Tag: book reviews

When You Wish Upon a Rogue by Anna Bennett
My Rating:
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: May 26, 2020
Formats: eBook ($8), Paperback ($6)

When You Wish Upon a Rogue is book #3 in Anna Bennet’s Debutante Diaries series (see my review of book #2). Like the previous entry, the pacing in which the two main characters’ relationship grew was done well. Also like the previous entry, the circumstances that thrusts them together is too far-fetched, which seemed unnecessary since they are both in the same social circle.

Miss Sophie Kendell must marry for money, not love, to save her family. She’s agreed to marry a marquess, Lord Charles Singleton, in two months time, a situation she’s unhappy with but resolved to do. Henry Reese, the Earl of Warshire (who is referred to as “Reese” throughout the book), is plagued with the grief of losing his older brother and the circumstances that arose when he left the war to take over the earldom. When Sophie, who runs the Debutante Underground society, seeks out a new, suitable location for its growing numbers, she meets Reese and though it’s a rocky start, she affects him in a way he hasn’t experienced in a long time.

She helps him fall asleep.

That’s the premise that brings Reese to seek out Sophie again—a request to, at least once a week, help him sleep. Not sleep together in a sexual way, but to offer her presence so that Reese can simply evade the nightmares and feel like a person once again, however briefly. Like I said, it’s far-fetched, but it allows the two to spend time together and get to know each other.

The story has a lovely connection with flowers. They become an integral part to building their relationship and offer an organic element to how it builds over time. Reese is cunning and tenacious, growing as a character to work past, or at least with, his demons. Sophie isn’t a shy miss, takes her married friends’ advice, and was both forthcoming and cautious about the realities of her and Reese’s situation early on. It was refreshing to see Reese respect her boundaries even as their feeling grew.

When You Wish Upon a Rogue takes you on a romantic journey through Sophie and Reese. It’s a story that reminds us that not all is lost, even if the odds seem against you. The book is a fast read that will sweep you into their little corner of London and leave you feeling warm inside. It is part of the Debutante Diaries series, but can be read as a standalone.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Note: I have additional end-of-book spoiler commentary on my Goodreads review (since there’s no tag to hide those comments here). I suggest avoiding it prior to reading the book unless you want the resolution to the story completely spoiled.

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Gone With the Rogue by Amelia Grey
My Rating:
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: April 28, 2020
Formats: eBook, Paperback

Julia Fairbright, widowed following her husband’s death at sea a few years before, desires freedom for herself and her son, Chatwyn, yet lives in fear of her powerful father-in-law. The duke threatens to separate Julia from her son if she doesn’t follow his stringent rules—but she uncovers a secret that may give her the independence she seeks.

Garrett Stockton didn’t come back to London to fall in love, but a chance encounter with Julia in the park changes everything. Her independent spirit calls to him in a way that his life on the sea never has. In a city where he could never see a future, he begins to envision a life, a home… more. But first he must convince Julia that he’s here to stay, and assist in her quest to break free of the duke.

Gone With the Rogue charmed me with the build-up to Julia and Garrett’s relationship as well as the way that Julia was fiercely independent. Her emotions have been trampled on for years, and she bursts free on each page. It was exciting watching how she tackled one thing after another, whether it was something as simple as freeing a butterfly net or as complex as unraveling her desires and allowing herself to take a chance on love.

The book was quite thorough with its historical details—at times to a fault. I found myself skipping over the occasional paragraph where things (such as the customary habits of gentlemen of the times, etc) were described in excruciating detail, and didn’t feel like that detracted from my enjoyment of the book at all. Those parts pulled me out of the story, so it was easier to skip to where I would stay engaged.

Julia and Garrett’s story is one of change and acceptance. It’s full of intrigue and daring. We know who the villain is and we root for our hero and heroine to succeed in thwarting him. They make a wonderful couple and it was a joy seeing them work for that happily-ever-after.

With the real world in turmoil right now, I think we should all embrace every shred of joy we can get.

Gone With the Rogue is out now and available in eBook and paperback formats.

Side note: There was one interesting word I noted being used a lot in Gone With the Rogue. It’s a word that doesn’t bother me personally, but I recall it being ranked the most disliked word when one of my BA English courses was discussing etymology: moist. Instead of licking her lips, Julia was moistening them… and so on. It wasn’t a lot, but enough for me to notice. So if this word makes you cringe, be prepared to do so on nine separate occasions.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Highland Sword by May McGoldrick
My Rating:
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: March 31, 2020
Formats: eBook, Audiobook, Paperback

Morrigan Drummond vows to see that Sir Rupert Burney, a spy, will pay for his past sins. When she spots him in the Highlands she seizes the opportunity—only to have a riotous meeting with a renowned barrister, Aiden Grant. Aiden needs Burney’s secrets to save the lives of two men… and does not need a vengeful woman scuttling his pursuit of justice.

After their tumultuous meeting, the pair meet again within the walls of Dalmigavie Castle. Morrigan is unhappy at first about Aiden invading her home, but the barrister is an honored guest of the laird. He makes her feel things she never wanted to feel. Aiden also may be the key to moving on from her shadowed past.

Morrigan was a difficult character to connect with for the first half of the book, because even if you pick up on some clues, she doesn’t reveal much about who she is and why until she opens up regarding her past. Aiden was more straightforward and was guided by his morals. He knew that Morrigan was holding back, yet was patient and didn’t push. I admired his tenacity for defending his clients as well as the care he exhibited for Morrigan.

The duo’s relationship had time to breath and grow. Were there feelings early on? Of course. But they took the time to learn who each other was long before committing themselves to a relationship. Morrigan had additional hurdles to overcome, and this is when the beauty of her resilience shined through. She fully came into herself and that was the moment I knew we were seeing the true Morrigan—the one who could see a future for herself.

There was one subplot I could’ve done without in this book: the caricatures. They were an interesting opener to Morrigan, but ended up being a weird tool that was employed only when the characters needed an excuse to go certain places. The story had enough going on without this addition.

Morrigan and Aiden’s story is third in the series but can be read as a standalone. There are a couple oddball chapters with Cinaed as the narrator which seem to exist only to tie an overarching series story to the previous book and, presumably, the next. Not reading the previous books didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this story at all—the author does a great job at explaining previously established relationships and events.

Highland Sword is out now and available in eBook, audiobook, and paperback formats.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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