"How to Tame a Wild Rogue"
by Julie Anne Long
Love the books in this series! This one is another fun read. Steamy romance with obstacles. There is humor throughout as well and I enjoy returning to a great cast of characters.
Check this one out!

Everything about this was pitch perfect. Lorcan St. Leger is the pirate-turned-privateer I didn't know I needed in my life. And the chemistry between Lorcan and Daphne practically set my e-reader on fire.

Lorcan and Daphne end up at The Grand Palace on the Thames shortly after he rescues her from a misadventure and just as a huge storm is about to hit London. If you've read the series prior to this point, you know the rules for the establishment: there was no way that Delilah and Angelique are letting them stay together in the last available suite unless they are a married couple. Hence, the subterfuge that keeps them in close proximity as the stormy weather keeps everyone trapped in The Grand Palace.

Watching this couple fall in love...whew. So, so rewarding. Plus, there are some extra scenes of marital conflict and resolution between Delilah and Tristan (Lady Derring Takes a Lover) and Bolt and Angelique (Angel in a Devil's Arms) that add depth for new readers of this series and will be extra special for long-time Palace of Rogues fans.

I've been vocal about my absolute delight in this series. As with the other books, some of the scenes here are hilarious. Of course, we get more of our Grand Palace regulars--Delacorte and Dot being my favorites, although Mr. Pike has now joined in the fun.

Best of all? There are hints of another book in the series--and I, for one, can't wait. In the meantime, I may just need to reread this one and my other favorites (including After Dark with the Duke).

(Also, can we talk about the cover? The characters look nothing like I imagined the characters based on the descriptions, but honestly, it's sexy and not a cartoon so it's already a step up from half the romance covers nowadays. Keep 'em coming!)

5 stars! Absolutely perfect.

Lady Daphne Worth and the very dangerous, piratical-looking Lorcan St Leger are two strangers who find themselves caught in a storm and needing shelter while it passes. They head to The Grand Palace on the Thames where they are surprised to see people from each of their pasts. In order to stay and share the only room available, they spontaneously pretend to be married. They appear to be an unlikely couple, but they are absolutely perfect for each other.

🍊 Daphne is the daughter of a viscount, and Lorcan is from the poorest area of London and climbed his way to respectability.
🍊 The chemistry is so sizzly and beautiful. It's a glorious JAL slow burn!
🍊 A bit of caretaking trope that leads to close physical proximity.
🍊 An extreeeemely sexy game of Spillikins with a wager!
🍊 I absolutely love the way the relationships from the first two books continue through the rest of the series. The characters from these books are the proprietors of The Grand Palace on the Thames, where all of the books take place, so you get the most out of this series by reading it in order. There is not a bad book in the bunch, so it is absolutely worth starting at the beginning!
🍊The couples from the first two books have minor conflicts in this story with lovely, relationship strengthening resolutions, so it's like three romances in one!
🍊Julie Anne Long is so clever and I woke my baby up laughing over one scene. I laugh every time I think about it!
🍊 As always, the writing is so romantic and poetic. The romance arc is stunning. I loved absolutely everything about this book.
🍊This is one of my favorites in the series.

Thank you so much Avon and Netgalley for access to this e-ARC!

This book was absolutely EXQUISITE.

The unconventional main characters, the tenderness, the banter.

I absolutely adored it and cannot wait to post my full glowing review on release day!

I loved this book.

So far I've read 3 of the 6 books in the series. The Palace of Rogues is such a wonderful themed series. It takes place in a boarding house (in a former bordello) which Delilah and Angelique created on the docks of London.

The Grand Palace on the Thames has become on some level a home for Delilah and Angelique and their husbands and Mr. Delacorte and the staff. It is sort of a magical place, and the place itself has a big part in this story, since the guests are stuck there due to weather for some time in the book.

Lorcan St. Leger is a privateer who happens upon Daphne who is sneaking out of a building close by. They go to the Grand Palace on the Thames because Lorcan needed a place to stay and Daphne had read that this place was a good place to stay until she could make her way home.

It turns out Daphne had known Delilah as a younger girl, and Lorcan had known Delilah and Angelique's husbands previously. They say they're married and get a suite of rooms.

Over time, Lorcan and Daphne get to know each other, and fall in love. But Daphne has responsibilities (she thinks) to her father and brothers, and Lorcan has to go out to sea to continue his life.

I loved their relationship and how Lorcan ultimately took care of Daphne who had always taken care of everyone else, while Daphne became someone was there and cared for him since he had always been alone. Lorcan helped Daphne become her own person and get the life she deserved, while she gave him the support he had never had before.

This was a really strong relationship story that made the Grand Palace on the Thames become even more of a backdrop to changing lives than it had originally been. I will definitely catch up on this series and keep reading.

I received an advanced copy and am giving an honest review.

Another wild story at the Palace! I enjoy this author's writing and the cast of characters at the Palace do not disappoint. This story was enjoyable, if a little predictable. I always like a MMC who comes from nothing and ends up the winner. It was a nice read.

Julie Anne Long has been a favorite with her Pennyroyal series, and How To Tame a Wild Rogue is just as engaging, addictive, and smolderingly sexy. A feisty heroine, incorrigible rogue, and sparks aplenty, this is the read for those who enjoy sexy regency romance.

The grumpy ne'er do well with a heart of gold is one of my favorite historical romance tropes and few people do it better than Julie Anne Long.

I liked this one very much, I’m a big fan of the “fake dating” trope and this was an interesting and different take on that. I enjoyed seeing some further relationship development of previous characters as well.

4.5 stars.

I wasn't sure how Lorcan would warm me up on the first few pages of the book, but as with all Long's heroes he did and quickly.

The author does such a great job of taking two people who look extremely different and showing us how similar they are, how they fill in the cracks and hold each other up and make each other more.

I don't want to give anything away but the fact that they both thought one ending was inevitable by choice and then both realized "dont' be stupid' basically is just so great.

I love so much about this but I don't want to give away how the last 1/3rd plays out but I will say it will be right up there with What I Did for a Duke for me!

I have ONE complaint and it took 1/2 a star bc it changed the entire tone of the end of the book (I went back and read the epilogue all the way to the last POV and stopped later to change the taste in my mouth). The epilogue is in a POV that is not the MCs and it ends on a really depressing downbeat IN THAT POV (where it could have ended in such an up beat in the MCs POV) and I just felt like UGH when I put the book down - it stole my smile, so taking away .5 would take a full star but I love the author and most of the book. I talked about this with someone else, a long time romance reader and she was like "That doesn't sound like a fullfilling ending" and I guess that's what my heart felt :(

Daphne is escaping the advances of a creepy relative of the lady she is a companion too, so he climbs out of window on a bed sheet and into the arms of the dangerous Lorcan St. Ledger. They are both looking for shelter from an upcoming storm and are both traveling to The Grand Palace on the Thames. What do you know, there is one room left, and the place is run by mutual acquaintances of theirs so they are forced to play married couple for a few days while they wait out the storm. After arriving they fall into sweet domestic bliss sharing coffee and scones, playing games, discussing their lives, he braves the storm to get her oranges for her birthday at which point things heat up and they do a lot of kissing and sex to pass the time. They fall in love, the storm ends and they go their separate ways but he realizes he can’t live without her so they get married and live happily ever after.

If you can get through the first half of this book, the second half is wonderful and so sweet!!!

I loved Daphne and Lorcan, and I love the stuck together in a room pretending to be married premise. I knew where it was heading so I stuck with it and I’m glad that I did because the second half of the book was lovely!

I wish there was more character development and time with them together on the page at the beginning of the book though. There was a lot of switching to other characters POV’s that didn’t seem relevant to the plot as well as two of the characters names were so similar to our two main characters, that I got really confused and almost gave up. The beginning was very slow.

I know this book is part of a series, and I have not read the previous books. Perhaps if I’d read them, the other characters POV’s and story continuation would have made me all warm and fuzzy rather than bored and frustrated. I would not recommend reading this book as a stand alone.

This is book six of this series. I have enjoyed every book. Each is a stand-alone novel but I do encourage readers to start at the beginning of the series and read along. Doing this gives you a very through understanding of all the delightful side characters. Julie Anne Long is a favorite author of mine ever since I discovered her Pennyroyal Green Series. This addition to the Palace of Rogues Series is not to be missed.

In this book we are not only treated to Lorcan and Daphne's story but we are also given more insight into the marriages of Angelique and Delilah, the proprietresses of the Grand Palace On The Themes where this story takes place. All of the side characters are developed further in this addition to the series.

Fake marriage, slow burn, hot pirate, and steamy. This book has everything. Thank you for the ARC reader net galley. This is my fav romance so far this year. 💕
Can't wait to read it again!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review! The story was kind of slow going at the beginning. It definitely took quite a few chapters to really grab my attention. The introduction of Delilah, Angelique, and The Grand Palace on the Thames with all of its guests was a lot of information to take in and it wasn’t the most clear. I understand that these characters are probably from previous books, but as a first time reader of this author, it was somewhat hard to follow during Chapter 2. Daphne and Lorcan are as different as can be. Daphne is the daughter of a viscount and while she’s technically a spinster, she still has social standing. Lorcan is a privateer that has previously made his way through life with smuggling. This book really turned around for me around the halfway point. Daphne and Lorcan finally start having feelings for each other. They each help the other out in ways they both didn’t know they needed. Lorcan listens to what Daphne has to say and acknowledges her wants and needs. He helps her to see her situation clearly. And when he shows up on her birthday with gifts for her! Oh my goodness. He has such a sweet spot for her and I loved it! He would do anything for her and he proved it over and over. There were a lot of different characters that brought humor to the pages like Dot and Delacourte. Overall, this was a great read with a toe curling romance! This book releases on July 25, 2023.

Lorcan is a privateer who’s struggled his way to the top from his lowly origins in St. Giles. Lady Daphne is at her wits end. Facing poverty and ruin for herself and her family, she feels compelled to accept a demoralizing marriage proposal. During an epic storm Lorcan spies Daphne jumping out of a window- escaping a sexual predator- and Lorcan catches her! However they must seek shelter from the storm so they are forced to pretend to be married in order to get the very last room available anywhere. Hmmm.

Oh this was a delightful book! Daphne is the kind of woman who will sacrifice all for the ones she loves, her family. But can she bring herself to marry this earl, older than her father, with five children and two deceased wives under his belt? However, there is much to admire in her. She is also very strong and almost resolute in accustoming herself to her future. And she sees the beauty and wonder of commonplace things about her and she shares that with Lucan. She doesn’t even realize how beautiful a gift she is.

Lorcan is a perfect romance hero. He’s a mountain of a man and a privateer. He even wears a gold and ruby earring! He is a strong self-made man. He doesn’t believe in love so as he falls in love with Daphne he must fall a great distance. Because he is a man of honor he resists acting on his hunger for Daphne.

Their desire for one another, their falling in love, is a lovely slow burn. It is very sensuous and the sexy bits are luscious. You’ll love this forced proximity, fake relationship novel!

Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my heartfelt honest opinion.

*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!