Rate this book

A Shocking Delight (2014)

by Jo Beverley(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0451468015 (ISBN13: 9780451468017)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Signet

series

Company of Rogues

review 1: A Shocking Delight By Jo Beverly This book is number 15 in her series “The Company of Rogues”. This is a rollicking tale of London in Season and smuggling on the coast of Devonshire in the early 1800’s. It gives you a peak into the lives of the ton, those who wished to be a part of the ton, and those who serve both groups. You meet David Kerslake-Somerford, the Earl of Wyvern and his sister Susan, Lady Amleigh from this group. It also gives you a view of the lives of the people who made up the middle class – the business people of London. Lucy Potter and her father Daniel Potter fall into this group. You catch a look into the lives of those whose livelihoods revolved around smuggling and their neighboring villagers. Here you meet the inhabitants of Dragon’s... more Cove and Church Wyvern. David Kerlake-Somerford finds himself in need of a wife with a sizeable dowry. Lucy finds herself in need of a way out of her home as her father prepares to remarry after the death of her mother. David and Lucy find themselves attracted to each other but mixing like oil and water. David finds that he is being discouraged from seeking Lucy’s hand for reasons that she doesn’t understand. What all must come to pass for true love to be allowed to flourish? Other than a few scenes that might prove too graphic for younger readers, I highly recommend this story for the romance and high adventure. I received this book free of charge through Goodreads for my unbiased review.
review 2: The story opens with Lucinda Potter (“Lucy”) hoping to repair the relationship with her father, strained since the death of her mother, partly due to Lucy’s strong resemblance to her deceased mother. Lucy wants to resume her place in her father’s merchant business, which she took an active part in running prior to her mother’s death. However, her father has different ideas about the matter.Lucy’s father wants her to return to the world her mother abandoned to marry him, the world of the beau monde. To make matters worse, her father, still relatively young, plans to remarry the widow neighbor in the hopes of producing a son (i.e. heir for his business). As the story begins, her father informs Lucy of an offer of marriage from an anonymous, though titled, suitor. Lucy, who has been well dowered by her father, dismisses the offer and they dub the unknown suitor Lord Penniless.To escape the impending marriage of her father and his bride to be, and all the details and house plans associated with the wedding, Lucy accepts an invitation to spend the Season in London with her mother’s sister, a member of the haute ton. Since Lucy has a business mind rather than the mind of a social debutante, she decides research the role by reading novels, an endeavor Lucy could never imagine wasting time on in the past. While visiting her neighborhood bookstore, unbeknownst to her, Lucy encounters Lord Penniless, who is in reality, David Kerslake-Somerford, the Earl of Wyvern. Neither is aware of the other’s true identity, but the chemistry between them is immediate.It’s an opposites attract kind of story. She is a wealthy, law-abiding, city girl. He’s a broke, secret smuggler in the countryside. The pair obviously has a lot of issues to work out to get to happily ever after, which of course, they do.Part of the book was set in the rural countryside as opposed to London, which was interesting. A small thread involving dragons and the hero is woven into the plot as well, which I liked, along with the diverse backgrounds of the characters. Unfortunately, I didn’t care about the main characters as much as I should have. It was a little difficult for me to bond with either character. I know it sounds terrible, but there just didn’t seem to be enough angst on the part of either character to make me root for these two as much as I might have. Both David and Lucy were just too pragmatic and practical in their views toward a potential relationship, almost cerebral.The story was well- written. I just didn’t become as engrossed in pulling for the characters as I hoped, but it is entertaining and certainly worth reading. less

Download links for: A Shocking Delight

Advertising