A review by jujudepamplemousse
Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt

2.0

This was such a disappointment. I love the bodyguard trope but I didn’t enjoy this book at all.

Phoebe and Trevillion were kind of fine as friends but the romance didn’t work. They had no chemistry. The physical part of their relationship was so awkward and I did not like how it was handled. Actually I have much to say about that.
First, Phoebe forced her kiss and touch on Trevillion. Even though he might like her, no means no. And because she is a girl and she is blind it still doesn’t make it okay.
Then, Elizabeth Hoyt made us wait quite some time for the first really intimate moment, but what was that ? I wondered if it was a foggy dream before realizing it really happened. All of their intercourses felt so blunt, detached and impersonal.
I would also add that the age gap was fine at first but started being really weird when their relationship became physical. Elizabeth Hoyt didn’t stop emphasizing on how young and inexperienced she looked and it was just completely creepy as this passage "She looked all of twelve. He was a lecherous bastard, plain and simple, but he could no longer deny the pull she exerted on him just by breathing". I don't understand what this is suppose to be.

Other than the awkward and creepy love scenes the rest of the plot was weak, repetitive and too melodramatic. The characters were not really likable. Both characters were quite insipide and I found Phoebe to be stupid and immature at times. The narrative voice also sounded way too modern for a story set in England in the middle of the 18th century.

All in all, it was my first time reading a book by Elizabeth Hoyt but I’m not sure her style matches my tastes.