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The Wild Quartet #3
The Ruin of a Rogue
Charm, wit, and nerves of steel have helped Marcus Lithgow gamble his way across the Continent. But when his heart is at stake, all bets are off for this most perfect rogue...
It's been years since Marcus set foot in England—why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding . . . the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus feel like he's the one hanging by a thread?
Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind hearts rather than her impressive dowry?
She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realized she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules.
It's been years since Marcus set foot in England—why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding . . . the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus feel like he's the one hanging by a thread?
Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind hearts rather than her impressive dowry?
She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realized she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules.
372 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 27, 2013
93 people are currently reading
912 people want to read
About the author
Miranda Neville
27 books516 followersMiranda Neville grew up in England, loving the books of Georgette Heyer and other Regency romances. She lived in Vermont with her daughter and an immensely talented cat, who made a book trailer for her novel, The Importance of Being Wicked. Her historical romances published by Avon include the popular Burgundy Club series, about Regency book collectors, and The Wild Quartet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
November 21, 2015
Anne Brotherton is hella rich. Marcus Lithgow is supposed to be a con man. He tries to woo her; she overhears his scheming and starts her own scheme; he departs for his newly inherited estate; she follows. Power trips, Roman artifacts, and some awkward sex later, the feelings show up.
1. I hadn't read the blurb as thoroughly as I should have before I checked this out (while attempting to troubleshoot an OverDrive issue), but I read the first chapter and was CONVINCED this would be the Con-Man/Straight-Woman romance of my DREAMS. Oh, how wrong I was. Marcus was the poor-man's Neal Caffrey while Anne was a child. (And as many of you know, I don't use that descriptor likely.) There was zero heisting. There was no sexual tension. There was an extraordinarily stupid visit from "beyond the grave". IT WASN'T WHAT I WANTED.
2. Seriously, Anne was portrayed as the simplest, most innocent of child-like flowers by MARCUS, her ALLEGED TRUE LOVE. IT WAS HORRIFYING. At one point, he helps her make jam tarts and the language used made it a weirdly charged description of how cute she was trying to roll out dough and how Marcus remembered his mother standing over him as a child much like he was now standing over Anne, and how she might someday stand over their children, and just--EW. I think there's a way to capture your hero/ine's delight in their partner's new experiences, but the way it was handled in The Ruin of a Rogue was distasteful.
And it happened ALL OVER THE PLACE. When he plays chess with her near the end, he delights in how badly she plays, how simple her approach. He loves her naive response to his caresses; how she cleans his house; basically, he seems to like her in a constant state of stupidity. The jam tart scene just happened to be the one that pushed my Creep Meter over the limit.
3. AHAHAH WHAT SEXUAL TENSION?
4. Anne's response to discovering that Marcus was trying to play her is to play him by....turning into the most spoiled monster ever. The depths of immaturity! The lack of any sort of actual approach! It was laughable. I wanted a heroine who put on her game face and played the game instead of just saying abrasive nonsense and making her (dirt-poor) hero spend his money. How petty.
Her overall characterization is vaguely horrifying because she's never given much inner dialogue that isn't one-dimensional and tied to directly to what's in front of her. Five chapters in, she thinks she's in love with Marcus. Then she finds out his betrayal so she thinks about betraying him. Then she thinks about his new manor with the possible Roman villa. Than she thinks about sex with him. Then she thinks about loving him again, but for real. It's like stage directions of a play that thinks it's a romance.
5. Marcus wasn't much better, but at least there were some ~Layers regarding his shitty history and his shitty dad and his shitty plot to compromise Anne.
6. I wouldn't have cared so much about this book being the gross disaster it is if I hadn't allowed my hopes to soar SO MUCH. JUST IMAGINE IT: your suave, jack-of-all-trades hero decides to play the heroine in a long con in order to get her [money, rubies, key]; she, being intelligent and sly, keeps one eye on the door as he woos her. Just when he's about to let the trap close, the heroine whisks herself to safety and watches with (aroused) amusement as her hero makes his daring escape to keep himself from getting caught in his own net. THEN PURSUIT. The wily heroine, using her own bag of tricks, manages to unravel the hero's lies and discover the kernel of truth that keeps him from being irredeemable and falls in love with the damaged idiot that thought he could conquer her. AND THEN THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER FLEECING IDIOTS THE END.
1. I hadn't read the blurb as thoroughly as I should have before I checked this out (while attempting to troubleshoot an OverDrive issue), but I read the first chapter and was CONVINCED this would be the Con-Man/Straight-Woman romance of my DREAMS. Oh, how wrong I was. Marcus was the poor-man's Neal Caffrey while Anne was a child. (And as many of you know, I don't use that descriptor likely.) There was zero heisting. There was no sexual tension. There was an extraordinarily stupid visit from "beyond the grave". IT WASN'T WHAT I WANTED.
2. Seriously, Anne was portrayed as the simplest, most innocent of child-like flowers by MARCUS, her ALLEGED TRUE LOVE. IT WAS HORRIFYING. At one point, he helps her make jam tarts and the language used made it a weirdly charged description of how cute she was trying to roll out dough and how Marcus remembered his mother standing over him as a child much like he was now standing over Anne, and how she might someday stand over their children, and just--EW. I think there's a way to capture your hero/ine's delight in their partner's new experiences, but the way it was handled in The Ruin of a Rogue was distasteful.
And it happened ALL OVER THE PLACE. When he plays chess with her near the end, he delights in how badly she plays, how simple her approach. He loves her naive response to his caresses; how she cleans his house; basically, he seems to like her in a constant state of stupidity. The jam tart scene just happened to be the one that pushed my Creep Meter over the limit.
3. AHAHAH WHAT SEXUAL TENSION?
4. Anne's response to discovering that Marcus was trying to play her is to play him by....turning into the most spoiled monster ever. The depths of immaturity! The lack of any sort of actual approach! It was laughable. I wanted a heroine who put on her game face and played the game instead of just saying abrasive nonsense and making her (dirt-poor) hero spend his money. How petty.
Her overall characterization is vaguely horrifying because she's never given much inner dialogue that isn't one-dimensional and tied to directly to what's in front of her. Five chapters in, she thinks she's in love with Marcus. Then she finds out his betrayal so she thinks about betraying him. Then she thinks about his new manor with the possible Roman villa. Than she thinks about sex with him. Then she thinks about loving him again, but for real. It's like stage directions of a play that thinks it's a romance.
5. Marcus wasn't much better, but at least there were some ~Layers regarding his shitty history and his shitty dad and his shitty plot to compromise Anne.
6. I wouldn't have cared so much about this book being the gross disaster it is if I hadn't allowed my hopes to soar SO MUCH. JUST IMAGINE IT: your suave, jack-of-all-trades hero decides to play the heroine in a long con in order to get her [money, rubies, key]; she, being intelligent and sly, keeps one eye on the door as he woos her. Just when he's about to let the trap close, the heroine whisks herself to safety and watches with (aroused) amusement as her hero makes his daring escape to keep himself from getting caught in his own net. THEN PURSUIT. The wily heroine, using her own bag of tricks, manages to unravel the hero's lies and discover the kernel of truth that keeps him from being irredeemable and falls in love with the damaged idiot that thought he could conquer her. AND THEN THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER FLEECING IDIOTS THE END.
August 8, 2014
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
The Ruin of a Rogue by Miranda Neville
Book Two of the Wild Quartet series
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Rating: 2 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
Charm, wit, and nerves of steel have helped Marcus Lithgow gamble his way across the Continent. But when his heart is at stake, all bets are off for this most perfect rogue...
It's been years since Marcus set foot in England—why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding . . . the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus fell like he's the one hanging by a thread?
Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind hearts rather than her impressive dowry?
She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realized she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules.
What I Liked:
Ahhh, I really wanted to like this book. You all know my obsession with historical fiction, and more specifically, with historical romance. I got this eARC with two others from Edelweiss, and I chose to read this one first because it sounded awesome! Rogue, heiress, games?! I had high hopes for this one - not that I don't have high hopes for the other two eARCs I got along with this one.
Anyway. I was totally looking forward to an awesome historical romance book. Marcus sounded like a yummy rogue with a plan. And he was - sort of. I liked his plan from the beginning and the way he went right after what he wanted, despite the fact that he had basically no money, and that Anne eventually caught on and drove him up a wall.
I didn't really see the part about his "smooth seduction". I mean, I saw a kind gentleman, eager to please a lady, but not fall over himself trying to make sure she was pleased. I didn't really think Marcus was a rogue at all! He seemed like a poor and desperate man, but he also seemed like a complete gentleman to me! He didn't try to kiss her or do anything sexual AT ALL. Which was very nice of him, and I respected that, but if he's supposed to be a rogue, with rakish behavior, then that doesn't really fit his personality.
The ending is good! Happy ending and all that. There are sacrifices made, but as with most historical romance novels, there is a happy ending for the happy couple.
That concludes what I liked from this novel.
What I Did Not Like:
Oh my gosh. I mean no disrespect to the publisher and the author and everyone who worked so hard to make this book what it is, but there are SO MANY THINGS that I just did NOT enjoy. It pains me to say this, because I love Avon Books and historical romance.
Okay. Well. My first thing to point out is that this book is indirectly split up into two parts: the first part deals with Marcus and Anne, in which Marcus was being super nice to Anne in order to "charm her", for her money. The second part of the book deals with Marcus trying to restore an old manor he inherited from his mother's uncle. Anne follows him to his new manor because she has heard that there are ancient Roman ruins in this particular manor summer, and she is interested in archaeology, so naturally, she wants to explore the ruins.
So. I must say, while this book is split into two parts, both parts are extremely boring. The cadence of this book is so boring. I didn't care what was going on, I didn't care if Marcus and Anne were trying to trick each other, I didn't care about Marcus's manor, I just didn't care! This book was so boring and had no life to it! It made me not care about anybody or anything!
Anne is just so uninteresting. I know that the premise of the book says that she wants men to acknowledge her brains and her intellect, and not just her money. Okay but ANNE. You are such a boring person! You have like, NO personality. She likes archaeology and ancient ruins. I LIKE archaeology and ancient ruins and whatnot. But she bored me to TEARS with her chatter about archaeology and villas and UGH.
So Anne was a boring and almost a nuisance. She stood up for herself when she realized that Marcus was after her for her money, but she still acted like a spoiled heiress! I expect her to act like a spoiled heiress (she IS one), but she tries to convince herself that she's different than the other aristocratic heiresses. Ugh, no.
And Marcus was in no way the rogue and rake that the premise claims him to be! I really don't think he acted like a rogue at all! He acted like a nice gentleman, even when Anne joined him at his manor, even when he struck up a bargain with her. He didn't demand anything naughty in nature.
And that's another thing. Anne does housework with Marcus. Like, sweeping, dusting, cob-webbing, that sort of thing. MANUAL LABOR. Does anyone else see a problem with this? No heiress/aristocrat/rich lady would EVER stoop that low, just to see ancient Roman ruins. And that in itself is anachronistic - no aristocrat and definitely no LADY would go on her hands and knees to dig up ancient ruins that might not even be there. No one. I so so not believe that.
The romance itself is just BAD. In the beginning, Marcus just wants to pursue Anne for her money. In the beginning, Anne falls head over heels in love with Marcus, because he has knowledge in ancient ruins, and he seems kind and NOT after her money.
In the second half of the book, they fall in love while restoring the manor and digging up ancient ruins. I took FOREVER for them to actually decide that they were in love. And there wasn't very much chemistry! I was so disappointed in the lack of chemistry throughout the entire book! Their relationship didn't seem very passionate. It seemed taxed (on Marcus's end), and boring (on Anne's end). Or maybe just all-around boring. I find that sad - because this is a historical romance novel! There is supposed to be some burning passion, or something! All of the "passion" comes at the very end, and it happens only a few times!
