An Arranged Marriage

Basically everyone in this story is a dipshit. Really, all the major and most of the minor characters are total garbage buttwipes. And the "despoiling" let's call a spade a spade, it was rape of Eleanor is not treated like a big deal by anyone.

Could I tell you why a similar-ish plot device worked for me in Lord Ruin but not here? No, I couldn't but the dude in that book doesn't actually spend the whole time cheating on his lady, either. Everyone in this book behaves unbelievably, and I just could not accept it.

Was it readable? Sure, I mean, I got through it. Was it enjoyable? That's a big fat NOPE. At least it cost me zero dollars.

For all that I'm a (supposedly) modern woman, I'm a sucker for stories featuring dashing rakes and swooning damsels in distress. Heck, if said swooning is being done reluctantly, I'm even more hooked. And if the author manages to throw in some classic British humor...

An Arranged Marriage was supposed to fulfill all my above-mentioned expectations, but it somehow got derailed, and all I ended up with were lots of exasperated sighs.

Eleanor Chivenham is practically 'off the shelf' and living with her vile brother, who's itching to get his hands on her inheritance. As a last resort, he blackmails Christopher "Kit" Delaney (Earl of Stainbridge) into raping our heroine, lest he'd want his homosexual inclinations made public.

The next day, show more Eleanor is prepared to commit suicide, but Kit's somewhat guilty conscience manages to compel the earl to stop the heroine. 10 brownie points for that, and -50 brownie points for his manner of addressing the issue:

You are the woman who was…introduced to pleasure last night.

... I was going to come up with some smart-alec reply to this, but then Kit tops things with the following "weaseling out" technique:

"The fact is, Miss Chivenham..." He swallowed hard. "The fact is that it was not I. It was my brother."

On the other side of the Channel, we have Nicholas "Nicky" Delaney, younger twin brother of the Earl of Stainbridge, rumored to be the devil incarnate. And yet our hero is 'merely' a spy and a rake, but that goes without saying. Suffice to say, that when Kit orders Nicky to marry Eleanor, the latter immediately agrees despite this making his spying business quite a bit more difficult.

... and they get married. Only Nicky has to sleep with a French madam (i.e. female pimp), to get her to confess her evil plan of liberating Napoleon.
Eleanor meanwhile is trying to avoid being jealous of her cheating husband's mistress, and slowly falling in love with the guy. Luckily, Nicky is also falling in love with his young wife, but unluckily he feels much too guilty about his affair to confess to his wife.

The rest of the story is mostly made up of a lot of lost opportunities, and near love confessions, not to mention unbelievable tales of rescue. Oh and Kit making a nuisance of himself for no reason whatsoever... well none that I can think of.

In conclusion 2/5 stars for trying. show less

Eleanor Chivenham's good-for-nothing brother is in desperate need of cash, but even Eleanor was unprepared for his latest dastardly scheme to improve his finances. He masterminds a plot to have Eleanor drugged and raped by the (also drugged) Earl of Stainbridge. With her reputation in tatters, Eleanor is forced to agree to a hasty marriage - but Nicholas Delaney, her rapist's scapegrace brother, proves to be a kind, patient, and irresistibly charming man.

Nicholas once again finds himself bailing his brother out of one of his scrapes, despite the fact that it lands him in even more trouble. For now, Nicholas has a spirited wife to reckon with. Even as he tries to keep her in the background in order to keep his vital political mission show more secret, he finds himself more and more drawn to her - and repulsed by the sacrifices he must make for his country.

This book was only about average for me. Nicholas' secret mission means that the main characters spend most of the book either emotionally or physically apart and resisting being drawn together. Given the rape, I felt that Eleanor bounced back and essentially forgot the entire thing far too soon. This simply didn't ring true for me. After such a devastating experience, even a strong character like Eleanor would need someone to lean on, and I felt that her reaction to his sudden distance was unrealistic. We won't even go into the 'sex as a cure for rape' concept.

One thing is for certain - Beverley invariably takes on difficult, often uncomfortable, plotlines. Here, however, there was simply too much going on, so that it felt that both of the major characters got jilted. As usual, however, I was very intrigued by the secondary characters. Arabella Hurstman was a treat, and both Francis and Lucien de Vaux have me looking forward to their books in the Company of Rogues series. show less

This was the first book I've ever read by Ms Beverley and I was unfamiliar with either her name or her work when I picked it out at random. So, no expectations (apart from an enjoyable read) and no preconceptions.

The rape of Eleanor in the first few pages was unpleasant and confusing. This confusion grew with the circumstances of her improbably speedy recovery from the trauma -- even allowing for her being drugged during the ordeal -- and the facile appearance of a handsome and dashing gallant who offers her marriage and a way out of her moral ruin. The confusion turned to disbelief with the all-too-smooth consummation of the marriage.

