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bookloverchelle's review
3.0
This was my first Stefanie Sloane book and my first Regency Rogues even though this was book number four in the series. Overall, I really did enjoy the book. I thought there was a great premise; a country bluestocking comes to London to pack up a famed book collection. A London dandy with more looks than brains captures her heart. But is he who he really says he is? Dash and Elena were great characters with wonderful development in their romance throughout the story. Unfortunately I’m leaning more to 3.5 stars on this title because it almost felt like some of the ideas or storylines were not fully developed. I almost felt like things could have been described or detailed more. This did not put off my overall enjoyment of the story and I will try something from Ms. Sloane again.
loverofromance's review
4.0
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
The Saint Who Stole My Heart is the fourth installment in the Regency Rogues series. I was able to grab this from my library and I had forgotten how much I LOVE this author. Boy her books are delicious. I have such a weakness for regency spy themes and this author is so good at this. Now I have only read a few books of the series, and its been a couple of years since I read the first few books and I was able to immerse myself fully into this book with no need to have read the previous book. So I would say that you can easily read this as a stand alone.
Dash, Viscount Carrington, works with the Young Corinthians Spy League, but our story begins with a painful beginning when we see Dash, and his two best friends and their sister as children see their mother murdered. Dash and the others decided to let it go, but now they realize they need to bring justice to her. But in the process of hunting down the killer, Dash comes across Elena, when his father dies and leaves his books to her father. As Elena and Dash are in close proximity to each other, with an adorable matchmaking aunt and some other shenanigans that brings these two together....
This was such a delightful book and I am not sure I could recommend this author enough and she is SO highly underrated in my opinion. The chemistry between these two is so palpable from the very beginning and it really portrays that emotion and senses so well to the reader. There is such a beautiful balance between the espionage plotline and the romance that builds between Dash and Elena. And of course, we have some fun matchmaking that gets conflicted with the story that adds a quirky and light-hearted feel to the story. Its interesting to see the dynamic between Dash and Elena and how they are willing to fight for each other in such unique of ways here.
Overall I found The Saint Who Stole to be a adorable and satisfying read that stunned me in ts sensational sensuality!
The Saint Who Stole My Heart is the fourth installment in the Regency Rogues series. I was able to grab this from my library and I had forgotten how much I LOVE this author. Boy her books are delicious. I have such a weakness for regency spy themes and this author is so good at this. Now I have only read a few books of the series, and its been a couple of years since I read the first few books and I was able to immerse myself fully into this book with no need to have read the previous book. So I would say that you can easily read this as a stand alone.
Dash, Viscount Carrington, works with the Young Corinthians Spy League, but our story begins with a painful beginning when we see Dash, and his two best friends and their sister as children see their mother murdered. Dash and the others decided to let it go, but now they realize they need to bring justice to her. But in the process of hunting down the killer, Dash comes across Elena, when his father dies and leaves his books to her father. As Elena and Dash are in close proximity to each other, with an adorable matchmaking aunt and some other shenanigans that brings these two together....
No matter the differences, the assumptionns we've made, or the difficulties we've encountered, if a match is meant to be, you pursue it at all costs. Otherwise, you're simply shceating yourself out of the life that you should have
This was such a delightful book and I am not sure I could recommend this author enough and she is SO highly underrated in my opinion. The chemistry between these two is so palpable from the very beginning and it really portrays that emotion and senses so well to the reader. There is such a beautiful balance between the espionage plotline and the romance that builds between Dash and Elena. And of course, we have some fun matchmaking that gets conflicted with the story that adds a quirky and light-hearted feel to the story. Its interesting to see the dynamic between Dash and Elena and how they are willing to fight for each other in such unique of ways here.
Love is not a selfish need. It gives you purpose, understanding, fortitude--well, everything required to address these considerations that you mentioned.
Overall I found The Saint Who Stole to be a adorable and satisfying read that stunned me in ts sensational sensuality!
alexiachantel's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
With the opening scene being a murder scene you might expect The Saint Who Stole My Heart to be a mystery, thriller, who-done-it type of book. And there is some of that, but mostly you get a great love story between a book loving woman and a danger courting man. Could two people seemingly so different have anything in common or any attraction?
No question there is attraction between Dash and Elena. He is one of those impossibly perfect men, the face of a god. Thankfully he has more to him than his vapid personality suggests, there are some serious brains and balls of steel being carefully hidden. As for Elena, she is a voluptuous woman with a brain in her head in a time when neither were considered desirable in a woman. Good thing Dash isn’t conventional or follow trends of the ton.
Underneath the love story that slowly blossoms is a murder mystery. Throughout the book you get little clues here and there as Dash and his friend Nicholas follow leads. Solving the case is personal for both of them, and you get wrapped up in their need for revenge. Sloane gives enough completion for a nice ending, but also some big questions unanswered to leave you hanging. Sloane not only writes clever characters but she is one herself, you will want to read the next Regency Rogues book to find out if they get their answers and revenge.
