiero ir a Irish Cove y besar a mi amor en esa playa. Los secundarios son perfectos, me voy a por la historia de Race. Ay, me ha dejado flotando y soñando esta novela. Qué preciosidad. Bravo, Jo.
Se lleva las cinco estrellas porque es maravilloso. Es maravilloso Con, es maravillosa Susan y la ambientación es perfecta. Quiero ir a Irish Cove y besar a mi amor en esa playa. Los secundarios son perfectos, me voy a por la historia de Race. Ay, me ha dejado flotando y soñando esta novela. Qué preciosidad. Bravo, Jo.
August 16, 2024
Second chance romance. Mad dead Earl his secrets and family of smugglers.
July 26, 2017
me suelen gustar bastante sus libros, el argumento pintaba bien, pero se me ha echo eterno y en el final tenia tantos frentes abiertos que los ha querido cerrar demasiado rápido.
October 28, 2012
Con Somerford, Earl of Wyvern, is the heir to a long line of wacko, pervy nut jobs. Fortunately, he's not a direct descendant. Unfortunately, it means he has inherited responsibility for the main estate, which is basically a house of horrors that includes "erotic" art that would put the Marquis de Sade to the blush, and a torture chamber with working equipment.
The last earl, whose bedchamber was littered with stinky alchemical ingredients and shriveled man-bits, was actively seeking a potion that would A) lengthen his life, and B) perk up HIS man-bits when he swigged down something that "disagreed" with him and cocked up his toes.
Con's dislike of this estate doesn't only relate to the kinky/gross contents. It also goes back to a visit to the area in his youth, when he fell wildly in love and knocked boots with a girl who, on learning that he was not (at the time) the heir to the earldom, told him to pull up his pants and go home.
Susan Kerslake comes from a long line of smugglers and slutty aristocratic women (well, at least one set). She loved that boy back then, but her desire to belong, to be accepted rather than the marginally tolerated bastard brat of fornicators, had her half in love with the earldom, too, and when she realized that Con was actually the spare rather than the heir, she'd over-reacted. She regrets it, but she also accepts that she burned her bridges. Now she's the housekeeper at Crag Wyvern, primarily to find the smuggler's hoard that the previous earl supposedly kept for her father. She's hoping that if she can find the gold, she can persuade her brother to give up his life of crime.
Just to make things even more interesting, Con has been courting Anne, the duke's daughter his buddy Francis Middlethorpe was courting in Forbidden. You know, the sweetie with the limp, who thinks men are dumping her because of it? To protect himself from temptation, he dashes off a missive to Anne telling her that in a week or so he'll be talking to her father. This amounts to a proposal of marriage, so he's now committed, and to a very sweet, harmless girl who can only be hurt if he changes his mind.
The pervy, symbolic "art" littered around the house of horrors tells a very interesting story, and the hiding place of the treasure is, no surprise, a bit creepy. The love story progresses in fits and starts (which isn't a bad thing, given the backstory), and a quirky guy named Race deVere promises to become very interesting in a future installment. There's a bad guy, too, who has the tools to be a really scary dude.
What makes this story really fun is the wordplay and symbolism. Let's just say Saint George isn't quite as saintly as one might hope and the dragon turns out to have some reason to rage.
The last earl, whose bedchamber was littered with stinky alchemical ingredients and shriveled man-bits, was actively seeking a potion that would A) lengthen his life, and B) perk up HIS man-bits when he swigged down something that "disagreed" with him and cocked up his toes.
Con's dislike of this estate doesn't only relate to the kinky/gross contents. It also goes back to a visit to the area in his youth, when he fell wildly in love and knocked boots with a girl who, on learning that he was not (at the time) the heir to the earldom, told him to pull up his pants and go home.
Susan Kerslake comes from a long line of smugglers and slutty aristocratic women (well, at least one set). She loved that boy back then, but her desire to belong, to be accepted rather than the marginally tolerated bastard brat of fornicators, had her half in love with the earldom, too, and when she realized that Con was actually the spare rather than the heir, she'd over-reacted. She regrets it, but she also accepts that she burned her bridges. Now she's the housekeeper at Crag Wyvern, primarily to find the smuggler's hoard that the previous earl supposedly kept for her father. She's hoping that if she can find the gold, she can persuade her brother to give up his life of crime.
Just to make things even more interesting, Con has been courting Anne, the duke's daughter his buddy Francis Middlethorpe was courting in Forbidden. You know, the sweetie with the limp, who thinks men are dumping her because of it? To protect himself from temptation, he dashes off a missive to Anne telling her that in a week or so he'll be talking to her father. This amounts to a proposal of marriage, so he's now committed, and to a very sweet, harmless girl who can only be hurt if he changes his mind.
The pervy, symbolic "art" littered around the house of horrors tells a very interesting story, and the hiding place of the treasure is, no surprise, a bit creepy. The love story progresses in fits and starts (which isn't a bad thing, given the backstory), and a quirky guy named Race deVere promises to become very interesting in a future installment. There's a bad guy, too, who has the tools to be a really scary dude.
What makes this story really fun is the wordplay and symbolism. Let's just say Saint George isn't quite as saintly as one might hope and the dragon turns out to have some reason to rage.
October 15, 2022
Great plot, H and h were 15 when they fell in love, but he thought she just wanted a title. Years later he inherits, now she's the housekeeper, or is she? He's rude to her, she plays her part but loves him. There's a mystery, smugglers, a mad earl and families who all play a part in the couple's troubles. Loved this couple who have to fight themselves for their HEA.
February 26, 2014
Hmmmm. I know loads of people really rate this book but it didn't work for me.
The set up of the crazy earl seemed really overdone and unconvincing, and... a bit hammy, to be honest. Very much a pantomime villain.
I liked Con (as I was meant to) ... although I couldn't see why he was so hung up on Susan. And the reference to his almost committing rape when in the army was just uncomfortable. I can see what the author was going for - people do crazy things when there's a war on, etc - but I just couldn't really process it as anything but a bit icky. OK, he didn't rape the woman - but he doesn't get a cookie for that, surely? Instead he keeps her in his tent all night and she pretends he's some hot stud out of gratitude for not raping her. Nyyyyyeeeahh.
As for Susan... I wanted to like her but just couldn't. Her motivations changed constantly, she veered from being amoral and mercenary to being honest and honourable and I couldn't get a handle on her at all.
Also, the sex scenes were tedious. Loads of build up and burning looks and scorching touches and then ... it just fizzled.
Meh out of five for this one.
The set up of the crazy earl seemed really overdone and unconvincing, and... a bit hammy, to be honest. Very much a pantomime villain.
I liked Con (as I was meant to) ... although I couldn't see why he was so hung up on Susan. And the reference to his almost committing rape when in the army was just uncomfortable. I can see what the author was going for - people do crazy things when there's a war on, etc - but I just couldn't really process it as anything but a bit icky. OK, he didn't rape the woman - but he doesn't get a cookie for that, surely? Instead he keeps her in his tent all night and she pretends he's some hot stud out of gratitude for not raping her. Nyyyyyeeeahh.
As for Susan... I wanted to like her but just couldn't. Her motivations changed constantly, she veered from being amoral and mercenary to being honest and honourable and I couldn't get a handle on her at all.
Also, the sex scenes were tedious. Loads of build up and burning looks and scorching touches and then ... it just fizzled.
Meh out of five for this one.
May 28, 2025
The Dragon’s Bride was an entertaining story with some angst. The hero and heroine met when they were 15 and he was visiting for a two week stay… then reconnected 11 years later. I enjoyed reading about the smuggling along the Devon coast… wish there had been more actual places mentioned.
Alas, minimal hot steamy scenes … there should have been at least one more near the end. This is really a 3 star read for me but had to bump it up to a 4 star as the heroine’s name is Susan. 😁
Alas, minimal hot steamy scenes … there should have been at least one more near the end. This is really a 3 star read for me but had to bump it up to a 4 star as the heroine’s name is Susan. 😁
July 16, 2011
I usually like Jo Bev's stuff but this is painful.
