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melodicfate's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
I’m always on the lookout for more historical romance, especially those that feature characters with disabilities. So it’s no surprise that I wanted to check out this book, since the hero was blind. When I was granted an arc, I was very excited to see what kind of story the author would tell, and what I would think of how the author portrayed the hero’s disability.
The characters are what make this novel memorable. Cedric, the aforementioned blind hero, was a very sympathetic character. Due to his parents’ deaths years ago, he had raised his two sisters and taken on is role as a viscount. Adding to all this, Cedric got involved in an accident while trying to save his sister, and consequentially lost his sight. Therefore, I definitely felt bad for him when we first met him. However, Cedric was also very devilish. He was pretty rakish and charming, and I found that it kept him from being too much of an angsty hero.
Anne, the heroine, was different. When the novel opened, she was suffering with grief after losing her father a week before. But I really liked Anne, because she did whatever she had to in order to avoid having to marry someone who wanted her only for her money. The fact that Anne was interested in horses was something I very much appreciated, especially since she wasn’t a physically weak English society lady. Her compassionate nature, as well as the fact that she never looked down on Cedric for his blindness, definitely won me over to Anne’s side.
Then, we have the rest of the League of Rogues. I really liked seeing a group of men be really close friends. I haven’t read many stories where the men were the close-knit group of friends and self-made family. There are two books before this one in the series, so I did miss some of the backstory about a few of the rogues. But I liked all of them that I saw. Especially Jonathan, a man who thought he was a servant for most of his life until he found out that he was actually an aristocrat.
The plot of the book involved one of my favorite tropes, marriage of convenience. Due to her father’s passing, Anne was being pursued by various fortune hunters, as well as a man who had physically harmed her in the past. Because of this, Anne went to Cedric and asked him to propose marriage to her. It was interesting to read about, as the two of them had previously met and liked each other’s looks, but then hadn’t done anything about it. So it was a bit of an unrequited love romance as well. Those typically don’t work well for me, but in this case, I did feel their feelings for one another. In addition to the romance, there was a bit of a revenge plot. Before the opening of the book, Cedric had won some mares from an Arabian slave trader, and he wanted them back, as well as Cedric for a slave. So there was love, friendship, and some exciting action toward the end of the novel.
In the end, I liked this story. Anne and Cedric made a very good couple, and I am a bit intrigued by of the previous couples featured in books one and two of this series. There were some times when the story would switch to a side character’s point of view, and I did get a bit bored. The characters weren’t particularly new in the genre, however I still found them quite likable. I wasn’t really fond of how things ended with Cedric, but it didn’t take away from the story too much. Overall, this book was an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon. I recommend it if you like roguish heroes, heroines who are willing to take action to protect themselves, and stories about loyal friends and family.
*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
I’m always on the lookout for more historical romance, especially those that feature characters with disabilities. So it’s no surprise that I wanted to check out this book, since the hero was blind. When I was granted an arc, I was very excited to see what kind of story the author would tell, and what I would think of how the author portrayed the hero’s disability.
The characters are what make this novel memorable. Cedric, the aforementioned blind hero, was a very sympathetic character. Due to his parents’ deaths years ago, he had raised his two sisters and taken on is role as a viscount. Adding to all this, Cedric got involved in an accident while trying to save his sister, and consequentially lost his sight. Therefore, I definitely felt bad for him when we first met him. However, Cedric was also very devilish. He was pretty rakish and charming, and I found that it kept him from being too much of an angsty hero.
Anne, the heroine, was different. When the novel opened, she was suffering with grief after losing her father a week before. But I really liked Anne, because she did whatever she had to in order to avoid having to marry someone who wanted her only for her money. The fact that Anne was interested in horses was something I very much appreciated, especially since she wasn’t a physically weak English society lady. Her compassionate nature, as well as the fact that she never looked down on Cedric for his blindness, definitely won me over to Anne’s side.
Then, we have the rest of the League of Rogues. I really liked seeing a group of men be really close friends. I haven’t read many stories where the men were the close-knit group of friends and self-made family. There are two books before this one in the series, so I did miss some of the backstory about a few of the rogues. But I liked all of them that I saw. Especially Jonathan, a man who thought he was a servant for most of his life until he found out that he was actually an aristocrat.
The plot of the book involved one of my favorite tropes, marriage of convenience. Due to her father’s passing, Anne was being pursued by various fortune hunters, as well as a man who had physically harmed her in the past. Because of this, Anne went to Cedric and asked him to propose marriage to her. It was interesting to read about, as the two of them had previously met and liked each other’s looks, but then hadn’t done anything about it. So it was a bit of an unrequited love romance as well. Those typically don’t work well for me, but in this case, I did feel their feelings for one another. In addition to the romance, there was a bit of a revenge plot. Before the opening of the book, Cedric had won some mares from an Arabian slave trader, and he wanted them back, as well as Cedric for a slave. So there was love, friendship, and some exciting action toward the end of the novel.
In the end, I liked this story. Anne and Cedric made a very good couple, and I am a bit intrigued by of the previous couples featured in books one and two of this series. There were some times when the story would switch to a side character’s point of view, and I did get a bit bored. The characters weren’t particularly new in the genre, however I still found them quite likable. I wasn’t really fond of how things ended with Cedric, but it didn’t take away from the story too much. Overall, this book was an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon. I recommend it if you like roguish heroes, heroines who are willing to take action to protect themselves, and stories about loyal friends and family.
sadie487's review
My experience with this book:
• sweet a new audio book at the library! Never tried this author before yay why not?!
•oh....doesn't seem very well researched...oh well...fluffy cupcake of a book here I come- those are great too!
• why do all the metaphors for love/relationships involve some form of waging war/ hunting/ prey/ domination/ submission weirdness... please try to use some other ones this is getting creepy...unless this just took a twist and is now going to go down a Dexter-like road ...crosses fingers...
•nope.
•the Hero is blind-that will be interesting to explore...Oh....comment about how the doctors don't know why he is blind... He will probably be getting his sight back....less interesting now
• oh I think the next book is going to be about that grumpy guy and his valet (is that a Mulan situation there or maybe some M/M romance ?)
•heroine's past abuser comes back to haunt her in her new marriage- husbands freaks out... Nope...I'm lemming this...
So I think I screwed up in picking this one to read at the moment- in a reading slump- sorry for the harsh review.
*For better reading enjoyment of this book you should probably read the first two in the series- characters were slightly hard to keep straight & also because they had similar names (Godric/ Cedric in audiobook format is meh). Also take a page out of the wonderful Bonnie Burton's book and imagine the Hero as a werewolf- maybe that would have taken the squick factor down on all of his "hunting" his "prey"(love?) down stuff.
sadie487's review against another edition
My experience with this book:
• sweet a new audio book at the library! Never tried this author before yay why not?!
•oh....doesn't seem very well researched...oh well...fluffy cupcake of a book here I come- those are great too!
• why do all the metaphors for love/relationships involve some form of waging war/ hunting/ prey/ domination/ submission weirdness... please try to use some other ones this is getting creepy...unless this just took a twist and is now going to go down a Dexter-like road ...crosses fingers...
•nope.
•the Hero is blind-that will be interesting to explore...Oh....comment about how the doctors don't know why he is blind... He will probably be getting his sight back....less interesting now
• oh I think the next book is going to be about that grumpy guy and his valet (is that a Mulan situation there or maybe some M/M romance ?)
•heroine's past abuser comes back to haunt her in her new marriage- husbands freaks out... Nope...I'm lemming this...
So I think I screwed up in picking this one to read at the moment- in a reading slump- sorry for the harsh review.
*For better reading enjoyment of this book you should probably read the first two in the series- characters were slightly hard to keep straight & also because they had similar names (Godric/ Cedric in audiobook format is meh). Also take a page out of the wonderful Bonnie Burton's book and imagine the Hero as a werewolf- maybe that would have taken the squick factor down on all of his "hunting" his "prey"(love?) down stuff.
barbie9090's review
5.0
Really cool series and cedric is completely romantic in a flirty way. His relationship with Anne is flirty and funny. Makes you wanna jump up and down. Couldn’t wipe the smile from my face😂
jennjuniper's review
3.0
Frankly I’m embarrassed for enjoying this so much, but I stayed with it because I’ve developed a massive soft spot for the characters and will probably end up reading more in this series. The plot itself was full nonsense and possibly slightly offensive, but, ah well.
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