DEAREST ROGUE (Maiden Lane 8) by Elizabeth Hoyt-a review

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About the book: Release May 26, 2015

HE CAN GUARD HER

Lady Phoebe Batten is pretty, vivacious, and yearning for a social life befitting the sister of a powerful duke. But because she is almost completely blind, her overprotective brother insists that she have an armed bodyguard by her side at all times-the very irritating Captain Trevillion.

FROM EVERY DANGER

Captain James Trevillion is proud, brooding, and cursed with a leg injury from his service in the King’s dragoons. Yet he can still shoot and ride like the devil, so watching over the distracting Lady Phoebe should be no problem at all-until she’s targeted by kidnappers.

BUT PASSION ITSELF

Caught in a deadly web of deceit, James must risk life and limb to save his charge from the lowest of cads-one who would force Lady Phoebe into a loveless marriage. But while they’re confined to close quarters for her safekeeping, Phoebe begins to see the tender man beneath the soldier’s hard exterior . . . and the possibility of a life-and love-she never imagined possible.

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REVIEW: DEAREST ROGUE is the eighth installment in Elizabeth Hoyt’s Maiden Lane historical romance series. This is former dragoon Captain James Trevillion and Lady Phoebe Batten’s storyline. DEAREST ROGUE can be read as a stand alone; several of the previous storyline characters play secondary and supporting roles throughout the novel. Our hero and heroine have had continuing roles throughout the series.

Told from third person point of view DEAREST ROGUE follows the friends to lovers relationship between James and Phoebe. After an injury that nearly cost him his life, James has been commissioned by the Duke of Wakefield (Maximus Batten) to guard Lady Phoebe when threats against her brother have hit too close to home. Following the latest kidnapping attempt against Phoebe, James considers his options and determines the safest place for the woman, with whom he is falling in love, is by his side at the last place he ever wanted to return. A cross-country trek finds James and Phoebe posing as a married couple wherein their relationship will take a step closer to a happily ever after. James’s demons from the past will uncover his return but the truth goes much deeper than anyone could have known.

The relationship between James and Phoebe is tepid as James tries to keep his distance. James was hired to protect Phoebe and in this she is a constant presence in his life and his heart. Phoebe is blind; a disorder that has gradually stolen her sight but a woman who wants to remain independent and strong. Having a constant influx of guardians and strangers protecting her from the outside world and those that she loves, Phoebe continuously places herself and the others in danger when she is determined to not let her blindness stop her from living and loving the things that she used to do. With every attempt at freedom, someone is waiting to steal Phoebe away from her family and friends. James and Phoebe both face physical challenges; she with her loss of sight; James with his crippling pain and damaged leg but it is his pride that will take the biggest hit of all. The $ex scenes are limited but not without some romance and heat.

The secondary and supporting characters include many of the previous storyline couples and players; Phoebe’s overprotective brother Maximus Batten and his wife Artemis Greaves ( Duke of Midnight #6); as well as a number of the heroines from most, if not all of the previous storylines, who gather at the Ladies’ Syndicate to discuss Harte’s Folly and the upcoming season of entertainment-with the inclusion of so many recognizable characters there is cohesion and familiarity to the series. Saying that, if you are looking for a connection to St. Giles, DEAREST ROGUE side steps that pathway with only a mention of past events. The Trevillion family dynamics is revealed and in this, the family patriarch fears history will repeat itself as James falls in love with a woman he cannot have. I think a family tree (for the reader) is necessary to keep all of the couples and their growing families aligned to avoid future confusion.

DEAREST ROGUE is an adventure; an ensemble storyline of romance and love; heartbreak and betrayal; family and friendships. Elizabeth Hoyt’s historical romances all have an air of mystery and suspense wherein her leading couples must uncover the ‘who and what’ of a dangerous situation. The premise is fun, adventurous, and romantic; the numerous characters engaging and delightful; the heroine and hero well deserving of their happily ever after.

Copy supplied by Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy