This historical romance novel was predictable in its storytelling, which had me less focused on the story and more on how problematic it was. 21st century authors should be aware of cultural sensitivity, diversity inclusion, and completeness of world-building by now. Even in historical fiction! The story centers around two white cis heterosexual characters, which was fine. However, what’s not okay is to make a villain out of the only LGBTQ character, have the only BIPOC character be a valet with no other backstory or personality, and fetishize/other Indian culture. These issues made it through way too many people from the author to publication for them to not be caught and changed.

I loved this feminist historical romance even more than the first in the series! Sparks fly when Lucie, a steadfast suffragist, meets Lord Tristan, a scoundrel, again as adults. Their enemies to lovers story is heftier due to the social issues (women's rights, British society rules, parental disapproval, etc.), which are handled really well. Their chemistry is steaming hot and their relationship woes entirely believable. I fell a little in love with Tristan. And the cat too! Highly recommended!

3.5⭐

Summary
Lucie and her suffragists finally scraped enough money together to buy majority ownership of a publishing house and use it to in a coup against Parliament. But when her nemesis Lord Ballentine steps in and buys the other half, all their plans fall apart.
Lord Ballentine has his own reasons for owning the publishing house, but he agrees to give Lucie majority on one condition - one night in his bed.
As the two try to outmaneuver each other, they learn there is "truth in what the poets say: all is fair in love and war…"

Overview
➸ POV: 3rd Person, Lucie & Tristan's POVs

➸ Lucie Tedbury: Spinster, Closed-off, Leads the Oxford suffragists, Trying to buy a print house

➸ Tristan Bellentine: 2nd Son to Earl of Rochester, Soldier in the British Army, Spent summers at Lucie's family estate, New heir to the Earldom after his brother passed away

➸ Content Warnings: Cheating, Abuse (including physical abuse of a child), Sexism & Misogyny, Death of a loved one, Animal death/abuse, Mental illness (undefined), Controlling & Manipulative behavior, PTSD

My Thoughts
While I overall enjoyed this follow up to Bringing Down the Duke, but I had some mixed feelings. In general, these weren't my favorite characters of the series, but I thought the romance was fantastic.

Since I have so many feelings I'm going to do this in list format. First up...

What I Liked
1. I love how Evie Dunmore addresses sexism and misogyny in this series. She weaves real life events and articles and people throughout this which adds an extra layer of authenticity to the story. It really brings everything to life and packs a massive punch.
2. I LOVED the chemistry between these characters! I'm always down for an enemies to lovers romance and this one was so well done. This romance was so slow burn and it had me sweating. I definitely had all the butterflies every time these two interacted. The author really brought their connection to life.
3. One of my favorite thing about Evie Dunmore's romance is how high stakes her romances feel. One thing about romance is you know how the story ends. So sometimes the drama or conflict can feel manufactured. But that is definitely not the case with this series! I honestly had no idea how these characters were going to make their relationship work.

What I Didn't Like
1. I didn't care for the games they played with each other... Tristan propositioning Lucie made me super uncomfortable and I just felt weird about them getting together that way. Since we're inside Lucie's head we aware of the fact that she actually wanted him, but it was still weird that she caved as an exchange for something.
2. And in general... I didn't like Lucie. I was so frustrated with her actions for the majority of this book. She was so quick to judge and snap on everyone around her. Between her accusing Annabelle and then yelling AWFUL things at Tristan, I was just over her. She wasn't without good qualities nor was she completely unbearable, but she's definitely my least favorite of the group.
3. While I liked the slow burn romance, the pacing of this was a little off in my opinion. This story took awhile to get going for me and I struggled to stay invested during the first quarter. However I will say the last half of this absolutely flew by!

Overall I enjoyed this sequel and LOVE this series. I can't get enough of Evie Dunmore's writing and I absolutely love this female friend group! While I had a couple of issues this particular book, I can't begin explain how excited I am for Hattie's story!!

1.7/5 ☆ = 2-

A Rogue of One's Own follows Lucie, the Oxford Suffragettes' leader who plans to acquire London's leading publishing houses to commence a coup against Parliament. What she did not expect was a nemesis (Tristan Ballentine) from the past who has the power to ruin all of her plans and hard work. The price for preventing Lord Ballentine from ruining her plan is outrageous - a night in her bed.

As I usually enjoy reading historical fiction, I expected nothing less of A Rouge of One's Own. A feminist novel following a suffragette? An enemies-to-lovers story? Count me in! Simply put, I was intrigued to see how this story would unfold. Maybe my expectations were too high since I did not find myself enjoying the story most of the time. In fact, I sometimes felt uncomfortable.

When reading historical fiction rom-coms, I don't expect there to be any representation of LGBTQ+ or BIPOC people. This book surprised me, yet not in a good way. Tristan has a servant, which (surprisingly not) is the only POC character in the entire book. And I wonder what happened to the POC suffragettes? The antagonist is a gay jealous ex as if the trope got any better since the ex was gay. Tristan's sexuality is not explored deeply, but having the villain be a jealous rejected queer is problematic. https://twitter.com/acosmistmachine/s...

You thought that was it? Nope. There's even racism in this. Check out Aarya's review here that explains the problem in better words than I ever could: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Moreover, the erasure of POC suffragettes made me a bit annoyed. The author had all the chances to include a better representation. After all historical fiction is just - fiction. Staying accurate to the time and place seems to always be an important factor, yet the author does not manage to address that POC suffragettes existed. Or at least better queer representation. I do feel the author tried to include the LGBTQ+ community but didn't do the proper research and rather tokenized it.

Moving on to some criticism, oh there are a few matters I want to discuss. Firstly, I didn't connect to any of the characters at all. To me, they all felt unauthentic and superficial. I didn't get to understand them, as they never stayed consistent throughout the book. Does Lucie go through some character development? In my eyes, she does not. To me, she stayed the same. She's extremely judgemental, and I get why she doesn't trust men, but it got to a point where her attitude was almost ridiculous. Tristan is told to be a misunderstood man, who always ends up in the spotlight of sexual scandals by the malicious gossip magazine. We're told his most of his encounters are just gossip, but then later told he participated in orgies and liked voyeurism (which is totally fine as long as there's consent). And then he decides to seduce Lucie into having sex with him. Like, what? It definitely felt gross to me. Of course, there was consent from each part, yet it was just so....uncomfortable. What are we, the readers, supposed to think? I personally never managed to really connect and understand the characters, as they never seemed consistent.

Secondly, the hatred between Lucie and Tristan came almost out of the blue. Maybe after the incident in the first chapter had something to do about it, but it didn't really explain why she hated him so much. Was it just because she had decided to hate all men? Yet, all her male figures in her life had been horrible to her. And that could be an explanation for her hatred of the male species. But does that make a good feminist, who's supposed to be advocating and fighting for equal rights?

Looking aside from the problematic misrepresentation and issues, was there something I liked in this book?

There was. The story and plot were entertaining. Some of the banters between Lucie and Tristan were fun. In fact, I found myself laughing at some points while reading. I imagine this book was supposed to be a cheesy rom-com. I would have enjoyed it too. Unfortunately, some problematic factors ruined it all for me.

I am not invalidating all reading experiences with this book. You are allowed to enjoy reading this book. I only wish you, the reader, will think of the problematic factors and set the author accountable for these harmful misrepresentations. Hopefully, you'll acknowledge that this novel is not perfect. It has some good parts, but also some problematic parts. Do not paint this book to be perfect, is all I ask.

I really thought I would enjoy this book. Which was the reason why I requested the DRC of this book. Yet I found myself disappointed. It was not as I expected. I don't think I will read any of this author's other works. Hopefully, we can all learn something from this.

Over and out. -Nora <3

I really enjoyed this one! Even more than the first.

A huge thank you to Berkley Pub, NetGalley and the author for my advanced copy.

What I Loved-

The Dual Perspectives- Dual Perspectives in books is my jam. I love seeing both sides of a story especially in a romance.

The Characters-
Lucie is my new book BFF. I love her so much. She was a very well rounded character. Strong, funny, passionate, rebellious ( for the time). Someone I really enjoyed reading about.

Tristan- The image of this man inside my head is so sexy y'all lol. I have to say I do like an imperfect love interest. Tristan and Lucie together was comedy gold. I loved their banter. The hate to Love Trope was really well executed between them.

Boudicca- Somewhat of a minor character but meow. So adorable. The backstory of this little fur ball touched my heart.

The Steam- Loved! It was perfect. Nothing over the top or ridiculous.

