Romancing the Rogue by Erica Ridley

  Romancing the Rogue by Erica Ridley

Blurb:

When the new earl inherits, poor relation Miss Rebecca Bond must wed immediately or be out on her ear. The only man she’s ever loved is summoned to hear the will—but he already rejected her so soundly that they haven’t spoken in years. Yet who better than a rakish Viscount to teach her how to snare a gentleman who appreciates her charms?

Daniel Goodenham, Lord North-Barrows, regrets nothing more than the lost friendship with the one woman who treated him like a man, not a title. Fate has given him the perfect pretext to win her forgiveness—even if it means having to matchmake her to someone else. But now that she’s back in his life, he’ll do anything to convince her to choose him instead...

As much as I loved the hero and the heroine I was a bit disappointed in the end when everything turned out just fine - just like that. I even turned back some pages because I thought that I might have missed something. It was a believable and realistic ending but something was lacking. Rebecca starts to hunt for a husband and - poof - game over. Husband found. Not necessarily the one she expected  but...well.

On the whole I was also irritated when suddenly the heroine was not just some "ghost" anymore haunting the estate but somehow without anybody really caring for her, but someone with a maid who accompagnies her and so on, even though before nobody even knew anymore that she existed (Horrible idea! Made me think how many spinsters and their likes may have had a similar fate in those times. Non-existent and invisible to those around them and just happy for the roof over their heads. ) and her uncle didn't strike me as someone who'd take care that everybody is aware of her needs and her presence.

I really liked Rebecca and her strong and independent ways, I liked how she defied society and their opinions again and again and showed her briliance and her strong character along the way.
I know that Daniel was also very young when they first met and still rather young and insecure when all the bad stuff went down but nevertheless I was really upset with him - despite the fact that I like him. Fortunately for him (and my patience), he remembers at last that he has a backbone and that he should trust Rebecca otherwise I would have been a very unhappy reader. Due to his new-found backbone and so on, I liked the book in the end even though it is not a book that I will read again very soon.

★★★