The Irish Rogue

by Emma Jensen

Ailis O'Neill is not the average Dublin society miss. She spends her time teaching English to the Gaelic peasants—and painting the local wildlife. But with her brother running for British Parliament on behalf of Ireland, Ailis is expected to socialize with the political set. Her disdain for the English partisans is evident, but no more so than her disdain for Lord Clane.

Little does she realize that Lord Clane was once An Cú—The Hound—a notorious highwayman who stole from the wealthy British and gave to the Irish poor. Hailed as a hero—especially by Ailis—his current reputation is less than heroic... for someone is impersonating An Cú and tarnishing his noble image. Exposing the imposter will mean damaging the Irish cause, and Lord Clane has more than his reputation to think of—he has Ailis' heart.

Genres: Romance, Historical, Historical Romance, Traditional Regency, Regency Romance

216 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Emma Jensen is a bestselling author who has won both a Rita and a Reviewer's Choice Award for her Regencies. She grew up in San Francisco and among the vines of the California wine country. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, with degrees in nineteenth-century literature, sociology, and public policy.

Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Jensen is one of those authors who's not writing anymore, and I mourn her absence. She knows how to write a very involving, enjoyable love story. The dialogue is excellent, and the chemistry between Christor and Ailis was outstanding. There were moments that got downright steamy, although this is definitely a sweet romance. It's all about description of feelings and the way the couple interacts that gives a book a steam factor for this reader. And some pretty sizzling kissing scenes. Ms. Jensen brought some fire into this traditional regency romance.

Let me apologize in advance. There are words that have Gaelic accents, and I'm unable to do that in this review. I hate to murder this lovely language, but I sort of have to, in this case. This is a hard book to rate. It veered into five star territory several times, but then it jumped over to four and 1/2 star region. I think the reason that it wasn't a five star book for me, is when the tone shifted abruptly to social comedy. I do love that about regency-set romances, but the way the scenes would go from more intense couple scenes to social comedy was a bit too jarring to me. But I have to admit, she had me laughing at the slyly humorous descriptions of the members of Dublin high society.

Christor was an awesome hero. He's sexy, dangerous, intense, but also intelligent, and principled. He is the kind of hero I like to see in Regency romance. He is showed as a masculine, attractive figure without having to be a skirtchaser to get that image across. He's had women in the past. Of course. But his list of conquests does not need to be waved in the reader's face to show his appeal. He's a noble aristocrat, but he's down to earth, and genuinely cares about all people. His pursuit of Ailis really kept my interest. And boy, could the man kiss!

Ailis was the kind of heroine you like, but at times, can be annoying. She was a little bit judgmental towards Christor. She pegged him as another Anglo-Irish aristocrat who wouldn't know the real Ireland if it hit him with a frying pan. She's very proud of her Gaelic-Irish roots, and is fairly snooty about it (in a reverse sort of way). That was the only issue I had with her, really. Of course, she has to go barreling off to get into trouble at the climax, but it's sort of expected in a trad regency, isn't it? I liked that she started loving Christor for himself, and didn't compare him to An Cu for very long. She soon realized that the traits she found so appealing about her masked adventurer, were traits that Lord Clane (Christor) had. Kudos to her for that. My somewhat mixed feeling about Ailis is another reason this wasn't quite a five star book for me.

If you are an admirer of Irish/Gaelic culture, you will love this book. This turned out to be the perfect book to read in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Although I am Black American, I have a strong Irish heritage that I am very proud of. This book resonated with me in how it showed aspects of Ireland that I don't get to see very much in Regency romance. I believe that Ms. Jensen did a great job in infusing these elements into this romance, and they added another level of appeal and flavor to this story.

If you are a fan of books with a hero in disguise, and masked adventurers, you'll enjoy this one. Although I don't go out my way to read highwayman/bandit books, I enjoy a well-written one, and I'd suggest this book if someone asked for a recommendation. An Cu/Christor is the type of bandit that you would want to sweep onto his horse and carry you away into the night, kissing you senseless the whole while.

So, all in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, for numerous reasons. Another winner by Emma Jensen, who I wish would please come back to writing romances.

Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

look I know I just started a new job and all but here me out: what if... I went back to Ireland on Monday instead. What. If.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had great promise but failed to live up to it's potential. I loved the heroine. She is fiercely independent, smart, witty and passionate. I could easily identify with her and I think if I were a 19th century Irish gentry woman, I would be a lot like her. The hero has potential to be great. Like the heroine, he's deeply passionate and caring. He starts to bear his soul to her and I can see why they would love each other, but then the book derails from there. Christor acts like a gorilla around Ailis. He's driven by lust not love and his realization that he is in love comes way too late and too sudden to make up for his lustful urges. The book would have been much much better if the author had been able to develop the romance instead of the physical urgings of her characters. This story is not exactly clean as Christor frequently thinks about what he wants to do with Ailis and there's a make-out scene that has no business being in the book. It doesn't serve to move the story along and can be skipped easily. The plot about An Cu was very interesting. I liked the idea of an Irish Robin Hood a lot and I kept trying to guess who the impostor was. I guessed completely wrong. The reveal was a bit shocking and it was also lacking in a real motive and resolution. The conclusion of the novel feels rushed because too much time was spent on Christor's urges. The mystery kept me interested but not interested enough to devour this book in one night. It took me three nights because I couldn't get over the lack of plot. The secondary characters also have potential to be great but lack any real sort of characterization. Anne is way too an indulgent mother and her children, especially Ailis, do not act within the acceptable bounds of proproiety. I liked the local color of Dublin and the inclusion of the importance of Gaelic into the plot, but the book needs a glossary because I don't speak Gaelic and found many of the phrases impossible to pronounce. I know enough to know the heroine's name is said Aylish and that's about it.

[Erica Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just reread this book, which I had on my keeper shelf. I wondered whether I'd still like it ten years after the first read. And yes, it's still that good. First, I love the hero. Second, the setting in Dublin is really well done. It's rare to find a Regency, trad or otherwise, set in Ireland. Although there is a highwayman element, which I usually find contrived, in this case, it's set in the hero's past. And it works. Finally, Jensen has done a great job with the sexual tension and it's great entertainment to watch Ailis fall for Christor despite herself.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean by the barest of standards. No pun intended. They don't do anything, but make little comments and have inappropriate thoughts. He does dip too low for a kiss once and is interrupted. Clean? You be the judge.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book comes to me by way of Katelynne- thank you for the borrow!!! Now I don't read too many romance books but I more than appreciated being taken back to Dublin. Nothing like Irish speech patterns to jog my memory- fantastic! :)

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regency

[Dana_h]

The Irish Rogue (Signet Regency Romance) by Emma Jensen (1999)

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough tale, highly improbable but not too farcical. I quite liked Ailis O'Neill & Christopher Moore, Earl of Clane, even though they both acted the idiot on occasion. There's more lust than love in evidence & the characterisation is a tad superficial, but I was reasonably entertained by this story of an Irish Robin Hood.