I have loved Jo Beverly since I found historical romances. While this one wasn't my favorite, no one can go wrong reading one of her books! I would always recommend her titles!

I had been saving Merely a Marriage by Jo Beverley, since it was her last novel, and she is one of my favorite historical romance authors. I devoured it over the weekend, delighting in the complex, justified conflicts between the characters, and the portrayal of two people who had changed and grown up since their last brief encounter. Several of Beverley’s books have been re-reads for me, so when next I visit her work, that will be how.

Merely a Marriage was my first Jo Beverley, and I really had no idea what to expect. Despite having read some good ones, on the whole I'm a bit hesitant of most of the romance novelists who have been working for a while, just because I prefer the novels that bring a more modern sensibility to the tropes. Merely a Marriage has that in spades, and I devoured this fluffy historical romance in one day.

What really stands out to me about Merely a Marriage is how fluffy and light it is. Though it deals with some heavier subjects, the tone remains pretty light-hearted. There are, I think, two main camps in romance readers: those who enjoy the melodrama and those who prefer the novels without it. I'm in the second camp, and I liked that even the darker elements that would have lent themselves well to melodrama didn't veer in that direction. (Not saying there's anything wrong with melodrama btw, and I do think it can be done well, but on the whole it's just not my thing.)

Ariana's voice charmed me from the very beginning. At the outset, she's determined to make her younger brother wed and make babies so that she and her mother will be safe from the dreaded entail in the event of his death. Ariana's concerned because of the unanticipated death of Princess Charlotte, which I thought was a unique catalyst for the novel. Her brother doesn't wish to, so he says he'll marry by the end of January if she marries by the end of December. Though she doesn't really want to, she agrees because she's stubborn as hell.

I love Ariana's stubbornness, her playfulness, and her opinionatedness as she eliminates potential suitors for various reasons (including being overly hirsute). All the time, of course, she's trying to avoid the one man she actually wants, the Earl of Kynaston, with whom she regularly banters. It's adorable. The novel does lose a wee bit of steam towards the end as a scandal breaks and the Earl of Kynaston's sad (but realistic) back story are revealed, as the novel isn't quite as humorous on that end.

Two more fun things about this book: Ariana's really tall and the side ship features a handsome man and a woman deemed plain. I always love when romances do something different.

I really, really enjoyed this one, and I'm going to have to try some more Beverley, which apparently will mean going back to romance novels from the early 1990s, since it looks like she just has those two series otherwise. Oh, and for those who have read them, this book ties into Company of Rogues, I believe, though I did not feel lost not having read it.

I really enjoyed Ariana and Kynaston's story! Years ago, Ariana had feelings for Kynaston when she overheard him saying mean things about her. Her heart was broken. Now that she is ready to get married, her sponsor has put him on the list of eligible bachelors. Ariana crosses his name off immediately, but as they spend time together, she sees a different side to him. Could he be the one to give her the HEA she is after?

I really enjoyed Beverley's last book. I was so sad to hear of her passing...

Ariana decides that her brother must marry to secure an heir so she bargains with him to marry by January if she can find a groom by the end of the year. ARC from NetGally.

I got through part of this and just had trouble getting into it. Quite a while after, I picked it up again and skimmed through the rest. I found it slow-moving and was bored throughout. The plot was pretty slim, and the romance was hardly developed at all and there was no chemistry. Any hints of conflict were quickly dealt with and glossed over after being built up as huge issues. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this.

I enjoyed reading this one, but it also made me sad since the author has passed away. I liked how the heroine was very focused on her goal and went about pursuing it. She made me laugh, and then I would be sad again, since Jo Beverley has passed away. It was a good book.

Review: Historical romance is one of my favorite genres to read. I like pretending what it would be like to live in that time period. I’m only thinking in terms of fiction, I wouldn’t want to live in a time period where women are second class citizens and toothpaste, and deodorant hasn’t even been thought up yet.

I was intrigued when I saw that this book was available for review and I had high hopes as I love historical. Unfortunately, I thought that the story was a bit slow and I had a hard time liking Ariana because she was so bossy and I felt that she didn’t take other people’s feelings into consideration. She only thought of herself and how she would feel and she only thought of her circumstances.

