Sexy, Second Chance Regency Romance with a Badass, Super Competent Heroine and a Hero who’s Good at the Grovel (and other things)…
When Ethan Ridley (aka Lord Amesbury) ruined Lady Charlotte Wentworth’s season, her reputation went with it. Now with her father’s deadline to find a husband bearing down on her, she’s back in London facing the ton. She has no intention of marrying her father’s pick and realizes she can’t get railroaded if she’s already engaged to someone else. And it looks like the Scottish sheep farmer turned viscount is keen to make amends…
Lottie is a badass from the moment you meet her, thundering into town on horseback after a carriage accident left her coachman with a broken leg. And she never lets up. She’s got her insecurities and she’s convinced herself she doesn’t want or need a love match, but you never doubt her wit or her competence on any front. And she’s grumpy before her second cup of tea. In short, I love her.
Ethan is no ordinary viscount, having almost accidentally come into his inheritance. He’s actually concerned about his tenants when living conditions for most people in Britain were pretty horrible. And despite his earlier misstep with Lottie, he’s a good guy. BTW-no matter how Bennett describes him, in my mind, he’s Sam Heughan.
It’s a solid debut. I loved that Any Rogue Will Do has a feminist bent, a redemption arc, a villain, a temporary engagement with sexy times, and a ton of chemistry. I loved that every character (and this reader) basically tells Lottie and Ethan, “Come on! You love each other, you dummies!”
Speaking of characters, it takes a little bit to get all the players on the board at the beginning, but I loved them all (well, almost all) — from Lottie’s Aunt Agatha to her maid Darling to Ethan’s friend Cal, Lord Carlyle.
Seventy-ish pages in I was already mentally writing Lord Carlyle an alternate storyline in which he and Lottie get together to make Ethan jealous, but we’ll just call that a plot bunny, or maybe potential fan fic. The good news is, Carlyle’s getting his book next summer.
4 stars
CW: Assault, kidnapping, death of a parent
READ AN EXCERPT FROM ANY ROGUE WILL DO
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