*Potentially mild spoilers ahead*

Oh my goddd the way I devoured this book. It really helps to have read the other books in the Palace of Rogues series, especially the first one: Lady Derring Takes A Lover, because Capt Hardy (MY MANNNN 🥹) shows up as a central figure in this book and if you aren't familiar with his personality, it won't be quite as delicious. Still scrumptious but not perfection. Which it is if you have read the first book. My goodness the way I fell into this one and didn’t want to come up for air!

Lorcan is like Capt Hardy’s evil Kermit nemesis, he’s the flip side of that coin and I was rent asunder with want. He is sooooooo good! But dangerous! Protective but deadly 😩🫠 A behemoth of a man that has done very dastardly things in the past but is now busy rescuing children from the frigid Thames and generally being a swoon hazard in a perfectly tailored coat.

Their meet cute is bonkers in the best romance way: she's shimmying out a window via a bedsheet to escape a lecherous employer, he's in the same alley and literally catches her, they are both making haste to the Grand Palace and oopsies it looks like they have to pretend to be married, which he improvs on the spot. It was in that moment that I knew I was a goner.

This is a slow slow (slower than that!) burn, and the first kiss doesn’t happen until the 60% mark. Now, normally I would be incandescent with rage over something like this but the slow burn here is so so so unreal and there are a lot of other characters taking up space including the adorable housemaid Dot (reminds me a lot of Bubble from Ab Fab - and it looks like she might be getting her own love interest soon, which makes me SO happy.) The forced proximity sexual tension makes the lack of early kissing scenes entirely bearable and I’m embarrassed to say I hardly noticed because I was tearing through this book like a house on fire. Their teasing tense banter is so playful I almost just wanted them to stay at this phase forever because it was WONDERFUL. And don't worry, once they get to it, they really get to it. 😮

There is a BIG cast of characters, so keeping track of them could feel a bit much if they are new to you. But the main focus is these two because Lorcan is oversized in every way. If this series were a tv show, this would be the bottle episode. Everyone is trapped at the inn and lots of self reflection and growing is taking place for the different couples. If you know them all already, it’s great fun!

Lorcan recognizes the adventurer in Daphne and his heart breaks that no one has ever seen her enough to even notice this about her, or the fact that she is a sensualist. He’s smitten almost from the jump, which I loveeeeee. Daphne sees his beauty and is determined to show him how worthy of love he is.

I could not put this book down, basically devouring it in a day because I couldn’t stop thinking about them! Like I said, it’s a slow burn but once they do start kissing they basically can’t stop themselves from more more more and a game of “sexy forfeit” Spillikins takes place and oh my goddddd

All I’m saying is that Lorcan has a way with words. Dirty dirty words. Once the flip is switched, he becomes a lethal sexpot and ummm I am changed on a cellular level after reading this book. 🥵🥵🥵 The love scenes (I can’t even call them sex scenes because these two are so in love it’s sickening) are on page and gorgeous.

By the 70% mark I was either swooning or laughing or crying. There was a lot of crying for me in this book, because they both have big abandonment issues and Lorcan needs to learn that he is worthy of love (my Achilles heel in a hero). He is SUCH A GOOD MAN, he spoils her for her birthday when everyone else in her life has always forgotten it, he goes out of his way to be, do, have whatever she needs in life and if that isn’t just the sexiest thing, I don’t know what is. We love a towering plinth of a man whose hands are shaking with need and want, yesss, put it right in my veins.

The third act breakup is about a page long which is exactly the right amount and his GROVEL is like he committed the worst sin, which he didn’t. (Insert more bawling here). When he realized he is in love and she realizes he is in love with her, I was a sobbing WRECK. There is a lot of satisfying “my wife” sprinkled generously throughout and he is protective and possessive of her while also feeling like he could never deserve her.

Ok there’s one more teeny tiny breakup but you kind of know through most of it that it’s very temporary and his proposal scene gutted me. Like … I cannot even wrap my brain around the words on this page, they are so beautiful. These two are so perfect for each other and so madly in love while also being unbearably hot for each other and ughhhaskddfkdsk

Basically everything about this book is perfect, even the epilogue. This is far and away the most romantic of the series and is now tied for my fave along with the first book Lady Derring Takes A Lover. Julie Anne Long has knocked another one out of the park and I am anxiously waiting for the next installment.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 25%

I really wanted to love this one, but sadly, it wasn't for me. Neither the A nor B plot interested me, and the way they tied together wasn't enough to keep me reading. If this book had chosen one to follow, I mightve liked it more.

Daphne and Lorcan meet in a very unconventional way when he comes across her escaping from a window.
They end up having to wait out a storm together at a boarding house and you guessed it, only one set of rooms.
So they pretend to be married. This is a story of two unlikely people finding each other in a storm and falling in love. I *loved* the final scene which I can't spoil but I was smiling with such delight.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I enjoy Ms. Long's writing style but I've frequently had too many quibbles with other parts of her story to fully enjoy them. This one was an exception. Forced proximity and fake marriage lay the groundwork for two characters to find their way to a HEA. This was a slow burn as the two get to know each other and themselves. I would highly recommend this book for one scene alone, the sexiest game of Spillikins that has ever been put to paper.

Because this is part of a series, we had the obligatory glimpses of past characters which the author handled in a unique way. In too many series when we are shown the lives of past H/h it's all sunshine, roses and baby making but here we get to see two of the previous couples working through real issues and showing what a true marriage would look like.

Ms. Long writes with more modern voice and language than I typically prefer in an historical and she plays pretty fast and loose with title and honorific usage which always bothers me, but Daphne & Lorcan's story was good enough for me to overlook this.

I always genuinely enjoy this series, but I think this is my favorite since the first two! I do not always love a fake marriage plot, but this one didn't spend much time on the deception element, and it had the added benefit of "the weather outside is frightful" - just two people talking a lot and falling in love! No fake made up conflicts, just genuine concerns about social barriers and life plans. If I could give it six stars I would!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for giving me a digital copy of "How to Tame a Wild Rogue" in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I loved it.

The story begins with our heroine Daphne, Lady Worth fashioning a bedsheet and leaving by a bedroom window, intent on escaping a handsy employer. Hero Lorcan St. Leger happens to be walking by and does not hesitate to assist her when her escape does not go as planned. They coincidentally are heading to the same boarding house to escape the Storm of the Decade and end up posing as a married couple because the only room available is a suite.

The forced proximity trope works its magic and over the course of the storm, they form an honest and intense bond. While I'm not always a fan of relationships developing over a short time span, it works this time. He helps her to confront the emotional grift her father has been pulling on her for years; she inspires him to seek permanence and comfort after a long, rough, sometimes violent life.

This book features a B plot of sorts, in that in addition to the main romance, we also see how a stressful financial situation is affecting the Happily Ever Afters of Delilah and Angelique, the boarding house's proprietresses. In true Long fashion, this situation is resolved with authentic and thorough emotional consideration. Also in true Long fashion, it involves humor and platonic bed-sharing that makes me chuckle, just thinking of it. (Oh, Delacorte!)

The entire Palace of Rogues series is delightful. The characters are charming and appealing, even when struggling with the challenges life throws at them. Over the length of the series, many of these characters have become dear and familiar friends, so one eagerly awaits what Dot and Delacorte will be up to. They live up their comedic responsibilities once again.

I have been a fan of Ms. Long for a long time. I turn to her books when I'm looking for stories that combine deep emotional development with heady sensual appeal and a heavy dash of humor. This installment is my favorite book in the series, although Captain Hardy from the first book will always be my favorite Rogue.

The Palace of Rogues is my favorite romance series. Possibly my favorite book series period. Julie Anne Long is hilarious and incisive and imaginative and brilliant. She is, as a writer, eminently trustworthy. She manages to stretch and deepen her characters over several books, deftly managing so many threads at once, but never in a way that you feel like you're peeking behind the curtain. The books contain emotional turbulence--sometimes desperate, edge-of-the-abyss emotional moments-- but you always know you're in good hands. Ms. Long's books are satisfying, and never trite. Lord knows I love romance, but sometimes you start to feel like you've read exactly the same sex scene fifty times. Never with Julie Anne Long. There's nothing generic, extraneous or insignificant in the intimacy she writes. And it's damn good.

The book begins near the docks, as a storm rolls in. I immediately realized that our hero and heroine are going to have to fake-relationship their way into a room at the Grand Palace on the Thames, and I really wondered how they were going to pull it off in a way that was authentic, AND that didn't make me uncomfortable with the way they were deceiving the proprietresses. I should not have worried. They were still in the sitting room waiting on Delilah and Angelica's verdict when I fell in love with them.

Ms. Long's characterization is consistent and perceptive and never heavy-handed. Lorcan and Daphne's relationship is satisfying and joyful as it develops. Right away, Lorcan sees and cherishes things about Daphne that she's been conditioned be ashamed of. Immediately, Daphne senses that Lorcan--despite his piratical bearing and shady history-- is implicitly safe. Watching Daphne recognize her value (in the face of her father's lifelong disregard for her) is both painful and gratifying. Watching Lorcan get absolutely clotheslined by his feelings for Daphne is glorious.

One of the best things about this book is what's going on with Tristan and Delilah, and Angelica and St. Lucien. The Triton Group has a ship ostensibly lost at sea, and Tristan, Delacorte, and St. Lucien are stuck-- physically by the storm, and metaphorically in their business venture. Tristan and St. Lucien are getting cranky (not much gets to Delacorte, I think, so long as his buttons can be mended and he can end his day with a cigar and a game of chess). This tension brings to the fore some things that they need to hammer out between them, and that subplot was gratifying as well.

aaaanyway. TLDR: Julie Anne Long is a Genius, the Palace of Rogues is a treasure, read this book.

I was so excited to be back at The Grand Palace again, the lively cast of characters that grow with each story brings so much joy and in-depth world building to these stories. In there own way it's like reading about a large family with each book adding more layers to the next.

This story introduces use to Daphne and Lorcan complete opposites in so many ways, but they can not stop each other from helping/ protecting each other. When they find themselves in a fake marriage, and how they discover more and more about each other with each day... sigh it made my heart swoon. Just writing this makes me want to go back and re read their story again. I am always a sucker for a slowish burn and if you are a fan this will be right up your alley.

This is the sixth book in the Palace of Rogues series. It tells the story of Lorcan St. Leger, who is now captain of his own ship, but he had to claw his way out of the St. Giles gutters to get there. He is a wonderful hero. While he fearsome, he is also intelligent and kind. He meets and falls in love with Lady Daphne Worth. Her family is destitute and everything is upon her shoulders to fix it. She was jilted by her fiance and the men in her family are extremely selfish. Daphne has to escape an untenable situation when she first attempts to take on work to help her family. She is summarily rescued by Lorcan St. Leger. Immediately after the rescue, the weather takes a nasty turn and Lorcan and Daphne go to the Palace to get in out of the rain. Of course, there is only 1 suite available, so they say they are married.

Their sham marriage is the start of their courtship. They slowly get to know each other, help each other and as they do, the chemistry between them begins to smolder. This is a love story at its finest! I greatly enjoyed this tale and would highly recommend it.

I was provided and ARC of this book through NetGalley.



Crackling enmity gives way to incendiary desire--and certain heartbreak: Lorcan is everything she never dreamed she'd wanted, but he can never be what she needs. But risk is child's play to St. Leger. And if the stakes are a lifetime of loving and being loved by Daphne, he'll move any mountain, confront any old nemesis, to turn "never" into forever.