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angelika
Joined: 05 Aug 2007
Posts: 178
Location: vancouver, bc, canada
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 Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 12:57 pm Post subject: 'Georges' by Jo Beverly |
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I am confused. I checked this series out on 'Historical Romance Writers'. It says the first book to read is "In Praise of younger Man', the story of George Vandeimen (Van), the second is 'Dragon's Bride, the story of George Somerford (Con) and the third is 'Devil's Heiress' the story of George Hawkinville (Hawk). Yet the fourth 'Three Heroes' is about all of them. Should I not read the fourth one first? Has anyone read this series and can avise.
By the way, the first few Jo Beverly's "Company for Rogues' were great, however, I gave up after after'Forbidden'. As my husband had bought the full series for me (based on other books of Jo Beverly I liked), I skimmed throught the others but they never really made it into my 'Keepers' pile, although because they are part of series, I do keep them. Makes sense or not? 
Looking forward hearing your thoughts,
Angela |
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Kelly B
Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 136
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| Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm pretty sure the Three Heroes is just an anthology of the books of the series published together rather than a new story/entry in the series. |
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KayWebbHarrison
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 1209
Location: SE VA. USA
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| Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: 'Georges' by Jo Beverly |
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| angelika wrote: | | I am confused. I checked this series out on 'Historical Romance Writers'. It says the first book/story to read is "The Demon's Mistress" in the anthology In Praise of younger Men, the story of George Vandeimen (Van), the second is 'Dragon's Bride, the story of George Somerford (Con) and the third is 'Devil's Heiress' the story of George Hawkinville (Hawk). Yet the fourth 'Three Heroes' is about all of them. Should I not read the fourth one first? Has anyone read this series and can avise. Angela |
I am currently reading To Rescue A Rogue--Dare & Mara's story. There is a list of the "Rogue" and companion books in the notes at the back of the book. Three Heroes is a compliation of the "Georges" books/story. So . . . just read the "fourth" one and recycle the others--unless you want to read the other stories in the anthology.
The Devil's Heiress wraps up a lot of loose ends in the Rogue's story arc. I liked The Rogue's Return very much--it started in Canada. So far, To Rescue A Rogue has been an uneven read for me with some parts excellent and some just OK. However, the presence of the various Rogues is very strong, and Beverley brings us up-to-date on them, their families and their interactions; those are some of the parts that I like. I have already read the next book about Dare's sister Thea; it was also a mixture of excellent and so-so sections. I didn't much like Skylark or Hazard; I haven't acquired or read St. Raven.
Hope this helps.
Kay |
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Schola
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1867
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| Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 2:23 pm Post subject: Re: 'Georges' by Jo Beverly |
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| angelika wrote: | | By the way, the first few Jo Beverly's "Company for Rogues' were great, however, I gave up after after'Forbidden'. As my husband had bought the full series for me (based on other books of Jo Beverly I liked), I skimmed throught the others but they never really made it into my 'Keepers' pile, although because they are part of series, I do keep them. Makes sense or not? |
+IHS+
Angela, I do recommend Dangerous Joy, which comes next in the series after Forbidden. Even though I found the Irish bits more wallpapery than I usually expect from Beverley, I really liked Miles and Felicity.  They seem very young, as if they were still teenagers, and there is something very innocent and fresh about their love.
I found The Dragon's Bride a bit campy when it came to the Gothic elements--but I admit to being fascinated by the castle. I also didn't relate very much to Con and Susan, so it was just okay for me.
In contrast, I wasn't crazy about Skylark at all. The bird metaphors were done better in The Devil's Heiress; and the mystery they had to solve wasn't very compelling.
When I first read The Rogue's Return, I didn't like it very much; it seemed boring and I was skipping huge passages of it. When I gave it another chance, I found myself loving it! The Canadian setting was refreshingly rugged--and during the second reading, the unfamiliar history was easier to understand. Furthermore, how many other Road Romances take you through the Canadian wilderness, the Atlantic ocean, and good old Regency England? There are so many other things about this novel to love . . . but I'll let you find them out for yourself!
I consider Lady Beware to be one of the weakest links. (Then again, I don't like An Arranged Marriage much, so what do I know?  ) Too much dipping into other characters' lives and not enough of the theme-weaving I love in a Beverley novel. I could have used less of Darien and Thea asking everyone for advice all the time--and there was something about the twist in the secondary "romance" between the hero's friend and the heroine's cousin that threw the story off balance. 
St. Raven is another novel I didn't like the first time I read it, but have grown to love. (It must have been the shock of the orgy scenes. ) Even though Tris and Cressida take an incredibly short amount of time to fall in love and know they've each found "The One," I found their romance absolutely convincing and the pacing of the plot excellent. It wouldn't be so wonderful if Beverley had made a concession to "realism" and allowed them more time to develop their feelings.
I hope all that helps, Angela!  It's a pleasure to talk about Beverley with others.
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"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton) |
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Brenna
Joined: 04 Apr 2007
Posts: 126
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| Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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The Three Georges is an omnibus trade paperback release or compilation of those three titles you mentioned. It is a sort of a trilogy about three close friends who grew up in the same village and were all named George. I've read them all separately and while "The Devil's Heiress" and "The Dragon's Bride" were released as full length novels, "In Praise of Older Men" was an anthology, with Van's story called "The Demon's Mistress" as one of the collection of short stories in there. You could either get the individual books + anthology (w/c will include other short stories) or prefer the Three Georges, w/c will just contain Beverley's 3 titles in one book.
While the other two Georges are not part of the Rogues, George Connaught Sommerford or Con in The Dragon's Bride is a Rogue member.
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"No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may
be true."
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clutterconqueror
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 86
Location: Elmhurst, Il
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| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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Hawk's story The Devil's Heiress continues the storyline developed in the Company of Rogue's second book An Unwilling Bride. If possible, I would recommend you read An Unwilling Bride first. Of course they're both really great stories. :D
My favorite George is Van in The Demon's Mistress. I absolutely loved his story.
Loved Hazard, because I loved the hero, Race. That was my first Jo Beverley.
And of the last few Rogues books, I really enjoyed The Rogue's Return, moreso on the second read. The frontier setting and ocean voyage gave a wonderful sense of history, and the love story was great too.
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Schola
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1867
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| Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 1:48 am Post subject: |
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| clutterconqueror wrote: | | Hawk's story The Devil's Heiress continues the storyline developed in the Company of Rogue's second book An Unwilling Bride. If possible, I would recommend you read An Unwilling Bride first. Of course they're both really great stories. |
That's a good tip! May I add that it would help to also read An Arranged Marriage, because Nicholas and Eleanor's story also continues in The Devil's Heiress?
_________________
"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton) |
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