WICKED DESIGNS (THE LEAGUE OF ROGUES, BOOK #1) BY LAUREN SMITH: BOOK BANNER

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3 Star rating
Wicked Designs
The League of Rogues, Book #1
By Lauren Smith
ISBN# 9781619217454

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

wicked-designs-league-of-rogues-lauren-smithEmily Parr has suffered a devastating blow with the loss of her parents.  Now she lives with her Uncle Albert and, her future is in his hands.  Unfortunately, he has acquired a significant amount of debt and, unbeknownst to Emily, has decided to trade her to the horrid Mr. Blankenship to clear his debts to him.

But the men’s’ plan goes horribly awry when the young Emily is abducted by a group of rogue nobles, wanting to destroy Albert by ruining the reputation of his only bargaining chip; Emily.

But the rogues never expected to fall in love with the beautiful girl.  A love that could change their very way of living.  And, when Godric’s past comes a calling, what will he do to hold on to the one thing he loves?

I picked this book (ok my ereader) up and instantly was immersed in the story and was unable to put it down!  Between Emily’s life with her uncle and trying to avoid the advances of Mr. Blankenship, her abduction, and then of course the sexy Duke of Essex, I was hooked! I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!

This book started out really strong.  But sadly I must admit that the excitement did eventually wane for me.  I found some of Godric’s behaviors to get a bit old and repetitious after awhile, which lead to the same repeated behaviors from Emily (fighting him) and Godric’s friends (defending Emily, but still going along with Godric’s wishes) as well.  Not to mention Godric was a  bit ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ at times, with him throwing her over his shoulder or locking her away every time she did something he didn’t like.  And, then he’d wonder why she was so upset!  Oh honey, women don’t like that!

But for the most part I was still into the book, but I was disappointed when the plot went down the well-traveled path of leaving the one you love to protect them.  Sacrificing yourself for the one you love above all others is a noble gesture, but I was just hoping for something a bit more original.  Don’t get me wrong, this is still an enjoyable read.  It’s a good start to a new series and I can only hope the books can build off this one and get better and better.  I think the league of rogues is an interesting series premise with lots of potential and I’m anxious to see who the next book will feature and what we can expect from it!  I’m hoping for Lucien or Ash, but I guess only time will tell!