This is another installment in the Palace of Rogues series. This one centers around Christian, a former spy who is on the hunt for a missing fiancé. He meets Aurelie, who is seeking refuge in the Grand Palace where most of these stories take place. You get to catch up with previous couples, which is always nice. This romance was little slow for me. Not my favorite in the series, but I love JAL writing. She always builds fully fleshed out couples and knows how to write romantic banter. I look forward to more from this author.

A fun fast read. There is just the right amount of sexy and if you have read books in series you can enjoy visiting characters again.

This was quite an enjoyable entry in Long’s series about the Grand Palace on the Thames and its quirky balance of inhabitants. It’s a pleasure to spend time with some of the minor characters there. Meanwhile, we can enjoy the main plot of a former spy who is working for the evil lord whom he suspects of treason and of having orchestrated three years in a French prison for him. The evil lord hires Christian Hawkes to find his lovely fiancée who has disappeared and has, quite clearly, run away from the evil earl. I enjoyed the story though I was a bit confused about the heroine, Lady Aurelie Capet, whose parents were guillotined in the French Revolution. She’s grown up in France, mostly in the Napoleonic era. It was unclear how a noble girl with the last name of Capet and relations to the monarchy survived during that whole era and had grown up with a privileged background. I would have liked that to have been clarified.

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

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of You Were Made to Be Mine by Julie Anne Long. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for providing an ARC to review.

It has been a good ten years since I read my last Julie Anne Long novel and I am convinced I need to go back and read the other four books from her Palace of Rogues series. I found all the characters so charming, and while I loved Christian and Aurelie's romance, I was intrigued by all the other side character's backstories that we glimpse. You Were Made to Be Mine was a fun and fluffy read high in romance and adventure. I give it 4/5 stars.

A must have book for the beach this summer. This book will lead you on a merry chase and an adventure with Hawke’s and Aurelie’s story.

The adventures at the Grand Palace on the Thames continue in the fifth installment of the series with Aurelie, a French noblewoman who lost her parents to the guillotine, and Christian, an English spymaster who was betrayed to the French and spent the last three years in a French prison. Aurelie takes refuge at the Grand Palace after discovering the rot at the core of her fiance, an Earl high up in the diplomatic service for England and a colleague of Christian’s whom he suspects betrayed him to the French because he was close to proving the Earl had committed treason. Because Aurelie’s disappearance would reflect badly on him, the Earl bails Christian out of prison and makes a bargain with him to track her down, although he doesn’t reveal the full circumstances behind her flight.

Once Christian tracks Aurelie to the inn, the real adventure begins as both Christian and Aurelie fall in love pretty much at first sight, then have to figure out how to overcome the challenges facing them and make sure that the Earl is properly dealt with. This was a slower paced romance as Christian and Aurelie both have tall walls up to protect themselves. They don’t really even meet until about a third of the way into the story but I never felt impatient at the pace. I loved revisiting the Grand Palace on the Thames and all of its inhabitants and getting glimpses of how their lives are continuing. One of the best things about this series is the way the author has created such a sense of community and family there, and brought together a disparate set of people who would never have met otherwise. The central romance was beautifully written and juxtaposed with some of the previous romances to show where Christian and Aurelie will hopefully be heading in the future. Of course, the book ends with a hint of a new adventure (and a new romance) about to start at the Grand Palace, and I am looking forward to reading it.. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper for this earc

Unfortunately this book definitely wasn’t my favorite in the series. First, the plot of this one definitely overshadowed the romance which sometimes is okay but wasn’t the case in the one. I like a slow burn as much as the next person, but it felt like the character didn’t even have conversation until half wait through the book. And again, the plot wasn’t bad. It was just too much of it.

Second, this book was definitely darker then the previous ones and covers a topic that could be a trigger.

I am also not a huge fan of age gap romance and even though it’s not so obvious in this book, 14 years was a little to big of a difference for me.

It was good to see of the old characters!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The pining in this one. Oh my gosh. The yearning. Sometimes (all the time) I want to read about a hero lying in his bed, wanting the heroine & wanting her to be happy but not sure about a path forward or about whether he should pursue it if there is.

For this & for a hundred other reasons, Julie Anne Long’s YOU WERE MADE TO BE MINE is fantastic.

With this upcoming release we’re back at the Grand Palace on the Thames, this time following Lady Aurelie Capet & former spymaster Christian Hawkes.

After three years in prison, Hawkes has recently been released by Aurelie’s fiancé, an Earl who says he’ll also pay Hawkes to find the missing Aurelie, who’s vanished not too long after an argument they had.

Though he hates the man, Christian accepts the job & tracks Aurelie to London & the Palace, where he soon meets her & is knocked FLAT on his gorgeous face by LOVE. But both of them have secrets.

The writing in this one—like in the others in the series—is exquisite. I mean that. You can feel every emotion, as well as the love Julie Anne Long as for her characters & for people in general, I think.

Not only do I love the main couple, I always love how JAL renders the secondary characters as well. I mean seriously, I’ve written this before but it remains true: I would like to live at the Grand Palace, amongst so many great friends & stellar drama. I think I would spend a lot of my time chuckling & saying “oh Dot,” like I did in this one—some of these passages are soo funny!

With a riveting, tender, passionate love story whispering & yelling across the pages, a story about hurt & finding someone to share that hurt with, to nurture hope with, YOU WERE MADE TO BE MINE is beautiful & luminous & if you haven’t read this series yet, please, you must.

5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/28.

CW: previous loss of family in French Revolution & the loss of other family members. Christian was betrayed & imprisoned—references to being physically abused there. Christian makes use of spymaster techniques to get secrets & info from others & at a couple of moments, they rubbed me the wrong way, especially when he uses one to get Aurelie to reveal that the man who was once her fiancé raped her. She seems relieved later—that language might even be used in the book—but while his actions might be in keeping with his characterization I wish she had revealed her confession organically, without being manipulated & emotionally strategized into it. She had already experienced such pain that I didn’t appreciate how he knowingly caused her more to get her to say it. References to physical abuse. Treason.

Loved being back in the world of the Grand Palace on the Thames! I really enjoyed this latest book from the series - Hawkes with a grudge to repay and Aurelie with a lot to learn about herself and just how capable she is. Julie Anne Long does such a great job of tying in previous characters, be they the hilarious Dot or the protective Bolt and Hardy. Delilah and Angelique and the rocks of the series as they run the GPOTT and are rarely rattled.
Highly recommend this book (and the whole series)
Read as an ARC via NetGalley.

This was a very lovey read, I'm very grateful I had the opportunity to read it ahead of its release.

I quite enjoyed both our protagonists: Lady Aurelie Capet and Christian Hawkes. The author did a fantastic job of developing these characters within their own arcs, both facing traumatic pasts that have irreparably changed them.

Aurelie was wonderful-- I wanted so badly to wrap her in a protective, warm hug. There is a scene, relatively early in the book, where she speaks the truth of the trauma she has suffered and it broke my heart to read. Her voice is vulnerable yet strong and steadfast. Her courage is inspiring. I admire greatly her fighting for herself and for a safer future, even if means leaving all she has behind and going on a perilous journey. She was well written, and I do believe the author took exceptional care in addressing the trauma suffered.

Hawkes was another terrific lead. Something I greatly appreciated about him was how he paid attention-- the care he took to listen and observe. By doing so he discovered truths and through that knowledge had the conviction to make the choices he ultimately did.

While I enjoyed this character-led story, I must admit I felt a certain level of disconnect. The pace was (to me!) uneven--- mixed bag of a very slow start followed by a too fast paced ending. The non-romance plot, I think, overshadowed the romance. And the romance did not come together quite as I expected. The declarations of love didn't feel believable, I wanted more in its lead up because the chemistry was absolutely there. It was absolutely there! This is just my personal connection to how I read the story.
I do think it's very, very well written and led by two remarkable characters I am so happy to have met.

If you're interested in this book's synopsis, then I absolutely encourage you to give it a go!

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager US for this arc!

Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault (off-page event prior to plot start but referenced)

The love spoke volumes for a very much young lady and the much older Hawke. The characters I thought added the much needed whit and charm to the story. Their story was entertaining for me. The exciting part for me that this was an easy page turner for me. I was very glad that this was a happy ending book.

How does Julie Anne Long keep writing exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it? She takes the struggles of life and makes them both poetic and bearable. I took several days to read this slowly and try to absorb all of it.
Aurelie is a lovely character. She grew up sheltered but lonely after her parents' deaths. When she finds out that her fiance is rotten, she decides to run to her brother in Boston. Until this incident, she has not known how much she is capable of, but she begins to find out while staying at the Grand Palace. She finds that she is strong and kind and sensible. Watching her discover her true self is the very best part of this book.
Hawkes reminds me very much of Westley when he returns. His swagger while investigating reminds me a lot of Cary Elwes's portrayal of that character but with a much darker backstory. He has suffered quite a lot, but he is about to right some wrongs with the same innate honor that previous heroes in this series have shown. I'm so glad we have his POV because he is a very complicated character.
Speaking of character, the rest of the cast is made up of favorites from this series, and they each get some lovely moments. Tristan and Lucien both made me misty-eyed in the beginning of the book in a fabulous scene that I will never forget. Delacorte gets a new friend, and Dot continues to delight.
Parts of this story are difficult, and there is a trigger warning. But Aurelies's story is more about how brave and strong she is to continue to grow as herself. She is not going to let one thing define her; she is going to be who she always was. That is a story of hope that we all need.

Lady Aurelie Capet is running for her life away from the man she thought she'd live happily ever after with, but life is not a fairytale which she learns in a very painful way. She makes her escape to London hoping to secure passage to Boston to be with her brother, but Christian Hawkes, former British spy, has been hired by her former fiancee to find her and bring her back. Christian soon locates the beauty, but the more he investigates, disturbing revelations about the earl's activities during the war with France become clear. Can Christian keep Aurelie safe long enough to unravel the mystery without losing his heart to the delicate beauty?

I haven't read any of the previous books in the series so I was a bit lost at the beginning of the books. It took a while into the story before Hawkes and Aurelie actually meet. I would have liked less backstory and more on them as a couple. However, the writing was well done, lush with details of longing and desire. Once the story concentrated on Christian and Aurelie, it kept me turning the pages to find out how everything would be resolved. Through many twists and turns, they finally achieved their HEA. While I enjoyed the story, I'm not sure I'll be reading any more in the series without going back and reading the previous books.

Received an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I love this series. I love it. Every time I get to return to the Grand Palace on the Thames it's like coming home. I love these people and I cannot say enough good things about these books (can you tell?).

Aurelie and Christian were a delight to get to know. Both were complete, fleshed out characters with complex inner lives and I just wanted to give everyone a hug. I thought that their motivations and actions made sense and found the wonderfully melodramatihttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4764051751c climax to be perfect. I hope I never stop getting to read these books.

The main characters meet very late, which is a risky choice, since Hawks and Aurelie don't get as much on-page time as I'd like. I really liked the characters on their own though.

Big TW for sexual assault. I know that this sexual assault is put in the story to show us that the fiancée is EVIL, but there are more subtle ways she could have done that. (Even not detailing the event would have been preferable.) I haven't read a lot by this author, and I'm not sure if the style of her books is just darker?

I like Long's writing style, even though it's a bit slower-paced.

How does Julie Anne Long keep writing books like this?! I don't understand, but I am in awe at how she continues to write creative stories consistently. It blows my mind. She's amazing.

Quick synopsis: Formerly-imprisoned Agent of the Crown is hired to find the missing finance of an earl. Hawkes, the agent, seeks to find Aurelie, in London, and finds her in the most unique of places, The Palace on the Thames! How they meet and fall in love is a beautiful thing to behold. And set against the swooniest, most hilarious lodging house in London?? Yes, please. Romance novels are about a number of things to me: love, sex, lives lived. There needs to be a good story to anchor the lust, and Long always exceeds this, to me. She really GETS the way in which a romance novel needs to come together. And this newest in the series, is no exception. Long excels in showing the natural progression from meeting to love, and Hawkes and Aurelie are absolute perfection.

I never though it could be done, but Long just wrote a romance novel in which lust and spice aren't at the forefront of the story, and yet, I was 150% IN. Steam in a romance novel is important to me; it shows the compatibility of the couple AND shows an extension of their personalities. While this novel is a slow burn with some steam, I found myself more interested in the how and why of the sex (more than just watching it). This is a new experience for me, and let me tell you, You Were Made to be Mine doesn't disappoint. It is the perfect example of a couple united by tragedy who ultimately decide to take the world head on, and they start in the bedroom. Believe it or not, once you learn Aurelie's background, this makes 100% sense. Only a seasoned writer like Long could pull this off. Watching two wounded souls find each other in such impossible situations was absolutely beautiful to watch. Abuse of different kinds are explored in this story (mental, sexual) and Long handles each one with the care and properly addresses the reasons for each.

I know this review probably sounds scattered, but it's hard to put into words. The author does such a beautiful job of showing two broken souls coming together and finding the love that neither thought they'd have. She shows what happens when you take on the world with the love of your life beside you, and how whole that makes you feel. I can't recommend this book enough. Five HUGE stars for You Were Made to be Mine!!

Side note: This is also Long's funniest novel. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. Expect wonderful hijinks and shenanigans from the crew at The Palace on the Thames.

**A huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for this ARC to read and review.**

Now this is a shame, because JAL was my first introduction to historical romance with her Pennyroyal Green series, which I still believe is one of the best examples of the genre. And although I’ve enjoyed the Palace of Rogues, it’s been a much more uneven series. Book 4 was my favorite. This newest one suffers from the same issues as the third book - too much world building and time setting up individual character backstory, to the point where the reader couldn’t get invested enough in Christian and Aurelie as a couple. The author’s language is as lush and deft as ever, but the sense of satisfaction was missing with this one.

Anther enjoyable entry in the Palace on the Thames series. Julie Anne Long flawlessly combines smart humor with pure steamy romance.

Christian Hawkes was a spymaster for England, collecting intelligence from the French in part due to his natural charm and charisma. After Hawkes became aware of his treason, the Earl of Brundage betrayed him, resulting in Hawkes spending three years in a French prison. Now he's out, penniless, and forced to take on a mission from Brundage himself. Brundage's fiancee, Aurelie Capet, went on the run--little does Hawkes know, she's right under his nose when he arrives at the Grand Palace on the Thames, wounded and unconscious.

Aurelie has her reasons for running from Brundage--and Hawkes has his reasons for wanting revenge.

This isn't a light one. It isn't exactly heavy, as I don't feel like I've read a Julie Anne Long book that is precisely heavy... But there's some serious shit dealt with in this book (and I will be giving trigger warnings at the end of my review). There's less of the companionable, silly-fun interactions that I've read in other Palace of Rogues books--but you still get the idea that everyone is doing well and is happy. I appreciate the way that Long has been able to maintain consistency in this world, looping previous heroes like Captain Hardy and the Duke of Valkirk into Hawkes's orbit.

Aurelie is something of a unique heroine in historical romance, at least nowadays--descended from French royalty, with a refined, ladylike quality and an alias to boot. That in itself seemed like a nod to old school historicals, as was Hawkes's status as a spymaster. I ate that up, and was dying for them to get together.

Which was probably one of the drawbacks I have to note about the book. It takes a while for Aurelie and Hawkes to interact on page. He spends a lot of time investigating her disappearance beforehand, and you get a good sense for who they both are separately. But they aren't together, together until about a third of the book in--and while I think Long is a great writer and I enjoyed the story up to that point, that was a little frustrating for me. I wanted to see more of their development together. A Palace of Rogues book already naturally has more of a supporting cast than many romance novels--you always check in with Delilah and Hardy, Angelique and Bolt, and of course Mr. Delacorte and Dot. I love that; but I do need to see a lot of development with the main couple as well.

And there is really good emotional development between Hawkes and Aurelie. He's charming and a bit roguish but actually quite soft; she's refined and (understandably) emotionally withholding, while needing a safe place to land. I commend Long for managing to create a hero who both conveys a bit of an edge and is a soft, safe place for the heroine to land. Because that's what this type of heroine needed. I'm not saying that it's my favorite trope... At points, Hawkes was a bit too emotionally well-developed for me. But he's the type of hero I'd recommend to people who want to read about a man who's a bit more evolved than traditional historical romance heroes.

It's just a solid love story--most of the threats are external rather than internal, and it's enjoyable, and soft, and it's satisfying to watch two wounded people find love and comfort in each other. Do I think there could have been more internal conflict? Yeah, I do. I'm a conflict hound, and I feel like Hawkes and Aurelie almost fit too well together at times. But I get what Long was going for here. It's a recovery love story. It's a rebirth love story.

While I wouldn't say this book is quite as strong as After Dark with The Duke or for that matter I'm Only Wicked With You, it's a good entry in the Palace of Rogues series, and I look forward to the next one. Long is one of those writers who is very consistent for me, and her books have largely been at a baseline of good ranging to great. I just think she could have gone a bit further with this one in terms of the internal conflict.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spoilers ahead with the trigger warning below.






TW: Rape (not graphically described).

I want to love these books so much. I love the covers. I always like the last 25%. But it takes soooo long to get there. Her words are so pretty, but they tend to move slowly for me.