Tag: Julie Anne Long

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Keeper, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Game of Rogues: A Novel (The Palace of Rogues, 9)Game of Rogues: A Novel by Julie Anne Long

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Palace of Rogues, #9

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Miss Guinevere “Ginny” Woodville is the very protective elder sister of Hogarth Woodville, Viscount Woodville and the newly minted Earl of Highgrove, so when he returns from a trip to London and confesses that he has lost everything – including his sisters’ doweries, Ginny is quick to jump in and make things right. Ginny promised her dying mother that she would make sure her siblings all married well, but that will not happen without doweries, so, Ginny travels to London and checks into the Grand Palace on the Thames and then goes to meet with Gabriel Marchand, the owner of Lucifer’s Fall – the “gentlemen’s club” that Hogarth lost his fortune. The man is completely infuriating and absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous, she leaves their meeting without any resolution, unless she wanted to consider his illicit proposition – which she didn’t – and feeling desperate, but at least she is pretty sure she knows who Hogarth lost the bulk of his fortune to and hopes that that man will be more willing to negotiate. She thinks she has seen the last of Gabriel and is shocked when she learns he is also staying at the Palace – she tries to ignore him, but he always seems to be one step ahead of her, and as much as she wants to hate that – she doesn’t. She falls hard for him, but knows that she could never be with him and keep her promise to her mother, or can she?

Gabriel Marchand is a self-made man, orphaned into the poverty of St. Giles and has clawed his way to the top. As the owner of a very exclusive and successful gentleman’s club, he should have everything he wants, but meeting Ginny has him rethinking what he really wants. He is drawn to Ginny and against his better judgement begins to help her and in turn, she helps him. He knows he loves her and he knows she is not for him, but the heart wants what it wants, and he sets in motion a plan that may enable them to have their HEA. But his Ginny has made promises and honor might not let her follow her heart.

I love this series; I swear every new installment is better than the last – I can’t even remember the last series I read that could say that about. This story was absolutely my favorite to date – and that is saying a lot – because I have LOVED every book. Gabriel is everything you could want in a hero, he is charming, smart, self-made, has known loss and pain, and loves without conditions (he has earned a spot on my very exclusive favorite heroes of all-time list) and Ginny is his perfect match – their banter and jibes were some of the best I have ever read and I can’t wait to re-read this book! The book has wonderful characters, steamyish love scenes, lots of laugh out loud moments, grief, promises, a bit of angst, a little heartbreak, and finally a sigh-worthy ending complete with an epilogue. This is the ninth book in the series, and it could easily be read as a standalone with no problem, but I recommend reading the entire series because it is so good!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

 

My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

My Season of Scandal (The Palace of Rogues, #7)My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Palace of Rogues, #7

Release Date: April 23. 2024

The jaded MP, Dominic Kirke, Baron Kirke takes a room at the Grand Palace on the Thames hotel when his house is nearly burned down by his now ex-mistress. Dominic just wants peace and quiet to do his work, but his first night is disturbed by his downstairs “neighbor”. He is surprised to find the neighbor is a lovely young woman, fresh from the country and set to spend her first season in London. Innocents are not his thing and he plans to steer clear of her, but thanks to the rules of the hotel and social engagements, their paths keep crossing and soon Dominic finds himself enchanted with Catherine Keating, but he still keeps her at an arm’s length by calling her Keating and but still feels protective of her and warns her of the dangers of the ton. Dominic knows he is wrong for her, he has loved before and has secrets, but the chemistry between them is strong. He knows letting her go is the right thing to do and tries to distance himself. But when a well-intentioned act goes horribly wrong, her season is ruined, he offers to make things right, only to be rejected. Can he make it right or is he doomed to living with a broken heart forever?

Catherine Keating comes to London with high hopes of finding a husband, but nothing is going right, first her aunt is injured, leaving her alone at the Grand Palace on the Thames, then her chaperone is more interested in gambling than making introductions, her wardrobe is outdated and makes her the subject of cruel jabs, and the only man that makes her heart beat faster is grumpy Lord Kirke, who has made it abundantly clear that there cannot and will not be anything beyond friendship between them. To make matters worse the more time she spends with him, the deeper she falls for him, but once he shares his past with her, she knows that she cannot be his future and tries to move on. But when viscous gossip ruins her season, she confronts Lord Kirke and is horrified by his martyr-like proposal. She had hoped for love and was crushed, leaving her no choice but to return home in disgrace. But separation only increases her heartache and Kirke makes no attempt to contact her. Will she find her HEA or is she too doomed to live with a broken heart?

This was another great, well-written installment of the Palace of Rogues series and might be the most emotional one yet! Catherine and Dominic are such wonderful characters and I was rooting for them right from the start, but their journey to happily ever after is not an easy one, but what a ride it is!!! The book has witty banter, lots of emotion, secrets, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, heartbreaking revelations, slow burn age-gap romance, uncertainty, heartache, tears, a healthy dose of angst and finally an amazing ending complete with an epilogue. I just loved this book so much and highly recommend it – it is the seventh book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*