Dierdre and Don Juan (Lovers and Ladies)by Jo Beverly

cheri · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1348 Location: michigan

I was so excited to see that this book was reissued. I've been trying to find an original for a couple years. I'm not sure why I wrote it down so long ago but I knew I wanted to read it. It was pretty good for the most part. I liked both characters for 3/4 of the book. The last 1/4 of the book the hero seemed to change, almost to the point of being in the stalker mode. It was very strange to say the least but still all together a decent read. Anyone else read this or the other title released with this book, The Fortune Hunter? I skipped that one. cheri

NoirFemme · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1397 Location: America

I haven't read Deirdre and the Don Juan, but I have read The Fortune Hunter and loved it. It was a book that was sweet and really hot at the same time--and I have a weakness for books that feature scheming heroines.

Oddly enough, Beverly's traditional Regencies work for me, whereas her ST's haven't. The same goes for Loretta Chase. I don't know if it's because I was introduced to their trads before their ST's, but their wit and passion and wonderful characters seem to work better in a shorter format. :shrug:

Schola · Joined: 10 Jun 2007 Posts: 1867

+IHS+

I bought Lovers and Ladies a few weeks ago. I find I like Diedre and Don Juan more than The Fortune Hunter. While I agree with NoirFemme that the latter was much sweeter, I felt that things resolved themselves too neatly at the end. Besides, my own weakness is for plain heroines. Wink

I like both Beverley's longer Historicals and her Traditional Regencies, for different reasons. She is more adventurous with her single titles, weaving complex patterns into the stories. My favourite example is Devilish, with its moon imagery (virginity for the aptly-named Diana and lunacy for Bey) and extra Icarus and Daedalus layer. Yet what I love about her Trad Regencies is their simplicity. Cleverness is fun, but "plain" romance is also beautiful.

Yet my favourite Beverley love story of all time is The Wise Virgin, a novella in the anthology The Brides of Christmas. Very Happy

_________________
"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)

Jane A · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 714 Location: So Cal

I read this when it came out. I was excited to see that her trads are being republished since they're so hard to find. Having said that I thought the stories were just okay. I suspect JB's single titles are more to my taste.

SPOILER:

In D&DJ I was exasperated by the heroine's obsession with Howard and her attitude made the story drag for me. I felt no sympathy for her self imposed dilemma.

In The Fortune Hunter there was a similar problem. The heroine's insistance that the hero was not suitable for her because of his lack of money got old after she arrived in London. I somewhat understood her stance, but felt exasperation with her just the same.

I have heard people rave over Emily and The Dark Angel, so I'm going to give that one a try. The others? I'm not so sure.

Sunita · Joined: 29 Sep 2007 Posts: 132

I enjoyed both, but I thought Deirdre and Don Juan was much better than The Fortune Hunter. I gave them grades in the Potpourri thread about the last book you read.

I really like JoBev's trads, and these two sent me on a glom of all that the library had. They remind me of older regencies (which is not surprising since they're from the early 1990s).

I thought The Fortune Hunter's heroine was annoying in her insistence that she was the only one who could save her family, and in her belief that the hero couldn't possibly have enough money (couldn't she have gotten some information on that once she got to London?). And the hero was nice but not particularly memorable. That said, I liked the supporting characters a lot, the writing was excellent, and I agree it was a sweet book in the good way.

I loved Deirdre and Don Juan. I didn't have as much problem with the heroine's attachment to her fiance, which struck me as both a safe choice and a belief that she'd be supporting genius (which is a trope I've seen before in older romance novels). And the hero, oh my! He was just wonderful. Not really a rake, but definitely slightly tortured, and so intelligent and confident and complex. I was so captivated by him that I forgave the later part of the book where he does seem to verge on stalking ...

Emily and the Dark Angel is closer to DaDD. Again, he's a terrific hero and the heroine is a good match. Characters from TFH crop up as well.

clutterconqueror · Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 84 Location: Elmhurst, Il

Sunita said: