Skylark (Company of Rogues)

I don't understand those who have reviewed this book with less than four stars. This is a wonderful story. I loved Sir Stephen Ball. A cerebral man would fall in love and express his love in just that way -- with quiet intelligence. It is a complete character study for both him and Laura as they fall in love with the individuals they have become as adults ... not as they remember each other in their shared youth. Sexual tension? Plenty of it! My God, how anybody can say there is not enough passion for them in this book should just go out and rent a porn video. These two -- Stephen and Laura -- are perfectly matched, and I got hot reading the author's description of their shared passion. Well done! All in all, a very well-written and cerebral love story. I enjoyed it very much, and would recommend it to those with the intelligence to appreciate it.

The latest addition to Jo Beverley's Company of Rogues series, SKYLARK, is another intelligent romance by this talented historical romance writer. The recently widowed is a devoted and fiercely protective mother. Suspecting there is a plot to kill her young son who is next in line as heir to the Gardeyne fortune, she quickly becomes suspicious of her former husband's brother whose own young son would be next in line. Sir Stephen Ball, a member of the Company of Rogues, enters Laura's life again. Before she married Stephen proposed awkwardly to her, ending their close friendship and relationship, which was very much a brother/sister type one. Now, he sees a second chance at love with the beautiful "Skylark", dubbed so by the songbird trilling during his first proposal. As the mystery of the Gardeyne Family unfolds Laura and Stephen rekindle their love for each other as they also uncover the secrets behind the suspected missing heir. As always Ms. Beverley's delivery of her stories appeals to the discriminating historical romance reader who enjoys a good story that is true to the time period. Tara Green

Whether or not you like this book or are disappointed in it all depends on why you like Jo Beverly's books in the first place. If you are a fan because you like her somewhat swashbuckling heroes who are involved in intriguing plots, unusual situations and solve problems for the heroine with derring-do - then you will be disappointed. As you can tell from previous reviews, this is true of a lot of readers who rushed to buy Beverley's latest effort in the Rogue series.However, take heart, those of you who admire Beverley for her well drawn characters and well written prose - you will be pleasantly surprised. Although not her best, it is still a pretty good book and far superior to a lot of Regency stuff being put out these days.The hero of this book is Stephen Ball, MP - one of the Rogues who has only appeared around the edges of several previous books. Given his background and profession (law) he is not given to extravagant actions and showy heroics; just careful plotting and steadfast love for Laura Gardeyne who he nicknamed Lady Skylark based on her life in society with her first husband (fairly recently deceased). The plot of this book is fairly well summarized by wmr-uk's review so I will not repeat it here - and it is correctly characterized as a "dramatic" one. However the pace of the book is fairly slow and I, for one, found myself a bit impatient for the next step of unraveling the mystery of the missing heir. The strength of the book is in watching Laura develop as a character and in enjoying the cast of secondary characters, especially HG and Des. It is nice to see Nick and Eleanor again; but I could barely remember who David Kerslake was (maybe I didn't finish that book, it being a bit too extravagant in plot for me).My assessment: 3 and a half stars - read the reviews carefully and decide WHY you like Jo Beverley's books before getting this one...

Setting - England 1816 --- With another addition to her highly popular Rogue series she has given us Sir Stephen Ball's story and romance. A romance that for him was six years in the making might not have been if not for the fickle hand of fate that set Laura Gardeyne free once more after the untimely death of her husband, Hal. Stephen had once asked Laura to marry him, to wait until he could finish his schooling and be able to provide her with a better life, but then that Laura had been dazzled by the heir to a Viscount, his wealth and zest for living. Back then Laura had been the darling of the ton, and somewhat hurt Stephen had nicknamed her Lady Skylark -flitting to one good time after another. For Laura, the hated moniker was a slap that hurt coming from a man she'd grown up with and they had avoided each other ever since.Knowing that Laura was coming to the end of her mourning period, Stephen chose the time to once more make his bid for the love he'd never gotten over, but when he arrived to begin his courting, he found a frightened young woman. Laura, was fearful that someone was trying to eliminate her son Harry, now heir to her father-in-law's title, estate and riches - and she was almost positive that the person with the most to gain was her brother-in-law Jack Gardeyne who now wanted that title for his newborn infant son. With her father-in-law ill, and discovering a mysterious letter that hinted that the rightful heir was alive, Laura enlists Stephen's help to discover if he really were alive. If so he would be the rightful heir leaving her son Harry safe from being eliminated by his uncle. Along the way both Stephen and Laura began to see the changes that time had made to each other and they began a sweet and passionate romance.Okay, this was not quite up to par with regard to the action I've come to expect from Jo Beverley but that is not to say that it was boring or without merit. Laura was not the most memorable heroine I've come across either, but one has to give her points in the mothering department. Also, this was not your usual pitiful widow where the husband was not a nice guy, he was true to his station in life (a true Corinthian) but a lusty and thoughtful lover for a woman who undeniably found their bed sport to be quite satisfying. Stephen who was portrayed as studious and serious as a youth just needed for Laura to grow and discover what was really important in her life. There was a great deal of sensual tension, but you will wait until practically the end of the book before seeing anything happen. (These two were just too polite!) The ending twist is also an unusual plot device that I've seldom seen used in most regency era plots, but as usual, Beverley jumps right in and comes up with a real zinger! Bottom line - not as much action as I prefer but a thoughtful and entertaining read. ---- Submitted by Marilyn, Official Reviewer for www.historicromancewriters.com ---

There is a reason why Jo Beverly wins so many awards and accolades. For who else would be able to take a much used plot device, pair it with a heroine that took me a while to warm up to, and still come up with a compelling and absorbing read?Laura Gardeyne is a very frightened young woman. With the death of her fun loving husband, Hal, her 3 year old son, Harry, is now heir to her father-in-law's title, estate and riches. And Laura is almost convinced that her brother-in-law, Jack, may have it in his mind to murder her little boy so that he (Jack) can inherit everything. All Laura has are suspicions, but they are driving her mad with paronia. What should she do? What can she do? And then two things happen that gives her the first glimmer of hope. First, she discovers a letter in her father-in-law's desk that seems to suggest that there may be another heir, one whose claim definitely supersedes Harry's; and secondly, an old suitor, Stephen Ball turns up. Many years ago, serious and studious Stephen had proposed marriage, but Laura had chosen the fun-loving and more sophisticated Hal Gardeyne instead. Both Stephen and Laura have avoided each other since. Can Laura trust Stephen to help her find the missing heir and protect Harry from Jack? Will he even agree to help her?It's true, this particular Jo Beverley novel is a bit slow moving. But it truly doesn't mean that this made it a slow and boring read. To the contrary, the more sedate pacing allowed for the authour to slowly develop Laura's character. I rather enjoyed "watching" Laura change from the scared to death and slightly self-absorbed young woman into a more intelligent and less flighty one. This, was what made the novel a compelling read. The small suspense of trying to figure out if the two men at the inn were villains or not, was well done too. However, it is true that the much slower pacing did detract a little from the overall excellence of the novel. Halfway through, the novel almost stops moving forward as Laura and Stephen grapple with their unspoken feelings for each other, and with the mystery of the two men at the inn, over and over again. On the whole though I thought that "Skylark" was a rather good "Rogue" romance novel, engrossing and compelling, and well worth the money spent.