I absolutely love the way Julia and Garrett had an instant bond. I always wonder what Julia’s story would be since she appeared in the other story. I would like to hear more of the Duke’s story. To me it didn’t really fit why he treated Julia so poorly. I look forward to reading about Brian next. Thank you.

After reading The Earl Next Door, I was eager to read Gone With the Rogue to get Julia's story.

Julia is a widow and is totally at the mercy of her father-in-law, who happens to be a duke. It's a situation which would have been very typical during that time where women had very little control over their own lives and were often at the mercy of the men in their families. In Julia's situation, her father-in-law wasn't treating her in the kindest manner and her situation was definitely not a good one. To make it more complicated she has a son and he is not above holding her son above her head. Basically he wants control over the boy. She needs to change her situation but she needs help to do so. At this point, enter the hero...Garrett Stockton. Even though he's known as a "rogue" in society...hence the title, he is chivalrous to Julia. Garrett proves himself to be a kind and caring man who is capable and willing to put others before himself.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really did not like this book. I thought the conflict was overly melodramatic and not very believable. The topic of the duke taking her son was brought up ad nauseam. Conversation after conversation. Page after page. I started skimming because...I get it. He's threatening to take her son. I didn't need that shoved in my face so many times. Then the whole business with her getting the papers for his brothel ownership and how that landed in the heroes hands and it was the same thing all over again. Fret. Fret. Page after page. Enough already!

I also thought it horrendous that the heroine made her 4 year old son stand in the corner for an hour because he threw a ball. Especially when she thinks his tutor expects too much of him.

At the end, after the hero has been supportive of her and her son the whole book, being nothing but wonderful, she accuses him of not caring for her son and only wanting her. I don't know where she got that idea.

She's just awful. I cannot stand her.

The book also had some really boring moments. Like her making bread and soup.

The sex was also underwhelming. Not hot. Too quick. Very flowery.

I am not posting this review on social media because I do not want to publically give this author such a terrible review.

A light and easy to read historical romance. The plot is OK and the characters are fairly interesting.

Garrett's first love is being at sea, but he comes back to London to oversee his shipping business every so often.

Julia lost her husband at sea when she was pregnant. Now she and her son live under the thumb of her father in law, the Duke. She craves her freedom, but the Duke holds her to ransom.

The story starts off very nicely with the meeting between Garrett and Julia being unusual in a funny sort of way. It's instant attraction between them, but she has to refrain herself due to the Duke's supposedly saintly ways. Garrett realises that she needs help and with some coaxing, she comes clean. He readily offers to help her, but she has to be careful. She is constantly under the Duke's watchful eyes. There is more to the Duke, than what he propheces to be. Will she have enough courage to confront him and live the life she wants?

The story starts off very nicely, but then it seems to stretch out, taking away my interest. The plot is good, but the character development, not so much. The end is what would be expected. All in all a fairly good read.

I was kindly issued with an eARC and from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

What I liked....Julia and Garrett. They were both strong characters that thought and acted outside the norm of the Ton. They were mature, healthy adults that thought about others before themselves.
What I didn't like....the slow plot. Things moved very slowly and I found it to be a bit repetitive. With that being said I did enjoy the story and will read more books from Amelia Grey.
Thank you for the ARC. This has been my honest review.

This was a good historical romance, it wasn’t my favorite but it was a fun read! I liked the characters, but the story fell a little flat at times. I might have liked it more if I read the first in the series before this one? This was my first time trying Grey’s books and I plan to read her again in the future. 3.5 stars

I loved Amelia Grey’s The Rakes of St. James series. The heroines were sassy and strong and the heroes were their perfect match. The first book of this new series was promising with great leads, however it had felt incomplete and more like the outline of a book. This book, unfortunately, was an even bigger disappointment. I loved how Julie and Garrett met, but it was all downhill from there. Garrett was introduced to us as an adventurer and a ladies man, a man who had a strong character and a will to match. However, I saw no evidence of that. He barely has a backstory and no character. He spent the duration of the book running around, doing errands for Julie.

