Marjorie Wynchester feels different from the rest of her adopted family: she's happiest in her art studio, and she doesn't have the skills or courage to lead one of their wild and sometimes wacky missions. Or does she? When the family learns about a rash of counterfeit coins leading back to a powerful moneylender known as the Grandfather of St Giles, Marjorie declares herself to be the best person to infiltrate the counterfeiting ring, given her art skills and her often underestimated personality.

Lord Adrian Webb, disowned by his marquess father years ago, took up creating copies of ancient treasures for the Grandfather of St Giles to sell to unsuspecting nobles. But now that he's back in London, the game is up -- and he's caught in a trap of creating counterfeit coins to pay off his debt. When an attractive young woman shows up, offering to make better coins than his, he tries desperately to scare her off, not wanting her trapped in the same web. She's determined to stay, though, and he can't resist her in any way.

I've enjoyed the Wild Wynchesters series for all the over-the-top heists and missions the characters perpetrate and the sheer fun they seem to have in doing good in delightful ways, and this book has much the same wild improbability in the family's capers. Marjorie, who has been something of a wallflower in previous books, gets her chance to bloom here. I appreciated that her partial deafness and her synesthesia gave her more advantages than disadvantages in dealing with people, and that helped her make plans and re-make plans as needed. Adrian played the part of a ne'er-do-well often in order to hide how trapped he felt and how much he needed to protect others, though his character growth felt a little rushed by the end. Together they mostly seemed to work, but something still felt slightly lacking to me. And of course I enjoyed all the input from the other Wild Wynchesters, including their respect for Marjorie and all the ways Jacob's animals contributed to the plot.

Fast paced and enjoyable, though slightly underbaked in terms of romance. 3 stars.

Thank you, Forever/Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Actual rating 3.50/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

I loved the overall plot and character development—Marjorie and Adrian’s chemistry worked for me. However, there are a few plot points that are unexplained and/or resolved too neatly without further explanation. It was still a fun and escaping read that I did enjoy.

I am an unabashed fan of the Wild Wynchesters series. My Rogue to Ruin is the latest installment in the Wynchester series of capers. While investigating counterfeit currency, the artistic Marjorie finds herself literally locked in the same workshop as Lord Adrian Webb, second son and first-rate rogue. The two challenge each other’s misconceptions while slowly revealing the truth about their identities and intentions. Adrian gets knives, books, and potatoes thrown at him as the various Wynchesters inquire about his intentions.

I really enjoyed the pacing of the novel and the romance. Marjorie poses as “Mary” and works her way into the center of the counterfeiting ring, first to take down Adrian and the crime boss Snowley and then to rescue Adrian or maybe help him rescue himself. Marjorie needs to discover who she is without her family and within the new family dynamic as more and more Wynchesters find love. Adrian needs to believe that he deserves love and family, even though he has not always chosen to do good. The novel is full of wit, banter, and shenanigans, in true Wynchester fashion. It is best read as part of the series, including the heist focused novellas between novels.

I cannot speak to how Marjorie’s disability (deaf/hard of hearing) or the way she sees emotions as colors are presented.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley.

Oh a new Wynchester book! Stop everything! This is Marjorie and Adrian's story and it is a good one. Adrian has been banished for 7 years for something he didn't do. Yet returning has not been what he had hoped. Marjorie is in charge of the mission. Read this one, it is a good story.

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

Yet another awesome book continuing with the same characters as before. I adored it.

Librarian review: I think I would only recommend this book in reader's advisory of someone was looking for historical romance with disability representation.

Reader review:

3.5 stars

I've been reading the Wild Wynchesters series as each book has come out since The Duke Heist. Although the first book has been, in my opinion, far and away the best in the series (and the best book by Ridley overall), I have loved the diversity of identities and couples that you rarely see in regency romances.

The fourth book follows Marjorie, the artistic sibling in the Wynchester family, a group of talented adoptees from the streets of London that have inherited the wealth, altruism, and social mission of their adopted father. Due to her talent, Marjorie is sent to infiltrate a money counterfeiting operation conning poor people out of their valuables.

