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books_and_more_books_byt's review against another edition
5.0
About a Rogue is the first book in the new series Desperately Seeking Duke and it was a hit! It had an interesting storyline, wonderful characters, and it was easy to read. The series is based the Duchess of Carlyle had lost a son and did not think the potential heirs were up to the task of taking care of the Carlyle heritage. Therefore, she takes steps to ensure they can.
Bianca Tate’s family had owned Perusia, a manufacturer of pottery for several generations. When her father announces he had arranged a marriage between her sister, Cathy, and Mr. Max St. James, Bianca could not believe it. She helped Cathy to elope before the wedding, never dreaming she would become the bride.
Max was impressed by Perusia and he saw an opportunity for a successful business partnership. Max was a known gambler, but he had contacts in Society that would help him improve the business. He agreed to the change in bride knowing that was the only way he could be a part of Perusia.
Max knew Bianca thought the worse of him but he was determined to win her affection and respect. Bianca might have married Max but she had no plans of their marriage ever being real. Bianca is impressed with Max’s ideas to grow the company and slowly comes to know and admire him. I really enjoyed the book and I cannot wait for the next book. The ending of this book leads you right into the next book.
Bianca Tate’s family had owned Perusia, a manufacturer of pottery for several generations. When her father announces he had arranged a marriage between her sister, Cathy, and Mr. Max St. James, Bianca could not believe it. She helped Cathy to elope before the wedding, never dreaming she would become the bride.
Max was impressed by Perusia and he saw an opportunity for a successful business partnership. Max was a known gambler, but he had contacts in Society that would help him improve the business. He agreed to the change in bride knowing that was the only way he could be a part of Perusia.
Max knew Bianca thought the worse of him but he was determined to win her affection and respect. Bianca might have married Max but she had no plans of their marriage ever being real. Bianca is impressed with Max’s ideas to grow the company and slowly comes to know and admire him. I really enjoyed the book and I cannot wait for the next book. The ending of this book leads you right into the next book.
blodeuedd's review
3.0
It did not take long to know where the drama and secrets would come from, and mostly I am all, what not speak up!? But, then it was explained and I understood, some secrets if told too soon will not be seen in the best light, even if to us they are nothing. So for once I had to agree with secret keeping.
Max is suddenly the heir to a Duke, but he is rake, and he needs to prove himself. In comes the Tate family and their pottery factory. There he can show that he is more than meets the eye. If he can only get the Tate daughter to marry him.
Ok so he kept a secret. Bianca despised him at once cos she saw him as a no good rogue that only wanted her for her money.
She argues, he is patient. He is falling, she thinks he is a scoundrel. He learns everything there is to know about their company. She looks at his well turned calves, wait what? Yes she is slowly melting by the sight of that.
I liked Max. He saw an opportunity. He had connections, they had money. And he liked her spirit. It was a fine dance they had
I liked the narrator. Good male and female voices. Good pace and I could easily fall into it
Max is suddenly the heir to a Duke, but he is rake, and he needs to prove himself. In comes the Tate family and their pottery factory. There he can show that he is more than meets the eye. If he can only get the Tate daughter to marry him.
Ok so he kept a secret. Bianca despised him at once cos she saw him as a no good rogue that only wanted her for her money.
She argues, he is patient. He is falling, she thinks he is a scoundrel. He learns everything there is to know about their company. She looks at his well turned calves, wait what? Yes she is slowly melting by the sight of that.
I liked Max. He saw an opportunity. He had connections, they had money. And he liked her spirit. It was a fine dance they had
I liked the narrator. Good male and female voices. Good pace and I could easily fall into it
kyeruhh's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked this book but I feel like it was missing something? It’s called About a Rouge so I was kind of expected the MMC to…be a rouge? But by the time the book starts he’d already been reformed off page, so it didn’t feel like there was much character development. The set up in the beginning wasn’t relevant at all either. I’m sure it’ll come into play more later in the series but for this one it didn’t tie into the plot at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
theravenqueen's review
4.0
Maximilian St. James, notorious rake and gambler has to clean up his act and take a wife for the chance at a dukedom. He picks the sweet and amiable Cathy Tate for his bride, the deal is quickly struck with her father, but when Cathy elopes, with the help of her sister, he's faced with a dilemma. Accept the offer of the fiery Bianca Tate in Cathy's absence or find another woman to marry. Expecting it would just be a marriage of convenience Max agrees, but quickly finds that his spirited bride is a smart and capable businesswoman to be admired. Can he convince her that their business-like marriage end up filled with love and unimaginable passion?
If you're looking for a historical that is relatively light-hearted, look no further. If you're looking for a historical with a calm and gentle rakish hero that doesn't exhibit the normal alpha characteristics of other heroes in the genre. Look no further. If you want a smart and fiery heroine and a slow burn patient romance. You get the idea.
I forgot how recommended this book, but it was well worth it. I'm going to be picking up more from this author because this was thoroughly entertaining. It fell just short of five stars for me because something was missing, I can't really put my finger on what exactly though it's no fault of the story. In spite of that, it was a satisfying read. I really loved how devoted Max was to Bianca and making sure that she would be the one who came to him, not the other way around. I feel this choice gave her more agency as a heroine than other romances where the hero is throwing himself at the heroine at every turn. There were glances and banter, which was really nice to see, but everything remained respectful.
Can't wait to continue on with the series and look into more of Caroline Linden's works.
If you're looking for a historical that is relatively light-hearted, look no further. If you're looking for a historical with a calm and gentle rakish hero that doesn't exhibit the normal alpha characteristics of other heroes in the genre. Look no further. If you want a smart and fiery heroine and a slow burn patient romance. You get the idea.
I forgot how recommended this book, but it was well worth it. I'm going to be picking up more from this author because this was thoroughly entertaining. It fell just short of five stars for me because something was missing, I can't really put my finger on what exactly though it's no fault of the story. In spite of that, it was a satisfying read. I really loved how devoted Max was to Bianca and making sure that she would be the one who came to him, not the other way around. I feel this choice gave her more agency as a heroine than other romances where the hero is throwing himself at the heroine at every turn. There were glances and banter, which was really nice to see, but everything remained respectful.
Can't wait to continue on with the series and look into more of Caroline Linden's works.
elemee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
tales_of_a_bookbug's review against another edition
4.0
About a Rogue is the third book that I've read from Caroline Linden and she's quickly becoming a favorite of mine! I'd been wanting to read this one ever since I came across the blurb and marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes!
After the Duke of Carlyle's brother(and heir) dies, his mother decides to summon the three distant relatives who are next in line to inherit the dukedom soon. She wants to make sure that the dukedom is passed on to someone who fits her criteria and will take good care of it. If they turn their lives around in six months and get married by then, they'll receive an annuity and be settled for a life. One of the candidates is Maximillian St. James, a rogue with a reputation that precedes him.
Max is determined to not let this opportunity slip by. So, he decides to marry Samuel Tate's younger daughter Cathy, as she and her sister Bianca will inherit the shares in their father's ceramics business.
On the other hand, Bianca is determined to see her sister be happy, so she helps Cathy elope and ends up taking her place at the altar in order to save the business. What starts off as a marriage of convenience, soon turns into something more when Max discovers that he's now got everything that he's wanted. All he has to do is make sure Bianca realizes the same!
After reading so many historical romance books in the past few weeks with arrogant, alpha heroes, it was quite refreshing to read about an ex-scoundrel who is actually honest and charming. I loved the playful banter between him and Bianca. He had his work cut out for him because she totally hated him at first!
Bianca sees him as an opportunist who has come along to take away her family business. So, it takes a while for her to see the man who is willing to put in the hardwork to improve the business and learn about it. Max is more encouraging than her father and her co-workers. He gives her the respect she deserves and listens to her ideas. In return, she also learns to see behind his facade and takes a chance on his future plans for the company.
It takes some time for them to move beyond the initial animosity and Max has to work hard to earn her trust. I loved the slow development of the relationship between them and it was done in a realistic manner. But, on the other hand, though I loved these two as individual characters, I didn't feel much chemistry between them beyond a light spark. They were perfect for each other, but I just felt as if there was something missing.
Also, Bianca was a little annoying at first with her intense hatred of Max. She wasn't even willing to give him a chance, but I'm glad that changed and she also grew as a character. The touch of drama with Max's secret wasn't really that much of a big deal in my opinion as Bianca handled it well, but I guess there wouldn't be much of a plot in a HR book if there isn't some drama at the very least! Lol!
In the end, this was a light and refreshing read with well-developed characters that I came to love! Plus, it's a great start to a new series and I'm very interested in finding out who will actually end up inheriting the dukedom! The colonel or the mysterious Frenchman?
Rating : 3.5 stars
*I was provided with an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
After the Duke of Carlyle's brother(and heir) dies, his mother decides to summon the three distant relatives who are next in line to inherit the dukedom soon. She wants to make sure that the dukedom is passed on to someone who fits her criteria and will take good care of it. If they turn their lives around in six months and get married by then, they'll receive an annuity and be settled for a life. One of the candidates is Maximillian St. James, a rogue with a reputation that precedes him.
Max is determined to not let this opportunity slip by. So, he decides to marry Samuel Tate's younger daughter Cathy, as she and her sister Bianca will inherit the shares in their father's ceramics business.
On the other hand, Bianca is determined to see her sister be happy, so she helps Cathy elope and ends up taking her place at the altar in order to save the business. What starts off as a marriage of convenience, soon turns into something more when Max discovers that he's now got everything that he's wanted. All he has to do is make sure Bianca realizes the same!
After reading so many historical romance books in the past few weeks with arrogant, alpha heroes, it was quite refreshing to read about an ex-scoundrel who is actually honest and charming. I loved the playful banter between him and Bianca. He had his work cut out for him because she totally hated him at first!
Bianca sees him as an opportunist who has come along to take away her family business. So, it takes a while for her to see the man who is willing to put in the hardwork to improve the business and learn about it. Max is more encouraging than her father and her co-workers. He gives her the respect she deserves and listens to her ideas. In return, she also learns to see behind his facade and takes a chance on his future plans for the company.
It takes some time for them to move beyond the initial animosity and Max has to work hard to earn her trust. I loved the slow development of the relationship between them and it was done in a realistic manner. But, on the other hand, though I loved these two as individual characters, I didn't feel much chemistry between them beyond a light spark. They were perfect for each other, but I just felt as if there was something missing.
Also, Bianca was a little annoying at first with her intense hatred of Max. She wasn't even willing to give him a chance, but I'm glad that changed and she also grew as a character. The touch of drama with Max's secret wasn't really that much of a big deal in my opinion as Bianca handled it well, but I guess there wouldn't be much of a plot in a HR book if there isn't some drama at the very least! Lol!
In the end, this was a light and refreshing read with well-developed characters that I came to love! Plus, it's a great start to a new series and I'm very interested in finding out who will actually end up inheriting the dukedom! The colonel or the mysterious Frenchman?
Rating : 3.5 stars
*I was provided with an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*