The Rogue

Rogues & Gentlemen #1

by Emma V. Leech

The notorious Rogue that began it all.Set in Cornwall, 1815. Wild, untamed and isolated. Lawlessness is the order of the day and smuggling is rife. Henrietta always felt most at home in the wilds of the outdoors but even she had no idea how the mysterious and untamed would sweep her away in a moment. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This book has lots of twists and turns in the plot, and many giggle-making moments - I thoroughly enjoyed it.” ~ Amazon customer reviewBewitched by his wicked blue eyesHenrietta Morton knows to look the other way when the free trading 'gentlemen' are at work. Yet when a notorious pirate bursts into her local village shop, she can avert her eyes no more. Bewitched by his wicked blue eyes, a moment of insanity follows as Henrietta hides the handsome fugitive from the Militia.Her reward is a kiss, lingering and unforgettable.In his haste to flee, the handsome pirate drops a letter, a letter that lays bare a tale of betrayal. When Henrietta’s father gives her hand in marriage to a wealthy and villainous nobleman in return for the payment of his debts, she becomes desperate.Blackmailing a pirate may be her only hope for freedom.The first book of the acclaimed Rogues & Gentlemen series from Emma V Leech, the multi-award-winning Amazon Top 10 romance writer. Author of fan favourites such as Flaming June and Last Man in London, both listed in the 20 'Romance Reads You Can't Miss' in the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Awards 2018.**** Warning: This book contains the most notorious rogue of all of Cornwall and, on occasion, is highly likely to include some mild sweating or descriptive sex scenes. ****The Rogues & Gentlemen series can be enjoyed as stand-alone novels or as part of the wider series. If the full series appeals, the suggested – but by no means essential - reading order would • Book 1: The Rogue• Book 2: The Earl's Temptation• Book 3: Scandal's Daughter• Book 4: The Devil May Care• Book 5: Nearly Ruining Mr Russell• Book 5.5: Winter's Wild Melody• Book 6: One Wicked Winter• Book 7: To Tame a Savage Heart• Book 8: Persuading Patience• Book 9: The Last Man in London• Book 10: Flaming June• Book 11: Charity and The Devil• Book 12: A Slight Indiscretion• Book 13: The Corinthian Duke• Book 14: The Blackest of Hearts• Book 15 Duke and Duplicity• Book 16 The Scent of Scandal• Book 16.5 The Christmas Rose• Book 17 Melting Miss Wynter• Book 17.5 The Winter Bride, a Rogues & Gentlemen NovellaHappy reading! And please do leave a review if you can – it would mean the world to hear what you enjoyed most about the book.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Pirates, Regency, Fiction

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2017

About the author

Bestselling author hiding mostly in 19th-century England, venturing out only for chocolate and tea.

Emma V. Leech is the award-winning author of multiple bestselling series across Regency romance, Regency mystery and paranormal romance. Fall in love with swoon-worthy rogues, bold heroines, witty banter and deeply romantic happily-ever-afters. Follow Emma on BookBub for new releases and exclusive deals.

EMMA’S BOOKS

Rogues And Gentlemen
Regency romance – 17-book series (ongoing)
Sexy, tumultuous and irresistibly romantic. From pirates and smugglers to earls and dukes, these unforgettable rogues will sweep you away!

Winter Rogue
A Regency Christmas romance within the Rogues & Gentlemen world
A scandal-weary earl, a runaway heiress and a crumbling country estate snowed in for Christmas. A sensual, heart-tugging holiday novella about redemption, desire and a love neither of them expects.

A Rogues and Gentlemen Christmas
A standalone Regency Christmas romance
A collection of three romantic holiday stories featuring beloved Rogues & Gentlemen characters. Expect snowstorms, sizzling tension, unexpected proposals, mistletoe moments and heart-melting happily-ever-afters – a cosy festive escape for Regency romance lovers.

The Girl Is Not For Christmas
A standalone Regency Christmas romance
Miss Olivia Penrose is the only thing standing between her family and ruin when a brooding aristocrat crashes into her carefully laid plans. Sparks fly amid family secrets, snowy scandals and irresistible festive longing in this passionate, witty and deeply romantic winter read.

