Includes an exclusive bonus short story!
The first book in the new series Desperately Seeking Duke from USA Today bestselling and RITA award-winning author Caroline Linden.It’s no love match… rake. Defiantly she helps Cathy elope with her true love, and takes her sister’s place at the altar.
It’s not even the match that was made…
Perched on the lowest branch of his family tree, Max has relied on charm and cunning to survive. But an unexpected stroke of luck gives him an outside chance at a dukedom—and which Tate sister he weds hardly seems to matter.
But could it be the perfect match?
Married or not, Bianca is determined to protect her family’s prosperous ceramics business, even when Max shows an affinity for it—not to mention a dangerous ability to intrigue and tempt Bianca herself. And when Max realizes how beautiful and intelligent and desirable Bianca is, he’ll have to prove he’s no rogue, but the passionately devoted husband she craves…
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When Maximilian “Max” St. James learns that he is now the spare to the heir for the Duke of Carlyle, a title he never expects to inherit, he gladly take the money the Duchess offers and sets out to change his life. After years of scraping by as a gambler, he has been presented with an opportunity to marry into the very profitable Tate Family Pottery Works. He likes Samuel Tate, his future father in law and his bride to be, Catherine is lovely, demure and will be the perfect wife for a marriage of convenience. For the first time in as long as he can recall – things are going his way – until they aren’t!
Bianca Tate is the younger Tate sister and knows that Catherine “Cathy” doesn’t want to marry Max and helps her run away with Robert Mayne, a curate, when their father won’t listen to reason. Mr. Tate likes Max and likes his connection to the ton even better, so when he learns that Cathy ran off and Bianca helped her, he tells her that if she doesn’t marry Max, they will probably lose a quarter of the business that he promised Max. Unwilling to let a fortune hunting rake take her inheritance, she agrees to marry him. And when Max is informed of the bride change, he too agrees. But he quickly realizes, marriage to Bianca will be nothing like being married to the Cathy!
Bianca is determined to dislike Max and to prove that he is just a fortune hunter, but at every turn Max surprises her. He is clever, intelligent, handsome and motivated. As much as she hates to admit it, she is beginning to admire him and there is no denying that she is attracted to him. For his part, Max has been lusting for Bianca since the wedding, but he wants more that a dutiful wife, he wants the passion he see burning in her and won’t settle for anything less than her complete surrender. Things begin to change for the better between them when they travel to London, but Max is keeping secrets and just when it seems like life is perfect, his world comes crashing down and he may lose the woman he has come to love with his whole heart.
I really enjoyed this story, it is well written, flows nicely and is hard to put down. The book has likeable characters, steamyish love scenes, secrets, surprises and a twist or two that you won’t see coming, as well as a bonus novella featuring Max’s valet and Bianca’s maid. If I could change anything, I would have liked a bit more finality to his aunt’s situation, but overall, it is a fantastic read and a great start to a new series that I am happy to recommend.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by the publisher.*
About a Rogue is a fun Georgian Era romance that is unique for focusing on the upper-middle-class and having a hero I liked more than the heroine.
Read my full review:
https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-caroline-linden-about-a-rogue/
A lovely story, Bianca was a fabulous heroine!
A delightful story with entertaining characters and a fun plot.
In the running to inherit a Dukedom, Max St James is determined to reform his ways and show he is the best to inherit.
A chance meeting with a man who owns a pottery business and his daughter set the stage for him to marry a respectable lady and show he is series.
Unfortunately the daughter he is set to marry loves another and her sister Bianca helps her run off and marry her love. She will go in her place and marry Max.
Of course sparks fly and there is such humorous banter you have to laugh.
Wonderful start to this new series!
About a Rogue is the first in the Desperately Seeking Duke series and is an auspicious beginning that has me already yearning for the next. This is a story of marrying for all the wrong reasons that turn out right. Bianca helps her sister avoid a marriage arranged by her father, so that she may marry her true love and in doing so is angrily coerced into taking her place. Max learns that due to unforeseen events his chances of inheriting the dukedom of Carlyle is getting closer but he is determined to make his own way by marrying into the Tate family and proving his worth in the family owned business. Bianca is set on keeping her distance from her rogue of a husband but soon learns that she is harboring many misconceptions. What starts as a hostile, marriage of convenience soon becomes a partnership in business and in life, feelings grow but everything is challenged when Max’s secrets come to light. This is a wonderfully written, engaging story that is hard to put down.
