Thursday

The Rogue to Ruin by Vivienne Lorret

November 5, 2020
 
Now on to the Third Bourne Sister
https://vivlorret.net/
And, finally the sister we have all been waiting for, Ainsley. I wonder why it’s usually the elder sibling who is last to go? Don’t you just love characters who steal scenes? I know I do. Lucky for me, Ainsley and Reed Sterling have been strong secondary characters in the previous books in this series. I for one have been anticipating their story. Ms. Lorret dangled the carrot in front of my face, and I bit. As often happens, we form opinions of what we want these fascinating secondary characters to be. So, I had high expectations. It was a great relief that Ms. Lorret delivered what I was wishing for. I loved uptight Ainsley, and wishful thinking Reed. Was it a perfect story? No, but I did enjoy The Rogue to Ruin greatly.

I thought Ainsley blaming Reed for her business failures continued tooo long. They are at war with each other, but that war is mainly due to the fact that they are attracted to each other. It actually boils down to Ainsley having the problem with being attracted, and fighting it. She has some issues from her past, and those issues eventually show up. Reed on the other hand has been worshiping/loving Ainsley from afar for a long time. He has even deliberately done some things which he knows will irritate Ainsley. He loves to see her sparkling, rage-filled eyes, so he does do a little goading here and there.

You see, when the Bourne agency was established, the sisters picked a building right across the street from Reed’s gambling establishment. Reed’s business has boomed, and why wouldn’t it. It caters to men, it gives men what they want: gambling, alcohol, and an occasional woman. Whereas, what man really wants to step into a matchmaking agency? So, the Bourne women are not doing so well, especially since it seems they have a habit of marrying their own clients. And, that seems to be a no-no. Not wanting to admit she’s a horrible business manager, she blames Reed and declares war on him. What this war boils down to is Ainsley doing silly things which will embarrass Reed in front of his clients.

Then Ainsley’s abusive ex-fiancé shows up, and Reed steps in to take control. He is a fixer-upper, he takes care of broken people, animals, and whatever. Ainsley and Reed are a delightful couple, once they are a couple.

There are a number of secondary characters, a visit from Ainsley’s two sisters and their husband…and we finally find out who Mrs. Teasdale is. But, if you were paying attention in the last two books, you should have already deduced who she was. There were other secondary characters, Finch and Raven…remember Raven? He has his own book in a different series. See, everything is circular.

There was one thing all three of these books had in common which I liked. For the most part, the couples talked to each other. Oh sure, there were misunderstandings, but they didn’t last long, and they talked their issues through. I confess, I did do some skip reading. There were pages and pages of sex. I’m not really sure we need ten pages of one encounter, my eyes start to cross when that happens. One really shouldn’t become bored with whankee-woo, should one?

I was very pleased with this addition to the Misadventures of Matchmaking series. Reed and Ainsley lived up to my expectations – mostly. Ainsley carried the war on waaay toooo long, and sometimes the scenes in the story ended and began abruptly. I found myself rereading some paragraphs over. I also thought the bed-bouncing-table-moving scenes could have been shortened. But I did enjoy The Rogue to Ruin, and I do recommend it. Overall, I would recommend the first and last book in this series: How to Forget a Duke and The Rogue to Ruin. I wasn’t too enthralled with Ten Kisses to Scandal, but it is part of the series…maybe check it out of a library. Of course, you may be a collector of books, like me.
 
Time/Place: 1820s England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot

 

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