THE VIRGIN AND THE ROGUE – Sophie Jordan
Rogue Files – Book 6
Avon Books
ISBN-10: 0062885448
ISBN-13: 978-0062885449
April 28, 2020
Historical Romance

Brambledon, Derbyshire, England – 19th Century

Kingston is the bastard son and only child of the Earl of Norfolk. His father is a dissolute and unconstrained man married to an equally dissolute woman. Once self-indulgent himself, Kingston has been celibate for thirteen months, ever since he visited his diseased mother’s bedside. He doesn’t know what he wants except to escape what he was. Traveling and tired, he decides to visit his stepbrother, the Duke of Warrington, who has always eschewed the London lifestyle and his mother and her husband the earl. Kingston knows his stepbrother is not fond of him, but he only plans to spend one night. He is surprised his stepbrother is not living alone, but now has a wife whose sisters are living with the married couple. One of the sisters is engaged to a local young man, but as both are quiet and proper country ladies, neither particularly interests Kingston.

Charlotte and Nora Langley are now living with their sister Marian who recently married the Duke of Warrington (their story was told in THE DUKE'S STOLEN BRIDE). Nathaniel saved them from penury and has been very generous with both of his wife’s sisters. Charlotte is determined to return to her deceased parents’ home after she weds. Nora, an herbalist, gives Charlotte, who is suffering from pre-menses cramps, a draft to help ease her pain. During the night, a strange frenzy grabs Charlotte and she attacks her brother-in-law’s stepbrother in a very sensual way until finding her own release. After returning to her normal self, Charlotte believes Nora gave her an aphrodisiac.

Certainly, Kingston was surprised that an engaged woman acted how Charlotte did, but he, despite his reputation, only let her relieve whatever was driving her. She did, however, spark the first interest he has had in any woman. He decides to extend his stay. Soon, without mentioning it, they are both seriously interested in the other. But Charlotte is engaged, and Kingston determined to avoid any close relationship. It isn’t even until half-way through the story that Charlotte learns Kingston’s given name, Samuel. He never uses it. While some of the behaviors of the two seem more modern than historical, it is important to remember emotions remain very much as they have always been and have always been strong motivators. How these two can resolve their many predicaments makes an entertaining love story.

Robin Lee

Not a "typical" historical romance. Our rogue is the bastard stepbrother of a Duke. Our virgin is a strong smart woman betrothed to a childhood friend who was granted "permission" to marry her once her family came into money and a title. Rogue and virgin meet and there's a spark. Virgin's scientist (or "herbalist" as she prefers to be called) sister concocts a potion supposedly to help with cramps - but it turns out to be an aphrodisiac and our heroine gets a little handsy (to say the least) with the Rogue. Regrets and embarassment set in afterwards - was it truly the tonic or is there real attraction between them? Does Rogue pursue someone who is clearly not his usual dalliance? Can our heroine get out of her engagement? Will there be a happily ever after?
I really enjoyed "The Virgin and the Rogue" and Sophie Jordan has given us another great book.

I thought this book to be the best of The Rogue Files series so far, and great from the beginning. I could not put it down.

I loved this unconventional installation in the Rogue Files series by Sophie Jordan. This book features an unlikely couple in an opposites attract story that was pure escapism from start to finish. Charlotte is the sister of the heroine from the previous book. A steady young woman, she's engaged to be married to her childhood friend with her life mapped out in front of her. Kingston is an illegitimate son of and Earl and a rake searching for more in life. Throw in a "love potion" concocted by Charlotte's herbalist younger sister Nora and STEAMY attraction follows with Kingston and Charlotte both having to decide to follow their hearts or convention.

My one complaint is that the ending seemed rushed and a little harried. I am SO looking forward to Nora's story. I love Sophie Jordan's unlikely and smart heroines. Fall 2020 can't come soon enough!

So Charlotte is engaged to her childhood friend whom she thinks she is in love with and he is just right for her which is not exciting. Unfortunately for her, her sister gives her potion and she gets hot and bothered and ends up humping whatever with Kingston who is not her fiance, it is her brother in law's step brother, now we a triangle, these two dont even like each other, so who to pick, who to pick, the rogue or the boring one.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A change of ingredients in a healing tonic turns it into an aphrodisiac and leads to a passionate encounter between Charlotte Langley and Kingston, the step-brother of her brother-in-law. From there they both work to resist the passion between them because succumbing means completely altering the life they both envisioned for themselves.

The encounters between Charlotte and Kingston are HOT! Sophie Jordan writes love scenes like nobody's business. As a reader you can feel the pull between the characters which makes you invest in their relationship. The book centers them nicely while having a surrounding cast that is engaging but does not takeover the story. Charlotte's sister, Nora was a particular favorite.

The ending of the book wasn't as tidy as I would have liked, seeming a bit rushed. But overall it was a very enjoyable read and I would recommend.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I initially wasn’t sure if I’d read The Virgin and the Rogue, as the last couple installments of the Rogue Files were just ok, and I didn’t even bother with the previous book about this heroine’s sister, because the premise squicked me out and the hero sounded like a dick (something Sophie Jordan even partially confirmed due to a funny autocorrect mistake). However, as more details started to come out, I was intrigued by the bananas love-potion plot.

And it is bonkers, with a generous helping of cheese (how could it not, with that title?), but there is something deeper there, in the midst of the silliness and steaminess that is conveyed very well. I liked Charlotte coming to her point of self-discovery about what she really wants, both in terms of love and life, in spite of feeling forced to conform to expectations that no one but her is putting on her.

And while there were some less-flattering moments, particularly early on in his interactions with Charlotte, I did really like Kingston. His reasoning for giving up his rakish ways, seeing how it impacts women like his mother while the men like his father get away without consequences was heartbreaking. I’m glad there was a reckoning in that area, where he gets to really give his father a piece of his mind, and his father shows how uncaring he really is. I hope he and his wife (the duke’s mother) get slow painful deaths.

And while I didn’t find the start to their relationship that auspicious, especially given the whole “she accosted him while under the influence” thing, I did like the development from there. He shows more than once how he puts her safety first, even if it spits in the face of propriety.

This is a fun book that lives up to every expectation I had based on what I heard about it. If you love a sexy historical romance about a woman finding herself with a reformed (but not too reformed) rogue, then I recommend this one highly.

Charlotte Langley is engaged to a childhood friend who doesn’t exactly make her feel all kinds of passion… especially when his mother is taken into consideration. When her herbalist younger sister gives her a special tonic to help ease her cramps, all of a sudden, she feels all of these new sensations—but not for her fiancé. Kingston, her new brother-in-law’s stepbrother, visiting his new family for the first time and really just looking for an escape from his life, stumbles upon Charlotte in the middle of the night as she tries to get to her sister for some help and instead helps her himself. Charlotte swears that their interaction can never happen again, but Kingston is incredibly drawn to this woman who is not someone with whom he would normally bother.

I tore through this book, and it was one of the first new books I’ve been able to read in a few weeks thanks to the ‘rona upheaval. First off, WHOA BUDDY, WAS THERE SOME STEAM!! The tonic given to her was a fun element, and I really want to get a story about Nora, Charlotte’s herbalist younger sister. I liked seeing Charlotte come to her own realizations about where her life was headed with her fiancé and his cartoonily awful parents (who I loved to hate). I do think that there could have been more built up around Kingston and his parents, specifically his mother, but I was really happy with this The Virgin and the Rogue’s ability to get me to escape for a while!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I must say, this is one of the steamiest historical romances I’ve read! I knew our main character was going to be under a tonic but goodness! The results were very hot! I haven’t read this series before but this book reads easily as a standalone.

While I did think this was pretty steamy, I did have some issues with our main character Charlotte. She hid her feelings and wants behind the concoction that Nora gave her. I wanted her to own up to her feelings for Kingston and her doubts about her betrothal to William. She wanted to blame everyone except herself. I didn’t like that about her. Her and Kingston were good for each other. It just took forever for HER to realize it. Yes, he was rogue but he was more than that.

Overall, I did enjoy this for the most part. I really hope that a story for Nora is next! I can’t wait to see who her love is and what he will think about our scientist.

DNF at 30%

I know that the love potion bananas plotline is supposed to be a callback to Old Skool romance, but I had difficulty with the consent implications. It doesn't seem fair to continue reading the book if the premise is off-putting.

Sophie Jordan is an automatic read for me. She is fun and always grabs my attention. I have read both her historical fiction and contemporary stories and always enjoy her stories. I have to confess sometimes when I start reading her stories I think that I am not going to like the storyline but she always creates such great chemistry between the hero and the heroine that I end up hooked!
“The Virgin and the Rogue” is the sixth book in The Rogue files series.

Pure escapism. That is what reading this story is about. It is supposed to be deep thinking? No! Every book I read of Ms. Jordan’s is quick and fun and flirty and fabulous. Here we have a woman who is content with living a boring life but then the rogue comes along and she blames her sexual curiosity on a tonic. Not true, she has true feelings for this fella. I like the change of a woman ready to settle compared to the usual reads where the woman wants everything right away. I love the banter. I just wish there was more talking and less pondering their feelings. But that is just me. If only we could all have a Samuel in our lives!

I got some old school romance vibes from this one--it almost felt like an homage. Looking forward to Nora's story because she was my favorite character, and I love a historical lady scientist romance.

In the words of Sarah MacLean "What a crazy bananas book". I loved this. From literally the first chapter when we meet are heroine who is having awful cramps and her crazy herbalist sister that accidentally give her an aphrodisiac. I loved the hero who just feels lost in the beginning of the book and I loved the fact there was honestly very little angst. This feels like a comedy of errors book or a really hot Jane Austen novel set in the country. Every part of it was a welcome distraction for my brain and I found myself laughing out loud several times. I know need to officially read every other book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable story. It's book 6 in the Rogue file series.
I liked the hero, Kingston (Samuel). I felt he was a lost sole, with a tough upbringing, who was looking to better his life.
The heroine, Charlotte (Charlie), on the other hand, was someone who just skirted thru life. She was reserved, predictable, unobjectionable.
I think her character is what held this book back from being excellent. Ms. Jordan usually writes strong women. Charlotte was not.
Maybe it was role reversal, because I felt the strength in characters here was Kingston. He was making a better life for himself, stood up to his father on behalf of his mother and Charlotte and put himself out there for love.
I want to thank Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

Maybe wandering into the middle of this series didn't help, but some other people reading this series didn't seem as thrilled with the character development as well. It's always a tough sell when a character does a practical 180 from their usual character in previous books--especially when it rapidly devolves into what sounds like a bad porn flick the first quarter of the book. Reverse-engineering sexual tension from what's usually the near-apex of a typical Regency/Victorian-era story arc (now I know I've read too many of these--I used the word "apex") is always tricky. I might've given it another star if I had already known the other characters in this series; as a standalone it didn't work for me here.

Blurb:
Love potion…

Charlotte Langley has always been the prudent middle sister, so her family is not surprised when she makes the safe choice and agrees to wed her childhood sweetheart. But when she finds herself under the weather and drinks a “healing” tonic, the potion provokes the most maddening desire... for someone other than her betrothed.

With the power…

Kingston’s rakehell ways are going to destroy him, and he’s vowed to change. His stepbrother’s remote estate is just the place for a reformed rogue to hide. The last thing he wants is to be surrounded by society, but when he gets stuck alone with a wallflower who is already betrothed... and she astonishes him with a fiery kiss, he forgets all about hiding.

To alter two destinies.

Although Charlotte appears meek, Kingston soon discovers there’s a vixen inside, yearning to break free. Unable to forget their illicit moment of passion, Kingston vows to relive the encounter, but Charlotte has sworn it will never happen again—no matter how earth-shattering it was. But will a devilish rogue tempt her to risk everything for a chance at true love?

Charlotte always knew she was going to marry her childhood sweetheart. Wedding plans were made. Guests were invited.

Unfortunately the day she was possible to dine with her future in laws, she was suffering from her monthly pains and discomfort. Her sister Nora was always developing new herbal treatments and gave her something to help. Unknown to Charlotte her new medicine was special.

Kingston came to visit his step brother to get away from London and problems. Unknown to him, his step brother got married and is help raising two young sisters.

The night of dinner Charlotte was having problems with medicine. Going upstairs to rest she couldnt sleep. Going to downstairs to find something to help , trouble happened.

Kingston was coming out of library and was accosted by a hormonal Charlotte and she couldn't stop herself from throwing herself at Kingston

The medicine was aphrodisiac made by Nora as an experiment. Charlotte was furious and upset at Nora for putting her in position.

Kingston realized there was to Charlotte, he determine to find out. If she was mild, boring chit or someone who was hiding her passion behind the potion.

Only thing Kingston knew he was bastard and in position to expect everything from Charlotte.
Comment

Chapter 1: The heroine has premenstrual cramps and her herbalist sister gives her a tonic for them, formulated slightly differently than before.

Chapter 2 and 3: Meet the hero, somewhat awkward dinner with everyone including the heroine's betrothed and his parents.

Chapter 4: In which everything goes bananas and things happen in a historical that I've never read before. A milksop maid proves herself anything but.

Look, I loved it. I want to read it all over again. Just imagine me doodling stars and rainbows around this book. That's pretty accurate. The bananas chapters are bananas. And very steamy. I hadn't read the other books in the series, so I didn't have the full background on the family, but that was not a problem. And I"m assuming Nora's book is next, which I want desperately, having just met her here.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have enjoyed Jordan's past books, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy this one at all. Charlotte's sister gives her a tonic for cramps which she then believes is an aphrodisiac that causes her to basically accost a man she had just met that day. The interactions between the two characters never felt genuine or romantic, it was entirely lust based. This whole book was honestly ridiculous and I felt indifferent at best to all the characters.

I knew from reading the synopsis that I was going to love this. I mean, come on, a love potion AND a historical romance? Sign me up!

I first became a fan of Sophie Jordan when I read a novella of hers last year, and I knew I needed to read some of her full length novels right away.

From the first page of this book, I was completely hooked. I really enjoy how simple/easy Jordan’s writing style is. The characters were enjoyable as well, but my favorite part was probably the smutty delights haha!

Looking forward to reading more from this series and author! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc!