A Rogue By Any Other Name

A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

After losing absolutely everything on a turn of a card, the Marquess of Bourne disappeared from society.  Ten years later he has re-emerged as a cold-hearted, self-made gentleman and, in an ironic twist, part-owner of the most exclusive gaming hell in London.  When he hears that part of his inheritance is now linked to the dowry of his childhood best friend, he will stop at nothing to have it back.

Lady Penelope Marbury has had a rough few seasons.  Eight to be exact.  After her betrothed leaves her, quite publicly, for a scandalous love match, she has had to endure eight long seasons of watching her sisters being married off in hasty business arrangements while no one has so much as glanced her way.  Now, her father has attached a valuable piece of property to her dowry and she braces herself for floods of gold diggers to descend.  But she is no longer resigned to accept a loveless, society-endorsed marriage to an acceptable partner.  Instead she begins to dare to dream of more.  And in dreaming of more she finds herself in the arms of a man she has loved for years.  Can she trust that he loves her back, or is he just using her as a means to an end?

There is a reason this one is a RITA winner.  Ms. MacLean, who found success with her "Love by Numbers" series, hit it completely out of the park with this follow-up series, set in the same world.  Fans of the former series will delight in the recognition of some of the more prominent names, especially since the heroine is the spurned fiancee of the Duke of Leighton, hero of Eleven Scandals.  I am glad that Penelope didn't remain "a grape" in the literary subconscious.

The beginning of the book was masterful in setting up sympathy for Bourne, because if we didn't already feel bad for him, then there would be no hope for any kind feelings for him after some of the things he does later.  MacLean manages to take a desperate "loser" and turn him into a cold, almost cruel, alpha-male.  He is unforgiving, and relentless in his quest for vengeance.  His only redeeming quality late in the book comes in the form of his desire to guard Penelope from the realities of The Fallen Angel.

I saw a lot of how I wanted to be in Penelope.  The girl who wanted to break the chains of convention, have adventures, and live a life of love and passion.  I think every girl wants to be that at some point in their life, so Penelope really is "every girl".  My only irritation with her was how she kept wavering on her trust of Bourne and the way she treated Mrs. Worth at the beginning.

As always, for me at least, the make or break is the way the supporting characters are set up.  This can be tricky with a book that starts a continuation series.  Readers are familiar with some characters, but new characters need to be introduced.  Of course, the obvious supporting characters are the other three owners of The Fallen Angel:  Cross, Temple, and Chase.  I wanted to feel more connected to the supporting characters, I really did, but I found them more peripheral than supporting in this case.  It might be due to Bourne's somewhat "loner" personality, I don't know, but I was left a bit wanting on this element.  *Just my opinion - PLEASE DON'T KILL ME SARAH MACLEAN FANS!!!*

Overall, I loved the book.  It was my first experience with this author, so I may be overly critical.  After all, as I pointed out above, it won the RITA for Best Historical Romance of 2012.  All Regency fans need to put this book on their "must-read" lists, and while your at it, just add Sarah MacLean to your "must-buy" list.

 Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Sex – 4 

Language – 3

Storyline – 4

Overall – 4