How to Tame a Wild Rogue by Julie Anne Long

How to Tame a Wild Rogue (The Palace of Rogues, #6)How to Tame a Wild Rogue by Julie Anne Long

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Palace of Rogues, #6

Release Date: July 25, 23

Daphne Worth is the daughter of a bankrupt viscount, and approaching 30. She should be married by now, but the love of her youth jilted her and Daphne just doesn’t want to risk her heart again. Instead, she has devoted herself to managing her family’s financial misfortune and had recently taken a job as a travel companion to a distant relative to add funds to their coffers, but when her employer’s husband decides that Daphne should be doing more to earn her wages, she decides enough is enough and makes a break for it – right into the arms of a pirate! She shuns his help until she is almost robbed in the street, then she accepts his escort to the boardinghouse and even plays along when Lorcan announces they are wed. But when she learns that the owner of the boardinghouse known as The Grand Palace on the Thames, is none other than Delilah, the former Lady Derring, and a friend from years ago, she is mortified by her current circumstances, but with nowhere else to go, she continues the charade and soon finds herself falling for the last man that she should ever want, her faux husband!

When Privateer Lorcan St. Leger left his ship in search of shelter as a wicked storm rolled into London, the last thing was expecting to do was to catch a young woman climbing out of a window, but that is exactly what happened and how he met Miss Daphne Worth. He offers to help her, but she refuses, so he lets her go but follows her. He once again saves her and this time, she accepts his offer to escort her to The Grand Palace on the Thames, as he too is going there. But when they arrive, they learn there is only a suite left and the patronesses will not allow an unmarried couple to share it. Luckily for them, Lorcan has no problem lying and says he and Daphne are married. It is supposed to be a ruse, but the longer they are together, it becomes clear that they belong together, but will Lorcan be able to overcome the reasons he claims are keeping them apart?

This was a great read, that was well-written and perfectly paced. The story is filled with witty banter, wonderful characters, old friends, secrets, lies, missing ships, a slow-burning romance, couples that are already in love, a hero to sigh for, a heroine to root for, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes and finally an ending that is just perfect, followed by an epilogue that was even more perfect!! I loved this book, but it wasn’t flawless since most of the titles are wrong, which is my biggest HR peeve – but I almost didn’t even care because the story was that amazing! I have not read the previous books, but I had no problem following the story and will definitely be reading them! I highly recommend this story and will be looking forward to the next installment!

*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.*

Lady Derring Takes A Lover by Julie Anne Long

Lady Derring Takes a Lover (The Palace of Rogues #1)Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Anne Long

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Palace of Rogues #1
Publication Date: 2/26/19
Number of Pages: 384

It has been a long time since I’ve read a book by this author and it is nice to see her in the historical romance category again. I really, really, really wanted to absolutely love this book and from the blurb, I was sure that I would. I liked it pretty well but didn’t absolutely love it. I absolutely adore a great romance with a great mystery, but these seemed to both fall a bit short.

Delilah Swanpool, Countess of Derring, has always been someone’s property to be bargained for their betterment and not her own. When her husband dies suddenly, she finds that he was totally broke and she is now completely penniless. What will become of her now? Her husband had one piece of property that he owned outright and it is now hers, it is all she has – but – it is the first thing she has ever owned, the first thing that is hers.

When Delilah goes to see the property, it is located near the docks – definitely NOT the best part of London. Before trying to enter the forbidding property, she and her maid decide to have something to eat at the nearby pub. In the pub, they meet Delilah’s husband’s former mistress, Angelique, who is in the same predicament as Delilah. Delilah and Angelique decide to sell the few jewels they have left and team up to open a boarding house in Delilah’s property.

Captain Tristan Hardy is the Captain of the King’s Blockade. He’s the king’s favorite hunting dog and has almost rid England of smugglers. There is one group of smugglers left and they have done the unthinkable. They set fire to an aristocrat’s residence and took the lives of the entire family – one of whom was the king’s former mistress. So, the king wants those smugglers caught and punished and he wants it to happen now!

Tristan’s investigation has brought him to London and all information points to the Earl of Derring. Now what? The Earl has just died and Tristan is at a loss. He finally learns of the one piece of property the Earl had left and that the widow has taken possession of it. Is she involved in the smuggling ring? It is up to him to find out.

For the go-getter that Tristan is supposed to be, he certainly seems to carry on a laid back investigation. The romance also didn’t feel real to me. To me, if he had shared who he was and what he was doing with Delilah and they investigated together, there could have been a lot of interest and excitement that the story was missing. As it was, it wasn’t particularly exciting nor romantic, but I did enjoy the read.

I believe the next book will feature Angelique and I look forward to seeing how that one goes.

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.