Andrew wants to get married and he sets his sights on Mary, regardless of his reputation as a fortune hunter. He is extremely arrogant, full of himself and a womanizer.

The story goes too fast, lacks details. Through the whole book, the banter and flirting are cringe worthy. He thinks everything belongs to him, even Mary.

Her brother and family warned her about him, but despite their warning, she falls for Andrew. She is too naive.

I got the impression that he pretends to love her all the time, it's hard to tell what he really feels. He wants a faithful wife, and he wants to be unfaithful. He is too forceful and handsy, playing with Mary.

The ending is extremely strange, unfulfilled and unfinished, as if the book was stopped in the middle of writing.

I did like Mary's family, their love and support for each other.

I give this book 2 stars.

this book was filled with the complexities and consequences of our decisions. and really how we move on from who we were or what people assume we are. is there something deeper in Lord Andrew. because on the surface people see him as a love them and leave them rogue. hes not trusted in any sense either with money or hearts.
Mary's family knows what they think of this man. and none of it is good. and with Mary new to the marriage and coming out market they are more wary than ever and tell her in no uncertain terms that this man is off limits.
Mary doesnt mind that. who would go after such a man. until she does. and starts to fall. there's something about him.
Andrew on the other hand could care less what they think of him. he would go for her anyway...until he does. she is everything that lights him up. she challenges him and hold him to better standards. but Andrew had a plan to marry for money. so he cant start his new wealthy life anew. and the trouble is Mary has all of that too. she comes from good "stock". she would help him transform his life. but there is more going on than marrying for money. and for this its confusing Andrew more than he wants to let on or admit.
will both of them go against what they are told to do or should do? but the fallout of this could be devastating for both.
and what do both of them really want?



Andrew, Lord Framlington is a man accepted by society because he is a Lord, handsome, dangerous and a gambler.
He is on the hunt for a rich heiress, a woman he can bed, and with enough money to purchase some land so he can begin his life again.
He is tired of being the ‘whore’ beloved of the widows and wives of society, dependent on his good friend Peter, who has deep pockets and frequently stakes him at the card table.
He is jaded, exhausted and sick of heart, until he sees Mary Marlow, new to the marriage market, pure, innocent and a wealthy young woman in her own right.
He sets about winning her hand in marriage, much to the outrage and disgust of her family. She is besotted and he is in love for the first time in his life, but has no idea about how to go about making a new life.
Conflict, love, lust and deep longings need to be understood by both Andrew and Mary before they can begin to build a life together under the disapproving and watchful eyes of her family.

I struggled getting through this book. The premise of her family not liking him because he has a bad reputation is very weak. It was very disappointing because the writing was pretty good. The author did more showing than telling. I just felt like there wasn’t enough substance to the book.

I thought this started in an unrealistic manner with the heroine falling in love with the rogue after one dance, and then did not speak to them for a year. However it turned out to be a clever story. The rogue gets his way to marry a fortune yet also falls in love with the heroine. She agrees to elope with him knowing that her family would never sanction the match due to his reputation. There is a sort of happy ending, but they both have to live with the consequences of their decisions and while they would eventually get on amiably, there was anger on both sides in dealing with the fall out from their actions. This makes the storyline more realistic than many others.

2.5 stars

The Dangerous Love of a Rogue by Jane Lark is actually the fifth book in a series called the Marlow Intrigues. I haven't read the first four and I'm not sure you have to but I might go back to check them out to see. This one did feel like a complete book however there were a number of references to other Marlowes so just be aware in case you haven't read them either.

That said, this book focuses on Miss Mary Marlow as the fmc. She is newly out and considered one of the best picks for a wife as she comes from a good family, has a good dowry, and is pretty. Mary isn't really sure what she wants though - no one is really drawing her interest at all except for one man. The one her family has warned her to stay away from. Lord Andrew Framlington.

Lord Andrew (Drew) Framlington has been watching Mary and has decided she is the lady for him. Yes, he needs her dowry but it is more than that. She's willing to stand up to him and challenge him. She's everything he wants in a wife. The challenge is that her family would never accept him so he needs to get her to accept him and be willing to go against everything she has been taught and trust in him to eventually elope. He just needs to figure out how to win her over.

I found this to be a challenging read. I'm not sure how I felt about either character - mostly because Mary seemed so wishy washy and Andrew wouldn't talk to her / tell her anything. I get Mary not wanting to disappoint her family and doubting everything when she heard what Andrew said at the ball (over a year ago) but if you ask me, John can be mad about what was said but he also seems to be a bit of a hypocrite if his background is what Andrew says it was and is exactly what he is holding against Andrew.

