Thursday, April 7, 2016

Review: A Good Rogue is Hard to Find

A GOOD ROGUE IS HARD TO FIND
The Lords of Worth #2
Kelly Bowen
Historical Romance
368 pages
Forever
Available Now
Source: Bought

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
HE THOUGHT HE'D SEEN IT ALL . . .

The rogue's life has been good to William Somerhall: He has his fortune, his racehorses, and his freedom. Then he moves in with his mother. It seems the eccentric Dowager Duchess of Worth has been barely skirting social disaster-assisted by one Miss Jenna Hughes, who is far too bright and beautiful to be wasting her youth as a paid companion. Now home to keep his mother from ruin, William intends to learn what's afoot by keeping his friends close-and the tempting Miss Hughes closer still.

. . . UNTIL HE MEETS HER

He's tall, dark, and damnably intelligent-unfortunately for Jenna. She and the duchess are in the "redistribution business," taking from the rich and giving to the poor, and it's going great - until he shows up. But even as William plots to make an honest woman out of her, Jenna will use all her wiles to reveal just how bad a rogue he can be . . .


MY THOUGHTS
A Good Rogue is Hard to Find is an outstanding second installment in the Lords of Worth series, focusing on the inner workings of a family who existed on the periphery of the first book and absolutely stole the show every time they appeared. 

Despite the serious nature of the job the hero and heroine of book one undertake as their romance unfolds, there were select laugh out loud moments when a duchess backing their cause played up her eccentric reputation and created a spectacle of herself in public to distract from more covert operations. That duchess is front and center of this second book, with her son William and her "paid companion" Jenna our new romantic leads, and her antics give this installment a much lighter feel than we found in the start of this series. Her love for allowing live poultry to run amok during dinner parties and balls just to watch the feathers fly and the chaos ensue brings a smile to our faces throughout, knowing she's playing her part so that she and Jenna can continue to help those less fortunate.

William, for his part, takes just a little time to warm to simply because he threatens to be a wrench in the well-oiled machine that is Jenna and the Dowager Duchess of Worth (and it's impossible not to be rooting for the two of them to stick it to those members of the Ton who believe social status trumps the need to be a decent person). It doesn't take long for William to find his way into our good graces though, and his pursuit of Jenna is nothing if not swoon-worthy. Though he at times forgets that his title keeps a true relationship between them from ever becoming a reality, Jenna is quick to remind both him and herself, ensuring she doesn't get too swept up in something that can never be. Her honesty (about everything save the exact specifics of her role in taking from the rich to give to the poor that is) is one of her finest attributes, calling things as she sees them without dwelling on any words or actions that might initially leave a mark, and always moving forward toward achieving her goal of helping others.

Overall, A Good Rogue is Hard to Find is a quick and enormously fun read, the Dowager Duchess's relationship with Jenna ensuring we can't turn the pages fast enough to see what scheme the two of them will cook up next, while the romance with William adds a delightful flush to our cheeks and an immediate desire to pick up the next book as soon as we close the back cover.

Rating: 4/5


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28 comments:

  1. I always love to find fun historical riomance, I should try!

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  2. Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed this book, Jenny! The next books are good, too. :D

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  3. I love when a romance novel can be light-hearted and throw in a couple of good laughs. I haven't picked up a historical romance in awhile so I'm going to have to re-visit this genre starting with this novel, it looks like. I always need swoony recommendations so thanks for putting this one on my radar, Jenny!

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    1. Yes! The first book is a little darker given the heroine faked her own death to get away from an abusive husband, but this one is much lighter. Both are equally fantastic though!

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  4. Clearly, this one I need to get and try!! Thank you for the recommendation Jenny!!

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  5. This sounds like so much fun, Jenny! I do love that the son's mother and his love interest get along and work together for a change! I'll have to check this one out. :)

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    1. The Dowager Duchess is epic Rachel, you will love her.

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  6. Jenny, this book sounds right up my alley! I already LOVE the sound of it just from your description. I remember you loving the first one as well and I'm pretty sure I bought it on your recommendation. More than the romance, I'm excited for the relationship between Jenna and the Duchess!
    I'll have to pick up the first book and this one too.
    Lovely review! :)

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    1. READ THIS SERIES NICK! I know you'll love it:) Definitely start at the beginning, the first book is amazing.

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  7. This sounds like a fun read! I like that bit about letting the chickens run free during balls and parties. Do you really need to read the first book? Is there much story continuation or can you jump right into this one?

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    1. The Dowager Duchess and her chickens = AWESOME:)

      You don't have to read the first book as the romance isn't necessarily related, but you'll get a better feel for what the duchess and Jenna are trying to do if you read book one:)

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  8. I really need to try more romances like this. This one sounds fun and flirty and I like the sound of cooking up schemes.

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    1. I hope you give this series a try Heidi, highly recommend:)

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  9. Nothing beats a good historical. ;)

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  10. I love that there is humor Jenny. I am thinking I have never tried this author..I added the first book in the Lords of Worth series, to my TBR pile

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  11. I think I need this series and humor in my life, Jenny!

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  12. I haven’t heard about this book before; and it sounds lovely. I don’t read a lot of Historiral Romance, but when I’m in the mood for one I definitely would pick this book up. Wonderful review, Jenny!

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  13. I hope you give this a try Ksenia, it's always fun to step outside your usual reads every now and then:)

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