Crafting a Genuine Marriage
I really enjoyed About a Rogue, and Caroline Linden did a wonderful job finding a new angle on Regency romance. At first, I was a bit disappointed that the first book of her new series is about the second heir Maximilian St. James (Max), and not Captain Andrew St. James, but I certainly was not left disappointed. Expecting a rogue, Bianca Tate is adamant that Max is bamboozling her father, and compelling her sister into agreeing to an unhappy marriage. So, Bianca helps her sister elope, and resentfully marries Max instead. Bianca is certainly opinionated about Max, and she was a bit unlikable at the beginning. As she gives the benefit of the doubt to more unreliable characters, but believes the worst in Max. Max, though shadowed by a questionable past, is very genuine. He is patient with Bianca, and is determined to support her. By the end Bianca and Max where a well-matched couple! I certainly enjoyed the surprise twist at the end, when Max’s dark past was revealed, and properly dealt with. I am excited to read her next book A Scot to the Heart.
An amazingly written book filled with realistic people who had raw emotions and feelings. I absolutely loved the main characters Bianca and Max. Bianca was full of excitable argumentative energy. She also considered her impressions of Max from gossip to be absolutely true. She always thought she was in the right. But you could not help but like her. She was so passionate about her thoughts and feelings. She was smart and creative. The heart and soul of her father’s business. Max was unbelievably patient with her. He had a rough life and knew what it was like to be down and out and separated from his loved ones. He never took anything for granted and took great care of all that he owned. Good and bad he weathered it all with humility but he was intelligent to know when a good opportunity presented itself not to let it pass. He felt he had a dark secret that he could never share with anyone. Bianca felt it but knew when to leave him alone. Max’s secret came out and when he thought all he worked for and dreamed of was all gone Bianca and her aunt took his side and went all out to support him. It felt like the wild, wild west at that moment. I could not put this book down. It drew me in from the very beginning. The story started running from the very top and did not stop till the end. Very exciting, very relatable, extremely enjoyable and I smiled pretty much through the whole story. This is a must read. You will not be disappointed. I highly recommend it. I look forward to the next book and I hope to learn what the future holds for Bianca and Max.
Review originally posted at Romancing Romances.
I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.
So, I read a few contemporaries before this (some very good, one not so good), and I was in need of a historical that you bring me the will to read again. This book definitely did it.
About a Rogue is an enemies to lovers story, and I have to say I really enjoyed it, as usual with Caroline Linden’s books.
I really liked the main couple, Bianca was just the right amount of fiery, and Max was a wonderful man trying to win his bride over.
There’s a bit of mystery at the end of the story, and I have to be honest – I did not expect that! Which is good, in case anyone is wondering.
Bianca fierce love for her sister and her work was very amazing, and even if her decision to marry Max was made in the spur of the moment, she kept to it, and even if she didn’t want to fall in love, and actually trying to prevent it, she also realized when it was time to just let go, which I really enjoyed, as I prefer stories where people are not so stubborn that they only realize they love one another in a death or life situation.
Max was indeed a rogue, but he’s so much more than that. He’s an intelligent man, with a head for figures, and he’s very good at business adventures. And he also knows how to best engage with Bianca, without ever forcing her or imposing on her, he simply makes himself known, and actually does the work for both the business and the love relationship.
The conflict at the end could have spiralled out of control if handled differently, but I think the author did just the right thing. Yes, Max hid something from Bianca (and her family), but he had a good reason for it, and I like that Bianca is slightly sad that he didn’t trust her, but not exactly hurt, because she understands him and his reasons.
The book ended up being a quick read, and was just right for my mood.
Looks can be deceiving, especially when feelings enter the equation. Linden has a flair for the dramatic that tends to draw readers in by the heart. About a Rogue is a fairytale in training that outshines even the most classic of them all.
Caroline Linden is one of my hands-down favorite authors and this first installment in a new series about three unlikely heirs to a dukedom is Linden at her best. She is a queen of the character-driven romance and in About a Rogue, her talent of showing two unlikely souls falling for each other is perfectly steamy, romantic, and all-around delightful. Add to that the fun series hook of who will inherit and a setting that takes place primarily in a pottery business with a dash of Vauxhall glamour and an epic cricket match and you have one heck of a story.
Bianca is a heroine with an intense work ethic, an fiery temper, and an ironclad devotion to her family. All of these things start out as enormous barriers to a HEA with the man she weds in an impulsive fit of pique. Most of the time, I don’t like heroines that are a bit mulish and temperamental, but of course, this is Linden, and she handles it beautifully.
