About the Book:

Baron. Physician. Smuggler. Sir Harland Hayward is living a double life as an aristocrat by day and a criminal by night. As a doctor, Harland has the perfect cover to appear in odd places in the dead of night, a cover he uses to his advantage to bring in all sorts of illicit cargo from across the English Channel. He’s chosen this life to save his family from financial ruin, but he draws the line at taking advantage of the honest and trustworthy Katherine Wright.

Katherine has returned to Dover to find that her family is working for a mysterious new crime boss. Growing up in a family of smugglers, she knows it’s only a matter of time before they are caught—and killed. So after her brother is shot, she convinces her family to move away and start over. After they honor their last contract, of course. With her injured brother and elderly father unable to work, Katherine reluctantly steps back into the life she had left behind. And straight into the path of the merciless Harland Hayward.

Click on title below for direct Amazon buy link:                                                                   A Rogue by Night (The Devils of Dover Book 3)

My Review:

Katherine Wright is a healer and a midwife, who is in the process of stitching up her smuggler brother, who had been shot and wounded by the authorities.  She’s appalled when local doctor, Harland Hayward, bursts in, apparently aware of her brother’s injuries and prepared to treat him.  Though her brother assures her of Harland’s discretion, she’s still suspicious.  It seems that Harland knows too much about the smuggling ring’s activities, and always seems to be on location when an injury needs tending.

Kate, herself, was a smuggler several years ago, before she followed her lover, Jeffrey Walton, a soldier, to war.  While there, she honed her medical skills, even learning surgery, to aid the wounded and dying.  Though Jeffrey promised her marriage, he ended up betraying her in the worst way, leaving her leery of love and men, noblemen in particular.  She stayed away from home for several years, returning to find that Dover was now overrun with former soldiers with no way to earn a living and support their families.  Smuggling seems the only way to supply the most basic of needs for an impoverished people, and Captain Buhler is determined to wipe the gang out of existence.

Harland is also Baron Strathmore, and years ago he made a devil’s bargain to save his own family from ruin.  He’s now obligated to be a significant part of the smuggling ring, albeit, secretly, and he has no way out.  When he is forced to take part in a daring rescue of prisoners who are sorely in need of medical care, he knows he can’t do it alone.  He offers a lucrative deal to Kate if she’ll accompany him on his mission and help care for the injured men, and she agrees.

Kate, at first, comes off as very hard edged, with a chip on her shoulder, and no hint of tenderness about her.  Though she cares for her people and her family, Jeffrey Walton’s betrayal stole away her innocence along with her ability to trust and love.  As well as being bound to a life he despises, Harland has also been a victim of treachery by his deceased wife.  Her humiliating actions have left Harland beat down and defeated.  Despite their wariness, Kate and Harland begin to admire the other and to feel an unwanted attraction.  They share another bond, their love of medicine.  Slowly, they begin to trust each other, and to share their histories, leading up to the broken people they are now.

A ROGUE BY NIGHT is an exciting story with plenty of action to go along with the developing romance.  Kate and Harland are such strong characters, who have been victims of unscrupulous people and circumstances beyond their control.  In addition to having to overcome the emotional baggage they carry, they have to fight off a puffed up Captain, determined to bring down the smugglers at any cost.  It was a joy to watch Kate and Harland become more alive in each other’s presence as their steamy passion and deepening love helped heal them. I love that Kate had a chance to confront her cowardly ex-lover, and I absolutely adore how the situation was resolved, allowing them to plan a future together.  A ROGUE BY NIGHT is a page-turning, hot, and heartwarming read, everything I’ve come to expect in a book by one of my favorite authors, Kelly Bowen.    ~Rose