Review to be posted at Reading Between the Wines.
With the opening scene being a murder scene you might expect The Saint Who Stole My Heart to be a mystery, thriller, who-done-it type of book. And there is some of that, but mostly you get a great love story between a book loving woman and a danger courting man. Could two people seemingly so different have anything in common or any attraction?
No question there is attraction between Dash and Elena. He is one of those impossibly perfect men, the face of a god. Thankfully he has more to him than his vapid personality suggests, there are some serious brains and balls of steel being carefully hidden. As for Elena, she is a voluptuous woman with a brain in her head in a time when neither were considered desirable in a woman. Good thing Dash isn’t conventional or follow trends of the ton.
Underneath the love story that slowly blossoms is a murder mystery. Throughout the book you get little clues here and there as Dash and his friend Nicholas follow leads. Solving the case is personal for both of them, and you get wrapped up in their need for revenge. Sloane gives enough completion for a nice ending, but also some big questions unanswered to leave you hanging. Sloane not only writes clever characters but she is one herself, you will want to read the next Regency Rogues book to find out if they get their answers and revenge.
Review to be posted at Reading Between the Wines.
lumbermouth's review
2.0
One of those random "I have three minutes in the library so sure" grabs that doesn't know quite what it wants to be and has a few too many threads going on for me to bother trying to keep them straight. Is it a mystery, a romance, a feminist novel, or all three? It's each of those poorly. AND YET, the mystery is juuuust interesting enough that I might seek out the next book. MIGHT.
quinn_0611's review
2.0
I have this absolute love of The Scarlet Pimpernel, particularly the 1982 movie starring Anthony Andrews, Ian McKellan and Jane Seymour. Because of this obsession, I can never resist books that are based or inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, which is why I picked up this book. Unfortunately the Scarlet-Pimpernel inspired books I’ve read rarely live up to my expectations. The Saint Who Stole My Heart by Stefanie Sloane just couldn’t live up to my expectations, and really left me quite disappointed.
The basic premise: Dash is gorgeous, so all of society thinks he’s an idiot and while Dash has never gone out of his way to correct these silly assumptions, he’s certainly never gone out of his way to play the fool either. He decides to investigate the murder of his friend’s mother (years after it happened) , which is very dangerous. At the same time. Elena has come to Dash’s home because his deceased father left all his books to Elena and her father. Because Dash worries about Elena’s safety, he decides to act the fool so she books it from his house quickly. Such a silly premise, really.
Here are my problems with this:
Why society things Dash is an idiot simply because he’s gorgeous is beyond me. I mean, this makes no sense, especially when the character is a man. Maybe I could have believed it if the character was a woman, because, let’s face it, it doesn’t take much for people to think less of women, especially in this time period. But for Dash, I just couldn’t buy it.
And then when Elena shows up. Elena is a smart, well-read young woman. She’s intelligent. She reads all the time. She shows up thinking that Dash in stupid, and although he attempts to act that way, he really does a terrible job. So I couldn’t understand why Elena kept thinking that Dash was a fool. I just didn’t understand that. There is even a time when Dash’s relative (who I really liked) told Elena that Dash was really intelligent, but she didn’t believe her. And all I could think was, “why not!? What has Dash done that would make you think he is such an idiot?” It was so frustrating.
Another issue was that I thought this book was down-right dull. I kept thinking that suspenseful things would happen, but really, it was such a slow story, and I never got really excited to read it.
The Saint Who Stole My Heart by Stefanie Sloane just didn’t work for me. The premise just wasn’t written well, in my opinion, and the story was really quite bland. And while I did actually like Dash, his aunt, and Elena, it wasn’t enough to make me invested in their lives. If you want a good Scarlet Pimpernel story, I recommend Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund. It’s the best one out there, I think.This review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook
The basic premise: Dash is gorgeous, so all of society thinks he’s an idiot and while Dash has never gone out of his way to correct these silly assumptions, he’s certainly never gone out of his way to play the fool either. He decides to investigate the murder of his friend’s mother (years after it happened) , which is very dangerous. At the same time. Elena has come to Dash’s home because his deceased father left all his books to Elena and her father. Because Dash worries about Elena’s safety, he decides to act the fool so she books it from his house quickly. Such a silly premise, really.
Here are my problems with this:
Why society things Dash is an idiot simply because he’s gorgeous is beyond me. I mean, this makes no sense, especially when the character is a man. Maybe I could have believed it if the character was a woman, because, let’s face it, it doesn’t take much for people to think less of women, especially in this time period. But for Dash, I just couldn’t buy it.