Girls Who Dare
Regency romance – 12-book series
Inside every wallflower is the heart of a lioness. When these overlooked young women make a pact to change their lives, rules are broken, reputations are risked and love becomes the most daring adventure of all.

Daring Daughters
Victorian romance – 19-book series and two compilations
The next generation of the Girls Who Dare. Their mothers risked everything for love – now their daughters are ready to be even bolder. An ongoing series of fiercely romantic stories set in a rapidly changing world.

Wicked Sons
Victorian romance – 12-book series
Their mothers dared all for love. Their sisters did the same. Now it’s the sons’ turn… dangerous, tempting and determined not to fall – until the right woman brings them to their knees.

The Venturesome Ladies Of Little Valentine
Regency romance – my current series
A quiet seaside village, a wave of scandalous newcomers and local ladies who refuse to be swept aside. A warm, witty Regency series full of secrets, second chances and delicious enemies-to-lovers romance.

The Regency Romance Mysteries
Regency romantic suspense – 3-book series
Dashing heroes, wicked villains, murder, mystery – and heroines who refuse to sit prettily and wait to be rescued. Perfect if you like your Regency romance served with danger and intrigue.

The French Vampire Legend
Paranormal romance – 4-book series
A dark, dramatic and heart-wrenching tale of courage, sacrifice and a love that not even time, war or monsters can destroy. Gothic atmosphere, high stakes and a romance that refuses to die.

The French Fae Legend
Fantasy romance – 4-book series
An award-winning saga with close to sixteen million online reads. Moving between modern-day France and the Fae Lands, these books weave powerful magic, danger and an all-consuming love that proves stronger than any enchantment.

The Book Lover
A standalone paranormal romance novella
A book-obsessed young woman, an infuriatingly charming stranger and the unnerving sense that stories might be bleeding into real life. A short, intensely romantic tale for anyone who has ever fallen in love with books… and perhaps with something not entirely of this world.

Reviews

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖 (though it dwindled for me through the second half)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 (I might have missed something??)
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: third person from the heroine and hero
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in, chapter 1 (2%)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the mains
Epilogue: No
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: I haven’t tried Leech yet and have been curious.
Mains: Captain Lars Savage and Miss Henrietta (Henry) Morton – This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)

Should I read in order?
This is the first in Leech’s Rogues and Gentleman series.

Basic plot:
Caught in an undesirable betrothal, Henrietta blackmails the pirate she just helped escape the law.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency - 1815
- bit of a road trip feel with Cornwall setting and pirate ship
- pirate hero, complete with mask and gold earrings
- she blackmails him
- close proximity – he ‘rescues’ her and tosses her on his ship
- lower steam? – I might have missed something but I think it is 1 full scene?

Ages:
- hero is 27, heroine is younger...early 20s? Possibly even 18/19...didn’t hear mentioned but comments on her being younger

First line: (Taken from audio, probably butchered)
Henrietta Morton followed the gaze of her maid as she stared after the shop window and was unsurprised to see her attention had been taken by a strutting, preening flock of red jacket.

My thoughts:
So I really enjoyed Leech’s writing! This is my first by her and I was surprised how much I was drawn into this story in the beginning. Really liked her writing style and storytelling for the most part.

But, about halfway through I just got so bored and annoyed with this story sadly. I wanted things to go a lot differently than they were. I felt like there was so much focus on the brother/betrothed, and I wanted more on the mains. There was also some scenes/language that just kind of made me cringe.

I am curious about more from this author for sure – I think I could really like some by her. But this one just didn’t work the best for me.

I did like the narration! It was by Philip Battley and I have no complaints – it’s more rare to me to find male narrators as much with historical romance so this was a nice change.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first!
Average rating from me: 3 stars
Favorite book: This one by default

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- scenes of violence, attacks and death
- there’s some physical and verbal altercations between the mains (she’s more physical with him, hitting him in the balls, she calls him a son of a bitch, etc)
- he kidnaps her but consent is good

Author content warnings? Didn’t hear any on audio (I always encourage you to check author’s websites, since Amazon penalizes authors for certain content warning words in their novels)


Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: I took it as no?
How’s the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? I don’t think so?
Chapter 1 (4%) – kiss
Chapter 13 (37%) – kisses
Chapter 16 (45%) – kisses
Chapter 30 (81%) – 🔥 oral for her followed by missionary

Total chapters: 37



Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs


Full break down on what my ratings above mean here:
Overall: How I felt about it everything considered!
Readability: How ‘readable’ was the book? Did I fly through it? Did I have to tell myself to pick it back up repeatedly? Were any passages confusing? (I will probably score like (1) is literally unreadable due to formatting/typing errors, etc (2) There were lots of errors that made it difficult to read OR It was extremely confusing and I had to reread passages to make sense of it OR I disliked it so much I had to bribe myself to keep reading (3) I didn’t really want to keep reading and would have preferred to abandon the read and start something else OR some minor continuity issues/confusion (4) I liked it fine, maybe a minor error or 2. I was happy to pick it up when I had time. (5) I never wanted to put this down. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading it. I hid in the bathroom from my kids to read. I threw inappropriate food at my children for dinner so I could read instead.)
Feels: Totally subjective to each person but did the book give me any tingles? Any butterflies? Did it rip my heart out (in a good way?)
Emotional depth: How well do I feel I know the characters at the end? How much did I feel their emotions throughout the story?
Sexual tension: Again, subjective, but how strong was the wanting and longing to me between the characters? A book might have strong sexual tension without a single touch.
Romance: Was there romance? Did romantic things happen? This can be actions/words/thoughts of the characters and again is subjective.
Sensuality: This is how the intimate scenes are written. Kisses and sexual scenes – how sensual were they? Were they on the mechanical side? Was there emotional pull tied in? Were the details explicit or flowery? These are subjective but generally (1) too short to get a good judgment (2) not all what I'm looking for - very vague or flowery prose (3) either not explicit enough or not enough emotional pull (too mechanical/physically descriptive without the emotions) (4) what I love in a scene (5) absolute perfection - perfect balance of emotional longing and explicit descriptions
Sex Scene Length: How long the bedroom scenes are (generally (1) is 1-3 sentences (2) is a few paragraphs to a page-ish (3) is about average, a few pages (4) more well developed scenes, quite a few pages with descriptions (5) the majority of the book takes place in the bedroom. This is always hard to tell for me on audio!
Steam Scale: Generally, each flame is a scene. If scenes are super close together I sometimes combine them. If a scene is super short or so vague I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t count it. There’s some levels of grey but generally the number of flames is how many sex scenes there are (I max out at 5 so I’ll put a + after if there’s more than that)


Find me
Instagram || The Storygraph || Bookbub ||

Book Clubs
The Ton and the Tartans (Historical Romance)
Upturned Petticoats and Undone Cravats (Historical Romance with Steam Requirements)
A Love Less Ordinary (Science Fiction, Paranormal, Monster, Fantasy)
Modern Manuscripts (Contemporary Romance)
Words for the Wicked (Contemporary Romance with Steam Requirements)
Vintage Romance (Old School Romance – published 2000 and prior)

[Coco.V]

💝 FREE on Amazon today (2/2/2018)! 💝

[Hailee (haibooklovers) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 maybe? Not bad, just the story was a little all over the place.

[BrandyD · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up to 4. Fun story! And the narration was fantastic.

[Mephala · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rogue is short-ish and light book I’d described more as a Regency themed, rather than historical romance. It was an entertaining story, but in the end felt rather bare-boned and lackluster.

The plot unfolds very quickly and there is little romance development. Being completely honest, I constantly felt like I was reading a story about characters I should have already somehow know. Like it was… a fanfic from a piece of media I was unfamiliar with.

I mean, Henri and The Rogue meet and kind of fell in love? There is some pieces of smuggler vs smuggler feud thrown in the background, but it really doesn’t have much of an impact on the story.

Everything just happens, and happens quickly. The main couple have almost no chemistry, and I still don’t really know why they fell in love. Apart from lust, there seems to be no connection between them.

As it’s a debut HR book, I don’t want to be too harsh, so I’d just add that the book is adequately written – some grammar mistakes and typos here and there – with some pleasant dialogs, but maybe too dense descriptions.

Despite its shortcomings, it’s an ok book for summer afternoon.

3 (it's a debut book)/5 stars

[Chelsea Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this novel! Historical romances can often be hit or miss for me, but this one quite hit the mark.

We open with our lovely heroine, Miss Henrietta (Henri) Morton devising a way to get out of her arranged marriage with the rakish Lord Sinclair. Her father had gambled their wealth away, and in return for her hand, Lord Sinclair will pay off all of Morton's debts and give the man a stipend.

When Henri helps the handsome pirate Captain Savage, aka The Rogue, she sees a way out when he drops a letter as fleeing. She attempts to blackmail Savage and ends up being kidnapped and held on The Wench.

But The Rogue isn't exactly the cutthroat pirate the militiamen have led her to believe and soon Henri finds herself falling in love with the handsome pirate.

Hijinks on the high seas ensue, people turn out to be someone lost, and hearts are rent and mended.

I highly recommend this to those who love historical romances, piratical adventures, and love found on the high seas.

[BJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this rather sweet pirate adventure. I actually liked the cover image of the heroine, it seemed a good fit. I also really liked her maid. The H's history was 'angsty' but I wasn't that keen on him or his brother. They were were OK, and their history seemed overly complex. The story is well written, lots of adventure and some light steam towards the end. It was OK.

[L.R.W. Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

An engaging story line and romance :)

[Trish R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was afraid I wasn’t going to like this book, but I ended up enjoying it. I was skeptical about liking Henri (Henrietta, a horrible name for a heroine so I’m glad she was called Henri) but I liked her in the end. However, I didn’t like her as much as I liked the Rogue, Lawrence. He was always so happy, and his eyes were always sparkling with mischief, and I like that that kind of MC.

Anyway, Henri was engaged to someone she couldn’t stand and went looking for help from a pirate. Needless to say, that didn’t turn out well because the Militia suddenly showed up and Henri and Lawrence (Lars to his crew) took off out the back and ended up on his ship and sailing away, much to her chagrin. And the story got much better after that.

At first, I didn’t like Alex, but he sure turned out to be different that what we were led to believe. I liked Mousy and Annie, too.

There was explicit sex in this but no swearing to speak of.

As to the narration: Philip Battley was simply wonderful. Yeah, he can use a little practice on the women’s voices, but Lawrence’s voice was just awesome, it made the whole book more enjoyable. And his emotions when he read were perfect.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*

I started this book because I got interested in book 4 of the series but I prefer to start at the beginning. This was a mostly pleasant if completely ridiculous pirate romance story. Henri has a chance encounter with a pirate and decides to blackmail him for an insane amount of money in order to avoid getting married to Lord Falmouth. Naturally her blackmail plan falls apart and she finds herself at the mercy of the Pirate. They argue a lot. They want each other a lot. They run from Lord Falmouth and the pirate's other enemies. There some swashbuckling scenes. And more than a few illogical decisions for a pair of men who are supposed to be smart. Because if you are betrayed once just go ahead and tell a group of men you've never met before your biggest secret. Henri was spouting rather modern ideas about women but that did not bother me too much. So I doubt I'll remember this next week but as it was okay and I intend to read book 2 I will round up.

[Susan in Perthshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, albeit ridiculously unreal story! Great h/H - Henri (seriously?) and Lars were sweet together. I read this because I had read book 2 in the series and liked it so much I wanted to find out more about Henri and Lawrence's story. Great fun though a little choppy at times. I like the author's style. An entertaining, fun read.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't know this was just a straight up romance novel. One of those "oh dear, I just must have explicit sex with this guy or else he'll DIE". If the rest of the story was any good I would have just said skip the sexy-times parts, but it's not worth your time.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

So terrible, yet I read the whole thing. It’s like watching the Bachelor, full of filth and stupidity, but you can’t look away.

[Marya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5 stars. Needs editing - missing commas, commas in wrong places, incorrect word choices. Story itself was entertaining.

[Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Miss Leech's first foray into historical romance, and it's... Interesting.

The biggest problem I found was the pacing/general timeline in which the events happen, as it makes the romance feel forced.

Characters' attitudes vary (somewhat) wildly, sometimes for the sake of plot or for the sake of particular scenes.

Light to mild spoilers from here on out!

It's not that it isn't sweet or charming, it is. The protagonists can be very gentle towards one another, and their urgency to be together is endearing. I especially liked the scene where the Heroine learns the Heroe's name, it was cute.

It's all slightly undercut by the fact that the main bulk of their romance happens in the span of 1 to 2 days. Mostly, the scenes and conversations that take place during this particular day are good and would be very compelling if they had been spaced out or structured in a different way.

As it is, it's difficult to "buy into" the protagonist's being so overcome by one another after spending maybe 12h together and spending half of that time sleeping and another half still fighting just so the plot can have points of contention, which end up being leading nowhere.

It's a cute read, but it has some definite problems.

[Frances Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pirate by chance.

Henrietta Morton is out shopping before her unwanted wedding to the Earl of Falmouth when confronted by a man running from the militia. Without thinking, she quickly hides him and pretends not to have seen him. Possibly because he is the most handsome man that she had ever met with his wickedly smiling blue eyes. Once he is gone she realises that he dropped a letter which tells her where he would be that evening. Knowing that he would want it back she went to the address and tried to blackmail him. But then things go horribly wrong when the militia attack. She gets caught up with the pirate, also known as the Rogue or Captain Savage, and finds herself on his ship headed for parts unknown. Despite being infatuated with the dashing pirate she realises that, should this become known, she is now ruined! To make matters worse, her fiance takes to the sea in his fast sloop in pursuit!
This is a fast paced story that is a very good read.

[Stephanie Bolen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unnecessary detail then frustrating vagueness

The beginning starts out with enormous detail put into the various fabric in the shop. I like fashion but I'm no seamstress so it was all noise to me. Then in the middle of a battle scene there is a deliberate decision to cut off the flow of action to make it even more dangerous upon resuming. But if you go unconscious in a battle the chances of you never waking up are astronomical. She falls unconscious and then literally falls and doesn't die. How inept of a killer do you have to be.

[etherealfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited e-book

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regal,Delectable and certainly most Desirable.
I can barely contain myself in how I can put my review into words and explain how brilliant this story is that I held in my hands and had the honour of reading.
Fresh exciting action packed!
The beautiful language spoken that whisked me off to a time when life was so different!
To revisit that historical time was so enchanting and had me thinking what it would like to be a lady in that era of prim and proper and manners that would speak for themselves and how hard it would have been to have no voice and considered precious and weak.
We meet Henri a beautiful lady from this historical time that is one of these women that has ended up in quite the predicament,Henri is beautiful and regal a true lady wanting the fairytale of love and a true gentleman to raise a family with and all the expectations required of women of that time.
But that would not be the path for Miss Henri in desperation she makes a plan to change her future and does what no good lady of her time should do should she be caught her reputation would surely be ruined and forever tarnished
Never to court a nice man and have what every lady should have.....Love.
Not all goes to plan for Miss Henri getting caught up in the midst of a gun fight with red coats!
It had her thinking her decision might not of been so wise,this was not the plan to be taken captive by a fierce dark frightening PIRATE!
He had the reputation that had preceded all the folk tales she had been told his name was known far and wide and held fear in the very men that hunted him and she was now in his presence.

And let me say that in that moment this story had stolen my breath away! Every word and discription given was perfectly moulded together you could see it playing out in your mind you're there back in that very era where you could feel the chill and the brisk cold that lingered in the air,you could hear the slapping of the water hitting the boat
the voices above the decks made you feel as if they were real and you were there listening to it all,I literally time travelled from our time to theirs and it felt real it felt exciting!
I wanted more of Miss Henri and this stoic pirate that exploded before my eyes.
This book for me was brilliant and was so poetically stunning that it lit a fire inside of me it's something I have not read before(Pirates) ,I believe anyone that's has the pleasure of reading this will feel the same.
It was nice to be swept away to a world we no longer live in and experience such pleasure from a story of action love and the high seas and the way of old times.

[Tisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lord John Morton has bargained/sold his daughter off too marry the Rogue~ Alexander Sinclair ~The Earl of Falmouth has much wealth but lives a very scandalize life. Womanizing, gambling & drink. Lady Henrietta Morton wants out of this marriage of convivence. Henrietta along with her maid & confidant Annie are at the local village shop trying to find lace for this marriage, Henri is furious with her father's debts to put her thru this horrible nightmare. But does she have a chance when a notorious Pirate known as Captain Savage invades the store to get away from Militias.

The Earl has his own obligations since his father & younger brother are dead. So he was more than willing to do his duty in marring. Miss Morton. He will still keep his life as he sees fit. At one time he did care about following the rules & propriety. Though that all changed with the death of this father.

Known to the ton as the devil Captain Savage~ To his men Lars, & at one time a noblemen to be.
Has been a pirate for over a decade. Since he got his brother killed over a decade ago. He was always getting into trouble & the last time so long ago got his brother the future Earl always found a way to bail him out. But the last incident which involved his best pal~ Mousy got himself into the wrong people who, got his brother murdered by his own hands. Since then Captain Savage has built a reputation of stealing, Smuggling & wooing the ladies that came his way.

Captain Savage was only bumped into in Miss Morton village because he heard that his brother could be alive. He decided to go back home & see for himself of proof of life.
Unfortunately, that has let the Militia know the Pirate is on their shores & must be captured & hung by the crown for his crimes. But not before the reward bringing him dead or alive happens.

Lars knows how to treat his men but they struggle between jobs & trade. Captain Savage bursts into the local village shop, Miss Morton cannot avert her eyes away from the criminal. While he runs to the back of the store where Miss Morton happens to be. When the Militia come thru asking about the fugitive. She doesn't turn him in. Instead could those bewitching wicked blue eyes, given her a moment of insanity. What happens next shocks Henrietta when the handsome fugitive thanks her with a kiss she never expected. But not only that, he dropped a correspondence that could be important enough for her to blackmail. the fugitive to her freedom from the Earl.
Lawrence Sinclair The Earl of Falmouth younger brother disappeared over a decade ago. When he believed he had murdered his brother.

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A review of the series (well, books 1-15ish). Overall it’s a 3 stars...and now to justify why.
I enjoyed the series - evidently, as I made it to book 15 - but by book 15 it was feeling a bit like I was reading a variation of the same book. The plot, without fail, has a beginning, usually featuring 1 or both of our main characters, in dire straits of some form. Tbh, usually both. They meet, and the chances are they either massively offend each other or fall in love straight away but circumstances forbid they should act on their love (it can so happen that both of these events seem to happen simultaneously). That’s the middle - the massive complication, we then have some form of resolution, usually a kiss or twenty, occasionally going further (rogues being in the name, no spoiler there). Another small spammer gets thrown in the works, but all ends up well and if they weren’t married earlier in the book, they are now. 95% of the time marriage was by special license.

Whilst that does seem a bit repetitive, it’s really not that bad, there was enough moments in the books that made me shed a tear or two, or elicit a small giggle and upon a couple of occasions a whoop of joy. There are some truly original twists and turns thrown in and you massively fall in love with the characters too.

Which is why I knocked it down a couple of stars, 1 because the writing is good, good enough for me to not roll my eyes and sigh but not good enough to make me too exuberant about it all. And 2 because it got too much, too many characters, too much sameness, the sex bits were too similar (it’s amazing how 15 different sets of couples can have such similar sexual experiences), and generally I wasn’t blown away by the content. It was good for when I was grumpy (hormonal) and needed some short stories to keep me from roasting my family alive, but not good enough that I wanted to finish the final two books.

Hope that helps....

ps yeah sex happens but it’s more lovemaking and quite frankly not that erotic, I wouldn’t want my little sister reading it but it’s tolerable enough that I’ll read it...erotica makes me want to throw up if that gives you any idea:D

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those stories where the reader is constantly surprised by the book's shifting direction. Henrietta Morton is unhappy; her feckless father has given her in marriage to someone she despises —the Earl of Falmouth. Her father is facing ruin (through excessive gambling), and allowed the earl to pay off his debts and accept a small stipend for turning over Henrietta in marriage.

After a chance encounter with Captain Savage when he drops a letter, Henrietta (Henri) goes to the seedier side of town to the smuggler's pub, hoping to meet him again and to blackmail him for the letter. When Captain Savage finds out how much money she needs, he laughs in her face. Then the militia arrives, and Captain takes Henri, and they escape to the moored ship.

When a ship comes after them and demands that both Henrietta and Captain Savage be turned over, he decides to turn himself in and let Henri go back to the Earl of Falmouth. Unfortunately, Henri isn't happy.

This is quite a swashbuckler of a story. Because of the date and time, piracy was disappearing from the seas, and these were among the last of the pirates. Captain Savage knows that he is on borrowed time and has been expecting to die at any time. Savage is only twenty-seven years old.

Piracy is disappearing because better, faster ships are being built that can overpower most pirates' vessels. Also, because so much valuable cargo is being transported (especially now, with the New World), governments are turning a sterner eye on pirates and trying to put a stop to the thievery.

Rogues and Gentlemen – Total of 21
** 1. The Rogue (2017)
2. The Earl's Temptation (2017)
3. Scandal's Daughter (2017)
4. The Devil May Care (2017)
5. Nearly Ruining Mr. Russell (2017)

[Milica]

Adventure on high seas .... It’a fun read and I am looking forward to reading more from the series.

Henrietta (aka Henri) is a tad too self-confident young Cornish lady which promptly lands her in trouble. The trouble’s name is Lars and he’s a pirate. Of course, he does not look like a Lars which makes the reader suspicious .... and the story ensues. There are mostly obvious plot twists galore, but it’s all in good fun. This is a kind of a book one would read when even a cozy mystery seems too intellectually demanding.

I know this is classified as a romance. Indeed, there are a few risqué scenes that only stall the plot. That part is boring. So is the unconvincing romance. In fact, I would like to see what happens when the protagonists try to have a conversation a year or so down the line. On the other hand, the action bits with hand-to-hand combat and Henri’s completely transparent attempts at manipulation are utterly entertaining.

The supporting cast provides comic relief about once a page. Alex Sinclair is the most interesting character. Not because of his dubious past which is so boring it brings me to tears (yet another rake to be reformed, how creative!), but because of his extracurricular activities (if I wrote more, it would be a spoiler).

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting novel...it held my interest to the end. I liked how the action played out through the story. I'm not sure I enjoyed the long, drawn out tortuous wait toward the end of the tale, but the action at the end was awesome. I definitely liked it enough to to read 'The Earl's Temptation' which is the other novel that came in my two book set. Characters were well-defined and acted as you might expect for their life/career positions. I think the story of the MC and his family probably intrigued me the most and I enjoyed reading about what happened. If you're looking for more info on the romance angle, I think it was maybe too quick of a flip from "I hate you" to "OMG you're the most awesome." At least, it was for me. But I always seem to expect more from romance novels than most readers actually want. *chuckle* I guess I'm strange.
There were only a few typos. Otherwise, the story was well-written and formatted well, so it was pretty easy to read. All in all, a fun read and a good one for a cozy night in.

[Tantalizing Tomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good book that will.make you laugh and your pulse race

The Rogue is a book at will have your pulse racing from adventures as well as intimate moments, having said that I highly recommend this book. Giving it 4.5 stars out of 5 for this book is full of many things, adventure, romance, scheming and some sexy moments. A pirate named "The Rogue" and a Lady engaged to another become entangled with each other, there are twists and turns that one doesn't see coming. Though I'm not sure if I will continue reading this series, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I give this book a Serrano Pepper rating because there are moments that are the slow burn getting you a little hot and bothered along with moments that will get you just that much warmer. Though the scenes would more than likely be considered "explicit" I would consider the scenes mild not a fade to black but less graphic than other books I have read and enjoyed.

