3.5 Stars

In Once a Scoundrel we get not one, but two Mary Jo Putney romances!

That being said, I think this book could have benefited from more. With two romances and a wild piratey adventure happening (complete with zoo animals, hostages, and ransoms) there was just a lot going on for two fleshed out romances.

I understand why it was chosen to be told this way... Two girls as close as sisters on the same boat being held hostage together; two different books wouldn't have made much sense, but I still just wanted more.

I did not enjoy this as much as the other books by the same author I've read. Aurora, Gabriel, and many of the other characters just felt a little flat to me this time and I found the book not being able to really hold my attention. I'm afraid I mostly felt like I was skimming the story instead of really being pulled in and reading it, trying to fall into the romance and drama of the story and just not feeling it.

I usually love Mary Jo Pitney but this one was just not for me. I'm quite disappointed as I loved the sound of this book but I just couldn't like it

I always look forward to reading Mary Jo Putney book. Once a Scoundrel does not disappoint. Gabriel Hawkins has appeared in previous offerings in this series. He is one of the five men who escaped from the firing squad (book one), and was the ship's captain who helped Callie and Gordon leave the colonies during the War of 1812. He meets his match in Lady Aurora Lawrence. She would be considered a female adventurer today, but in 1815, her behavior is frowned upon. He is hired by the lady's grandmother to secure her freedom from being sold into a harem. Gabriel views her image in a miniature and knows her spirit should not be stifled by harem slavery. It turns out her capture is an old enemy/friend. However, Malek has his own reasons for wanting the ransom and the highly prized fair haired virgin. As the attraction between Rory and Gabriel grows, how can they deal with what may be her inevitable fate. This read is filled with action, intrigue, and danger with a bonus romance between Rory 's cousin, Constance and the First Mate, Jason. This is my mind of read and have already started the next book in the series. You can read them as standalones, but I suggest you start from the beginning of the seires. You don't want to miss any of these delicious books and characters.

A great romance with plenty of spunk and steamy scenes! I’d recommend reading this novel if you enjoy reading books with sensuality and a good storyline.

This is a Georgian novel set on the high seas and the Barbary Coast, so yes, pirates, a menagerie, two beautiful English women in danger of being sold into sex slavery via a harem.

Gabriel Hawkins Vance is chucked out of the Navy for some heinous crime (which isn't revealed until well into the book). He does quite well for himself as captain of his own ship, doing a bit of smuggling and blockade running. When Aurora (Roaring Rory) Lawrence and her companion, Constance, are captured by a Barbary pirate while gallivanting around the world, they are offered up for (a huge) ransom, which despite being an Earl, her father can't pay. Captain Gabriel Hawkins (he's dropped the Vance bit along with all family connections) is sent to negotiate their release for a smaller sum. Yes the obvious happens, Gabriel and Rory fall in love instantly. There's a lot of Gabriel's backstory revealed since he has past history with the Barbary pirate in question. It turns out that his heinous Naval crime wasn't heinous. So in fact he was never a real scoundrel at all. In fact he's gentlemanly and honourable throughout the whole book. In general the characters aren't terribly engaging. The women are both a bit annoying since every experience, however dire, seems to give them fuel for the next adventure book they are writing together. There's a rescue that's a bit too easy. Expect pygmy goats, a lion (underused in the plot - like the unfired gun on the mantelpiece) and a ship's cat called Spook.

To be honest this was a pleasant enough bit of escapism, if you could ignore some of the dialogue, but not the best of its kind.

I absolutely loved Rory and Constance. I love how they fought for their freedom. Gabriel was so dreamy and a perfect fit for Rory. I would like to know more about Suzanne

Stevie‘s review of Once a Scoundrel (Rogues Redeemed, Book 3) by Mary Jo Putney
Historical Romance published by Zebra 25 Sep 18

Lady adventurers number amongst my favourite historical heroines, and this book gives us not one but two bold Englishwomen abroad. Lady Aurora Lawrence and her companion and illegitimate cousin Constance Hollings are returning from a trip to India when they are captured by pirates and held for ransom. Unfortunately, Rory is all to aware that the price demanded for her and Constance – and the sailors captured along with them, whom she won’t leave behind – is far too steep for her land-rich, cash-poor father: assuming he even wants her back after all the scandal she caused by refusing to marry. Fortunately, there’s one man who might be able to rescue all of them from their current predicament.


Captain Gabriel Hawkins should be known to readers of this series from the two previous books, although so far we’ve learned little of his backstory. The grandson of a renowned Admiral in the Royal Navy, Gabriel’s own naval career came to an abrupt end when he stood up to a cruel senior officer and was sent home in disgrace. Since then, his adventures have made him a relatively rich man, with his own ship to command, as well as friends he can call on for help – and who can rely on him to help them – all over the globe. Hired to rescue Rory, Gabriel is surprised and taken aback to find their captor is one of his former allies, who appears to have gone back to his old piratical ways after supposedly taking up more honest means of making a living.

All is not entirely as it seems, however; Gabriel’s friend is himself at the mercy of the men holding his own family hostage and needs the money for Rory to ransom them. With a large shortfall in the money needed, Gabriel agrees to join the second rescue mission – along with the Englishwomen, who may still be sold into harem slavery if a better solution can’t be found – and also a menagerie of exotic beasts, yet more offerings to exchange for the second group of captives. While travelling to their destination, Gabriel strikes up a flirtation with Rory, while his second in command is equally taken with Rory’s cousin.

I loved all the twists and turns this story took and wanted to cheer on both the main couples. I also appreciated the way the book’s theme kept coming back to the overarching theme of the series: that of family, both those joined by blood and those made through choice. A couple of the subplots were maybe less developed than they could have been, always a problem in series with large casts, but I’m generally happy with the way these books are bringing in new characters without completely forgetting any of those we’ve already met and who give the series its title. If the hero of the next book is who I expect him to be, we should be in for another fun time in that one as well.

Grade: B

High quality, well written romance from an excellent author, well developed characters and an exciting premise, make for a rollicking tale with pace and plenty of interest.

Always enjoy a book by Putney, as she is generally excellent on period and details and always good on character development and dialogue. The hero wasn’t really a scoundrel, just unfairly cast out by his grandfather, after being cashiered out of the Navy. He is exiled and makes a success of his life by captaining his own merchant ship and running blockades in the Napoleonic wars in Europe and the 1812 war in America.

Rory (Lady Aurora) is a strong willed young woman who has used an inheritance to travel the world with her companion Constance, and collaborates with her to write a series of romantic adventures. She is kidnapped by pirates and they are trapped in a Algerian harem hoping for rescue.

Gabriel is asked to rescue her from these Barbary pirates, as her father has refused to pay the extortionate ransom demand of £50,000,and her mother has scraped together half of that, he is reluctant to accept the challenge until he sees a miniature of Rory, and feels an immediate connection to her.

When Gabriel gets involved he realises that he knows Rory’s abductor, Malek Reis, and this complicates matters hugely.

The plot is face paced and exciting, the very definition of an old fashioned swashbuckling tale, and there are lots of tricky plot twists for the main characters to navigate too. The relationship between Gabriel and Rory is beautifully done, and the characters are well drawn and believable. There is a lovely secondary romance between Constance and Gabriel’s first mate Jason.

I thought the period detail was accurate and the depiction of the Barbary coast very interesting and exciting. Even the villain was fleshed out and had a backstory that helped the believability of the characters.

I really enjoyed this, despite the pantomime cruelty of Gabriel’s Grandfather and level of unconcern shown by Rory’s father to her kidnapping.

I received a free copy of this book for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a long standing fan of Mary Jo Putney, I found this book to be a disappointing read. It was pretty much a historical romance by numbers. There was no emotional depth to either hero or heroine and their chemistry felt flat. Not up to Ms. Putney's usual standards.

Disgraced grandson of an Earl, Gabriel Hawkins, agrees to go to Algiers to rescue Lady Aurora Lawrence from Barbary pirates. ARC from NetGalley.

I’ve been a fan of Mary Jo Putney for a long time, so it pains me to say that this book was a big old “meh” for me.

First, I’m just not a fan of instalove, and this book treads way too close to the line on that trope for me. Ship’s captain Gabriel is asked to rescue a young Englishwoman kidnapped for ransom by Barbary pirates, which he agrees to do after seeing a picture of her in a locket. He just knows upon looking at Rory that she is special. And then, when they first meet, they go all googly-eyed about each other almost immediately. Declarations of feelings soon follow. For a romance to work for me, I need a little more buildup between attraction and actual realization of deeper emotions.

The other thing that was problematic for me was that the drama and tension was curiously lacking for a book where the heroine is in danger of winding up in a harem. A book about pirates shouldn’t feel civilized, but this one does. The kidnapper is an honorable man who needs money to rescue his wife and children from the true villain. Rory’s cousin, who was also kidnapped, is somewhat molested by a servant at one point, but it mostly gets shrugged off as a cultural misunderstanding. It’s not until Rory winds up in the harem that I finally felt like there were some stakes to the action, but that’s deep into the story.

What worked? Well, the historical aspects of the novel were well done; Putney always does her research, and it shows. There’s a secondary romance between Rory’s cousin and Gabriel’s first mate that I thought was more charming than the one between the main characters. And there’s a cat. Any book where a cat gets a starring role can’t be all bad.

But overall, meh. I hope this is an aberration, and the next book is a return to form for the author.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Captain Gabriel Hawkins is not looking for adventure when he accepts an assignment to deliver a ransom for Lady Aurora Lawrence, but he is soon involved with pirates, exotic animals, and harems!

Aurora fears that she may never again see her native England nor her family once she is kidnapped by a Corsair and held in a harem in Barbary. Gabriel has had no contact with his family in many years but he cannot resist helping Aurora once he views her lovely portrait. He realizes the many risks of this journey and he knows that he must do everything possible to rescue Aurora.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC; all opinions are my own.

Swashbuckling adventure and romance that touched my heart is how I would describe this book. I am not usually a big fan of harem romance novels so I was a little skeptical about this book before reading it. I have to say that the characters are so beautifully written that they pulled me into the story right from the first chapter. This is book three in the Rogues redeemed series but can be read as a standalone.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

This sounded exactly like my kind of book, but unfortunately I found it extremely difficult to read. It was very unbelievable and I could not relate to any of the characters.

This is the story of Lady Aurora or Rory and Gabriel Hawkins, sea Captain.
Rory has been captured by Barbury pirates and is being held for ransom, an amount her family cannot pay.
Gabriel is a privateer who captains his own ship. He is familiar with the Barbury coast and is sent to negotiate with these pirates and to bring Rory back.
Of course the adventures begin from there.
I am a huge MJ Putney fan but this book was a little disappointing. I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters. I thought the adventure a little ho hum. I have enjoyed this series but this book wasn't my favorite.

~Reviewed by AnnMarie~~

Once a Scoundrel is the third book in the Rogues Redeemed series by Mary Jo Putney.

Lady Aurora Lawrence isn’t your usual rich lady with her mind on marriage. She loves to travel and to experience adventures. She gets a little more than she bargains for when she and her cousin and companion, Constance, are kidnapped by Corsairs and taken to live in a harem! A ransom demand is sent to Aurora’s parents for an impossible amount to raise making her father resolved to leave her where she is and her mother deciding that that was just not going to happen. She manages to raise enough for half the ransom, plus engages the help of a man who is known as a great negotiator.

That man is Gabriel Hawkins. Formally of the Royal Navy he now is captain of his own ship. He’s earned his living doing both legal and illegal jobs, he’s a strong capable man and he is perfect for the job of trying to rescue Aurora and her cousin.

The rescue, of course, isn’t straightforward, in fact, it involves a whole other sea voyage and taking on an even more dastardly enemy one that Gabriel has dealt with before and one that one normally wouldn’t want to cross. He also lives in a veritable fortress, so not so easy for rescuing damsels in distress.

This book has it all, the swashbuckling adventure at sea, the drama of the women being taken hostage not once but twice, and all the suspense of trying to get them free and back home safely. The battles at sea were fabulous and the author described them so well that I could easily picture the scenes. Of course, there was romance too with some fabulously passionate moments between Gabriel and Aurora. The lust between them was palpable at times especially when they were trying not to give in to temptation fully. There wasn’t a dull moment in this story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn’t read it quickly enough to find out how it would end.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

Mary Jo writes a high seas adventure that will take you to far away places to explore and a love story filled with exotic places and people, from England to Constantinople. A hero to steal your heart and a brave brazen young lady. Great Book. I recommend this book and any book written by Mary Jo Putney.

This is a fast-paced read with plenty of drama and suspense. I enjoyed this entertaining and historical read, the story is wrapped in history. I gave it four stars because I would have liked a bit more emotion and intensity between the characters. Overall it is a good read.

Gabriel Hawkins Vance, lost all, everything. His cruel grandfather threw him out of their families home and their lives until he brought honor back to his name. Lady Aurora Octavia Lawrence was adventurous and loved traveling but she had been captured by Barbary pirates. They wanted a whole bunch of money to send her and her companion home, otherwise slavery and living their lives in a harem. Gabriel agreed to take her mom's money to free her daughter but it was only half of what the Pirate Ma
lik wanted. Gabriel offers his services to fulfill the rest of the ransom. Malik's wife and children
Constantinople and then hopefully to Algiers. There were some nasty bad guys. But the other characters were kind, and did what they had to do to try to keep all safe. The descriptions were great and you could see yourself in that time and place. The writing was very good, the words moved smoothly and it kept your attention. As usual this author always has great books and stories and never disappoints.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.