How a Lady Weds a Rogue: A Falcon Club Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Katharine Ashe (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 25, 2012 | Series: Falcon Club

“Katharine Ashe writes with eloquence and power.”
—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas

Readers of Lisa Kleypas and Eloisa James who have not yet experienced the exceptional historical romance of Katharine Ashe are missing out on something truly special. Named one of the “New Stars of Historical Romance” by the American Library Association, Katharine continues her sensational Regency Era-set Falcon Club series by exploring How a Lady Weds a Rogue—romantically uniting a man determined to be bad and a woman who is sure that he’s her perfect hero. Seduction has never been more perilous—or pleasurable—than it is in this unforgettable historical romance winner from an author who brilliantly combines the wit of Eloisa James, the romantic adventure of Johanna Lindsey, and the amazing sensuality of Lisa Kleypas. As bestselling romance author Sabrina Jeffries promises, “You’ll be swept away” by the novels of Katharine Ashe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“With its jaded hero, effervescent heroine, an intriguing, engaging plot and healthy doses of both humor and emotion, this is a delightful Regency jaunt.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“A multifaceted, character rich novel of passion and adventure. … I readily recommend CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD. Pirate romances have come a long way since the bodice-rippers of the olden day, and Ms. Ashe is a welcome new voice in the genre. (Romance Reviews Today )

“Every woman who ever dreamed of having a titled lord at her feet will love this novel.” (Eloisa James, Barnesand NobleReview.com )

From the Back Cover

Gentleman’s Rule #1: If a lady is virtuous, he should deny her nothing.

Beautiful Diantha Lucas understands society’s rules: a young lady must find a man to marry. But Diantha has a bigger goal, and she’s not afraid of plunging into adventure to achieve it. When daring, dashing Wyn Yale rescues her, she’s certain he’s just the man she needs.

As an agent for the secret Falcon Club, Wyn knows his duty, but he’s not about to admit he’s a hero of any sort. He has a plan, too: steal a prized horse, murder an evil duke, avenge an innocent girl, and probably get hanged for it—in that order. Wyn can’t afford to be distracted by a pretty face, even one with delectable dimples and kissable lips. But how can a country miss and a hardened spy solve their problems when they can’t keep their hands off each other?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Original edition (September 25, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062031899
• ISBN-13: 978-0062031891
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm an award-winning author of historical romance with a touch of adventure and powerful emotion, all set in England and the British Empire of the Regency era. I live in the wonderfully warm Southeast with my husband, son, dog, and a garden I like to call romantic rather than unkempt. I'm also a professor of European history. My latest novel, HOW TO BE A PROPER LADY, was an Amazon Editors' Choice for top 10 Books of the Month. I love to hear from readers. Please visit me at www.KatharineAshe.com .

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A bucketful of wit and humour September 26, 2012

By Under The Covers Book Blog

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by SUZANNE & posted at Under the Covers Book Blog

Miss Diantha Lucas has set upon a quest to find the mother that abandoned her when she was a child, she has two weeks to get to France before her family realise she has gone and come after her. However, it soon becomes apparent on the road that she needs a hero, someone to protect her from untoward advances and to guide her safely on her journey and when she recognises Mr Wyn Yale, she knows she has found her hero. But Wyn is no ones hero, drowning his guilt over a past deed in drink, when he sees the much changed and beautiful Diantha, he has some rather ungentlemanly and unheroic feelings indeed...

I admit after the rather lacklustre opinion I had of How to be a Proper Lady I wasn't really that eager to start this book. Boy, was I wrong, if I had known how much I was going to enjoy this book I would have dived right in the second after I had finished the previous book!

The main this I loved about this book was the heroine, Diantha Lucas, there are two main reasons for this:

1. She was charming. Funny, spirited and very direct, I immediately fell under her spell. Ms Ashe seems to excel at writing really likable heroines, giving them great inner strength and vivacious personalities, it is hardly surprising the heroes fall in love with them.

2. She has been through an ugly duckling transformation, going from an over weight, spotty teen to a beautiful young lady BUT rather then her suddenly having a perfect body with nipple pointing to the ceiling and smooth unmarked skin, she instead still held a normal woman's body, stretch marks and all. It may seem a little shallow to like her more for this reason but I did, it made her more relatable, and although she may have had a few faint scars from her spots and stretch marks like a normal woman, that don't make her any less beautiful.

But what is a great heroine without her hero? I really liked Wyn, I wasn't sure what I expected from him, as although he has popped up in previous books he still remains rather mysterious. He won me over though, beneath his dashing and gentlemanly exterior and underneath the constant alcohol he drowned himself with he had a tortured past and what girl can resist that?

The mixture of two fantastic characters, a bucketful of wit and humour as well as some self discovery and a little anguish created a fabulous read and I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

*ARC provided by publisher

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming and Delightful! Warning: Spoilers included. September 27, 2012

By Breanna

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is one of these books that is probably going to go into my 'favourites' pile.

Katherine Ashe is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, because she is able to write in a delightful tone while still dealing with serious issues in her books. However, even when she deals with serious issues, it doesn't take away from the romance in her books, and her books are very romantic. I think she's just a wonderful writer.

On to the book. Usually I don't love heroines who are too young, because most often these characters have had little emotional growth and experience and it can sometimes feel as if the hero has an unequal partner (although, certainly, I've come across books where the opposite is true as well, despite the hero being older).

Well, there were no such worries here. Diantha is a delightful, charming, intelligent creature, who is wise beyond her years, but still believes in heroes. That is not to say, Diantha doesn't have scars and difficult experiences, but she doesn't let them get her down, rather she takes matters into her own hands and tries to do something about getting rid of those emotional scars she still carries.

Here is the part where you want to stop reading if you don't like SPOILERS:

Unfortunately, her planning skills turn out to be rather more imaginative than doable; she plans to run away to confront her mother in France, who left her with those scars, and plans that a 'hero' will come her way to guide her along the way. I just found her optimism in her plan so wonderful that it made me smile. Then again, this story is very loosely drawn on a fairy tale, and there is always a little bit of magic in those fairy tales. I think Ashe has managed to capture that magic in her own story as well.

Well, fortunate for her, while sitting in a coach and holding a baby (whose poor mother she was relieving for a few hours), she happens to glance at a slumbering gentleman, who turns out to be Wyn Yale, a gentleman with whom she's distantly aquainted, and a gentleman who has quite a few inner demons - but, of course, Diantha doesn't know it at the time.

Wyn works for the Falcon club and his speciality is rescuing girls from bad situations. He has had a difficult childhood,and carries the scars from a failed assignment wherein one of the girls he was supposed to rescue died because of his error. There is a terrible story behind this assignment as well, but I don't want to give too much away. All of this helped to make him turn to the bottle to bury his pain. My heart truly ached for him at times, just like my heart ached when I found out how cruel Diantha's mother had been to her before she completely abandoned her.

Diantha charms Wyn, but that doesn't mean he is going to give into her plan. He plans to return her to her stepfather, but of course, they run into trouble and delay on the way. On their journey, Wyn and Diantha grow to know each other and each other's demon's and help each other heal. Inevitably, they fall in love, but given they are attracted to each other from the first that is not surprising, but I truly loved how that process developed along the way. The timing and development of the love story was flawless.

I loved the humour in the book. I loved when Diantha rescued that poor dog with the injured paw. I loved when she tried to ditch Wyn, and ended up stranded at the side of the road with her new dog, because the people in the coach didn't appreciate the smell of the stable. That is just one of the humorous occurrences in the book, but I thought they were all very well done.

The dialogue is excellent. The characters are fully developed and the story flows at an excellent pace. The tone of the book was excellent, and it was set by our heroine, who despite her scars always carried an optimistic outlook.

Overall, I was utterly charmed by this book and I definitely recommend it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars not a keeper for me October 13, 2012

By dreamon

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like adventures but they have to be remotely plausable and this one is not. our heroine is a ditz with poor planning skills....nto a heroine I can respect.