A Rogue by Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels #1) by Sarah MacLean

From Goodreads

A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance - including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

 

My thoughts

 

I picked this book up at random in my local Library one nght. It's been a while since I've read a historical romance of this nature and fancied a change. At the time I didn't realise that it had won an award. I'm not really one for taking much notice of award winning books, as it doesn't make them any better than any other book in my eyes. The first book in her Rules of Scoundrels series, A Rogue By Any Other Name, won the 2013 RITA Award for Best Historical Romance from the Romance Writers of America.  

 

This was a very easy well written read that engaged me from start to finish. At times it was humourous as some of the incidents that happened to Penelope and Bourne made me smile, although I'm not sure that this was intentional.

 

It was in some ways very formulaic and typical of the genre but this made it more of a joy for me to read. As I like a good old fashioned romance and this was definitely one.

 

Bourne was a very stubborn hero and it was Penelope's job to turn his way of thinking round, which she was more than capable of doing.  She proved to be a more than worthy match for Bourne and took great pleasure in being very independent and acting in such a way to get under his skin and make him realise what he was missing.

 

I so wanted things to end well for both of them and if you're familiar with the genre, you'll more than likely know how it all ends, but it's how we get there that counts.

 

I was more than happy to give this an 8/10 and have already reserved the second in the series.  As we have already been introduced to the characters that the second book is based on, I can't wait to see what they get up to.

 

About the Author

 

Sarah MacLean is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of YA and adult romance.

She grew up in Rhode Island, where she spent much of her free time bemoaning the fact that she was more than a century too late for own Season. Her unabashed addiction to historical fiction helped to earn her a degree in European History from Smith College before she moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. After receiving a Masters in Education from Harvard University, Sarah returned to New York, where she lives with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels.