Rogue's Honor (Saints of Seven Dials Series, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Brenda Hiatt (Author)

Book Description

Series: Avon Historical Romance | Publication Date: July 3, 2001

Lady Pearl Moreston would first sacrifice her virtue and live life as a chambermaid before she'd acquiesce to her stepmother's demands and wed overbred Lord Bellowsworth! In fact, posing as a maid is precisely what Pearl does to escape her fate -- a deception that could prove disastrous for the impetuous bluestocking. Luckily, Luke St. Clair comes to her rescue. Now here is a man worth losing one's innocence to: strong, dashing, daring, worldly...and nary a drop of noble blood in him!

Luke is intrigued by this minx who seems unusually knowing for her tender years...and whose intoxicating beauty makes him light-headed in her presence. But Luke is not the adventurer the winsome Pearl believes him to be. And though her soft, succulent lips are begging to be kissed, Luke is honor-bound to never reveal to her his true identity. Yet how long can passion's flames be restrained before two delightful deceivers are forced to drop their masks and surrender to the sweet, sensual fire?

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In an effort to escape her stepmother's matrimonial machinations and indulge her bluestocking tendencies, Lady Pearl Moreston dons a servant's garb and heads off with her maid to work for an evening in the kitchen of one of London's finer homes. But her adventure has near disastrous consequences, and unable to return home without betraying who she is, she ends up staying with Luke St. Clair, a thief and legendary Saint of the Seven Dials. Attracted to each other, Luke and Pearl are startled to end up in an embrace, a situation that sends Pearl home in the middle of the night and Luke determined to find her. An intelligent heroine with more on her mind than marriage, a socially engaged hero who is much more than he pretends to be, and an enjoyable plot result in a sensual, fast-paced romance that touches on a number of social issues and delves, however briefly, into the darker side of the Regency period. Hiatt (Ship of Dreams), is a popular, award-winning writer and lives in Indiana.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Author

I hope you'll enjoy ROGUE'S HONOR, the first book of my new "Saints of Seven Dials" series! When duke's daughter Lady Pearl meets Luke, a Robin Hood-type thief who has good cause to hate everything associated with the nobility, both are in disguise--Pearl dressed as a maid to escape her stepmother's matchmaking, and Luke dressed as a footman to purloin valuables from one of London's great houses. When Pearl is nearly recognized, Luke helps her to flee, taking her to his lodgings in the notorious Seven Dials area. Not until they meet again at a Society ball--both in vastly different guise!--do they realize the extent of each other's deception. Still, they can't deny the chemistry that sizzles between them, and soon Pearl becomes determined to prove that Luke, the fabled "Saint of Seven Dials" is in truth far more than a common rogue. But is Luke willing to risk discovering that he may actually be a member of the very class he hates?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380817772
• ISBN-13: 978-0380817771
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,514,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brenda Hiatt began writing in 1988, an Army wife at home with two preschool children. She promised herself that if nothing sold before her youngest began school she'd get a "real job," so she was thrilled to sell a Regency romance novel to Harlequin six months ahead of that deadline. Originally from Virginia, Brenda received degrees in Biology and Psychology from the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, before attending graduate school at Texas A&M University. She has since lived in Hawaii, South Carolina and Texas. Brenda now writes full time and lives in Indiana, where she recently achieved her black belt in taekwondo. She also enjoys hiking, scuba diving and all kinds of travel when she gets the chance!

To date, she has published six Harlequin Regency Romances, one Harlequin Superromance, two single title historical romances with HarperCollins and six historical romances with Avon Books. Brenda's first single title historical romance, SCANDALOUS VIRTUE, received rave reviews in Publisher's Weekly and other media and was named Best Romance Novel of 1999 by the American Book Readers Association. She prides herself on her thorough historical research, and when she takes a break from the past, Brenda embraces the future by teaching writing classes on the Internet.

An active member of Romance Writers of America and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Brenda has also served as President of Novelists, Inc, an international organization of over 600 multi-published novelists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new layer of texture in Rogue's Honor, July 11, 2001

By 

Jody (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rogue's Honor (Saints of Seven Dials Series, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning finishing this book. Pearl and Luke kept me turning the pages. I found Pearl and Luke not only likable characters, but their personalities refreshing. Outwardly, they appear as opposites in all aspects of their lives and as the story unfolds, the reader is left with the pleasant discovery of just how alike these two really are.

Brenda Hiatt takes the reader on an intimate journey with Luke and Pearl and a wonderful cast of secondary characters, adding a deminsion to the story while entertaining the reader.

At the end of the novel, I'd found secondary characters that I hope to see as main characters in future works. I'm sure most readers who are familiar with Brenda's previous works will enjoy this new book and the wonderful plot that keeps the reader turning page after page. The plot sings, moving the story forward, never leaving the reader with the thought that it was contrived, but that it is the natural growth of the characters.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Likable twist on the Robin Hood premise., July 28, 2001

By 

Affaire de Coeur - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rogue's Honor (Saints of Seven Dials Series, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lady Pearl Moreston is sick of her stepmother pressuring her to marrying before her 21st birthday. When she overhears that lady plotting a trap to enforce a betrothal, she decides on a radical plan: escape by becoming a servant.... This social reformer also wants a perspective on the life of a commoner. Pearl and her abigail work in the kitchens at a society party. When she is in danger of being recognized, she flees the scene in the company of Luke St. Clair. Luke is an intriguing person. His lodgings, though in the dangerous Seven Dials, are elegantly furnished. He is the Saint of Seven Dials, robbing the rich and giving much of the proceeds to the poor. They both have surprises in store, as Pearl investigates Luke's mysterious past and finds the astonishing truth....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One twist too many, July 4, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rogue's Honor (Saints of Seven Dials Series, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

In 1816 London, Lord Bellowsworth whines to the Duchess of Oakshire Obelia that her stepdaughter Lady Pearl Moreston rejected his marriage proposals twice. The Duchess blithely informs the sniveling Bellowsworth that he is to forcefully take Pearl to Hyde Park in front of a prearranged witness. Pearl overhears the plan. She believes that her odious stepmother wants her married so Pearl fails to inherit a fortune she would receive if she remains unwed at twenty-one. That fortune reverts back to the Oakshire estate.

Pearl would rather find employment than wed the whimpering Bellowsworth. She flees, but finds life not at all romantic as she envisioned after living a pampered lifestyle. However, everything looks up when she meets Luke St. Clair, who is the Robin Hood-like Saint of Seven Dials. When rumors abound that the infamous Saint kidnapped Pearl, she leaves Luke to return home to keep her beloved safe. Luke calls on the Oakshire home as a visiting Italian Comt!e to see Pearl. As they fall in love, his "Robin Hood" adventures and other secrets begin to catch up to him, placing their love and perhaps their lives in peril.

ROGUE'S HONOR is a thrilling Regency romance starring two courageous lead characters. The story line is loaded with action, but a twist too many (changing from the Saint of Seven Dials to the courting foreign noble and back) will disorient the reader a bit. Still, the tale is enjoyable once the audience adjusts to the detour as Brenda Hiatt provides Regency fans with an exciting novel.



Harriet Klausner