3 This is a well-written story that does have some issues with using a cultural reference. This usage takes away all the clear focus of what amazing work women did for the vote.

When these things happen, they take away from the tale.

I quite liked Bringing Down the Duke which was Dunmore’s debut. I did not expect to like it so much because I struggle with HR at times and was happily surprised when I enjoyed it so much. I was still wary about going into Rogue because again, I struggled with HR & have been in a slump. But, WOW I loved this one. I liked it even more than Duke. I adored Lucie & Tristian’s hate to love story. Just on some level I think that the names Lucie & Tristian look good together.

Anyways, Lucie and Tristian knew each other and kids and now are battling over a printing press. Lucie wants to print her suffragette materials while Tristian wants to print his own things.

It’s a grand time as they both try to deny feelings for each other and have SO MUCH BANTER. I was laughing out loud at multiple parts and just smiling for much of the novel.

I also appreciated how this novel looks at the duality of people, specifically women. Lucie is struggling with the idea of how she will maintain her identity as a suffragette if she is with a man and seeing her friend Annabelle married, is a little judgey. Meanwhile, Tristian is a rogue who isn’t really a rogue who was a solider and writes poetry. His dad is basically the blueprint for toxic masculinity and tried to literally beat it out of Tristian. I loved both our characters so much. Tristian has an earring and a tattoo, and I was here for it.

I will say I had a few minor complaints, the only gay character is sort of a villain, and I low key thought that the author was hinting at Tristian being bisexual, but nothing is really confirmed. Oscar Wilde flirts with him which was legit such a fun moment. My other critiques are minor spoilers, but dang this novel was close to perfect for me. I laughed, I teared up at the end, and I adored Lucie and Tristian together. There are also like no people of color in this novel except for Tristian’s valet.

I loved how this novel explores burnout and fighting so hard for a cause that it becomes your entire life. Which is something many activists feel.

Plus, so many cats and cute callback moments to popular literature.

I enjoyed Evie Dunmore’s Bringing down the duke and hence was excited to read the sequel. Thank you Netgalley for providing the earc in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Dunmore’s writing and the characters of Tristan and Lucy. The suffragette movement, the trials they faced, the friendships, their bravery were all beautifully depicted and I loved getting to know more about it. The romance was excellent, it was well developed and I was rooting for the Tristan and Lucie to be together.
This should have been a five star read. And the reason it’s not is because I was made very very very uncomfortable with the way colonialism was brushed over, with the way Indian deities were represented and with how Indians were represented in this book. The fact that Tristan has a tattoo that is inspired from Lord Shiva but is a nude dancing woman with four arms, the Indian valet who came to London to study but is instead made to be a valet, how there’s little to no representation of PoC other than Avi, Tristan’s valet are just a few examples. I thought I was being too sensitive but then I chanced upon the review by @aarya which is I think the topmost review on goodreads and that gave me some relief because I was not the only one feeling it. I think she does a much better job of explaining why this is problematic (please read her review)
So I am going with 2.5/5 stars for this book.

I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher - thanks!

ALL THE FEELS! I absolutely loved this book. I was worried it wouldn't be as good as Bringing Down the Duke, but it was! Dunmore is such a master. Her characters are wonderful, the story carefully constructed, with just the right number of twists and turns. With a lot of romance, the inevitable conflict often feels convenient, without real reasons for characters to act as they do. In A Rogue of One's Own, motivations are clear, the conflict is real, and I really felt their struggle. And THE ROMANCE. It's sublime. Your heart will be breaking out of your chest, and it's just the right heat level, in my opinion. The setting is equally wonderful. It's set in the time of the suffragette movement in Oxford, with strong, empowered women, fighting for women's liberation. It's so unique compared to most other historical romance, and gives a sense of underlying conflict throughout. Love, love, loved this book, didn't want it to end, and can't wait for the next one!

A case where the sequel is better than the original. Really enjoyed Lucie and Tristan. This book was a fun one because I was trying to figure out how they could be together at the end of the book with a HEA wedding, when it goes against everything Lucie stands for. She completely doesn’t believe in giving over all her property and self to a man when she marries, which is what her suffragette movement is focusing on. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she didn’t just give in (ie marry Tristan), but that they were able to come up with a solution that kept them both respectable and allowed her her freedom.

