Dearest Rogue (Maiden Lane, 8)

“Wasn’t freedom a universal desire? Something every human being longed for no matter their circumstances?”THE STORY: Lady Phoebe Batten struggles against the restrictions imposed upon her. She is young and loves the social whirl that she has been almost completely excluded from by her brother, the Duke of Wakefield. Almost completely blind, Phoebe now has to deal with the bodyguard her brother has imposed upon her.Captain James Trevillion was forced to leave his service in the King’s dragoons by a serious injury that left him with a limp (events depicted in DUKE OF MIDNIGHT). Despite his injury, he is still able to shoot and ride and the Duke of Wakefield has hired him to be the bodyguard for his youngest sister.When Phoebe becomes the target for a kidnapping, James must risk his life to save her from being forced into marriage.OPINION: The sister of a Duke and an ex-dragoon are the definition of two people who have no business falling in love with one another.“She was everything he was not: young, innocent, filled with the joy of life. She had the blue blood of centuries of aristocrats running in her veins. He was a cynical, older ex-soldier and his blood ran common red.”“Blindness had neutered her in the eyes of the world.”Phoebe is young, sweet, caring and has the Batten stubbornness and willfulness. As this book opens, she has finally had enough of those who love her trying to protect her. Phoebe has a sweetness but she is not silly or annoying. She is a strong young woman trying to balance her love for others, her own desires and her fears. As the book develops, Phoebe grows and develops more of a tartness that she displays. As a right of passage for all the Batten sisters, she also has to confront her brother, Maximus. Readers of the series will recall that he is intensely protective of those he loves – especially Phoebe. This book wonderfully depicts Phoebe’s point of view including her anger and at times desperation about her blindness, but also her strength in learning to do for herself. As a story about Phoebe wanting and crafting her own freedom, I especially appreciated that she is an active participant in her claiming her own freedom.`“He might be a cripple on land but by God in the saddle he was a demon.”James Trevillion is a man struggling against his own limitations. It is clear from the beginning of this novel that his feelings for Phoebe have moved beyond the impersonal. He cares about her even as he acknowledges that there is no future for them. Instead, he sublimates his budding love for her into a desire to see her happy. A principled man, Trevillion is willing to break rules for a good cause. He is also incredibly strong willed in his own right which is one reason why he and Phoebe clash in such a proper manner before their relationship progresses beyond the proper. One of the nice plot points is how James has his own past demons that prompt him to want to protect Phoebe but he is the first to recognize that she cannot be protected to such an extent that she is smothered.“Sometimes I rather dislike you, Captain Trevillion.”“I am most gratified that it’s only sometimes, my lady.”The disabilities that Phoebe and James possess are their bridge to one another. Neither fits into the place which they had expected to inhabit and, the fact that each is separate from their expectations allow them to subvert society’s expectations. Phoebe, especially, knows that despite her birth, she will never be able to be part of the aristocracy except as a treasured pet.Phoebe and James have great banter between them. It is restrained and witty and biting and full of meaning. There is a tremendous amount of subtext going on between Phoebe and James from the beginning. His calling her “my Lady” is at times proper, annoying, angry and loving. These two argue with one another in such polite terms that it is funny.“Did you shoot someone back there?”“Yes, my lady.”“Why?”“It seemed a good idea.”Like all of the Maiden Lane novels, DEAREST ROGUE is very sexy, but for me the most sensual parts of this book are the incidents where touch is emphasized. Because of Phoebe’s blindness, touch and smell are more important in this book than sight. I loved how Hoyt focuses on the sensuality of simple acts like Phoebe putting her hand on James’ arm and then expands the exploration between the two to putting on perfume and removing stockings.I am a fan of the Maiden Lane series and while this is not my favorite (I prefer the darker more angst filled stories), it is certainly a good addition to the series. I especially appreciate Hoyt’s reward to longtime fans by giving us glimpses of the lives of characters who have already had their story told.WORTH MENTIONING: This book introduces the heroine of the next book in the series SWEETEST SCOUNDREL. Her backstory seems to be very intriguing. Fans of the Duke of Montgomery will also be pleased to know that he makes a significant appearance here.FINAL DECISION: Befitting Phoebe’s character, DEAREST ROGUE is sweeter than others in the series. The story of finding joy in what life gives a person is perfect for these two characters who are genuinely good people. The dark edge of the story is really about other characters whose stories are to be told in the future.CONNECTED BOOKS: DEAREST ROGUE is the eighth book in the Maiden Lane series. It can be read as a standalone even though fans of the series will be pleased with the continuation and glimpses of favorite characters.STAR RATING: I give DEAREST ROGUE 4.25 stars.

I generally enjoy this author's books. I'm also a sucker for H's who are "wounded warriors", and this H hits the sweet spot for me. He has a taciturn, quiet, controlled nature, which becomes fierce and passionate once he opens up to h. I have to admit that I've read only one other book in the series, a long time back, and so I didn't have background on this H/h's relationship, but I liked the fact that the story opened up right away with action that gives you a strong sense of who these characters are. I also loved the first intimate scene between H/h (when h dabs cologne she's bought for H on his jaw and throat). It's the subtler steamy scenes between them that worked best, I thought.But I found myself wishing that overall h was more emotionally mature. At the beginning, she seems more concerned about the lace she had just bought at the market than the fact that while protecting her, H was up against a gang of cutthroats, killed a couple of them, and barely managed to escape with her. She comes across as rather spoiled and self-centered at times through the rest of the book, and her reactions aren't consistently realistic. Sometimes she doesn't seem to take physical danger seriously because H is expected to save the day. She's kidnapped or nearly kidnapped multiple times, and isn't ever able to fight off or outsmart the attackers on her own, which gets a bit old. Yes, she's blind, but I guess I was looking for a bit more female empowerment here.I did like secondary characters such as H's sisters and even his father--those family scenes in the second half of the book helped humanize the H and made the h a bit more likable. The bad guy is who you expect, and you really want to knock his sister upside the head for continually giving in to him. His motivations are also pretty lame.A few other criticisms:--The idea of a 33-year old man being allowed to constantly be alone with a 21-year old daughter of a duke is unrealistic for the time period, even if she were blind. The h's brother seems to trust H and they have a history, but there's no way H/h would have been able to spend all that time alone without a chaperone.--Also, the age difference between H/h is brought up more than a few times by H, as if it's a big deal, but it wouldn't be seen as an issue at all during this time period. In the 1700s, a 21 year old unmarried lady would be considered far from young.--Just a nitpick: Why does h ask H a couple times why he never told her his father was a horse breeder, when he did tell her this after she asked him about his background, fairly early on in the book?--Finally, the language in this book isn't glaringly anachronistic, but it's still not really true to 1700's England. Much of the dialog would have worked better in a nineteenth century American setting.Still, I'm going to give this 4 stars based on my liking for the hero. To be honest, I just wished he had been paired with a more emotionally mature h.

Great read. Read all the maiden lanes in order it’s a great series!

Another fabulous read from Ms Hoyt. I think Captain Trevillion is my favourite hero in this series so far apart from Wakefield. It was lovely to see Phoebe get someone for herself and I am looking forward to the next instalment in this series. Love catching up with characters from previous books also. I read this in two days. Lots of fun and great writing.

Stunning. A great addition to the series. I love this couple. I love how the author described so much through the heroine's senses. But what do I keep rereading? The sneak peek of Asa's book, of course. I love him already.

Excellent story, romance and characters !

Phoebe Batten is the younger sister of the Duke of Wakefield, she is also blind... Which has led her brother, the somewhat austere and bullying Maximus, to hire her a guard. Former dragoon captain James Trevillion is everything a guard should be.. Except that Phoebe doesn't want to be guarded and he doesn't want to be her guard, because she secretly drives him mad. Thus we go from the light tantalising banter between them as Phoebe resist the strictures he bears on her life, but gradually begins to discover the good man behind the uptight and overly proper captain. A kidnapping plot and an escape to Cornwall eventually lead to a wild, very sexy clandestine love affair as Phoebe fights for her freedom and Trevillion finally has to stop fighting his feelings. Hoyt does a brilliant job conveying Phoebe's disability, until it's not a disability at all but rather adds new and compelling detail to the story. A delightful romance, from beginning to end.