Wow. First of all, I’ve really come to love series in which the MC shifts. As much as I loved Annabelle and Sebastian in book one, I absolutely adore Lucie and Tristan’s story even more.

Holy steamboat. 🔥 🔥 🔥! If you’re looking for a steamy and also interesting romance, I highly recommend this one (but know that it’s the second in the series).

Romance, passion, feminism, historical fiction, and beautiful dialogue. I’m here for it!

I think Dunmore is a master of her craft, able to put together a plot that keeps you interested and wanting even more when it’s over, an intense dynamic between characters, building passion, and time period relevant political activism.

5 stars for me!

Okay, historical romance is something I never expected to enjoy as much as I do, but Evie Dunmore has changed the game!

I purchased Bringing Down the Duke on the recommendation of a bookstagrammer I follow who primarily reads romance. I wanted something light and fun, so I figured I might like Bringing Down the Duke because I enjoy historical fiction, books by women, and books about strong women. I adored the book and recommend it regularly. I was so eager to get to A Rogue of One’s Own and it did not disappoint! Both Bringing Down the Duke and A Rogue of One’s Own are part of the League of Extraordinary Women series.

A Rogue of One’s Own follows Lady Lucie, a member of a band of Oxford suffragists who are working to get women the right to vote. As part of their plan, they will acquire one of London’s major publishing houses, which they plan to use to spread awareness for the Cause. All things seem to be in order—that is, until Lord Ballantine is revealed, at the last minute, as the majority owner of the publishing house. Lord Ballantine and Lady Lucie have known each other since childhood, and Lady Lucie is fuming that he is standing in her way. He proposes to sell her enough shares to give her majority ownership with one condition – they must spend a night together.

I adored this book. Lady Lucie is strong and determined and dedicates herself fully to the Cause. This romance novel is deeper than the love story. It discusses women’s issues, the roots of patriarchy, and the abuse many women endured by systemic removal of their rights. I am thankful for the women who came before me, who were so determined to bring women more rights under the law, and who fought and fought and risked their reputations for what was right.

Lord Ballantine was featured as a minor character in Bringing Down the Duke and he acted very inappropriately and like a bad guy. However, Lucie confides in Annabelle, the protagonist of the first novel in the series, regarding her feeling, which I appreciated because it indicated she wanted her friend to be aware of her feelings given Annabelle wasn’t a fan of the Lord. Lord Ballantine develops so much as a character, and his backstory sheds light on his behaviors and somewhat abrasive personality. He admired Lucie’s intellect, drive, and honesty. He was attracted to her, but I most appreciated their deeper conversations about Lucie’s work. He was willing to listen, actually did listen, and offered to help in ways that he could (meaning he used his position of privilege to advance a cause that didn’t directly affect him – awesome! Wow! We should all do this).

If you enjoy books about strong women, steamy scenes, love stories, and witty banter, I highly recommend it.

I adore this series. Historical romance with a slap of women's suffrage? BRING it, babe, and keep them coming.

Plot: ★★★★
Historic vibes: ★★★★ 1/2
Romance: ★★★★★
Witty dialogue: ★★★★★

A Rogue of One's Own comes out on September 1, 2020!!

This is fast becoming one of my favorite series in the niche genre of historical romances. Neck in neck with Tessa Dare's Girl Meets Duke series, this is filled to the brim with witty banter, sharp women, self aware yet powerful men, and a historical setting with a refreshingly modern sense of female independence. (Okay, that last one obviously bends the rules of "historical accuracy," but excuse me... this is a romance and I'm not complaining.)

Lucie is not happy. A woman who has given up her reputation in society and worked herself to the bone for The Cause (women's rights), Lucie is finally at the point where she and her team of Oxford suffragists have successfully landed a spot to shine the light on their cause: They've purchased 50% of the shares of a publishing house, and they mean to use them to fight the good fight and spread the word.

The only thing in Lucie's way is Lord Tristan Ballentine.