Yes, Con is an intricate and complex hero, and you do like him.
However, Miss Susan is someone I find conniving, an odd lack of morals, and no shame about it... seems to have been the one child to inherit her mother's genes a little too well. What she gets into her head seems not to have been thought about, neither discussed with any, nor given a more mature analysis-- the lady (or highly unladylike heroine)just bulldozes on with her stupid ideas. It is downright irritating and does not rhyme with a man like Con developing feelings for such a disrupted personality.
You can't help but dislike her. Even if there are dis-likable characters but they got to be interesting enough to intrigue. It was such an absolute drag to finish the story.
The writing is not as good as some of her novellas in the past.
Yes, Con is an intricate and complex hero, and you do like him.
However, Miss Susan is someone I find conniving, an odd lack of morals, and no shame about it... seems to have been the one child to inherit her mother's genes a little too well. What she gets into her head seems not to have been thought about, neither discussed with any, nor given a more mature analysis-- the lady (or highly unladylike heroine)just bulldozes on with her stupid ideas. It is downright irritating and does not rhyme with a man like Con developing feelings for such a disrupted personality.
You can't help but dislike her. Even if there are dis-likable characters but they got to be interesting enough to intrigue. It was such an absolute drag to finish the story.
The writing is not as good as some of her novellas in the past.
January 15, 2025
เรื่องของจอร์จคนที่สอง (ในชุดย่อยสามจอร์จที่อยู่ในชุด TCR) และคอนนอกจากเป็นสมาชิกในสามจอร์จแล้ว ยังเป็นสมาชิก TCR ซึ่งก็คือคนที่ผูกเอาชุดสามจอร์จมาต่อกะชุด TCR (ถ้าอ่านถึงตรงนี้แล้วยังไม่งง ก็ยกนิ้วให้ว่าเก่งค่ะ)
คอนได้รับบรรดาศักดิ์ท่านเอิร์ลจากญาติห่าง ๆ มาอย่างไม่คาดฝัน แต่เมื่อเขาเดินทางไปถึงบ้านที่รับมรดกมา เขาก็ได้เจอกับซูซาน ผู้เป็นแม่บ้านดูแลปราสาทของเขา แต่ซูซานไม่ใช่ผู้หญิงธรรมดา มารดาของเธอมีฐานะเป็นเมียเก็บท่านเอิร์ลคนก่อน และดูเหมือนว่าเธอก็กำลังจะรับหน้าที่นี้ต่อกับคอนอีกเสียด้วย
เรื่องผูกให้ดูมีเนื้อหาเล็กน้อย โดยโยงให้ไปเกี่ยวกับการลักลอบขนของหนีภาษีซึ่งมีน้องชายของซูซานเข้าไป เกี่ยวพัน ตอนจบมีหักมุมหน่อย ๆ แต่ก็ไม่ได้พัฒนาเรื่องให้สนุกขึ้นมาหรอกค่ะ
คะแนนที่ 57
September 29, 2014
Author: Jo Beverley
First published: 2001
Length: 321 pages
Setting: Devon, England, 1816.
Sex: Infrequent. Not too explicit.
Hero: Unexpectedly inherits the Earldom of Wyvern. Soldier (infantry).
Heroine: Daughter of a smuggler and a whore.
Almost Cheating: Con writes a letter to Lady Anne pledging his troth but goes on to seduce Susan.
Includes: Author's notes.
A solid story but the underlying conflict made me cranky.
When they were 15 they had a Summer fling. Two weeks. She hurt his feelings and he ran off to war.
11 years later and he still holds onto this animosity and lack of trust. She feels utterly guilty.
Let. It. Go.
A story of Love, Ambition and Belonging. What it means to be a part of something and to have roots. To know your place in the world.
What it isn't is a book I'd re-read. The characters failed to have chemistry. The time-frame for their ultimate forgiveness and HEA was too short. And I didn't believe it.
It's a solid, almost clean, story that didn't quite make it over the line.
From the World of The Company of Rogues:
An Arranged Marriage - Nicholas Delaney
An Unwilling Bride - Lucien de Vaux, Marquess of Arden
Christmas Angel - Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington
Forbidden - Francis Haile, Lord Middlethorpe
Dangerous Joy - Miles Cavanagh
The Dragon's Bride - Con Somerford, Viscount Amleigh
The Devil's Heiress - Clarissa Greystone
"The Demon's Mistress' in In Praise of Younger Men - Lord Vandeimen
Hazard - Lady Anne Peckworth and Race de Vere
St. Raven - Tristan Tregallows, Duke of St. Raven
Skylark - Sir Stephen Ball
The Rogue's Return - Simon St. Bride
To Rescue A Rogue - Lord Darius Debenham (also Major Hal Beaumont)
Lady Beware - Lady Thea Debenham and Viscount Darien
A Shocking Delight - David Kerslake
References:
Author's website: http://www.jobev.com/rogues.html
(ISBN 978-0-451-23340-0)
-CR-
First published: 2001
Length: 321 pages
Setting: Devon, England, 1816.
Sex: Infrequent. Not too explicit.
Hero: Unexpectedly inherits the Earldom of Wyvern. Soldier (infantry).
Heroine: Daughter of a smuggler and a whore.
Almost Cheating: Con writes a letter to Lady Anne pledging his troth but goes on to seduce Susan.
Includes: Author's notes.
A solid story but the underlying conflict made me cranky.
When they were 15 they had a Summer fling. Two weeks. She hurt his feelings and he ran off to war.
11 years later and he still holds onto this animosity and lack of trust. She feels utterly guilty.
Let. It. Go.
A story of Love, Ambition and Belonging. What it means to be a part of something and to have roots. To know your place in the world.
What it isn't is a book I'd re-read. The characters failed to have chemistry. The time-frame for their ultimate forgiveness and HEA was too short. And I didn't believe it.
It's a solid, almost clean, story that didn't quite make it over the line.
From the World of The Company of Rogues:
An Arranged Marriage - Nicholas Delaney
An Unwilling Bride - Lucien de Vaux, Marquess of Arden
Christmas Angel - Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington
Forbidden - Francis Haile, Lord Middlethorpe
Dangerous Joy - Miles Cavanagh
The Dragon's Bride - Con Somerford, Viscount Amleigh
The Devil's Heiress - Clarissa Greystone
"The Demon's Mistress' in In Praise of Younger Men - Lord Vandeimen
Hazard - Lady Anne Peckworth and Race de Vere
St. Raven - Tristan Tregallows, Duke of St. Raven
Skylark - Sir Stephen Ball
The Rogue's Return - Simon St. Bride
To Rescue A Rogue - Lord Darius Debenham (also Major Hal Beaumont)
Lady Beware - Lady Thea Debenham and Viscount Darien
A Shocking Delight - David Kerslake
References:
Author's website: http://www.jobev.com/rogues.html
(ISBN 978-0-451-23340-0)
-CR-
September 12, 2020
This is Company Of Rogues #6. Three Heros #3. Con is one of the 3 Georges from Hawk In Vale. He's also a Viscount & went to school with The Rogues. Also a veteran of the Napoleon wars & Waterloo.
So, this is a reread for me. It can be read as a stand alone & you won't be lost. Nicolas makes an appearance since he's conveniently only 15 miles from Crag Wyvern.
Some might have a problem with the heroine, Susan. When she & Con were 15 they were friends for 2 weeks while he visited Crag Wyvern. They ended up having sex one time & she believed he was going to inherit the Earldom. When he told her otherwise, she left with a huff & hurt his feelings.
I was able to forgive Susan. She was only 15 & immature. She regretted hurting him for years.
She tried out 2 other men trying to forget Con, but it never worked.
There's lots of gothic intrigue & a search for missing gold. There's smugglers too.
The old Earl was a crazy old bastard & he had strange tastes.
I always thought JB had a great imagination & this book showcases that. I really liked this book!
