A Rogue of My Own Book

He could say one thing about Rebecca: she was consistent in sounding plausible. If he didn't know better, it would be so damned easy to believe her, that's how good she was at deception. Dealing with her had been a challenge he'd actually enjoyed--until she'd won. Which was why he was also furious with himself. She'd exploited the one thing he couldn't control--his desire for her.
4.5 stars!

This was my very first HR read EVER before I even knew what the HR genre was. It has been forever since I've read this, and I FINALLY saved up enough to buy it on Kindle. I am glad to announce that it has stood the test of time, and I found myself enjoying this read years later! Because this was a comparative reread for me, I'm going to arrange my review a little differently than I normally would. Be forewarned it will be spoilery, so read on at your own risk!

The beginning of this novel was a bit slow for me and filled with 'tell' more than 'show'. However, I think it was partly due to the author trying to catch readers up from previous books, so I actually appreciated it after I got through the wordiness of it.

Another quirk of the writing that bugged me was the author's use of exclamation points! I'm not a fan of exclamation points in writing, unless a character is shouting something important like "Fire!" or "The British are coming!", so Lindsey's constant use of exclamations in thoughts and external dialogue annoyed me, but I admit I eventually got used to it.

Some tropes that were a part of this story: virginal heroine/rake hero, secret baby (which I don't normally enjoy but didn't last long here), forced marriage of convenience, enemies-to-lovers, along with a very pronounced hate-to-love-you theme. Each one owned a good portion of the novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single trope as I came across it.

Now on to my favorite part: Rupert and Rebecca. As with many historical romances, the characters were the main driving force of this novel, and what great characters they were--both main and secondary. Rupert played the perfect part of a renowned rake--gorgeous, playful, but weary of marriage traps--while also leading a double life as a spy for the Crown. Rebecca was a great leading heroine--beautiful, innocent, smart, at times naive, but headstrong and fearless. They were a great pairing, and although they spent the majority of the novel trying to outsmart and constantly second-guessing each other, the passion and heat between them was palpable and infectious and made for some great chemistry. The secondary characters were also unique and engaging, making for some humorous moments and helping to move the story along.

Overall, this novel did NOT disappoint me in the slightest. Even though it was not a perfect read for me, it had many of the elements I love in the HR genre now--great characters, a smattering of danger, hate-to-love-you theme, a moving plot and great character chemistry and interactions. The steam level was pretty mild although there was some explicit sex scenes so hopefully my mind wasn't too corrupted at a young age haha. I do wish that Rupert had showed more remorse for his actions and had been forced to grovel more towards the end, but overall I loved this one! I can definitely see myself rereading this again at some point, and I am glad to say this was my first venture into the HR world that I have come to love so much so many years later ♡