For legendary British former spymaster Christian Hawkes, tracking down the fiance of the evil Earl of Brundage should be easy enough. However, fate has other plans. As Christian and his innocent quarry Aurelie discover their love for each other and manage to thwart the dastardly earl, author Julie Ann Long delivers moving main characters and a fast-paced plot..

You Were Made to Be Mine is the 5th book in the Palace of Rogue Series and comes out June 28, 2022.

This story stars Christian Hawkes, a former spy for England, just released from prison in France and Lady Aurelie, who has run away from her fiancé in France to find help in London. Christian is hired by Aurelie’s fiancé, the Earl of Brundage, to find Aurelie and return her to him. Aurelia finds refuge at the Grand Palace on the Thames Hotel. Both characters have experienced trauma (TW). It is helpful to read the 4 previous books in the series but not necessary.

I liked revisiting the Thames Hotel characters from her previous books and like how they help Aurelie and Christian without overtaking the story.

I enjoyed the fun side story about finding a footman and look forward to hearing more about him in the future.

After Dark with the Duke by Long, was my favorite historical romance I read last year and You Were Made to Be Mine is a great follow up to it. It is a little darker. I hope there are many more books to come in the Palace of Rogue Series.

Thank you Julie Anne Long, NetGalley, and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.

I enjoyed this installment of the Palace of Rogues series. The suspense, romance, and all the elements worked together so well. This book was emotionally complex and delved into some serious issues. The villain was well done, and the obstacles against Hawkes and Aurelie keep the suspense in the novel going. I love how the Grand Palace on the Thames provides a wonderful backdrop for the stories to be told. Julie Ann Long truly creates a charming world full of interesting people. Long has a way of writing her secondary characters so well that they can command side plots that carry plot threads through multiple books, while her main characters have their romance. I love when you get to see what is going on with characters from past books and see how they are doing. Julie Anne Long continues to entertain and delight with her witty and insightful look into the human condition. Looking forward to further books in this series.

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoyed this story very much. I liked the witty banter between the secondary characters, especially Dot, as well as the main characters. Christian Hawkes was an intriguing hero. I really wanted more details about him, his life, his spying etc. I feel like we barely touched the surface of him but what we got to know was enough to draw me in, hook line and sinker. Aurelie is strong, stronger than she even knows and I LOVE this about her character. She doesn't despair and cry whoa is me but she has more than enough justifiable reasons to do just that. She takes charge and stands strong for herself. I love a strong female and she does not disappoint. The love story feels a bit rushed but still a great story.

The Grand Palace on the Thames is a special boarding house owned by two women and has a female staff. The inhabitants are a curiously interesting lot. To this group, Mary Gallagher (Aurelie) arrives, followed by Christian Hawkes grand entrance. Hawkes has been hired to find Aurelie but situations change. There is fun, and intrigue, and adventure. A great romp!

This has been such a wonderful series! Julie Anne Long continues to entertain and delight with this wonderfully written book!! I thought the plot was intriguing and a fun twist on the typical romance. I loved the characters and thought they were well developed.

Aurelie, Lady Capot, has fled from France and her fiance the Earl of Brundage, and Brundage has employed Christian Hawkes, newly liberated from French prison (where he was jailed for espionage during the war, possibly thanks to Brundage), to track her down. See, not only has Aurelie left Brundage, but she was in possession of a very valuable emerald necklace that Brundage had not yet paid for, and for his reputations’ sake he needs both returned. Aurelie’s journey leads her to the doors of the Grand Palace on the Thames, under the guise of a widow called Mrs Gallagher. While our wise proprietesses Delilah and Angelique don’t believe a wit about her story, they recognize she is fleeing something, and offer her a room. Only a day later, Hawkes, in pursuit of Aurelie, appears on their doorstep as well - fevered and bleeding heavily from a knife wound. Hawkes must sort responsibilities to his growing attraction to Aurelie, his employment by Brundage, and his duty to the Crown. And Aurelie must determine what it is that she wants in life: marriage, protection, or family.

