A light, fun read.

I liked Garret and Julia well enough and thought her father-in-law was a great villain. I just didn’t connect with this book the way I did with the first one, but it is a nice continuation of the series.

Quite a bit of this story concerned the third friend, Brina. She is trying to find her purpose in life beyond just being a widow. This sets up the final installment of the First Comes Love series.

My ARC copy had a rough Chapter 13 which had some story inconsistencies which I am sure will be cleaned up for publication.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC

I love Ms Grey. Always love her stories. This one just did't capture me as her others have done. Both were good characters, they just didn't seem to have the depth as her others in the past. I am looking forward to Brina's story.

“I’m not going to leave you. I’ll be here waiting for you when you are ready for us to make a home together”... She had no doubt he was settling his claim on her and leaving no room for anyone else.

Julia is a young widow held captive by her father in laws threats to take her son if she doesn’t do exactly as he commands. His requests are oppressive and constant. She longs to be free to make her son and live a build a new life of her own. An overheard conversation leads her to believe her pious father in law isn’t all that he seems to be.

Garret has long loved the sea. Priding himself on running his own shipping company and being a gentleman, he had never let London hold him in its grasp. When a chance meeting at the park leads to him rescuing a woman from near disaster, he wonders if the sea will even hold the same appeal again.

This was an interesting read. I thought it was more a modern romance that happened to be set in the Regency era. A few of the main character’s qualities were just a little too modern for me. While it was cute, the love story left me wanting a little more depth between Julia and Garret.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for the advance reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Interesting twist on the marriage of convenience. I enjoyed the characters. Garrett is a great hero. The brooding hero is all fun, but sometimes you just need a good guy. Julia had a heart of gold and a spine of steel. Looking forward to the next one.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Cute enough. Didn’t sizzle. Characters were sweet.

Desperate widow Julia longs to be free of her controlling father-in-law. Rogue Garrett comes along and saves her several times when she gets herself into whimsical situations. I liked the book and look forward to the next one! I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

I have always liked books written by Amelia Grey, and I liked this one, too. It was a bit slow-going ay first. I actually read two other books before I came back and finished this one. I’m glad That I did finish it. The characters are strong-willed and understand their own desires, yet they welcome the adventure of sharing and finding room in their lives for love, adventure, and courage. I’m now looking forward to reading, hopefully, the next book in the series. I want to know what happens to Brina!!

I love Amelia Grey’s books. Her first book in this series was a great read and the story of this 2nd book is good. Overall I liked the story but needs some polishing. I liked both characters, especially Garret because he is kind, Will do anything to make Julia safe and of course handsome. I enjoyed this book and I’m positive others will too.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this arc.

This was a light and easy read for me. While the author's intention seemed to be not just the romance but also to highlight the lack of women's rights during the Regency period, I did find the never ending repetitions of Julia's "abuse" at the hands of her father-in-law heavy handed. I found the main characters, Julia and Garrett to be somewhat one dimensional and less than fully developed/credible. BUT, character development and plot line credibility are reasons why I read Regency romances. I read them for entertainment and escape. Gone With the Rogue fulfilled with a short and sweet read.

I often think I would have loved living in the Regency era but then I read stories like this one and it reminds me how little say women had back then. To be ruled by men like the old Duke (her father in law) would make me want to run away like Julia wants to do!!

Happy is the day when Julia meets Garrett and the attraction is immediate and mutual. He's so different than the men she's had in her life, he doesn't want to rule her but to help her. Passions flare and the chase is on to find the proof she needs to uncover the truth about the old Duke who threatens to take her son away if she doesn't do and act as he demands.

The story is a bit slow in some places but then you have hilarious scenes like when Julia and her best friend Brina decide to try to bake bread and make soup:)

I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Gone with the Rogue has a fair share of sweet moments and humorous situations. Overall, it's an enjoyable read, but it fell a little short for me. Julia is dealing with an oppressive father-in-law and seeks to break free from his control, but the duke is absent throughout most of the book, so we don't really get to see that control which lessons Julia's rebellions and the danger of the climax. Garrett is supposed to be a womanizer, a man using his wealth to seek a status beyond his station, but once again, we're told it and don't really see the evidence of it. The chemistry is sweet between them but not quite sizzling. He's less of a rogue and more of a hero from the very beginning.

2.5 stars. This is the 2nd book in the series and I enjoyed the 1st book better. I wasn’t able to get any quote from this one. Nothing really stood out.

Anyway, Julia and Garrett meet when Julia was rescuing something for her son. Julia is a widow and we met her in the first book in the series when she and her 2 friends set up a school for girls.

Julia, to me, is bland and not very interesting a character. I didn’t appreciate her love of animals. Or rather I felt it rather pretentious of her. Hmm. In other words, I didn’t really like Julia. Can’t imagine what would attract Garrett to her.

Garett is back from being overseas, a gentleman who made his fortune by owning and working in a shipping company. He seems ok but really attracted to Julia.

This was just an ok book. I liked the first book of the series more. And this is not endearing me to read more historical romance.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Paperbacks and Amelia Grey for the copy of this book. I swear this is my honest opinion.

