A Good Rogue Is Hard to Find
The Lords of Worth, Book #2
By Kelly Bowen
ISBN: 9781455583836
Author Website: www.kellybowen.net
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Una
Synopsis:
HE THOUGHT HE’D SEEN IT ALL . . .
The rogue’s life has been good to William Somerhall: He has his fortune, his racehorses, and his freedom. Then he moves in with his mother. It seems the eccentric Dowager Duchess of Worth has been barely skirting social disaster-assisted by one Miss Jenna Hughes, who is far too bright and beautiful to be wasting her youth as a paid companion. Now home to keep his mother from ruin, William intends to learn what’s afoot by keeping his friends close-and the tempting Miss Hughes closer still.
. . . UNTIL HE MEETS HER
He’s tall, dark, and damnably intelligent-unfortunately for Jenna. She and the duchess are in the “redistribution business,” taking from the rich and giving to the poor, and it’s going great – until he shows up. But even as William plots to make an honest woman out of her, Jenna will use all her wiles to reveal just how bad a rogue he can be .
Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kelly Bowen has again given the reader a historical story that has humor, diversion, and enough romance to keep the pages turning. Her characters are engaging and the twists and turns of the plot make it very difficult to put the book down once started.
William comes to his mother’s house because her eccentric behavior seems to be filtering down through Ton society circles. When he arrives ,the house in turmoil and he finds not only is his mother besotted with chickens which are flitting about the house but she has a pet snake Phillip who is engagingly wrapped around her companion’s neck. The companion turns out to be the “mysterious “person William sought out at a ball months before but has never been able to locate. As he stays in the house not only are things not what they appear but William finds out that his mother and her companion are in a Robin Hood type business where they take what is owed to the poor from the rich and redistribute it back to the rightful owners. He is fascinated with Jenna (the paid companion) and soon realizes that not only is she beautiful but she is resourceful, kind and full of surprises. Jenna using honesty and blunt storytelling makes him aware that there is another side of life other than the one he has known. Falling hopelessly in love with her he has to decide whether to join or defeat the cause his mother and Jenna have painstakingly championed.
Jenna knows what she wants in life. She has experienced sorrow and pain and values what she has become. She ignores William’s mother’s eccentricities as she knows that they are deceptions for their cause. Jenna values honesty and fairness and justice to others and that justice is what drives her to continue her mission. She knows she is attracted to William but does not know if she can trust him enough should he find out what they are doing.
Eleanor and William have had a tenuous relationship and have a past that haunts them. They do however in their own way love each other. Again Eleanor does not know if William can survive her antics. Her staff are loyal to her much to William‘s chagrin and are a motley crew. William really wonders if anyone in his mother’s household is who and what they say they are.
The pace is fast until the end and the reader stays engaged during all the madcap adventures. I know I am looking forward to the next story which involves William’s sister and his best friend. Thanks to Kelly Bowen for such terrific writing.