SPOILER ALERT

Garrett supposedly had one goal in life and that was to buy his childhood house and prove the worth of a working man. He then finds out that the house was bought by someone using a false identity and turned into a secret brothel. He then decides to tear it down and build a new house on its location. However at the end of the book he abandons that plan too and decides to make that house a home for his wife and child.

Then we have Julie Fairbright, Lady Kitson, who is desperately trying to gain her independence from her over controlling father-in-law and start a new life with her young son. Her father-in-law, the Duke, is a rigid and pious man who denies her any freedom and threatens to take her son away from her. But when she finds out- quite by chance- that he may well be quite the opposite of what he’s trying to convey to society, she decides to find proof of his deceit and deception blackmail him to set her free. And it seems that the only person who can help her is Garrett.

The Duke was portrayed as being an evil, cunning and dangerous man. I spent the whole book waiting for the moment that either Julie would be caught red handed while trying to uncover the evidence against him or the moment when she would confront the him. He seemed capable of doing all sorts of evil and I was wondering to what lengths he would go to stop her from disclosing his true character to the ton. And yet when that moment finally came it turned out to be co anticlimactic and boring that I thought that I had skipped a couple of pages by accident.

All in all I have to sadly say that even though the story itself had so much potential I felt no connection to Julie or Garrett. In fact, I felt more of a connection with Brina, the heroine of what I assume will be the third book of the series. I hope that her story will be more engaging than the first two book.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and author Amelia Gray for giving me the opportunity to read and review this lovely romance.
Julia Fairbright became a widow after her husband was lost in a shipwreck. She has pulled her life together for her young son Chatwyn. She would like to be more on her own and move on with her life, but her father-in-law, referred to as the Duke, has her under his control by telling her that she cannot leave his home with his grandson. He is extremely controlling on many levels in how Julia is to live her life and how Chatwyn should be raised. The only thing Julia has on her own is a girls' school that she and a couple of her widowed friends have established.
One day when Julia is in the park with her son, the butterfly net and part of her clothing become stuck in the branch of a tree. Garrett Stockton comes to her rescue. He has a reputation as a rogue and a scoundrel, but he is a true gentleman to Julia and her child.
Garrett, who is a successful businessman and on the edge of Society, could have and has had many women. He can't understand his instant attraction to Julia, but is determined to get to know her better and help when he can.
It has been quite a while since I have read a Regency romance, but author Amelia Grey brings all the right elements to a story that is both sensuous and uplifting. Historical romances take more research to be authentic and I always appreciate those who have done their homework and make you feel you are right there in that time and place.
Garrett and Julia are two wonderful characters who are easy to root for as they deal with the culture and customs that made Regency England often unfair to women. I loved that Julia was such a gracious person who used her money to help young girls while so many upper class women of that era lead lives of leisure.
Romances have been an important part of my life when things were difficult and dark. I write this during the Coronavirus pandemic and we do need love during this time to lift our spirits and escape from everyday worries.
This book was considered the second in a series, but it stands well on its own. Amelia Grey is a new to me author. I will definitely being looking to read more of hers.

Gone With The Rogue is the second title in the First Comes Love series and brings two intriguing, stubborn people together for a romance that will change their lives. I was easily drawn into Garrett’s and Julia’s story and while I didn’t over the top love this one I did enjoy the time spent I with them.

The first meeting between Garrett and Julia was definitely chuckle-worthy as he rescues her from a tree she was rescuing her son’s kite from – rather unsuccessfully. As a widow firmly under the control of her powerful father-in-law, Julia doesn’t have a lot of options in her attempts to free herself and her young son from the Duke’s influence. But she does have a plan – and that plan didn’t include the handsome rogue Garrett, yet it seems Garrett has other ideas.

Garrett’s and Julia’s romance is quite quick, and although a combination of sweet and sexy the more sizzling moments are fade to black… and there are only a few. Without giving away more than I want to, Gone With The Rogue is a good story with likable main characters. I like the idea behind this series of the doomed ship the Salty Dove going down and how that affects the lives of so many other people – and the women who come together to help the young daughters of those who died in the tragedy. Yet, Julia and Garrett were far too often overshadowed by the actions of the Duke who is really good at hiding his misdeeds and pushing his own agenda on his daughter-in-law and grandson. So, I liked the story, it moves the series along, but I didn’t fall in love with the characters. It happens sometimes. I would still recommend the series in general, and I do look forward to the next story – it’s just that this one fell a little flat for me, but you should make up your own mind.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary copy of Gone with the Rogue by Amelia Grey for the purpose of reading and reviewing prior to publication. An emotionally charged Regency romance. My opinions are my own and no one has influenced me in any way.

