Once More, My Darling Rogue by Lorraine Heath

Once More, My Darling Rogue (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James Place, #2) (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #2)

by Lorraine Heath

They are England's most eligible bachelors, with the most scandalous reputations. But for the right woman, even an unrepentant rogue may mend his ways ...Born to the street but raised within the aristocracy, Drake Darling can't escape his sordid beginnings. Not when Lady Ophelia Lyttleton snubs him at every turn, a constant reminder he's not truly one of them. But after rescuing her from a mysterious drowning, he realizes she doesn't remember who she is. With plans to bring her to heel, he insists she's his housekeeper-never expecting to fall for the charming beauty. While Ophelia might not recall her life before Drake, she has little doubt she belongs with him. The desire she feels for her dark, brooding employer can't be denied, regardless of consequences. So when Ophelia's memory returns, she is devastated by the depth of his betrayal. Now Drake must risk everything to prove she can trust this rogue with her heart once more.

Reviewed by nitzan_schwarz on

3 of 5 stars

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Here's the thing about this novel; it's not a bad novel. It's a pretty good historical romance.

The problems I had with this novel lies in the fact that I FUCKIN' HATE THE PREMISE! Seriously, just reading the synopsis had me fuming. He lies to her after she losses her memory and makes her his servant??? #nothanks

So why did I read this novel if the premise was so off putting? Mostly because I loved the first book and I am this annoying type of reader that has to read the whole series. It's irritating, really.

That being said, this book did manage to rise above my aversion to the premise. It was really hard to warm up to both characters, what with Phee being so judgmental and conceited for, like, 20% of the book, and Drake being a cool person but a cool person who lies to a woman he found in the fucking Thames just so he could fuck with her because she's been a snotty bitch to him.

But yeah, they were cute. Which made it all the more difficult because you know it's going to explode in their faces when the deception comes to light.

I have to admit, the last 30% of this novel were fantastic. First of all, the explosion wasn't as bad as I'd feared. On a subconscious level, Phee knows that Drake didn't lie about the important things, and he's very honest with her about his feelings. They were so mature about the whole thing. I loved it! It proved theirs wasn't just a fading connection.

I do wish the author would have delved deeper into Phee's past, because that is such an unrepresented part of historical romance, and deserves more of a platform. Rape is something that is rarely mentioned in historical romance. If it's present at all, it's usually just a threat from a character or what not. And while it's in this novel, it's still very unrepresented. For most of the novel Phee doesn't remember her ordeals, and then it's rapped up so neatly and quickly that we're barely given any time to truly talk about it.

All in all, this is a good novel. If I could've just ignored my dislike for the premise for the first 40% or so it would've been four stars for sure.

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  • Started reading
  • 24 March, 2017: Finished reading
  • 24 March, 2017: Reviewed