This book also was definitely steamier than book 1. Which I always appreciate (obviously).

It is always fun in a novel with the main characters are at odds for reasons outside of their dynamic. In this case, they each want to own the newspaper for their own purposes, not to spite each other (although Lucie certainly thinks Tristan is trying to spite her at the beginning!). And with this unlikely partnership, they learn to respect each other’s goals and voice alternative methods and paths for the other person to get to their end goal.

As a fan of Evie Dunmore’s writing and first book, which we reviewed on the podcast Romance at a Glance, I was very happy to discover that this book was an excellent story as well. And just enough intrigue was dropped about Hattie’s suitor for me to be very excited for her book to come out.

McDreamy to McSteamy: McSteamy with a McDreamy heart

Classy to Nasty: Classy if pre-marital!

Hero rating: 🍆🍆🍆🍆

Heroine rating: 🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lady Lucy, a young woman with a high social background, has been living on her own since her father kicked her out of the house when she was 17. Thankfully one of her aunt’s left her some money which allows her to live comfortably, if not frugally. Lucy uses her independence to continue to fight for women’s rights. When her consortium finally gathers enough money to purchase a publishing house that prints a set of women’s periodicals their plans to use them for the Suffrage movement are foiled when the other half is sold to her nemesis, Tristan, Lord Ballantine. He has always gotten under Lucy’s skin, and now he is in her way! Their sizzling chemistry distracts her from her purpose, but as she gets to know him she is surprised at his hidden depths.

I didn’t think it was possible to like a book better than the first. I loved Bringing Down the Duke, but A Rogue of One’s Own? Even better! This series is set during the Women’s Suffrage Movement in England at the turn of the 19th century. Men held all of the rights over woman, considering them purchased when married. Lucy is determined to never get married but she needs society and their wealth and privilege to continue her fight. She has always considered Tristan to be a rake, believing all of the stories about his conquests. He certainly plays the part but as he discovers more about her world and how women are not ok with their treatment he is enraged on their behalf. This paragraph below, I hope doesn’t give anything away but explains why I liked this story so much.

“Until now, she had not been sure how her lover would respond to realities most people refused to see. Until now, she had not been entirely certain whether he would fall victim to the peculiar, selective blindness which afflicted so many otherwise perfectly sensible people when confronted with something ugly; whether he would claw for explanations, no matter how ludicrous, or would try to belittle away what unnerved him rather than face inconvenient truths.”

A ROGUE OF ONE’S OWN BY EVIE DUNMORE
Maybe it’s the time I’m living in right now, with what is going on in the US, but this quote struck me to the heart. Lucy fell in love because Tristan opened his eyes and could see her struggle and he was not going to stand by without supporting her. Oh, this was a powerful moment in the book for me, as it was probably meant to be.

I’m a particular fan of historical fiction and I’ll admit, I love a good romance. What makes this series different is the place in time, the depth the author goes to make the reader feel like this world is real, and some of the accurate historical notes she adds to the tale. A League of Extraordinary Women is in a league of its own; entertaining, educational, heartbreaking, and sizzling with heat. I recommend this series, and this novel whole-heartedly. It’s on my best list for the year so far. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

In the past I haven’t been much of a Historical Romance reader. Last year I decided to give Evie Dunmore’s A League of Extraordinary Women series a try because I loved that it centered on the women’s suffrage movement. I ended up pleasantly surprised by the first book and so was eager to get my hands on the latest offering from the series, A Rogue of One’s Own. I’m thrilled to say that as much as I enjoyed the first book, this new book is even better! It was just so much fun to visit again with this merry band of feminists and see what they’re up to.

This time the story focuses on Lucie, the leader of the group, and Lucie is on a mission. She is trying to secure controlling interest in a major publishing company because to do so would make it all the easier for her group to push forward with their feminist agenda. It’s unheard of for a woman to control a publishing house, but Lucie could give a flying fig for what’s heard of or unheard of. There’s just one unexpected obstacle standing in her way…the handsome Lord Tristan Ballentine who has, unbeknownst to her, just purchased 50% ownership of the publishing company in question. The situation is made all the more complicated by the fact that Lucie and Tristan have a history, specifically, Lucie has loathed Tristan since she was a child and he used to spend his summers at her home, making her life miserable at every turn. How will she possibly manage to wrestle publishing control over a man who lives to torment her? Yep, you guessed it; it’s an enemies to lovers story, my favorite!

As much as I enjoyed Annabelle in the first book, it’s Lucie that has really captured my heart. I just love her determination and grit and the fact that she’s doing everything she’s doing for the women’s movement in spite of the fact that her family has cast her off and refuses to have anything to do with her. I love a scrappy underdog and Lucie fits the bill. Tristan is a fantastic character as well. I love that he’s a bit of a rogue, but that there’s also a lot more to him than first meets the eye. He’s used to having ladies practically swoon at his feet, so it’s hilarious to watch him try to win Lucie over knowing that she can’t stand him. The battle of wills between the two of them as they each try to secure what they want, all the while fighting their obvious attraction to one another, is so entertaining!

I will say that there was one moment in the story that gave me pause and it involved a tattoo of a naked dancer that was apparently inspired by a Hindu God. It was on the chest of a white man and while the tattoo itself serves a purpose later in the story, that particular choice of tattoo felt unnecessary and potentially offensive. It didn’t ruin my overall enjoyment of the book, but since this is an honest review, I wanted to mention it.

I don’t want to give anything else away so I’m going to stop here and will just say that if you’re into fun, steamy stories with characters who are passionate and full of heart, you’ll want to check out A Rogue of One’s Own.

To say I adored this book would be a monumental understatement. A Rogue of One’s Own is the perfect second installment in the League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore.

Lucie Wycliffe is married to the (Suffragist) Cause. Tristan is an artistic rogue, a literary lothario, and the thorn in Lucie’s side. Their enemies to lovers romance had me smiling from start to finish. Tristan tries to be a cynical anti-hero, but really he’s a giant cinnamon roll of a man who will do anything to make Lucie happy.

Honestly this series is so refreshing. I love regency romances as much as anybody, but it’s so fun watching the Suffragists of the 1870s and 80s campaign for women’s rights. I’m so grateful for the women (and men!) who came before me; this book, while fictional, incorporates real historical figures into the plot, which is cool.

Raise a glass to the extraordinary women in your life and read this book!

A Rogue of One’s Own features Lady Lucie, one of the local leaders of the suffragist movement. Plus there are a few sneak peeks into how Annabelle is doing! I loved how Dunmore handled Lucie’s conflicting desires - she wanted to be with Tristan (well... maybe) but she couldn’t reconcile having a man in her life with her dedication to the suffragist cause. As with the first book, you can tell that Dunmore really researched the time period and the movement. I also loved the inclusion, however tiny, of the Rational Dress Society and the idea that clothes can be both beautiful and practical.

The romance between Lucie and Tristan was good but the beginning of the book was a bit slow. However, even though I didn’t like this one quite as much as Bringing Down the Duke, it was still a great read and I think a lot of readers will actually like this one more than the first! Really, I think it’ll depend on what romance tropes you prefer. And, overall, A Rogue of One’s Own was still highly entertaining and a quick read!

Evie Dunmore is definitely getting added to my auto-buy list! I’m SO excited that we’re getting both Hattie and Catriona’s books, I cant wait to see what’s in store for these heroines.

*Disclaimer: I received a digital advance copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lucie and her follow suffragists have put together enough money to buy half of a major publishing company. They plan to use it on behalf of their movement. But upon completion of the sale, Lucie learns that someone else has bought out the other half of the business. It is none other than her childhood nemesis, Lord Ballentine. Lucie is sure that he will put a stop to what she and the other suffragists want to print, but then he make her an offer. One percent of the company, which would make her the majority shareholder, for one night in her bed. What is a girl to do?

Tristan has his own reasons for buying half of the publishing house and if it puts a bee in Lucie's bonnet, all the better. When he offers his deal to Lucie, he never imagines that she will take him up on it. But when she does and they spent more time together, Tristan realizes that the feelings he has for her are love. Can he convince Lucie to include him in her future?