And then when Elena shows up. Elena is a smart, well-read young woman. She’s intelligent. She reads all the time. She shows up thinking that Dash in stupid, and although he attempts to act that way, he really does a terrible job. So I couldn’t understand why Elena kept thinking that Dash was a fool. I just didn’t understand that. There is even a time when Dash’s relative (who I really liked) told Elena that Dash was really intelligent, but she didn’t believe her. And all I could think was, “why not!? What has Dash done that would make you think he is such an idiot?” It was so frustrating.
Another issue was that I thought this book was down-right dull. I kept thinking that suspenseful things would happen, but really, it was such a slow story, and I never got really excited to read it.
The Saint Who Stole My Heart by Stefanie Sloane just didn’t work for me. The premise just wasn’t written well, in my opinion, and the story was really quite bland. And while I did actually like Dash, his aunt, and Elena, it wasn’t enough to make me invested in their lives. If you want a good Scarlet Pimpernel story, I recommend Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund. It’s the best one out there, I think.This review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook
lisajo85's review
3.0
Fabulous characters and a sweet, charming romance make Stefanie Sloane's THE SAINT WHO STOLE MY HEART a great historical read. Add a touch of mystery and suspense and you have a strong addition to the Regency Rogues series.
Elena Barnes cannot resist the lure of an ancient book collection...even if she has to travel to the home of Dashiell Matthews, Viscount Carrington to retrieve it. Elena's first impression of Dash is laughable, at best. The poor man appears to be a half-witted Viscount, but he is undeniably handsome and Elena cannot deny her attraction to him. Yet the more time she spends with Dash, the more she realizes his demeanor is just a facade. He is really a brilliant member of the Young Corinthians spy league working to solve the murder of his friend's mother.
When a cruel injustice happens to one of Elena's closest friend, she does everything she can to ensure the man is punished. As Dash and Elena's path cross to crush this evil villain, they must work together to ensure their victory. With everything on the line, Elena and Dash must decide if they are willing to risk their lives, their future...and most importantly, their hearts. While neither one is well versed in matters of the heart, they may find risking their love is too high a price to pay.
One thing easy to fall in love with in this novel are the characters, Elena and Dash. Dash maintains a charming charade of being a little on the slow side and it was very adorable. What made this characteristic even more adorable is when Elena wormed her way towards the truth. She quickly discovers that he is far more intelligent than he leads people to believe. He also has a suave sensibility that came very naturally and was incredibly sexy. He could seduce anyone, but reading about him seducing Elena was so much more fun.
Then you have Elena, and I have to say that I simply loved her. She was the strong and fierce bluestocking heroine with a mind of her own. While Dash sought to hide his intelligence, Elena did the exact opposite. She had a strong personality, and an amazing compassionate nature that made her the perfect heroine for this story. Her connection to Dash is fantastic and really makes this story worthwhile.
While I loved the romance in THE SAINT WHO STOLE MY HEART, I found a few issues with the match between Elena and Dash. First of all, it develops rather quickly. The advancement of their feelings is done more internally when they were apart and not really through scenes when they are together. I felt like I did not get as many pages or scenes of them together as I would have liked. Parts of the novel were extremely sweet and by the end it felt like a great historical romance. I would have loved more details about their developing relationship. Still, what is presented in this novel is fantastic. These two are the perfect couple and it's hard not to adore the romantic moments they share together.
THE SAINT WHO STOLE MY HEART was a truly enjoyable read. I found Stefanie Sloane's novel very difficult to put down because I easily became attached to these characters and their journey. Not only do you have a sweet romance, but the novel has great amounts of suspense and drama as Elena and Dash work to solve the mystery concerning the villain known as The Bishop. Some questions are resolved in this novel, but many are left unanswered which in this case I can't complain about. Mainly because there was a particular secondary character that I became fascinated with and am now curious about his own happily ever after!
THE SAINT WHO STOLE MY HEART is book four in the Regency Rogues series, but you do not have to read them in order to enjoy this installment. It can easily be read as a stand alone. This was the first novel I have read by Ms Sloane and not once was I confused or lost because of complicated story lines from previous novels.
All in all, Ms Sloane has a unique voice that allows you into her addictive Regency world where you never want to leave. With character like Elena and Dash and drama that keeps you turning the pages, THE SAINT WHO STOLE MY HEART is sure to posses enough magic and appeal to steal your heart.
Lisa Jo @ The Romance Reviews
suzannemsabol's review
3.0
There were huge gaps in the events where I wanted more details but was confused as to how the story jumped from one point to the next.
lissielove's review
4.0
I found a new author :) Engaging leads, a mystery that wraps up nicely with more for the next book. Who can ask for more? I can. The book got off to a smashingly slow start and the prose was somewhat stilted in the first chapter but smoothed itself out afterwards, hence the four stars. Also, the romance was a little choppy towards the end, between the consummation and the declaration of love, as if the author had deleted the morning after scene. Other than that, quite lovely.
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