Gone with the Rogue is an engaging romance with endearing characters and a unique plot. The pacing pulled me in and kept me enmeshed until the end. The dialogue is sparkling and emotional. I adore Regencies and this has the aspects I love most in this sub-genre of romance.

Julia Fairbright’s character is a lovely heroine with all the aspects of a Regency main character. She is a young widow with a precocious son, and the duke, her father-in-law, is a tyrant who rules her life. Even though she know it’s a danger, she cannot resist the charming gentleman who helped her when she finds herself stuck in a tree.

Garrett Stockton is an honorable rogue who has returned to England bent on purchasing his childhood home, but not for sentimental reasons. When he by chance meets the heroine, he is drawn to her and senses there is more to her than what she shows to society. He is a true gentleman and wants to save the damsel in distress, but Julia is very independent, so he has to work to win her!

The romance between Julia and Garrett is combustible and passionate. However, they are also friends. They work together to solve the mystery of the duke’s machinations. I adore the build of sexual tension and Gone with the Rogue has plenty. I truly wanted them to find their happy ending.

If you enjoy a Regency novel that offers more than the standard fare with an intriguing plot and characters you’ll love, then you will enjoy Gone with the Rogue as much as I. I look forward to reading the next one in this series. Happy reading!

Julia entered a marriage of convenience to find freedom - but with her husband's death, she finds herself under the thumb of her self-righteous father-in-law. In order to win her freedom and that of her son, she enlists the help of an attractive sojourner and quickly finds her heart entangled.

I feel that calling Garrett a rogue does him a disservice. Sure, he owns (and runs!) a shipping company, and sometimes his salvage operations have been less than perfectly above board, but he seems rather decent. He is honest, hard-working, doesn't gamble nor smoke, and is still invited to a selection of parties with the ton. His supposed love of the sea barely makes an appearance. I also quite liked Julia's kindness and convictions, but did find myself impatient with her choices. I can understand impulsivity, but she swings between denying herself completely due to the perceived consequences and jumping headfirst into poor decisions without considering possible outcomes. Like pregnancy. Yeah.

I enjoyed this book - the ending is charming - but couldn't quite reconcile myself to how it played out.

Three stars

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, all opinions are my own

Widow Julia Fairbright young son is under the guardianship of his grandfather the Duke of Sprogsfield. The duke controls Julia by holding her son over head to keep her in line. She’s at the park with her four year old son when she gets stuck in a tree where she meets Garrett Stockton riding in the part when he stops and spots her in the tree. I love their witty banter as he harassing her as he tries to rescue her. Garrett owns a successful shipping company and he has one mistress, the sea. He has quite the scoundrel reputation and is barely on the edges of society. I love that these two are instantly attracted to each other, but Julia knew she could never act on any attraction between them because that would go against the Duke’s will and he would never allow to live her life Garrett. A captivating book with two strong willed people looking for love and happiness and a place to call home. I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily reviewed it and the comments are my own.

Gone With the Rogue
First Comes Love #2
Amelia Grey
St. Martin’s Press, Apr 2020
290 pages
Historical Romance
Pub’s rep
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The cover is great! It’s usually the woman who’s half undressed, but on this one, it’s the guy! I love the happy, relaxed looks on the couple’s faces. And I like the use of the blue and violet color palette for this, rather classy.

The story is the middle one of the three women who open the school for the sisters and daughters of the men who died in the sinking of the Salty Dove. Julia is busy being a proper widow and taking care of her young son. Garrett Stockton owns a shipping company and is in love with the sea. But the ton gossip would have it that he has a mistress in every port, with several in England.

As in the first book in this series, The Earl Next Door, he eventually talks her around to his way of thinking and it’s a really enjoyable journey getting there. The characters are well developed and interact very well. Ms. Grey has a way with these couples that really makes her romances fun and funny at times. Yes, they do struggle to get their HEA, but there are laughs along the way. The pace is brisk and the tension stays high in this one as these two seemingly mismatched individuals find their way to their own happiness despite what the ton may think. Recommended.

Widow Julia Fairbright wants nothing more then to be free of her overbearing father-in-law, the Duke of Sprogfield. To avoid unwanted marriages, Julia and the duke’s son Kitson, ran away to Gretna Green and married. Theirs was not a love match, but they were happy together and all was well until Kitson died when the Salty Dove went down. Widowed and pregnant, Julia had no choice but to submit to the duke’s will. Four years later, the duke is still dictating and has made it clear, Julia can do as she wants, but if she wants to raise her son, she will abide by the duke’s rules. Julia may have found a way to escape the duke and keep her son, she just needs to find the evidence to bring him down.

Garrett Stockton was born a gentleman, but unlike his father, he is not content to be dependent on his titled relative. He takes a ship his father won in a card game and built a successful shipping empire. While rumored to have a woman in every port, the truth is Garrett has been happily married to the sea, but now he is back in England and longs for a home of his own. And when he meets Julia, he knows any home he has must include her and her son, so he agrees to help her find a way to outsmart the duke and gain her freedom, but once she is free, will she be willing to give up that freedom for a chance at true love?

This was a decent story that starts out strong, but loses steam as the story progresses. It is well written with likable characters, some amusing moments, a nasty villain, a wonderful hero, very mild love scenes and a HEA complete with an epilogue. I enjoyed this book, but I don’t think I would re-read it. The book is the second in the series, but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

Full review appeared at Reader's Edyn on 05/03/20

Julia had her life figured out. Married to a good friend for convenience, everything seemed to be working out fine. But a freak accident on a ship suddenly took her husband’s life. He would never know his son and she would be stuck under her father-in-law’s rule for several years to come. Threatening to take her son, his only heir to the Dukedom, Julia is forced to live properly without the slightest hint of scandal. But her inquisitive nature and strong spirit often have her walking a fine line between behaving as she’d like to and keeping just below the Duke’s radar. Living in his household with his staff proves most difficult. Still, she wishes no ill will toward the Duke, just her freedom. It’s a dream she will never attain until one fateful day when she overhears information that could change everything for her and her son. Springing into action, she sets out to find the evidence that will provide her freedom. But when Garrett Stockton happens along and finds her caught in a tree, suddenly taking risks becomes a regular occurrence. The rake tempts Julia to distraction. But with her son at risk, she cannot afford to completely lose herself in Garrett, despite how much she longs to. With little time to produce the proof, she enlists the aid of Garrett and together they work to uncover the mystery that surrounds the Duke.

Garrett is completely caught by the spirited beauty as soon as he discovers her up in that tree. A self-made success, he only stops in town for short periods before the sea once again beckons him away from dry land. But Julia quickly replaces the call of the sea with a siren call of her own and when she seeks his assistance, he has little choice but to help her. He wants much more from her and would do anything to be able to call her and her young son his. Discovering the evidence doesn’t prove to be too difficult, but deciphering it might prove impossible. Should Julia’s plan fail, he is not above absconding with her and her son out to sea to escape the dastardly clutches of the scheming Duke. But proving to Julia that his rakish days are behind him and that he is fully committed to both her and her son is going to be a challenge like he has never undertaken before. The risks are great, but the treasure to be obtained is worth the risk because losing Julia is not an option.

Picking up several months following the previous book, Julia is now keeping an eye on the school for girls. With Brina traveling for short spells and Adeline now living in the country with her husband (for now), the responsibility lies with Julia. Brina, however, returns with some news of her own, leaving Julia shocked while trying to be supportive and understanding. What I completely despised about this scenario is that Adeline and Lyon are absolutely NOWHERE within this book! What the heck? It’s the three women who started the school and brought about this series. All three are so different in nature and add something of value to the friendship, so for one of them to be completely absent was disheartening. I loved Adeline and Lyon and was looking forward to a chance to reconnect with them. Because of this awful turn of events, I took the rating down to a 4. This was my biggest problem with the book. For those of you who don’t read the series in order for some reason, it likely won’t affect you one iota. But for me, as one who tries to read in order whenever possible, I was very nearly heart-broken by Adeline and Lyon’s absence.

Much like the first book, Garrett knows exactly what he wants almost immediately, but Julia has several reasons to put him off. Her reasons are valid, of course. She is completely under the control of the Duke and her fear of losing her son keeps her from acting as she would if she were truly free in her widowhood. Given the fact that I am aware of Brina’s deep love for her departed husband, I would hazard a guess that in this respect, the third book will likely follow a similar course. What I did enjoy was Julia’s love for life and respect for living creatures. A respect that Garrett whole-heartedly shares. Had she not been full of so much spirit, she would never have been caught up in the tree, and would likely never have crossed paths with Garrett. Conveniently, when Garrett stumbles upon her, he is considering seriously courting a woman. And so the seduction begins. I also liked that Garrett is a bit of a rebel within the ton. Accepted but still somewhat shunned for making his own business a success, he tends to live life on the edge, taking risky chances, but seemingly always coming out on top. Also enjoyable is the kitchen disaster in which Brina and Julia decide to try their hands at cooking and baking, having never in their lives done such before. In my own estimation, that scene played out just about as real as it would have had it truly happened.

This book was an enjoyable read, but not quite as enjoyable as the first book in the series. Would I still recommend it? Absolutely. But I believe that many who start with the first book will have a similar feeling like my own in seriously missing Adeline’s presence. As far as the sexual chemistry, the passion was present and the couple of scenes in which anything actually occurred were respectful. Slightly tamer than the first book, I would say. Even those with delicate sensibilities would likely take little to no issue with the passion within these pages. I’m extremely curious to see what direction Ms. Grey takes with Brina in the next installment. As I recall, with the previous series I read from Ms. Grey, I adored the first book, enjoyed the second book, and felt the final book was the best. So far I am leaning toward similar feelings in this series. So perhaps the next book will be the best. I do not know, but I aim to find out. Despite my upset at the lack of one of the main characters within this series, I still found this book a pleasant experience. Ms. Grey did create a world in which I fully immersed myself and found a beautiful escape for a while. Julia and Garrett were a joy getting to know as they navigated through and uncovered a web of deceit all while finding the passionate love they each craved within one another. Even Chatwyn was a fun bit of willful child peppered throughout the story. I kind of wish he had a few more scenes as he was quite skilled in stealing them. For those of you who enjoy regency romance with a tamer side of romance, this is the book for you. Spirited widow, a reformed rake, strong-minded child, nefarious Duke, and even an aging rescue dog or two; this book is sure to immediately engage its readers from beginning to end.

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t like The Earl Next Door, the first in this three book series about three widows finding new love, but I was convinced to give this one a try in hopes that I’d like the hero a bit better. And, thankfully, I did, because Garrett Stockton is a thoroughly decent man. Although he has the reputation of a rake, he doesn’t so much as look at any other woman than Julia in this book. From the first moment when he has to rescue her from being stuck up a tree, to his dedication to helping her out of an untenable circumstance, I liked him very much.

Julia, Lady Kitson Fairbright, liked her husband well enough but didn’t love him. She does, however, adore her four-year-old son Chatwyn, and will do anything for him. Unfortunately, she’s not her son’s guardian; that honour is held by her husband’s father, a duke who has definite ideas about how a widow should act and threatens Julia with the loss of her son to keep her toeing the line. When Julia discovers the duke’s pious act is a sham, she decides to find some proof in order to gain her leverage to escape his clutches with her son - and recruits Garrett to help her out.

The obvious solution to Julia’s problem, considering Garrett was a wealthy ship owner, was for them to just hop on board a ship with Chatwyn in tow, and defy the duke to do anything about it, and I really didn’t comprehend why Garrett didn’t suggest exactly that. Orders from an English court would have held exactly zero authority in America or Italy or any one of a number of other places Garrett was apparently familiar with and they could easily have defied the duke’s orders until Chatwyn came of age.

I did buy into the romance between Garrett and Julia - they had a rather charming meet-cute and honestly, when you’ve got two attractive people who are both honourable and decent, there’s no reason NOT to believe they could fall for each other quickly. However, we didn’t get a lot of character development, just repeated rehashes of Julia’s predicament and a couple of sex scenes - it didn’t even seem to occur to Julia that a pregnancy would REALLY mess up her situation when the duke found out. Logic and thinking through of consequences didn’t seem to be the strong point of either of these two.

This was pretty much just fluff, and the apparent inability of the characters to consider anything but the most obvious course of action was pretty frustrating. I didn’t hate it because I actually liked the two main characters, but it could have been so much better. Three stars.

The opening of this book caught my attention right away. Julia stuck up in a tree and Garrett rides by and stops in the shade of that tree, only to discover her there. I thought it was cute, different. It had my attention.
And for a while my attention was there. I thought the two meetings after that were cute, funny. But then the story seemed to go a little flat. The chemistry seemed to fizzle a little.
But in the end, Garrett was Julia's hero and rescued his damsel in distress. And they lived HEA.
Cute story, which I would give 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4. I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

A romantic smitten at first glance with an interesting premise. The wicked father-in-law was a bit of a twist, but that back story gives a touch of intrigue to the story. There were a few scenes that were a bit far fetched, and a few that were amusing, all in all this story kept me turning the pages.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
Gone with the Rogue is the second installment in the First Comes Love series. It can be read independently of the series with little to no confusion as a standalone.

As the daughter-in-law of a duke, a widowed Julia Fairbright is left to raise her son without a father. Under the duke's protection, Julia struggles as her son is used as a leash to keep her under control. Imprisoned by society as a woman, trapped due to her circumstances, after many years, Julia is willing to do anything to gain some independence while keeping her son. An animal cornered.

Julia resonated deeply with me, her emotions were spot-on in the beginning, the eggshell walking, the hopelessness of being trapped in a way of life that she didn't want to lead, while feeling as if there was no way out.

In walks Garrett Stockton, the roguish charming shipping scoundrel. As a prominent business owner, he's always on the fringes, catching sight of Julia. Always getting what he wants, and he wants Julia. Instant attraction, instant need and want, leads to instant love.

As a reader, I'm more prone to believe in the romance if it's more on the slower-building side. If it's too instant, I have a hard time connecting. While a faster pace keeps me engaged while reading, the emotions don't necessarily ring true for me. I enjoyed both characters independently of one another, wanted them to find their happily ever afters with one another, the journey there left me wanting more, maybe wanting something else.

I was confused, because there were scenes where I adored the banter, but other times I felt a disconnect, as if reading different characters with the same names. Sometimes the characterization was rich and alive, other times it came off as one-dimensional, shallow, with forced interaction.

I enjoyed the story, but was confused by how sometimes it felt like I was reading a different book from one scene to the next. The vibe. The way Julia and Garrett interacted with one another and others around them.

A worthy addition to the series, I do look forward to more, and do recommend to fans of the author and historical romance.

Risking a second chance!

A brilliant beginning had me on the edge of my seat waiting for more. Julia Fairbright is a widow laboring under the demands of a harsh father-in-law whose never forgiven her for marrying his son.
Her authoritarian father-in-law, the Duke of Sprogfield, a stickler for stringent etiquette and behavior forms, who relished the good opinion of society, a standing he basked in, has threatened to cut Julia off from her son if she ever deviates from his tyrannical demands around her code of behavior. Julia knows that he is not the honorable figure he presents to society and needs to find the proof that will give her leverage for her and her son to live independently.
Garrett Stockton meets Julia under unusual cumstances. He is immediately drawn to her, and as they see more of each other their regard deepens. Garrett is determined to pursue her and he does so by being the stalwart rock she can depend on.
There are some amusing situations that include the cooking episode with Julia and her friend Brina, which also serves as a comment on the expectations of what women in society should do.
An enjoyable story that surprisingly lost some of its energy as the story progresses. I'm unsure why because plenty of situations arise that should've been more charged.

A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley