06/04/2023 || A Rulebook for Restless Rogues- PREVIEW by Jess Everlee
#ARulebookforRestlessRoguesPREVIEW #NetGalley 

My utmost gratitude to NetGalley, Jess Everlee, and all those in power that made this preview available!
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.

All of my thoughts are my own~

That being said- I ADORED this preview so much and I have to be honest, I am finding myself much more enticed, attached, and excited during this preview than I did the previous Lucky Lovers of London installation which I didn't think could be possible but it is! 

Where The Gentleman's Book of Vices left me wanting to get to know the characters a lot better in the start, A Rulebook for Restless Rouges starts off introducing Noah and David to us 15 years prior when they were in school and first met! I love how much we get to see David be protective of dearest Noah and how their friendship developed and evolved over the years. The back and forth perspective between current times and the past really helps a reader connect and understand these characters.

I cannot wait for July for when this book is released into the wild- I absolutely need to know what happens next for David and the club? Where will the relationship between Noah and him take them both? Will we see more of their past and how it connects to the now?

So far, these two are my all time favorites! Don't tell Charlie and Miles tho!

I have only read the first 5 chapters. 
The story starts in Noah and David's school days. I like the two timelines and I hope it continues throughout the story. The two characters are interesting, well written and super engaging. The language and style used for the flashback chapters is different to the present day chapters, I really like that detail. The chapters also change Pov, the author managed to successfully write in a different style for David's and Noah's Pov. The story is gripping and a real page turner. 

The writing style is modern and easy to read but there are historic details included, which can sometimes be lacking in historic fiction. I enjoyed the detail of different Christian denominations, and found the portrail to be accurate. My only complaint in this matter is the use of the word 'snogging' which I found odd. I love the care which the author has taken in building the setting and it is generally well done (minus the use of the word snogging). 

I would love to read the rest of the book and I hope it is as good compelling.

i’m fresh off of reading book one to this historical romance series, and jess everlee gives me everything i adore in this genre: delightfully gay, carefully curated setting, and a swoon-worthy romance.

these first five chapters of the next installment made me fall even more for david and noah and their shared past. the flashbacks feel nicely balanced to give context where it makes sense, and the plot threads of present day feel just as compelling as our two lovebirds’ undeniable chemistry. i love a friends to lovers (especially when they start as childhood friends) when done well, and this beginning taste is telling me that i can indeed trust jess everlee with one of my favorite tropes.

i will say that the cutoff right before the steam picked up at the end of chapter five was the biggest tease, so now i’m dying to tear into the rest of the book. (but of course, this works excellent for a preview)

I’ve only read 5 chapters, and this has made to my list of potential five stars. I’m already in love with Noah and David, it’s actually insane. One of my favourite things about the preview is that based on it, I could distinctly tell what POV is David’s and which one is Noah’s— which is pretty rare for me, so kudos to that. Recently, historical romances have been a miss for me, but this piqued my interest, so I’m eager to read this novel.

I LOVED the flashback to the characters as school boys so darn much. That writing was exquisite! We also get a taste into where the heroes are in their adulthood and the challenges they face. Things were just about to get a little steamy and I certainly wasn’t mad about it! 

A great 5 chapter sampler, well done!

This preview was great, and once I had finished it, I instantly went to the Kindle store to see when its release would be. 
The sample opens with David, one of our main characters, as a teen in a private school who's just been caned by the headmaster for getting in a fight. He bumps into Noah, who's avoiding bullies, and the two develop a friendship. 
A 15-year time jump then follows, where we see Noah and David in an evening club. I kind of got a bit lost here with the sudden change of characters and a fairly chaotic setting of the club and things going on.  I enjoyed the jump between them as teenagers and then as adults, and their history paved the way for intense chemistry. 
I will definitely be reading the full book upon its release, and hopefully, I will find my footing in understanding what is happening.

Thank you to Carina Press & Carina Adores and NetGalley for providing this ARC!

I haven’t read the first books in this series, but the friends-to-lovers plot and charming setting interested me right away! The first five chapters did an excellent job setting up a tantalizing romance plot along with a properly concerning external conflict. Personally, the interspersed flashbacks of the main characters’ youths weren’t for me—I’d rather read about the current-day plot with references to their past worked in—but it provided an insight into how the main duo became so close. And I’m especially thrilled with the inclusion of drag in historical fiction and romance; I’m glad to see it become more common, painting an even fuller picture of queer history alongside this lovely romance. I'd absolutely love to read more.

Four books for a lovely, readable time and the promise of more excitement!

I very much enjoyed this preview of the first few chapters of A Rulebook for Restless Rogues. I'm always fascinated to learn about queer culture in the earlier ages and what people went through to live their authentic lives. David and Noah come across as really interesting characters with intriguing backstories. I'm dying to see how their relationship with unfold and what fate will fall The Curious Fox.

Already so intrigued by this story!
Previously, I have read 'The gentlemen's book of vices' by Jess Everlee and absolutely adored it.
Thank you Netgalley for the preview.

The first five chapters of this book made me itch to know what happens next! I loved Everlee’s writing style, it was perfectly suited for the story she wants to tell, easy to get through and intricate enough to have the desire to keep reading.
I really liked how Everlee included flashback chapters, showing Noah and David’s relationship when they first met and I must say, those might’ve been the chapters I enjoyed most.
You could feel the tension from the two main characters through the pages and I never had the feeling the romance was rushed or poorly developed. On the contrary I loved the friends to lovers and kind of second chance vibes this gives off.
I am very intrigued to know what happens next and will definitely check out more of Everlee’s work. My only tiny critic point would be that I would’ve liked to see more of their relationship in the past, before having them kiss in the present. Otherwise I really loved this.

The first instalment in this series was one of my first 5 star reads of 2023, and I feel like Forester and Noah's story is going to be another easy 5 star pick. Can't wait until August.

I am so invested in this story!! 

I absolutely love the time jumps from David and Noah's time in school to present day. (I don't know if that continues later on but I hope so). These characters are set up to have such a great friends to lovers storyline. 

I cannot wait to read more!

I’m already so invested in this story. I need the book in my life as soon as possible. Jess made me fall in love with the main characters so fast, and it’s only been 5 chapters!

Something I really loved is that we are getting flashbacks to when David and Noah were in boarding school together. I adore friends to lovers, especially childhood friends to lovers. 

And I'm a huge fan of historical queer romance, but sometimes it doesn’t feel accurate…here? It 100% does.

I really enjoyed this chapter sampler for A Rulebook for Restless Rogues! David and Noah have an excellent dynamic, starting from the very beginning when David can’t resist sticking up for Noah to the present, where they remain friends- and maybe something more? But first they must deal with an unprincipled baron who is trying to close down David’s queer club. I loved the idea behind this story and the dynamic between David and Noah. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next! Thank you to Jess Everlee, Carina Adores, and Netgalley for a free chapter sampler in exchange for honest feedback.

queer historical romance!

"A Rulebook for Restless Rogues" hooked me from the very first page. The characters are so dear to me already, especially Noah, and I had such a fun time reading those first five chapters. I cannot wait to read the rest of the book!

I'm rating this four out of five stars for now because it might be a little too cheesy and so far there's nothing very unique about it. But to be honest a cheesy gay romance might be exactly what I need right now and, who knows, I might enjoy the full book even more.

I am definitely intrigued by the first 5 chapters, but I'm feeling a disconnect between our two lovers so far. I'm not sure if this is intentional, but I would keep reading to find out!

I´ll just go ahead and give this a 4 out of 5, since these first 5 were pretty good and I´m intrigued. I want to know more about David and Noah´s past (how did their relationship change?) and also what will they do about a certain raid.
I don´t know how the rest of the book will go, but I´ll surely read the rest when it comes out.
For now, though, I´m going to read the previous novel of this author (since I didn´t know her before) for more context.

London, late 19th century: David and Noah have been best friends—and sometimes more—since boarding school. Now David runs an illicit gay club, and Noah dreams of having the freedom to turn his whimsical designs into fantastical couture...but when David's job, and with it his freedom, are threatened, they have some critical choices to make.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the chance to test-run some romance novels via preview—it's a very low-stakes way to figure out what should be next in my queue! Here we have two likeable heroes in a society that is not fully ready for them. The stakes are clear (including livelihood, possible prison time, and worse—society was not exactly leaping to defend queer relationships in the late 1800s), and I always love a romance where the greater conflict is something external rather than the protagonists being nitwits about their own feelings. Also really nice to see that these particular heroes are both friends to begin with and have some history that keeps them from being totally blind to their shared attraction.

The sample ends just as the conflict is rearing its ugly head, but this looks like a bang-up read for fans of m/m romance in general and historical m/m romance more specifically.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free sample through NetGalley.

I love historical queer books and I cannot wait to read the rest of this one!

I fell in love with the characters immediately, especially Noah, and yes, it's a bit cheesy but I think it's supposed to be and it's exactly what I need right now. 

Something else I really like in books is flashback chapters and this one does have those as well as a dual point of view!

I was so intrigued by the synopsis of this book that I knew I had to read the preview! I’m a huge fan of historical romance! So far so good! I’m absolutely going to read the rest of this book when I can! Looking forward to it.