I loved how Bianca was a foil for the perfectly controlled, intensely focused, and often underestimated Max. Whereas Bianca wore her emotions on her sleeve, Max was careful and slowly chipped away at his wife’s resistance. The surrender was explosive and from then on out, I loved how the two worked as a team. It is always satisfying to read a story where the two characters overcome their obstacles and the author then shows how the two can really stick together. Linden does an excellent job of showing how Max finds a home after wandering and searching for so long and Bianca, for all her initial quick judgments, once she falls for Max, never wavers in her devotion and would use all her fiery nature to fight FOR Max instead of against him.
This story was well-paced with some mystery surrounding Max’s past (which I thought was well-handled within the context of the time period) and the eventual confrontation with Bianca’s sister and the duchess holding the secrets to who would inherit. It also had just some fun scenes with the Vauxhall masquerade and the epic cricket match between the rival pottery businesses. I also thought the sweet extra story that captures the romance between the valet and lady’s maid (within the context of Max and Bianca’s story) was a cherry on top from the upstairs/downstairs perspective.
Overall, I loved this and can’t wait to revisit it. Highly recommend for new romance readers and grizzled romance veterans (like me!) alike. There’s something in this story for everyone.
About a Rogue is the first book in the new series Desperately Seeking Duke and it was a hit! It had an interesting storyline, wonderful characters, and it was easy to read. The series is based the Duchess of Carlyle had lost a son and did not think the potential heirs were up to the task of taking care of the Carlyle heritage. Therefore, she takes steps to ensure they can.
Bianca Tate’s family had owned Perusia, a manufacturer of pottery for several generations. When her father announces he had arranged a marriage between her sister, Cathy, and Mr. Max St. James, Bianca could not believe it. She helped Cathy to elope before the wedding, never dreaming she would become the bride.
Max was impressed by Perusia and he saw an opportunity for a successful business partnership. Max was a known gambler, but he had contacts in Society that would help him improve the business. He agreed to the change in bride knowing that was the only way he could be a part of Perusia.
Max knew Bianca thought the worse of him but he was determined to win her affection and respect. Bianca might have married Max but she had no plans of their marriage ever being real. Bianca is impressed with Max’s ideas to grow the company and slowly comes to know and admire him. I really enjoyed the book and I cannot wait for the next book. The ending of this book leads you right into the next book.
About a Rogue by Caroline Linden is book One in the Desperately Seeking Duke Series. This is the story of Maximilian St. James and Bianca Tate. Max had proposed marriage to Cathy which her father agreed along with getting some parts of the family pottery company. But Cathy was in love with another which lead Bianca to help Cathy elope with her love. Bianca wants to inherit the family business so she is totally upset that her father had given a portion to his ‘son-in law’. So Bianca steps in to be the wife to Max. Max didn’t think one sister or the other would matter but now that he gets to know Bianca he is finding that she is everything he could ever want. Enjoyed their story. I will be reading more from this author.
Caroline Linden has a wonderful talent for writing beautiful stories that are easy and entertaining to read, this one is no exception.The two main characters are very well developed and I found my heart breaking and healing right along with them.
There is great chemistry and tension between them. I loved both Bianca and Max, even though Max was a bit of a mystery through the story. I loved that Bianca was so outspoken, always bubbly and witty. And then there is Max, her husband, who is cool as a cucumber and seems to hide his inner feelings. But what is refreshing is most times they are honest with each other even though it is a contractual relationship. Their story is not a case of insta-love, or even insta-attraction. It took time for them to feel and believe in their couple. The slow, but gradual change in both of them, was believable and wonderful to read.
Maximilian St. James is the distant cousin of a duke. Without a direct heir, the dukedom will pass to one of the distant cousins of the duke, with a considerable fortune attached to the estate. Max has a short period of time to establish himself as the person capable of preserving the dukedom’s legacy and to find a suitable bride. Bianca’s father has built a successful business and his daughter’s marriage to a gentleman would consolidate his new status in society. Neither of them wants to be married to the other, their marriage is a business arrangement. At first, Bianca enjoys letting Max know she thinks little of him, but he provokes her curiosity and her antipathy slowly weakens. She comes to realize he is not the person she imagined him to be. I loved watching their interactions and I was invested in their story.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It’s the romantic journey of two strangers walking into a situation by obligation and ending up being a perfect match. It ended rather abruptly in my opinion, but I am sure there is more to come in this new series.
I’ve been a fan of Linden’s for some time, but this is really among my favorites of hers. Set in the Georgian era, not the Regency, it has a great set of characters in a very realistic setting, the up-and-coming pottery industry in Staffordshire. And it takes the fortune hunter trope and turns it on its head. Yes, the man is indeed after the woman’s fortune, because he wants to work hard to grow it and make the family business stronger because he is ambitious and driven. It’s a really different take and we also get a heroine who is an artisan who is heavily invested in her work. It’s not at all unrealistic, especially if you study what women were up to in the era. This was before the Victorian lockdown on what women were allowed to do and be.
These skeptics turn into a team which turns into a real romance. There is a great build of the relationship here and it’s a great read.
Another great read from the phenomenal Caroline Linden.
He’s spent his life latching onto each and every opportunity that comes his way, thus when presented with an offer he cannot refuse, Maximilian St. James holds onto it with all his worth. Unfortunately, Bianca Tate does not feel the same way. Rather, she would do everything in her power to release her sister from the betrothal her father has entered on Cathy’s behalf, only to find herself falling into the very same trap. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and the interplay between Max ad Bianca as it is witty and entertaining with enjoyable characters. Max has his work cut out for him winning over his belligerent bride, but he also finds much to appreciate in her, especially her hard work and artistic qualities. He discovers she is his match in every way. In spite of herself, Bianca realises that Max is not the man she thought he was. Just when it would seem that Max and Bianca have a chance at a future, unfinished business throws a series of hand grenades into their lives, forcing them to face the truth about their relationship. I found the background to the story regarding the pottery interesting, especially the development of a glaze. This book is well written and entertaining and the bonus short story from a second perspective adds delightful insights into the lives of the characters. I received a copy of this standalone novel from NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.
This was a fantastic, well-written historical romance. Bianca helps her sister elope with her true love, and finds herself taking her place in an arranged marriage to Max. The marriage gives Max an opportunity he didn’t expect and Bianca doesn’t trust his intentions. I really enjoyed reading about these two slowly getting to know each other and I am adding the author to my “must-read” list.
4.5 Stars
Bianca Tate is horrified when her sister Cathy is obliged to accept an offer of marriage from Maximilian St. James, notorious rake. Defiantly she helps Cathy elope with her true love, the local curate and takes her sister’s place at the altar. Perched on the lowest branch of his family tree, Max has relied on charm and cunning to survive. But an unexpected stroke of luck gives him an outside chance at a dukedom when he finds himself second heir to the Duke of Carlyle. Married or not, Bianca is determined to protect her family’s prosperous ceramics business, even when Max shows an affinity for it.
I was drawn in from the prologue when the Duchess of Carlyle & her solicitor Mr Edwards realised that with the unexpected death of her youngest son a heir to the dukedom had to be found. The story was very well written & flowed effortlessly, the characters were well portrayed & had depth. I loved Bianca who was anything but a demure debutante, she was a hardworking young woman who loved the family’s pottery business & was the brains behind many of the innovative glazes. I was unsure about Max to begin with but soon grew to love him as he tried his hardest to woo Bianca. The road to their HEA was highly entertaining & I found it very hard to put down & in fact read it in two sittings. An engrossing read & I look forward to finding out what has happened to the Captain whilst in Scotland
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
It has been a while since I have read one of Caroline Linden’s books and I remembered her being a good storyteller. This one held up to that standard. It is about a rogue who is not all he seems. I guess he was a rogue but he also wants to make something of himself. The story was very different from anything that I have read. The heroine was a strong woman who helped run her father’s successful pottery business. I loved the bits where pottery was discussed and how to keep standards but expand the business – both Max and Bianca’s ideas together. It is a slow burn romance that showed that friendship is so very important in a relationship. As I was reading, I kept thinking that the story reminded me of a Shakespeare play – not one in particular but the story read that way.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
“About a Rogue” by Caroline Linden is absolutely delightful and witty. It is also the beginning of a new series, Desperately Seeking Duke.
Max St. James has learned he might become heir to a dukedom if he lives a scandal-free life. With genuine interest in Tate Pottery, he hopes that interest will also help him become respectable.
Bianca Tate is headstrong and independent and works at her father’s company. She is livid when Max saunters in, offering marriage to her sister!
Things don’t go according to plan and Max and Bianca end up married. Max wants Bianca to trust him and Bianca remains stubborn, refusing to view Max beyond the rogue she believes him to be. But attraction and passion interfere.
Filled with interesting information about pottery, Ms. Linden crafts characters you will adore.