A Rogue by Any Other Name: The First Rule of Scoundrels [Mass Market Paperback]

Sarah MacLean (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 28, 2012 | Series: The First Rule of Scoundrels

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean has taken the world of historical romance fiction by storm!  With A Rogue by Any Other Name, she once again boldly breaks new ground. 

The first book in her remarkably fresh and original Fallen Angels series—featuring four dark Regency Era heroes who will steal the hearts of their heroines and the readers alike—A Rogue will captivate fans of Julia Quinn and Suzanne Enoch while bringing new romance readers eagerly into the fold. The scintillating story of a disgraced Marquess reduced to running a London gambling hall who hopes to restore his good fortune by marrying a very proper lady who’s secretly drawn to sin, A Rogue by Any Other Name is sexy and wicked fun.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Brilliantly crafted and deliciously seductive...” (Library Journal (starred review) )

From the Back Cover

What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets. . .

A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance—including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to an unexplored world of pleasures.

Bourne may be a prince of London's illicit underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness—a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them . . . .even her heart.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Original edition (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062068520
• ISBN-13: 978-0062068521
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (171 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sarah MacLean grew up in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance. Her love of all things historical helped to earn her degrees from Smith College and Harvard University before she finally set pen to paper and wrote her first book. Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#58 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Historical Romance

#62 in Books > Romance > Historical

#58 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Historical Romance

#62 in Books > Romance > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 110 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Emotionally Exhausting but Well Written January 25, 2012

By J. Meegan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I got this book in the mail yesterday and read it from start to finish in a single night. This isn't to say it's an easy read or even a fast read (I'm a fast reader, for starters)...what it does say is how hard this book was to put down. So why the four stars? While I found it really well written and seriously addictive, I also found myself very, very frustrated with the hero, Michael "Bourne," and his crappy treatment of the heroine, Penelope. Yes, Bourne is a serious bad boy/tortured soul...and there's a lot to like about him. IF you can get past his totally asinine treatment of the people who were once his dearest friends. He's ruthless, single-minded, and at times, a true a-hole. But it's clear we're supposed to dig DEEEEEEEP beneath the surface to see the scared and hurt young man within who simply needs a hug or whatever.

As you can see, I lost patience with Bourne. And I spent much of the book feeling pretty indignant and distressed on behalf of Penelope. First she had to put up with a seemingly uncaring and oblivious family...then she gets roped into Bourne's whole schtick after she is bequeathed his former property. Thankfully, the sex scenes are very, very well written so the poor woman has something nice to look forward to...when her husband deigns to see her, that is.

The final third of the book, when Bourne has his "coming to Jesus" moment, was not quite as satisfying as I'd hoped. Yes, it was good....but honestly, I'd have liked to see a LOT more groveling on his part...and I feel like his insight about himself was rather sudden and he seemed to turn things around very quickly considering how many years he'd been holed up in his club, licking his wounds.

I just re-read this review and want to clarify: this really is a well-written book and if you are a big fan of the tortured/heartless hero who ends up becoming wonderful by the end of the story, this might be the perfect read for you. Part of the problem for me, really, is I tend to like the lighter, frothier reads. Which brings me to the cover of this book....and the title. It all looks so, well, frothy and light. The publisher would have done better to subdue the colors and make things look a little less like the gal on the stairs is having the time of her life. Because, let's face it, Penelope spends a good chunk of the book in low spirits and trying as hard as she can to find the bright side of an otherwise crappy situation.

PS I have EVERY intention of reading the next book in the series. I love Penelope's younger sister, Philippa AND the next fellow on the list, Cross. He seems a much friendlier sort in spite of his rather, er, randy behavior. : )

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read, even if the hero is a jerk January 25, 2012

By Book and Dog Lover VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Lady Penelope Marbury is thisclose to being a spinster. At 28 years old, she is unmarried and no one is interested in marrying her. It turns out that 6 years ago, her fiance, the Duke of Leighton, fell in love with another woman and they ended their engagement. The few men that were interested in Penny are men that she didn't want to marry. You see, Penny wants more. She wants the great love that her ex-fiance has for his wife. She wants the excitement and adventure that's missing in her life. And she's determined to get them.

Unfortunately, as the eldest of 5 daughters, Penelope's broken engagement has affected the ability of her sisters to find husbands. While 2 of her sisters have found husbands, 2 have not and it looks like their prospects are poor. Penelope's father is determined to have Penelope get married this year - no matter what. To do that, he's included lands that he's won in card game to her dowry. Lands that use to belong to her childhood friend Michael.

Michael, Lord Bourne, lost his family's fortune (and everything that wasn't entailed) in one card game to Langton, a family friend when he was 21. It's now 9 years later and Michael is now one of the men that run The Fallen Angel, a gaming establishment. Losing everything has driven him to seek revenge against Langton. He wants what he lost in that card game and he wants revenge. When he hears that Penelope's father has included the lands that once belong to him to her dowry, he's determined to marry her.

And marry her, he does. With the land belonging to him now and the means of getting revenge, he decides to go after Langton. Even if Penelope disapproves and it means the end of his marriage.

This is the first book that I've read by Sarah MacLean and I really liked her writing style. It's an easy read, with great dialog, interesting secondary characters, and a great heroine (I enjoyed her search for "more"). You really feel Penelope's emotions and pain. So, why wasn't this a 5 star book? I really didn't like Michael and had a hard time feeling sympathetic for what happened to him (I guess the author didn't convince me that what happened to him wasn't his own fault). His thoughts ("He ruined of value everything he ever held.") just seemed a bit dramatic and with the way he treated Penelope in the beginning of the book? He needed to do a lot more groveling when he finally realized what Penelope meant to him.

This is the first book in the series. The epilog gives some information about the next story. As much as I didn't care for the hero, I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

53 of 66 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Arrested Development. February 2, 2012

By Old Latin teacher TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The hero, the heroine and the story itself all suffer from some type of arrested development. For the hero, Michael, the Marquess of Bourne, his emotional growth and maturity came to a screeching halt at age 21, when he, who had inherited his title, estate and property as a very young man, lost everything but the title when gambling with an unscrupulous neighbor. Bourne, bitter, whiny, resentful and obsessed with the idea of revenge, disappears from society and becomes partner in a very exclusive gaming hell, the Fallen Angel. He makes lots of money but, blaming everyone but himself for his former losses and his ostracism in society, he spends every waking moment obsessing about regaining his lost land, Falconwell, and taking down evil Lord Langford, who had dispossessed him.

And then we have heroine Lady Penelope Marbury, Bourne's childhood friend and neighbor. She's caught in the time warp of her adolescence and early teens, when Michael was so dear to her. They even exchanged letters when he went away to school. Eventually he stopped responding to her letters but that didn't stop her from continuing to write to him for years. Penelope, true to her namesake of old, is subconsciously waiting for her Odysseus (i.e. the Michael of her childhood) and rejects all suitors to her hand. Her father, who has come into possession of Michael's former property, Falconwell, adds that to Penelope's dowry, hoping to attract more suitors, one of whom maybe this time Penelope will accept.

So Michael gets wind of this dowry addition and basically forces Penelope to marry him. Since she's subconsciously in love with him, it's not too much of a stretch for her to accept. But that's when the story itself begins to suffer from arrested development. Once they marry, nothing much happens. The characters think, say and feel the same things over and over and over again for what seems like the forever of their newly-married state. No growth of characters or advancement of plot until, all of a sudden, at the end of the book Michael has his aha moment and finally realizes that, as the Beatles have said, all you need is love. Revenge not so important.

This is, I think, supposed to be an ANGSTY romance, with a tortured hero and a loving, healing heroine, but all I felt was ANTSY while reading it. You may blame this on me and the fact that I have read way too many HRs in my life so nothing is new to me. What I look for now in an HR is well-developed, likeable characters and a romance that warms the cockles of my heart. This didn't do it.