Another amazing story from Lenora Bell. Loved Ford and Beatrice. I did think there'd be a bit more arguing between them, just based on the description on the back cover.

This was a great start to this series.

Love is a Rogue by Lenora Bell reminds me why I love historical romance so greatly. Even if I’m not reading the genre as much as before, every now and then I try to get back into the fascinating world of the English countryside and fall into a beautiful love story like this one.
I love that our hero, Ford is not your usual high society lineage duke or any other nobility person. He’s so down to earth, caring,loving and most of all respects a woman’s life,heart and mind. He acknowledges her as his equal and that’s the most important thing for me, even in times where women weren’t allowed to have their own voice.
Beatrice is a wonderful character and her personality is a perfect mix between stubborn and strong but also loving and sensitive or better said feminine.
Their interaction is so good and many times I had laughed out loud as well as felt the heartache. The balance is very well done and you just can't seem to stop needing more from them.
Wonderful characters, witty banter, funny moments and romantic happily ever after story.

I was so looking forward to this and really wanted to love it but I just didn’t connect with the characters. For me, Beatrice was coming off as over the top and everything seems so drawn out and wordy. And I know words are Beatrice’s thing, but sometimes it felt forced. I did like Ford and found him rather charming but I wasn’t feeling them together and I was missing that pull I wanted them to have. There was so much potential in their interactions but they fell flat and seemed drawn out at times. I am sorry to say this one was not for me.

Complimenetary copy received.

"We can’t have males tearing down our achievements."

Yay for Beatrice's personality, the feminism, the mutual support, etymological anecdotes and the banter (I'd have loved even more of the latter two).

Had it not been for the last 50 or so pages, I'd have given this book four stars. Firstly, I hoped that Beatrice would have been allowed to defend herself from Mayhew, so I was disappointed when Ford turned up and "saved" her (and her admiring that side of Ford despite herself). I also strongly felt that all the problems resolved themselves far too quickly. Especially from Ford's perspective - he really loathed his grandfather, and it would have been far more believable if the progress had been slow (and not from one moment to the next). Beatrice and Ford also started to speak/interact very (too) sweetly towards the end, which was quite a leap from their previous interactions. Some HEAs appear to be too sweet for my taste...

Y’all, "Love is a Rouge," let me tell you-

Sigh. Y’all, this review hurts my heart a little to write. I want Lenora Bell to be loved and I want to support her- but I just can’t back this book. I am going to drop some spoiler bombs so stop reading now if you want to experience this book organically.

With "Love is a Rouge", I was willing to settle for just mildly enjoying it rather than loving it. But I couldn’t even get that far. I just couldn’t wait for this book to be over. I had a couple of rolling my eye moments, but besides that, the book wasn’t offending as much as just rather unbelievable and boring.

Maybe when a reader doesn't connect to the MCs, they are then unable to progress down the emotional journey with those characters. You’re not invested and don’t buy it. I couldn’t relate to Beatrice or fall in love with Ford so maybe I hit a plexiglass panel that kept me from appreciating their struggles and rejoicing in the ending - beyond being glad it was over.

Just for anyone who is interested, here are my eye-rolling scenes:

1- So, Beatrice is trying to decode a secret message. First, her friend suggests a rather obvious suggestion and Beatrice says “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” Well, I was wondering the same thing. Then later, Ford suggestions another meaning to a clue and Beatrice again says “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” to which Ford then thinks to himself “What an intellect.” As in, “Wow, Beatrice is so smart!” I’m sorry, but this gal can’t figure out anything herself, so Ford and I disagree there.

2- The genius plan on how to win the antagonist over is to be kind to him. Yep. Right after a group of what left like 56 women discuss how heartless this man is, they decide the best way to deal with him is to be nice to him. What do they think this is? The Christmas Carol but 86 the creepy dreams that do all the heavy lifting? Anticlimactically their plan works. Which either means I’m cynical and know how to hold a good grudge, or this is a bit unrealistic of a conclusion.

Anyway and alrighty, they have kissed, Lenora Bell is still my kind of author even if this isn’t my kind of book, and I’ve told you about it!

Reviewed for Wit and Sin

A bookish wallflower meets her match in a rogue who’s good with his hands in Love is a Rogue. I loved the premise of Lenora Bell’s Wallflowers vs. Rogues series but the execution in this first novel fell a bit flat for me.

All Lady Beatrice Bentley wants to do is retire to her brother’s estate in Cornwall and work on her etymological dictionary. She’s a determined spinster, but finds herself drawn to carpenter Stamford Wright who is disturbing her peace as he works on her brother’s home. Ford shakes her composure, but Beatrice expects she will never see him again once she’s swept up into the London season – and her mother’s machinations to marry her off. However, fate has other plans for them and Ford once again enters her life. They become entangled when Beatrice inherits a bookshop that’s in desperate need of renovation. She wants to turn it into a clubhouse for her “knitting club” (a secret society of feminists working to support each other’s dreams and goals) and Ford is the only man for the job. They’re from two different worlds and Ford has seen firsthand what happens to a woman who marries someone of a different class. Both know nothing can come of their attraction, yet neither can resist the other. Thus, they follow a fairly predictable route as they fall in love. There’s nothing wrong with a good formula but it felt like the emotion required to make it compelling was missing. All the elements were there for a solid love story, yet I felt like I was floating on the surface of a good romance the whole time, never going deeper, which was a disappointment.

There’s a lot to unpack in this book and all of it has potential. The push-pull between duty and desire, characters coming into their own, an inheritance with a secret attached to it, a villainous opponent, secret relations, naughty texts, a revolutionary group of women, and more, but it all feels very surface level. Plot points dragged on, became important, then inexplicably fizzled. There are many points in Love is a Rogue where Beatrice stops and talks about being a bibliophile, and even more where she and her friends point out the sexism in society. I wanted to love the book because of this but the sentiments (ones I wholeheartedly agreed with) rang hollow. Love is a Rogue isn’t a bad book but I struggled with it because it never succeeded in drawing me in and thus the book dragged. However, I seem to be in the minority at this time so perhaps this is simply a case of a book and a reader not being a good match.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.