Review - 'A Rogue of One's Own' by Evie Dunmore

 

I've been dying to get my hands on this, Dunmore's sophomore book, ever since I read her first book earlier this year. I loved that one so much that I couldn't put it down, even while walking, which led to a small accident and a permanent scar. Nope, I'm not kidding. So it is with great anticipation and excitement that I finally get my hands on this one.

But honestly, A Rogue of One's Own just didn't quite capture the magic of the first one. On the surface, it's got everything I enjoy: a strong female character fighting the good fight (suffrage), a guy who loves her for her fierceness and her brains, and lots of attraction disguised as mutual dislike. And sure, I definitely enjoyed all those, but something felt missing.

For one, the book is too long for the story. The pacing is leisurely bordering on indulgent, and the plot advances at a snail's pace. Our couple doesn't even exchange their first smooch until past the halfway mark (more than 200 pages in). There were too many mostly irrelevant side plots, making the whole thing more convoluted and confusing than necessary.

The story also lacks that all-important sexual tension that's vital for a romance. I remember the sizzle of the first book, and I kept waiting for it with this one. But the scenes where our couple interacted with each other felt more like they truly disliked each other, with none of the attraction. It's a headscratcher, for sure.

And when we get to the crucial physical moments, the author seemingly becomes Victorianly shy and prudish, using mostly euphemisms to quickly gloss over the whole thing. It feels so different from the first book that it makes me wonder if Dunmore got feedback to tone down the steam in order to appeal to a larger audience.

For me, the best romances have the perfect amount of urgency and tension, and both were lacking in this book. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this, and without the first book for comparison, I would have found it more than adequate. But I do have my memory of the first book, and in comparison, this was utterly putdownable and a huge disappointment.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars