Thank you to Carina Press & Carina Adores and NetGalley for providing this ARC!

I haven’t read the first books in this series, but the friends-to-lovers plot and charming setting interested me right away! The first five chapters did an excellent job setting up a tantalizing romance plot along with a properly concerning external conflict. Personally, the interspersed flashbacks of the main characters’ youths weren’t for me—I’d rather read about the current-day plot with references to their past worked in—but it provided an insight into how the main duo became so close. And I’m especially thrilled with the inclusion of drag in historical fiction and romance; I’m glad to see it become more common, painting an even fuller picture of queer history alongside this lovely romance. I'd absolutely love to read more.

Four books for a lovely, readable time and the promise of more excitement!

I very much enjoyed this preview of the first few chapters of A Rulebook for Restless Rogues. I'm always fascinated to learn about queer culture in the earlier ages and what people went through to live their authentic lives. David and Noah come across as really interesting characters with intriguing backstories. I'm dying to see how their relationship with unfold and what fate will fall The Curious Fox.

Already so intrigued by this story!
Previously, I have read 'The gentlemen's book of vices' by Jess Everlee and absolutely adored it.
Thank you Netgalley for the preview.

The first five chapters of this book made me itch to know what happens next! I loved Everlee’s writing style, it was perfectly suited for the story she wants to tell, easy to get through and intricate enough to have the desire to keep reading.
I really liked how Everlee included flashback chapters, showing Noah and David’s relationship when they first met and I must say, those might’ve been the chapters I enjoyed most.
You could feel the tension from the two main characters through the pages and I never had the feeling the romance was rushed or poorly developed. On the contrary I loved the friends to lovers and kind of second chance vibes this gives off.
I am very intrigued to know what happens next and will definitely check out more of Everlee’s work. My only tiny critic point would be that I would’ve liked to see more of their relationship in the past, before having them kiss in the present. Otherwise I really loved this.

The first instalment in this series was one of my first 5 star reads of 2023, and I feel like Forester and Noah's story is going to be another easy 5 star pick. Can't wait until August.

I am so invested in this story!!

I absolutely love the time jumps from David and Noah's time in school to present day. (I don't know if that continues later on but I hope so). These characters are set up to have such a great friends to lovers storyline.

I cannot wait to read more!

I’m already so invested in this story. I need the book in my life as soon as possible. Jess made me fall in love with the main characters so fast, and it’s only been 5 chapters!

Something I really loved is that we are getting flashbacks to when David and Noah were in boarding school together. I adore friends to lovers, especially childhood friends to lovers.

And I'm a huge fan of historical queer romance, but sometimes it doesn’t feel accurate…here? It 100% does.

I really enjoyed this chapter sampler for A Rulebook for Restless Rogues! David and Noah have an excellent dynamic, starting from the very beginning when David can’t resist sticking up for Noah to the present, where they remain friends- and maybe something more? But first they must deal with an unprincipled baron who is trying to close down David’s queer club. I loved the idea behind this story and the dynamic between David and Noah. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next! Thank you to Jess Everlee, Carina Adores, and Netgalley for a free chapter sampler in exchange for honest feedback.

queer historical romance!

"A Rulebook for Restless Rogues" hooked me from the very first page. The characters are so dear to me already, especially Noah, and I had such a fun time reading those first five chapters. I cannot wait to read the rest of the book!

I'm rating this four out of five stars for now because it might be a little too cheesy and so far there's nothing very unique about it. But to be honest a cheesy gay romance might be exactly what I need right now and, who knows, I might enjoy the full book even more.

I am definitely intrigued by the first 5 chapters, but I'm feeling a disconnect between our two lovers so far. I'm not sure if this is intentional, but I would keep reading to find out!

I´ll just go ahead and give this a 4 out of 5, since these first 5 were pretty good and I´m intrigued. I want to know more about David and Noah´s past (how did their relationship change?) and also what will they do about a certain raid.
I don´t know how the rest of the book will go, but I´ll surely read the rest when it comes out.
For now, though, I´m going to read the previous novel of this author (since I didn´t know her before) for more context.

London, late 19th century: David and Noah have been best friends—and sometimes more—since boarding school. Now David runs an illicit gay club, and Noah dreams of having the freedom to turn his whimsical designs into fantastical couture...but when David's job, and with it his freedom, are threatened, they have some critical choices to make.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the chance to test-run some romance novels via preview—it's a very low-stakes way to figure out what should be next in my queue! Here we have two likeable heroes in a society that is not fully ready for them. The stakes are clear (including livelihood, possible prison time, and worse—society was not exactly leaping to defend queer relationships in the late 1800s), and I always love a romance where the greater conflict is something external rather than the protagonists being nitwits about their own feelings. Also really nice to see that these particular heroes are both friends to begin with and have some history that keeps them from being totally blind to their shared attraction.

The sample ends just as the conflict is rearing its ugly head, but this looks like a bang-up read for fans of m/m romance in general and historical m/m romance more specifically.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free sample through NetGalley.

I love historical queer books and I cannot wait to read the rest of this one!

I fell in love with the characters immediately, especially Noah, and yes, it's a bit cheesy but I think it's supposed to be and it's exactly what I need right now.

Something else I really like in books is flashback chapters and this one does have those as well as a dual point of view!

I was so intrigued by the synopsis of this book that I knew I had to read the preview! I’m a huge fan of historical romance! So far so good! I’m absolutely going to read the rest of this book when I can! Looking forward to it.

Wow, I really loved this preview!!! I am so impatient to read the rest of this story! I am not usually as into historical romance, but the summary piqued my interest and I am OBSESSED with this story now! So much so that I'm going to read the first book in this series now to try to keep me patient until this book comes out in July. I love David and Noah's story from beginning to chapter 5! Friends/business partners (ish) to lovers is my jam. I love David's draw to Noah from the beginning, and I love Noah so much as a child and as an adult refusing to be anything or anyone but exactly who he is regardless of bullies or hate.
Thank you so much for the ARC, and I'll keep my eye out for the rest of this story here on Netgalley because, as I said, I am now obsessed with this story :)

I loved these first five chapters and I am excited to read the full book. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this preview.

I'm HOOKED by these first few chapters! I absolutely loved this dive into queer history and sweet developing romance between our two leads. Both characters have distinct voices between POV chapters, and I felt so close to them throughout. I can't wait for the full release to see where the narrative goes next. I'm so rooting for these two.

I wasn’t familiar with this author and figured I’d give it a shot. I’m glad I did because I really like the story so far. It was only a preview but it left me wanting more. The characters were easy to connect with and I’m eager to see what happens in this story. Thanks for the preview.

I really enjoyed this preview of A Rulebook for Restless Rogues. The banter between the two main characters was witty and fun. I felt nostalgic reading the stolen moment between them near the lilac bush. I'm excited to read more from this author.

I absolutely adore Noah and David. I really enjoyed the first in this series, but I like these two even more. I was hoping we'd get their story. Best friends-turned-lovers is one of my favorite tropes, as is pining, which is what is happening so far. I love the flashbacks to their young days as well as seeing Noah shamelessly cheating at cards as Lady Penelope and in his day-to-day life at the tailor. I love seeing David's pride in his matchmaking and his running of the Curious Fox. I devoured the sample and I can't wait to read more.