Series: The Rogue Files, #2
Traits & Tropes: age gap (older heroine); widow; dirty talking hero
Publication Date: 07.25.17
Genre/Setting: Historical; London, England
Heat Level: 4
Rating: 4.5/5
Narration Rating: 3.5/5
Graciela, the Duchess of Autenberry, has been an outsider in English society since she arrived from Spain. After ten years of widowhood, Ela is feeling her loneliness keenly, so when her friend suggests she accompany her to a scandalous club, Ela agrees. Unfortunately, when she arrives she finds more unsavory characters than she’d bargained for and her rescuer could prove even more dangerous to her since he is her stepson’s dearest friend and capable of destroying her reputation in a heartbeat.
Colin, the Earl of Strickland, has struggled to control his attraction to Ela for years, but when he sees her seeking a lover, he offers to give her everything she needs himself. She’s everything he needs, but he’ll have a tough time convincing her to trust that his feelings for her are sincere and could be permanent if she’ll allow it.
Though some of the tropes and plot devices employed here were ones I don’t personally care for, this book really worked for me even when I thought it might not. This story has given me hope after the last couple books I’ve listened to wound up being utter failures for me. I loved the age gap here and, though Graciela was perhaps at times a bit too eager to push Colin away in favor of propriety, that merely made a place for his constancy to shine. This was a short book with a pace that was fast enough to keep me interested and characters compelling enough to keep me invested. Colin longed for a family and, after some frank conversation, Graciela finally revealed her matching longing for love. I loved the dynamic here of Graciela being older and forbidden because of her status as the stepmother of Colin’s best friend. Thanks to her Spanish origins, she’d already had to deal with much scorn and censure from the ton and didn’t wish to make things worse, but I loved that Colin didn’t let any of this stop him. He saw what he wanted and went for it, rapidly embracing his feelings and being unafraid of expressing them, something that was necessary to make Graciela feel comfortable with allowing her true feelings to emerge. There were a few tropes at play that I typically don’t like, but I think they worked here, and I loved this story.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/988935477
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2533120722
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