I Kissed a Rogue (Covent Garden Cubs, #3)

by Shana Galen

• ISBN10: 1402298781
• ISBN13: 9781402298783
• Publish Date: 1 March 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

I continue to enjoy this series! This one had the enemies to lovers trope and it thought it played out really well. It was cool to discover how much the heroine had grown, I would have liked better if this had started with a flashback to years ago so that I could have personally seen that growth. I loved them as a couple though and enjoyed cheering for them. The mystery element was also great - quite the twist I did not see coming at the end. Narration us fantastic - especially when you hear the variation if aristocrats and commoners.

[Amanda]

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read Shana Galen books before... I've even read a Covent Garden Cubs novel before. So I was curious to read I Kissed a Rogue. (A title that also makes me think of I Kissed an Earl by JAL, which inspired a Katy Perry-esque line I won't repeat here, for your sake).

I've enjoyed previous Shana Galen books before, but this one seemed... all over the place. Moody, almost. Her books have never ranked among my favorites, but they've been fun and entertaining, and most of the time, that's all I ask for.

I'm also never sure how much the format of books impacts my reading experience. Many eARCs from publishers don't convert to ereaders all that well, which leaves me struggling to piece together who said what or who was thinking what. There was a bit of that here, but not enough to affect my reading too much, not when there was the aforementioned moodiness taking my attention.

And I'm not talking the characters' moodiness, either. It's the book that seemed to swing into places I wasn't expecting, and while I love a good logical plot twist, that's not what I'm talking about. Like the lengths Brook goes to protect Lila right away when she spurned him? Yeah, I'm not sure I buy it. Especially with the supposed bad blood between the two of them (which, to be honest, felt like it was "told" to us more than shown, and popped up when it was convenient to drive a wedge between Brook and Lila).

There was also a huge chunk toward the middle of the book that was sex-related, and while I never (NEVER) turn down a well-written sex scene, it seemed like a lot of (some might say too much) focus on the sexy times. The sexy times should help to drive the romantic relationship forward (even if that's apart before they can reunite), but I wasn't exactly sure what the point of it was.

I did like finding out who was behind the kidnapping, because it was something I wasn't expecting, but the ending between Brook and Lila left me wanting... more. I generally just wanted more of the characters, period. Brook seemed to know Lila as an awful, spoiled girl, but we never see her that way, so it was almost confusing how Brook viewed her (except for the fact that she broke his heart, which we don't learn the entire story of until much later in the book).

In a weird way, I Kissed a Rogue made me want to revisit other Shana Galen books---like the one before this, or the first one in the series (the latter of which I've not read)---if only to remind myself of how much I've enjoyed previous books by the author.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

When I Kissed a Rogue opens, Lady Lila has just been abducted. She's locked in a cellar, but manages to break free, only to witness her captor murder a man. He sees her, and Lila knows she's next. Luckily she's rescued, but Brook knows that Lila's life is in danger as long as she remains a loose end in that murder. He refuses to guard her though, after her cruel behavior toward him seven years ago, but he severely underestimates the lengths her father will go to to ensure his oldest's safety.

I loved the premise of I Kissed a Rogue. It's this kind of mash up of enemies to lovers, second chance romance, and fake relationship turned real with a dash of romantic suspense. Lila and Brook knew each other when they were younger, he proposed, she said no, he's held a grudge for seven years, and she never thought about him twice until now. To say there's a lot of tension and hostility between them would be an understatement! But thanks to Lila's father, the two end up married so Brook is forced to protect her until her would be murderer is caught. Not exactly the best way for them to patch things up.

While I did love the premise, I didn't always love the execution. I love enemies to lover romances because of all of the underlying tension. However, in the middle of I Kissed a Rogue, I was completely convinced that Brook hated Lila. Not in the way where they just think they hate each other, but there's really passion underneath. I 100% believed that he hated her and was just stuck with her out of obligation. That's not good. Not to say that there isn't passion and lots of sexy times, because there was, but I really, truly, honestly believed his hate toward her at one point and that made me a bit uncomfortable.

Despite that awkward hate, I did enjoy I Kissed a Rogue. I loved how Lila was doing her best to work with her situation. She's not the spoiled brat that Brook use to know, but at first he can't see past his own feelings to notice she's changed. I really liked the twist at the end involving the suspense plot. I didn't see that one coming!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.