Okay, so I feel like some people would say, "Well, maybe this is a historical romance with a lot of intellect and very little sex." Okay, I completely respect that. I love it when books are supposed to be intelligent, and more based on the plot than the romance. BUT, when we're dealing with a historical ROMANCE novel, I think there needs to chemistry throughout the book, among other things.
Did I already mention that I didn't care for the plot? It was so boring. Both parts to the book were unappealing. The characters were somewhat unappealing (mostly Anne). There were some anachronisms that bothered me. I didn't like the lack of passion and chemistry.
I feel like I've said enough. And again, I mean no disrespect towards the people who worked on this book, and the author. But as a historical romance lover, I was not impressed.
Would I Recommend It:
No. I'm sorry, but there are much better historical romance novels. Shorter ones, too. Length usually never bothers me, but when I already wanted this one to end from the very beginning, the sheer size of this book made it even worse. I didn't want to stop reading this book, because I thought it would get better, but alas.
Rating:
1.5 stars -> rounded up to 2 stars. Maybe that's me being generous.
The Ruin of a Rogue by Miranda Neville
Book Two of the Wild Quartet series
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Rating: 2 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
Charm, wit, and nerves of steel have helped Marcus Lithgow gamble his way across the Continent. But when his heart is at stake, all bets are off for this most perfect rogue...
It's been years since Marcus set foot in England—why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding . . . the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus fell like he's the one hanging by a thread?
Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind hearts rather than her impressive dowry?
She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realized she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules.
What I Liked:
Ahhh, I really wanted to like this book. You all know my obsession with historical fiction, and more specifically, with historical romance. I got this eARC with two others from Edelweiss, and I chose to read this one first because it sounded awesome! Rogue, heiress, games?! I had high hopes for this one - not that I don't have high hopes for the other two eARCs I got along with this one.
Anyway. I was totally looking forward to an awesome historical romance book. Marcus sounded like a yummy rogue with a plan. And he was - sort of. I liked his plan from the beginning and the way he went right after what he wanted, despite the fact that he had basically no money, and that Anne eventually caught on and drove him up a wall.
I didn't really see the part about his "smooth seduction". I mean, I saw a kind gentleman, eager to please a lady, but not fall over himself trying to make sure she was pleased. I didn't really think Marcus was a rogue at all! He seemed like a poor and desperate man, but he also seemed like a complete gentleman to me! He didn't try to kiss her or do anything sexual AT ALL. Which was very nice of him, and I respected that, but if he's supposed to be a rogue, with rakish behavior, then that doesn't really fit his personality.
The ending is good! Happy ending and all that. There are sacrifices made, but as with most historical romance novels, there is a happy ending for the happy couple.
That concludes what I liked from this novel.
What I Did Not Like:
Oh my gosh. I mean no disrespect to the publisher and the author and everyone who worked so hard to make this book what it is, but there are SO MANY THINGS that I just did NOT enjoy. It pains me to say this, because I love Avon Books and historical romance.
Okay. Well. My first thing to point out is that this book is indirectly split up into two parts: the first part deals with Marcus and Anne, in which Marcus was being super nice to Anne in order to "charm her", for her money. The second part of the book deals with Marcus trying to restore an old manor he inherited from his mother's uncle. Anne follows him to his new manor because she has heard that there are ancient Roman ruins in this particular manor summer, and she is interested in archaeology, so naturally, she wants to explore the ruins.
So. I must say, while this book is split into two parts, both parts are extremely boring. The cadence of this book is so boring. I didn't care what was going on, I didn't care if Marcus and Anne were trying to trick each other, I didn't care about Marcus's manor, I just didn't care! This book was so boring and had no life to it! It made me not care about anybody or anything!
Anne is just so uninteresting. I know that the premise of the book says that she wants men to acknowledge her brains and her intellect, and not just her money. Okay but ANNE. You are such a boring person! You have like, NO personality. She likes archaeology and ancient ruins. I LIKE archaeology and ancient ruins and whatnot. But she bored me to TEARS with her chatter about archaeology and villas and UGH.
So Anne was a boring and almost a nuisance. She stood up for herself when she realized that Marcus was after her for her money, but she still acted like a spoiled heiress! I expect her to act like a spoiled heiress (she IS one), but she tries to convince herself that she's different than the other aristocratic heiresses. Ugh, no.
And Marcus was in no way the rogue and rake that the premise claims him to be! I really don't think he acted like a rogue at all! He acted like a nice gentleman, even when Anne joined him at his manor, even when he struck up a bargain with her. He didn't demand anything naughty in nature.
And that's another thing. Anne does housework with Marcus. Like, sweeping, dusting, cob-webbing, that sort of thing. MANUAL LABOR. Does anyone else see a problem with this? No heiress/aristocrat/rich lady would EVER stoop that low, just to see ancient Roman ruins. And that in itself is anachronistic - no aristocrat and definitely no LADY would go on her hands and knees to dig up ancient ruins that might not even be there. No one. I so so not believe that.
The romance itself is just BAD. In the beginning, Marcus just wants to pursue Anne for her money. In the beginning, Anne falls head over heels in love with Marcus, because he has knowledge in ancient ruins, and he seems kind and NOT after her money.
In the second half of the book, they fall in love while restoring the manor and digging up ancient ruins. I took FOREVER for them to actually decide that they were in love. And there wasn't very much chemistry! I was so disappointed in the lack of chemistry throughout the entire book! Their relationship didn't seem very passionate. It seemed taxed (on Marcus's end), and boring (on Anne's end). Or maybe just all-around boring. I find that sad - because this is a historical romance novel! There is supposed to be some burning passion, or something! All of the "passion" comes at the very end, and it happens only a few times!
Okay, so I feel like some people would say, "Well, maybe this is a historical romance with a lot of intellect and very little sex." Okay, I completely respect that. I love it when books are supposed to be intelligent, and more based on the plot than the romance. BUT, when we're dealing with a historical ROMANCE novel, I think there needs to chemistry throughout the book, among other things.
Did I already mention that I didn't care for the plot? It was so boring. Both parts to the book were unappealing. The characters were somewhat unappealing (mostly Anne). There were some anachronisms that bothered me. I didn't like the lack of passion and chemistry.
I feel like I've said enough. And again, I mean no disrespect towards the people who worked on this book, and the author. But as a historical romance lover, I was not impressed.
Would I Recommend It:
No. I'm sorry, but there are much better historical romance novels. Shorter ones, too. Length usually never bothers me, but when I already wanted this one to end from the very beginning, the sheer size of this book made it even worse. I didn't want to stop reading this book, because I thought it would get better, but alas.
Rating:
1.5 stars -> rounded up to 2 stars. Maybe that's me being generous.
August 24, 2013
Some titles seem to have little to do with the contents of the book, but in the case of Miranda Neville’s The Ruin of a Rogue, the title not only engages in clever word play but also announces the journey that lies at the heart of this story. “Ruin,” says the OED is generally a transitive verb meaning “to inflict great and irretrievable damage, loss, or disaster upon (a person or community).” Even a casual reader of historical romance can list novels in which a male, sometimes the villain in the pattern of Jane Austen’s Willoughby or Wickham and sometimes the hero in the pattern of Charlotte Brontë’s Rochester, inflicts or attempts to inflict such loss on the heroine or a secondary female character. Rakes and rogues who behave in such a manner are staples of romance. The romance reader does not expect a scoundrel to be the one who is the object of ruin, but this is exactly what happens with Marcus Lithgow.
Of course, on one level, the ruin referred to in the title is the Roman ruin on the property that Marcus unexpectedly inherits. That ruin plays a prominent role in the plot. Among other things, it serves to entice the heroine to Marcus’s estate, to increase the intimacy between Marcus and Anne, and even to introduce the villain. In all these ways, the Roman ruin contributes to the destruction of a rogue, but the more complex ruin is the one that destroys the roguish Marcus and resurrects a nobler man, one more deserving to be considered a hero.
See my full First Look at Heroes and Heartbreakers:
http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com...
Of course, on one level, the ruin referred to in the title is the Roman ruin on the property that Marcus unexpectedly inherits. That ruin plays a prominent role in the plot. Among other things, it serves to entice the heroine to Marcus’s estate, to increase the intimacy between Marcus and Anne, and even to introduce the villain. In all these ways, the Roman ruin contributes to the destruction of a rogue, but the more complex ruin is the one that destroys the roguish Marcus and resurrects a nobler man, one more deserving to be considered a hero.
See my full First Look at Heroes and Heartbreakers:
http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com...
November 2, 2013
Neville is a little hit-and-miss for me. This was all right, but not super compelling. I found myself reflecting more than once (when I was not reading it) how tiresomely implausible all these heroines who are so quick to throw away (or put in serious peril) their good standing with society are. At the very least, it's not very mature behaviour. This heroine is in that category, so I didn't really find her all that interesting, despite her reported scholarly interests. These scholarly interests (examining ancient artifacts, eventually leading to a dig on the hero's property) seemed a bit wallpapery.
October 18, 2014
Beautifully written, but I couldn't like the heroine so much.
October 15, 2013
this review was originally published at All About Romance
Gertrude Stein famously wrote "a rose is a rose is a rose." The plot in Ms. Neville's latest in her The Wild Quartet series, The Ruin of a Rogue, may be summed up as: A rogue is kinda a rogue is a non-rogue. I've never been wowed by the poetry of Ms. Stein and I'm wasn't wowed by The Ruin of a Rogue.
Marcus Lithgow is known as a knavish rogue who makes and loses his living gambling. He's currently alarmingly broke and in need of funds. He's previously met Anne Brotherton, "the wealthiest woman in Great Britain," and decides to set his sights on her. He'll try to ruin her. He wins if she must wed him - he'd control her fortune - and he wins if her notoriously stern guardian pays him to leave her alone. He'll flatter the rather unremarkable Miss Brotherton, persuade her to let him lead her astray, and put his losing streak to an end.
Anne is in need of being swept off her feet. She is beleaguered by suitors who are "attracted by her rolling acres, magnificent mansions, and thousands upon thousands of pounds in the funds" and who haven't the slightest interest in her. Nor do they share her passion for Roman antiquities. They, and the rest of the ton, blanch when she shares her deepest desire is to archaeologically discover an ancient Roman villa buried somewhere in England.
Marcus has done his homework so when he first encounters her, at a meeting he has carefully arranged, he speaks to her of his travels to Rome and his knowledge of ancient statuary. The second time he meets her, again at his contrivance, he woos her with talk of books of ancient times. The third time, he sweetly kisses her and then tells her he's a cad for doing so when he knows he's unworthy of her. Anne is smitten...until she overhears Marcus talking with her neighbor, the Duke of Denford, with whom Marcus attended Oxford. Julian asks Marcus how he is doing in his pursuit of Anne and her money.
Anne is first crushed and then furious. She'll teach him to call her a spoiled heiress!
Thus begins Anne's torment of Marcus. She makes him spend money on her, asks him for absurd favors, and, whenever she is with him, behaves like an excessively entitled harridan. Marcus begins to dread her company and is thrilled to learn he has inherited his uncle's estate, Hinton Manor, a run down place Marcus hopes to be able to sell for enough coin to refill his very empty pockets. He bids her adieu and hopes he's seen the last of the bothersome Miss Brotherton.
Anne, though, has heard Marcus's new found land is a perfect place for excavation; his uncle discovered two Roman villas on the property. She concocts a scheme with a friend and then hastens to Hinton Manor where she plans to harass Marcus into allowing her to explore his land. Displeased to see her, Marcus tells her she's not taking a single shovel to his property. She pleads and he, thinking it's vastly amusing, says she can do so only if she agrees to come to his house every morning and spend a couple hours as his housemaid. (He hasn't any help because the villagers think the Manor is haunted and refuse to work there.) At first she flounces away in indignation but, after thinking about how very much she wants to dig for a villa, she tells him she'll do it.
