geo_ix's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the book but something (I can’t really put my finger on what it is - characters or story) just didn’t work 100% for me. It was super easy to read and enjoyable but not lovable. Perhaps I needed more emotion. Some more depth to the characters. I never really felt anything they did besides once towards the very end.
The epilogue has me really excited for book two however.
The epilogue has me really excited for book two however.
etprincipalis's review against another edition
3.0
My first Sarah McLean reading. I've been looking for an HR novel that had some of the same qualities as Lisa Kleypas and found considerable success with this choice.
It was an enjoyable read, though obviously, I have some criticisms towards a few parts which I will get into a bit later.
It's a good book but it didn't have the same "hook" as Kleypas' books had for me, which means I would start reading and obsessively binge until I was finished. This particular novel I read in about four days, very on and off before going to bed.
The beginning was very promising.
I enjoyed the premise and the characters as they were introduced.
Bourne is interesting, revenge-focused, and mysterious.
Penny is a lady who thought she knew how courtship worked and was prepared to fulfill her duty until her fiancé broke their engagement to marry someone else for love, turning her whole world upside down, and leaving her to try and cope with the results of being dropped so suddenly by such a prominent match.
Though Penny's character showed a lot of promising traits, I was disappointed with how she evolved throughout the novel, as I didn't think her feelings and experiences were explored in a meaningful way. To me, it seemed that she spent years trying to block out the thought of marrying for love, but was so entranced by the idea that she couldn't accept any other marriage proposal that came her way to the distress of her family and in particular her overbearing mother. And that seems to haunt her a little bit. She wants to do her duty, but that inherently conflicts with the fact that deep down she wants to marry for love.
This debacle creates a problem because her lack of marriage reflects upon her sisters, who are loud and clear about how Penny needs to get it together and marry someone already to not make it harder for them to find suitors as well.
With regards to her sisters, despite the considerably mean ways in which they treated her in the beginning of the novel, it's almost like the author completely forgot about it later on?
They were rude and not at all supportive of their sister, pressuring her to marry literally ANYONE for their own sake, and don't care much about how Penny felt in this situation, being blamed by everyone for their misfortunes. Openly talking about how Penny being dumped in her first season created so much gossip that her two other sisters had to "settle" for the first men who proposed.
And Penny, carrying this guilt imposed upon her by her family, ultimately does what a good girl does: marries someone.
The author hints at this maybe playing a larger role in the development of the main couple's relationship, going as far as to have Bourne ask her what does SHE want, and not what her sisters or anyone else from her family, but ultimately, there's no significant resolution.
She talks about "wanting an adventure", and that ends up being "going to the gaming hell owned by her husband". A lot of the themes of loneliness, duty, and sacrifice aren't explored to their full capacity, leaving the story to be a bit shallow.
It all becomes focused on Bourne's revenge, which should be interesting if anything ever felt like it had weight.
Bourne always has all the cards, or if he doesn't, he's very soon presented the missing piece to his plans. There's no tension. The stakes are not there.
He plans on ruining his old friend's reputation in order to destroy Langford, his old friend's father, but we aren't given ANY reason as to why should we even care other than the fact that this said friend also proposed to Penny at the start of the novel.
There's no back story between him and Bourne, no meaningful interactions other than when they're arguing over Penny. How much either of them loves her. Nothing else connects them.
One of Penny's many concerns is how Bourne only married her to regain Falconwell, his ancestral home, taken by Langford so many years prior. She is haunted by this. Every time she thinks they're developing a genuine connection, she second guesses everything, it's all a ruse. It can't be real.
Michael makes NO meaningful concession to reassure her of her worth.
In fact, her own father further rewards him for "taking her off his hands".
Eveyone gets what they want, but unfortunately, Penny's character continues to live for others and not for herself.
It was an enjoyable read, though obviously, I have some criticisms towards a few parts which I will get into a bit later.
It's a good book but it didn't have the same "hook" as Kleypas' books had for me, which means I would start reading and obsessively binge until I was finished. This particular novel I read in about four days, very on and off before going to bed.
The beginning was very promising.
I enjoyed the premise and the characters as they were introduced.
Bourne is interesting, revenge-focused, and mysterious.
Penny is a lady who thought she knew how courtship worked and was prepared to fulfill her duty until her fiancé broke their engagement to marry someone else for love, turning her whole world upside down, and leaving her to try and cope with the results of being dropped so suddenly by such a prominent match.
Though Penny's character showed a lot of promising traits, I was disappointed with how she evolved throughout the novel, as I didn't think her feelings and experiences were explored in a meaningful way. To me, it seemed that she spent years trying to block out the thought of marrying for love, but was so entranced by the idea that she couldn't accept any other marriage proposal that came her way to the distress of her family and in particular her overbearing mother. And that seems to haunt her a little bit. She wants to do her duty, but that inherently conflicts with the fact that deep down she wants to marry for love.
This debacle creates a problem because her lack of marriage reflects upon her sisters, who are loud and clear about how Penny needs to get it together and marry someone already to not make it harder for them to find suitors as well.
With regards to her sisters, despite the considerably mean ways in which they treated her in the beginning of the novel, it's almost like the author completely forgot about it later on?
They were rude and not at all supportive of their sister, pressuring her to marry literally ANYONE for their own sake, and don't care much about how Penny felt in this situation, being blamed by everyone for their misfortunes. Openly talking about how Penny being dumped in her first season created so much gossip that her two other sisters had to "settle" for the first men who proposed.
And Penny, carrying this guilt imposed upon her by her family, ultimately does what a good girl does: marries someone.
The author hints at this maybe playing a larger role in the development of the main couple's relationship, going as far as to have Bourne ask her what does SHE want, and not what her sisters or anyone else from her family, but ultimately, there's no significant resolution.
She talks about "wanting an adventure", and that ends up being "going to the gaming hell owned by her husband". A lot of the themes of loneliness, duty, and sacrifice aren't explored to their full capacity, leaving the story to be a bit shallow.
It all becomes focused on Bourne's revenge, which should be interesting if anything ever felt like it had weight.
Bourne always has all the cards, or if he doesn't, he's very soon presented the missing piece to his plans. There's no tension. The stakes are not there.
He plans on ruining his old friend's reputation in order to destroy Langford, his old friend's father, but we aren't given ANY reason as to why should we even care other than the fact that this said friend also proposed to Penny at the start of the novel.
There's no back story between him and Bourne, no meaningful interactions other than when they're arguing over Penny. How much either of them loves her. Nothing else connects them.
One of Penny's many concerns is how Bourne only married her to regain Falconwell, his ancestral home, taken by Langford so many years prior. She is haunted by this. Every time she thinks they're developing a genuine connection, she second guesses everything, it's all a ruse. It can't be real.
Michael makes NO meaningful concession to reassure her of her worth.
In fact, her own father further rewards him for "taking her off his hands".
Eveyone gets what they want, but unfortunately, Penny's character continues to live for others and not for herself.
saltycaroline's review
3.0
Weirdly my favorite part of Bourne's arc was when he abducted Penelope in the middle of the night & forced her to marry him. It may not be healthy but it is the truth
CW: Sexual content, kidnapping, addiction
CW: Sexual content, kidnapping, addiction
bookbruin's review
3.5
I haven’t read a lot of books by Sarah MacLean, but after loving the first 2 books in her Hell’s Belles series, I decided to check out her backlist.
A Rogue By Any Other Name was entertaining, but there were a few things that kept me from truly loving it. My main issue with the book was unfortunately Michael. I love a damaged hero and my heart definitely hurt for him and all that he lost, but the entire revenge plot lasted way too long. I wanted him to come to his epiphany much sooner and all the denying of how he really felt and his harsh words and actions towards Penelope to keep her away annoyed me.
Penelope was a great heroine and I liked that she didn’t settle in her search for “more” and that she went after her adventure. I do think she forgave Michael way too easily though and I needed a lot more grovel after everything that he said and did. I’m very intrigued by the other owners of The Fallen Angel and that epilogue has me very excited for Cross and Pippa!
I switched between the ebook and audio with this one and Rosalyn Landor was wonderful as always. I enjoy her performances so much and she’s definitely one of my favorite historical romance narrators.
Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 3-3.5 stars
Tropes: marriage of convenience, childhood friends to lovers, second chance-ish romance, slow burn, epistolary
CW: death of parents (past), loss of fortune & financial hardship (past), blackmail, mentions of an illegitimate child, MMC has a gambling addiction (past, but still a concern in the present), boxing/fighting
A Rogue By Any Other Name was entertaining, but there were a few things that kept me from truly loving it. My main issue with the book was unfortunately Michael. I love a damaged hero and my heart definitely hurt for him and all that he lost, but the entire revenge plot lasted way too long. I wanted him to come to his epiphany much sooner and all the denying of how he really felt and his harsh words and actions towards Penelope to keep her away annoyed me.
Penelope was a great heroine and I liked that she didn’t settle in her search for “more” and that she went after her adventure. I do think she forgave Michael way too easily though and I needed a lot more grovel after everything that he said and did. I’m very intrigued by the other owners of The Fallen Angel and that epilogue has me very excited for Cross and Pippa!
I switched between the ebook and audio with this one and Rosalyn Landor was wonderful as always. I enjoy her performances so much and she’s definitely one of my favorite historical romance narrators.
Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 3-3.5 stars
Tropes: marriage of convenience, childhood friends to lovers, second chance-ish romance, slow burn, epistolary
CW: death of parents (past), loss of fortune & financial hardship (past), blackmail, mentions of an illegitimate child, MMC has a gambling addiction (past, but still a concern in the present), boxing/fighting
alienor's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, probably. Reluctantly charmed is what I am. What can I say, I never could resist strong-willed women and the men who are foolish enough to think they'll outsmart them. Hahahahahaha you wish. Bonus point to Michael for realizing he'd been an asshole (noticeably) sooner than usual, and for introducing Cross who looks very interesting indeed. Not exempt of cheese (and OF COURSE there's that boring mine bullshit) yet quite satisfying.
hilwithonel's review against another edition
3.0
I didnt think it was possible for me to dislike a Maclean novel but the hero of this story made it soooo hard to enjoy
maidcc's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 (Sí, lo he termiando el mismo día :)
No es de los mejores que he leído de MacLean pero sigue teniendo, de manera innegable, su sello estampado por todos lados. Y esa personalidad creo que es de las cosas que más me gustan de ella.
No sé como lo hace pero siento tal empatía por todos los personajes de MacLean...que me pongo en su piel y sufro con ellos, me divierto con ellos y disfruto con ellos.
Y si bien hay muchos líos típicos del género, eso no hace que la lectura sea menos original. Es una autora que no paro de recomendar a los amantes del género. En serio.
No es de los mejores que he leído de MacLean pero sigue teniendo, de manera innegable, su sello estampado por todos lados. Y esa personalidad creo que es de las cosas que más me gustan de ella.
No sé como lo hace pero siento tal empatía por todos los personajes de MacLean...que me pongo en su piel y sufro con ellos, me divierto con ellos y disfruto con ellos.
Y si bien hay muchos líos típicos del género, eso no hace que la lectura sea menos original. Es una autora que no paro de recomendar a los amantes del género. En serio.
bookgoonie's review against another edition
4.0
I now know why Sarah MacLean is a much-loved author. She takes us back in time to when marriage and love don’t always go together. But times are changing and occasionally they do align.
Penelope is damaged. She is in danger of becoming a spinster. Her time to find love has come and gone. Now her parents are forcing her to marry so the family name doesn’t have to weather more tarnishing. I admired her strength to rebuke undesirable suitors despite her clock ticking. She wants to marry someone she loves. She wants to feel passion. It was easy to connect with her and want to witness her journey to get what she wants and settle for nothing less.
Bourne lost everything, but his title. But a title without land holdings doesn’t mean anything. With no family to lean on, he scraps out a name for himself in London’s underworld. Not only does he make a name for himself, but he rebuilds the wealth he lost and more. He is clever and cunning and definitely learned from his mistakes. He has learned to deny his desires, so that he can exact revenge and regain his family estate.
MacLean throws these two at each other. It created a page-turner. I couldn’t find out fast enough how they would both end up with what they wanted. Their goals seem at odds with each other’s and it creates conflict, but also thick sexy time tension. The moments where they put down their agenda and let themselves find comfort in the arms of the other were tender and temperature rising. I didn’t need to sit by the fire to keep warm during this read.
It had everything I love in a book: childhood friends, a bad boy and a strong woman that isn’t afraid to fight for love.
Penelope is damaged. She is in danger of becoming a spinster. Her time to find love has come and gone. Now her parents are forcing her to marry so the family name doesn’t have to weather more tarnishing. I admired her strength to rebuke undesirable suitors despite her clock ticking. She wants to marry someone she loves. She wants to feel passion. It was easy to connect with her and want to witness her journey to get what she wants and settle for nothing less.
Bourne lost everything, but his title. But a title without land holdings doesn’t mean anything. With no family to lean on, he scraps out a name for himself in London’s underworld. Not only does he make a name for himself, but he rebuilds the wealth he lost and more. He is clever and cunning and definitely learned from his mistakes. He has learned to deny his desires, so that he can exact revenge and regain his family estate.
MacLean throws these two at each other. It created a page-turner. I couldn’t find out fast enough how they would both end up with what they wanted. Their goals seem at odds with each other’s and it creates conflict, but also thick sexy time tension. The moments where they put down their agenda and let themselves find comfort in the arms of the other were tender and temperature rising. I didn’t need to sit by the fire to keep warm during this read.
It had everything I love in a book: childhood friends, a bad boy and a strong woman that isn’t afraid to fight for love.
annelives's review against another edition
3.0
While I liked the writing and I thought the story was engaging, I felt that it was a bit of a cliche and not the best example of love.
An innocent aging spinster of plain face and low self esteem saves roguish aristocrat bent on revenge and changes him for the better with the power of her love. I get that historical romance books in general are far fetched, there just weren't that many Dukes, but the romance in this seemed even more exaggerated. It's just not believable that another person can change someone so completely regardless of how much they love them.
While this is barely a three star rating for me, I liked the characters, supporting more than the main characters, that I'd like to read the second in the series. This book ended with a teaser of the second in the series and it has an interesting premise.
An innocent aging spinster of plain face and low self esteem saves roguish aristocrat bent on revenge and changes him for the better with the power of her love. I get that historical romance books in general are far fetched, there just weren't that many Dukes, but the romance in this seemed even more exaggerated. It's just not believable that another person can change someone so completely regardless of how much they love them.
While this is barely a three star rating for me, I liked the characters, supporting more than the main characters, that I'd like to read the second in the series. This book ended with a teaser of the second in the series and it has an interesting premise.
lindacbugg's review against another edition
4.0
I love a story with a rogue and a story where a supposed plain Jane (and her rogue) is transposed by love and desire. I believe a woman knowing she is desired and loved can make a plain Jane glow with a beauty that can't help but show itself to the world.
Buy this title at Powells Books
Buy this title at Powells Books