“She was heartily sick of society and beyond ready for an afternoon of books and freedom.”
A couple of quick points:
• This is one of my favorite covers, possibly ever. Just look at it. 
• Beatrice is the bookish heroine we’ve been waiting for.
• There is a scene involving a desk (that I wish was MUCH longer).
• Demolition day can be super sexy.
• I’d like to join a secret bluestocking society masquerading as a knitting group.
Beatrice is desperate for a break from society and her mother’s endless crusade to find her a husband. The girl just wants to be left alone to read and write her dictionary and I feel that so hard. She’s trying to enjoy a quiet retreat at her brother’s house before her next season begins when she meets the incredibly cocky, broad shouldered carpenter that her brother has hired for renovations. Despite her self-revulsion, she just can’t seem to stop watching him work from the window of her tower library.
Ford is well aware of his prim admirer and he cannot get enough of getting under her skin. Despite his attraction, she’s his bosses sister and he’s leaving soon anyways so he makes his best effort to keep his distance. A chance encounter leaves them both unable to stop thinking about the other weeks later as they run into each other again in London. Beatrice is thrilled to discover that she’s inherited a rare bookshop in London that has fallen into disrepair. She hires Ford to help her, who agrees for REASONS and the sparks fly from there.
Love is a Rogue is smart, sexy, and a lot of fun. Bell tackles some more serious topics including family dysfunction with heavy themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. Beatrice is strong willed and courageous and stands up to her mother in the most delightful way. This was my first by Lenora Bell but will absolutely not be my last. My thanks to Avon for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest review.

boring and eh

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. I wanted to give this 5 stars, but I did think that the resolution with Ford’s grandfather was a little too easy. That said, in general, I appreciated that Beatrice and Ford didn’t hesitate to discuss their problems openly, even though Ford did keep a secret from her because of a promise to his mother. Whenever there was angst, it was short-lived, which did my heart good. Their relationship is so sweet and heartwarming. When Ford built her the bookshelves from the floorboards they pulled up together, my heart absolutely melted.

The overall message of the book is that love conquers all—a classic in the romance genre. While that may be hard to believe during these trying times, it’s nice to read it coming true on the page.
Beatrice and I would be the best of friends. I loved her love of words and how she takes charge of herself and her life. I’ve never seen a heroine born with palsy before, and, though I can’t quite relate myself, I appreciate the representation. Ford is a wonderful working-class hero. Not only that, but he respects Beatrice and women’s opinions and abilities. I don’t know how anyone could not love him.

I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series when it comes out and appreciated the glimpses we get into future books in the epilogue (at least, if I’m correct in my guesses). I’ve actually only read one other of Bell’s books, but now I want to tackle that backlog. I enjoyed the cameos from previous novels, even though I haven’t properly met those characters yet.

I love Bell’s writing style. It’s humorous, witty, and savory all at once.

3.5

As a teen, I fell in love with romance novels. Opulent royal lives filled with forbidden romance that somehow wins. As I got older, I stopped reading them, deeming them silly but a few years ago I began occasionally reading again. Regency romance is my guilty pleasure - formulaic but also comforting and fun.

Love is a Rogue follows Lady Beatrice who eschews marriage and dreams of writing a etymological dictionary. Ford Wright is a rogue (aren’t they all) working for Beatrice’s brother but planning to leave on a navy ship. The two have instant attraction that they’re both determined not to acknowledge.

What I liked: Ford is a flirt that’s clearly smitten and a good guy. I loved that Beatrice was a strong smart female that wasn’t necessarily looking for love. The story and plot moves at a good pace with just the right amount of drama thrown in the lovers path.

What didn’t work for me: Beatrice constantly using little-know words is a bit exhausting. She could have been an intelligent character without sounding like she’s reading a dictionary. The ending felt rushed and too easily wrapped up.

Who should read it: this is typical what I call drugstore romance - it follows a familiar path with plenty of steamy explicit sex scenes. If you’re not into romance steer clear.

This book sets up a series and I am here for Isobel and Rafe’s story.

Beatrice is a bookish wallflower, content to hide away and work on her dictionary, rather than be out in society or trying to find a husband. She's staying at her brother's mansion to work, but it's under construction, and one specific, rogue-ish construction worker is proving to be very distracting.

However, Beatrice and Ford are having a hard time staying away from each other - and not kissing! When Beatrice finds out that she inherited a bookshop from an estranged aunt, she asks Ford to be the one to help renovate it. But it turns out, the man trying to take the bookshop away from Beatrice is also Ford's very estranged grandfather. These two have to figure out if love really can conquer all, when families are at odds and society says these two are far from meant to be!

I really enjoyed Beatrice and Ford both as individual characters and together! Plus this group of feminist friends! I definitely want to come back to this series to read more about them and their new clubhouse/bookshop!

This was fun! I liked how Ford would irritate Beatrice and then be on her mind and he was turned on by her being her bookish, wordy self. She’s working on a dictionary and she could probably just sit there reading it and he’d be like my god she’s the most delectable woman.

I liked that there was no interference by another love interest cause usually we have either someone that the heroine already is interested in or there’s a match already set (there’s kind of was one but she didn’t like him and had no intention of marrying him so it doesn’t count) and the guy is usually bopping about either in the beginning where he then can’t get the heroine out of his mind or later where he’s trying to get her off his mind. Nope, it was just them arguing and flirting and then making eyes at each other.

Oh and the big conflict that usually breaks the couple up…didn’t really happen. Oh there was an attempt but it did not work and there was a “you deserve better” moment but we squashed that real quick.

Full Review posted at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

Series/Standalone: Part of series, but I believe each could be read a standalone.

HEA: Yes.

Trope/Elements: Opposites Attract; Differences of Station and Class in life.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. Overall, this book receives 4-stars from me, and I would recommend this book, especially to readers of the Historical Romance genre. If you enjoy books with a clash of Wallflowers and Rogues, this book is for you too. These Wallflowers are proving they can do what men can do and even better.:)

I fucking love this one! It was a much needed palate cleanser after a series of disappointing-to-me contemporaries. It also facilitated my realization/understanding that the books I'm craving for this season of my life aren't about perfect, pretty people getting their HEA's but about those of us who find ourselves on the sidelines getting ours.

Beatrice was that heroine for me. Injured at birth, it's hinted that she has permanent paralysis on one side of her face. This was part of her story but it wasn’t the only interesting thing about her. It intersected with her journey of coming into her self in that it impacted how others treated her, including her own family, instead of it being the only thing we needed to know. She’s wicked smart, tough as nails, and also just a woman with hopes, Desires, needs, And dreams, living in a world that tried to stop her from having any of that.

One of the things this story did particularly well was highlight how other people's love can teach us how to love ourselves more. Not in a "magic peen" way, where suddenly having sex makes everything better. But in seeing acceptance and love mirrored back at us, an example we might not otherwise have had in our lives.

Neither of them asked the other to change who they fundamentally are, but instead help each other grow into their best selves. These are the stories I want –people with baggage doing the work on their own and in community and partnerships and finding their HEA in that process. Because fuck this whole you need to love yourself first in order to be loved thing. That wasn't the world in Regency England, and it's certainly not the world we live in today.

Lastly, the sexy ends were perfect. Their chemistry belt and belt and belt and Ford was attentive without being overbearing. There isn't an abundance of scenes and they aren't super explicit, but they're done in a way that is better in my opinion than many other books that have more or more explicit ones.

I can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series, and more works from Lenora’s other series as well.