Desperately Seeking Duke #1
“Making foolish marriages is a Tate family tradition.”
Aunt Frances
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.
Bianca was a shrew for the early part of the book and annoyed me by stubbornly clinging to that attitude. It wasn’t until the end of the book that I finally warmed up to her. Stubbornness, for stubbornness’s sake, is aggravating. She isn’t a wallflower, and she’s not meant to be, but it’s a pity her true qualities take so long to appear.
Max, on the other hand, was very goal-driven but far more courteous than Bianca sometimes deserved. His past gives him a unique place as he truly doesn’t belong to just one segment of society, learning to be strong and seize any opportunity that comes his way. I appreciated that, unlike many romance heroes, he refused to push for more physicality between them until Bianca wanted it as well.
There are some forays into the aristocracy, but the book mainly focuses on the Tates and their pottery works. It gives a nice push/pull between Max’s desires to expand and better the company and the family’s traditional way of handling business. Max’s connections with the aristocracy and history give him a unique perspective on how the company can grow.
The Duchy of Carlyle is still up for grabs, and I look forward to seeing what other extended family members think of the current Duchess in future books.
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