Lovely story!! Our young widow is at the mercy of her father in-law as she desperately searches for a way for her and her young son to be free from his harsh clutches. Our hero has been travelling the globe establishing his business and earning his own way in the world. When they meet it’s like fireworks and the chemistry between the two is palpable. They both must work together to overcome their personal demons and free themselves to be together. I loved this story. It was well written and the main characters were witty, charming, strong, and determined. The ending was just what I was looking for and I look forward to seeing what happens to Julia’s friend, Brina, as she deserves happiness.

4,5 Stars
Gone With the Rogue is the second book in the First Comes Love Series. The author has such a style of writing that it captures the readers attention with the humor and romance.
Julia Fairbright lost her husband when the ship, the Salty Dove, sank. The Duke of Sprogsfield, Julia’s father-in-law, was strict regarding Julia’s behavior as a widow and threated to take her son, Chatwyn, away if she stepped out of line. Julia wanted to be independent and before her trip to London, she overhears the duke and his solicitor talking about papers containing information on secret companies and properties the duke owns. Recently there had been enquires about finding the owner of one of those companies that had an explosion. Julie was determined to find those documents and use them to end his control over her life.
Julia meet Garrett Stockton one day in the park, while she was stuck in a tree after retrieving a butterfly net. Garrett was instantly enchanted with Julia and knew she felt the same attraction for him. He had made his fortune in shipping and after meeting Julia and falling in love with her, he no longer craved adventure at sea. For them to have a future together, they must end the duke’s control over Julia.
This was a fun book with plenty of humor. Julia and Garrett were the perfect couple and I loved how they completed each other. We were also introduced to Brina, whose book will be next.

This the second book in Grey’s series about three widows who lost their husbands when a ship sank. They invested their inheritances in a school to help the daughters of the common sailors who died in the same tragedy. In this book Julia is being browbeaten by her odious father-in-law, a sanctimonious and hypocritical duke. He maintains power over her by threatening to take her four-year-old son away from her if she doesn’t follow all his edicts.

She meets up with Garrett who owns a trading business. He’s immediately struck by her courage and spirit. He engages to help her discover evidence of the duke’s illicit business dealings to help rescue her from the duke’s clutches.

Once you know the set-up, everything follows rather predictably, but it was still a very enjoyable read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This story had very likeable characters and showed everyday struggles of the upper class. Simple things that impact their lives. A very fun read. I loved how the book began-very funny! I also liked very much how it ended- proper! Would recommend!

i immensely enjoyed this book. The author wove a story I was swept into with ease and happily floated down the river of. The characters were well crafted and I was impressed by the prose. The only things I can comment on were I wish the imagery had been a bit more detailed and I also wish the expiation at the end of the book tying the ducal family’s pain together would have been more intense.. . I greatly enjoyed this book and look foreword to reading more from the author.

This book had me stumbling some but the romance was great and the mission to safe the heroines son from her father in law; had me finishing the book....Julia is a widow trying to get out from under her father in laws thumb, Garrett owner/worker of a shipping company, they team up to get the proof Julia needs.

Julia is a young widow with a young son. Her husband was one of an entire group who were all lost in the sinking of a ship.

She lives and is controlled by her father-in-law, a duke. Her father-in–law is a man who knows the rules of society. In fact, he is someone who enforces those rules. He has forbidden Julia to live anywhere she chooses or go anywhere she chooses. He has made the rules by which she must live. If she does not follow his rules he will take her son away from her. Julia is well aware that he means exactly what he says.

She believes she has found a weak spot in the duke’s character. If she can gather the proof, she will have the power to move out of his home and make a life for she and her son.

She accidentally meets Garrett. He is the owner of a shipping empire and his reputation is that of a man who is a rogue and a rake.

He is instantly smitten with Julia. In fact he is mesmerized.

He pushes her to allow him to help her gather the proof against her father–in–law. He wants her and her charming little boy to have the opportunity to live a happy life. He also wants to be a part of their lives.

Ms Grey is a talented author whose books I always enjoy.