I might have given up at this point, but the story of Nicholas' mysterious comings and goings caught my show more interest. The effect of his clandestine disappearances on Eleanor (and on him) took second place to the story of the plots and conspiracies in which he was enmeshed.

At some point in the book, the mystery and suspense edged out the romance. I have no idea whether this is what Ms Beverley had in mind when she wrote the novel.

As a debut work, [b:An Arranged Marriage|765920|An Arranged Marriage (Company of Rogues, #1)|Jo Beverley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178160219s/765920.jpg|751988] deserves to be rated highly. The narrative is well paced and populated with a few memorable characters, especially the indomitable Miss Hurstmann. On the other hand, many of the other characters seem otiose, and I found myself having to thumb back a few pages to sort out their identities. I see from the reviews here on Goodreads that [b:An Arranged Marriage|765920|An Arranged Marriage (Company of Rogues, #1)|Jo Beverley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178160219s/765920.jpg|751988] is the first of a series, so perhaps the cast of thousands is there for a purpose, though I'm not sure I found any of them interesting enough to want to read an entire novel in which they take centre role -- apart from Miss Hurstmann, that is.

[b:An Arranged Marriage|765920|An Arranged Marriage (Company of Rogues, #1)|Jo Beverley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178160219s/765920.jpg|751988] did turn out to be a long but enjoyable read and I was able to suspend disbelief long enough to avoid some of the surprisingly strong negative reactions experienced by other reviewers. show less

I have read quite a few Jo Beverly books. At this point of time, i feel this one might have been the worst I read so far. It was soo booring. The main character so un-relatable. I understand that these books are set in victorian times and as such the mental makeup and situations may not relate to present day. However for a reader to dig in to a book, they have to relate to the character, the conflict or even anything in the book. For me this was a complete miss.

An Arranged Marriage - the first book in the “Company of Rogues” series - tells the story of the leader of this group of men, or "Company of Rogues", as they are called. Nicholas Delaney formed the “Rogues” while away at school. He formed this group to fight against the bullying that was notorious at boarding school. The Rogues were not bullies themselves, however they certainly got into their share of scrapes in their school days. They span a wide variety of backgrounds and personalities. Some were titled, some were not, some were outgoing some were shy and bookish. Nicholas is seen throughout this series of books as the obvious leader. He is intelligent, logical and the confidant of all - the keeper of secrets.

This story show more begins with Eleanor Chivenham being drugged by her brother who arranges her rape. The rape is carried out by Lord Stanbridge who is trying to prove he is not a homosexual. At the time Lord Stanbridge doesn’t realize that the young woman he is having sex with is a well-brought up young lady not a prostitute. When he discovers her the next day and realizes the implications of his actions, he tries to rescue Eleanor by offering marriage to his brother, who we find out is Nicholas Delaney.

Nicholas accepts Eleanor as a wife and marries her but is then immediately embroiled in uncovering a plot to liberate Napoleon - a job that has him pretending to be the lover of a vindictive French brothel owner. Nicholas and Eleanor approach their arranged marriage with a practical dignity; each having their own reasons for wanting this marriage, but both start having feelings for the other. Eleanor sees the trouble and pain beneath Nicholas’ smooth facade and Nicholas stirs Eleanor’s senses despite her attempts to keep her heart protected.

As Nicholas has more and more difficulty performing his job serving his country (which requires him to play the role of lover to the evil brothel owner) as he grows more and more attached to his wife. He calls on members of the Company of Rogues to help him both with his job as a spy and to help maintain his fragile marriage. As the tension increases the Rogues are tested but in true Regency romance fashion, love conquers in the end.

Although on first read, I didn’t really like this book. I was used to the light and easy reads of other authors. A Jo Beverley book is NOT an light and easy read! There is substance; there are difficult topics discussed. These books often are uncomfortable to read but always a rewarding read if you finish it!

I admit it....I’m a sucker for a series of romance books - especially a series of Regency Romances with the connecting theme being a group of rich and powerful men. Jo Beverley attacks some of the most unpleasant topics of the time. Many of her books explore the lack of rights of women of this time and many deal with the class differences. Most of her books have very strong heroines.

Many of Jo Beverley’s book have won one or more awards. An Arranged Marriage was a RITA Finalist, won a Reader’s Choice Award, won Romantic Times Best Regency Novel and was voted a Bookrak Bestseller. show less

More like 1 1/2 stars. A train wreck in slow motion. Which is a shame because in the end the two main characters are likeable. Especially Eleanor. Nicholas also doesn't really fit the mold of Regency hero. Still, the plot is hicky and gruesome. What's more infuriating is that the author knew that writing a rape Regency romance, even in the late 1990s, was somewhat borderline. The sad thing is that I've read good Regency romance from this writer. Just not this one.