A ROGUE OF ONE'S OWN

A suffragist and a rogue move from unwilling business partners to lovers in Victorian England.

Lady Lucie Tedbury has an ulterior motive for buying half the shares of London Print, a publishing house known for wholesome magazines for women. She and her fellow Oxford suffragist friends are fighting against the Married Women’s Property Act. Their plan to publish a report is thwarted when Lucie finds out that Lord Tristan Ballentine, “scoundrel, seducer, bane of her youth,” has bought the remaining shares. Tristan cannot let Lucie bring down the publishing house; he needs to make a profitable income so he can free himself and his mother from his horrid father. Although their differing goals for the publisher put Lucie and Tristan at odds, their physical attraction is undeniable. Tristan offers control of the business in exchange for one night in bed together. At first Lucie thinks he’s asking too much, but she soon believes it’s too little. Like its predecessor, Bringing Down the Duke (2019), this second installment in the A League of Extraordinary Women series delivers a smart, capable heroine finding glorious love in a rich historical setting with plenty of wit and swoons along the way. Convoluted plotting and clichéd side characters make parts of the story drag, but Lucie’s consistent characterization pushes through. Her passion and dedication to the cause feel authentic and drive her conflict with the notion of romance. She refuses to lose herself and become a possession, yet she feels the freedom that comes with being loved.

A splendid, if uneven, addition to the series.