So, this is a reread for me. It can be read as a stand alone & you won't be lost. Nicolas makes an appearance since he's conveniently only 15 miles from Crag Wyvern.
Some might have a problem with the heroine, Susan. When she & Con were 15 they were friends for 2 weeks while he visited Crag Wyvern. They ended up having sex one time & she believed he was going to inherit the Earldom. When he told her otherwise, she left with a huff & hurt his feelings.
I was able to forgive Susan. She was only 15 & immature. She regretted hurting him for years.
She tried out 2 other men trying to forget Con, but it never worked.
There's lots of gothic intrigue & a search for missing gold. There's smugglers too.
The old Earl was a crazy old bastard & he had strange tastes.
I always thought JB had a great imagination & this book showcases that. I really liked this book!
August 5, 2011
Years ago, Con Somerford and Susan Kerslake shared a few treasured weeks together, but they parted badly. Now, Susan is heavily embroiled in her family’s smuggling business, with her brother, David, leading the group of crafty townspeople. When Con returns as the new Earl of Wyvern, both are uncertain how Con’s new position will affect them.
At first, Susan treads lightly in Con’s presence, her memories of their intimate time together still achingly sharp, despite the passage of years. How she longs to ask Con about the war with Napoleon and their years apart! Does Con remember their special moments on the beach or has the horror of war erased them from his mind?
Crag Wyvern is certainly no place to rekindle a romance, either. The castle is largely cold, dark and foreboding, with only a small enclosed garden to break the dismal monotony of stone. Now that the mad Earl has passed on and Con has taken his place, the castle seems to have settled into a relatively calm existence. Yet, whenever Susan and Con are together, their awareness of each other is electric.
As the local authorities close in on the smugglers, Con will have to make his choice - either he can support the smugglers or the local enforcement officers. One decision will set him against Susan and her entire family and the other goes against his training and upbringing. Then there’s the letter Con has written to sweet Lady Anne, who has every right to expect from him a proposal of marriage and the final card Susan‘s mother, Belle, plays with a flourish. In this battle of wits and wills, how can love triumph? Find out in The Dragon’s Bride!
At first, Susan treads lightly in Con’s presence, her memories of their intimate time together still achingly sharp, despite the passage of years. How she longs to ask Con about the war with Napoleon and their years apart! Does Con remember their special moments on the beach or has the horror of war erased them from his mind?
Crag Wyvern is certainly no place to rekindle a romance, either. The castle is largely cold, dark and foreboding, with only a small enclosed garden to break the dismal monotony of stone. Now that the mad Earl has passed on and Con has taken his place, the castle seems to have settled into a relatively calm existence. Yet, whenever Susan and Con are together, their awareness of each other is electric.
As the local authorities close in on the smugglers, Con will have to make his choice - either he can support the smugglers or the local enforcement officers. One decision will set him against Susan and her entire family and the other goes against his training and upbringing. Then there’s the letter Con has written to sweet Lady Anne, who has every right to expect from him a proposal of marriage and the final card Susan‘s mother, Belle, plays with a flourish. In this battle of wits and wills, how can love triumph? Find out in The Dragon’s Bride!
November 13, 2015
They have this listed as the 2nd book in the Three Heroes series (which it is), but is is also like #7 in the Company of Rogues series.
So, let me say I'm a peeker -- I always swear I won't be, but I always do. I read the last chapter or the Epilogue first. So, when I read the last of this book I was prepared to say UGH! Giving away a title -- marrying a bastard daughter of deported smuggler -- just didn't fit with what I had learned of Con Somerford in the previous Rogues books. Well -- believe it or not, Jo Beverley managed to make it all work.
So, Con Somerford, the new Earl of Wyvern and Susan Kerslake had a history. They fell in love when they were 15 and he was visiting his uncle, the Earl of Wyvern for two weeks. However, Susan broke his heart by cruelly telling him that she had thought he was the heir rather than his brother and she wanted to be a countess.
He left and very shortly thereafter (yes at 15-16 years old) he joined the military and went off to fight Napoleon.