Lord Kynaston was a very complex character as his back story is revealed to the reader very slowly so understanding him and what makes him tick was tricky.

I felt pity for Ariana, and began to like her as I got to know her because I discovered aspects about her that the reader didn’t know which formed who she is and the way she acts. I believe Ariana had the same experience that I as the reader did as she got to know Lord Kynaston. She had some definite opinions about him when the reader is introduced to both of them. I liked that fact that she grew as a character and was able to form new opinions and not be stuck in her thinking and be stubborn about her viewpoints.

I really liked the secondary charters, Ariana’s brother and her maid Ethel. They were both entertaining and Ethel’s no non-sense outlook on life was really great.

The story did pick up and I was glad that there was a happy ending for Ariana and Lord Kynaston as well as for her brother and her maid Ethel.

Enjoyed the premise of the story. Afraid for her family's future, Lady Ariana pushed her brother to marry and secure an heir, but he pushes back. If she thinks marriage is so easy, why doesn't she do it? Taking up the challenge, Ariana leaves her cozy and quiet country to return to London and secure a husband, something she failed to do during her "prime." Immediately, she's put on the path of the man she wanted as a teenager, and she finds him haunted by his own demons.

Three stars because the setting is rich, and the plot is wonderful, but the characters fall short. There's little chemistry between the hero and heroine, we're told more than shown the attraction between the two. There is little humorous situations that make historical romance so great, and the heroine is very unforgiving and a little unlikeable.

Ariana and her brother Norris have an agreement that each will be married in the very near future, and thus the fun begins. A delightful Regency tale.

Ariana, a young woman who is past the normal marrying age, is worried her younger brother, an earl, will die without an heir and they’ll lose the family home. She challenges him to marry and he says he’ll find a wife if she first finds a husband. She agrees to this bargain and sets out to find a husband.

There was so much going on, with scandals in papers, running off to elope, brothers who don't want to marry, trips to London, and attempts to marry off an almost spinster. In fact there was so much going on that Ariana and Kynaston got lost. And I got bored.

I didn't like their initial meeting in this book, and I thought that the attraction felt forced at first, which was a little hard to get past. I also felt that Ariana’s grudge was ridiculous. I don’t think that there was enough romance between the characters. I needed more between the characters. More dialogue, more main character interactions, more show rather than tell, more reasons why we should like this hero and heroine. So this kinda just fell flat for me.

Ariana and Kynaston had the potential to be a lot more interesting than they ultimately were, which is sad because there was potential.

Middle of the road. I usually enjoy her work but this one just didn't seem to have much behind it. Fine beach read.

I thought this one was just OK. I didn't love it. Although the main hero was an inst resting character, I found Ariana a little annoying. I also didn't like the story line where she tries to get her brother to marry, and then decides to pick a husband from a list when he refuses. There were some bright spots in the book, but for the most part I found it just average.

MERELY A MARRIAGE is set in the world of Jo Beverley's Company of Rogues series without actually being a book in that series. In this story, the death of Princess Charlotte gets the main characters obsessing over and agonizing over thoughts of marriage and childbirth. This book also focuses on the many annoyances of having to deal with high society and the gossip that permeates it. Lady Ariana Boxstall and the Earl of Kynaston fall hard for each other, going against their better judgment and public opinion.

Lady Ariana Boxstall is determined to get her brother to the altar, even if it means she is forced to take the plunge herself first. Ariana has an extremely strong personality to fit her statuesque frame. Jo Beverley does a wonderful job of showing the reader Ariana's secret self-doubts and insecurities that make her more than just a mercenary aristocrat. Knowing that Ariana has sensitivities as well as a spine of steel makes her more three-dimensional. This is a great book for readers who enjoy stories with a hero and heroine who have a past and a slightly antagonistic relationship with each other initially. Kynaston seems like something of an enigma to me in the beginning of this story. I couldn't quite make out what his true feelings for Ariana are. I'm thankful that Jo Beverley decides to tell MERELY A MARRIAGE from alternating perspectives since the two main characters keep their true feelings close to the vest.