The expected happens. As the two spend time together, Anne drops her total brat act and Marcus reveals himself to be an admirable stand up guy.
All of this is written in lovely, detailed prose - perhaps too much prose - but nothing about it pulled me in. I found Anne very difficult to like and even a bit dull. Marcus is a bore as a rake and though he became more complex as he struggled to save Hinton Manor and his moral center, he remained at a remove for me. I couldn't get invested in whether or not amateur archaeologist Anne found remnants of Rome. I liked watching Marcus care for his tenants, but there was nothing new or striking in the way he did so. I did believe Anne and Marcus could love one another but I didn't care.
The most interesting thing in The Ruin of a Rogue is the relationship between Julian, the Duke of Denford, and Anne's married friend Cynthia, Lady Windermere. Cynthia's husband Damian has abandoned her for reasons unknown and it's unclear why Julian, who appears to consider Damian a friend, would be pursuing her. Ms. Neville does an excellent job of stoking interest in that story.
The Ruin of a Rogue gets a C+. It's well-written, but too ponderous and unexciting for me.
Gertrude Stein famously wrote "a rose is a rose is a rose." The plot in Ms. Neville's latest in her The Wild Quartet series, The Ruin of a Rogue, may be summed up as: A rogue is kinda a rogue is a non-rogue. I've never been wowed by the poetry of Ms. Stein and I'm wasn't wowed by The Ruin of a Rogue.
Marcus Lithgow is known as a knavish rogue who makes and loses his living gambling. He's currently alarmingly broke and in need of funds. He's previously met Anne Brotherton, "the wealthiest woman in Great Britain," and decides to set his sights on her. He'll try to ruin her. He wins if she must wed him - he'd control her fortune - and he wins if her notoriously stern guardian pays him to leave her alone. He'll flatter the rather unremarkable Miss Brotherton, persuade her to let him lead her astray, and put his losing streak to an end.
Anne is in need of being swept off her feet. She is beleaguered by suitors who are "attracted by her rolling acres, magnificent mansions, and thousands upon thousands of pounds in the funds" and who haven't the slightest interest in her. Nor do they share her passion for Roman antiquities. They, and the rest of the ton, blanch when she shares her deepest desire is to archaeologically discover an ancient Roman villa buried somewhere in England.
Marcus has done his homework so when he first encounters her, at a meeting he has carefully arranged, he speaks to her of his travels to Rome and his knowledge of ancient statuary. The second time he meets her, again at his contrivance, he woos her with talk of books of ancient times. The third time, he sweetly kisses her and then tells her he's a cad for doing so when he knows he's unworthy of her. Anne is smitten...until she overhears Marcus talking with her neighbor, the Duke of Denford, with whom Marcus attended Oxford. Julian asks Marcus how he is doing in his pursuit of Anne and her money.
“Spoiled heiresses need careful handling,” he said. “I believe I progress with the amiable Miss Brotherton. The poor girl is beginning to trust me. Two steps forward and one back. You know how the game is played. I kiss her, and apologize for the liberty. Next time I shall declare myself unable to resist her. It won’t be long until she’s begging for my attentions. As long as her guardian stays away for a few more weeks I’m confident I can bring home the prize.”
Anne is first crushed and then furious. She'll teach him to call her a spoiled heiress!
Thus begins Anne's torment of Marcus. She makes him spend money on her, asks him for absurd favors, and, whenever she is with him, behaves like an excessively entitled harridan. Marcus begins to dread her company and is thrilled to learn he has inherited his uncle's estate, Hinton Manor, a run down place Marcus hopes to be able to sell for enough coin to refill his very empty pockets. He bids her adieu and hopes he's seen the last of the bothersome Miss Brotherton.
Anne, though, has heard Marcus's new found land is a perfect place for excavation; his uncle discovered two Roman villas on the property. She concocts a scheme with a friend and then hastens to Hinton Manor where she plans to harass Marcus into allowing her to explore his land. Displeased to see her, Marcus tells her she's not taking a single shovel to his property. She pleads and he, thinking it's vastly amusing, says she can do so only if she agrees to come to his house every morning and spend a couple hours as his housemaid. (He hasn't any help because the villagers think the Manor is haunted and refuse to work there.) At first she flounces away in indignation but, after thinking about how very much she wants to dig for a villa, she tells him she'll do it.
The expected happens. As the two spend time together, Anne drops her total brat act and Marcus reveals himself to be an admirable stand up guy.
All of this is written in lovely, detailed prose - perhaps too much prose - but nothing about it pulled me in. I found Anne very difficult to like and even a bit dull. Marcus is a bore as a rake and though he became more complex as he struggled to save Hinton Manor and his moral center, he remained at a remove for me. I couldn't get invested in whether or not amateur archaeologist Anne found remnants of Rome. I liked watching Marcus care for his tenants, but there was nothing new or striking in the way he did so. I did believe Anne and Marcus could love one another but I didn't care.
The most interesting thing in The Ruin of a Rogue is the relationship between Julian, the Duke of Denford, and Anne's married friend Cynthia, Lady Windermere. Cynthia's husband Damian has abandoned her for reasons unknown and it's unclear why Julian, who appears to consider Damian a friend, would be pursuing her. Ms. Neville does an excellent job of stoking interest in that story.
The Ruin of a Rogue gets a C+. It's well-written, but too ponderous and unexciting for me.
April 9, 2015
Yesterday I reviewed the first book in Miranda Neville’s WILD QUARTET series, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING WICKED(TIoBW), and I used almost the same icons at the top of the page. Women’s issues are still important; The themes are the same, but the characters introduced as secondary in the first novel.
I did not know that Marcus would be the main love interest herein; I couldn’t imagine him as a rehabilitated character since he is actually presented as nearly criminal in TIoBW. I could see Anne as being interesting , but her character requires being lead astray since on her own she would, she believes, lose her resolve and be a dutiful ward.
In the interest of not marrying a self-and-family-inflated nabob, she does end up showing some gumption. And when Marcus hurts her feelings she acts with quite a lot of that commodity. Yay!
The character of Marcus is harder to bring into line. Like the child who had no chance to grow up on the straight and narrow, Marcus is presented with a paradox, win the woman but probably lose the chance at a normal life wherein his innate but buried decency can thrive, or lose both but hold on to some property.
I always enjoy reading about a woman ahead of her time, and Anne is thus both in her interest in and pursuit of archaeology as well as in how she practices it (that is, carefully, and with respect). Having always found this field fascinating, I enjoyed her exploits looking at ruins and even trying to read about the at a time when it was scandalous to even look at a male nude.
Phalli (or phalluses) abound in the study of Roman ruins though she seems benignly unaware of the graphical representation of the erect male member!
I much prefer the narration by Charlotte Anne Dore to Anne Flosnick’s and I like that a different voice has been chosen for the two books which are focused on two different female characters. The production is fine; there are no extraneous noises. It’s fairly easy to follow the cast of characters and the plot throughout the narration. I did not like the accent ascribed to one character as I don;t believe he would have had the accent given to him. Instead of sounding like the gentleman he would have had to at least presented to he comes off as more Covent Garden-ish — like Eliza Doolittle’s father in the film production of My Fair Lady.
It does help to understand the series in order, as parts of this story are predicated on TIoBW, and several relationships are better understood for having read/listened to the first book. But, this could stand on its own in a pinch and be facilitated with taking a look at Miranda Neville’s website.
I read LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER last year (in print) and would have found that helpful, but found each novel well-researched and even learned some interesting history.
I like the series and this novel, although I struggled to put the naughty and fun-loving Anne together with the duty-bound picture she has of herself; for at no time does she seem to behave dutifully! I guess we all might delude ourselves about our characteristics
I did not know that Marcus would be the main love interest herein; I couldn’t imagine him as a rehabilitated character since he is actually presented as nearly criminal in TIoBW. I could see Anne as being interesting , but her character requires being lead astray since on her own she would, she believes, lose her resolve and be a dutiful ward.
In the interest of not marrying a self-and-family-inflated nabob, she does end up showing some gumption. And when Marcus hurts her feelings she acts with quite a lot of that commodity. Yay!
The character of Marcus is harder to bring into line. Like the child who had no chance to grow up on the straight and narrow, Marcus is presented with a paradox, win the woman but probably lose the chance at a normal life wherein his innate but buried decency can thrive, or lose both but hold on to some property.
I always enjoy reading about a woman ahead of her time, and Anne is thus both in her interest in and pursuit of archaeology as well as in how she practices it (that is, carefully, and with respect). Having always found this field fascinating, I enjoyed her exploits looking at ruins and even trying to read about the at a time when it was scandalous to even look at a male nude.
Phalli (or phalluses) abound in the study of Roman ruins though she seems benignly unaware of the graphical representation of the erect male member!
I much prefer the narration by Charlotte Anne Dore to Anne Flosnick’s and I like that a different voice has been chosen for the two books which are focused on two different female characters. The production is fine; there are no extraneous noises. It’s fairly easy to follow the cast of characters and the plot throughout the narration. I did not like the accent ascribed to one character as I don;t believe he would have had the accent given to him. Instead of sounding like the gentleman he would have had to at least presented to he comes off as more Covent Garden-ish — like Eliza Doolittle’s father in the film production of My Fair Lady.
It does help to understand the series in order, as parts of this story are predicated on TIoBW, and several relationships are better understood for having read/listened to the first book. But, this could stand on its own in a pinch and be facilitated with taking a look at Miranda Neville’s website.
I read LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER last year (in print) and would have found that helpful, but found each novel well-researched and even learned some interesting history.
I like the series and this novel, although I struggled to put the naughty and fun-loving Anne together with the duty-bound picture she has of herself; for at no time does she seem to behave dutifully! I guess we all might delude ourselves about our characteristics
February 12, 2015
Timing - timing - timing! Timing is paramount!
Last week I read two books in a row which had similar themes. In each book we have a deceptive hero who is desperate to trick our heroine into marriage. Authors, think about timing. It is the timing of the, "I know what you are up to, you cad!" moment - the moment the heroine discovers the hero's chicanery that makes all the difference in these two books. Because of the timing/placement of the "OMG" moment I liked one book a lot and was very irritated with the other.
Let's start with Miranda Neville's The Ruin of a Rogue. Somehow I missed this book when it was first published in 2013. I don't know how I did, but I did. Anyway, Marcus, our hero, is a con artist in need of money. Of course, you know that means he must find himself a rich heiress. Enter Anne Brotherton, a kind, smart, plain heroine. He has studied her, he knows what she likes, he knows her hobbies, he studies antiquities just so he can talk to her. He even hires someone to nearly run her down with a cart just so he can save her and appear heroic in her eyes. Everything he does is to con her into marriage.
Anne is no dummy. She's heard the rumors and she's been warned away from him by her friends. However, she finds him attractive and starts to fall for him. Then she overhears a conversation between he and one of his friends, and she is the subject of that conversation. So, she's on to his games - she decides to take revenge. Her revenge is rather funny. She becomes a snot, has him take her places she knows he can't afford. The places she picks are downright boring, so boring he's grinding his teeth and she's having a high-ho time making his life miserable. The story takes another turn - Marcus inherits an estate, now he no longer needs Anne. So, he's off, leaving Anne and her revenge behind.
While Marcus is off in the countryside finding purpose in his life, Anne decides she must be ruined and determines to follow Marcus - which she does. And the story takes another turn. I liked this story a lot. Marcus' caddish behavior was found out in the beginning of the book, giving our couple time to adjust, grow and even grovel. There's plenty of humor. Marcus and Anne were a great couple. Because the revelation of Marcus' nefarious scheme was in the beginning of the book, both Anne and the reader have time to forgive Marcus. Timing, timing, timing.
Read my review on Julia Quinn's The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy for the downside of timing.
Last week I read two books in a row which had similar themes. In each book we have a deceptive hero who is desperate to trick our heroine into marriage. Authors, think about timing. It is the timing of the, "I know what you are up to, you cad!" moment - the moment the heroine discovers the hero's chicanery that makes all the difference in these two books. Because of the timing/placement of the "OMG" moment I liked one book a lot and was very irritated with the other.
Let's start with Miranda Neville's The Ruin of a Rogue. Somehow I missed this book when it was first published in 2013. I don't know how I did, but I did. Anyway, Marcus, our hero, is a con artist in need of money. Of course, you know that means he must find himself a rich heiress. Enter Anne Brotherton, a kind, smart, plain heroine. He has studied her, he knows what she likes, he knows her hobbies, he studies antiquities just so he can talk to her. He even hires someone to nearly run her down with a cart just so he can save her and appear heroic in her eyes. Everything he does is to con her into marriage.
Anne is no dummy. She's heard the rumors and she's been warned away from him by her friends. However, she finds him attractive and starts to fall for him. Then she overhears a conversation between he and one of his friends, and she is the subject of that conversation. So, she's on to his games - she decides to take revenge. Her revenge is rather funny. She becomes a snot, has him take her places she knows he can't afford. The places she picks are downright boring, so boring he's grinding his teeth and she's having a high-ho time making his life miserable. The story takes another turn - Marcus inherits an estate, now he no longer needs Anne. So, he's off, leaving Anne and her revenge behind.
While Marcus is off in the countryside finding purpose in his life, Anne decides she must be ruined and determines to follow Marcus - which she does. And the story takes another turn. I liked this story a lot. Marcus' caddish behavior was found out in the beginning of the book, giving our couple time to adjust, grow and even grovel. There's plenty of humor. Marcus and Anne were a great couple. Because the revelation of Marcus' nefarious scheme was in the beginning of the book, both Anne and the reader have time to forgive Marcus. Timing, timing, timing.
Read my review on Julia Quinn's The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy for the downside of timing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2015
I first read this book as a stand-alone and liked it. Then I read the first book in the series and re-read this. There's a number of elements to this book that are intriguing as a stand-alone but have significant emotional impact if you've read the first book and gotten to know characters that appear as secondary characters here.
You can read the summary up at the top so I'm not going to bother recounting it here. I will say that both Marcus and Anne are complex characters with great depth who grow over the course of the novel and are very believable, as are the majority of the secondary characters that surround them. In particular, Marcus's valet is HILARIOUS and I do hope he turns up in another novel.
There was one thing that required me to suspend my disbelief a little more than was comfortable for me and a bit at the end that I had real difficulty with. Spoilers ahead!
That ending would have required the deduction of more stars if so much else about the novel hadn't worked for me. I really adored both Marcus and Anne and I hope they appear again in later novels.
You can read the summary up at the top so I'm not going to bother recounting it here. I will say that both Marcus and Anne are complex characters with great depth who grow over the course of the novel and are very believable, as are the majority of the secondary characters that surround them. In particular, Marcus's valet is HILARIOUS and I do hope he turns up in another novel.
There was one thing that required me to suspend my disbelief a little more than was comfortable for me and a bit at the end that I had real difficulty with. Spoilers ahead!
That ending would have required the deduction of more stars if so much else about the novel hadn't worked for me. I really adored both Marcus and Anne and I hope they appear again in later novels.
May 24, 2017
It's an heiress/fortune hunter and a bluestocking/rake story, and though it could have been tedious and trope-y, both the hero and the heroine were smart and likable and defied genre expectations. About halfway through, after they've played their prescribed roles to perfection, Anne the bluestocking heiress and Marcus the penniless rake find themselves in a place where they both can put their pasts in the past and become who they really are. Anne becomes more than the nerdy girl with a fondness for antiquity and a giant estate, Marcus becomes more than the wastrel son of his debauched father, and together they have to figure out if it's enough to overcome their pasts and their prejudices.
And because it's Book #2 in The Wild Quartet, there's also heisting and scandal and getting trapped in a storm and all that good stuff.
One thing that Miranda Neville does particularly well is orienting her readers in time. So much of this genre is generic -- throw in a few carriages, a pair of Hessian boots, and a spare remark on the heroine's stays and it otherwise might as well be a contemporary. But Neville's Regency England feels immersive and real. In this book especially she devotes some time to the odd and sundry musea that could be found in nineteenth century London, often private collections of dubious import. Readers who've also visited the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles will have some idea of what these private collections would have been like -- fragmentary collections of everything from taxidermy to trilobites to ancient coins to artwork of questionable genius. I could readily picture dragging a too-eager suitor to these weird little places just to see how he reacted.
And because it's Book #2 in The Wild Quartet, there's also heisting and scandal and getting trapped in a storm and all that good stuff.
One thing that Miranda Neville does particularly well is orienting her readers in time. So much of this genre is generic -- throw in a few carriages, a pair of Hessian boots, and a spare remark on the heroine's stays and it otherwise might as well be a contemporary. But Neville's Regency England feels immersive and real. In this book especially she devotes some time to the odd and sundry musea that could be found in nineteenth century London, often private collections of dubious import. Readers who've also visited the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles will have some idea of what these private collections would have been like -- fragmentary collections of everything from taxidermy to trilobites to ancient coins to artwork of questionable genius. I could readily picture dragging a too-eager suitor to these weird little places just to see how he reacted.
December 15, 2013
I enjoyed the two previous books in The Wild Quartet series; The Second Seduction of a Lady and The Importance of Being Wicked and looked forward to The Ruin of a Rogue. I mean who doesn’t like to see a good Rogue ruined..LOL! Marcus Lithow is a gambler, a thief and quite possible a cheat. He has returned to London after gambling abroad and has decided to marry. He needs a woman of quality to improve his reputation and coffers. He decides on Anne Brotherton, heiress of Camber. From outward appearances she is a lady of quality, quiet and well received but she has spunk. Events lead her to discover Marcus is interested more in her wealth she sets out to best him. There is wicked banter, interference and miscommunication making the tale that unfolds engaging. They both made me crazy at times but I enjoyed both characters and of course the harder they fought the more attractive the other became. The pacing began slow, but soon picked up with twists and turns, and secrets revealed. Meville provides imagery of both the period and the characters and I liked this attention to detail. The ending provided a little humor and while this didn’t completely wow me, I certainly enjoyed this tale.
Copy received in exchange for unbiased review. Full review originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Copy received in exchange for unbiased review. Full review originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
August 19, 2013
This will just be a shorter review.
Normally I love Miranda Neville, but after almost a week of trying to get into this story, I decided to give up on it. I only got halfway through though. I was really disappointed though. In the past, I have enjoyed Neville's stories. However this one just didn't grab at my like it normally does. I really had hopes for this one. I don't know if it was me or what, but I was having such a difficulty reading The Ruin of a Rogue. The basis of the story was descent, but I couldn't get myself to be captivated by the story or the characters. I hope one day to try reading it again eventually. I do plan on reading more of this author, since there are quite a few I have enjoyed. I hoped that this hadn't been such a disappointment, hopefully the next one I read will be much more enjoyable.
Normally I love Miranda Neville, but after almost a week of trying to get into this story, I decided to give up on it. I only got halfway through though. I was really disappointed though. In the past, I have enjoyed Neville's stories. However this one just didn't grab at my like it normally does. I really had hopes for this one. I don't know if it was me or what, but I was having such a difficulty reading The Ruin of a Rogue. The basis of the story was descent, but I couldn't get myself to be captivated by the story or the characters. I hope one day to try reading it again eventually. I do plan on reading more of this author, since there are quite a few I have enjoyed. I hoped that this hadn't been such a disappointment, hopefully the next one I read will be much more enjoyable.
September 5, 2013
I love shady heroes, and Marcus begins as a very shady character; he is most definitely a true rogue. Anne is a pampered heiress, and at first she falls for Marcus's front. I really liked that these two characters, who both have their less-than-noble moments, try to retaliate against the other and both end up getting far more than they bargained for. The humor, the pathos, the sensuality all worked perfectly for me!
August 18, 2013
My first Miranda Neville romance, but not my last! I really liked how despite the play-acting that both Marcus and Anne put on for each other, which I normally find cringe-worthy, it all worked out in a natural (and plausible) way. The way the desire built up and the very sexy first love scene gave me wrist-tingles! I need to go read more of her books now!
January 24, 2016
I enjoyed this story of a rogue's reformation which I felt was gradual enough to be realistic and liked that the relationship developed slowly but surely in the book between the hero and heroine. There was quite a bit of reference to the previous book so I sort of wish I had read it first.
May 2, 2016
This was a sweet read. Marcus really turned it around and became a wonderful hero. I wanted to give him hugs and kisses through most of the book.
January 8, 2015
*3.5 STARS. Full review to come.
January 3, 2016
3.5 stars
Miss Anne Brotherton, supporting character of The Importance of Being Wicked and jilted once the Duke initially courting her fell head over heels for her widowed cousin instead, now has to fend off eager suitors everywhere she turns in London. Every man becomes a fortune hunter when faced with the ridiculous amounts of money, land holdings and estates that Anne, sole heir to the Earl of Camber brings to the marriage. Of course, while Anne is by no means poor, she doesn't actually have access to much of the money, and if she marries without her guardian's consent, she's likely to be left with only a tiny allowance. Not that that's looking like such a bad prospect.
All she wants is to find someone who might appreciate her for her intelligence and kindness. She's deeply passionate about ancient history and archaeology, but most people find it dreadfully dull. Not that any of her many would-be suitors would let her talk drive them off for long. So when she meets a handsome young gentleman who seems ever so interested in the same things as her, she can't help but be a bit smitten. Even when he warns her that he's by no means appropriate company for a proper young lady. Frankly, Anne is ready to spend more time in the company of someone a bit scandalous, hoping that the light tarnish to her reputation might at least dissuade some of the stuffier candidates vying for her hand.
Marcus Lithgow isn't lying when he says Anne should be careful to be seen in his company. A shameless rake, gambler and occasional thief, he has indeed singled her out to seduce her. For months, he's had absolutely no luck at the gambling tables, and he needs money, fast. He doesn't actually have marriage in mind, he just hopes that her guardian might pay him a generous sum to never set foot near her again. He reads up on all the topics she finds fascinating and orchestrates a number of chance meetings for them around London. Unfortunately, Marcus is staying with his old school friend Julian Fortescue, the Duke of Denford, whose house is right next door to that of Lady Windermere, Anne's current chaperone. When Anne hears the two men talking and realises what Marcus' devious plan is, she is determined to get her revenge. She starts forcing Marcus to accompany her everywhere, making him waste huge amounts of money he doesn't really have taking her to the most tedious of exhibitions. But then Marcus is told he has inherited an estate, and suddenly seems to lose interest in her entirely.
It wouldn't be much of a romance if the hero went off to his crumbling estate, leaving the heroine confused and slightly disappointed in London. There are Roman ruins on Marcus' land and Anne is absolutely desperate to be allowed to excavate them. Marcus, who at this point has grown quite fond of the place he has neither the money nor the staff to maintain (all the villagers refuse to work there because of rumours that it's haunted) strikes an unusual deal with Miss Brotherton. If she works as a maid of all work for an hour and a half in his house every day, he will allow her to excavate the ruins.
While romance titles are frequently absolutely nonsensical, this book actually has a title that cleverly works on two levels. The Ruin of a Rogue could refer to physical ruin , such as the ruin of a house Marcus inherits and the Roman ruin on his estate, or to the figurative ruin he experiences at the hands of Anne Brotherton, as he of course falls in love with her, and tries his very best to drive her away. After all, she is all that is good and kind and special, and is far too good for the likes of him, a scapegrace who's father dragged him around Europe teaching him all that was nefarious from the age of six.
Anne isn't actually the most interesting of heroines, initially, her cousin Caro was a lot more fun in the previous book, I thought. At the same time, she's been raised in near isolation on her grandfather's estate with nothing much but books for company and has clearly not been socialised all that much, so who can blame her for being a bit dull? She's clearly a very sweet person, and hates the burden that her ginormous inheritance presents. The way she goes about trying to punish Marcus is more childish than actually cruel and he certainly gets his own back at her when he forces her to do sweeping, mopping, dusting and cleaning in his run-down house where the only staff he has available to him is his insanely cheerful valet and a stubborn old man who works in the stables.
Marcus never really had a home to call his own after his mother died when he was about six. His father would not win any husband- or father-awards, and clearly only married Marcus' mother for her modest fortune, then got sick of her when the money was gone. Once she died, he dragged Marcus with him through England and Europe, scamming men and women alike, cheating and stealing his way from place to place, usually never settling long before having to go on the run. He clearly never had any affection for his son and it's obvious why Marcus doesn't mourn his passing. He does fear that he is doomed to follow in his scoundrel father's footsteps, however, which is why, when he discovers that he actually is developing feelings for Anne, he feels he must drive her away. Of course, by this point, Anne has seen how hard he's working to help the poor tenants on his lands and how much time and energy and dwindling funds he's putting into the estate he inherited from a distant uncle. A crumbling ruin he has to rebuild and clean himself is still a home to him, and he can't bring himself to sell it. Even to Anne, who magnanimously offers to purchase it just so she can get access to the Roman ruins. When Marcus flatly refuses to take her money, she is surprised and intrigued.
As with the first book in the series, Miranda Neville sadly isn't content to just have the story focus on Anne and Marcus' romance. Oh no, there has to be the quest for hidden treasure added into the mix. Marcus finds an old letter from his father speaking of a valuable nest-egg tucked away somewhere on the estate. At first he doesn't believe it exists, but as he finds traces of someone searching the house, and signs that the rumoured ghost has been cleverly created with chains in the attic and other paraphernalia, he starts to wonder if there might be some truth to the idea. Suffice to say, there is a treasure, there are bad people who want to get their hands on it, and the final act of the book got a bit farcical and possibly wrapped up a bit too quickly and neatly for my tastes. I still appreciate Neville's willingness to set most of her romance outside of the London ballrooms, though and the romance developed very gradually and believably. I wish she'd trusted that it was enough to carry the story.
Miss Anne Brotherton, supporting character of The Importance of Being Wicked and jilted once the Duke initially courting her fell head over heels for her widowed cousin instead, now has to fend off eager suitors everywhere she turns in London. Every man becomes a fortune hunter when faced with the ridiculous amounts of money, land holdings and estates that Anne, sole heir to the Earl of Camber brings to the marriage. Of course, while Anne is by no means poor, she doesn't actually have access to much of the money, and if she marries without her guardian's consent, she's likely to be left with only a tiny allowance. Not that that's looking like such a bad prospect.
All she wants is to find someone who might appreciate her for her intelligence and kindness. She's deeply passionate about ancient history and archaeology, but most people find it dreadfully dull. Not that any of her many would-be suitors would let her talk drive them off for long. So when she meets a handsome young gentleman who seems ever so interested in the same things as her, she can't help but be a bit smitten. Even when he warns her that he's by no means appropriate company for a proper young lady. Frankly, Anne is ready to spend more time in the company of someone a bit scandalous, hoping that the light tarnish to her reputation might at least dissuade some of the stuffier candidates vying for her hand.
Marcus Lithgow isn't lying when he says Anne should be careful to be seen in his company. A shameless rake, gambler and occasional thief, he has indeed singled her out to seduce her. For months, he's had absolutely no luck at the gambling tables, and he needs money, fast. He doesn't actually have marriage in mind, he just hopes that her guardian might pay him a generous sum to never set foot near her again. He reads up on all the topics she finds fascinating and orchestrates a number of chance meetings for them around London. Unfortunately, Marcus is staying with his old school friend Julian Fortescue, the Duke of Denford, whose house is right next door to that of Lady Windermere, Anne's current chaperone. When Anne hears the two men talking and realises what Marcus' devious plan is, she is determined to get her revenge. She starts forcing Marcus to accompany her everywhere, making him waste huge amounts of money he doesn't really have taking her to the most tedious of exhibitions. But then Marcus is told he has inherited an estate, and suddenly seems to lose interest in her entirely.
It wouldn't be much of a romance if the hero went off to his crumbling estate, leaving the heroine confused and slightly disappointed in London. There are Roman ruins on Marcus' land and Anne is absolutely desperate to be allowed to excavate them. Marcus, who at this point has grown quite fond of the place he has neither the money nor the staff to maintain (all the villagers refuse to work there because of rumours that it's haunted) strikes an unusual deal with Miss Brotherton. If she works as a maid of all work for an hour and a half in his house every day, he will allow her to excavate the ruins.
While romance titles are frequently absolutely nonsensical, this book actually has a title that cleverly works on two levels. The Ruin of a Rogue could refer to physical ruin , such as the ruin of a house Marcus inherits and the Roman ruin on his estate, or to the figurative ruin he experiences at the hands of Anne Brotherton, as he of course falls in love with her, and tries his very best to drive her away. After all, she is all that is good and kind and special, and is far too good for the likes of him, a scapegrace who's father dragged him around Europe teaching him all that was nefarious from the age of six.
Anne isn't actually the most interesting of heroines, initially, her cousin Caro was a lot more fun in the previous book, I thought. At the same time, she's been raised in near isolation on her grandfather's estate with nothing much but books for company and has clearly not been socialised all that much, so who can blame her for being a bit dull? She's clearly a very sweet person, and hates the burden that her ginormous inheritance presents. The way she goes about trying to punish Marcus is more childish than actually cruel and he certainly gets his own back at her when he forces her to do sweeping, mopping, dusting and cleaning in his run-down house where the only staff he has available to him is his insanely cheerful valet and a stubborn old man who works in the stables.
Marcus never really had a home to call his own after his mother died when he was about six. His father would not win any husband- or father-awards, and clearly only married Marcus' mother for her modest fortune, then got sick of her when the money was gone. Once she died, he dragged Marcus with him through England and Europe, scamming men and women alike, cheating and stealing his way from place to place, usually never settling long before having to go on the run. He clearly never had any affection for his son and it's obvious why Marcus doesn't mourn his passing. He does fear that he is doomed to follow in his scoundrel father's footsteps, however, which is why, when he discovers that he actually is developing feelings for Anne, he feels he must drive her away. Of course, by this point, Anne has seen how hard he's working to help the poor tenants on his lands and how much time and energy and dwindling funds he's putting into the estate he inherited from a distant uncle. A crumbling ruin he has to rebuild and clean himself is still a home to him, and he can't bring himself to sell it. Even to Anne, who magnanimously offers to purchase it just so she can get access to the Roman ruins. When Marcus flatly refuses to take her money, she is surprised and intrigued.
As with the first book in the series, Miranda Neville sadly isn't content to just have the story focus on Anne and Marcus' romance. Oh no, there has to be the quest for hidden treasure added into the mix. Marcus finds an old letter from his father speaking of a valuable nest-egg tucked away somewhere on the estate. At first he doesn't believe it exists, but as he finds traces of someone searching the house, and signs that the rumoured ghost has been cleverly created with chains in the attic and other paraphernalia, he starts to wonder if there might be some truth to the idea. Suffice to say, there is a treasure, there are bad people who want to get their hands on it, and the final act of the book got a bit farcical and possibly wrapped up a bit too quickly and neatly for my tastes. I still appreciate Neville's willingness to set most of her romance outside of the London ballrooms, though and the romance developed very gradually and believably. I wish she'd trusted that it was enough to carry the story.
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May 11, 2020Of course another Hoopla audiobook borrow.
So I started this as soon as I finished Lady Windemere's Lover ...
(*whispers* I actually started book 1 but was like "meh I think I'm more interested in book 2... so yeah I started and finished this one before the other.)
SO!
Anne. Marcus.
In this case, Anne is the trashbag. I ... hated her until like 70-80% of the book? It's hard to tell with audiobooks.
So yes ... Marcus is a fortune hunter - but he actually doesn't even want to marry her, he wants to be paid off to NOT marry her. (Heh.) So.... yes he's a scoundrel and a rogue. I don't know why but I wasn't that mad at him. (Maybe because you know he's not all that bad and you know he'll fall in love with her?) ... So ... ok thinking about it more and more I guess I could/should have been a BIT more mad at him.
But Anne.
Like... she overhears him saying something like he's not interested in her and she just ... loses her mind. She treats him awfully, and strings him along. And look - from the PREMISE - I was like "GO GIRL!" But ... seeing her DO it - I was pissed. Because she's STRAIGHT UP MALICIOUS about it.
Maybe it's because I can sympathize WAAAAAYYY more with Marcus as the poor person, and Anne being literally the richest heiress in England... (Her friends tell her multiple times she just doesn't understand things because she's NEVER wanted for money and basically has had the best of EVERYTHING her entire damn life.)
Yes on one hand Marcus is to blame for not just stopping - he does even think this to himself and is like "I've invested too much to stop now..."
And good on him for going to the property he inherited as soon as he finds out. It's a totally normal reasonable thing to do.
and Anne is AGAIN furious about it. She's all "HOW DARE HE NOT STAY SO I CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE HIS LIFE MISERABLE AND SPEND ALL HIS MONEY."
[Later at one point she realizes how poor he is - and is like "oh sorry I made you spend all that money you didn't have" - but like ... ugh. One the one hand yeah I appreciate the apology, but on the other - TOO LITTLE TOO LATE. AND YOUR BASIC APOLOGY DOESN'T HELP OR BRING BACK ANY OF THE FUNDS.]
Heh. Maybe this was not the best read during a pandemic with major economic losses for the regular man.
So yeah. I wanted to smack Anne around.
Literally she shows up at his house and is like "YOU HAVE TO TAKE ME AROUND AND LET ME DIG THE GROUNDS TO FIND ROMAN RUINS" and he's like "lady I don't have the time or inclination to do it" - and she's all "*SNIFFS* WHATEVER. YOU'RE SO STUPID AND UNEDUCATED AND DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO STUDY HISTORY. I'LL JUST DIRECT YOUR LANDSCREW." ... uh.... he literally only has 2 servants, one he can't even afford to pay. HE'S the one who is cooking for everyone!
(Which also she takes a bunch of meals there - like... why/how was the cost of an extra person to feed never brought up/WHY DID SHE NEVER CONTRIBUTE? NOT EVEN BRING ANYTHING FROM THE VILLAGE? Selfish and self centered.)
I will say she's finally like "I'll dig it myself!" only legit this bitch doesn't even know how to use a shovel. I wish she would've fallen/Marcus would've let her. (I'm still mad at what she did before - so since Marcus has no servants basically, and his valet refuses to clean, he bargains with Anne for her to basically be his housemaid in exchange for her being allowed to dig on the ground - and BITCH DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO USE A BROOM. DOES. NOT. KNOW. HOW. TO. SWEEP.
Like look I get being rich and never having had to sweep before. But like... this isn't braintrust shit. You literally move the broom from one side to another.
So .... she finally KINDA not really gets piles of dust [not hard since the building has been abandoned for like 30 years and is literally falling apart...] and Marcus kindly helps her - offers to hold the dustpan, kneeling at her feet - and she's SUCH A FUCKING BITCH she intentionally throws throws all the dust in his face instead of in the dustpan.
I would've hit her with it - once I stopped choking and sneezing.
But Marcus is just like "oh she's so spirited - it's cool." [OBVIOUSLY HE'S BEEN SMITTEN. UGH.]
... Yeah no. I still want to hit her with the dustpan.
So anyway he goes and helps her dig.
And then the former friends get together...
Yo. Thomas ABSOLUTELY is not appreciative enough of what Marcus does for him.
At. Fucking. All.
LITERALLY beyond ride or die. And Thomas is all priggish "I'm still mad at you you owe me"... exCUSE me?!
*sigh*
Anyway I'm glad Marcus and Anne are happy and they make shit work.
But honestly. I don't know that ANNE deserves MARCUS.
I do sympathize she's been so constrained her whole life. And I always try to have sympathy and realize "you don't/can't know what you don't know."
And like... she's a rich bitch - she doesn't get it. But like... fucking use your brain?
So. :|
[Ugh I'd probably give this a D ... D+ for Marcus?]
So I started this as soon as I finished Lady Windemere's Lover ...
(*whispers* I actually started book 1 but was like "meh I think I'm more interested in book 2... so yeah I started and finished this one before the other.)
SO!
Anne. Marcus.
In this case, Anne is the trashbag. I ... hated her until like 70-80% of the book? It's hard to tell with audiobooks.
So yes ... Marcus is a fortune hunter - but he actually doesn't even want to marry her, he wants to be paid off to NOT marry her. (Heh.) So.... yes he's a scoundrel and a rogue. I don't know why but I wasn't that mad at him. (Maybe because you know he's not all that bad and you know he'll fall in love with her?) ... So ... ok thinking about it more and more I guess I could/should have been a BIT more mad at him.
But Anne.
Like... she overhears him saying something like he's not interested in her and she just ... loses her mind. She treats him awfully, and strings him along. And look - from the PREMISE - I was like "GO GIRL!" But ... seeing her DO it - I was pissed. Because she's STRAIGHT UP MALICIOUS about it.
Maybe it's because I can sympathize WAAAAAYYY more with Marcus as the poor person, and Anne being literally the richest heiress in England... (Her friends tell her multiple times she just doesn't understand things because she's NEVER wanted for money and basically has had the best of EVERYTHING her entire damn life.)
Yes on one hand Marcus is to blame for not just stopping - he does even think this to himself and is like "I've invested too much to stop now..."
And good on him for going to the property he inherited as soon as he finds out. It's a totally normal reasonable thing to do.
and Anne is AGAIN furious about it. She's all "HOW DARE HE NOT STAY SO I CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE HIS LIFE MISERABLE AND SPEND ALL HIS MONEY."
[Later at one point she realizes how poor he is - and is like "oh sorry I made you spend all that money you didn't have" - but like ... ugh. One the one hand yeah I appreciate the apology, but on the other - TOO LITTLE TOO LATE. AND YOUR BASIC APOLOGY DOESN'T HELP OR BRING BACK ANY OF THE FUNDS.]
Heh. Maybe this was not the best read during a pandemic with major economic losses for the regular man.
So yeah. I wanted to smack Anne around.
Literally she shows up at his house and is like "YOU HAVE TO TAKE ME AROUND AND LET ME DIG THE GROUNDS TO FIND ROMAN RUINS" and he's like "lady I don't have the time or inclination to do it" - and she's all "*SNIFFS* WHATEVER. YOU'RE SO STUPID AND UNEDUCATED AND DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO STUDY HISTORY. I'LL JUST DIRECT YOUR LANDSCREW." ... uh.... he literally only has 2 servants, one he can't even afford to pay. HE'S the one who is cooking for everyone!
(Which also she takes a bunch of meals there - like... why/how was the cost of an extra person to feed never brought up/WHY DID SHE NEVER CONTRIBUTE? NOT EVEN BRING ANYTHING FROM THE VILLAGE? Selfish and self centered.)
I will say she's finally like "I'll dig it myself!" only legit this bitch doesn't even know how to use a shovel. I wish she would've fallen/Marcus would've let her. (I'm still mad at what she did before - so since Marcus has no servants basically, and his valet refuses to clean, he bargains with Anne for her to basically be his housemaid in exchange for her being allowed to dig on the ground - and BITCH DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO USE A BROOM. DOES. NOT. KNOW. HOW. TO. SWEEP.
Like look I get being rich and never having had to sweep before. But like... this isn't braintrust shit. You literally move the broom from one side to another.
So .... she finally KINDA not really gets piles of dust [not hard since the building has been abandoned for like 30 years and is literally falling apart...] and Marcus kindly helps her - offers to hold the dustpan, kneeling at her feet - and she's SUCH A FUCKING BITCH she intentionally throws throws all the dust in his face instead of in the dustpan.
I would've hit her with it - once I stopped choking and sneezing.
But Marcus is just like "oh she's so spirited - it's cool." [OBVIOUSLY HE'S BEEN SMITTEN. UGH.]
... Yeah no. I still want to hit her with the dustpan.
So anyway he goes and helps her dig.
And then the former friends get together...
Yo. Thomas ABSOLUTELY is not appreciative enough of what Marcus does for him.
At. Fucking. All.
LITERALLY beyond ride or die. And Thomas is all priggish "I'm still mad at you you owe me"... exCUSE me?!
*sigh*
Anyway I'm glad Marcus and Anne are happy and they make shit work.
But honestly. I don't know that ANNE deserves MARCUS.
I do sympathize she's been so constrained her whole life. And I always try to have sympathy and realize "you don't/can't know what you don't know."
And like... she's a rich bitch - she doesn't get it. But like... fucking use your brain?
So. :|
[Ugh I'd probably give this a D ... D+ for Marcus?]
May 28, 2025
Who doesn't love a reformed rake?
Marcus and Anne make strange bedfellows, but it works. She's beset upon by fortune hunters and Marcus is a known gamester and fortune hunter. But he's clever & makes her believe he's interested in her, not her fortune. Until she overhears otherwise. Problem is, he really was starting to like her. Until she gets her revenge, which I didn't understand or like-almost enough to stop reading. But then he inherits property and the book starts getting really good. Marcus and Anne both become better people and an enjoyable couple to read about. Definitely recommend!
Marcus and Anne make strange bedfellows, but it works. She's beset upon by fortune hunters and Marcus is a known gamester and fortune hunter. But he's clever & makes her believe he's interested in her, not her fortune. Until she overhears otherwise. Problem is, he really was starting to like her. Until she gets her revenge, which I didn't understand or like-almost enough to stop reading. But then he inherits property and the book starts getting really good. Marcus and Anne both become better people and an enjoyable couple to read about. Definitely recommend!
August 23, 2025
Excellent!
This book was excellent and kept me turning pages. If you like Regency romance, definitely give this book a try!
This book was excellent and kept me turning pages. If you like Regency romance, definitely give this book a try!
April 22, 2015
This is my second favorite of the books in this series, after Duke of Dark Desires. Let me just say again that I love Miranda Neville's writing and I seriously cannot comprehend how the books in this series aren't rated higher. The writing quality is great, the characters are three dimensional, the romances are a steady slow build, the plots while tenuous at times are still interesting and entertaining.
The only possible explanation that I can see for these books having low ratings is that the heroes all start out incredibly douchey. I didn't think I could possibly be persuaded to like him after the first book, but somehow she managed it. What I lived about this particular hero though is that his douchiness turned out to be the least personal. He didn't go into a jealous rage at every other man in the room, sometimes frighteningly violent, and refuse to listen to reason from his lady (looking at you Thomas.) He didn't write his wife off as ugly and stupid and refuse to give his marriage a chance before abandoning her and still managed to still write her off almost to the end (looking at you Damian; his was the most offensive to me.) He didn't press his position as her employer to finagle a way into her pants (looking at you Julian.) All he did was try to seduce an heiress because he was broke. And it was obvious to every single person but Anne what was happening. It had nothing to do with list for her, or questioning her intelligence, or jealousy. He even admired her from the first time he met her. He was just desperate. So for that I really admired him most of all the heroes.
That's not to say what he planned to do wasn't vile, but I find it easier to forgive because he displayed his lesser qualities before getting to know her whereas the other heroes seemed to ha e it brought out by knowing the heroine.
Anyways. I loved Marcus' redemption story. His struggle with his relationship with his father and finding a place in the world for the first time in his life was believable. His desire to become a better person was really nicely done. I also loved how slowly be came to love Anne, even after she went batshit crazy on him. She was described as pretty but not beautiful, beneath the notice of the very handsome Marcus, and I love how he fell in love with her anyways and saw her slowly become more beautiful in his eyes. I loved that he loved her legs. I don't remember reading a romance where the hero is crazy over her legs. It usually her petite pixieness, or her voluptuousness, or just her beautiful face. Some guys are leg guys! It was a nice change of pace.
So Anne. I hated Anne at first. I HATE the trope of innocent heiress is seduced by gorgeous rake. It's so overused. But Anne won me over before she flipped the table on Marcus with her inner monologue where she is crushing on Marcus and thinking she is falling in love for the first time. It was the sweetest most believable thing I've ever read about a 17 year old girl in an HR. So freaking cute. I've never noticed this type of character truly displaying her innocence and naivety in this way, I was so pleased.
And then she gets her hopes and dreams crushed and she turns into a little shit, making Marcus' life a living hell and I loved every second of it. She was hilarious.
I will say I thought her obsession with archaeology not believable. I honestly felt it was out of place except as mostly a plot device. I think there could possibly have been a better way to characterize her as a nerd. (Though I'm glad it wasn't the stereotypical "I love books! ::squee::")
I also felt that the plot came a little too late at the end. It felt almost like an afterthought. I'm so glad the questions I was left with in book 1 were resolved though!
I think the most important thing to me in a romance is a slow build. I hate the insta-love types, and I think is something Miranda Neville does SO WELL! I think this book in particular is one of the best examples of this I've ever seen.
I'm still hoping people will see my reviews of these books and give them a chance despite the lower ratings, because I really did love them :)
The only possible explanation that I can see for these books having low ratings is that the heroes all start out incredibly douchey. I didn't think I could possibly be persuaded to like him after the first book, but somehow she managed it. What I lived about this particular hero though is that his douchiness turned out to be the least personal. He didn't go into a jealous rage at every other man in the room, sometimes frighteningly violent, and refuse to listen to reason from his lady (looking at you Thomas.) He didn't write his wife off as ugly and stupid and refuse to give his marriage a chance before abandoning her and still managed to still write her off almost to the end (looking at you Damian; his was the most offensive to me.) He didn't press his position as her employer to finagle a way into her pants (looking at you Julian.) All he did was try to seduce an heiress because he was broke. And it was obvious to every single person but Anne what was happening. It had nothing to do with list for her, or questioning her intelligence, or jealousy. He even admired her from the first time he met her. He was just desperate. So for that I really admired him most of all the heroes.
That's not to say what he planned to do wasn't vile, but I find it easier to forgive because he displayed his lesser qualities before getting to know her whereas the other heroes seemed to ha e it brought out by knowing the heroine.
Anyways. I loved Marcus' redemption story. His struggle with his relationship with his father and finding a place in the world for the first time in his life was believable. His desire to become a better person was really nicely done. I also loved how slowly be came to love Anne, even after she went batshit crazy on him. She was described as pretty but not beautiful, beneath the notice of the very handsome Marcus, and I love how he fell in love with her anyways and saw her slowly become more beautiful in his eyes. I loved that he loved her legs. I don't remember reading a romance where the hero is crazy over her legs. It usually her petite pixieness, or her voluptuousness, or just her beautiful face. Some guys are leg guys! It was a nice change of pace.