And Andrew needs to just sit down and talk to Mary. That might clear up a lot and while I get his past and feelings aren't necessarily comfortable subjects, until he does, things are going to be bumpy. Also, the elopement. He could have been honest with Mary about that too. I'm not sure how she would have reacted but regardless, it was shady how he went about it.

The ending of this book did throw me off a bit. I'm not sure if we are going to get more of their story in subsequent books or not but it seemed very abrupt and I was looking for more of a resolution I guess. It didn't even seem like a happy for now as they both still seem like they are in a place of "I guess we're stuck with what we've done". I think I might pick up the next book just to see what is in the next book - if anything. That said, I'm on the fence with this one and not sure where I land on the recommendation.

Lark’s writing is lush and evocative, with plenty of swoon-worthy stolen moments and a strong sense of place for Regency London’s glittering social scene. I did find some plot beats predictable, and the “can I trust him?” trope lingered a bit long. Still, the emotional payoff was satisfying, especially for readers who enjoy themes of redemption and forbidden love.

A wonderful author who has written a story about a rogue and his woman. It is a steamy story. This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review. This review is mine.

Andrew, Lord Framlington is a man accepted by society because he is a Lord, handsome, dangerous and a gambler.
He is on the hunt for a rich heiress, a woman he can bed, and with enough money to purchase some land so he can begin his life again.
He is tired of being the ‘whore’ beloved of the widows and wives of society, dependent on his good friend Peter, who has deep pockets and frequently stakes him at the card table.
He is jaded, exhausted and sick of heart, until he sees Mary Marlow, new to the marriage market, pure, innocent and a wealthy young woman in her own right.
He sets about winning her hand in marriage, much to the outrage and disgust of her family. She is besotted and he is in love for the first time in his life, but has no idea about how to go about making a new life.
Conflict, love, lust and deep longings need to be understood by both Andrew and Mary before they can begin to build a life together under the disapproving and watchful eyes of her family.
If you are looking for a warm romantic Regency read The Dangerous Love of a Rogue is not for you, but if you are looking for something vastly different, Jane Lark has created the anti-hero, the man who needs to heal, in Andrew, Lord Framlington – a very dangerous rogue.

Thought this was a great premise but the book failed to catch my attention. I ended up not finishing this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This story has promise, but ultimately fails. The characters are immature and aggravating. There's also the case of insta love that never sits well in a story.

This one was a dnf for me. I agree with the other reviews so I’ll keep mine short. I didn’t enjoy any of the characters.

As an avid Regency reader from a young age I am very familiar with the different stylistic choices when writing historical novels. Some focus on the light-hearted relationships, adding farcical misunderstandings and witty banter, some focus on family relationships and others still focus on the spice- the enticement and titillation of the forbidden within the time period.
You can usually tell what type of regency you are reading by the cover. Cartoon covers are a fun light-hearted romp, almost romantic comedy- these are your Alexandra Vashti, Martha Waters and Julia Quinn. Those that focus on family life, broadly encompassing the world have more serious covers- like Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh and Eloise James. The final ones are those that depend on the spice and steamy scenes to sell you, these usually have a half-naked couple entwined on the cover, you don't expect anything serious- Sally Vixen, Ava MacAdams and Em Brown.

Jane Lark's book manages to fall somewhere between Eloise James and Sally Vixen; yet the cover promises laughs.
I pretty much guarantee you will not laugh at The Dangerous Love of a Rogue.

The MMC is a walking red flag. Raised in the demi-monde and used to using his body to fund his lifestyle, he is now desperate for money after squandering his ill-gotten gains. He spends his time leaning on his richer friends and carousing. until he spots Mary- a sweet innocent debutante and decides he wants her because she's 'pure' and unlikely to cheat on him.
However he knows that her brother and father will not let him near her because of his reputation and so he stares at her before demanding a dance.
After that one dance she is enthralled by him, so much so that, even though they don't speak for a year, she feels like she's meant to be with him.
Cue sneaking around, Machiavellian schemes and some of the most toxic behaviour from any regency hero- even Mr Wickham would be ashamed.

The book ends, not on a HEA, or even HFN but on a WTF.

Andrew is basically your first teenage boyfriend who demands you love him more than your family and, at one point, practically says the words "If you love me, you'll sleep with me." Nothing has given me the ick faster.
And Mary is the quintessential "I can change him."

Emotionally immature and desperate hero, bland heroine, toxic relationship pretending to be romantic and the sensible family as the ones getting in the way of true love. This is like Colleen Hoover and Stephanie Meyer decided to get together and write regency.

Pass.