Tristan and Lucie grew up together, and Lucie cannot BELIEVE that at this moment, the most important moment of her Cause, it's Tristan standing in her way. As far back as she can remember, it was Tristan in her path. He threw pranks her way, he never left her alone, and he never disappeared from her line of sight. Of course, these days he's keeping himself in her life by flaunting his lovers and sexual escapades in the society's gossip rags.... but still.

Tristan Ballentine has bought the other 50% of shares at the publishing house.

Lucie's not about to let that stand. She's ready for battle, and as always, Tristan is there ready to spar. What could possibly make Tristan do this?

Well, if the man has been infatuated with the spitfire suffragist since she was old enough to slap him at the age of 13, that's his business. He's spent decades doing everything he possibly can to provoke a reaction from Lucie. But this time, Tristan's actions aren't necessarily about Lucie, and he's found himself on the other side of the sparring field quite by accident.

He guesses it's time to see how far this can go. Oh dear, Lucie. Get ready for a ride.

My thoughts:
LOVED this, folks. Perfectly paced hate-to-love romance, with a huge dash of mutual angst and pining because, duh, it's also historical. One of the best elements of historical romances is the strict society rules, and how our heroes decide to subvert them. This story was no exception. Their ending was perfect for their character arcs.

Tristan and Lucie's chemistry zings. Really zings. I loved their back stories, their reasonings, and even enjoyed the stereotypical elements of "reluctant historical female meets notorious rogue" that usually sets my teeth on edge. Because Lucie's character was so independent and strong, I didn't mind. She held her own and then some.

Also, it must be said that the author does a fantastic job of grounding us in the time period of women fighting for their rights in England. There's a section of notes in the back explaining where things fit into the real historic timeline, and I really appreciated it.

Thank you to Berkley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

It really saddens me to say that Evie Dunmore's sophomore book didn't live up to what the first delivered. I was so excited to read A Rogue of One's Own after being so blown away by her debut. I thought it was fresh, original, skillfully written, and filled with angsty romance. I was looking forward to reading Tristan's story because he seemed to be hiding some secret feelings for Lucie despite her strong aversion to him. When I say strong aversion, that's putting it politely. In reality it's actually more like she despises the very air he breathes. I thought there was potential here for an angsty, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story. And reformed rakes often make the best husbands in fictional HEAs, so how could it go wrong? The enemies part was not addressed sufficiently which made their entire relationship feel unauthentic.

Lucie is pretty brittle and tough, but I understood why she was that way in the beginning. As the leader of the British suffragist movement, her experiences with men in power haven't been positive ones. She stopped believing in "fairy tales" about men probably at the point she discovered that her own father treated her mother like dirt. It makes sense that she's biased to think the worst of men, but when it comes to Tristan, she has blinders over her eyes. The book started going downhill rapidly for me once the two of them started to interact with each other. The way she talks to him and about him is with complete and instant contempt. The man cannot say or do ANYTHING without her imagining some sort of slight or insult. It's really grating and nothing short of shrewish, which the hero even describes her as at one point.

Her level of anger seemed VERY personal, so I withheld my judgement for a bit. I honestly thought that there would be some childhood history shown through flashbacks. We are shown the day the met, so it was natural to assume there would be more development of their history so that I could get a read on why she felt this way. If she had started to fall for him when they were younger, and there was a misunderstanding...maybe she felt betrayed? Then I could justify her attitude. Unfortunately what it all boiled down to was that she hated the man simply based on gossip. Stories about his sexual escapades and her false opinion that he's shallow and empty headed. She forms this opinion without ever actually spending ANY time with him or having a discussion about these perceptions. When I reached around the halfway point in the book and there was very little interaction between them besides brief bickering, I felt let down on the lack of solid romance building. I needed more.

