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A Rogue By Any Other Name (2012)

by Sarah MacLean(Favorite Author)
3.96 of 5 Votes: 4
ISBN
0062068520 (ISBN13: 9780062068521)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Avon
series
The Rules of Scoundrels
review 1: No sé si es que hacía mucho tiempo que no leía nada de regencia y he pillado con ganas este libro, pero lo cierto es que lo he disfrutado mucho.Personajes carismáticos, trama sencilla, venganza en el horizonte y mucho amor, ¿qué más puedo pedir?Me ha durado un suspiro, y pienso seguir con el resto de la saga porque los amigos del prota prometen mucho, muuuucho *o*Eso sí, me entristece ver que las portadas de este tipo de novelas siguen siendo un espanto y no le hacen justicia al interior, porque si no hubiese sido porque estaba en promoción para el kindle, nunca me habría dado por comprarme el libro físico y me habría perdido una gran historia. A ver si las editoriales se dan cuenta de que a las lectoras también se nos gana por los ojos...
review 2:... more> Sarah Maclean is a....new to me...author, coming highly recommended from other respected reviewers and I was not disappointed. A Rogue by Any Other Name, the first in The Rules of Scoundrels series, is utterly delicious! Michael, Marquess of Bourne is a darkly tortured...believes he's beyond redemption...hunk of a hero. Lady Penelope Marbury is low on self esteem as a result of the expectations of society and it's treatment of her. She is resigned to the fact that she must yield to the role of sacrificial lamb for the sake of her younger, unmarried sisters' and as a result of this accepts Bourne's very unorthodox marriage proposal. Penelope is a victim of both men, her Father, to be rid of his slightly embarrassing eldest daughter, following on from a disastrous, aborted betrothal and Bourne's obsessive need to reclaim the lands now held by her Father. Michael had previously lost his lands in an ill thought out wager with his erstwhile guardian Viscount Langford, a decade before and which Penelope's Father has now by some means gained control of. The Viscount had been appointed Michael's guardian after the tragic, premature death of his parents. Langford increases the value of the Marques-sate of Bourne holdings and is then greedily reluctant to relinquish them, ruthlessly pushing the inexperienced young Marquess to lose them on the turn of a card.Michael is driven by his need for revenge on Langford and his guilt at losing his beloved Falconwell, in the process he transforms from the laughing, playful, devil may care boy, who was once the beloved childhood friend of Penny and of Tommy (Langford's son) to a darkly brooding, seemingly uncaring, ruthless man. A social pariah and part owner of an exclusive gaming hell named The Fallen Angel, he has become rich and powerful through his driven and remorseless endeavours. He cares nothing for his disreputable reputation as nothing could compensate for his lust for revenge and desire to regain control of his Falconwell lands, nothing that is until he marries his demure, ladylike and innocent 'sixpence'...his childhood nickname for Penelope.Even after the death of his parents and his eventual fall from grace, Michael is never forgotten by Penelope who writes to him over the years, always hoping for a reply...waiting and longing for his return, he never replies but the letters dotted throughout the story are endearing and enlightening, a nice touch.Penelope's character is likeable, strong, loyal and dutiful although she has thus far managed to avoid all attempts to marry her off, that is until her Father adds the much coveted Falconwell lands to her dowry in order to lure a suitable suitor for his almost 'on the shelf' daughter. It emerges later that he has always had Michael in his sights, although this is not apparent at the outset. In any case Michael takes the bait and rushes hotfoot off to his deserted home after he is informed that 'his' lands are now part of Penelope's dowry. He encounters the lady one stormy night and literally captures and compromises her so that she will be forced into marrying him. Penelope's secret infatuation/obsession for Michael, call it what you will, is instrumental in her decision to accept his proposal even though she realises that she is being used and even though he is unaware of her feelings towards him. She is prepared to accept this arrangement so long as Michael does his utmost to become acceptable to society again in order to help find her sisters' suitable and decent husbands. The bargain is struck, Michael has his lands once more and will delay his vengeful ruining of Viscount Langford until the sisters' betrothals/marriages to worthy aristocrats are achieved, Penny will have marriage, freedom and adventure, but not the something special she knows is available to the lucky few.In the intervening time between the relaunching of Michael into the ton and the ever nearing destruction of Langford, Michael becomes increasingly attracted to his intrepid and attractive wife, seeing the beauty and determination hidden beneath her unassuming, quiet and refined exterior. And very much against her better judgement, Penelope, begins to fall deeply in love with this darkly dangerous and forbidding man, although she believes he could never love her. She hopes and prays that she can turn him from his headlong flight into self destruction, believing that he will never recover if he succumbs to his all consuming desire to ruin Langford and in turn Tommy, their old friend, who will most certainly be caught in the crossfire.I found Michael's slowly awakening desire, love and wanting of Penelope heartwarmingly beautiful and sensual and his belief that he could never be good enough for her very sad, also his descent into self loathing which is very apparent to the perceptive, caring Penny. He does not want his lifestyle to taint or touch the person of his 'perfect' wife and does all in his power to keep her away from The Fallen Angel even though part of their agreement is that she will be introduced to the hell as part of her agreed adventure. For her part Penny is determined that she will no longer sit on the sidelines of life and will have adventure if she cannot have love.There are a few silly, unnecessary, discrepancies, also mentioned by another reviewer, which I found to be quite annoying given the calibre of the writing. Also Michael's often mentioned fastidiousness is never explained, although I expected it to be, it apparently has no bearing on the story and therefore seems an unnecessary addition. Nevertheless this is a wonderful start to Ms. Maclean's Scoundrels series the rest of which I will most definitely read, back to back, as I am looking forward to knowing what becomes of the other partners'. Lovely writing, interesting, if mediocre plot line, the writing flows, the romance is beautiful, especially as the awareness between the two main characters deepens and develops, certainly kept me reading. 4/5 stars, downgraded slightly because of the errors which should have been picked up in a novel of this quality and standard. less
Reviews (see all)
dubbiedoo24
For this type of romance, good and believable characters and nice sense of place.
Vermillion
NOT as good as the others, largely bc Bourne is kind of a drip
Steph
Re-read, preparing for the last book in this series
tbfoot
Great character development.
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