The Rogue Not Taken (Scandal & Scoundrel, #1)

by Sarah MacLean

[Amanda]

It's not often I stay up until 1:45 a.m. reading, but when I do, there's a good chance it's because of Sarah MacLean.

A Sarah MacLean book kicked off the Great Historical Romance Bender, so it should come as no surprise that I loved The Rogue Not Taken as much as I did. Or that I'm now waiting for the next in the series to be published. (Goodreads says end of August!) Or that The Rogue Not Taken will likely be a book I reread.

Maybe even more than once.

Sophie, youngest of five, isn't like the rest of her scandalous sisters... until she is, and on a bigger and grander scale than any one of the had previously managed. Sophie did something no one else had dared to do: stand up to the ton and defended her sister. But the ton isn't forgiving, especially when a woman's father "bought" his title, and so... Sophie is forced to run to escape.

It doesn't take any longer than Sophie standing up for her sister that we totally identify with her. She cares, and she's not afraid to stand up for what's right. It took me longer to warm up to King -- we meet him as he's climbing down a rose trellis after a supposed tryst with an engaged woman -- and holds his secrets far closer to his chest than Sophie does. Which isn't to say King didn't win me over (he totally did). He simply took longer, fighting his feelings and past.

I do love a good road trip romance, especially in the historical romance world, and The Rogue Not Taken didn't disappoint. It was a constant push and pull of King trying to rid himself of Sophie, Sophie taking off, and King going after her, despite what he thought he wanted. As their plans change and get more intertwined, the more complicated their feelings get, too.

And complicated feelings can make or break a romance book. Sarah MacLean always finds the right complicated feelings to make her books. There are misunderstandings, yes. But it's also believable enough that they both react the way they do based on previous experiences, both with each other and others. And this is a large part of why I couldn't stop reading (also, future note to self: never start a book at 9 p.m.) -- I had to see King and Sophie's story to the end.

The Rogue Not Taken is a highly satisfying historical road trip romance... and as usual after I read the latest Sarah MacLean book, I'm in desperate need of the next one.