The History- This book takes place during the British Women's Suffrage Movement and makes me so thankful to be a woman in today's world with many personal and political freedoms.

Why This Book Lost a Star-

The writing style. I struggled through the first half of this book. I did a lot of picking up and putting down. ( tends to happen when I'm working and don't have the time I would like to read) This made the story drag for me a bit. Once I got into the flow of the writing all was good though.

Overall- great book. I definitely recommend this to other readers and am curious to see what this author does with her next book. I'll be reading it.

Evie Dunmore has done it again! A rogue of one's own was delightful and a fun romp from beginning to end. In choosing to follow Lady Lucie in this book Dunmore explores the thankless work that women's suffrage leaders did to further the cause for all ladies. A devilish mix of sex, politicing, and love that is meant to be any reader will find something to smile at while reading this book.

To say that Bringing Down the Duke was one of my favorite books of 2019 would be a drastic understatement. I bought it for every woman reader in my family for Christmas. I absolutely loved Evie Dunmore’s debut novel and the book hangover that followed was so real!

I have been checking Netgalley weekly to see when the next book in the series will be available and the second it was out, I downloaded it. I knew I would be reviewing this one in September so I had plenty of time to read it but I couldn’t help myself!

I started reading it in June and was done in 2 days times. It was so good and now I being the long long long wait for the next book in the series! Evie Dunmore—-you are my favorite romance writer! Please excuse me while I fangirl and gush over this book!

Summary
A lady must have money and an army of her own if she is to win a revolution—but first, she must pit her wits against the wiles of an irresistible rogue bent on wrecking her plans…and her heart.

Lady Lucie is fuming. She and her band of Oxford suffragists have finally scraped together enough capital to control one of London’s major publishing houses, with one purpose: to use it in a coup against Parliament. But who could have predicted that the one person standing between her and success is her old nemesis, Lord Ballentine? Or that he would be willing to hand over the reins for an outrageous price—a night in her bed.

Lucie tempts Tristan like no other woman, burning him up with her fierceness and determination every time they clash. But as their battle of wills and words fans the flames of long-smouldering devotion, the silver-tongued seducer runs the risk of becoming caught in his own snare.

As Lucie tries to out-manoeuvre Tristan in the boardroom and the bedchamber, she soon discovers there’s truth in what the poets say: all is fair in love and war (summary from Goodreads)

Review
Of all the suffragettes in Bringing Down the Duke, Lucie was the more formidable. She lived for The Cause and the thought of her finding romance was almost laughable. When I saw that the second book was going to be about Lucie, I was like oh dear Dunmore has bitten off a big task with that one as a follow up to such a successful debut. But I need never have worried because this second book was amazing and Lucie’s story and quest for romance was even more swoon worthy than I anticipated.

Tristan was truly quite the rogue who wasn’t about conforming to daily life. His reputation was scandalous and while Lucie had known him since childhood, her loathing of him was no small thing. I loved watching Tristan strip back the layers of Lucie’s prickly exterior one attempted seduction at a time. But what I loved most I think was how Tristan was far from the golden boy but not such a bad boy as to be seen as unworthy of Lucie’s affections. He was a complicated figure but at the end of the day he had a good heart even if at times he could be stubborn or high handed.

Lucie was truly the shrew. She was not having any of Tristan’s attempts at seduction, because it would go against everything she held dear, but the more she resisted, the more he pushed to win her heart. There were plenty of times where I was like come on Lucie just give in, but I loved that the author really capitalized on their chemistry and drew out their romance.

Dunmore is an incredible writer and has written modern romances wrapped in Victorian goodness. I absolutely love this series and can’t wait to read more books by her! She is firmly in my auto buy category!

Book Info and Rating
Kindle Edition, 368 pages
Expected publication: September 1st 2020 by Berkley
ASIN B082H39QNK
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 5 stars
Genre: historical fiction, romance

I just love Evie Dunmore's writing! This book had me laughing, swooning and even tearing up a few times.

I loved getting to know Lucie more and what brought her to the suffrage movement in the first place. She is such a fantastic character and I really admired how dedicated she was to the cause. I knew from meeting her in the first book that it was going to take quite the hero to make her fall and Tristan totally did that.
Tristan was someone who judging from his reputation alone you wouldn't think he would be the one for Lucie. But there is more than meets the eye and the two of them just bantered and antagonized each other until they finally exploded.
One thing I really liked about these characters was their ability to admit when they were wrong and apologize. I don't think we see that enough and it is always refreshing to see.