For some reason, I was unable to identify with Julia and Garrett.

I was hoping for more depth to each of them.

Julia has two friends with whom she has created a school for young daughters of men who lost their lives in the sinking of the ship which took her husband. The school and her son seem to be the main things which have meaning in her life. Other than the desire to get away from the duke’s control, there does not seem to be much in her.

Garrett has created an entire shipping empire and all we hear is that he is besotted by Julia. And he is willing to go the distance for her.

I am sure it is me. Both Julia and Garrett did not make me fall in love with them.

The plot is interesting. The introduction of Brina, one of the women who started the school with Julia, made me curious. I hope she is the star of the next book in the series.

Although this is second in a series, it works perfectly fine as a stand alone read.

Ms Grey has written a good book. For me, this is not one of my favorites. I believe that is just me.

I look forward to the next book in the series.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

I enjoyed the most of the plot but some of it (like with her father in law) seemed a little disjointed and like the story was edited down too much. That said, it was still an enjoyable book and I liked the main characters and their story line.

Lady Kitson Fairbright, widowed and mother of Chatwyn is at the mercy of her father in law, the Duke of Sprogsfield. He is control of the property that became her husband's upon their marriage and won't let her take her son and set up house elsewhere. He threatens her often with taking her child, so when she overhears a conversation that has the possibility of her escape from his prison, she is determined to make it work.
Garrett Stockton, a charming rogue is in town and spies her in a bit of a jam. He falls for her as he assists her out of it and continues to try to assist, even as she resists his efforts.
A charming historical romance, with a villain or two, a hero, and a few heroines. Skillfully crafted with vivid descriptions of the settings and characters.
Ms. Grey combines, intrigue, humor and romance in this tale chronicaling the difficulty of women in this era trying to do good.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse and offer my opinion gratis.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this one. The characters seemed a bit stereotypical and living embodiment of classic romance tropes. As a result, I never really engaged with either character and so I wasn't invested at any point.

1.5/5⭐️

This was a new author for me, and I was excited when I was offered the chance to read this ARC (2nd in a trilogy). Unfortunately I couldn’t find much to recommend it.

The writing is very simplistic, repetitive and stilted, and regrettably there are way too many uses of over-the-top trite terms that give this genre a bad rep to many who don’t read much in historical romance. A lackluster plot and characters with no charisma (either personally or as a unit) rounded out my issues with it.

I really wanted to enjoy it, but I felt that it didn’t try hard enough. I’ve definitely read better.

Thanks to #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

Since the death of her husband, widowed Julia and her 4-year-old son have lived for four years with her father-in-law, the Duke, who has never forgiven her for eloping with his son, The duke imposes rigid rules of behavior for them, and if Julia should not abide by them, she would be faced with the loss of her son. Will a chance encounter in the park with Garrett, a wealthy shipping company owner, change Julia’s life forever? Will her dear friend and fellow widow, Brina, try to deal with her grief by joining a convent? This engaging second book in the First comes Love series completely stands on its own, with only a brief mention of the characters from the first. A lovely mixture of romance and humor – watch Brina and Julia try to bake bread and make soup so that Brina can prove her worthiness to the abbess of the convent – make this book a winner.

I received a courtesy copy of this book and I’m voluntarily leaving a review. This has been an enjoyable read for me, a story that reflects the opinions of its time. Julia is a widow who is trapped by the hatred of her father in law. She has a mission, that is she wants to break free from the clutches of the Duke and the only way to do it is to find evidence against his respectability. When this strong and stubborn lady encounters the most unruly man of London, she decides to take the risk and thanks to his help lady Julia will finally have the chance to uncover the schemings of the Duke. A regency romance with hints of passion between the hero and the heroine that will inflame the heart of the reader.

Gone With the Rogue is just corny and cheesy from beginning to end. Half the writing is just over the top, and may be okay for someone who wants to read overwhelming desire and the throes of passion, hearts melting and being captivated and mesmerized. If you want to read a book where you can see the love for each build in two characters instead of having it spelled out for you with every possible word available in a thesaurus, eh, not so much. This is unfortunate, because parts of the book that having nothing to do with romance between Julia and Garrett aren't bad, and remind the reader of how few options women in regency times had. But even the non-romantic parts of the book aren't all stellar. Julia's father-in-law, a duke, serves as a villain in the story by threatening to take her son away from her if she leaves him. He's a background presence for a large majority of the book, leaving you to presume how incredibly awful he is by Julia fretting about it all the time, instead of creating a character that is easy to hate and makes Julia's situation untenable. This book is probably two and a half stars for me, but I've rated other romances as three star books that were definitely better than this one.

I felt it was an okay novel. I liked the widowed single mother; however, the duke component took it a little too far.

Garrett Stockton owns a successful shipping company and is rumored to have a woman on every continent and half-a-dozen in England. The truth, however, is that Garrett has but one mistress: the wide open sea.When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Amelia Grey is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.

An enjoyable story of romance with some twist and turns to keep the ready engaged. Good character and story line development overall.

Ameilia Grey is a new to me author and this is the second in this "First Comes Love" series that I was glad to get a copy to read and review as I very much enjoyed the first book.

Ms. Julia Fairbright has been in the state of a widow for about 4 years and is somewhat at the mercy of her father-in-law who has his own notions of what a prim and proper widow she should be. Essentially she is a prisoner to the man and it doesn't help that he is a Duke. In any case she has to walk on eggshells around his staff in order for them not to report her comings and goings. When she finds out some damaging information that could help her come from under his foot, she enlists a best friend and unintentionally drags Garrett Stockton in to the picture.

Mr. Garrett Stockton is a wealthy owner of several shipping companies and has returned to England to attend a wedding. He unfortunately stumbles across Julia stuck in a tree and their the attraction ignites for him. As Garrett can't forget Julie, the daily meetings turns their desire into a romantic relationship. Although the title sounds delicious, the book fail a bit short for me and was very fuzzy in places. I thought the relationship moved a bit too fast as they only knew each other for about a week. I'll admit that I like the sexual attraction and intimacy in the stories I read, but 4 or more in a week is a bit much. It was not clear why her father-in-law had such a hold on her and her son. Didn't think she owed him anything. I think that could have been expounded on a bit more instead of showing him as a villain early on the story.

At times, there was a bit of disconnect between Julie and Garrett but in other places it was oh so lovely. It could have been chalked up to their character portrayal...could have been more depth to them to make them a bit more interesting. The characters kind of fell a bit flat and there was alot of potential and development that could have been done to Garrett's character. Although the story kept up the repetitiveness of Julia's constant speaking of the Duke control over her and her circumstances, at some point early on in the story she should have developed a backbone to break free.

In summary, was I blown over by this story...not so much as the first but it was an enjoyable enough read. I did like the slight build on Brina's character and am hoping the next would be about her story.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3- Stars

-- This review is also available on my blog www.hookedbythatbook.com --

Julia Fairbright is a widow with a young son, and by all rights should be able to enjoy the freedoms that usually come with widowhood for women like her. But she is firmly under the thumb of her father-in-law, the Duke of Sprogsfield. Julia meets Garrett Stockton when he happened to stop under the very tree where she was stuck on one of the branches above him. The two of them had an instant attraction and it was described pretty well. I completely felt it with them.

Julia is trying to find evidence to free herself from her father-in-laws strict rules. And eventually she asks Garrett to help her.

Julia is a strong character. She tried to stay strong for her son while under the thumb of the duke. She made a plan to get herself out from under his tyrannical rule. She had the courage to confront the duke all by herself. Garrett supported her all the way and helped her by making his resources available to her.

The story flowed well and I don’t feel as if there were any unnecessary parts to it. It just wasn’t very exciting.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The father in law read too much like a caricature villain. How he got in to his side business was mustache twirling evil and his comeuppance wasn't satisfactory for his misdeeds.

Meanwhile Julia and Garrett was a little too instalove for my tastes.