“Something special.” – New York Times Book ReviewA New York Times Book Review Summer Read Pick!Once upon a time in Anna Bennett’s When You Wish Upon a Rogue, three young ladies vowed to record their first London seasons and to fill in the gaps of their educations.She knows what she wants.Miss Sophie Kendall is happiest arranging the secret meetings of the Debutante Underground, a group of women … arranging the secret meetings of the Debutante Underground, a group of women who come together to discuss the weekly advice column The Debutante’s Revenge. What makes Sophie most unhappy is her impending march down the aisle to a man she does not love. But her family’s finances are in increasingly dire straits.
He makes an offer she can’t refuse.
Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, hasn’t slept in weeks. Desperate to escape his manor house and its haunting memories, he heads for one of his abandoned London properties. There he meets a beautiful, intriguing woman—trespassing. Reese is far less interested in Sophie’s search for a secret meeting spot than he is in her surprising ability to soothe his demons. So he strikes a bargain with her: his shop in exchange for spending one night a week with him.
Is this love for real—or just a dream?
Sophie never expected this to happen. But she cannot deny the fire Reese sparks in her—and soon their shared desire burns bright. Sophie is irrevocably promised to another. But maybe these two ill-fated lovers can find a way to risk it all—all the way to happily ever after…
“Sparkling.” – Publishers Weekly on When You Wish Upon a Rogue
“Fans of…Eloisa James, Tessa Dare, and Mary Jo Putney will go wild.”—Booklist
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I found this book to be a very enjoyable read with the good storyline and wonderfully created characters that kept me totally captivated until the turn of the very last page!
When You Wish Upon A Rogue is a spectacular historical romance by Anna Bennett. This is a fairly quick read, perfect for those with limited reading time. Ms. Bennett has provided readers with a well-written book populated with a lovable assemblage of characters. Sophie holds meeting for fans of The Debutante’s Revenge, a column she and two friends are responsible for. Sophie met Reese when she let herself into his building while looking for a new place to hold her meetings. Sophie and Reese’s story is packed with drama, humor, sexy bits and a tiny dose of suspense. I adored this book and look forward to my next book by Anna Bennett. When You Wish Upon A Rogue is book 3 of the Debutante Diaries Series but can easily be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I was completely captivated by this Regency romance with great characters and a well-written, emotional story that kept me glued to the book from beginning to end. I loved the attraction and undeniable chemistry between Miss Sophie Kendall who is happiest arranging secret meetings of the Debutante Underground and grumpy Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire who is suffering from PTSD, depression and sleepless nights. If you enjoy a heartfelt, can’t-put-down Regency romance, don’t miss “When You Wish Upon a Rogue”, book three in the Debutante Diaries series by gifted author Anna Bennett. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.
I loved this book. It’s loosely based on the Hades and Persephone myth and our hero even has a garden designed after it. Reese can’t sleep after returning from war to take his place as earl after the death of his brother and a chance encounter with Sophie gives him peace and she seems to calm his inner demons. They come to a mutual arrangement that benefits them both. Sophie is betrothed to another and so they know their friendship must soon come to an end but as they grow closer they both dread the oncoming loss of being together.
This story is so well written and I just loved all the little twists and turns and how things connected in the end. I love the Hades and Persephone myth so I really appreciated the tie-ins. There was an unexpected twist at the end that I really happy to see. If I could have asked for anything it would have been a bit more at the end to see how things wrapped up for Reese and Sophie. I highly recommend.
Series: Debutante Diaries #3
Publication Date: 5/26/20
Number of Pages: 320
Sophie Kendall is the last unmarried member of the original group of friends who agreed to keep diaries sharing their experiences of their seasons. Her friends Fiona (First Earl I See Tonight) and Lily (The Duke Is But a Dream) have both found love and marriage, but that doesn’t appear to be an option for Sophie. Her family is on the brink of destitution, and they expect her to marry Charles, a wealthy marquess who has agreed to pay her father’s debts in return for her hand in marriage. The bright spot in her life is the weekly meetings of Debutante Underground, but she knows she’ll have to sacrifice that as well as love in order to save her family.
Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, is a wretched and troubled man. Plagued with nightmares from deep-seated feelings of guilt and remorse. It seems he was never where he needed to be in order to save the people he loved. He goes for days on end without sleep, and when he does sleep, he has soul-deep nightmares. Then, quite by chance, he meets a young woman who calms the beast in his soul, and that allows him a few hours of good sleep. She left him some of the valerian roots she used to make the tea – and he’s tried it – but the tea doesn’t do it. It had to be something about the woman herself that calms him.
Henry seeks Sophie out and asks her to help him sleep again. She doesn’t buy it at first, but finally agrees – and they set up a regular Friday meeting to help Henry sleep. As they spend time together, they begin to care for each other – but they know their time together will end soon. Sophie’s family is waiting for her and Charles to officially announce their engagement. How can they save her family and still be together? You’ll just have to read the book – but expect lots of lovely romance, some surprising revelations, and a delightful twist before they finally get their HEA.
This is a nicely written book with lovely characters. I particularly liked Henry who was grumpy and curmudgeonly – until he wasn’t. Then he was such a lovely, romantic man – you’ll fall in love with him yourself!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sophie and Reese’s story is a very satisfactory conclusion to the series. They are almost magical.
When You Wish Upon a Rogue was a fantastic read featuring a romance between a woman being forced to marry to save her family and a man haunted by his past.
Miss Sophie Kendall looks forward to her secret meetings with the Debutante Underground every week. The meetings are a great escape from her impending marriage to a man she doesn’t love in order to save her family from ruin. When Sophie is looking at an abandoned property for space to expand the meetings, she meets Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire. Henry hasn’t slept in weeks but upon meeting Sophie, his inner turmoil is immediately calmed. So Henry makes a bargain with Sophie, his building in exchange for one night a week with him.
Sophie’s family is on the verge of financial ruin in large part due to her father’s alcoholism. The plan to save them rests fully on Sophie’s shoulders with her agreement to marry a wealthy man she does not love. Sophie is an easy character to like and I think she’s my favorite of the trio in this series. She’s smart, loyal to those she cares about, and her mannerisms regarding organization make her relatable on a personal level. I liked that over time she was more able to express what she wanted rather than continuing to go along with what everyone expected of her.
As a second son, Reese was never supposed to inherit a title and so he joined the army. Soon after he returned home upon learning of his brother’s passing, his men were killed in an ambush. Reese has a lot of survivor’s guilt which has led to severe insomnia that is slowly killing him. Reese’s situation is heartbreaking and by the time he meets Sophie, he’s at his wit’s end. The author does a good job having Reese work through his trauma throughout the book and I liked that he wasn’t magically completely better by book’s end.
Sophie and Reese’s relationship has an interesting start, Reese finds Sophie trespassing in his building but is immediately drawn to her. The instant connection between these two was fantastic and I liked that they both felt it. The buildup in their romance is very slow as Sophie is betrothed to another for a large portion of the book. The obstacles to their relationship were realistic and I was happy overall with the way they were resolved. The chemistry between Sophie and Reese is amazingly done and I found myself anticipating the scenes where they got to be alone. The book is light on the steamy scenes with only a handful towards the end, but they were well done.
Overall When You Wish Upon a Rogue was as enjoyable as the rest of the series and I highly recommend it. I’m looking forward to seeing what the author writes next.
The romance simmers until halfway through the book before the two characters become physical. This was refreshing and a romance story. Extra points for clarity and not including SAT words I have to look up!
The title is a misnomer. Reese doesn’t meet a definition of a rogue. He’s grieving his brother and friends, doesn’t like parties, hasn’t dated half of London, and has a conscience but I guess a book titled ‘When You Wish Upon a Decent Man’ doesn’t sell books. I liked that everything doesn’t wrap up in a pretty Happily Ever After – Reese’s estate still need cash, the dad needs intervention, and the reader doesn’t know if the ex-fiance is a scoundrel?
Fun and entertaining. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I just really enjoyed this book from start to finish.
Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
Highly entertaining, sweetly clever, fun and action packed adventure filled with engaging and exciting charters, witty dialog, heart racing twists and undeniable passion. A great read from beginning to end.
A nice little read. Lots of potential, but too much time spent repeating the H & h angst about wanting to be together, but no real development of their characters. Both of their siblings are very 1 dimensional.
When You Wish Upon a Rogue
Debutante Diaries #3
Anna Bennett
St. Martin’s, May 2020
336 Pages
Historical Romance
Provided by Publisher’s Rep
4.5 Stars
The cover blends well with the others in the series and is rather pretty. I do like the sort of foggy background so that things are only suggested. I also like the almost playful expression on the young woman’s face, as it really suits Sophie.
Sophie Kendall is in a tough situation. She’s the second daughter of a gentleman without a title who has gambled and drank away his modest fortune. Her older sister, Mary, had scarlet fever as a child and has been “sickly” ever since and doesn’t go out in society much. Her parents have arranged for her to have one last season and then she is to marry a marquess, Lord Singleton, a man with a large fortune and an eye for the ladies, especially Sophie. He’s agreed to pay off Mr. Kendall’s debts in exchange for Sophie’s hand in marriage. They don’t call it the “marriage mart” for nothin’! Poor Sophie has a difficult time even staying in the same room with the man when he comes to call on her. Yet he’s handsome, titled, and wealthy. What do you suppose is wrong with him?
It’s really probably not so much what’s wrong with him as his timing. He’s too late! She’s already been kissed by the man who makes her stomach flutter and her body tingle and her heart beat faster. And he’s an earl, so he has a title, too. Unfortunately, he’s got money problems of his own and he hates society, so he can’t rescue her and her family. But she’s sure going to try to rescue him! And fall in love in the meantime!
The season seems to fly by and Sophie’s deadline approaches all too fast, Friday night by stolen Friday night until they argue and the lovers part. The night of Sophie’s engagement party the two happen to overhear a very private conversation that reveals another secret and saves the day much to everyone’s confusion. Well, to society’s confusion, not to the readers. We understand what’s going on since we’re in on the secrets behind the scenes. This was thoroughly enjoyable, and I recommend this to all historical romance readers who like to see the lovers pull it off in the end!
While I liked some of the unconventional themes in this story, there were too many things that were so implausible for the time period that it prevented me from fully immersing myself. It seemed like the author gave the characters modern day behaviours in a Regency setting. It was a decent read with interesting characters.
I received a free copy from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
When You Wish Upon a Rogue by Anna Bennett was fun to read. Miss Sophie Kendall and Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, formed a friendship based on need. She needed his property in town to hold her secret meetings and he needed her help to sleep. This was such an enjoyable read, and the characters were well written.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a galley copy.
After reading so many historical novels, the plots turn out to be somewhat similar to each other, but I confess that I had never read a story whose male character had serious problems with insomnia and could only sleep with the presence of the female character.
And believe me, at first none of this had any sex appeal.
But let’s start at the beginning.
Miss Sophie Kendall was the only one among the three friends – Fiona and Lily – who remained single. The three had made a pact to faithfully keep journals about their experiences as they entered the marriage mart and fell in love.
Fiona had married a dashing Earl, and Lily made a love match with a brooding duke.
Sophie’s older sister, Mary, was always beautiful and was the parents’ greatest hope for a great wedding. But when child she nearly succumbed to a scarlet fever. Mary survived but became a shadow of what she could be. Now, all the family’s hopes have fallen on Sophie’s shoulders.
There was a strong candidate to marry Sophie. Lord Singleton. But even though he didn’t look disgusting and had money, Sophie didn’t feel close to him.
Sophie was the leader of a secret female group called the Debutante Underground. They met once a week and debated on subjects of Morning’s edition of the London Hearsay, folded open to the Debutante’s Revenge, which was written by Lily.
The group was growing larger and Sophie needed to find another place for the meetings. That was when she heard that an old tailor’s shop was closed, and she went to see if she could rent it.
There, she meets a gentleman – who thinks he is the tailor.
This man was peeved and showed clear signs of someone who had trouble sleeping. Since Sophie’s mother also suffered from insomnia, she always got a plant that when drinking tea helped to relax.
And that happens to the gentleman.
In fact, the gentleman owned the store and it was Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire.
He had recently inherited the title with the death of his older brother.
Henry carried some ghosts on his shoulders. He was a soldier, and he preferred to be one, but he had to take the place that rightfully belonged to his brother.
After so long without being able to relax and sleep, he was happy to have had an uninterrupted night’s sleep.
The problem was that just the tea had no effect.
There was something about the mix of drinking the tea and Sophie’s company.
Then, his valet found out how he could meet Sophie – at Lady Rufflebum’s ball – where he proposed to Sophie that she could rent his store (no questions why she wanted the place) if she helped him sleep other nights.
Crazy, isn’t it?
And in these clandestine meetings, some secrets were discovered and the most important of them, now, they did not want the night to sleep… only.
Have fun and fall in love with this couple who know each other in the most unlikely situation of all.
5 stars
Sophie Kendall dreams of marrying for love like her two best friends and co-founders of The Debutante’s Revenge column, but Sophie is at least happy running weekly secret meetings of the Debutante Underground. Unfortunately, that happiness will soon come to an end when she’s forced to marry the handsome, wealthy marquess, whom she distinctly does not love, in order to save her family from penury.
Henry Reese, the rather unwilling Earl of Warshire, can’t remember the last time he truly slept. At night he frequently haunts one of his properties, an abandoned tailor shop, in an attempt to escape his manor house and the memories that haunt him. He’s not interested in Sophie’s search for a larger venue for her secret meetings, but when she’s miraculously able to soothe his troubled mind and help him sleep, Reese is willing to negotiate. So the two make a deal: Reese will allow Sophie to use his shop if she’ll spend one night per week with him.
Sophie knows she’s all but betrothed to another man and sets out rules to keep herself and Reese a respectable distance apart, but that doesn’t stop the undeniable connection between them from growing ever stronger. But with Sophie’s future all but set, it will take some maneuvering if she and Reese are to stand a chance at having a future together.
I loved Reese and his swoonworthy speeches even if they were a bit over the top at times. This was a light read while at the same time being very angsty. I liked that the attraction between Reese and Sophie developed from a connection to a true friendship before becoming more, I just wish Sophie had fought sooner and more for Reese and their future together. Things were left till the last minute and then resolved so quickly that it felt rushed and a bit unsatisfying. In that same vein, the lack of an epilogue left me feeling a bit deprived. The premise is definitely a bit implausible in terms of historical accuracy, but I liked that in this instance and found it refreshing. This was a good read and I enjoyed it; even if it didn’t quite grab me like I wanted it to, Reese definitely made it for me.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The delight in this one was going back into this era for a bit makes for a change as well as a get away. The rogue in these times could make a heart race but watch out. The secret delight is the column that these gals where involved in. The forbidden it would seem is the fruit that is craved in this and the excitement it intales gives us the read we follow. Sophie and Reese are the ones that have us captivated in this with the temptation and desire building in them and us. Oh how does it end is what is in the back of mind and you go until you find the answer.
Sophie Kendall is almost engaged.. The only thing holding her back is the fact that she doesn’t love him, but her family’s finances are in dire straits and she must do her duty. She meets Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, quite by accident while “inspecting” an abandoned building to see whether it would work for her purposes. However, Henry is there, prowling the space because he hasn’t slept in weeks. Sophie recognizes his state and offers to brew him some tea to help him sleep. After he drinks her tea, he sleeps better than he has for as long as he can remember, but he knows it’s not just the tea, but Sophie’s presence that calmed him. He begins to pursue Sophie in a rather unusual manner, but she knows she cannot succumb because she must take her family into account. There seems to be no happy ending for Sophie and Henry, so he is buying as much time as possible with her until he has to give her up. I received and advance reader copy of this book from the publisher for my reading enjoyment.
Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, was never supposed to inherit the title. Except life doesn’t always happen the way you expect them too and when Reese’s older brother tragically dies in a hunting accident, Reese must give up the army and return to take up the title and responsibilities. When Reese learns that his army troop was attacked the night after he left and many good men die, the nightmares and guilt begin and the sleepless nights are relentless. He flees to his abandoned property in London where he meets the bold and beautiful Sophie Kendall. When he asks her to stay and talk with him a while, she agrees and it’s the first night in weeks, he’s able to fall asleep. Now all he wants is to make Sophie is own, but she’s got her own secrets and guilt to deal with.
I enjoyed this story though I don’t understand why “Rogue” is in the title. Reese isn’t anything of the kind. He’s a war hero called back to England when his brother dies. So I started reading the book expecting something totally different in the plot. I liked Sophie-she’s smart, bold and falls for Reese’s sweet and romantic ways as he restores his long neglected garden. I didn’t like her family at all. They expected her to be the sacrificial lamb saving the family from ruin and she loved her family and wanted to do whatever she could to help them. I had figured out the twist long before the end of the book so it was no surprise when I got there.
I voluntarily read the advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.
Another new-to-me author for me! This book is the 3rd and last book of the Debutante Diaries series. I haven’t read the first two, but this one can be read as a standalone. I love the author’s writing style, it’s quite pleasant and easy to read, the flow is smooth, and the story line is intriguing with surprised plot twists… However, there are certain issues with the reality and historical accuracies that make this book somewhat less believable in my opinion .
Sophie Kendall is part of the trio who runs the weekly meetings of the Debutante Underground, a space for women from all social backgrounds to freely discuss romantic relationships, love, and desires without fear of being ridiculed or condemned. While searching for a location to hold these meetings, she stumbles upon an empty building that belongs to Henry Reese, the Earl of Warshire…
Reese has been struggling with insomnia, grieving the death of his brother, his friends from the army, and the guilt from leaving them behind. His encounters with Sophie slowly helps him get back on his feet and deal with his inner demons. Their mutual understanding and love develop through the course of these “therapy” sessions. Unfortunately, as a daughter of a destitute baron, Sophie is promised to a wealthy marquess to save her family from ruin. So they have tried to make their precious time together as memorable as they could…
While I enjoyed the writing and the interesting premises of the story, I feel that some of the details seem to be a bit unrealistic and not quite appropriate for that time period. Nonetheless, it’s rather sweet, romantic, and steamy, and Reese is quite swoon-worthy . If you’re looking for a light and easy-to-read historical romance, this should fit the bill!
4 read for me!
*Special thanks to St Martin’s Press for gifting me the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*