After he had lost both his brother and his uncle, he becomes the new earl and has to travel to the seat in Devon to Crag Wyvern. It is a sinister, haunting place sitting in the middle of smuggler's territory. He hopes he won't run into Susan again, but -- of course -- that isn't the case.
You just have to read this book just to find out all of the stuff the previous Mad Earl (and man was he really, really mad) did to Crag Wyvern. He was one warped fellow!
Susan and Con are thrown together because she is his housekeeper. Susan has always loved Con and has been so very sorry that she did when she was a silly 15 year old. Watching them work their way back into love is nice.
So, let me say I'm a peeker -- I always swear I won't be, but I always do. I read the last chapter or the Epilogue first. So, when I read the last of this book I was prepared to say UGH! Giving away a title -- marrying a bastard daughter of deported smuggler -- just didn't fit with what I had learned of Con Somerford in the previous Rogues books. Well -- believe it or not, Jo Beverley managed to make it all work.
So, Con Somerford, the new Earl of Wyvern and Susan Kerslake had a history. They fell in love when they were 15 and he was visiting his uncle, the Earl of Wyvern for two weeks. However, Susan broke his heart by cruelly telling him that she had thought he was the heir rather than his brother and she wanted to be a countess.
He left and very shortly thereafter (yes at 15-16 years old) he joined the military and went off to fight Napoleon.
After he had lost both his brother and his uncle, he becomes the new earl and has to travel to the seat in Devon to Crag Wyvern. It is a sinister, haunting place sitting in the middle of smuggler's territory. He hopes he won't run into Susan again, but -- of course -- that isn't the case.
You just have to read this book just to find out all of the stuff the previous Mad Earl (and man was he really, really mad) did to Crag Wyvern. He was one warped fellow!
Susan and Con are thrown together because she is his housekeeper. Susan has always loved Con and has been so very sorry that she did when she was a silly 15 year old. Watching them work their way back into love is nice.
February 4, 2014
OK, maybe a tiny bit more on the 3 side than 4 but I always find this book absorbing and my heart is in my throat. What if Lady Anne says yes? What if they're separated forever? I really like Race too: I don't quite find him quite as effervescent in his own book.
Now I have a question: didn't Nicholas and Hawk meet BEFORE this book? So what's with the "meet for the first time" in this book ... of course, maybe I'm wrong.
Now I have a question: didn't Nicholas and Hawk meet BEFORE this book? So what's with the "meet for the first time" in this book ... of course, maybe I'm wrong.
December 19, 2022
This was my second time reading this. I just couldn’t find a fun, convincing gothic romance and realized I just wanted to read about Con again. I really love this book. It’s got all the stormy seas of emotion plus real life, and pirates! And secrets... some of then in dungeons. And the protagonists have a BELIEVABLE great misunderstanding that they correct as quickly as is equally believable. Just adore it.
November 5, 2018
Esta novela me dejo buenas sensaciones. Es de esas historias que te dejan una sonrisa en la cara y reflejan que las segundas oportunidades en el amor existen (y no siempre son malas).
Con y Susan tuvieron un amor de adolescencia, de esos que crees que serán para siempre y que están llenos de problemas jaja. Ella cometió un error, él nunca se quedó para oír su explicación y 10 años después se encuentran, demostrando que la chispa se mantiene viva. Susan es una prota atípica, pero no por tener una personalidad colorida, salvaje o graciosa. Todo lo contrario ella es bastante apagada, comedida y seria. Ella no es la doncella virginal que espera encontrar al hombre que le resuelva la vida, sin embargo guarda en su corazón el amor de la juventud. Con es muy especial. Al principio se muestra orgulloso (claro, él fue el que salió herido), pero nunca muestra frialdad o la humilla. Bueno, bueno…si lo hace un poquito jaja pero siempre se retracta.
Me pareció increíble como la autora logró describir una relación de amor basada en errores del pasado, pero sin denigrar ese pasado, sino venerándolo. Solo le puedo criticar que los protagonistas interactuaron poco, y estaba más centrada en los pensamientos, recuerdos y preocupaciones de cada uno, lo que hizo la novela un poquito aburrida por momentos.
