Cover Image: A Rogue of One's Own

A Rogue of One's Own

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This book is a fiercely passionate historical romance that holds true to the suffragist movement while playing romantic havoc on readers’ emotions. The last quarter of the book had my heart racing! Evie Dunmore already gave us the beautiful, steamy Bringing Down the Duke, and with A Rogue of One’s Own, she gives us the scandalous romantic intrigue of another extraordinary lady, Lucie Wycliffe.

Once again, Dunmore takes readers on a beautifully sweet adventure to 19th century London and the women’s suffragist movement. It’s obvious that Dunmore has put a lot of time and research into creating her world. A Rogue of One’s Own is infused with rich details that bring the story to life, sweeping readers right off their feet.

The chemistry between Lucie and Tristan is undeniably intense. Their love/hate banter keeps them on their toes and provides a delicious lead up to their intimate encounters. Dunmore did a wonderful job of showing readers how an independent, headstrong woman like Lucie could eventually fall for a handsome rogue. I particularly liked that Lucie maintained her independence, even going so far as to agree to a long-term engagement to Tristan rather than risk her rights by agreeing to marry him. She stays true to her values while discovering that Tristan loves her for her passion, her fight, her intelligence—he loves her for herself.

Dunmore’s writing is beautiful and immersive, her characters are compelling and so heart-stoppingly human that it’s impossible not fall in love with this story. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

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If you’ve read Bringing Down the Duke, you may recall a certain militant suffragist and a rake having some unresolved lusty antagonism. This is their book and their unresolved repressed lust gets unpacked in the most glorious way possible.

Tristan is, to use a very historically accurate term, a himbo. Shallower than a  kiddie pool. So gorgeous that everyone lusts after him. He literally can’t step foot anywhere without being mobbed and oh, did I mention he has his own line of “Ballentine” cards? He’s the Victorian equivalent of a reality star. Lucie is a determined, focused woman on a mission to get women the vote and most pressingly to liberate women from their oppressive reality. She has no time for men but most especially for beautiful empty-headed ones that used to love to tease her and aggravate her when they were children. Unfortunately, the publishing house Lucie has recently acquired to further the Cause with the help of her friends has a second owner. A madenningly beautiful, slightly evil one who is bound and determined to thwart Evie’s plans at every turn. Cue the sexiest and slow burn-iest battle of wills that I’ve read in a long time. 

 I loved so many things about this book. I loved that it’s about a feminist heroine and it's a feminist book and it makes a point of showing the horrible reality of being a woman in the 19th century but it stays firmly rooted in the history of the time. The author doesn’t just tell you, she shows you the frustrations and injustices inherent at every turn.

And that brings me to my new book boyfriend, Tristan. I’m an unapologetically hero-centric reader and if the hero doesn’t work for me, the book most certainly won’t. Tristan worked for me on every level and let me tell you why: he reminded me of my book husband Sebastian, Lord St Vincent. That’s the highest compliment I can pay any hero, btw. He was like a most beautiful onion with so, so many layers to him, there was so much more going on beyond the beautiful, rakish, empty-headed flirty facade (he’s secretly a poet, y’all * swoons dead away*), and just when I thought I had a handle on his character, the author would reveal another little detail, something else to complete the puzzle that was Tristan. I won’t spoil my beautiful misunderstood baby here, you must experience him for yourself but I’ll say that one of my favorite things about his character was seeing him recognize his privilege and doing something about it. I adored Lucie just as much. Her character was also complex, layered and so heartbreakingly real. I came close to frustrated tears reading about Lucie’s uphill battle, her frustrations, her insecurities, and the high price she paid for daring to buck the norms. These two characters are compelling enough as individuals but together as they find each other, they’re irresistible. They are both victims of society’s rigid gender rules except Lucie fights it at every turn and Tristan puts on a mask and leans in. They first find themselves and then they find each other and oh my heart! Make no mistake, this book is swooningly romantic. One of my favorite things about reading romance is that moment when you realize the MC's have fallen in love. Too often I feel this is told rather than shown and I get cranky that I get cheated out of that heavenly stomach swooping feeling. In this case, I saw Tristan and Evie’s gradual descent from adversaries to lovers to friends to HEA. Reader, it was glorious. 

I am also a huge fan of gestures and Tristan makes so many, big and small. His love has been just bubbling under the surface since they were children but he had been so emotionally abused that he failed to recognize his feelings for what they were and oh when he finally does *swoons dramatically*


The romance is always front and center but this book is heavy on the history so if that’s not your jam then steer clear. There’s no historical wallpapering here, this author does her research and pairs it brilliantly with the romance. I can’t tell you how many times I had to pause in my reading to look up a historical detail in this book (vinegar Valentine’s are a rabbit hole. Google at your own peril).

So all this word vomit was to say that this is the ultimate most epic-est enemies to lovers slow burn and I loved every single detail, every glance, every touch, every word of dialogue. It was simply glorious. If I had a quibble is that I wish there had been more steamy sex scenes but the sexual tension made up for it. The peek at the next book has me making grabby hands because sweet Hattie is being paired with an anti-hero and I have never anticipated any book more. Five solid enthusiastic stars.

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Lucie is the daughter of an earl, but she is estranged from her family and has been for years. She has always been a suffragist, and insulted her father in front of his peers, causing her to be practically disowned. She's nearing thirty, and has lived in Oxford, working with the suffragist chapter there, for some time. Tristan's mother is Lucie's friend, and they were acquaintances growing up. Tristan always had a crush on Lucie, but he showed her in a really awful way - by playing pranks on her during their youth. Lucie always hated him as a result, and doesn't like him much as an adult, either. The gossip rags make Tristan out to be a playboy (even more so than he really is) and she doesn't like the way she believes he treats women.

Lucie is dead set on never getting married. In fact, her team is working on convincing members of parliament not to pass an act that solidifies a wife's property becoming her husband's upon marriage. While her other friends aren't against marriage, Lucie sees it for the legal trap that it was in those days. Meanwhile, she knows nothing of Tristan's situation. His mother is caught in that trap, and he is too, in a way. Though he's a man and able to pursue a career, I would argue that his father is financially abusing him as he abuses Tristan's mother. Tristan's father is forcing his son to marry within three months, or he'll cut Tristan off and put his mentally ill mother in an asylum.

Because he's trying to form some semblance of independence, Tristan is living in Oxford on his own. He borrows money to buy a publishing house to ensure some income. It so happens that Lucie and her team has purchased shares in the same house, with the intention of publishing their feminist findings in women's magazines. Tristan has his own reasons to dissuade their methods. It's clear to the reader that he has every reason to be on the same page, but he knows they won't make a profit if they do this. Lucie needs Tristan to sell her some shares so she has majority ownership. On a rather sexually charged whim, Tristan offers them to her if she'll sleep with him for one night.

Lucie doesn't give in right away, but eventually she does, and one night turns into many. It's a slow burn until we get to the steamy scenes, but there are many, and they are all lovely. This couple has so much passion and energy between them - rivalry, friendship, hate, love, lust, history, business. There are some serious fireworks.

I know I just wrote FOUR PARAGRAPHS about the plot, but I guarantee that's not even half of it. I'm keeping the spoilers at bay. This was just such a gorgeous read. In addition to the awesome romance and explosive erotica, there's this fabulously feminist main plot, beautiful portrayals of friendships between women, and cameos from historical figures. I also must note that our hero is queer, which I don't see a lot of in man/woman romances. I really loved the representation. Tristan is totally my latest book boyfriend.

As with most romance series, you don't have to read Book 1 to understand the story of Rogue - but I highly recommend it, because Bringing Down the Duke is a delight.

My thanks to the author (you must follow Evie Dunmore on Twitter - she's great AND FOLLOWS ME BACK 😭), publisher, and NetGalley for hooking me up with a copy in exchange for my honest review. This was a 5 star read for me!

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A wonderful follow up to Bringing Down the Duke. This story centers around Lady Lucie and her plans to promote women's suffrage through the takeover of a mild mannered magazine. Dunmore's second in the A League of Extraordinary Women series doesn't disappoint.

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I truly loved this book so much. I didn't think Evie Dunmore could improve on what she started in Bringing Down the Duke but I actually did, in fact, like this book more. Lucie is such a compelling leading lady -- she is a multi-dimensional character with wants and needs and principles that she believes in over everything. Lucie really resonated with me as a character, as I related to her so deeply in all aspects from her innate drive and perfectionism to her overwhelming rage at the patriarchy.

Dunmore is so excellent at situating discussions of feminism and the patriarchy in their proper historical context while still feeling fresh and modern. This book is also a really interesting look at the politics of building a social movement. It touches on lots of the central flashpoints in social movements: what it means to build a movement, the necessity of delegation, the dangers of a cult of personality and whether it lasts beyond an individual person's career or arc really interesting.

Also, good god is this book steamy. Dunmore is so skilled at building up tension that you couldn't cut with the sharpest of knives. I found the treatment of virginity and sex to be particularly well done, as it was both historically appropriate while still being progressive.

I was worried that the ending would leave me unsatisfied and would require Lucie to either forgo her happy ending or sacrifice her beliefs. I won't say what happened but I will say I absolutely loved all parts of this book, especially the ending.

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LOVE Lucie and Tristan! Love their chemistry! Love their banter! Such a great follow-up to Bringing Down the Duke! Can't wait to see what Dunmore does next in this series!!

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I adored this! While I didn’t love this one as much as it’s predecessor, I still loved it. I found the first half to be a bit slow, romance-wise, but I appreciate the research that must have gone into the historical aspect of it. I love that Lucie was so passionate about women's rights and wasn't willing to compromise on her beliefs for a man. Her strength is amazing! While I was hesitant about Tristan at first, I think his story arc was well-written and his character development was great. Can't wait for Hattie's story next!

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4.5 stars. Evie Dunmore once again displays her writing skills with this second book in the League of Extraordinary Women series. This time we have a prickly heroine matched with a roguish guy with a sweet side.

Lacy Lucinda is from the aristocracy, but is estranged from her family. A leader in the suffragist movement, she is a fierce and focused worker. Her efforts to purchase a printing house for the suffrage work is thwarted by Lord Ballentine, her childhood nemesis, war hero and known rogue. Lucie and Tristan are an unlikely pair, but things are revealed in the story that demonstrate that they may have more in common than it seemed.

Tristan was a yummy hero; a man with a sad past and a romantic heart. He was devious, but sentimental. He was just the right guy to soften Lucie. She undergoes a lot of soul searching and re-evaluating her perception of herself. The story had a somewhat unusual ending, but it fit the situation.

This was a very compelling story and I loved the relationship between Tristan and Lucie. There was, perhaps, a little too much suffrage information at the end (it's clear Dunmore is passionate about it), but overall, a great story. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

ARC provided through Netgalley.

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I needed a good swoon-worthy romance in my life and A Rogue of One's Own definitely gave me that!

I loved Bringing Down the Duke so I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint.

Lucie is our main character and she is the head of the women's group for equal rights. She doesn't want to marry and is nearing 30 and considered a spinster (something that amuses her greatly).

On the other end we have Tristan, who has been enamored with Lucie for over his his life. He comes back in the picture now that they are adults and woo boy things get spicy during this read. Lucie's disdain for Tristan is palpable in this book. We know exactly what she thinks of him even though she keeps finding herself drawn to him.

This is a hate to love trope, which is my favorite trope not gonna lie, and so obviously I loved this. I loved the snark between the two of them and I loved the slow burn romance. Tristan may become my next book boyfriend, I'm just saying.

I loved Lucie's spirit. She's strong-willed and determined and everyone looks to her as the leader.

We do see Annabelle and the Duke in this read, but not nearly as much as the first book (obviously since they aren't the main characters), but they are still around.

I loved this book and I absolutely love this series!

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My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this book available to me.

This, the second in a projected four-book series, was quite satisfying. For me the first quarter of the book was rather so so, but then the plotlines started to come together and it became much more interesting to me. I found the details and insights into the women's rights movements in late 19th century England to be very interesting, and integrated very nicely into the storyline. A definite thumbs up.

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Lady Lucie, the leader of the Oxford Suffragists has one goal in mind: amend (and abolish) the Married Property Act. She, and her band of suffragists, have just acquired shares in a publishing company in the hopes of boosting awareness for their cause. However, they've run into quite a setback: Lucie's childhood nemesis, Lord Tristan Ballentine. The two have clashed since they were children, but their involvement in the publishing company forces them to work together, leading to sparks flying.

I really enjoyed this book. Personally, the first in the series was my favourite, but I really enjoyed reading Lucie's story. I loved that this was enemies to co-workers to lovers, with the classic forced proximity trope. Tristan just kept popping up everywhere and it was hilarious to see how flustered this would make Lucie. I also appreciated the twist on gender roles where Lucie is the politically involved one and Tristan is the poet.

I find this series fascinating in how grounded they are in the history. I love historical romance, and don't necessarily need them to be historically accurate, but I loved the sense that this was almost like reading someone's diary. The research that goes into these books is clear and, in my opinion, they are all the better for it. I especially loved the fact that Oscar Wilde just waltzed right onto the page.

*Review copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Evie Dunmore keeps it going with this second book set in the late 1870’s. This romance between a suffragette and a well known rogue, both estranged to some extent from their families, delivers on the romantic front while shedding light on the women’s movement of the time in England. Reading A Rogue of One’s own is an easy way to learn some meaningful history regarding the lot of women in English society while the reader remains immersed in a satisfying, sexy story. A good plot, well-developed characters and social themes that still resonate today—what more can we ask for?

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I really enjoyed Evie Dunmore's first book, Bringing Down the Duke, but I think I liked A Rogue of One's Own even better. Lucie is a suffragette who has been disowned by her family, and who works day and night for the cause. Meanwhile, Tristan is an infamous rake (and war hero) who knew Lucie as a child and has come back into her life due to some of Lucie's cause-related business dealings. Lucie is a wonderful character - she's intense, focused, and single-minded, but she's also fiercely loyal to her friends. (Though she is so overworked and stressed it did stress me out a little by proxy.) I also loved Tristan, who is more complicated than your average rake. At one point (during a delightful encounter with a historical figure) he realizes he seduces everyone in his path for no good reason, and that it is potentially hurting others. He is also dealing with an ill mother and an abusive father. I also really loved the way Dunmore's supporting characters are given complex motivations as well, including Lucie's cousin Cecily, Lucie's mother, and Arthur (who is also someone's cousin, I can't remember who). All in all it's a delight to spend time in this world. I can't wait for the next book in this series. The ARC had a preview of it, and it's going to be really good!

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Thanks Berkley Pub for the early look!

We continue the women's suffragist movement with Lucie. Lucie has had a "nemiesis" in Tristan from a young age. When her band of friends get enough money to buy London Print, Tristan stands in their way. He holds a major share in this project company. He's willing to trade his shar3s for one night with her in his bed.

I loved the chemistry between these two. It may seem like they don't like each other much but looks (and actions) can be deceiving.

I love getting to know more about the suffragettes. I know we still have a long way to go for equality between sexes but I'm glad I'm not living back in these days.

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This is a plot-heavy historical romance: there's a lot of detail, and even more dialogue, and it took me longer than a typical romance. I struggled to keep all of the information straight - I regularly forgot plot points, like that the hero's father is threatening to hold his mentally ill mother hostage if the hero doesn't marry - and DNF'd at 50%. I suspect this would be a great fit for people who want their romance books to read slower, to pay attention to detail, and to spend a lot of time on plot outside the main characters' relationship.

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A delightful and fresh Victorian historical romance filled with scandal, suffragettes, and steamy romance! Lucie is a suffragette leader, advocating for women's rights and refusing to marry and be considered her husband's property. Tristan is the classic rogue, recently returned from war in Afghanistan, filling his days with writing and his nights with scandalous liaisons. The banter and chemistry between these two is off the charts! Watching them open up and come to understand each other (and themselves) was such a joy.

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This was such a fun read and a great addition to this series. I enjoyed spending more time exploring Lucie and Tristan's relationship. The conflict was unique and compelling because it was so rooted in that time period. Though I would have appreciated a more nuanced approach to Cecily's character, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Not included in Goodreads review: While you may have heard this from other reviewers, I wanted to mention that there was some disconnect between the chapters in the book and the table of contents on my Nook. The Nook chapters were one off from the actual numbers in the book.

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I didn't like this one as well as I liked the first one of the series. I felt that the characters were a bit vague and kept changing their personalities. The plot concept was really interesting, so I had very high hopes, but the actual content of the plot wasn't what I expected.

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"it takes a brave man, to want a woman who wants rather than needs him."

So I must admit I read these stories out of order because I was so excited to receive an ARC for a Rogue of One's Own. Although you may spoil the end of Book 1 by reading this one first, the story flows well and can be read as a standalone just fine.

The story is beautifully written, witty, and full of political history in support of women's rights, along with a good dose of romance and steam.

Lady Lucie is a part of a band of women in the name of suffragists who are eager and ready to use their funds to buy out London's major publishing house with the use of pushing their great cause against Parliament and for women everywhere.
Once Lucie secure the deal and the house is hers, she only has one thing standing in her way... and its the beautiful Rogue Tristan Ballentine.

But Tristan has kept his affections secret from Lucie their entire lives but is willing to trade over his share of the company for a moment in her bed.

Their connection ignites and of course becomes so much more than physical even though both of these individuals are standing in their own way of love. Lucie with the knowledge that a wed woman can do no good in the change for women to come, and Tristan with his hands tied to a betrothel and needing the funds to finally free his mother from the manipulative hands of his father.
But in the end, what will win? Love? Duty? Politics?

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a change of pace in comparison to trending romance as it was full of history, purpose, and a strong heroine ( at times a bit stubborn)
Evie did great at making me fall in love with the MC's and I can't wait to read what's next. Do I see Hattie's story in the future?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 story
🔥🔥🔥🔥/5 steam

recommend if you love: historical fiction, stories that take place in London, "regency" love stories, red heads 😂

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A fun read! A bit overlong perhaps and I did have some minor quibbles, but overall enjoyable. I love this group of ladies and this heroine was spectacular.

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