. ݁₊ ⊹ — 2.5 ⭐️ — . ݁˖ . ݁
started april 29th | finished april may 1st
ˋ°•*⁀➷ historical romance, third person pov

ˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 ♡
the cover is so cute, i love it sm. i looked up this book on goodreads and apperantly it was already published once in 2015. i don’t know what the reason is that it’s being published again ten years later but i liked the new look way more.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 ♡
i’m sorry but there’s A LOT i didn’t like. okay so first of all, it was so confusing. it took me multiple chapters to even realise what the two main characters were called. this story is all about the plot which isn’t bad at all, but this is is a ROMANCE book guys. you can’t write a romance book without focusing on the characters a lot. also what’s up with that ending? like you can’t even call that an ending. the book just stopped in the middle of them playing a board game. it either should’ve ended during the wedding or should’ve been longer and show their marriage more.

⌞ 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰 ⌝ her character was so stupid i’m sorry. i feel like the author was trying to make her strong and independent but also loving but she just ended up dumb. i was 31% into the book and girl’s already like “i love him but i can’t love him why do i love him do i love him”. bro NO, just no. i checked how far i’m into the book and WHEN THIS IS GONNA BE OVER anytime she opened her mouth. and she wasn’t even annoying, she was just so naive and dumb and couldn’t make up her mind.

⌞ 𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 “𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰” 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 ⌝ there’s a lot that i have to say about him and none of it is good. first of all, i love a good broken mc but wtf was this. i feel like that’s what the author was trying to make him but he was just so confusing and weird, like if he had two personalities. one moment, he’s like: “i want a rich wife to pay off my debts and that’s all i am practically making a girl believe i love her and i’m gonna lie to her and then take all her money” and then he’s like: “omg mary is so gorgeous and innocent i want her to be my wife she’s so pleasent to the eye i don’t even want her for her money anymore”. like WHAT? another thing is, there is just something so weird about using like old serious kinda english while writing sex scenes or writing about a male character being attracted to a woman, i’m sorry. my brain is probably just way too used to college dark romances but it was so cringe. i also feel like all of the characters had NO life, NO brain and NO own thoughts.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ♡
i am dissapointed, i really am. this book has such a cute cover and so much potential but it feels like a badly written wattpad story.

───୨ৎ────

⤷ thank you for this arc to gemini books group and netgalley in exchange for my honest review!!

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this one. I just couldn’t get into it. I found the writing style to be off putting and confusing.

I wish to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I had the urge to DNF this book after the first chapter itself as the leads are frustrating, especially the Male lead who is toxic, misogynistic and weird. He is a rake through and through and has his eyes set on this "innocent" girl who is out in her first season. He doesn't try to woo her, only accosts and assaults her. And she allows him. He does not know the word or concept of "consent". I wish I had given up on the book then.
Now....72% in....it feels like my precious time is wasted. Nowhere is it mentioned in the blurb on Netgalley or here that this book was originally published in 2015! I would have read the reviews then and saved my time and effort and my misplaced excitement. This version is apparently a re-edited version. This time, this book is the first in the series....ten years ago, it was the fifth. The one star is for the heroine's family who genuinely loves her and protects her to the best of their ability. First of all, the hero's family is not properly explained. He does not even do anything, neither is he talented, qualified or rich! Which is why he seeks a rich bride to get away from his poverty and help his half or step sister to leave her abusive husband....no one in the society is even aware of this sister being his sister?! The female lead is very naive but we cannot really blame her. She's all of nineteen, extremely protected and kept far away from adventure of any kind. She behaves very rashly and then seems to gather her wits....only to repeat the cycle again and again. I only felt bad for the family finding out about their beautiful daughter disobeying then rather suddenly. The male lead takes deep pride in the games he is playing with the female lead and he even calls it such. There is no connection between the leads except the physical attraction and this becomes super evident when they elope. They have nothing to talk or discuss on the way! When she tries to initiate any conversation about simple topics such as family and past times, he shuts down. Or shuts her down by kissing her. The sad part is the author can write. If she gets the era correct and changes the absolutely chauvinistic hero, this book could have been saved. All his friends are also the same and he is living off their pennies. I did give a thought as to finishing the book but was pissed to find out that this is a re-publishing (if that's a word, and that there was no mention of it anywhere?!) The reviewers seem to be aware or they also found out like me when they looked the book up here or elsewhere online.

I get that the hero has no good support system and grew up in the dirt....but the way he forbade her to cheat in the future, "I shall not allow you/it." Um.... excuse me? His tone and way of speaking is demeaning to the girl. She deserves any of the boring guys who would have definitely treated her better.
A few examples of the hero's vile thinking:

"Until today, he had never admired, respected or felt proud of a woman he intended to share a bed with."

"A young man's recklessness is part of life" (WHAT??!!)
TEACH HIM BETTER.

There are so many more.....how he plans his letters with his drunk friends and brags about them celebrating his pending nuptials as he thinks he has it in the bag multiple times and then is offended when the girl is not swayed. I wish the girl was not swayed at all.

Reading The Dangerous Love of a Rogue was a true emotional roller coaster—and not always in a good way. From the opening pages, I struggled with Lord Framlington’s character. His obsession with Mary Marlow’s innocence felt unsettling and, frankly, creepy. He’s portrayed as a classic scoundrel—deep in debt, emotionally immature, and manipulative—and unfortunately, he never truly redeems himself.

Mary, the heroine, is painfully naïve, which made it hard to root for her in the beginning. I kept hoping for growth in both characters, especially Framlington. There was a stretch around the middle of the book where things began to come together—I even found myself tearing up, moved by the emotional depth and the portrayal of Mary’s family. It felt like the story might turn around. But just as quickly, Framlington’s childish outbursts and inability to grow sabotaged any real development.

While the book explores trauma, abandonment, and the desire for love, it ultimately left me frustrated. Framlington’s brief moments of vulnerability weren’t enough to offset how unlikable he remained through to the end. I finished the book disappointed, feeling that Mary deserved better and that the ending lacked the satisfying closure I was hoping for.

If you’re looking for a romance where the rogue is convincingly redeemed, this might not be the one. It had its emotional moments, but they were overshadowed by a hero who simply didn’t earn the love he was given.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was originally written in 2015 and unfortunately it still shows. Despite fresh editing the hero is mean in a way that modern histrom heroes aren’t. Consent seems to be non existent.

Thank you Boldwood and Netgalley for the chance to read this book..
This was a DNF for me.
I couldn’t warm to Drew’s character at all; the way he coveted Mary’s innocence while also trying to pursue and corrupt was totally cringe. Her naivety bugged me.
The quality of the writing itself was fine.

Lord Andrew Framlington is a rogue of the worst kind: actively looking for a wealthy wife that will fix his enormous debt issues. Miss Mary Marlow is that woman that he has set his sights on. She has been warned by family and friends that Lord Andrew should be avoided at all costs, yet she becomes smitten and falls head first.

Though I have enjoyed many of Jane Lark’s previous novels, unfortunately, this one was not for me. While I do appreciate a redemption arc, I never really warmed up to Drew’s character. And Mary was too naive for me.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

First of all, a huge thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC of The Dangerous Love of a Rogue by Jane Lark.

I just want to start by saying how beautifully written this book is—it felt so lyrical and immersive. As far as I know, this isn’t the first time the book has been published (it originally came out 10 years ago), but this edition has been re-edited. I’m not familiar with the earlier version, but I can confidently say that this one is clearly polished and flows effortlessly from start to finish. I really appreciate the care that went into bringing it to life again.

The story follows Lord Andrew Framlington, a 25-year-old rake with hazel eyes and a troubled past. He’s burdened by debt and chasing the idea of a peaceful life in the countryside. He’s very much the classic “broken hero”—at times even poetic in his despair (lines like “born in sin and raised in sin”). He’s flawed and raw, and I can absolutely see readers who enjoy redemption arcs really connecting with his journey.

Then we have Mary Marlow, just 19, the sweet and intelligent half-sister of the Duke of Pembroke. Coming from a noble, loving, and protective family, she’s searching for a love story of her own. I truly adored her character—elegant, grounded, and so pure of heart.

The dynamic between Mary and Andrew is full of emotional tension, passion, and high stakes—especially on his side. He’s on the hunt for a wealthy, innocent, and obedient wife whose dowry can help him escape his burdens. While I found their connection compelling, I’ll admit that the relationship didn’t sit right with me. At times, Andrew’s behavior genuinely frustrated me. I understand what the author was going for—and while it wasn’t entirely my cup of tea, I know readers who love the “I can fix him” trope will absolutely devour this.

That said, I really enjoyed the overall reading experience. The atmosphere, pacing, and emotional depth were all there. Plus, I appreciated the relationship between Mary and her family, and the little found-family moments happening with Drew and his friends. The ending caught me by surprise, too, so I’m definitely planning to continue with the Marlow Family Secrets series.

If you’re looking for an atmospheric, beautifully written historical romance full of passion, I definitely recommend giving this one a try—but keep in mind, it doesn’t follow the typical happily-ever-after.

Release date: 05/31/2025