About a Rogue by Caroline Linden

July 23, 2020
For Delia, I will miss your chuckles from across the room.

http://www.carolinelinden.com/
In June of this year, I started to read Caroline Linden’s latest book, About a Rogue. About a Rogue is the first book in the series, Desperately Seeking a Duke. I don’t know what the problem was, I tried and tried, but could not get past the first couple of chapters. Maybe it was the mood I was in, maybe not, but I do remember not liking the heroine. Then Mia Vincy’s book came out, so I put About a Rogue aside. Well, a couple of weeks ago a Romanceland compatriot asked me what I thought of Linden’s book. I said I thought it was turning into a DNF.  She said, oh no, you should really give it another try. So, I did. I’m glad I did, because it actually turned out to be a pretty good story.

Our heroine Bianca Tate is a very strong person. We know she’s a strong person because we see that she is. A lot of times, in books, we are told the women are strong, but then they turn into boo-hoo-Anna Karenina’s, looking for the nearest train. But, Bianca is strong, smart, and courageous. Does that mean she’s right all the time? Nah, but at least she makes decisions. Does that mean she may be a tad bit stubborn? You bet’cha! But, she can also admit when she is wrong…and all without throwing herself under a train, or jumping in a near-bye pond, or letting some jealous bonehead choke her, because of a misunderstanding. I have never been fond of Ophelia and Desdemona.

Anyway, I grew fond of Bianca. The one issue I had with her was her conflicting relationship with her father. One moment, she’s charging in like a bull in a china shop, the next she’s wishing her father would show some kind of affection for her. Speaking of which, the bonehead crown doesn’t belong to just heroes…sometimes parents can be real boneheads too. The father in this story was a real dispenser of pain, for both his daughters. He said he wanted what was best for them, but it was all about what he wanted. He wasn’t above using a little extortion to get what he wanted either. When I see a character like that in a book, I wonder why everyone else is trying to win his or her affection. Anyway, his extortion is why Bianca is marrying our hero, Maximilian St. James.

Maximilian is supposed to marry Bianca’s older sister, Catherine. However, Catherine is in love with the near-bye softy vicar. Finally, the vicar grows a backbone, and Catherine and he elope…with Bianca’s help. When Bianca’s father finds out, things hit the fan. Her father forces her to take her sisters place…more extortion. Maximilian may be a little insulted to begin with, but he really doesn’t care which sister, as long as he gets the promised funds. You see, he needs the money for something…a secret…a mystery. As the story continued, I found I didn’t really care what the mystery was, because I was enjoying Max and Bianca circle each other.

Max and Bianca had some entertaining encounters, and some wonderful banter. Even though she tried, Bianca was never able to get the best of Max…and she did numerous things to annoy him. I loved that she would refer to him as “that man.”  However, he was mostly wise to her games, which in turn would annoy her. Eventually, they quit the circling and started to work together. That part of the story was fun and romantic…then the mystery happened.

The mystery was a bit of a distraction from the two great characters. I did not think we needed a mystery, and I would have been just fine without it. I suspect that it would have been hard for the author to write it out of the story…but it was not necessary and did not enhance the tale.

Overall, this was a good read. We have an exceptionally strong female lead, and a wonderful hero. They made a great pair. There was some unnecessary stuff at the end, but I am happy I picked the book up again. I am looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.

Time/Place: England 1787
Sensuality: Warm/Hot