Book Review: Because the Baron Broods by Darcy Burke

Rogue Rules Book 2

From USA Today Bestselling Author Darcy Burke, author of The Untouchables and Phoenix Club series, comes your next Regency romance must-read.

Rogue Rules

When a young lady is ruined, her friends vow none of them will ever be ensnared by a scoundrel again. They will resist every gentleman’s charms even—and especially—if it means gaining a reputation for being impossible to woo. It will take extraordinary rogues to break their rules...

Growing up in isolation in Cornwall, Tamsin Penrose looks forward to the one month each year that she spends in an idyllic seaside town with her best friends. She’s shocked to receive a letter from her reclusive father informing her of a potential groom—they’ve never even discussed marriage and she rather expected to be a spinster. But she’s met a charming, if serious, baron and now she’s dreaming of a romantic, wedded life.

During his annual trip to a friend’s seaside estate, broody Isaac Deverell, Baron Droxford finds himself in an objectionable situation: socializing with a group of ladies over several days. He is not prepared for the storm of cheerfulness that is Miss Penrose, nor can he deny that she makes him feel…good.

Because Isaac is an unheroic rogue with a devastatingly sinful secret, he should flee this delightful ray of sunshine. However, he can’t keep his distance, and when her overzealous suitor arrives and won’t take no for an answer, Isaac protects her in a scandalously public fashion. Now he can’t run from her. Can these attracted opposites find a happy ever after, or will the past destroy their chance?

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My Review:

Ugh! My heart breaks for where Isaac’s brain and emotions continually took him. It had become a well-worn track and for a while I wasn’t sure if even Tamsin’s cheery optimism would be able to knock him free from it. I enjoyed this opposites-attract semi-arranged marriage story. It was a lot of fun watching this pair discover their similarities and fall for one another. I also really enjoyed seeing the references to the Marrywell Matchmaking Festival. To my mind, Isaac’s all-consuming guilt over the events of his youth drug the book down a bit. And when he finally finds peace with those events, it's a mad rush to the finish. However, I appreciated that this story showed an instance where love didn’t conquer all and the mores of the day kind of trumped the hearts involved. So far I’m loving these not-so rogue-like rogues and the ladies that love them. I can’t wait to get my hands on whatever’s next.

I received a complimentary advance copy of this book through NetGalley.

Other books in the series

If the Duke Dares (Rogue Rules Book 1)