I hope this helps you find your next Tantalizing Tome!

[Trudi Jorda · Rating 5 out of 5]

1815
Along the wild and untamed coast of Cornwall, smuggling is not only a way of life, but a means of survival.
Henrietta Morton knows well to look the other way when the free trading 'gentlemen' are at work. Yet when a notorious pirate, known as The Rogue, bursts in on her in the village shop, she takes things one step further.
Bewitched by a pair of wicked blue eyes, in a moment of insanity she hides the handsome fugitive from the local Militia. Her reward is a kiss that she just cannot forget. But in his haste to escape with his life, her pirate drops a letter, inadvertently giving Henri incriminating information about the man she just helped free.
When her father gives her hand in marriage to a wealthy and villainous nobleman in return for the payment of his debts, Henri becomes desperate.
Blackmailing a pirate may be her only hope for freedom.
Henri runs away with the Rogue and eventually they find that the man she thought was evil is not and is actually the brother of the pirate she rescues! An interesting read with a lot of secrets revealed!

[Mona Rynders-Storck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprise, I liked it!!

Took me a day of looking for a new series, rummaging through reviews, reading synopsis ', etc. I am a sucker for series, so I am excited to learn of I will make it through all 16 books or not. Lisa Kleypas and The Wallflowers and spinoffs plus Cecilia Mecca and The Highland Grant clan and their generation books have been the only series books worth a second and third read.

This wasn't the usual recency romance that just blurs into the next one and makes me have to go into a shifter romance to get some excitement.

I found mystery, romance, seduction, plotlines, good secondary characters, and a reason to want to pick up the next book. I hope that I can add this to my series of books to go back to for re-election (very rare for me).

I loved Henri and Lawrence's story. Now that we are invested with Alex, of COURSE we must know how his romance will come!

[Books+Coffee=Happiness Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pirates. A feisty heroine. And a lord who isn't as he seems... All the makings of a delicious read.

Henri (Henrietta) is far from conventional for a woman of her time. She wants adventure, but even more, she wants to be loved. Money and titles aren't enough for her. Needless to say, the day she saved a pirate changed her life forever.

Captain Savage isn't just a pirate. There are mystery and intrigue surrounding him, and a past he thought long gone. He's not the sort to settle down, and certainly doesn't think he's good enough for the likes of Henri, but she's determined to prove him wrong.

There were moments I laughed out loud, sighed, or frantically flipped the pages to see what happened next. With just enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat, a rogue who tries to do the right thing, and a woman who will settle for nothing less than the man she loves, this book is definitely worthy of 5-stars and then some.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first by this author. I feel like it had good potential, but missed the mark in a few different areas. I didn't buy the sudden escalation of the heroine's feelings. The falling for him part either needed to be drawn out longer to give things more time to believably develop, or for her to not start out SO opposed to him once she gets on the ship. The way it played out felt like she hated him and then nothing at all really changed, but the next minute she was in love with him. ? She was a bit of a brat during that time as well, with apparently no sense of self preservation for someone at the complete mercy of a pirate and his crew... (A definite eye roll for all the heroines constantly poking the bear when their life is on the line). The story also seemed to drag considerably for the last quarter or so. But, like I said, there was still intriguing potential that makes me hopeful for the other books in the series.

[Jacqueline's Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rouge is the first book in the Rouges & Gentlemen series. This is Captain Lars and Henrietta's story. This is Emma V. Leech first novel and it kind of shows. I've binged read her Girls Who Dare Series and really enjoyed those books. This one just needed some tweaks to improve the writing, which I hope to see further in the series.

The story starts out good and I like the premise. Henrietta doesn't want to marry the man her Dad promised to. She had a minor run-in with Captain Lars, a wanted man, and so she tries to blackmail him for money, when things don't go the way it should, she finds herself kidnapped on his ship!

I thought I would enjoy some ship antics, but sadly I found the story boring and draggy. Also, once the mysterious fiancé was reveled, that storyline took a huge chunk too.

Overall, if you are a fan of the author, it's worth reading, but it's not the best book. There's too much descriptive writing and the book is better skimmed than read.