From USA Today bestselling Author Darcy Burke, author of The Untouchables and Phoenix Club series, comes your next Regency romance must-read.
Rogue Rules
When a young lady is ruined, her friends vow none of them will ever be ensnared by a scoundrel again. They will resist every gentleman’s charms even—and especially—if it means gaining a reputation for being impossible to woo. It will take extraordinary rogues to break their rules…
Growing up in isolation in Cornwall, Tamsin Penrose looks forward to the one month each year that she spends in an idyllic seaside town with her best friends. She’s shocked to receive a letter from her reclusive father informing her of a potential groom—they’ve never even discussed marriage and she rather expected to be a spinster. But she’s met a charming, if serious, baron and now she’s dreaming of a romantic, wedded life.
During his annual trip to a friend’s seaside estate, broody Isaac Deverell, Baron Droxford finds himself in an objectionable situation: socializing with a group of ladies over several days. He is not prepared for the storm of cheerfulness that is Miss Penrose, nor can he deny that she makes him feel…good.
Because Isaac is an unheroic rogue with a devastatingly sinful secret, he should flee this delightful ray of sunshine. However, he can’t keep his distance, and when her overzealous suitor arrives and won’t take no for an answer, Isaac protects her in a scandalously public fashion. Now he can’t run from her. Can these attracted opposites find a happy ever after, or will the past destroy their chance?
Review:
I knew from the teasing hints we got in If the Duke Dares that Tamsin and Issac’s story would be one to look forward to–who doesn’t love a grumpy/sunshine romance?–and fortunately, it did not disappoint!
From the first time these two shared a page in Because the Baron Broods, I loved how they each sensed that there was something special about the other. Just her presence was able to calm and soothe socially anxious Issac; in return, he made Tamsin feel like the idea of a fairy tale romance might actually be within her grasp. I loved that she was able to read him so easily–the stories she concocted to ensure he didn’t have to go on the boat (he’d had a bad experience on one as a child) were both very sweet and made me LOL.
Issac’s past hid some even deeper trauma, though–if ever a Regency hero could have benefited from therapy, it was this one! Though it just about killed me that he couldn’t/wouldn’t just talk to someone about it already–especially Tamsin!–I also understood why he didn’t. Ms Burke did a convincing job of giving him a way to start on the path to healing, though, and I loved that his aunt was able to help him along.
This is the second in the series, but I think it could work well as a standalone as well–but do yourself a favor and read them both! 😉 There’s also a link here to another series about a certain matchmaking festival that loyal readers might notice…again, you don’t have to have read those books either, but why wouldn’t you want to? After all, it’ll give you something to do while we all wait for Gwen and Somerton’s story!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.