3.5 stars

An interesting story. Two incidents made me a bit confused at the beginning. The author had the hero's ships being chased by the spanish Armada and I associate that with Tudor times. I was then racking my brain to think what on a regency dress would be so substantial to cause the heroine to fear hanging herself. I thought regency costumes were all muslin and floaty fabrics. I was also unconvinced about the badies name. Having passed over those points I liked the hero and heroine and the premise of trying to rescue the heroine's son from the mean grandpa. There was a good romance that built slowly. The heroine had lots of good qualities which is par for the course in a romance. The slapstick moment in the kitchen is not really my thing but I can see it was there to highlight how the class difference played out. There was passion as well as kisses but this was fairly unemphemistic, little graphic descriptions so unlikely to offend many people. I doubt I'll search for others in the series but it was a pleasant read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Julia Kitson Fairbright is the daughter-in-law of the rigid Duke of Sprogsfield. She was married to his son for a while, but he died in a shipping accident, and the duke has made it his mission to ensure that his grandson, Chatwyn, is raised under his control and with the greatest of decorum. He expects Julia to 'tow the line' as well and never step out of the bounds placed by society on those associated with the duke. Unfortunately, Julia is beginning to chafe under the strict rules placed upon her and her son. She now knows that the strict moral code that the duke follows in public, is not the same code that he follows in his private dealings, after overhearing a conversation between him and his solicitor. Julia is determined to get her hands on certain documents that will ensure her freedom from the 'prison' that the duke imposes upon her and Chatwyn. Garrett Stockton has been roaming the seas for the better part of a decade. He has accumulated wealth and a rakish reputation. However, he is a gentleman in trade, which means many others look down their noses at him. He rescues Julia from a particularly embarrassing situation, and seeks to know her better. Because of her fear of the duke, she shuts him down, knowing he would never approve of Garrett. As the story progresses, they are thrown together through a series of events, and eventually get to know each other better.

There is a steady, low-level tension present as one reads this book. Will Julia find the papers? Will she ever get her freedom? Will the duke return soon and take over her life again? Will Garrett ever find happiness with Julia? Will Chatwyn grow up under the strict guidelines of the duke? As these questions and others find answers, the book progresses steadily. There is much to like about this book! The interactions between precocious Chatwyn and others are delightful to read. The relationship between Julia and Garrett progresses fairly rapidly, but considering that she has been held just shy of being a prisoner for the past four years, that's somewhat expected. Julia's character grows steadily throughout the book, and her friend, Brina, does as well. It appears that Brina will be featured in the next story of the series. This looks to be a wonderful set of stories.

Author Amelia Grey is well-versed in the history of the Regency era of England, and it shows in the accuracy and detail of GONE WITH THE ROGUE.

A very real character in this tale is the societal restrictions placed on women. These restrictions — that women are property of men — cause our heroine Julia to seek help from rogue Garrett, even as Julia hates needing the help of another man.

Grey weaves a satisfying tale of intrigue and societal machinations while her characters work toward their happy ending.

Amelia Grey has another success with her second book in the First Comes Love series. A heartwarming story with real emotion, humor, and romance.

Yes, this is a nice romance with just enough steamy to make is a fun read. But what really struck me was how controlling the Duke was. To be so controlled makes Julia take a risky chance. To me, that was the bigger story. As she risks so much my heart was pounding. The story was well told. I liked the book.

Both of the main characters, Julia and Garrett are very likeable. Their instant attraction for each other moves the story along quickly and there really isn't a lot of conflict or dire moments in the story. It's a sweet romance.

Julia is a widow with a young son, but has to live under the strict rules of her publicly pious father-in-law. Since he happens to be a Duke, his decisions rule the roost so to speak and can I just say he was a jerk! Julia is trying to find a way to escape his clutches and keep her son with her, but her efforts are turning fruitless. Enter Garrett.

A chance encounter at the park, in a tree no less, Garrett is fascinated by Julia. Literally, all I could think was Garrett was like a moth to a flame. Time and time again he found himself in her company, content to do whatever she asked him to because 1) he got to spend time with her and 2) once he realized her predicament, he was determined to help her find an escape. It was nice, but Julia directed everything and Garrett just went along...okay, that drove me nutty. I wanted a little balance between the two.

To be honest, I didn’t connect with any of the characters. I felt like I was being told a story instead of being in the story, if that makes sense. Most of the story was Julia’s thoughts and wishes on what she would do-just her and son- when she was free. And Garrett could have been better developed as a character. I felt like he would pop up when something needed and /or would happen, and then we were back to Julia.
I wanted to feel something, but I just didn’t have a vested interest in Julia and Garrett’s relationship.

I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley/St. Martins and this is my honest review.

2.5-3 stars

While I do love a good regency romance, this one was a miss for me.

Pacing: ★★★
Characters: ★★★
Enjoyment: ★★

Gone with the Rogue is the second in the First Comes Love series, but like many other romances it can be read as a standalone—I, personally, can vouch for that as I'm a newbie to the series with this book.

Julia Fairbright's husband drowned at sea, leaving her with their young son and under the "protection" of her father-in-law, the duke. The duke is oppressive and controlling, and holds Julia's son over her head in order to make her follow his wishes. It's a clear-cut black and white situation. Julia wants out, but she's stuck.

Garrett Stockton is the owner of a prominent shipping company and a bit of a scoundrel (aren't they all?). He's dashing, he's independent, and he's always at the edge of polite society. So when he sees the beautiful Julia stuck in a tree, he's shocked at the surprising warm feelings towards her.

Obviously, these two characters are meant to fall in love—it's just Julia's pesky father-in-law and the societal norms of her status as a widow that stand in their way. Will their love find a way?

Now, please take my review with a grain of salt, because I'm pretty sure this was a case of "it's not you, it's me" reader syndrome. Gone With the Rogue was cute and filled with all of the right things, but for some reason I could not fully engage myself in the story. I found Julia to be an amalgamation of tropes, and Garrett too reactionary—he didn't seem to have much personality outside of his fixation on Julia.

However, this story does deliver on its sweetness, so if sweet and chivalrous is your thing give this one a try!

Thank you to St Martin's Press via NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.