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shannonlangton's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kabrahams's review against another edition
4.0
If you, like me, occasionally crave a romance with an absolutely bonkers plot, thEn this is for you. It literally starts out with our heroine disguising herself as the hero's footman and hitching a ride on the back of his carriage. There's also a library reveal that will make any Beauty and the Beast fan smile. The ending got a bit prolonged in my opinion, but the prologue was super cute. Will definitely continue the trilogy!
reeyabeegale's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
I started this last year and got to at least 60% of the book before the end of 2020. I couldn’t read this continuously because for some unexplained reason, I feel so sad reading this book — my heart was breaking for both Sophie and King.
I liked it enough, though I must say, I didn’t like the road adventure. I think I prefer my historical romances to occur within a certain set of places rather than out in the road. Also, just like the other MacLean books I’ve read, her writing style isn’t my favorite — it tends to be long and repetitive but at least I found this more bearable than the others I’ve read of hers.
What I felt for this book is similar to the other book of hers that I’ve read where it hurt to watch the characters fall into a mess because they couldn’t het ahold of their feelings or reconcile something that happened in the past.
All in all, it’s a good book but I’m unsure if I’ll be reading the next book in the series immediately.
I started this last year and got to at least 60% of the book before the end of 2020. I couldn’t read this continuously because for some unexplained reason, I feel so sad reading this book — my heart was breaking for both Sophie and King.
I liked it enough, though I must say, I didn’t like the road adventure. I think I prefer my historical romances to occur within a certain set of places rather than out in the road. Also, just like the other MacLean books I’ve read, her writing style isn’t my favorite — it tends to be long and repetitive but at least I found this more bearable than the others I’ve read of hers.
What I felt for this book is similar to the other book of hers that I’ve read where it hurt to watch the characters fall into a mess because they couldn’t het ahold of their feelings or reconcile something that happened in the past.
All in all, it’s a good book but I’m unsure if I’ll be reading the next book in the series immediately.
marthareads98's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nemegarcia's review
4.0
Okayyy after that other terrible romance this one was more like it!! I felt a little more connection to the characters and could feeeeel their attraction ya know. It aint easy to write romance!
romance_era's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
5.0
AS EROTICALLY DESCRIPTIVE AS BERTRICE SMALL WITH THE CHARM, WIT, AND ADVENTURE OF KATHLEEN E. WOODIWISS! 🤩
The Rogue Not Taken is like a romp through Regency England with a mischievous grin and a twinkle in its eye. The story follows the spirited Lady Sophie Talbot, who is embroiled in scandal after a fateful encounter with the notorious and rakish Marquess of Eversley.
Sophie and King engage in verbal sparring matches that border on performance art.
Each exchange crackles with energy and wit, sparking flames of passion that they can't deny. Despite their attempts to evade their growing affection, their love story unfolds with playful charm and undeniable heat, making it an irresistible blend of resistance and surrender.
Favorite Scenes
💙 The barn beer drinking moment reminded me of a few Titanic scenes. 🥰
💙 The Scot bought custom wheels. 😎
💙 The masonry book reading session. 🤣
💙 The reformed pickpocket. 😇
💙 The “bits” in the carriage. 🌶️🥵😮💨
💙 The banter!!! 😂🫠😁
💙 Dinner with the staff. 💗
💙 The maze. 😍
This novel will enchant historical romance fans with its vibrant characters, vividly depicted settings, and sparkling prose.
🎙️ The audiobook was incredible. Justine Eyre nailed it! Her performance made me feel right at home in this genre—reminiscent of Skye O’Malley.
🎧 I highly recommend speeding up the reading pace to enhance the listening experience. I listen at 2x the speed.
*First Read: 16 April 2024*
danacanterino's review
5.0
Amé este libro, y de lo que he leído de la autora, todo me gusta. Así que, cuando agarro un libro suyo, es con plena confianza.
La historia es lo esperado del género, pero lo que le dio alma fueron los personajes. Adoré a Sophie, es tan fuerte, decidida y honesta. Me encanta su forma de ver la vida y de del modo en el que actúa frente a la aristocracia. Sin duda ella y sus hermanas, fueron muy divertidas de leer.
King es más típico, con respecto a los personajes masculinos, pero juntos hicieron una combinación divertida, sus diálogos fueron geniales, y todas sus aventuras.
Muy recomendado.
La historia es lo esperado del género, pero lo que le dio alma fueron los personajes. Adoré a Sophie, es tan fuerte, decidida y honesta. Me encanta su forma de ver la vida y de del modo en el que actúa frente a la aristocracia. Sin duda ella y sus hermanas, fueron muy divertidas de leer.
King es más típico, con respecto a los personajes masculinos, pero juntos hicieron una combinación divertida, sus diálogos fueron geniales, y todas sus aventuras.
Muy recomendado.
jaelee's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
whosevita's review
2.0
"I'm never going to love her. I'm not capable of it. Cuz my girlfriend died bc of me" -King for 90% of the book
2 pages later "remember that girl I said I loved?? SIke I actually didn't I still can't love anyone. Especially not you Sophie."
Literally 5 pages later: "omg I love Sophie more than anything and I want to marry her."
Literally 2 pages later: "omg I can't believe I ever loved her. She betrayed me. My heart is now ice blablablabla. I am never going to love her. "
Literally 4 pages later: "omg I made a mistake!!!1!1!!! I actually do love her."
That is literally just this entire book. Back and forth and back and forth. This book flips so many time that at the end of it, nothing makes sense anymore.
Sarah McLean has some habits in her writing.
-A hero who continuously (but accidentally insults) his love interest.
-A love interest who was enough self pity to fill 14 Olympic sized swimming pools.
And are these two combined are absolutely horrid. They just go on and on and on. He says something vaguely insulting, which she ofcourse immediately takes to heart. In his inner monologue he despairs about how he insulted her and that actually: she is the most perfect, most beautiful, most extraordinary creature ever. I can take this once or twice. BUT 28 TIMES. NO PLEASE JUST NO.
And okay, insecurity is a very real thing but it's SO annoying how the heroine just keeps lamenting about how unattractive she is, how undesirable, blablablabla. The love interest doesn't seem annoyed by this superfluous stream of self pity but I, as the reader certainly am.
And the thing I hate most about McLean's books. The tortured hero. Just pages upon pages of how traumatising his childhood was, how much he hates his father, how she is perfect and he isn't. And ofcourse SHE thinks "but I can fix him". The words are not said but heavily implied. I hate hate HATE the "I can fix him" trope. It's overdone, annoying, and harmful. A hero with angst can be good, interesting, fun. But not like this. Not with him monologueing on and on about how terrible his life is, with her clutching his hand in despair. That she says something like "I wanna make him feel better" and having sex. Its truly the fetishisation of male trauma. Why does his trauma turn her on??
The MONOLOGUES. It just shows that McLean can't create character depth without describing the backgrounds of her characters in agonising detail.
I had to FORCE myself to finish it. It was sO boring and predictable.
2 pages later "remember that girl I said I loved?? SIke I actually didn't I still can't love anyone. Especially not you Sophie."
Literally 5 pages later: "omg I love Sophie more than anything and I want to marry her."
Literally 2 pages later: "omg I can't believe I ever loved her. She betrayed me. My heart is now ice blablablabla. I am never going to love her. "
Literally 4 pages later: "omg I made a mistake!!!1!1!!! I actually do love her."
That is literally just this entire book. Back and forth and back and forth. This book flips so many time that at the end of it, nothing makes sense anymore.
Sarah McLean has some habits in her writing.
-A hero who continuously (but accidentally insults) his love interest.
-A love interest who was enough self pity to fill 14 Olympic sized swimming pools.
And are these two combined are absolutely horrid. They just go on and on and on. He says something vaguely insulting, which she ofcourse immediately takes to heart. In his inner monologue he despairs about how he insulted her and that actually: she is the most perfect, most beautiful, most extraordinary creature ever. I can take this once or twice. BUT 28 TIMES. NO PLEASE JUST NO.
And okay, insecurity is a very real thing but it's SO annoying how the heroine just keeps lamenting about how unattractive she is, how undesirable, blablablabla. The love interest doesn't seem annoyed by this superfluous stream of self pity but I, as the reader certainly am.
And the thing I hate most about McLean's books. The tortured hero. Just pages upon pages of how traumatising his childhood was, how much he hates his father, how she is perfect and he isn't. And ofcourse SHE thinks "but I can fix him". The words are not said but heavily implied. I hate hate HATE the "I can fix him" trope. It's overdone, annoying, and harmful. A hero with angst can be good, interesting, fun. But not like this. Not with him monologueing on and on about how terrible his life is, with her clutching his hand in despair. That she says something like "I wanna make him feel better" and having sex. Its truly the fetishisation of male trauma. Why does his trauma turn her on??
The MONOLOGUES. It just shows that McLean can't create character depth without describing the backgrounds of her characters in agonising detail.
I had to FORCE myself to finish it. It was sO boring and predictable.