La perfezione! There are two new guests checking in at The Grand Palace of the Thames and the sparks are flying! Mariana, an opera singer notoriously known as the "Harlot of Haywood" for inspiring a duel between her ex-lover and another man, and James, the Duke of Valkirk, a bit of a bastard, a General, a war-hero, honorable to a fault, and inspiration to the country. Guests at the Grand Palace must agree to socialize four nights a week in the parlor. As she spends more time in his company, Mariana comes to relish that the General's statue in the square has shite all over it, and James thinks Mariana is a duel-causing strumpet. When James humiliates Mariana one night, the ladies of The Palace make him apologize and give Mariana lessons in Italian to help with her singing and to deal with the men in the opera world. The lessons sizzle but they both know their affair must end. The most respected man in London could never marry a scandalous opera singer! Could he? Wit, heartache, longing. It's all at the Grand Palace, culminating with a performance of a lifetime.

This was a complicated love story.... I was not sure how they would overcome the obstacles to get together. How rewarding it was to experience their path. Our heroine is Mariana. She's a talented opera singer and a survivor. She has fought to succeed in her career. Her love life though, has just imploded or exploded--endangering her career and reputation. Two macho admirers fight a dual, supposedly over her, and now she is blamed, maligned, and tossed out of polite society and her opera house. She flees to the Grand Palace on the Thames to hide out while she gets her bearings. There, she meets our hero, Valkirk--that's the Duke of Valkirk, James. He came up from humble beginnings and through war-time bravery is now a General and a Duke. He is icy cold and tightly wound. See where this is going right? Our heroine's going to undo him completely at some point. He needs to finish his hero memoirs and marry some noble lady. A relationship with a woman like Mariana would destroy his hero image and legacy. It looked impossible but oh how we want them to find a solution. Lovely story!

As much as I have enjoyed the earlier books, I think this has been my favorite novel in the series so far. This is slow-burn enemies-to-lovers at its best, and it was really lovely to watch Mariana and James start off sniping and defensive and then reluctantly admit that their initial assumptions were wrong as they learned from one another and about each other's lives outside the boarding house where they both temporarily reside.

I also really loved how intimate the story felt-- it almost all takes place within the course of a month, inside two or three rooms at the Grand Palace on the Thames, with most of the scenes focused on Italian lessons and thoughful conversation between the hero and heroine. There is a side plot, and some comic relief and light interactions with other characters (most of whom live in the GPotT,) but the focus stays very tightly on the growing romance between the two main characters, and I think that approach really made this novel stand out for me.

I highly recommend this book for readers of historical romance, particularly those who are looking for a character-driven story with a lot of heartbreak and emotional depth, along with a very satisfying HEA.

Thank you to the publisher, Avon, and to Netgalley for providing me with a DRC of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

I am a fan of this series and consider the first book in the series one of my top comfort reads. I like the created family aspect of the series and the goodness of the characters. No one is perfect but they are there for one another. I feel this helps the series stand out in a crowded genre.

Mariana is imperfect and harshly judged for it. James is imperfect and unfairly worshipped by society despite it. I happen to be reading Clint Smith’s ‘How The Word Is Passed’ at the same time and their situations remind me of something that Mr. Smith talks about on a macro level in his book: who tells the stories and why do they tell them. In Mariana’s case, it is because she is a woman with little power. In James case, it is because he is a ‘hero’ of the war and a Duke with money and power. So there are two imperfect people, two vastly different outcomes are the result.

Mariana and James meet at the Palace where they are both hiding from society. Increasing tension between them creates an incident and the proprietors decide that James should teach Mariana how to speak and read Italian. This humanizes both of them. They find worthy things about each other and also come to understand each other’s flaws. They develop a friendship, become confidantes and, eventually, lovers. I thought there is a great romantic chemistry between these two characters and their friendship is beautifully developed.

Mariana is to perform a concert to pay for her room and board and James uses his influence to ensure there is an audience. These was a truly romantic gesture. It is one of the single most romantic gestures I have read in a romance novel.

It is also nice to see the continuing characterization and evolution of Dot and especially Mr. Delacorte. Mr. Delacorte has gone from a one dimensional comic relief sketch into a three dimensional supporting character who is a valued member of the family. This might be the best writing that Ms. Long has done all series. The evolution is truly remarkable. All in all, this is an excellent addition to a wonderful series.

Loved this so so much! Julie Anne Long is always go to author for me, because her characters and storylines are always so epic! This is the fourth book in the Palace of Rogues series and it’s an enemies to lovers type of romance. he’s definitely a must read! The whole series is great!

The new addition to the Palace of Rogues series was very good. Julie Anne long is always especially skilled at writing books that wonderfully balance emotionality with humor. I find that many romances tend to be either emotionally deep OR lighthearted humor but somehow JAL always infused both expertly in her books, and that’s why I love them. As usual for JAL, both characters are fully realized unique individuals and the dialogue is clever and layered. My only complaint is that this book, like others from this author (and to be fair it’s a sad staple of the genre) continue to uphold unfair judgement towards women having sexual while not upholding the same judgement for men. I understand that the author can’t change the fact that society held these views but she can start writing make characters who as individuals do not hold these views. This is something I have not seen much from this author but that I would like to. I’m tired of virgin heroines and tired of the woman being forced to feel shame and explain herself if she’s not a virgin. I’d like more male characters who don’t care that she’s not a virgin and who believe she has the right to have had & enjoyed sex with other people just like he has. The hypocrisy of a male character who admits to cheating on his wife having the audacity to judge & shame a (unmarried too!) woman who freely chose sex has no appeal for me anymore. I’d love to see JAL grow away from the standard possessive male, and the standard “it’s ok for men but not for women” storylines and push the envelope a bit more to a feminist lens, as authors like Courtney Milan, Scarlet Peckham, and Evie dunmore do within the genre.

I still very much enjoyed this book and recommend it to others but my feminist heart bleeds a bit at the continued shaming of women. I don’t need women to be redeemed by marriage in my romances.