I began the story liking Tristan and mentally sticking up for him, but after a certain point he lost all credibility. Not to mention consistency. In once scene, they have a huge blow out fight, and she says some vicious things that cut him to the bone. I was disgusted with her at that point for the things she said which were completely uncalled for and misguided. All of the years they knew each other, he stayed silent and let her abuse roll right off his back. Why did he feel that way about her and why didn't he defend himself? When they were twelve, he thought she looked like a fairy tale princess, and he's physically attracted to her as a man, but is that enough to make him pine for years? None of this quite adds up to me. But it was at this one moment when she hurt him the most that he decides to try to coerce her into sex. Frankly, his plan to use her and then add insult to injury by not giving her what he promised is gross. The fact that he doesn't follow through is irrelevant; even planning it crosses the line for me. He lost his high ground at that moment and I began to not like either of them or caring if they ended up together.

One minute we're being told that Tristan is misunderstood by the gossip about his sexual escapades, and he just lets them believe what he wants. The next, we're told that he took part in orgies and liked voyeurism-which is fine as long as everyone consents. But it contradicts the impression we were given in the beginning of the book. I was genuinely confused about him as a character and didn't have a clear picture of who he was because of the inconsistency. The lack of cohesion kept adding up and my ambivalence in the characters were the factors that brought me to the decision to DNF. Many others have been enjoying the story, so don't just take my word on it. For me, it was the right decision to not try to force what wasn't working.

Could Historical Romance become my new favourite genre!? I very much think so!!!

I absolutely LOVED this book so so so much.

We follow Lady Lucinda Tedbury, a notorious suffragist, and Lord Tristan Ballentine, renowned rogue, whom she has detested since their first meting as children. On the other hand, Tristan has been in love with Lucie for that long.

Although not the most adored person in high society, Lucie has an important circle of friends and acquaintances who finance her Cause. That’s how she manages to acquire half of London Print as a way to share her suffragette views with the female population of Victorian London. Her main goal throughout the book is to get The Marriage Act changed in order to give more freedom to married women.

Enter the newly war-returned devilish Lord Tristan who is adamant on publishing his writings and get a personal income as a way to free his mother of his ruthless father, Rochester. When Tristan acquires the other half of London Print, chaos and scheming ensues.

They do everything in their power to get on each other’s nerves and bicker non-stop. So when Lucie offers to buy his part of the business, he proposes something else. He will give 1% to her if she spends the night with him. Will her values and beliefs allow her to accept the deal?

The type of relationship dynamic between Lucie and Tristan was so hot and cold, it’s my my all time favourite kind so I got hooked to the story pretty fast. Also, the story behind Boudicca melted my heart!!!

The Women’s Suffrage part of the book was so engaging and informative. I loved that Lucie helped both wealthy and poor women alike without any kind of prejudice or judgement.

Lucie is so fiercely focused and strong when it comes to her beliefs and I find it so admirable and inspiring. She fights with teeth and nails so that married women can have more freedom. She also advocates for their right to vote and for women to be part of the House of Lords.

Tristan was the perfect smug rake who made it his mission to tease and prank the heroine. Yet his romantic side and tender heart made me love him even more. He is sensitive, understanding, loyal and passionate. I love how he offers his help to Lucie and reads the letters. The fact that they affected him enough to take action and join the fight for women’s right was the cherry on top.

Lucie’s group of friends and fellow suffragettes is so supporting and forward-thinking! The fact that they have each other makes me super happy.

If you can’t tell yet, I am IN LOVE with these characters and I can’t wait to read Hattie’s book!!!

Evie Dunmore's debut last year was one of my favorite books of 2019, I couldn't wait to start A ROGUE OF ONE'S OWN when it landed on my Kindle. Alas, it didn't hit the mark this time and here is why:

Lucie is a sufragette and fighting for women's rights. That she doesn't have much in the way of respect or liking for a rake like Tristan, who in her opinion uses women for his pleasure, is a given. What I didn't expect was the antagonism and, yes, hatred for him that was rooted in...nothing? Because we never got a real explanation. For as long as she hated him I waited for a flashback, something he must have done in his past but no, no such thing happened. So I was sitting her getting really upset with the heroine because she was judgmental and behaved really awfully when she was around Tristan. In general Lucie always thought the worst of Tristan and never gave him credit when it was due.

Tristan wasn't a saint though. While many of the stories about his escapades were fiction there were enough left to still make him look like a man-ho. I love a good redeemed bad boy story but when the hero has dubious thoughts in his mind, like coercing the heroine into a night with him and then withholding his part of the bargain it doesn't make him much better than his own father who used Tristan's mother as a bargain chip and who our hero despised because of it. And it doesn't put him above all the men using women, the women Lucie fights for every day. Then there was Tristan's reverence and adoration for the heroine. The same goes here - there is no explanation why he was so into her. She slapped him when they were kids and was never nice to him. So where did that come from?

Now I will say that I came to like these two in the end but it was a rocky road. The whole thing was a bit of a mess. I will say that the author does an amazing job to capture the political atmosphere and her writing really is beautiful. I liked how the book ended, the decisions that were made, the reasons for them. I loved how Tristan supported Lucie and the cause she was fighting for.
“One more sword for your troops, princess.”

A ROGUE OF ONE'S OWN had a lot of potential to be a winner but there were too many things that didn't make sense to me. As always I ask you to read other reviews and give this story a chance if you feel that it may still work for you. I know Evie Dunmore is capable of greatness so I'll be waiting for Hattie's book.
Your stubborn courage humbles me. Your rage inspires me. You are like a storm moving through, rearranging whomever you touch in your wake—imagine

A resoundingly amusing and tension filled read!

A suffragette and a rogue hero who just happens to be a poet. That's a good start right there!
Evie Dunmore had shot right to the top of my 'must read authors' with the first book in her 'League of Extraordinary Women series,' and stays there with this title.
The story revolves around women's right in the Victorian era. The story fairly seeps situations highlighting these facts.
As a counterpoint we have the reluctant warrior poet, returned from the wars in Afghanastan whose soul has been afflicted from the very start, indeed since childhood, by our defender of women's rights, Lady Lucinda Tedbury. Lucie and her group of Oxford suffragettes and Tristan, Lord Ballentine, "scoundrel, seducer, bane of [Lucie's] youth," are in conflict over control of a Publishing House. Tristan's price for standing down is one Lucie is never going to adhere to!
The story of Lucie and Tristan is human and believable. Lucie is in many ways her own worst enemy. She approaches situations with integrity, honesty and unfortunately a hasty temper.
A fun read that takes no prisoners!

A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

e-arc sent to me on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
a rogue of one’s own is the 9th historical fiction book (i think) that i’ve read this year, and it’s one of my favorites. i could honestly say that when i started reading it i was expecting it to be a lot like book one, which i gave 3 stars. i didn’t like Tristan before i started because of his little cameo in Bringing Down the Duke and i thought lucy was really boring. i was wrong. i literally CANNOT explain my reaction when i realized that it’s an ENEMIES TO LOVERS and they actually hate each other instead of becoming best friends after a short phase of mutual dislike (which is literally all the enemies books i’ve been reading lately-💀).

i’m trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible so i don’t have to mark it for spoilers so y’all can read be coerced into reading A Rogue, but omg. tristan. that man. i’m literally dedicating an entire paragraph to him in this review because i definitely think he’s officially on my list of favorite male characters of 2020😈. HIS PIERCING- i literally can’t exist knowing about him and that diamond. like, i actually spent an unhealthy amount of time rereading the parts which featured/talked about the earring because i was malfunctioning. honestly, when i think about it right now i stil malfunction. 🥵💫✨👄👁🤩😍🌚😽❤️. anyways, enough about his piercing, let’s talk about him. as i’ve said ^, i hated him from book one, but as soon as i got to know the first thing about him in book two i really said Uno Reverse🏃🏽‍♀️🔁. that’s embarrassing for me, but anyways. literally if you don’t have a reason to read this book i beg of you to just realize that you’re about to find the love of your life in it, and you should just pick it up rn.

and lucy. 🥺. i don’t have a lot to say about her because i clearly spent most of the book being obsessed with tristan, but she’s so precious. she’s like,,,an icon🤩. literally, a whole queen. i 100000% KNOW that she and Lilly Linton would be best friends and automatically that makes her one of my favorite female mcs😌.

back to the whole enemies to lovers thing. ITS ACTUALLY ENEMIES TO LOVERS. they have all the ✨hate✨, same as jude and cardan if ykyk, and i was 😍😍😍😍😍 the entire time. i can’t express how much i love reading this trope, and when its done well i literally can’t handle.

i’m finally done rambling, and if you’ve made it this far please go read this. literally skip book one if you don’t want (although there will be spoilers for it in this book, along with cameos) and GO READ IT!!!

Omg did I love reading this one!

Lucie and Tristan are a great pair and I love their chemistry. Tristan has secretly adored Lucie for years and has even published a book of poems, which are inspired by her but no one knows it. He constantly is in her shadows much to her annoyance - although handsome as sin, he frustrates her. Their chemistry is hot and this one was much more sexier than the first book in this series.

I am really really looking forward to Hatties story - and this book is a keeper!

Bringing Down the Duke absolutely blew me away, so I was stoked when A Rogue of One’s Own was announced. Once again, Evie Dunmore knocked it out of the park! A Rogue of One’s Own is a delightful historical romance full of amazing chemistry, a plucky heroine, and a scandal-filled love story.

After meeting Lucie in Brining Down the Duke, I was so excited to that she would be the protagonist in this. Lucie was such a strong, independent, smart woman and I was really looking forward to her getting her own book. I love how fiercely she fights for equal rights for women and what she believes in, despite the hardships she faces along the way.

The chemistry between Lucie and Tristan was sizzling! As with Bringing Down the Duke, Evie Dunmore expertly creates a simmering tension and longing between two characters that is palpable through the pages. All those repressed feelings and years of longing really build up the angst in the one which made the end result so much more satisfactory.

Evie Dunmore’s books have quickly become a “must-read” for me. From the high quality of her writing and the amazing chemistry between characters, A Rogue of One’s Own makes the perfect historical romance. I cannot wait for the next book from her!

I am pretty new to the historical romance genre, with A Rogue Of One’s Own only being my second historical romance read this year, and it definitely did not disappoint! A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore is the second book in her “League of Extraordinary Women” series, set in late-1800’s Britain and centered around the women’s suffrage movement.

A Rogue of One’s Own is definitely a character driven story and I’m happy to say that I absolutely adored both Lucie’s and Tristan’s characters. Lucie is a very quick-witted force to be reckoned with and I loved her strong commitment to “The Cause” (equal rights for women). Tristan is an intelligent, witty and swoon-worthy rogue who has held a lifelong attraction toward Lucie, is incredibly supportive of her and her values, The Cause and equal rights for women. THE BANTER BETWEEN LUCIE AND TRISTAN THOUGH 😍🙌🏻 I loved the development of their enemies to lovers relationship and I indulged in the witty dialogue between them throughout the book.

A Rogue Of One’s Own is the perfect follow up to Evie Dunmore’s debut novel, Bringing Down The Duke. This delightful novel releases TODAY and if you are a fan of historical romance, or are looking to embrace a new genre, I highly recommend starting with this and Bringing Down The Duke! Definitely looking for the third book in this series, coming out in 2021!! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkeley Romance for gifting me this eARC in exchange for my honest review 💛

This book was a DNF for me. I had a really hard time getting into it but I have heard it gets better! I had to put it down around 35%.

I felt like there wasn't enough conversation happening between the characters and I couldn't understand what was happening a lot of the time. I will admit it has been a long time since I have read a historical fiction so I think I was just having trouble getting back into this genre.

I liked Tristan a lot. I felt like he was a great character and had some good Bisexual representation going on. He was proud of who he is and didn't care what people thought.

This book wasn't for me (at this moment in time. I will definitely go back try to read this again because it was a good book but I just had trouble with it!) I think anyone who likes sexy bad boys and historical fiction will like this one!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the second title in Evie Dunmore's League of Extraordinary Women series and is the story of Lady Lucie. Readers may remember her as the leader of the suffragist group in the first book of the series. In this installment, Lucie appears as a more well-rounded character. Her love interest, Tristan, is a seemingly irredeemable rogue with hidden depths. The story takes us from a London publishing house, to Oxford, to an opulent country house party. Overall, this is an enjoyable read and an engaging love story with strong chemistry. It is more overtly feminist and political than the average historical romance novel. There are some secondary characters and loose ends that are left hanging and it seems likely that these will be addressed in future books in the series, though this did make the novel feel very slightly incomplete. Overall, I recommend and look forward to future books in the series.

I really liked this one Tristan was a sexy brooding gentlemen and I loved how strong Lucie was as a character. I think my biggest problem is when I pick this book back up it takes time for me to get back into the old English writing and I found myself needing to go back a few times and reread sections. I didn’t think this one was as steamy as the first but it worked well I’m this book and I’m so excited to see more of these characters in book 3

A Rogue of One’s Own is an enemies-to-lovers romance between Tristan Ballister and Lady Lucie, who buy equal stakes in a publisher and then wrestle for who has majority control of the publishing company.

On the one hand, I really enjoyed Dunmore’s voice as an author! I found her writing compelling, and while I didn’t always *like* wither the hero or the heroine, I really value that Lucie and Tristan are complex & imperfect characters. Paricularly Lucie— we need more complicated women in romance!! Lucie felt real & stubborn & relatable in many ways, and I want more heroines who aren’t required to be perfect to find love.

On the other hand, there were some aspects of representation that I found problematic. I struggled with moments of biphobia, homophobia, and cultural appropriation I found in the story. Considering the hype about how this is a feminist book, it left me wanting more.

I received an arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I thought the first book in this series was a strong debut, and really liked so much about A Rogue of One's Own! I'm enjoying what I hope will continue to be a new publishing trend of historical romance novels about feminists like this and Scarlett Peckham's The Rakess, and of course Courtney Milan's The Suffragette Scandal.

Some caveats, though: First, the hero's tattoo is based on an Indian deity; a reviewer below goes into this in much more detail, and you should check out what they have to say both here and at more length on GoodReads. It bothers me that this didn't even strike me as potentially problematic upon first reading precisely because historical romance's history of exoticizing and co-opting other cultures has made me so used to seeing stuff like that--but at THIS moment in history, we can and should embrace opportunities to criticize and change and hopefully improve the genre going forward.

Ditto for the second caveat, which is for an Evil Gay Villain acting out of frustrated desire for the hero. I found this trope slightly less problematic here because I do think there's an argument to be made that living in a society which forces people to be closeted results in the kind of internalized homophobia that could realistically be part of what's contributing to such behavior (especially in an otherwise extremely entitled character), but of course the realism argument also only goes so far. We've all seen enough homophobia to not necessarily want more of it in our romance novels. Still, it was less of a problem for me personally because I read enough queer romance, historical and otherwise, that this is no longer the only kind of representation I see any more, and because I can enjoy some problematic things.

And this book was otherwise great! I loved Lucie and Tristan's romance and Dunmore's writing, which is why I'm still giving it a (qualified) recommendation and will definitely read the author's next title. It's also why I even wrote all this, if I'm being completely honest; if the book was bad I'd never bother, but I'm hopeful that conversations about problematic aspects of good books can ultimately help make both future ones and the genre as a whole stronger and better.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC of A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of my few DNF of the year, but only temporary because I may circle back when I’m in the mood for a book like this.

My biggest problem with this book was the lack of dialogue and interaction with the characters, I rely heavily on plots when it comes to books and this one just did not pull me in at all.

However, if you love descriptive characters and setting with a lot of historical details then you will love this book.

The first book in this series was good, but I felt like I did not need another book. I DNF at 40%, so this review excludes about 60% of the book where people have told me it does pick up a little bit.

I want to start by saying thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

In case you didn’t know, Bringing Down the Duke was one of my absolute favorite rom-coms last year and when I heard that a sequel was coming out I knew I needed to read it.

This book, like a lot of rom com sequels, can be read as a standalone. However, since I loved the first one so much, I would highly recommend reading it in order!

The story is told from dual POVs, (YAYYYY!!!) Lady Lucie and Lord Ballantine, as they begin as enemies. I am a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope, provided that it is done well and not an insta-love story. This one does an excellent job progressing their relationship at a natural speed and draws you into their story!

Another thing that is done exceptionally well is Dunmore’s ability to write in such a descriptive language that it makes you feel like you’ve stepped straight into 19th century London. This book is so much more than a rom com as the author brings forth the many issues that women during that time faced and really made me feel like I was fighting this fight right alongside Lucie and the suffragists.

Overall, this story is a well-written Hallmark worthy rom com. It tackles important issues and really makes me want to demand the third book right this minute! If you have not read Bringing Down the Duke yet, I recommend reading that one ASAP. If you have read that one, be sure to pick up A Rogue of One’s Own (out tomorrow, Sept 1st)

This is definitely one of my favorites, if not the favorite, historical romance series. The writing and characters are so engaging; the reader really feels like they're in 1880's Oxford with the group of young suffragettes. Both Lucie and Tristan are complicated but likable people with great banter and chemistry. And Tristan falling in love with Lucie's passion and determination for the Cause made me fall in love with both of them even more. This is a fun childhood friends and enemies-to-lovers mix.

Even though we saw a little less of Hattie and Catriona in this one (looking forward to both of their upcoming stories) I really appreciated Lucie and Annabelle's friendship. Found family is a major theme for this series as most of the MCs have problematic/toxic home life with their parents. One of my favorite parts of the book was how Lucie would help women get out of bad situations, whether it was secretly giving out contraception, getting a prostitute and her baby to a safe halfway house, or helping a wealthy socialite disappear to get a way from an abusive husband. I could have read a whole book of just that part of her activism and work.

I also loved the historical nods to the politics and culture of the time- shout out to the poetry of Yeats and Byron and especially a cameo by Oscar Wilde! In the author's note Dunmore explained she moved around a few dates and details but kept the spirit of truth from history, including letters written by real women at the time. I highlighted so many lines in my kindle, including beautiful quotes about the healing power of love as well as feminist manifestos of the time. Most of all the powerful quote from a real letter about how a man killing his wife in inches is not considered murder.

Evie Dunmore’s debut, “Bringing Down the Duke”, was my first ever historical romance – and it got me hooked on the genre! I was very excited to read the next book in her “League of Extraordinary Women” series after honing in on which historical tropes I like – and the ones I don’t. Fortunately for me, “A Rogue of One’s Own” features my favourite historical hero: a rogue (obviously lol). Sorry to Montgomery - the cold, stoic hero of the first book - but Tristan stole my heart with his roguish, rakish ways.

This book follows Lady Lucie, leader of the Oxford suffragists, and titular rogue himself, Lord Tristan Ballantine - who also happens to be Lucie’s childhood nemesis. The story weaves through their various clashes – professionally and personally – as Lucie attempts to gain control over one of London’s major publishing houses in order to further the Cause.

It seems like I am always going on about how much I love the rivals to lovers trope, but I’m not sorry about it. Dunmore flawlessly combines this trope with the added bonus element of ~history~ between said rivals. I loved how Tristan and Lucie’s tumultuous relationship was rooted in a shared history – it ramped up the tension between them ten-fold. And boy oh boy was there a LOT of simmering tension between them. Tristan immediately became one of my favourite heroes – he is anti-war, loves cats, recites poetry, and flaunts his sexuality (which, he’s definitely bi, right??). I also loved Lucie – hot-headed, marriage-hating, and also, cat-loving (very important to me it seems).

Overall, “A Rogue of One’s Own” was the perfect follow-up to Dunmore’s debut, and I have to say I liked it even better than the first! And it comes out in 2 days!! So get your hands on a copy if you can – it will be well worth it.