Julie Anne Long’s gorgeous writing paired with spies and intrigue, yes please!
Our fifth Palace of Rogues book feels a little more “full cast ensemble” than some of the others– with significant page time for our proprietesses, their husbands, our favorite maid, and our beloved guests–and yet that doesn’t overshadow the story for Aurelie and Hawkes. It’s such a credit to Long and her writing that her secondary characters can command side plots that carry plot threads through multiple books, while her main characters get to have their romance.

In typical fashion for this series, we have a slow burn setup, with the characters not even meeting until a third of the way through the book. And yet, with Long’s wit, humor, and gravity I was never bored waiting for their introduction, and the payoff in the long run is the greater for the slow burn. I adore this series, and this one was no exception. The connection to the first four books is so strong that I recommend reading them first to understand TGPOTT, but you won’t miss out on details related to Aurelie and Hawkes’s romance if you started here.

This book was very emotionally complex and the tone was definitely more emotional and romantic and I really enjoyed it. The previous book in the series was not my favorite and I was really glad to see that this book was switching gears a little bit and giving us main characters that are a little more experienced and emotionally complex. There are some triggers in the story for readers to look out for but in general the topics and content were skillfully insensitively handled and the story is ultimately empowered and has a great happily ever after.

Man.. I’m not having any luck with historicals lately. This just wasn’t for me at all. The story really dragged and everything about this just seemed really lackluster.

I was already struggling to be interested in this book, and when the 2 love interests hadn’t set eyes on each other 25% of the way through the book I set it down, DNF. It’s clearly part of a series and has trouble standing alone, and it’s hard to be super interested in a romance where there is no romance!

This is my 6th JAL book and I must say I was beyond excited to get my hands on this book. The last two books in this series were excellent (I haven’t read the first two—i’m rebellious that way). Moreover, What I Did for a Duke remains my most re-read HR ever. I say all this to show that my expectations were very high. Unsurprisingly, JAL delivers yet again. I have come to love her prose: so sophisticated, so eloquent, with characters so richly described that they practically jump off the pages. She writes not just of innocent ladies and insanely rich rakes, but unique characters with imperfections and flaws that make them oh so HUMAN.

First, a TW: the heroine is a rape victim. The scene is alluded to, very carefully. There was no gratuitous violence or graphic description, but nevertheless the assault is a big part of the story.

Needless to say, our young heroine, Lady Aurelie is very vulnerable and is forced to run away on her own with unfortunately nobody there for her. I don’t want to ruin the story but she was so, so strong and SO ALONE.

Christian Hawkes is a venerable Head Spy for the English Crown during the war with France. He was betrayed by his “friend” Brundage which led to him being imprisoned for 3 yrs and all his fortune seized. This person was also the one who assaulted Lady Aurelie. He ends up hiring Hawkes to find Aurelie when she goes missing.

Due to above stated circumstances, the general mood of the book is somber. Although, JAL expertly infused some humor via our Grand Palace residents. There were moments that I laughed out loud.

Hawkes and Aurelie’s love quickly develops once they meet… which unfortunately was not until 28% into the book. They are kindred souls who have both been navigating the world essentially alone. They complete each other. A part of me wishes for more interaction between the two of them. They had such great banter when they officially met when Hawkes woke up from getting stabbed after Aurelie nursed him. I so wanted more of that. There is a sex scene, which happens less than 2 months after her trauma. It was handled very well and Aurelie had all the power. I wonder if it was still too soon, though.

I would say this book is 35% espionage 55% romance and 10% Grand Palace sequel. There were many characters to be introduced on top of the MCs and the Grand Palace regulars: Brundage, Tweedy, Bellingham, Berwick, Madame Aubert, Pike, some bad guys. There is also the hilarious side story about finding a footman. We also get a SWOON-worthy moment with Captain Hardy and Delilah.