OMG, I simply adored Lucie and Tristan's story!! When the first book of the series, Bringing Down the Duke, got such rave reviews on social media, I knew that I needed to grab this one when it became available (and I of course read BDTD first!!). I am so glad that I did! It is hard to believe that this is just the author's second book. It is rare that an author jumps out of the gate with a winning book (or two)! I have to say that these two books are probably two of the best stories I've ever read!

I just loved the bantering between Lucie and Tristan, it had me laughing out loud throughout the book. I just couldn't put it down and I certainly didn't want it to end! I loved that Lucie would do anything for her cause, even go nose to nose with her nemesis. They say there is a fine line between love and hate and I certainly think that is the case between these two. But these two were perfect for one another and Dunmore proves that in the end!

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series! I just wish it wasn't a year away...

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the author exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I’m segmenting this review into two portions because that’s the way that I had to look at it because there were parts I really enjoyed and there were other parts that I had to bring to notice.

The plot is very clearly about bringing to everyone’s awareness the struggle that women have gone through (and still go through) on the front of equality. No matter what you believe in or don’t or what you’ve been through in life, you can feel for this cause with every bit of your heart and those wounded moments that you still remember from being treated like less than a person because of your gender.

Lucie has always been on the very forefront of the struggle for Women’s Rights and abolishment of the Married Women’s Property Act and it has been a long long fight with many struggles. Lucie is the very embodiment of a woman who’s got the right questions to ask and someone aware of the sacrifices that they must make to get where they want to. It means they must be ready to be disregarded on many fronts and at the same time disregard many things as well and these things are brought up. The questions that are typical of someone in her place, with this large responsibility and immense passion are asked, addressed and answered. Everything about Lucie will move you.

Tristan, however, is just about straddling the line of an anti-hero. At least that’s how he felt to me. He stays very true to his character from beginning to end. He’s callous in all the places he’s always been, brave, angry, kind, rude, hurting, an all round grey character. But truly, he’s perhaps the perfect match for Lucie simply because he sees her through and through and he knows what he must do for the woman he sees and how he must respect her. He also breaks a few typical stereotypes and that’s definitely a good thing.

The supporting characters, their interactions with the protagonist and the overall growth in the movement towards empowering women one step at the time is a big part of the whole story and the last eight percent tugged so hard at my heart.

But…

(This part is spoiler-y so do highlight to read. There is also a trigger warning section at the end)
Here are the difficult parts. The representations in this book were not done justice. The one gay character in the book was given a negative role for his affections not being returned and the scene towards the end where there was a conversation between the protagonist and this character was a miss for me. I felt that the protagonist apologises very vaguely for his mistakes and even though he explains to the reader why he’s apologising he doesn’t say any of that out loud which weakened the apology for me.

Also, this is very personal to me, but I do wish that because this book is all about empowerment of women, I would’ve loved to not see that a women attempt to ruin the heroine’s reputation/hard work because her affections not being returned. But perhaps that’s the idealist in me speaking.

Also, the one Indian representation was a butler when as a friend (Dany @Ambivert Words) reminded me, those were the times when Royalty and other influential figures from India travelled to Britain as well–among others. There was also a tattoo in the book inspired from a prominent Hindu God that had a strange callback in the end. Truly it could have been any other tattoo with a specificity that aided the conflict resolution.

I also have to mention that author reached out to me as soon as she found out because I am an Indian reader and apologised for any hurt caused and told me I needn’t read the book at all. I chose to read it of my own choice.

Also, trigger warnings: child abuse, parental abandonment, mentions of domestic abuse and cheating, depression, mood disorder, loss of child, PTSD, subtle mentions of body-shaming.

*lets out a breath* Okay.

Stay safe all of you.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

A Rogue of One's Own was exquisite! Evie Dunmore made a Historical Romance reader out of me with Bringing Down the Duke, and now I feel super invested in the lives of women who lived long ago. I definitely would have been a suffragist, but I don't know how Lucie kept her wits about her in a world where men felt like they owned the women in their lives. I really loved how Dunmore touched on realistic aspects from the time period (Poets like Oscar Wilde, suffragists like Millicent Fawcett, and what it was like for women and girls in general), and made them relevant to the here and now.

Women still struggle to be seen as equals in the eyes of men, and it's thanks to people like Lucie that we have a right to vote at all. Can you imagine marrying a man only to give up your own identity in the process? Everything you own - - everything that you've claimed for yourself - - suddenly becomes the property of your husband. That includes the woman entering the marriage. She essentially loses the rights to her very self. What's crazy is that all of this was commonplace not that long ago, and I think we take the sacrifices of those women lightly today, if we think about them at all.

It's clear Dunmore has done her research, even if she admits to embellishing a little bit with the dates. I thought A Rogue of One's Own was wonderfully written and beautifully captured the era the author was trying to depict. I enjoyed looking up the unfamiliar words and phrases to see how they translated, and it gave me an appreciation for a language that has been lost to time. Proper words we no longer use today; flashes of lifestyles no longer lived.

Lucie is astonishingly calm in the face of adversity, and I'm not sure I would have had the same amount of patience and tolerance. She was constantly belittled for her beliefs and attacked for her attempts to help better the lives of women. She had a few close friends, and the other suffragists were allies, but the rest of the world saw her as less. A spinster, boyish, the Tedbury Termagant. She shouldered it all with her held held high, and then she put her pen to paper. She's a nonstop machine that doesn't realize there's more to life until Tristan reappears to cause a little mischief. She's too busy and too stubborn for men, and I loved her all the more for it. We see her vulnerabilities, the cracks in her armor, but it just made her more realistic and likable.

Tristan is complicated and downright delightful. Yes, he's a rake. Yes, he gets away with more than most because of his station. Yes, he's a devious bastard. However, he's also fundamentally good. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, and he constantly puts others before himself. I disliked that the main conflict was withheld information, but he had very good reasons. Although, being upfront and honest with Lucie would have saved them both a lot of heartache, and likely kept what happened from happening, but I thought the author handled it well. Tristan was trying to protect someone he loved, and I can't really fault him for that.

Evie Dunmore is an incredible writer, so if you haven't read Bringing Down the Duke, I highly recommend starting with it and continuing with A Rogue of One's Own. You don't need to read them in order, but you'll have a better experience if you do, since a lot of the characters from the first book are also in this one. Even if you don't normally read Historical Fiction, read her books anyways! They are full of heart and delicious heat, so get ready for tender moments and sexy seduction. This author knows how to write a romance, that's for sure! (★★★★⋆ )

Delightful, funny, entertaining, could not put down, fabulous characters, this book has it all.
I loved Evie Dunmore's Bringing Down the Duke and this book continues with her The League of Extraordinary Women series with the story of Lucie and Tristan. As much as I loved book one I liked this one even more.
I loved that Lucie is not content with societal norms placed on women at that time and constantly pushes the boundaries. That is until she meets Tristan who completely knocks her off kilter. This book is a delightful escape.

Lady Lucie, a suffragist living in Oxford, has finally figured out a way to reach more women living in England and spread the word about what the Married Women’s Property Act could do for wives firmly under the thumb of abusive husbands: disperse information through her own publishing house! After finally raising enough money to purchase half-ownership in an existing house, she is astonished to discover that her childhood nemesis Tristan, Lord Ballentine, is the owner of the other majority of the shares… meaning she has to run all major decisions through him before she is able to do anything.

Tristan has had a thing for Lucie since they were kids, although most people just see him as a war hero lothario. He finally sees a chance to have Lucie for at least one night – in exchange for the majority share of the publishing house, for which he has his own plans. They go from enemies to lovers with much underhandedness in business—and their families.
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I really enjoyed A Rogue of One’s Own and was sad to see it end! I’m coming to love the enemies-to-lovers trope more and more, especially after seeing some of the history between Lucie and Tristan. The secondary plot with Tristan’s mother was also really interesting to follow and tied in really well with importance of the Married Women’s Property Act. It was hinted that Tristan might be bisexual, and I wish that had been fleshed out a bit more; while it added a bit of nuance to his character and some motivation to the conflict, there really wasn’t enough to really make a difference. I had a few of moments of wishing there was more—more background between Lucie and Tristan as kids, more into the estrangement between Lucie and her family members, more about Tristan. Seeing the page count as 448 seems like a lot when I still want more background! But overall, I really liked this one and am looking forward to the next two in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Rogue of One’s Own was a wonderful and witty story! It was poignant and real with exceptional characters full of depth. I loved the emotion, drama, and the animosity between Lucie and Tristan. It was an exciting and fresh read!

The author has an excellent way of telling a story. There were great building details that completely pulled me in. I liked the foreshadowing happening as we learn about the characters, their histories, and what they're going through. I loved all the details about Tristan and Lucie and this tense history they have filled with animosity. I liked that verbal sparring and the underlying attraction between them. I felt for both of them and what they were going through. Tristan was a man of many secrets and talents and I loved discovering those. Lucie was a force of nature, fighting for change in a time where everything was against her. I enjoyed them coming together and that fight between them. I really enjoyed their moments of understanding and when they start to soften and feelings start to emerge.

There's a nice cast of characters involved. I really liked the relationship that the women have together. I also liked the introduction of Blacksmith and where all that could go, he seems incredibly intriguing. There were several important and relevant subjects that were touched upon and I felt they added a lot to the story.

This was a well thought out, entertaining, and engrossing story. I found it exciting to read and I liked the personal conflicts Tristan and Lucie were facing and the ups and downs they had to go through to get to their HEA. I look forward to more in the series. Great read!

So, I did read an early copy of Evie Dunmore’s A Rogue of One’s Own which came out yesterday. And due to wider conversation about this book and things in it that are actively harmful, I find it difficult to review it in any substantive way.

I have to admit that I did enjoy this book overall. Lucie is a wonderful character and her devotion to women’s rights and the suffrage movement are fantastic. I wanted to fist-bump Lucie several times throughout this book.

The romance worked well for me as well. It has an enemies-to-lovers feel to it, although Tristan has nursed a tendre for Lucie for many years. These two bicker and fight and have to find a way to work together. And this leads to a delightful romantic tension.

But (and this isa a BIG BUT) Tristan spent years hiding from his father (who is awful) in India. And to commemorate his time there, he got a blue-skinned, four-armed figure tattooed on his chest that is inspired by Lord Shiva.

And when I first read this book, I thought to myself “Why?” But I definitely didn’t pay enough attention to it and what it would mean to those of South Asian descent. Despite the fact that this comes up repeatedly in romance.

This tattoo plays a critical part later in the book when someone accuses Tristan of ruining her, but cannot describe the tattoo accurately - because why would a tattoo of a person ever have more than 2 arms?

I also had some other issues with this dramatic reveal because Lucie seems to have no qualms about ruining her cousin by calling her a liar. I am not saying that the cousin didn’t deserve to have her false claims denied, but the entire plot point seemed problematic on several layers.

I don’t think the tattoo nor the way that the aforementioned situation was resolved were particularly necessary. This story had a strong foundation and didn’t need either of these things. In fact, it would’ve been stronger without them.

Ultimately, we have got to start doing better with issues of race, cultural appropriation, etc. When people tell you that something hurts them, we need to listen and accept what they are telling us. And do better moving forward.

I loved Evie Dunmore's first book, and I loved most of this second book. Dunmore is such a great writer (prose) and storyteller. I look forward to her third book.

While I had hoped to review this book for Frolic Media, which is where I review all my books, I will not be doing so for this book. This is because of the cultural appropriation and Orientalism that I found in the book.

It all centers around the goddess tattoo on the hero's chest. It is offensive to Indians and Indian Americans for white people of the British nobility to sport these tattoos on their chests. This is due to the history of the English nobility's complicity in the British Raj (Empire) and the brutal subjugation of the Indian people. The Orientalism has to do with the othering of the Indian people: cherry-picking details of the culture.

i was so excited for this book after loving the first in the series. unfortunately, it fell flat for me and i was very disappointed. i didn't really feel it from romance standpoint - didn't click with either character or understand where the heroine's hatred of the hero came from. but on top of that, it has a few problematic things that i won't go into, other reviews have said it better. just left a really bad taste and not sure i want to read another book by this author.

"Why does one love?" "Why, one just loves, Lucie."

Just like in Bringing Down the Duke, my favorite part of this story has to be the strong women. These women were making changes and standing up for causes that were actually put them at risk during the time. I love a hate to love romance and theirs was pretty off the charts! Tristan, was a dreamy, swoonworthy rake! Lucie was smart and determined. Loved the steam level here! Where this one lost me a bit was the details, it seemed to drag on a bit, particularly in the first half. I would have preferred about 100 pages less and found myself skimming at times. But, I absolutely LOVED how the end played out. Romance wins without forgetting the importance of the cause!

Suffragist heroine wanting to take down the patriarchy, check. Unrequited love, check. Enemies to lovers, check. Angry sex… you had me at angry sex.

This book. I’m still unpacking my feelings over this book, but I can say with ease the auburn-haired, Victoria Cross winner, face of angels, Tristan Ballentine has climbed up the ranks of book boyfriend. He hasn’t replaced my ultimate favorite, but it’s damn close. He’s definitely sitting in the second spot.

Why dear reader? Because he does the devil may care act so well, but I know the truth. He’s a romantic.

Let’s rewind for a second. The first book in Evie Dunmore’s League of Extraordinary Women series received a top pick from me, but I held out from the five because it was a slow starter. This book didn’t start out slow, in fact, it came with a bang. Within the first chapter, I had to know what would happen. Dunmore hooked effectively and I had this bone deep urge to watch as Lady Lucinda, the Tedbury Termagant, fighter of women’s rights, fell for our war-time hero Tristan.

There’s this underlying subplot where Lucie, is purchasing half of a printing house and determined to post a suffragist report that could very well tank the house and aggravate half of England. But, to fight the Married Women’s Property Act, she’d do about anything.

Queue the entrance of our hero, Tristan of course already owns a share of this publishing house, bought long before he went to serve in the Queen’s Army. Upon return to England he seeks control of the house for his own books and to work at gaining independence from his father, among other reasons. His father is true snake and honestly, I wished for more punishment upon the man, but we can’t always have what we want. Back to the source of main conflict, when Lucie finds out Tristan is her co-owner in the publishing house, all her plans are ruined… or maybe, they aren’t.

Tristan has always wanted Lucie and he bates her with an offer because he’s a man and thinking with his little head. Lucie of course refuses. She won’t debase herself in such a way, too much risk to her cause, to her standing. She was once a lady, now a spinster disowned secretly by her family. Lucie is… everything. She’s the deepest parts of me, wanting to fight and rally, but also wanting to be seen and loved. It’s a warring duality of want and frustration that pulls her closer to Tristan and encourages her to try and hold back.

I love seeing her fall. I love even more the hero’s little acts of goodness towards Lucie, conducted in secret of course. I don’t want to give any more details because it feels like I’m giving away the adventure of this book. Let me add that the dialogue is biting. Take this exchange:

“I supposed where the chase is the aim, names are but tedious details.”

“I would not know.” He sounded bemused. “I never chase.”

“What a worrying degree of self-delusion.”

He tutted. “Have you not read your Darwin? The male flaunts himself, the female chooses, it has ever been thus. Beware the determinedly chasing male— he is hoping you won’t notice his plumage is subpar.”

“Whereas yours is of course superiorly large and iridescent.”

“I assure you it is not iridescent,” he said in a bland voice.

Annoyance crept hotly up her neck. “The ladies do not seem to mind.”

“My dear,” he murmured. “Do I detect jealousy?”

Now that I think on it more, Tristan is some sort of English Rhett Butler. Swoon. That heavy-handed cockiness with a secret dose of caring is worth spent on someone like Lucie compared to Scarlett. The dialogue and interactions between these two are constantly like this and back and forth that makes you think it will either end in the bedroom or eventually come to blows.

If you love Courtney Milan, Carolyn Jewel, or Miranda Neville I highly recommend you pick up this book.

~ Landra