Ridley's voice and characters are comedic and fun-loving, making for an enjoyable read. However, be ready for more (almost annoyingly) kooky characters. The unique talents of each Wynchester are fun, but that they are always so perfect and infallible can get boring, especially by the fourth book. Their plans do go wrong often, but there is still no doubt that everything will always go right for them. And their heisting and scheming felt unexplained and too easy. Their plans seemed beyond unlikely, and always hinged on the siblings' skills being inexplicably amazing and undetectable.

I felt several themes and side plots went unexplained or unresolved. Marjorie's past before her adoption, for example, is almost entirely untouched. Her ability to see people's auras/colors is thrown in haphazardly, like the author added it last minute and threw it into random scenes. Her deafness was part of her backstory and I expected it to factor more into her experience in the book, but it didn't. And most of all, (view spoiler)

One big thing that bothered me throughout the book was the incorrect timeline. It was said on multiple occasions that Adrian left England seven years ago. Except he left when he was 19 and his sister 13, and they are now 29 (mentioned turning 28 the year prior) and 23 (described as two years past her majority), respectively. Please, please fix this before publication.

Pros:
-Diversity of identities, including racial, disability, gender, and sexual orientation
-Found family
-Ridley's voice is wonderful and funny as usual

Cons:
-Whoever made the decision to completely change the cover style at the fourth book in the series--straight to jail, right away
-Entire family with a case of the Too Perfects
-The heisting and scheming wasn't giving what it needed to give

What a wild ride with Marjorie and Adrian this is! Just when you think you’ve got it figured out , a new twist and turn gets thrown in! I loved how the author made Adrian not so perfect, with a scandalous background and a gift of forgery.Marjorie is a woman after my own heart as she, like me, hates change, but has to deal with it as change is the only constant in life. The pets are all adorable, the contingencies are hilarious and the love scenes divine, especially the first one between the H/h. Did NOT see that one coming. I absolutely adored this book!

I received this ARC copy for free and these are my own opinions

Eric Ridley is a historical romcom queen! This book was laugh-out-loud hilarious. And deeply emotional and romantic. All that with a homing hedgehog? Perfection! It is my fav of the Wild Wynchesters series so far. That last part is important because each book has been amazing, and I can't wait for more. Here, Marjorie is an artist in the Robin Hood-eqsue Wynchester family. She might break the law, but it is always to help those in need. Adrian is an art forger looking to escape the game only to be blackmailed into counterfeiting for a crime boss who steals from the poor. When Marjorie infiltrates the ring to take them down, she and Adrian must work together and enemies-to-lovers banter, shenanigans, and romance ensue. I appreciated Erica Ridley’s discussion of disability in this story. Marjorie has hearing loss from smallpox. She also has synesthesia. Reading how she experiences the world was really beautiful and impactful. I've loved the series in order, but family introductions are done so naturally in each story that this could work as a stand alone too. Thank you for the chance to read an ARC. Highly recommend this wonderful book and will share a review on Amazon on publication day.

Thank you author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.
I loved this book. This was my first book that I got on NetGalley and was so amazing. Historical fiction is not normally my type but I really enjoyed it. And the dual POV was a bonus point there. As I related to Marjorie’s character, I really loved her. Also I really adored Adrian and his character.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for this ARC!

- I love this series so much, and Marjorie’s book did not disappoint! The worst part about finishing it is how long I have to wait for the next one, because reading it reminded me of how great a writer Erica Ridley is!!
- if you love a MC who falls quick and hard with pages full of his POVs where he waxes poetic about how out of his league his love interest is, this is the book for you! The dual POV worked incredibly well!
- I loved getting to learn so much about Marjorie! Because she’s less outgoing than the other siblings, it took a bit to get much information about her. Her character arc was so beautiful to watch!
- I need an entire series just dedicated to the animals Jacob trains. Tickletums was fantastic!
- this book was so sweet and the epilogue melted my heart!

I’m a marketing and publicity intern at Forever Publishing, so I am reading this for work! Aaaaaaand there's a character limit on reviews here are some more words