There was a LOT of action in this story. I know lots of readers prefer this. For someone like me who is here for the romance, I would improve this book perhaps by adding a chapter (or two) more with just Aurelie and Christian. I would shorten the part about Brundage and his corruption. I’ve guessed it immediately as soon as charity was mentioned. So I don’t think that needed to be belabored so much. I also wished that Aurelie was able to face her attacker. I understand that she may not have wanted that, though.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC!

DNF.

Wish I knew there would be a trigger. Realized about a third into the book.

What I did read was slow and very wordy.
The hero and heroine do not meet till about a third into the book.
A lot going on.

And once I found the trigger I couldn't go any further. This is a big no in my romance reading.

Again wish that there was a warning.

I have found this authors past books to be slow and difficult to keep engaged. This was no different.

I think that I'm done reading this authors books, they aren't for me.

This was my first Julie Anne Long novel, and she did not disappoint! The detail she provides in this novel doesn't only set the scene for the book--I truly felt as if I were enveloped in this world, which is a wonderful thing to experience as a reader. We are first introduced to Christian Hawkes, a former spy for the Crown who was arrested in France and who has only recently been released, as he meets with the Earl of Brundage and learns of Brundage's missing fiance, Lady Aurelie Capet. Hawkes has his suspicions about why Lady Aurelie "disappeared," but he begins his investigation for reasons of his own. Both Hawkes and Aurelie have lived through their share of hardship and when they finally meet, they are drawn to one another with such force that even the reader can feel the pull. Hawkes is wily, ruthless, and slow to trust (and who could blame him after learning of his past?). Aurelie is intelligent, wistful but pragmatic, and almost as wary of giving her trust as Hawkes is, which makes them a perfect pairing. I truly enjoyed being part of their journey, and of course I loved the cast of background characters at The Grand Palace on the Thames, Berwick the hack driver, and Pike the footman. I highly recommend this book and will most definitely be visiting Ms. Long's catalog of previous works to devour all the rest.

As one of my favorite authors, I was more than excited to receive a copy of Julie Ann Long's newest book, You Were Made To Be Mine.

This romance is compelling, focused around two people who have "fallen from grace" and who are in hiding for different reasons. The plot is centered around espionage and has many of the classic elements of a British spy store, complete with the traitor villain, the falsely accused hero, and the trail that must be followed for our hero to get justice, both for himself and for the heroine.

Christian Hawkes, the hero, is a recently released French prisoner who has been stripped of his fortune and has little left to live for. He is offered a deal by the very man who betrayed him: he must find this man's finance (our heroine) and return her to him, and Hawkes will then receive enough money to restore his former life.

Meanwhile, Lady Aurelie, the runaway finance, is holed up at the Grand Palace on the Thames, pretending to be a widow and trying to find a way to get across the ocean to her brother in America. Hawkes locates her about 1/3 of the way into the book and the romance kicks off, though both are cagey and refuse to reveal their true identities. Instead, they begin a sort of cat-and-mouse game while Hawkes tries to figure out what to do with her.

Even so, both main characters fall in love quickly. In fact, it seems that they've barely had a few conversations before they're regarding each other as the most important thing in the world. The romance is enchanting and feels very serious, but I can't help but wish that we had a few more - inane? - conversations before things got so heavy.

Really, I wanted more of the details between the characters. I wanted to see them fall in love because of a stupid joke, to learn about each other's likes and habits. Instead, most of the relationship is centered on their trauma and a bit on revenge. In typical Julie Ann Long style, it's extremely well-done, yet I had no sense that I knew the characters beyond their trauma as I finished the book. Once the external plot is solved, I couldn't find it in myself to care much more about these characters and the future of their relationship. Had more interactions been woven into the beginning of the book (and the characters met earlier) I think I would have been more invested in them than just the plot.

I must say that as individuals, these characters truly shine. Hawkes is a hard man who has clearly done some terrible things to survive, but never once does he lose his innate sense of kindness. He is simply good. Meanwhile, Lady Aurelie is determined to make her own way in the world. Despite suffering far too much for a woman of 21, despite having virtually no one who cares for her, she refuses to give up. She's one of the bravest sheltered women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Long also does a wonderful job showing what the characters do have in common. Despite an age difference and a massive gap in life experience, there is a clear kinship between the two that develops immediately. I only wish we had a bit more time to see the relationship grow before they are *in love.*

The intimate love scene happens towards the end of the book and is really beautiful, especially given the characters' past trauma. The writing shows how they are able to break down each other's walls and feel safe. It brought tears to my eyes! However, I wouldn't have minded a few smaller scenes leading to the love scene. There is very little physical contact between the hero and the heroine (save one kiss that is extremely brief) and I would have been thrilled to see a few more "hot and heavy" scenes, especially in the Grand Palace on the Thames. There's so much potential for quick hallway/broom closet moments! As a reader, I needed a few more of these scenes to see the romance build and to understand how the heroine could overcome her trauma so quickly. I wanted to see the gradual progression of her realization regarding physical love.

Overall, this is a lovely installment with a GREAT cast of characters in the Palace. Julie Ann Long truly creates a charming world full of interesting people. The suspense is there and the external plot is character-oriented, driving the reader to plow through the book at a breakneck speed.

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

See book review on the blog here: https://fromthereadingroom.com/review-you-were-made-to-be-mine-by-julie-ann-long/

You Were Made to Be Mine is another fantastic read by Julie Anne Long. The pacing of the book was constant. The suspense kept me up at. night wanting to read more about the villain.

Christian Hawkes and Lady Aurelia Capet path cross at the infamous hotel, The Grand Palace on the Thames. Their relationship is a slow build up. They both have scars, but somehow are able to overcome them in order to be together.

This is the 5th book in the series and it was nice getting some call backs to previous characters. I highly recommend reading the previous books in order to understand the references.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I could not get into this historical romance. The hero takes on a job to find a missing girl and while the novel has multiple points of views I felt the story dragged on more than was necessary. I found both characters to be a bit bland and the story lacked an interesting plot.

I forgot how much I loved this series until I opened this book to read! So I highly recommend going back and reading the first two books if you haven't. It isn't necessary to know the full story to enjoy this love story, but it does help add to the flavor of the cast of characters in and around the Grand Palace on the Thames. If you love some mystery and danger added into your romance, then this is a must read. Hawkes is tasked with finding the runaway fiancee of a man who he already has doubts about., Lady Aurelie has good reason to run. When he finds her or rather, falls onto her doorstep at the Grand Palace on the Thames they both dance around each other, slowly revealing clues while trying to stop more bad things from happening. Highly recommend!

*Review copy received.*
This is my first book by this author. It was a delight.
I love a solid romance that also has a mystery or some sort of action. The characters were memorable and engaging. My only issue was the amount of description used. Although the writing was beautiful, it was just not always necessary.

I received "You Were Made to be Mine " from Netgalley,  written by Julie Anne Long. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. This is the fifth book in her Palace of Rogues series. The story revolves around Christian Hawkes, who has spent the last few years as a French prisoner of war, and who is now in need of money to return to the real world. He is hired by a man, Brundage, who is searching for his missing fiancée. Lady Aurelia Capet is trying to escape London and go to her brother in Boston. She must temporarily take on an alias and reside at The Grand Palace on the Thames. The two meet most unexpectedly and an instant attraction ignites between the two. What ensues is a common goal of proving Brundage to be evil, and a traitor. Marvelous story.

I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable, if at times overly flowery, regency romance. The extended cast of characters are definitely charming, though not having read the previous books in the series I did feel a bit left out of the allusions being made. It deals with a sexual assault, which is something to be aware of before recommending it to readers. And there was some, to me, uncomfortable manipulation around the way the character who has been victimized is forced to "admit" what has happened to her. Despite this, I did enjoy the read overall, but I would probably only recommend it to readers of the previous entries in the series and with the content warning of sexual assault.