This was an interesting book that takes place during the French revolution, just after Marie Antoinette was executed. The city of Paris was in chaos and these two enemies find a way to come together for the greater good. The author did a wonderful job setting the scene in this book. The horrors of the time and the way the people were turning on their neighbors and the government ... well it was a scary time. Both characters had their own past baggage to work through, and I think they were both a tiny but fanciful but I still enjoyed their story.

I would recommend this book to lovers of historical romances set someplace different.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Revolutionary and the Rogue is a m/m, enemies to lovers romance set in post-Revolutionary France. This is a time period I haven't read a lot of historical romance novels set in, so the action and world building was quite interesting.

There was a lot going on in this book. At times, especially in the beginning, it became a chore keeping the characters straight, as they were called by their first names, last names, or titles. And there were a lot of characters (one of the strong points being the camaraderie between the men from various classes).

There was some action, mystery, but I felt like I was never fully immersed or welcomed into their world.

I'll definitely keep this new author on my radar.

Thank you to NetGally for a copy of this book, the thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

If you’re a long-time follower of my reviews, you probably know historical romance has never been my bag. I’m much more of a contemporary reader. However, every so often, a blurb piques my interest enough to draw me into a genre I might not otherwise read. The Revolutionary and The Rogue by Blake Ferre was one of those stories. I read the blurb and knew I had to get my hands on this read. It has such a wonderfully unique premise and I adore the enemies to lovers trope, which is embodied beautifully in this tale.

The only thing I know about French history is what I learned in high school and college GEC courses. Which, considering I retained about 0.001% of the knowledge from those types of classes, isn’t much. I’ve definitely heard of Robespierre and the French Revolution, but I knew precious little about it. But there’s no better way to learn, in my humble opinion, than through well-researched fiction. Reading dry text books has never been my preferred method of absorbing new information, but if you can find a way to weave an intriguing fiction story (or, in some cases, simply dramatize reality!) then there’s a good chance you’ll get my attention and I’ll retain a great deal of the facts surrounding the story. Win, win!

Although I can’t speak to the accuracy of the historical facts delicately woven into this story, I have a feeling they’re accurate. And I’m definitely stepping away from this read with a drastically increased knowledge about the French Revolution.

Henri and Perrin’s relationship is so multi-faceted. Not only do they face the struggle of finding love amidst a traumatic and dark period of history, but they were also on complete opposite sides of a deeply divided conflict. It left me, as the reader, turning every page with wonder, fascinated to see how their relationship would continue to progress through the murky waters of their external environment.

I would recommend this read to lovers of historical romance of any kinds, but there’s also enough focus on the romance itself that I believe others like me—who might not think they would enjoy a historical—will be able to find something to love about this story.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5

Would I recommend it? Yes , but to only the ones that love to read type of romance.

Would I read more by this author? Yes

First off I want to thank the publisher for me read and request it on NetGalley , because as soon as I saw that cover and read what the book was about I knew I had to see if I could get it to read. The author has done an amazing job on bring the history alive as well as making the atmosphere so rich, and layered and detailed, it lets you be fully enveloped in murky, dark, post-Revolution France. There’s danger, action, some twists, turns and quite a bit of heroism.Plus I got the feeling that the author made that time period come to life, that you can and did feel everything the characters went though. So with that said I want to thank NetGalley as well for letting me read and review it.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 2.5

Blake Ferre's The Revolutionary and the Rogue brings readers to the French Revolution where the Committee hunts down those accused of treason against the new Republic. English aristocrat, Perrin de Vesey, shouldn't be drawn to Committee officer Henri Chevalier. They are on opposite sides of the new regime, but the attraction they share just cannot be denied.

I was fully prepared to love this book. The historical setting is one I really enjoy, and the enemies to lovers trope is a favorite. All the components were there for this to be great. I absolutely think Ferre did her research into the era, and worked to bring the setting to life with this novel. I think this portion of the novel was successful.

Unfortunately, the pace of the novel was rather plodding and worked against it. The "twists" were a bit transparent, and the obstacles our protagonists were both repetitive and unnecessary. All of this combined to a middle of the road, luke-warm feeling and a lack of investment in the story. I would have discontinued reading around 20 to 30% if I had not been reading for review purposes, simply due to that lack of any particular attachment.

I would not hesitate to give Ferre another chance with a future work, but this one was a bit of a miss for me.

The Revolutionary and the Rogue is a fun new historical romance. Most hist-rom during the late-1700s is set in England, and so it was fun to get a new setting in France. Additionally, the book is steeped in important historical moments, during The Reign of Terror in post-revolutionary France. Perrin is an English aristocrat living in France and Henry is a revolutionary who hunts them down (or at least the treasonous ones). I will say my rating is more of a rounded up 3.5. The writing was lacking in some areas, and I think various aspects could have been stronger. That said, it was a solid debut and I look forward to seeing more from the author.

THE POTENTIAL WAS THERE - THE EXECUTION WAS NOT

Sigh. I was so excited for this one. I really wanted to love it. I just couldn't. It had all the stuff that could have made it great - French revolution, hot M/M action, enemies to lovers. But the execution failed the potential.

👎 WHAT I DISLIKED 👎

Plot: The idea of the plot was interesting. Two adversaries meet in Paris during the Terror of Rebespierre and fall in love in spite of their different sides. Throw in a little intrigue, revolution and treason and you have a dynamite story, right? Wrong! At least not in this case. The plot was thinner than broth pretending to be soup. Also, the same thing happened over and over again. The two main characters, Perrin and Henri, kept having the same conversation over and over and over. It grew tiresome real quick.

Perrin: At the start of this novel Perrin was grieving for his lost lover, Julien. But when he met Henri, somehow he became the aggressor. It was like Julien was forgotten. He was the one who teased, pushed and made innuendos. It jarred. It felt wrong.

Lust: These two men are deep in lust! Also at really random, inappropriate and obscene times. About to die? Lust! About to be caught? Lust! About to witness an execution? Lust! Friend is caught and thrown in jail? Lust! It was just too much and too weird.

Loved the story. It is well written, entertaining and keeps your attention. At this time, Paris is a dangerous place to be and Henri works for the Committee trying to find traitors to the cause. Perrin, who is still mourning the loss of his lover, finds himself about to be caught up in a mob and is unexpectedly concealed by Henri and saved. There is an attraction between the two men but they are leery of each other and afraid to let their guard down. There is a lot going on in this story and the attraction between Perrin and Henri is not always front and center to this story. Because of the time in which this story is written, people are still suffering and danger is always just around the corner. This is an excellent story and I would highly recommend it as a great read.

This was a fascinating debut. The history and atmosphere is so rich, and layered and detailed, it lets you be fully enveloped in murky, dark, post-Revolution France. There’s danger, action, some twists, turns and quite a bit of swoony heroism.

Henri and Perrin were a wonderful, enemies-to-lovers couple filled with so much passion and so much commitment to their missions in the world—liberty for Henri and honoring his dead lover/helping people like him for Perrin, that you root for both of them so much. Perrin has fun, loving, adorable found family. The love and the feelings are deep and palpable and take your breath away.

I cannot wait to see what is next from this author and this world. Thank you so much NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I just devoured the Revolutionary and the Rogue--and I thought it was very, very sweet. Hmm...how can a book set during Robespierre's Terror be 'sweet'? Because the genuine love that builds between the two adversaries--even amidst the impending doom of the backdrop--is just lovely.

Perrin is an English aristocrat suffering for the past year because he lost someone very dear to him, and pretty much his will to do anything. Henri is an ardent revolutionary who is beginning to question the practices of the revolution he cares very much about.

Obviously, they ought to hate each other, but the sparks fly right from the get-go. Throw in some adorable friends of Perrin's (ahem, looking at you specifically Quill!) and a secret organization hoping to rescue enemies of the regime out of the country before they lose their heads, and you have a lot of conflict. I do wish Henri had at least one friend because the poor bugger was so lonely and I just wanted to give him a hug.

I especially liked that this book is set in an unusual time period for historical romance. The author did a great job of describing the tension of the people as they realize they're in a society where a single off-hand comment might have them executed. It had a lot of Scarlet Pimpernel flair but was altogether unique, and it was undeniably romantic. All in all--a very pleasant way to spend my Saturday!

Thanks to Entangled and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think i'm going to give this one a 2.5 stars which is right down the middle meaning that it is a good book but it didn't really work for me. This book centers around two men meeting in Paris during the Terror era, they are on opposite sides of the revolution but they have a strong attraction for each other right away. I personally didn't really connect with both of the characters Henri "The Revolutionary" was a bit more fleshed out where you could see his internal conflict over doing the right thing and bringing actual justice to his country but I really didn't get Perrin, the first few chapters he seemed very vulnerable and depressed over the death of his past-lover but then he turned into this overtly flirtatious guy being all brave and mighty. Like i said it was not badly written or anything i didn't really take an interest to the plot and there wasn't enough chemistry to make me care about the romance. I liked the end there was a little twist that brought some angst to the relationship but otherwise it went from fake hate to mushy love pretty quick. I would recommend this book to romance readers who want to see some diversity in their historical.

tags: historical romance, m/m relationship, ennemies to lovers, a bit of hate flirting,
content warning: death of loved ones, talk of guillotine and people being beheaded, traumatic experiences leading to ptsd and a phobia surrounding blood and injuries

I expected to really enjoy this book. I mean, French Revolution, gay, etc. That's my jam. But... I dnfed at 30%. I almost gave up at 15% but decided to try again and I just can't. The plot is pretty much nonexistent, the writing is meh, and the characters spend 60% of their time trying not to think about one another and being incredibly stupid. I mean, I'm all for bumbling idiots usually but these guys take 'bumbling' and 'idiots' to the next level.