Review – More Than a Rogue by Sophie Barnes

About the Book:

All she wanted was a kiss…

What she got, was fiery passion…

Emily Howard knows she is destined to be a spinster. She has accepted this fate, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting to experience kissing. What she doesn’t expect, is for Griffin Crawford, the handsomest man in the world, to do the honors. Or for all her female relations to discover her in his embrace. Naturally, marriage is instantly mentioned, but since Emily knows this is not what Griffin wants, she tries to escape him, her family and the ensuing scandal.

When Emily flees the Camberly ball in the wake of their kiss, Griffin goes in pursuit. He will not allow his sister-in-law’s determined friend to risk her safety for any reason. And risk it she will if she means to return to her countryside home by herself. But the longer he remains in her company, the more he is tempted to kiss her again. If only he could risk falling in love and remain in England forever.

Click on title below for direct Amazon buy link: More Than A Rogue (The Crawfords Book 2)

My Review:

*I received a complimentary copy of this book.*

Six years ago, Emily Howard was being courted by Lord Langdon, and was expecting a marriage proposal. When Emily’s overbearing mother became impatient, and confronted Langdon about his intentions, she only succeeded in scaring him off. He soon became engaged to another, and Emily’s shame caused her to flee to the country, where she became involved in the running of an orphanage. Now, she has finally come back to town – thinner, dressed better, and with no expectations, especially since her younger sister, Laura, now has Emily’s dowry as well as her own.

Lord Griffin Crawford is one of a set of triplets, the younger brothers of a ducal heir. When their father tried to micromanage their lives a decade ago, the brothers scattered, each following their own path. Griffin’s love of clocks and mechanical toys led him to Vienna, where he owns a successful shop. He’s now back in town for a brief visit with his family. The oldest triplet, Caleb, is married to Mary, a friend of Emily’s who is also involved in the orphanage.

Upon meeting, Griffin and Emily were immediately attracted to each other, but neither acted on it, as there was no possible future for them. Still, Griffin can’t help but follow Emily when she leaves the ballroom with a gentleman for a walk in the garden. Griffin chases the man away, only to find that Emily is annoyed, rather than grateful, as she was hoping to finally experience her first kiss. Ironically, Emily and Griffin are found in the compromising situation by her relatives who begin to make matrimonial suggestions. Griffin is about to do the honorable thing, when Emily flees, stating that she’s returning to the country. Griffin takes off in pursuit, unwilling to allow a single woman to travel unprotected.

Emily and Griffin arrive at the now deserted school, and Griffin insists that he will stay until the children return from their holiday. Although he does the gentlemanly thing and resides in the small cottage, he and Emily still spend almost all their time together. Though marriage isn’t in his plans, Griffin is willing to save Emily’s reputation, while she doesn’t feel the need, and is determined that if she ever does marry, it will only be for love.

Emily and Griffin are slowly falling in love, though they are each too blind to see it in themselves, and in the other. Griffin is still leery after an experience he had with a deceitful woman named Clara, while Emily feels she is unworthy. They do a lot of dancing around their emotions, and have some misunderstandings as they go through some hoops before they finally realize their true feelings.

Griffin is definitely MORE THAN A ROGUE – in truth, he’s not a rogue at all, but a caring and loving gentleman who still carries some scars from a bad love affair. Poor Emily’s debut was ruined by her obnoxious mother, who stuffed her full of sweets, picked out all the wrong clothes for her, and then rode roughshod over her. The years away from her home and society have helped Emily to mature, but she still has issues with her self worth. Together, Griffin and Emily find love, self confidence, healing, and a beautiful physical chemistry. MORE THAN A ROGUE is a lovely, well written romance that was a genuine pleasure to read. I do love epilogues, and this one was especially poignant, as it traveled far into the future to give us a glimpse of decades’ worth of happiness. Recommended for readers who love a slow building romance with characters to love and cheer on to their well deserved happy ever after. ~Blue