Mi escena favorita, es cuando Con recuerda el momento en que ambos hicieron el amor por primera vez, mmmmm muyyyy romántico y muy erótico jaja
Con y Susan tuvieron un amor de adolescencia, de esos que crees que serán para siempre y que están llenos de problemas jaja. Ella cometió un error, él nunca se quedó para oír su explicación y 10 años después se encuentran, demostrando que la chispa se mantiene viva. Susan es una prota atípica, pero no por tener una personalidad colorida, salvaje o graciosa. Todo lo contrario ella es bastante apagada, comedida y seria. Ella no es la doncella virginal que espera encontrar al hombre que le resuelva la vida, sin embargo guarda en su corazón el amor de la juventud. Con es muy especial. Al principio se muestra orgulloso (claro, él fue el que salió herido), pero nunca muestra frialdad o la humilla. Bueno, bueno…si lo hace un poquito jaja pero siempre se retracta.
Me pareció increíble como la autora logró describir una relación de amor basada en errores del pasado, pero sin denigrar ese pasado, sino venerándolo. Solo le puedo criticar que los protagonistas interactuaron poco, y estaba más centrada en los pensamientos, recuerdos y preocupaciones de cada uno, lo que hizo la novela un poquito aburrida por momentos.
Mi escena favorita, es cuando Con recuerda el momento en que ambos hicieron el amor por primera vez, mmmmm muyyyy romántico y muy erótico jaja
March 9, 2019
Just didn't grab me
While I could find no fault with many of the themes employed in this story-- unrequited love and rejection, from both a parent and a lover, a need to belong, the obligation to provide for one's family-- these themes never quite coalesced into a fluid story. The entire novel felt fractured, as if it was always seeking something that was never quite achieved. Perhaps the sense of restlessness is one the author deliberately tried to impose so that the reader can identify with the impotence felt by both parties, but it just left me dissatisfied at the end. Since the typical regency romance will end in HEA, for most readers, the joy is in the journey rather than the destination. This journey led me through a maze. Unlike the other stories of the Georges and the Rogues, Con's neglect of his former friends doesn't quite ring true. His presence in Wyvern doesn't make much sense. His quick dismissal and blind eye to the death of a Preservationist seems uncharacteristic for a former military man with a sense of justice. Susan's inability to see the torture chamber and "works of art" for what is was appears unnecessarily obtuse. The denouement, was quite artful in its construction and funny in its delivery, was probably the best part of this novel and that is a long time for a reader to have to wait for satisfaction. All in all, for now this is my least favorite book in the series.
While I could find no fault with many of the themes employed in this story-- unrequited love and rejection, from both a parent and a lover, a need to belong, the obligation to provide for one's family-- these themes never quite coalesced into a fluid story. The entire novel felt fractured, as if it was always seeking something that was never quite achieved. Perhaps the sense of restlessness is one the author deliberately tried to impose so that the reader can identify with the impotence felt by both parties, but it just left me dissatisfied at the end. Since the typical regency romance will end in HEA, for most readers, the joy is in the journey rather than the destination. This journey led me through a maze. Unlike the other stories of the Georges and the Rogues, Con's neglect of his former friends doesn't quite ring true. His presence in Wyvern doesn't make much sense. His quick dismissal and blind eye to the death of a Preservationist seems uncharacteristic for a former military man with a sense of justice. Susan's inability to see the torture chamber and "works of art" for what is was appears unnecessarily obtuse. The denouement, was quite artful in its construction and funny in its delivery, was probably the best part of this novel and that is a long time for a reader to have to wait for satisfaction. All in all, for now this is my least favorite book in the series.
October 25, 2021
This romance reminded me a lot of Jane Austen's Persuasion, my favorite of her books. In this story, Susan and Con had met when they were 15 and she acted very stupidly (very stupidly) so they were separated for 11 years. But they were both still in love and I couldn't wait for them to get together. Susan was definitely an annoying character though, always lying and otherwise not giving Con any serious indication of her feelings. Another difference between this and Persuasion was the underlying mystery of the creepy castle and who actually could call themselves the Earl of Wyvern, and the smugglers that worked out of the local cove. It seemed to go on and on with Susan and Con mostly heading towards getting back together, and the whole "I've promised to marry another woman" story hanging over their relationship was silly as well, but overall it had a good ending and I desperately wanted them to get back together.
November 8, 2018
I read this a couple of weeks ago, and while I can recall the basic storyline, with a little prompting from the synopsis, the fact that I can only remember bits and pieces doesn’t bode well for this book.
I did not enjoy my experience reading this. The characters made no lasting impact on me, and the plot itself was nothing out of the ordinary for a historical romance. Maybe I might have felt differently if I’d read the rest of the series first? But at this stage I couldn’t be bothered.
Just not the book for me.
2 stars
I did not enjoy my experience reading this. The characters made no lasting impact on me, and the plot itself was nothing out of the ordinary for a historical romance. Maybe I might have felt differently if I’d read the rest of the series first? But at this stage I couldn’t be bothered.
Just not the book for me.
2 stars
May 27, 2025
technically a DNF. I couldn't get behind a main male love interest who gets so angry about our main female character thinking about attempting to date another man in the past while they were 100% not together, and then compares that to the time he got 98% of the way to sexually assaulting someone while he was in the army and heroically decided not to at the last second. And then she was sooooo grateful to him for not assaulting her that she told everyone he was godlike in bed ??????????? i hated everything about that.
November 30, 2021
I have no idea how to rate this. 2 because of the dead mad earl and the gross unseemly things he did that I didn't enjoy reading about? 4 because the story was well written and it made me want to read more about some of the side characters? 3 because the romance was just so-so? 2 because it got slow in the middle and I put it down for awhile? 3 because I ultimately finished it and liked the surprise twist? I dunno.
February 20, 2019
This one is fun- lots of crazy, twisted, and haunted darkness and a love that lasts more than eleven years. The plotting is fun and interesting in that some of main protagonists are either dead or banished when the story begins. I would have like more epilogue, I like the rogues working together and enjoyed Race’s role.
February 19, 2022
I thought this book had potential. It had some interesting elements with the smuggling storyline and the former lovers being reunited after many years. Unfortunately, I never felt engaged in the romance or story because it often seemed contrived rather than natural. It wound up just falling flat for me. I didn’t hate it, I just felt nothing - which is almost worse.
August 8, 2017
Me entretuvo, pero no simpatice con ninguno de los protagonistas. Ademas no me crei el romance. Me hubiese gustado mas que los personajes hallan pasado mas de dos semanas juntos para que se piensen enamorados y tenga tal impacto el uno del otro.
April 3, 2022
Yeah not THAT Dragon's Bride.
I thought reading some more vintagey romance might be interesting, but it had too many antiquated moments and characters for me. I also listened to it on Anyplay which only goes up to 1.75 speed and it is NOT really 1.75. It is at most 1.5 speed.
I thought reading some more vintagey romance might be interesting, but it had too many antiquated moments and characters for me. I also listened to it on Anyplay which only goes up to 1.75 speed and it is NOT really 1.75. It is at most 1.5 speed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2025
A grand Adventure!
Another amazing book by the late Jo Beverly. I think she was such a wonderful writer - her stories are always so much fun.
If you like passion, adventure and plots and characters you with not find anywhere else, Jo Beverly has it all!
Another amazing book by the late Jo Beverly. I think she was such a wonderful writer - her stories are always so much fun.
If you like passion, adventure and plots and characters you with not find anywhere else, Jo Beverly has it all!
April 9, 2019
Wonderful
More twist and turns surprises and mystery in this book then I expected a wonderful read .Just downloaded the next in the series can’t wait to read it
More twist and turns surprises and mystery in this book then I expected a wonderful read .Just downloaded the next in the series can’t wait to read it
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