So Anne. I hated Anne at first. I HATE the trope of innocent heiress is seduced by gorgeous rake. It's so overused. But Anne won me over before she flipped the table on Marcus with her inner monologue where she is crushing on Marcus and thinking she is falling in love for the first time. It was the sweetest most believable thing I've ever read about a 17 year old girl in an HR. So freaking cute. I've never noticed this type of character truly displaying her innocence and naivety in this way, I was so pleased.
And then she gets her hopes and dreams crushed and she turns into a little shit, making Marcus' life a living hell and I loved every second of it. She was hilarious.
I will say I thought her obsession with archaeology not believable. I honestly felt it was out of place except as mostly a plot device. I think there could possibly have been a better way to characterize her as a nerd. (Though I'm glad it wasn't the stereotypical "I love books! ::squee::")
I also felt that the plot came a little too late at the end. It felt almost like an afterthought. I'm so glad the questions I was left with in book 1 were resolved though!
I think the most important thing to me in a romance is a slow build. I hate the insta-love types, and I think is something Miranda Neville does SO WELL! I think this book in particular is one of the best examples of this I've ever seen.
I'm still hoping people will see my reviews of these books and give them a chance despite the lower ratings, because I really did love them :)
September 4, 2013
Miranda Neville is an author whom I’ve had recommended to me by a couple of reviewers, so when I saw her latest, The Ruin of a Rogue, I asked my blogmate to request the book. I haven’t had very much luck in the way of historical romances this year, so I approached with book with a fair amount of trepidation.
While I ended up enjoying The Ruin of a Rogue more than I had anticipated, the novel gets off to an abysmally slow start. Anne Brotherton is an heiress to an exceptionally large fortune and has been fending off fortune hunting suitors for years. Enter penniless gambler Marcus Lithgow who decides to pursue the heiress for all the typical reasons. Even as Anne is warned against Marcus by her good friend Caro, she is intrigued by the man that shares her knowledge of antiquities. When Anne overhears him coldly mapping out his suit of her, she decides to turn the tables on him and acts the part of the shallow, demanding heiress.
At this point in the book, I was a little bored and disappointed with how the developments ensued. Marcus and Anne were both serviceable characters, but there wasn’t anything I found remotely engaging about either of them, truth be told. Marcus’s one strength is that he is pretty straight forward about his need for money and he doesn’t bother to hide it from anyone, even Anne. Anne is the embodiment of the heiress that doesn’t want to marry, but her character isn’t very fleshed out and she wasn’t interesting in the slightest.
As Marcus tries to court Anne, he becomes more and more disgusted with her behavior and when he learns that he’s inherited a ramshackle estate, he drops her quicker than a hot potato. Anne decides to follow Marcus to his new home and strikes up a deal with him. She’ll give him an hour of cleaning his home if she can have equal time digging in his yard in search of antiquities. As Marcus and Anne work together, they quickly learn that they’ve been wrong about one another’s character and as the days pass, they grow a lot closer.
Aside from the hideously slow beginning, once Marcus leaves for his home, the pace thankfully picks up. Here’s the thing. I like simplicity. I’ll always prefer four or five words over ten or fifteen. There were lots of passages that struck me as overly wordy and complicated when it didn’t need to be. I do enjoy a slow building romance, and this certainly fit the bill. Marcus and Anne learn all about one another before becoming intimate, and honestly, that’s what I enjoy most in a historical romance. My only other quibble is that ending seemed quite melodramatic and didn’t match the tone or pace of the entire story. It came out left field as it were.. and left me a little bemused. That being said, while I didn’t love it to pieces, it came across as a pleasant read.
- Ronnie
While I ended up enjoying The Ruin of a Rogue more than I had anticipated, the novel gets off to an abysmally slow start. Anne Brotherton is an heiress to an exceptionally large fortune and has been fending off fortune hunting suitors for years. Enter penniless gambler Marcus Lithgow who decides to pursue the heiress for all the typical reasons. Even as Anne is warned against Marcus by her good friend Caro, she is intrigued by the man that shares her knowledge of antiquities. When Anne overhears him coldly mapping out his suit of her, she decides to turn the tables on him and acts the part of the shallow, demanding heiress.
At this point in the book, I was a little bored and disappointed with how the developments ensued. Marcus and Anne were both serviceable characters, but there wasn’t anything I found remotely engaging about either of them, truth be told. Marcus’s one strength is that he is pretty straight forward about his need for money and he doesn’t bother to hide it from anyone, even Anne. Anne is the embodiment of the heiress that doesn’t want to marry, but her character isn’t very fleshed out and she wasn’t interesting in the slightest.
As Marcus tries to court Anne, he becomes more and more disgusted with her behavior and when he learns that he’s inherited a ramshackle estate, he drops her quicker than a hot potato. Anne decides to follow Marcus to his new home and strikes up a deal with him. She’ll give him an hour of cleaning his home if she can have equal time digging in his yard in search of antiquities. As Marcus and Anne work together, they quickly learn that they’ve been wrong about one another’s character and as the days pass, they grow a lot closer.
Aside from the hideously slow beginning, once Marcus leaves for his home, the pace thankfully picks up. Here’s the thing. I like simplicity. I’ll always prefer four or five words over ten or fifteen. There were lots of passages that struck me as overly wordy and complicated when it didn’t need to be. I do enjoy a slow building romance, and this certainly fit the bill. Marcus and Anne learn all about one another before becoming intimate, and honestly, that’s what I enjoy most in a historical romance. My only other quibble is that ending seemed quite melodramatic and didn’t match the tone or pace of the entire story. It came out left field as it were.. and left me a little bemused. That being said, while I didn’t love it to pieces, it came across as a pleasant read.
- Ronnie
October 13, 2013
Eh. This one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It was ok, but it didn’t really inspire any deep feeling. The book wasn’t exactly boring, but it teetered on the edge.
The story centers on two characters featured heavily in The Importance of Being Wicked: Caro’s cousin Anne and her unscrupulous friend Marcus. As the story begins, Anne is being plagued by fortune hunters. She can’t seem to find a man who wants her for who she is, until she meets Marcus. Of course, he wants her money every bit as much as all of her other suitors, but he’s better at playing the game. He convinces Anne that he shares her interests –that he sees the real her– and convinces her to fall halfway in love with him. That is, until she learns the truth. From there, she decides to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.
It’s only a matter of time, though, until these two work through each other’s facades. And they fall head over heels for the reality of the other. But is it enough? Marcus is still poor and Anne could lose more than her heart if she stays with him.
Marcus is supposed to be this worldly, dastardly rake, but we don’t really see much of that. In fact, he’s really quite tame. Yeah, he was trying to get one over on Anne in the beginning, but he did far more moaning and groaning about not wanting to be like his father. I just wanted to shake him. You don’t want to be like your father? Then don’t be like your father. Problem solved. But alas, there was much more teeth gnashing than that. Then there is Anne who is really kind of clueless about real-life. She whines about her money, but doesn’t really understand what it means to live without it. Then, we go from seeing her pampered and pristine to scrubbing floors and it just didn’t ring true. On top of all that, it was way, way too easy for Marcus and Anne to end up alone as much as they did. It didn’t make sense for someone so cloistered to be allowed such freedom for so long.
The book wasn’t bad. Not at all. There is some fairly good sexual tension and I enjoyed it when these two finally got together. There is also a pretty good tie in with Caro and her stuffy husband. I just didn’t connect with the story or the characters all that much.
Rating: B-/C+
*ARC Provided by Avon
The story centers on two characters featured heavily in The Importance of Being Wicked: Caro’s cousin Anne and her unscrupulous friend Marcus. As the story begins, Anne is being plagued by fortune hunters. She can’t seem to find a man who wants her for who she is, until she meets Marcus. Of course, he wants her money every bit as much as all of her other suitors, but he’s better at playing the game. He convinces Anne that he shares her interests –that he sees the real her– and convinces her to fall halfway in love with him. That is, until she learns the truth. From there, she decides to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.
It’s only a matter of time, though, until these two work through each other’s facades. And they fall head over heels for the reality of the other. But is it enough? Marcus is still poor and Anne could lose more than her heart if she stays with him.
Marcus is supposed to be this worldly, dastardly rake, but we don’t really see much of that. In fact, he’s really quite tame. Yeah, he was trying to get one over on Anne in the beginning, but he did far more moaning and groaning about not wanting to be like his father. I just wanted to shake him. You don’t want to be like your father? Then don’t be like your father. Problem solved. But alas, there was much more teeth gnashing than that. Then there is Anne who is really kind of clueless about real-life. She whines about her money, but doesn’t really understand what it means to live without it. Then, we go from seeing her pampered and pristine to scrubbing floors and it just didn’t ring true. On top of all that, it was way, way too easy for Marcus and Anne to end up alone as much as they did. It didn’t make sense for someone so cloistered to be allowed such freedom for so long.
The book wasn’t bad. Not at all. There is some fairly good sexual tension and I enjoyed it when these two finally got together. There is also a pretty good tie in with Caro and her stuffy husband. I just didn’t connect with the story or the characters all that much.
Rating: B-/C+
*ARC Provided by Avon
August 29, 2013
Anne Brotherton is tired of all the fortune hunters after her. They really don't want to get to know her or care about her just her money. Marcus Lithgow is is a rogue that is somewhat like his wastrel father. He has returned to England with a title and not much else. He loves to gamble and he sees his chance to better his life by marring Anne. Anne figures if she gets close to Marcus the scandal will chase other fortune hunters away. She knows he is not to be trusted and tries to keep her heart from getting attached. Both people have their heart on different goals not realizing what they need may just be each other.
Anne is a wonderful character. She is rich but really doesn't let it go to her head. A few times it shows she is used to having money but for the most part she would rather be reading a book about history and her dream is to explore. I really liked her even when she should turn her back on people she looks for the best and she cares with her whole heart. Marcus seems like a user at first but once you get to see what it was like for him growing up ypu grow to really like him. He has had a bad past and seems to let his father deeds come over onto him. He really wants to be a good person deep down.
I really enjoyed this book as it has the historical romance I like along with buts of even further back history. I thought that was a nice touch. The two main characters seem to want to use each other but you can see the love growing even when they can't. I know a lot of people say these all read the same but this one truly doesn't. There was several twist I din't see coming and was surprised by them. You have some evil past deeds that come back to haunt them. You also get to see just how much the two belong together and what they are willing to face. I love reading about these two and they kept me entertained in all they go through. I will say I especially loved the ending as I got a good laugh out of one scene. I won't spoil it but I will say it fit perfect for Anne's character. I actually felt like I got to know these characters and was sad to see the book end. Recommend this for any historical romance lover or anyone wanting a great love story.
Anne is a wonderful character. She is rich but really doesn't let it go to her head. A few times it shows she is used to having money but for the most part she would rather be reading a book about history and her dream is to explore. I really liked her even when she should turn her back on people she looks for the best and she cares with her whole heart. Marcus seems like a user at first but once you get to see what it was like for him growing up ypu grow to really like him. He has had a bad past and seems to let his father deeds come over onto him. He really wants to be a good person deep down.
I really enjoyed this book as it has the historical romance I like along with buts of even further back history. I thought that was a nice touch. The two main characters seem to want to use each other but you can see the love growing even when they can't. I know a lot of people say these all read the same but this one truly doesn't. There was several twist I din't see coming and was surprised by them. You have some evil past deeds that come back to haunt them. You also get to see just how much the two belong together and what they are willing to face. I love reading about these two and they kept me entertained in all they go through. I will say I especially loved the ending as I got a good laugh out of one scene. I won't spoil it but I will say it fit perfect for Anne's character. I actually felt like I got to know these characters and was sad to see the book end. Recommend this for any historical romance lover or anyone wanting a great love story.
June 13, 2016
The Ruin of a Rogue starters a little slow but picked up momentum the further into the book I read. It's an historical romance about a man who has made his living as a card shark. He has done things he's not proud of but this is further explained as the story goes on. He sets out to marry or at least compromise (& hopefully get paid off) an heiress. Anne is the richest young woman around, maybe ever. So wealthy that her potential groom's mother (aunt?) tells her it doesn't matter if she is ruined, some man will still be willing to marry her. Her potential suitor is pretty stiff necked so she thinks if she just ruins herself a little bit he will not want her. Then she meets Marcus who has recently inherited a viscountcy. He of course, is the rogue mentioned in the title. She starts to like him but overhears him telling his friend that she is ripe for the plucking and will soon fall into his arms. She is outraged and decides to teach him a lesson. She drags him all over London to places he has to pay entrance fees to and demands that he pay for her maid as well. She also acts like a spoiled heiress (heartless and unfeeling). He has about had all he can stand, not to mention afford, when he finds out he's inherited a manor house and lands from his uncle. He's ecstatic that he can tell her to go to blazes and leaves London after telling her of his inheritance. She is interested in archeology and knows the lands he inherited have a well known Roman site that hasn't been fully excavated and she wants to go dig it up.
She turns up on his doorstep expecting him to welcome her with open arms. Which he doesn't. It's her time to learn a lesson and he's determined to do it. He has found the house and tenants on the lands in neglected and deplorable condition, so he tells her she can spend 2 hrs a day cleaning the house to pay for the privilege of digging. Believe it or not she finally agrees. The story builds from there and we learn some unexpected things, he learns a lot about himself and she falls in love. It's a very good story with unexpected twists. Very enjoyable, with a surprise ending!
She turns up on his doorstep expecting him to welcome her with open arms. Which he doesn't. It's her time to learn a lesson and he's determined to do it. He has found the house and tenants on the lands in neglected and deplorable condition, so he tells her she can spend 2 hrs a day cleaning the house to pay for the privilege of digging. Believe it or not she finally agrees. The story builds from there and we learn some unexpected things, he learns a lot about himself and she falls in love. It's a very good story with unexpected twists. Very enjoyable, with a surprise ending!
September 16, 2013
Charm, wit, and nerves of steel have helped Marcus Lithgow gamble his way across the Continent. But when his heart is at stake, all bets are off for this most perfect rogue . . .
Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind heart rather than her impressive dowry? Just when she is about to bow to her fate as a confirmed spinster, she meets the handsome and charming Marcus Lithgow.
It's been years since Marcus set foot in England—why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding . . . the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus feel like he's the one hanging by a thread?
She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realizes she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules . . .
I just finished this and LOVED it! I loved watching Marcus grow into his own man. Watching the changes in him from the scoundrel to a man trying to change for the better was amazing! He was such a great hero for the book because behind his façade of the money hungry scoundrel was the sweetest, caring, lonely man. You couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Anne was a great character to watch grow as well. Seeing her go from the guarded, suspicious & reserved girl to the outspoken, lively & opinionated woman she became was fantastic! I enjoyed learning about Roman architecture and some of the findings in Wiltshire. This book had a little something for everyone: growth, theft, courage, danger, adventure, murder. Scandal, trysts, love, money, jewels. The list could go on! I would recommend this book to anyone! I give it a 5/5!! Happy Reading!!
Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind heart rather than her impressive dowry? Just when she is about to bow to her fate as a confirmed spinster, she meets the handsome and charming Marcus Lithgow.
It's been years since Marcus set foot in England—why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding . . . the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus feel like he's the one hanging by a thread?
She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realizes she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules . . .
I just finished this and LOVED it! I loved watching Marcus grow into his own man. Watching the changes in him from the scoundrel to a man trying to change for the better was amazing! He was such a great hero for the book because behind his façade of the money hungry scoundrel was the sweetest, caring, lonely man. You couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Anne was a great character to watch grow as well. Seeing her go from the guarded, suspicious & reserved girl to the outspoken, lively & opinionated woman she became was fantastic! I enjoyed learning about Roman architecture and some of the findings in Wiltshire. This book had a little something for everyone: growth, theft, courage, danger, adventure, murder. Scandal, trysts, love, money, jewels. The list could go on! I would recommend this book to anyone! I give it a 5/5!! Happy Reading!!
June 17, 2013
Loved this book! Everything about it was wonderful: the romance, the plot for revenge, the mystery of the hidden valuables. The Ruin of a Rogue was brilliant, a top notch historical romance.
I loved that this book was as original as you can get in historical romance. It had a different take of the shy wallflower/reformed rogue thing. And the story line had a few surprises in store, especially the shocking twist towards the end. Again, brilliant!
Anne was a great heroine. She starts off as a soft-spoken wallflower but, she comes alive throughout the course of the book. Beginning with the plot for revenge when she decides to fight back against a fortune hunter (even though this time it was a misunderstanding) and she matches Marcus is his game of charm. I really liked her character. She was wonderful.
Marcus was a misunderstood man. After living with his scoundrel of a father, all he knows is gaming and manipulation. But, he doesn't want to be that way and we see him, right from the beginning, doing his best to be a better man. That conflict comes up several times and it was nice seeing him change into a good man. He was wonderful: sweet, caring, and a gentleman at heart. I adored him.
The romance was delightful. Anne and Marcus were an adorable couple, perfectly matched in every way. And they definitely had some chemistry between them. I loved them together.
The plot was fast paced. As I said, there were a few surprises in store. I was completely hooked the entire way through. And the ending was perfection.
The Ruin of a Rogue was a fantastic historical romance. I absolutely loved this book, just adored it! Historical romance fans, you definitely have to read this book.
*Thanks to Edelweiss and Avon Books for a copy!
I loved that this book was as original as you can get in historical romance. It had a different take of the shy wallflower/reformed rogue thing. And the story line had a few surprises in store, especially the shocking twist towards the end. Again, brilliant!
Anne was a great heroine. She starts off as a soft-spoken wallflower but, she comes alive throughout the course of the book. Beginning with the plot for revenge when she decides to fight back against a fortune hunter (even though this time it was a misunderstanding) and she matches Marcus is his game of charm. I really liked her character. She was wonderful.
Marcus was a misunderstood man. After living with his scoundrel of a father, all he knows is gaming and manipulation. But, he doesn't want to be that way and we see him, right from the beginning, doing his best to be a better man. That conflict comes up several times and it was nice seeing him change into a good man. He was wonderful: sweet, caring, and a gentleman at heart. I adored him.
The romance was delightful. Anne and Marcus were an adorable couple, perfectly matched in every way. And they definitely had some chemistry between them. I loved them together.
The plot was fast paced. As I said, there were a few surprises in store. I was completely hooked the entire way through. And the ending was perfection.
The Ruin of a Rogue was a fantastic historical romance. I absolutely loved this book, just adored it! Historical romance fans, you definitely have to read this book.
*Thanks to Edelweiss and Avon Books for a copy!
June 19, 2013
At first, I had trouble shaking the feeling that I had read this book before, which, logically, I know, was impossible. But within the first two chapters I realized that the characters were like old friends; Caro, Denton, "Castleton, the Stuffy Duke," Robert Townsend, even our female protagonist, heiress Anne Brotherton, were all characters that I already liked and knew well from Miranda Neville's previous effort in this series. It was like returning to catch up with old, well-loved friends.
The story of Marcus Lithgow, newly minted Viscount Lithgow, gamester, cheat, possible thief and now, desperately in pursuit of a fortune through marriage with Anne Brotherton, the heiress of Camber, starts out like the telling of Henry James' Washington Square, albeit across the pond and a century earlier. Like Morris, Marcus worms his way into Anne's heart with one goal in mind. And like Catherine Sloper, Anne ferrets out his real intentions and seeks to teach him a lesson that Marcus won't soon forget. Unlike Catherine and Morris, however, Anne and Marcus find the tables turned on both of them when their attraction grows despite their trickery. When Marcus inherits a small estate, he finds he has something she wants as well. But instead of taking advantage of that, Marcus finds a purpose in life, something honorable involving hard work and dedication that leads him back to Anne.
With a marvelous plot line, this story of redemption and forgiveness is excellent reading. Like all Ms. Neville's novels, the characters are well-developed, flawed yet lovable, secondary characters add much, and the situations are not easily resolved. When they are however, the results are so satisfying. Highly highly recommend!!
The story of Marcus Lithgow, newly minted Viscount Lithgow, gamester, cheat, possible thief and now, desperately in pursuit of a fortune through marriage with Anne Brotherton, the heiress of Camber, starts out like the telling of Henry James' Washington Square, albeit across the pond and a century earlier. Like Morris, Marcus worms his way into Anne's heart with one goal in mind. And like Catherine Sloper, Anne ferrets out his real intentions and seeks to teach him a lesson that Marcus won't soon forget. Unlike Catherine and Morris, however, Anne and Marcus find the tables turned on both of them when their attraction grows despite their trickery. When Marcus inherits a small estate, he finds he has something she wants as well. But instead of taking advantage of that, Marcus finds a purpose in life, something honorable involving hard work and dedication that leads him back to Anne.
With a marvelous plot line, this story of redemption and forgiveness is excellent reading. Like all Ms. Neville's novels, the characters are well-developed, flawed yet lovable, secondary characters add much, and the situations are not easily resolved. When they are however, the results are so satisfying. Highly highly recommend!!
August 18, 2013
The second in the series, Ruin of a Rogue focuses on Marcus, now Viscount Lithgow: gambler, cheat and possible thief, in need of a proper marriage with a woman of quality to enhance the coffers. He sets his eye on Anne Brotherton, heiress of Camber and well-placed young lady in society.
Marcus is very much the charmer, and quite smooth and debonair for a man of his time, even considered a bit of a rogue, mostly for the time spent losing in the gaming hells. Although from the beginning of the story, we see him trying to shake off this unsavory reputation and make himself a better man. His conflict with his instincts to do what is easy for him against what is right and proper are interesting to watch, and his growth was well depicted.
Anne is made of much sterner stuff, her natural behavior is quieter and more reserved, but there is a spine of steel underneath the velvet finery. When she discovers that Marcus wants her money, not necessarily her, she sets out to beat him at his own game. Of course there are misunderstandings and other characters thoughts and words do play havoc with the relationship that is budding between the two, but it was sweetly satisfying to see them finally communicate honestly and allow their destiny to take over.
With several twists, some clever plans that go awry and the happy ending for these two, this was a good story that will please fans of historical romance, and fuel the desire for the next book in the series.
I received an eBook from the publisher for purpose of honest review for the Jeep Diva. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Marcus is very much the charmer, and quite smooth and debonair for a man of his time, even considered a bit of a rogue, mostly for the time spent losing in the gaming hells. Although from the beginning of the story, we see him trying to shake off this unsavory reputation and make himself a better man. His conflict with his instincts to do what is easy for him against what is right and proper are interesting to watch, and his growth was well depicted.
Anne is made of much sterner stuff, her natural behavior is quieter and more reserved, but there is a spine of steel underneath the velvet finery. When she discovers that Marcus wants her money, not necessarily her, she sets out to beat him at his own game. Of course there are misunderstandings and other characters thoughts and words do play havoc with the relationship that is budding between the two, but it was sweetly satisfying to see them finally communicate honestly and allow their destiny to take over.
With several twists, some clever plans that go awry and the happy ending for these two, this was a good story that will please fans of historical romance, and fuel the desire for the next book in the series.
I received an eBook from the publisher for purpose of honest review for the Jeep Diva. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
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