The supporting characters in MERELY A MARRIAGE make this book truly exceptional. I like shrewd female characters who are not easily ruffled, and this story has those in abundance. Ariana's sturdy companion Ethel Burgis and Kynaston's sister Phyllis may be worlds apart in some ways, but I love their pragmatism and intelligence. Mr. Edgar Peake is another gem of a character. Peake's quirkiness, and a keen eye for human foibles as well as unique collectibles, make him a good friend for this hero and heroine to have.

MERELY A MARRIAGE is part Regency romance and part Shakespearean comedy. The sexual tension between Ariana and Kynaston through much of this story is intense. The secondary romance in MERELY A MARRIAGE helps spur the story and relationship between Ariana and Kynaston forward. I love a good epilogue, so I find it very satisfying that Jo Beverley follows up on loose ends at the conclusion of this book and checks in with favorite characters. This book has the witty dialogue and multifaceted characters I look for in a historical romance.

For me the merits of this book lie more with the writing and the author's knowledge of the minutia of the Regency world . The plot itself begins strong, the romance between the main characters is slow and without the passion you would usually expect. When their romance finally moves forward it is in a idealistic fashion, and with a lack of sensuality that will disappoint some readers. In general it is a strong book with a few faults.

Reading Jo's last book was a bittersweet experience. It's quintessential 'Jo Beverley' - very emotional, with strong characters and such a lovely historical and authentic feel to the writing. I have been a fan from her early books and I remain a fan to this last one. Brava, Jo.....

It breaks my heart that this was a DNF. I loved Jo Beverley's previous works but somehow failed to connect to the characters.

The year is 1817, and England is in unprecedented mourning following the death of Princess Charlotte and her still-born son. For twenty-five-year-old Lady Ariana Boxstall, the young princess’s death brings a fresh awareness of mortality and the issue of succession. Ariana’s concern is not for herself, but for her younger brother, Norris. Their father’s death two years earlier leaves only Norris between the earldom and their father’s younger brother, a mean-tempered, morally corrupt man addicted to gambling and to alcohol. Ariana pressures Norris, a Corinthian attracted to risky sports, to marry and beget an heir, the sooner the better. Norris is uninterested in marriage at such a young age, but to end his sister’s harangues, he agrees that if she weds by the year’s end, he will wed by the end of January. He believes Ariana, whose memories of her unhappy debut season are still vivid even eight years later, will not return to London where the field for husband hunters is more promising even in November than it is in Hampshire.

Ariana is more determined than her brother realizes, and soon she and her mother set out for London. They begin their visit as guests of a cousin, the Dowager Countess of Cawle, a leader of society. Ariana, who is almost as tall as her six foot plus brother, is overwhelmingly aware that her height, which has earned her the title of “Hippolyta” (queen of the Amazons), is a handicap, but she is far more self-assured at twenty-five than she was at seventeen. She is confident that her dowry and bloodlines will attract candidates for her hand, and she intends to make sure the husband she chooses will march her in height. Lady Cawle understands this criterion and when she presents Ariana with a list of possible husbands, she vets them for “rank, fortune, availability for marriage, and their height.” To Ariana’s dismay, Lady Cawle’s list includes her nephew the Earl of Kynaston, who won and broke the heart of the younger Ariana.

Because Kynaston too is a guest of the dowager countess, he an Ariana are thrown into each other’s company. Circumstantial evidence and a propensity to jump to conclusions lead Ariana to conclude that he is a bankrupt drunkard. She uses her erroneous ideas to argue herself out of her persistent attraction to Kynaston, who is as handsome—and as tall—as ever, and into believing that one of the others on the list will make a suitable husband. But not one of them truly suits her. Kynaston is just as eager to deny his attraction to Ariana, although his reasons for avoiding her are a closely guarded secret for much of the novel. It will take revelation and a crisis to propel this couple toward their HEA.

Merely a Marriage is set in Beverley’s Rogues’ world, a world Beverley introduced to her readers with An Arranged Marriage in 1991. This book is the eighteenth story set in that world, and it is Jo Beverley’s final novel. Fans of the series will be pleased to spot several connections to the Rogues and their relatives in this last book. I especially enjoyed the cameos of Hal Beaumont, Lady Cawle’s godson, and his actress wife, Blanche Hardcastle, whose story arcs through early Rogues books, and of Ariana’s friend the Viscountess Faringay, the former Lady Hermione Merryhew, from Too Dangerous for a Lady (2015) and Viscount Dauntry, the hero of The Viscount Needs a Wife (2016), whom Ariana briefly considers as a potential husband.

It is perhaps not surprising that this novel, written in the final months of the author’s life, is laden with references to death. Paramount, of course, is the death of the heir to England’s throne. The death of Ariana’s beloved father and of Kynaston’s cherished young wife are significant to the plot, and the grief of both lead characters, particularly Kynaston, is intensified by the national mourning that follows the death of Princess Charlotte. It should be noted, however, that the novel ends with a wedding at Easter, the season of resurrection, and a boom of babies soon follows. Life goes on, and happiness is possible for those who survive.

Ariana and Kynaston are interesting characters, but they are not always sympathetic. Some readers will be disturbed by Ariana’s single-mindedness and her reasoning, which moves past the pragmatic to coldness at times. Kynaston may seem less off-putting, but the reader’s knowledge of him is limited because Ariana is the point-of-view character. The amount of time the reader spends in Ariana’s head may make the pace of the story feel slow to some. Jo Beverley’s last book may not be her best, but its historical resonance, its thematic complexity, and the characters that linger in the reader’s memory earn the novel a place in this beloved author’s rich legacy.
Reviewed by Janga for The Romance Dish

This is a lively Regency tale, with a charming heroine, a captivating hero, and lots of twists and turns in the plot. It may take a few liberties with the manners of the day, but overall it is a fitting final book for an author of historical romances.

Lady Ariana Boxstall tells her brother she’ll marry if he will to keep their family home out of the hands of the uncle who will destroy everything if her brother dies before having an heir. But finding someone she can marry is difficult-not only can he not repel her personally, but he has to at least match her in height. At six feet herself, finding a tall man without overwhelming liabilities is a trial.

And one of the few potentially eligible husbands, Titus, the Earl of Kynaston, broke Ariana’s heart when she met him during her first visit to town 8 years ago. Now he appears to be a drunken wastrel-but things aren’t always what they seem.

Can Ariana find the truth about the Earl’s situation -and deal with the fallout from that truth?

I liked the fact that Ariana overcame her youthful heartbreak to become a strong, clear-headed woman and that Titus simply couldn’t resist her, as hard as he tried. Some of the interactions between these two are where the accuracy of the time period break down-they would have been forced to marry long before they came to the conclusion they should, but otherwise, this was a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of the aristocracy of England in the early 1800s.

It is an honor and a privilege to write about beloved author Jo Beverley’s final novel, Merely a Marriage. It is set in Regency London, the primary site of her Rogue world, which is so poignant for me since my first Jo Beverley was An Arranged Marriage, Nicolas and Eleanor’s story. Nicholas is King Rogue, not that knowledge of Beverley’s earlier books is necessary to enjoy Merely a Marriage.

Lady Ariana Boxstall is a statuesque red-head, intelligent and forceful, not in the least shy about pushing and prodding for what she wants. What she wants, in the wake of the tragic death in childbirth of Princess Charlotte, is for her brother Norris, the young Earl of Boxstall, to marry with all due haste and get his new wife with child. Ariana cannot bear to think of a fatal accident befalling her athletic younger brother before he is married, particularly since the heir to the earldom is Uncle Paul, a disgraceful sot. Norris is enjoying being a bachelor and emphatically rejects Ariana’s advice. She won’t let up, however, so he agrees…with the proviso that she marry first.

Eight years earlier Ariana made her debut in London—the experience was so painful she has remained in the country ever since. Reluctantly Ariana agrees to Norris’s terms and she and her mother decamp to London. Her mother states the obvious.

“Go where there’s the greatest concentration of gentlemen, dear.” When Ariana frowned a question, her mother added, “Go to Town.”

“To Town?”

“It’s not darkest Africa,” her mother said, with an unusually tart edge. “November’s not the most fashionable time in London, and there’s the pall of mourning, but there will be a greater selection of tall, eligible men from which to choose.”

“But ...”

But Ariana remembered being stared at, and being the butt of remarks and even jokes, when all she’d wanted was to be overlooked. Given her height, hardly anyone ever overlooked her.

Ariana and her mother stay with the Dowager Countess of Cawle, an aristocrat who is greatly respected and feared by the Ton. In Jo Beverley’s words, “The Dowager Countess of Cawle is a recurring character brought in to use her social influence, being connected to Rogue Hal Beaumont.” The Dowager Countess is also the aunt of the man who stole and broke Ariana’s hearts, years earlier, the Earl of Kynaston. At the time, he had been “the godlike darling of the beau monde.” Ariana lost her heart to him when “he’d played on a lute, singing an Elizabethan love song” but when she overheard him speaking cruelly about her younger, gawky self: “And let’s not forget the big-footed Boxstall longshanks,” it crushed her heart, “sending her fleeing back to Hampshire.”

Lady Cawle, drawing on her vast knowledge of the Ton, prepares a list of potential suitors, and shares some pithy advice.

“I sent you a list of tall gentlemen, Ariana, but consider temperament as well as height. Looks fade, but temperament is for life, and often intensifies with age. The charmingly impetuous young man can become an erratic disaster. The romantically protective can become a tyrant.”

Inevitably, the first gentleman Ariana encounters is the Earl of Kynaston, when she wanders into the library to read the morning paper. She sees a man clutching the back of a chair for balance. Horrified, Ariana thinks, “Was he drunk? At eleven in the morning?” When she sees deep blue eyes, she recognizes him from the portrait in Lady Cawle’s small drawing room. The earl recognizes her as well and remembers their dance years earlier.

“You’ve improved.”

Some buried part of her still stirred in foolish hope, and that broke her restraint. “As you have not, my lord” You are as arrogant as ever, and a drunkard as well. I recommend you find your bed, wherever it is.”

“So you do remember me.” He came toward her then, weaving only slightly, his words becoming clearer, perhaps along with his wits? “Will you steer me to my bed, Lady Ariana?”

Ariana is no frail vessel and she threatens to hit Lord Kynaston if he comes any closer. Which he does. Whacking him with a newspaper does little damage, but the chastened nobleman comes to his senses.

“My apologies,” he said, regaining his balance and perhaps sobered. He stood straight and aimed those beautiful eyes at her, full of sorrow. “Forgive me my sins?”

Her heart did something odd, something only seventeen-year-old hearts should do.

Since Kynaston is staying with his aunt, Lady Cawle tasks him with accompanying Lady Ariana to Ton events, which leads him to vet the gentlemen with whom Ariana is contemplating marriage. Unsurprisingly, he, and Ariana, discover that each and every gentleman has a fatal flaw. Ariana is distrustful of Kynaston and fights her feeling of attraction to him fiercely but they are meant to be together. Even though Ariana repeatedly rejects Kynaston’s assistance, he says he “wouldn’t want to see you unhappy.”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“In the future.”

“I won’t be unhappy in the future. Please, my lord …”

He took a step closer, cradled her head in his hands, and kissed her. Shock dissolved in an instant under a wash of pure pleasure. And satisfaction. She’d wanted this.

Lady Ariana and Kynaston lead each other a merry dance before they bow to the inevitable. This Regency Beatrice and Benedict are mad for each other, confirming the lessons Ariana’s scholarly father taught her: that “love was a form of madness and, if thwarted, fuel for tragedy and destruction.” Happily they overcome all the obstacles in their path.

Jo Beverley will never be forgotten in the romance community. Heroes and Heartbreakers’ Cheryl Sneed wrote a beautiful farewell after Beverley’s passing: read it and then re-read the many JoBevs that have given you pleasure over the years.