Of course I also really loved the history of the women's suffrage movement that was woven into the story. One of my favorite things about reading is learning something new, and I definitely did while reading this book.

Overall this was such a great historical romance and I will read anything Evie Dunmore puts out next!

Edit: After posting my original review, it was brought to my attention that there are some problematic elements having to do with Tristan’s tattoo and the meaning tied to the Hindu faith. This is not an area I am very familiar with so I did not realize the problematic issues while reading. I have since read reviews from own voices reviewers on this issue and better understand. Overall I still really enjoyed this book and the love story of Tristan and Lucie, but I did want to. take that situation into account.

3 This is a well-written story that does have some issues with using a cultural reference. This usage takes away all the clear focus of what amazing work women did for the vote.

When these things happen, they take away from the tale.

I quite liked Bringing Down the Duke which was Dunmore’s debut. I did not expect to like it so much because I struggle with HR at times and was happily surprised when I enjoyed it so much. I was still wary about going into Rogue because again, I struggled with HR & have been in a slump. But, WOW I loved this one. I liked it even more than Duke. I adored Lucie & Tristian’s hate to love story. Just on some level I think that the names Lucie & Tristian look good together.

Anyways, Lucie and Tristian knew each other and kids and now are battling over a printing press. Lucie wants to print her suffragette materials while Tristian wants to print his own things.

It’s a grand time as they both try to deny feelings for each other and have SO MUCH BANTER. I was laughing out loud at multiple parts and just smiling for much of the novel.

I also appreciated how this novel looks at the duality of people, specifically women. Lucie is struggling with the idea of how she will maintain her identity as a suffragette if she is with a man and seeing her friend Annabelle married, is a little judgey. Meanwhile, Tristian is a rogue who isn’t really a rogue who was a solider and writes poetry. His dad is basically the blueprint for toxic masculinity and tried to literally beat it out of Tristian. I loved both our characters so much. Tristian has an earring and a tattoo, and I was here for it.

I will say I had a few minor complaints, the only gay character is sort of a villain, and I low key thought that the author was hinting at Tristian being bisexual, but nothing is really confirmed. Oscar Wilde flirts with him which was legit such a fun moment. My other critiques are minor spoilers, but dang this novel was close to perfect for me. I laughed, I teared up at the end, and I adored Lucie and Tristian together. There are also like no people of color in this novel except for Tristian’s valet.

I loved how this novel explores burnout and fighting so hard for a cause that it becomes your entire life. Which is something many activists feel.

Plus, so many cats and cute callback moments to popular literature.

I enjoyed Evie Dunmore’s Bringing down the duke and hence was excited to read the sequel. Thank you Netgalley for providing the earc in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Dunmore’s writing and the characters of Tristan and Lucy. The suffragette movement, the trials they faced, the friendships, their bravery were all beautifully depicted and I loved getting to know more about it. The romance was excellent, it was well developed and I was rooting for the Tristan and Lucie to be together.
This should have been a five star read. And the reason it’s not is because I was made very very very uncomfortable with the way colonialism was brushed over, with the way Indian deities were represented and with how Indians were represented in this book. The fact that Tristan has a tattoo that is inspired from Lord Shiva but is a nude dancing woman with four arms, the Indian valet who came to London to study but is instead made to be a valet, how there’s little to no representation of PoC other than Avi, Tristan’s valet are just a few examples. I thought I was being too sensitive but then I chanced upon the review by @aarya which is I think the topmost review on goodreads and that gave me some relief because I was not the only one feeling it. I think she does a much better job of explaining why this is problematic (please read her review)
So I am going with 2.5/5 stars for this book.

I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher - thanks!

ALL THE FEELS! I absolutely loved this book. I was worried it wouldn't be as good as Bringing Down the Duke, but it was! Dunmore is such a master. Her characters are wonderful, the story carefully constructed, with just the right number of twists and turns. With a lot of romance, the inevitable conflict often feels convenient, without real reasons for characters to act as they do. In A Rogue of One's Own, motivations are clear, the conflict is real, and I really felt their struggle. And THE ROMANCE. It's sublime. Your heart will be breaking out of your chest, and it's just the right heat level, in my opinion. The setting is equally wonderful. It's set in the time of the suffragette movement in Oxford, with strong, empowered women, fighting for women's liberation. It's so unique compared to most other historical romance, and gives a sense of underlying conflict throughout. Love, love, loved this book, didn't want it to end, and can't wait for the next one!

A case where the sequel is better than the original. Really enjoyed Lucie and Tristan. This book was a fun one because I was trying to figure out how they could be together at the end of the book with a HEA wedding, when it goes against everything Lucie stands for. She completely doesn’t believe in giving over all her property and self to a man when she marries, which is what her suffragette movement is focusing on. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she didn’t just give in (ie marry Tristan), but that they were able to come up with a solution that kept them both respectable and allowed her her freedom.

This book also was definitely steamier than book 1. Which I always appreciate (obviously).

It is always fun in a novel with the main characters are at odds for reasons outside of their dynamic. In this case, they each want to own the newspaper for their own purposes, not to spite each other (although Lucie certainly thinks Tristan is trying to spite her at the beginning!). And with this unlikely partnership, they learn to respect each other’s goals and voice alternative methods and paths for the other person to get to their end goal.

As a fan of Evie Dunmore’s writing and first book, which we reviewed on the podcast Romance at a Glance, I was very happy to discover that this book was an excellent story as well. And just enough intrigue was dropped about Hattie’s suitor for me to be very excited for her book to come out.

McDreamy to McSteamy: McSteamy with a McDreamy heart

Classy to Nasty: Classy if pre-marital!

Hero rating: 🍆🍆🍆🍆

Heroine rating: 🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I adore a historical romance theme and Evie Dunmore did not disappoint with her second installment to "Bringing Down the Duke." I also love a juicy hate to love romance and Tristan and Lucy definitely brought some heat. Both characters have a tumultuous history with their families and the passion that runs deep inside of them ultimately brings them together in the end. Loved seeing Lucy and Tristan bring down their guards and come together in a way where they both reserved pieces of themselves and their Independence. Can hardly wait for the next book in the series!

Lady Lucy, a young woman with a high social background, has been living on her own since her father kicked her out of the house when she was 17. Thankfully one of her aunt’s left her some money which allows her to live comfortably, if not frugally. Lucy uses her independence to continue to fight for women’s rights. When her consortium finally gathers enough money to purchase a publishing house that prints a set of women’s periodicals their plans to use them for the Suffrage movement are foiled when the other half is sold to her nemesis, Tristan, Lord Ballantine. He has always gotten under Lucy’s skin, and now he is in her way! Their sizzling chemistry distracts her from her purpose, but as she gets to know him she is surprised at his hidden depths.

I didn’t think it was possible to like a book better than the first. I loved Bringing Down the Duke, but A Rogue of One’s Own? Even better! This series is set during the Women’s Suffrage Movement in England at the turn of the 19th century. Men held all of the rights over woman, considering them purchased when married. Lucy is determined to never get married but she needs society and their wealth and privilege to continue her fight. She has always considered Tristan to be a rake, believing all of the stories about his conquests. He certainly plays the part but as he discovers more about her world and how women are not ok with their treatment he is enraged on their behalf. This paragraph below, I hope doesn’t give anything away but explains why I liked this story so much.

“Until now, she had not been sure how her lover would respond to realities most people refused to see. Until now, she had not been entirely certain whether he would fall victim to the peculiar, selective blindness which afflicted so many otherwise perfectly sensible people when confronted with something ugly; whether he would claw for explanations, no matter how ludicrous, or would try to belittle away what unnerved him rather than face inconvenient truths.”

A ROGUE OF ONE’S OWN BY EVIE DUNMORE
Maybe it’s the time I’m living in right now, with what is going on in the US, but this quote struck me to the heart. Lucy fell in love because Tristan opened his eyes and could see her struggle and he was not going to stand by without supporting her. Oh, this was a powerful moment in the book for me, as it was probably meant to be.

I’m a particular fan of historical fiction and I’ll admit, I love a good romance. What makes this series different is the place in time, the depth the author goes to make the reader feel like this world is real, and some of the accurate historical notes she adds to the tale. A League of Extraordinary Women is in a league of its own; entertaining, educational, heartbreaking, and sizzling with heat. I recommend this series, and this novel whole-heartedly. It’s on my best list for the year so far. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

In the past I haven’t been much of a Historical Romance reader. Last year I decided to give Evie Dunmore’s A League of Extraordinary Women series a try because I loved that it centered on the women’s suffrage movement. I ended up pleasantly surprised by the first book and so was eager to get my hands on the latest offering from the series, A Rogue of One’s Own. I’m thrilled to say that as much as I enjoyed the first book, this new book is even better! It was just so much fun to visit again with this merry band of feminists and see what they’re up to.

This time the story focuses on Lucie, the leader of the group, and Lucie is on a mission. She is trying to secure controlling interest in a major publishing company because to do so would make it all the easier for her group to push forward with their feminist agenda. It’s unheard of for a woman to control a publishing house, but Lucie could give a flying fig for what’s heard of or unheard of. There’s just one unexpected obstacle standing in her way…the handsome Lord Tristan Ballentine who has, unbeknownst to her, just purchased 50% ownership of the publishing company in question. The situation is made all the more complicated by the fact that Lucie and Tristan have a history, specifically, Lucie has loathed Tristan since she was a child and he used to spend his summers at her home, making her life miserable at every turn. How will she possibly manage to wrestle publishing control over a man who lives to torment her? Yep, you guessed it; it’s an enemies to lovers story, my favorite!

As much as I enjoyed Annabelle in the first book, it’s Lucie that has really captured my heart. I just love her determination and grit and the fact that she’s doing everything she’s doing for the women’s movement in spite of the fact that her family has cast her off and refuses to have anything to do with her. I love a scrappy underdog and Lucie fits the bill. Tristan is a fantastic character as well. I love that he’s a bit of a rogue, but that there’s also a lot more to him than first meets the eye. He’s used to having ladies practically swoon at his feet, so it’s hilarious to watch him try to win Lucie over knowing that she can’t stand him. The battle of wills between the two of them as they each try to secure what they want, all the while fighting their obvious attraction to one another, is so entertaining!

I will say that there was one moment in the story that gave me pause and it involved a tattoo of a naked dancer that was apparently inspired by a Hindu God. It was on the chest of a white man and while the tattoo itself serves a purpose later in the story, that particular choice of tattoo felt unnecessary and potentially offensive. It didn’t ruin my overall enjoyment of the book, but since this is an honest review, I wanted to mention it.

I don’t want to give anything else away so I’m going to stop here and will just say that if you’re into fun, steamy stories with characters who are passionate and full of heart, you’ll want to check out A Rogue of One’s Own.

To say I adored this book would be a monumental understatement. A Rogue of One’s Own is the perfect second installment in the League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore.

Lucie Wycliffe is married to the (Suffragist) Cause. Tristan is an artistic rogue, a literary lothario, and the thorn in Lucie’s side. Their enemies to lovers romance had me smiling from start to finish. Tristan tries to be a cynical anti-hero, but really he’s a giant cinnamon roll of a man who will do anything to make Lucie happy.

Honestly this series is so refreshing. I love regency romances as much as anybody, but it’s so fun watching the Suffragists of the 1870s and 80s campaign for women’s rights. I’m so grateful for the women (and men!) who came before me; this book, while fictional, incorporates real historical figures into the plot, which is cool.

Raise a glass to the extraordinary women in your life and read this book!

A Rogue of One’s Own features Lady Lucie, one of the local leaders of the suffragist movement. Plus there are a few sneak peeks into how Annabelle is doing! I loved how Dunmore handled Lucie’s conflicting desires - she wanted to be with Tristan (well... maybe) but she couldn’t reconcile having a man in her life with her dedication to the suffragist cause. As with the first book, you can tell that Dunmore really researched the time period and the movement. I also loved the inclusion, however tiny, of the Rational Dress Society and the idea that clothes can be both beautiful and practical.

The romance between Lucie and Tristan was good but the beginning of the book was a bit slow. However, even though I didn’t like this one quite as much as Bringing Down the Duke, it was still a great read and I think a lot of readers will actually like this one more than the first! Really, I think it’ll depend on what romance tropes you prefer. And, overall, A Rogue of One’s Own was still highly entertaining and a quick read!

Evie Dunmore is definitely getting added to my auto-buy list! I’m SO excited that we’re getting both Hattie and Catriona’s books, I cant wait to see what’s in store for these heroines.

*Disclaimer: I received a digital advance copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lucie and her follow suffragists have put together enough money to buy half of a major publishing company. They plan to use it on behalf of their movement. But upon completion of the sale, Lucie learns that someone else has bought out the other half of the business. It is none other than her childhood nemesis, Lord Ballentine. Lucie is sure that he will put a stop to what she and the other suffragists want to print, but then he make her an offer. One percent of the company, which would make her the majority shareholder, for one night in her bed. What is a girl to do?

Tristan has his own reasons for buying half of the publishing house and if it puts a bee in Lucie's bonnet, all the better. When he offers his deal to Lucie, he never imagines that she will take him up on it. But when she does and they spent more time together, Tristan realizes that the feelings he has for her are love. Can he convince Lucie to include him in her future?

OMG, I simply adored Lucie and Tristan's story!! When the first book of the series, Bringing Down the Duke, got such rave reviews on social media, I knew that I needed to grab this one when it became available (and I of course read BDTD first!!). I am so glad that I did! It is hard to believe that this is just the author's second book. It is rare that an author jumps out of the gate with a winning book (or two)! I have to say that these two books are probably two of the best stories I've ever read!

I just loved the bantering between Lucie and Tristan, it had me laughing out loud throughout the book. I just couldn't put it down and I certainly didn't want it to end! I loved that Lucie would do anything for her cause, even go nose to nose with her nemesis. They say there is a fine line between love and hate and I certainly think that is the case between these two. But these two were perfect for one another and Dunmore proves that in the end!

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series! I just wish it wasn't a year away...

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the author exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I’m segmenting this review into two portions because that’s the way that I had to look at it because there were parts I really enjoyed and there were other parts that I had to bring to notice.

The plot is very clearly about bringing to everyone’s awareness the struggle that women have gone through (and still go through) on the front of equality. No matter what you believe in or don’t or what you’ve been through in life, you can feel for this cause with every bit of your heart and those wounded moments that you still remember from being treated like less than a person because of your gender.

Lucie has always been on the very forefront of the struggle for Women’s Rights and abolishment of the Married Women’s Property Act and it has been a long long fight with many struggles. Lucie is the very embodiment of a woman who’s got the right questions to ask and someone aware of the sacrifices that they must make to get where they want to. It means they must be ready to be disregarded on many fronts and at the same time disregard many things as well and these things are brought up. The questions that are typical of someone in her place, with this large responsibility and immense passion are asked, addressed and answered. Everything about Lucie will move you.

Tristan, however, is just about straddling the line of an anti-hero. At least that’s how he felt to me. He stays very true to his character from beginning to end. He’s callous in all the places he’s always been, brave, angry, kind, rude, hurting, an all round grey character. But truly, he’s perhaps the perfect match for Lucie simply because he sees her through and through and he knows what he must do for the woman he sees and how he must respect her. He also breaks a few typical stereotypes and that’s definitely a good thing.

The supporting characters, their interactions with the protagonist and the overall growth in the movement towards empowering women one step at the time is a big part of the whole story and the last eight percent tugged so hard at my heart.

But…

(This part is spoiler-y so do highlight to read. There is also a trigger warning section at the end)
Here are the difficult parts. The representations in this book were not done justice. The one gay character in the book was given a negative role for his affections not being returned and the scene towards the end where there was a conversation between the protagonist and this character was a miss for me. I felt that the protagonist apologises very vaguely for his mistakes and even though he explains to the reader why he’s apologising he doesn’t say any of that out loud which weakened the apology for me.

Also, this is very personal to me, but I do wish that because this book is all about empowerment of women, I would’ve loved to not see that a women attempt to ruin the heroine’s reputation/hard work because her affections not being returned. But perhaps that’s the idealist in me speaking.

Also, the one Indian representation was a butler when as a friend (Dany @Ambivert Words) reminded me, those were the times when Royalty and other influential figures from India travelled to Britain as well–among others. There was also a tattoo in the book inspired from a prominent Hindu God that had a strange callback in the end. Truly it could have been any other tattoo with a specificity that aided the conflict resolution.

I also have to mention that author reached out to me as soon as she found out because I am an Indian reader and apologised for any hurt caused and told me I needn’t read the book at all. I chose to read it of my own choice.

Also, trigger warnings: child abuse, parental abandonment, mentions of domestic abuse and cheating, depression, mood disorder, loss of child, PTSD, subtle mentions of body-shaming.

*lets out a breath* Okay.

Stay safe all of you.