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Summary: Sweet and so very funny
Review: A light-hearted and wonderful historical romance!
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Summary: Even early Beverleys have wonderful characters and stories!
Review: Emily and the Dark Angel is one of Jo Beverley's earliest books, and is part of a series which began with Lord Wraybourne's Betrothal, and continued with The Stanforth Secret and The Stolen Bride. Not knowing that these books were linked, I read Emily... before Stanforth; I hope that by listing the order here other readers may be helped. (And I hope that some day I can find a copy of The Stolen Bride; I want to read Randal and Sophie's story!)Emily is a spinster, in her late twenties, who has been looking after her invalid father for many years. Since her soldier brother was posted as missing, believed killed in combat, she has also been running the family estate. Her home is on the edge of Melton Mowbray, a very popular area with the hunting fraternity, situated as it is in the centre of several hunts. (This is the one thing I dislike about the book: I loathe foxhunting). Piers Verderan, known as Ver to his friends, is there for the hunting, and because he's just inherited the estate next to Emily's. They meet first just as he's been ejected from his (ex-)mistress's establishment, colliding with Emily just as they're both showered in poudre des violettes. Ver offers to escort Emily to her destination, since the collision has damaged the heel of her boot. She doesn't trust him; and why should she? He's called the Dark Angel for a reason; he is likened to Lucifer. Stories about his criminality and dastardliness abound. And yet he is kind, he comes to her rescue on several occasions, and he makes her feel good about herself for the first time in many years. He makes her feel desirable. He tells her that he loves her. But can Emily believe a man who has a reputation for breaking hearts and never remaining faithful to a woman; a man who is reputed to have abandoned his own mother to a life of poverty? Can she be brave enough to listen to her heart above the warnings of her brain and members of her family? Emily and Ver are hugely likeable characters, both with enough emotional depth to hold my interest. There are also some great secondary characters, including some I really want to read about: Lord Randal Ashby appears in this book, with his wife Sophie (and I want to read their story!), and Emily's brother Marcus looks as if he could benefit from a book of his own. Note to self: check if Beverley ever did write Marcus's story... Highly recommended, if you can get hold of it!
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Summary: A truely delightful book
Review: Emily is a twenty-six year old spinster "past her last prayers" who keeps the house and property for a cranky and crippled father and hopeds for the return of her brother from the war. Then she bumps into Piers Verderan, the "Dark Angel" from Beverly's THE STOLEN BRIDE. He's "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." She's good, respectable, and quitetly opinionated. Together under the influence of violet power and sago pudding, she tries to coax him into respecabilty, and he tries to talk her into walking on the wild side. In the end, he leaves it up to her to take a chance and to do something out of the ordinary. The letter he writes her is one of the most tender and beautiful I've ever read. This is a romatic, funny, wonderful book, and everyone should read it.
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Summary: Wonderful If You can Find a Copy
Review: Having read some of Jo Beverley's later novels I set out to read everything she's written. Emily and the Dark Angel is a marvelous story of Piers Verderan and Emily Grantwich.
The very proper Emily, thought firmly on the shelf at six and twenty, had a very uncommon introduction to Piers "The Dark Angel" having been doused with powder as it was being thrown at Piers.
They do say that opposites attract and try as she could to fight it, Emily does feeel drawn to this uncommon Rake. How she fights both her feelings and learns to break out of the standard mold that the period seems to put females in is a delicious romp made to come alive through the talented pen of Jo Beverley. If you are lucky enough to locate a copy of this earlier work, you will definitely enjoy it. A real keeper.
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Summary: Wonderful If You can Find a Copy
Review: Having read some of Jo Beverley's later novels I set out to read everything she's written. Emily and the Dark Angel is a marvelous story of Piers Verderan and Emily Grantwich.
The very proper Emily, thought firmly on the shelf at six and twenty, had a very uncommon introduction to Piers "The Dark Angel" having been doused with powder as it was being thrown at Piers.
They do say that opposites attract and try as she could to fight it, Emily does feeel drawn to this uncommon Rake. How she fights both her feelings and learns to break out of the standard mold that the period seems to put females in is a delicious romp made to come alive through the talented pen of Jo Beverley. If you are lucky enough to locate a copy of this earlier work, you will definitely enjoy it. A real keeper.
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Summary: One of the very best!
Review: I couldn't agree more with what the reviewer dkamps from Tucson, AZ wrote on November 29, 1999. I have also read a zillion regency romances and found Emily & the Dark Angel to be an absolute gem. It's just so funny. I love the whole pudding bit. Best of all the characters like each other from the beginning. None of that miserable anguish stuff. I was lucky enough to find my copy at the local library, but if I ever come across it, I'll buy it.
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Summary: One of the best
Review: I have read a lot of regency romances and this is one of the few books where I can actually remember the plot and title a while after I have read it. Many regencies are variations on the same theme and can sometimes be very tedious and predictable. (Dont get me wrong, I still love 'em--I'm a regency addict.) But this one really stands out. I read it a couple of years ago and still remember it well. It is one of the few books which has actually had me laughing out loud. Jo Beverley has a knack for humor and romance. The unlikely romance and the ridiculous events in which the heroine finds herself are wonderful. Look for the references to "pudding". Very well-written. I loved this book!! Please read it.
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Summary: The best regency I have ever read!
Review: No exaggeration: this book is absolutely my favorite regency. I have read hundreds of regencies and this one does it right. The characters are awesome. In fact, the strength of book rests in the characters. The plot (at first glance) doesn't seem to have anything happen. And that's the beauty of it: this book is realistic and still magical. The forerunners of this book, "Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed" and "Stolen Bride" (though very good themselves) are mere shadows compared to "Emily...." In addition, spin-offs "The Fortune Hunter" and "Deidre and Don Juan" cannot hold a candle to this one. As you can tell, I love this one. If you find it, hold on to it. This is the best regency written to date that I have found!
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Summary: The best regency I have ever read!
Review: No exaggeration: this book is absolutely my favorite regency. I have read hundreds of regencies and this one does it right. The characters are awesome. In fact, the strength of book rests in the characters. The plot (at first glance) doesn't seem to have anything happen. And that's the beauty of it: this book is realistic and still magical. The forerunners of this book, "Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed" and "Stolen Bride" (though very good themselves) are mere shadows compared to "Emily...." In addition, spin-offs "The Fortune Hunter" and "Deidre and Don Juan" cannot hold a candle to this one. As you can tell, I love this one. If you find it, hold on to it. This is the best regency written to date that I have found!
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Summary: Incomplete
Review: This book has been out of print for quite a while and seems to sell for quite a lot now. I was very glad to have a chance to read it, if it reaches theses prices must be good, right? Not quite. The concept is intriguing and so is the "Dark Angel" but the novel is just too short to do justice to the story. I was reaching the end of the novel, and I kept thinking I must have skipped some chapters, some scenes because we are told Vers fell in love with Emily, but quite frankly I still got no idea why. She is nice, and supposed to be witty and intelligent, but in their conversations it never seems like she is his match. So while this type of romance sounds fascinating, this novel falls short.
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