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justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Delightful, Love Is a Rogue is a nice, breezy historical romance with a classic class differences trope. The writing is charming without being corny (definitely reads more modern than historical), and on a more personal note it contains elements I enjoy being explored/featured in stories: bookish character, and anything to do with design (in this case the hero being a carpenter).
By no means is it a memorable historical romance; with its country estate vs. London setting, social class / sexist woes, and masked ball, Love Is a Rogue lands squarely in the familiar Regency historical romance territory, without injecting anything fresh or new. While I won't be rushing to seek out the next book in the series, whenever I need a low-angst, low-tension stories to reset my reading palate, I'll make sure to look into Lenora Bell's backlist.
Delightful, Love Is a Rogue is a nice, breezy historical romance with a classic class differences trope. The writing is charming without being corny (definitely reads more modern than historical), and on a more personal note it contains elements I enjoy being explored/featured in stories: bookish character, and anything to do with design (in this case the hero being a carpenter).
By no means is it a memorable historical romance; with its country estate vs. London setting, social class / sexist woes, and masked ball, Love Is a Rogue lands squarely in the familiar Regency historical romance territory, without injecting anything fresh or new. While I won't be rushing to seek out the next book in the series, whenever I need a low-angst, low-tension stories to reset my reading palate, I'll make sure to look into Lenora Bell's backlist.
llamalluv's review against another edition
5.0
Popsugar 2022: 32) A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page
Such a cute love story and it was nice to have the love match be between a high born lady and a tradesman.
Beatrice is a duke's daughter, and all her life she's been told that the only thing she's suitable for is to be a nobleman's wife. She struggles to make friends among the other young women of the ton because although she has a slight facial deformity (it's described as a palsy -- I'm imagining Bell's palsy like what Nancy Zieman had) she is viewed as real competition on the marriage mart because of her large dowry.
Although Ford was a descendant from a wealthy family, his grandfather had cut off his mother when she ran away with a tradesman (his father, who raised him to also be a carpenter) and he grew up without any of the advantages that otherwise would have allowed him to be an architect, the work for which he has a natural talent and love.
Beatrice inherits a bookshop from an aunt she'd never known existed, due to her being cut off by the family under circumstances similar to Ford's mother's disownment, and despite her mother's objections, decides to keep the property and have it repaired to be used as a club house for all her "non-traditionally inclined" female friends. She hires Ford to do the repairs, despite her own better judgement and kissing and shenanigans ensue.
Such a cute love story and it was nice to have the love match be between a high born lady and a tradesman.
Beatrice is a duke's daughter, and all her life she's been told that the only thing she's suitable for is to be a nobleman's wife. She struggles to make friends among the other young women of the ton because although she has a slight facial deformity (it's described as a palsy -- I'm imagining Bell's palsy like what Nancy Zieman had) she is viewed as real competition on the marriage mart because of her large dowry.
Although Ford was a descendant from a wealthy family, his grandfather had cut off his mother when she ran away with a tradesman (his father, who raised him to also be a carpenter) and he grew up without any of the advantages that otherwise would have allowed him to be an architect, the work for which he has a natural talent and love.
Beatrice inherits a bookshop from an aunt she'd never known existed, due to her being cut off by the family under circumstances similar to Ford's mother's disownment, and despite her mother's objections, decides to keep the property and have it repaired to be used as a club house for all her "non-traditionally inclined" female friends. She hires Ford to do the repairs, despite her own better judgement and kissing and shenanigans ensue.
brianne_k's review
3.0
*3.5/5*
This was cute. Will be be getting stories with our other lovely wallflowers?
Favourite line - She'd only managed to pry up one small wedge of timber. "Come loose, damn you despicable board!"
This was cute. Will be be getting stories with our other lovely wallflowers?
Favourite line - She'd only managed to pry up one small wedge of timber. "Come loose, damn you despicable board!"
boundbyemily's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Ableism, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny and Chronic illness
Minor: Medical trauma, War, and Bullying
patricia_anna's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This heroine is probably my favourite of Lenora's characters, and I really enjoyed the storyline. A little inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Good read!
books_and_more_books_byt's review
3.0
Love is a Rogue is the first book in the Wallflowers vs. Rogues series. The series looks promising and the book sounded great, but I was disappointed after reading this book. I had a hard time trying to stay focused long enough to finish the book. I normally love books by this author but this one seemed to drag, and I just didn’t care for the heroine. I couldn’t seem to connect with her because came across as being selfish. She gripped and made a list of complaints for her brother when Ford was working at their country estate but once she needed him to work on her inherited house, she had no complaints. Ford was a likable hero and was charming but some of the dialogue between them appeared to be forced, not realistic. Overall, the Mayfair Ladies Knitting League has several interesting members for future books so I’m hoping the series gets better.
excel_spreadsheet_book_nerd's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tomesproject's review
2.0
Unfortunately, this book didn't really work for me. I really like the premise and the set-up for this book, and the beginning was pretty funny and enjoyable. It wasn't anything super special or stand-out, but I was having a good time. The main character is bookish and is working on writing a dictionary and is perfectly content with her life as a wallflower in society, ready to take on spinsterhood after one more year in society. The hero is a carpenter and a Navy man that works for her family.
The two main characters were clearly very into each other from the first page and the whole "I hate him, but what is this stirring in my tummy?" and "I can't be with her because she's a duke's sister." shenanigans went on for way too long in my opinion. I completely skimmed the last two/three chapters of this book because I was just so tired of reading it, and I didn't want to DNF something so close to the end.
If the rest of this series following the friend group of the main character, there are a few that I would love to read from and I want to give Lenora Bell another shot because this is my first book from her.
I was provided with an early copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher.
The two main characters were clearly very into each other from the first page and the whole "I hate him, but what is this stirring in my tummy?" and "I can't be with her because she's a duke's sister." shenanigans went on for way too long in my opinion. I completely skimmed the last two/three chapters of this book because I was just so tired of reading it, and I didn't want to DNF something so close to the end.
If the rest of this series following the friend group of the main character, there are a few that I would love to read from and I want to give Lenora Bell another shot because this is my first book from her.
I was provided with an early copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher.