Sarah MacLean

"A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance-including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.  A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to an unexplored world of pleasures.  Bourne may be a prince of London's illicit underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness-a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them...even her heart."--P. 4 of cover.

A rogue by any other name

errrrr……. once again i’m going through it please don’t pay me any mind. this series is fun and good though (exactly what you signed up for)

karina

Mel 

Lover of Romance 

Michael, lost everything when he was sixteen in a card game, by his neighbor, and he was left with nothing. So now many years later he vows vengeance against the man that ruined his life. He is determined to let no man or woman get in his way, including his childhood friend Penelope. When he hears that his land is now a part of her dowry, he must come up with a plan to secure her marrying him as soon as possible. So he compromises her, which in turn forces her to marry him or face a horrid scandal on herself and her family. Penelope is thrilled at first when she see's Michael for the first time in many years, but he has changed a lot. He is no longer the boy she would run and play with, and write letters to. When she has no choice but to marry him, she wonders what kind of marriage they will have. She aches for passion and love and more than anything she desires Michael to be the one to give it to her. But when she finds out his thirst for revenge, she realizes his resolve and wonders if her love for him might be enough.A Rogue By Any Other Name is the first in the most newest series by Sarah MacLean. I have to say that I ever since I first read this author....she utterly captivated me instantly with her sharp wit and wonderful written stories that just pulled at my heartstrings. I can honestly say she is at the top of my favorite authors to read and I can't believe that it has taken me so long to get this one read....I truly must be an idiot LOL . Because this books was full of everything that satisfies every romantic notion that made me fall in love with romance novels in the first place. The story has a strong plot with a hero that I fell in lust and love with from the beginning. He is total Alpha and bad boy Rake type. Definitely the irresistable type that I just can't help but love from the first page. Penelope seems in the beginning like there is so much more she wants but feels caged by restrictions by her family and society. But when she marries Michael, we see the true fire beneath the mask, and I started to really like her. She fights for what she really wants and for the love she has for Michael (and I just LOVED her for that) I just love two strong characters that might not seem good for each other...but in the end are just perfect for each other. There is also such a sexual tension between these two from the beginning, and boy did this story sizzle and spark. A page turner this one....and story that will make you believe in second chances and a love that never dies!!!! A Romance Marvel that will make you pop in delight!

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean has taken the world of historical romance fiction by storm! With A Rogue by Any Other Name, she once again boldly breaks new ground. The first book in her remarkably fresh and original Fallen Angels series—featuring four dark Regency Era heroes who will steal the hearts of their heroines and the readers alike—A Rogue will captivate fans of Julia Quinn and Suzanne Enoch while bringing new romance readers eagerly into the fold. The scintillating story of a disgraced Marquess reduced to running a London gambling hall who hopes to restore his good fortune by marrying a very proper lady who’s secretly drawn to sin, A Rogue by Any Other Name is sexy and wicked fun.

The First Rule of Scoundrels

A Rogue by Any Other Name

Annabella

Connor 

What can I say? I'm a sucker for childhood friends.

Stefanie  Uwah

Paint by numbers romance with very little originality. I hated it

Aditi

I liked one scene but other than that it was meh. I usually love marriage of convenience but this one didn't work for me. Because it was so boring I was noticing all the little things I usually wouldn't care about and that affected my enjoyment even more. The epilogue has me intrigued for the next book tho.

Annie Beth

We love a tortured love interest. We love a strong MC who finds out what she wants and takes it. We love ballroom scenes filled with tension.

This was my first read for Sarah MacLean and I think I'm devoted now.

Jaclyn

A NEW FAVORITE!!
So so addicting, I fell in love with this world and I LOVED the relationship between Penelope and Michael!! THE LETTERS!!! AHH!! I could not put this book down and I’m bursting to read the next one in this series!! 
Review to come!

Amanda J 

Good start to the series. Liked the heroine more than hero

Renee Delcourt

I fell in love with this book so terribly that I am not really sure what happened. I enjoyed the fact that this was a true Hades and Persephone retelling. The characters all seemed to breathe on their own and were so different from one another. I never felt myself zoning out while reading and was engaged all the way through. 

Overall this is my favorite romance novel I have read so far and I will definitely be reading the sequels in the series because I can not wait to expand upon the family.

b.andherbooks

I am confusing myself...did I actually never read this before?! I could have sworn I did but if I did I forgot a lot of details.

Any way, I loved how MacLean handled turning the cruelly nicknamed "the grape" from Eleven Scandals into a heroine in her own right. Penelope handles her business and Bourne with aplomb. 

Great to revisit the start of my favorite series too. And start to pick out all the Chase mentions!!!

Read for #theSummerofSarahMacLean this 2020!

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
.

I was really excited to start this series as I loved Sarah's Love by Numbers so much. I couldn't wait to see what the spinoff would bring. I wasn't at all disappointed. 

I was really happy to learn that Lady Penelope would get the first book in the series. I liked her in Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart. Though I didn't want to see her with Simon, I wanted her to find her own happily ever after. She deserved that. Bourne was an unlikely match for her in the beginning, but I loved seeing how things progressed between them. It wasn't long before I was a total believer and couldn't wait to see them further explore their connection, even if it all started off as something less honorable. 

This was a great start to a new series. I couldn't wait to start the next book – so I didn't. Binge FTW!

Sans

Nearly a 4.5, but not quite. I liked all of the characters, even asswaffle!Michael. I liked the plot, though it was a little over the top at times. I liked the resolution, though I would have liked it more if Michael was able to change on his own and not just for Penelope. The letters in each chapter went from silly and fun to sad to downright heartbreaking. It was a great way to show the progress of Penelope's character. 

I think what brought this down a star for me was that I just couldn't get behind their relationship. I get that they had a long history and she's always been attached to him, but I didn't buy that as a lead in to their sexual relationship and HEA. They were great characters on their own, but they didn't do anything for me when they were together.

Lacey

Also posted at Booklovers For Life

I was weirdly in the mood to read a historical romance. It felt like a craving, really. Don’t know why I wanted to read a historical romance, I just did! I was wondering which book I should choose, and I randomly chose this one. Why? Maybe the pretty cover? I have no clue, but I’m glad I read it!

I love stories where the main hero and heroine used to be friends. I just LOVE those stories. They were friends when they were children, they were with each other constantly, thought about each other constantly, but never acted on anything because they were young. Yet they always held the promise of something more. And then something tragic happens and they separate. AH! The angst!

In this case, Michael, Marquess of Bourne, and Penelope were best friends when they were younger. But then Michael loses a bet, losing everything he owned–his inheritance, his house, his land–and he leaves. He deserts Penelope, who is crushed. Years pass without Michael ever contacting Penelope, and she becomes engaged to another. This ends in a disastrous scandal, leaving Penelope’s reputation in ruins. Her family is desperate for her to marry, and so her father adds in Michael’s lost land into her dowry to attract a husband.

Michael, now known only as Bourne, is one of four owners of a gaming hell known as The Fallen Angel, and is very successful. He has rebuilt his fortune, his name, yet he never forgot the day the lost everything, the day he promised to take back what was lost and vowed revenge against the man to stole everything from him. And he starts by forcing Penelope into marriage–with him. Now the two have to pretend they are over the moon about each other, that they have truly achieved a love match, and have to prove to society they didn’t marry because of certain circumstances (which of course they did). And throughout their entire farce, when Michael is a loving husband in public, Penelope can’t help wondering, is Michael acting? Or does he maybe, truly, have feelings for her?

I really enjoyed the writing, but the characters were harder to like. Penelope was a bit hard to connect with, and Michael is very much a class A jerk to Penelope. He’s cold and heartless and ruthless, and he’ll let nothing stand in the way of his revenge, even his old friend Penelope. Penelope still has some feelings for the boy who left her, but the man who’s with her now is completely changed, and she doesn’t know how to feel about that. I started liking them better later on in the book, when the tension between them gets more intense. And WOW does it get intense! *fans self*

Michael feels guilty for how he treats Penelope, but that doesn’t excuse his treatment of her. And somewhere along the way, feelings come rushing back in, and he’s in a dilemma. If he wants Penelope, he has to give up his quest for revenge. But if he wants his revenge, he gives up love and the only person who ever meant anything to him. And here’s where I started really enjoying the book. The angst for Michael is so well done! My heart was aching for him and Penelope, because neither knows whether their marriage could ever be real. They each have their faults, and aren’t sure if they really can love each other. Michael kept disappointing Penelope, and there were too many lies and deceits, but I was really cheering for them to have a HEA. Because I’m just a sucker for a couple who were best friends as children. They need to have a HEA!

“I am too imperfect for you,” he whispered at her temple.
“You are perfectly imperfect for me.”

There were several Awww moments that made my heart flutter when Michael realizes that wants more with Penelope. And I loved when Penelope grew more confident in herself. She may not be the most beautiful girl, or the most special, but she’s stubborn, clever, and loves Michael a hell of a lot.

This wasn’t the most perfect book, but it definitely made me happy with what I chose to read to satisfy my historical romance craving. The characters got better over time, and I’m such a fan of Sarah MacLean’s writing. And I loved all the letters between young Penelope and young Michael interspersed between the chapters! They were SO cute! Highly recommend this book for romance lovers!

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Melissa Railey

Victoria Canelon

Matilda

min.

Savannah Hack

TL Wright

'Fabulous' Eloisa James 'Smart, sexy, and always romantic' Julia Quinn 'For a smart, witty and passionate historical romance, I recommend anything by Sarah MacLean' Lisa Kleypas What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets . . . A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance - including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury. A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage. How lucky that her new husband has access to such unexplored pleasures. Bourne may be a prince of London's underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness - a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them . . . even her heart. This is the first novel in the Regency romance Rules of Scoundrels series by New York Time bestselling author Sarah MacLean - perfect for fans of Lisa Kleypas and Eloisa James *Winner of the RITA Award for Best Historical Romance in 2013* Rules of Scoundrels series: A Rogue by Any Other Name One Good Earl Deserves a Lover No Good Duke Goes Unpunished Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover Praise for Sarah MacLean: 'Sarah MacLean has reignited the romance genre with a bolder edge' The New Yorker 'Funny, smart, feminist and roastingly hot' BookRiot.com 'Do yourself a favor and discover the compelling magic of Sarah MacLean' Amanda Quick 'MacLean writes with an entirely unique blend of elegance and ferocity that bursts from every page' Entertainment Weekly 'Great chemistry, intelligence and sparkling humor' RT Book Reviews