A Rogue by Any Other Name

I'm starting the last of Sarah MacLean's finished series, which is really impressive considering I only started reading her books a year or so ago. I can't remember the last time I tore through an author's entire backlog so quickly. But I'm getting ahead of myself - there are still a few of her books left that I haven't read. I don't expect that to be the case for long, though.

This series focuses on the four co-owners of a gaming hell. Each has fled society for a different reason, each believes he is beyond redemption. Each will fall in love and be proven wrong. First up is Bourne, who lost his entire estate in a card game ten years prior. Since then he's focused only on regaining his land and getting revenge against the man who took it from him. When the land is attached to the dowry of his childhood friend, he coerces her into marriage. But he gets a lot more than he bargained for.

Penelope has been out in society for nearly a decade by the time she marries Bourne. One broken engagement and a string of courters that led nowhere, each less appealing than the last, has left this rule-abiding lady somewhat jaded and cynical. She doesn't want security anymore or stability or any of the things she's supposed to want. She wants love and adventure and a life with some excitement in it. And she's going to take that life no matter who stands in her way.

I was frustrated (in the best way) by how much of the book the two characters spent avoiding each other. And I felt like Bourne's redemption ended up being a bit rushed in the end. But as ever MacLean excels at crafting interesting, unstoppable heroines who refuse to settle for less than everything they want. Penelope just gets better and better with each passing page, and it's no wonder that Bourne finally decides that all he really wants is her, no matter what else he has to give up to be worthy of her.

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