One Rogue at a Time (Rakes and Rogues #2) by Jade Lee-Review and Book Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 1, 2015
A brown-eyed bastard with nothing to lose
As the illegitimate son of a duke, Bramwell Wesley Hallowsby grew up tough, on the fringes of society, learning to hide his hurt and cynicism with charm and Town polish. He’s carved out a place for himself as a mercenary, serving as bodyguard and general strong arm for the peerage. Bram has nothing to lose… and he’s exactly what Maybelle “Bluebell” Ballenger needs.
Meets his match in a blue-eyed beauty with everything to hide
Maybelle needs a mentor to teach her to speak and act like a lady, so she can claim the place in society she was denied. As they team up to take on the ton, Bram knows she’s hiding something even from him. Despite the deception he sees behind those sparkling blue eyes, Bram wants to believe that Maybelle’s love is no lie. But it seems fate has served him up his just desserts in the likes of this determined damsel.
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REVIEW:
4 out of 5 for this reader folks!
One Rogue At A Time by Jade Lee is the second book of her Rakes and Rogues Series. A fun regency romance that follows two leading characters that should absolutely be together despite what the other thinks. Lots of adventure, dashes of humour, lies, and determination are all good words to describe what you will find reading this story.
Bram is labelled as a bastard (of a duke) but lives his life balancing a fine line of gentleman and commoner. He lives outside the boundaries of the ton having chosen to become a mercenary but he is also recognized as a reputable man. He is fully educated in polite society, but has a mentality of glass half empty. He can be apathetic because he really feels like he has nothing to lose in life. What happens when he realizes just one woman can change his way of life.
Bella is also the daughter of a man of nobility. She is adventurous, kind, very smart, caring and determined to right many wrongs . When she loses her mother, she concludes she needs to learn how to be a lady. She has infiltrate the ton but is at a loss of how to go about it. After a run in with Bram and a bit of manipulation, Bella requests that Bram teach her all she needs to know.
Both are born to nobles but are not able to reap any of the benefits that can produce. Bram seems to have accepted this, but Bella wants the world to know she is legit. She is hiding secrets, and must not allow anything to distract her from her goal … BUT she cannot seem to fight this attraction that is developing between her and Bram. For the record .. Bram is struggling as well.
So much more to this story but you have the premise now. Here is what I would like to review. I loved the major TEEHEE moments .. I actually laughed out loud a few times. I loved the slow build of friendship to lovers. I adored Bella as she is the kind of heroine that I love to get to know. I will say I had a bit of a disconnect with Bram. I really really wanted to love him, but he was a “Debbie Downer” for a good chunk of this book so by the time he became redeemable (and he does), I was over it. It was Bella that kept me invested and this book jumped to a 4 star toward the last quarter. I found it a little dry in the beginning, but when the story took off, I was all in!
Secondary characters .. stole many parts of this book! LOVE THAT!
A solid historical romance and yes I would absolutely read more by Jade lee!
HAPPY READING!
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Rachel T.
The second in Jade Lee’s saucy Rakes and Rogues series, One Rogue at a Time, comes out this December! To celebrate, Jade played a quick round of ‘Would You Rather?’ with us and sent an excerpt from the book to share.
Would you rather read a book on an e-reader or in print? I prefer print—easier on my eyes–but print books are heavy and kill trees. Therefore, I say e-reader.
In this excerpt our heroine (nicknamed Bluebell) is angling for our hero to take her to London where she can meet her father for the first time. She’s bargained for speaking lessons, and now she’s bartering for a ride to London. But she isn’t prepared for the price he demands.
“Ooo, an’ me a simple maid from ’Ull. Wot makes ye think I could muster all that?” She exaggerated her accent such that his back molars ground together in disgust.
“Admit it. That’s what you want.”
She lifted her chin. “And what if I do? You’re free t’ say no.”
“No.”
“There. Fine. Ye’ve said it. But I can pay—”
He grabbed her chin, pulling it—and her—toward him. Part of him thrilled at finally touching her pristine skin. Part of him watched how her eyes widened and the pupils darkened, her mouth slipping open on a gasp. Was she afraid of him? Yes. Obviously. And he tried to care. He tried to tell himself that he didn’t want to punish her for crimes she hadn’t committed. But she was a schemer just like the others, and so he damned her all the same.
“I will take you to London,” he said, his voice low, his breath hot.
She didn’t answer, and he didn’t care.
“But there’s only one payment I’ll take.”
“No,” she whispered. “I’m a lady.”
“Say it all you like, Miss Bluebell, but I know the truth.”
She swallowed, trying to pull herself back, but she was still sitting on the barrel, so she had nowhere to run. She stilled and her eyes narrowed.
“Wot truth? That I want to go to London? That I want proof o’ my father? Or that you’re nothing but a man with ruttin—”
He kissed her. He wasn’t slow, and he wasn’t remotely gentle. And the fact that she was completely untutored in the way of kissing infuriated him even more. She was a lie. She deserved all the pain he could give her. She was…
She was an innocent, and he had to soften. He had to become gentle with her, and so he did. He didn’t want to, contradictory beast that he was. He liked his anger. Stoked it to a hot flame, but not against her.
So he softened. He gentled.
Where before he had simply wrenched her mouth to his, he now petted her chin. And though he had forced his tongue into her, he eased his penetration. He teased her and then pulled back.
“You are a lie,” he said to her panting chest.
“You are a brute,” she answered, anger vibrating out of her.
“Yes, and worse. I’m a bastard.”
“You’re not even ashamed.”
Oh, he was. He was riddled with shame, but he wouldn’t let her see it. She had to know the truth about him before she tried to play her games. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go, Miss Bluebell. But I’ll be taking you as I do it.”
He felt the impact of his words on her body. She shuddered, but she also licked her lips. Part of her wanted him, brute though he was.
“I am a lady.”
“Ladies spread their legs for me all the time.”
“Not me.”
“Then I’ll not take you anywhere.”
He felt her accept the truth of his words. Her body bowed, and her shoulders drooped. But when she spoke, her voice was strong with conviction.
“I don’t need you to take me. I’ve coin eno’. The mail coach goes to Oxfordshire and London.”
“You’ll be prey to every bloke who sees you.”
She finally jerked her chin away from the stroke of his fingers. “’At’s been true since I first started filling out a dress.” And then before he could anticipate her move, before it even registered that he was in danger, she lifted her knee.
How she’d maneuvered it so perfectly, he didn’t know. But one moment he was hard as a rock, still thinking of ways he could make her willing. The next there was a blinding flash of white-hot pain, and he was crumpled onto the ground.
He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. He just knew pain. And one word:
Bravo.
A USA Today Bestseller, JADE LEE has been scripting love stories since she first picked up a set of paper dolls. Ball gowns and rakish lords caught her attention early (Thank you Georgette Heyer), and her fascination with the Regency began. And as a Taurus, she lives to pit a headstrong woman against a tortured hero just to watch them butt heads on the way to true love. Flesh wounds are rare, but the healing and laughter are real. Now an author of more than 30 romance novels, she’s just embarked on a new Regency series, RAKES AND ROGUES. Her love of romance extends to the present day, too. Under her other name, Kathy Lyons, she merges hot sex and funny relationships into really great reads. And she’s a busy lady, check out her appearances page to see where you can meet her in person. Learn more about her in Fun Facts below or visit her on Facebook or Twitter.
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