Gone with the Rogue by Amelia Grey | ARC Review

Series: First Comes Love, #2
Tropes & Traits: widowed heroine; single mother
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England
Publication Date: 04.28.20
Heat Level: 2/5
Rating: 3/5 stars

Widowhood hasn't brought the freedom it should have for Lady Julia Fairbright.  Though she mourned her husband, theirs was largely a marriage of convenience, but their elopement displeased her father-in-law, the Duke of Sprogsfield, and now, if she wants to stay with her son, Julia must abide by the duke's staunch rules of propriety.  When she meets handsome adventurer, Garrett Stockton, Julia finds a stir of attraction she'd thought long dead, but the only way she'll ever have the freedom to pursue her own happiness, without losing her son, is if she can prove to the rest of society just how deplorable the duke really is behind his pious façade.

As the distant relation of an earl, Garrett Stockton has been welcomed to cling to the fringes of society, but unlike his father, Garrett was not content to depend on the charity of distant relatives for his living and instead delved into the institution scorned by the aristocracy: trade.  Now the owner of a successful shipping company and exceedingly wealthy, Garrett remains somewhat of an enigma to society.  Rumors constantly circulate about his roguish tendencies and reckless wanderings, but Garrett is thinking increasingly more about settling down and remaining in England, especially after he meets a lady whose thirst for independence matches his own.  A light-hearted flirtation rapidly evolves into true feelings and soon Garrett is ready to claim Julia and her son as his own and determined to help her attain her freedom from a life under the duke's thumb.

This book started out so very strong and I was tearing right through it and then somewhere around the 60% mark it just lost steam and became rather discombobulated.  The characters were decently likable, the villain detestable, but the heroine quickly became rather vapid for me and the love scenes were extremely tame.  Some scenes toward the end drug out too much and seemed irrelevant  to the storyline, at least the story between Garrett and Julia.  We mostly have instalove here with Garrett falling much harder for Julia than she did for him and I mostly felt like she was using him for much of the book and stringing him along, even after the threat of the duke was removed.  I also felt like this was handled a bit too quickly as well.  This was a fine read to pass the time, but nothing to really write home about.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.