Title: Dearest Rogue
Series: Maiden Lane Series
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Genre: Historical Romance
Blurb:
HE CAN GUARD HER
Lady Phoebe Batten is pretty, vivacious, and yearning for a social life befitting the sister of a powerful duke. But because she is almost completely blind, her overprotective brother insists that she have an armed bodyguard by her side at all times-the very irritating Captain Trevillion.
FROM EVERY DANGER
Captain James Trevillion is proud, brooding, and cursed with a leg injury from his service in the King’s dragoons. Yet he can still shoot and ride like the devil, so watching over the distracting Lady Phoebe should be no problem at all-until she’s targeted by kidnappers.
BUT PASSION ITSELF
Caught in a deadly web of deceit, James must risk life and limb to save his charge from the lowest of cads-one who would force Lady Phoebe into a loveless marriage. But while they’re confined to close quarters for her safekeeping, Phoebe begins to see the tender man beneath the soldier’s hard exterior . . . and the possibility of a life-and love-she never imagined possible.
I went from book one straight to book eight in this series and even though some of the characters are familiar to me, I got really confuse to as to who everyone was and how they fit together.
Lady Phoebe Batten is a caged bird yearning to be free. Her brother, A Duke, has posted guards to protect her twenty-four seven all because of a little blindness.
Okay, her blindness was not a little thing since she was almost completely blind in both eyes. She can still see shapes, but only when the light is really good.
Phoebe remembers a time where she was allowed to roam free and do as she wishes when her eye site became worse and worse, and now someone is determined to abduct her and do heavens knows what.
It’s a good thing that she has the best guard in the world who goes by the name of Captain Travillion. Her brother hired him even having an injured leg, and her brother is known to only hire the best.
Despite how he infuriates her, Phoebe feels the safest when he is by her side. Now with the increased attempts on her person, security has become more strict, forcing Phoebe’s cage to tighten even more. Phoebe only wonders if she would ever be free.
Captain James Travillion entered the army in order to escape his demons. He did not want to leave home and enter the army, but that was the only option for him. Over the years, he learned to love his job until an unfortunate accident took the full use of his leg.
He worked really hard to make his leg work as much as it can and made a living of protecting people. His new job is to guard and protect the sister of a Duke. What he was not expecting was to find that his new ward would be such a distraction.
Travillion must fight his attraction for the beautiful Pheobe while trying to keep her safe from an unknown villain out to kidnap her. Her brother thinks that the kidnapper is one of his neighbors who wants to use Phoebe to blackmail him. But Travillion does not share his thoughts. He thinks that something much more sinister is at hand here, but he has no idea what.
Now Travillion must now hide Phoebe away until he can come to the bottom of this mystery and the only way he knows how to do this is to take her back to his family home. A home filled with pain and someone who is out to get him.
Can Travillion keep Pheobe safe while keeping himself out of trouble? Would Phoebe be able to act on her growing attraction for her guard? Would they ever find the true culprit behind the kidnappings? Find out in the eighth installment of the Maiden Lane Series, Dearest Rogue.
I was surprised by this book. When I saw this title on Edelweiss I immediately requested the book. I just knew that the book was written by Elizabeth Hoyt and that was all I needed to know. When I started to read the book I was surprised that the two main characters were broken in some way.
I liked the book right away when I read that, because what can be better than reading a book about two people overcoming their disabilities and leading a normal life. Phoebe was the strongest to me. She was so open to everyone and she was able to make friends easily, even with her blindness.
I would think that time frame, people were not as accepting of what they considered “flaws” in other human beings, but Pheobe was able to deal with it okay. She had the love of her family and, of course, the cranky Travillian. She fell in love with him even without really knowing what he looks like. Now that is true love.
Captain James Travillian, I had to warm up to him. I know he was only doing his job but, wow, he was such a cranky pants. He also took things way too hard on himself and I was halfway in love with him when he found Pheobe. When they had to go where all his pain began, I was over not liking Travillion and I just wanted to give him a big hug.
The love story of Pheobe and Travillion was believable and heartwarming. How Elizabeth built and built and built up the relationship and did not have an instant attraction between the two was refreshing to read.
The thing was, the villain was a little child. I mean seriously, their reasoning was flawed and they needed a great back spank on their behind. I also think that Miss Hoyt got so caught up on Phoebe’s and Travillion’s love story that she almost forgot that there was someone out there trying to take Pheobe. I think that’s why the book ended the way it did.
Want to know what I’m talking about, you have to read the book to find out.
Thoughts: I like how the author build up on the feelings instead of the main characters having an instant attraction.
Grade: B
