A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore
Lady Lucie is fuming. She and her band of Oxford suffragists have finally scraped together enough capital to control one of London’s major publishing houses, with one purpose: to use it in a coup against Parliament. A way for Women’s voices to truly be heard. But one old childhood enemy stands in her way, her new partner in business: Lord Ballentine. Lucie tempts Tristan like no other, but their battle of wills and words only fans the flames of a long-smoldering devotion. A deal like no other presents itself to Lucie, but is she daring enough to accept the devilish offer of Tristan Ballentine?
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A Rogue of One’s Own was the best type of escape. It was a book so full of substance and depth! I’ve made it no secret that I’m new-“er” to the romance genre but I’ve read enough of them by now to know which ones are just fluffy reads and which ones are truly good fiction. And this one, in my opinion, was truly good fiction. It had everything you could ever need. Historical romance? Check! Feminism? Check! Handsome bad-boy? Check! Enemies to lovers trope? Check! But it checked all the boxes without being cheesy. I found it a unique story and one that I hope to revisit again very soon. This will be one I will return to again and again when I need that feel-good book to get me through.
This book starts with a young girl disenchanted with love, men, and marriage. Growing up she sees the unfairness her mother is treated with and it opens her eyes to the unfair role of women as objects not people. In this time, women become their husbands property as soon as those marriage contracts are signed. Men can do whatever they want. A high-born lady in an abusive marriage can never escape, she is owned. Lucie sets out to change this. Tristan, back from many years away, comes back to destroy Lucie’s ambitions, naturally. Except he has no idea what they are, he just needs to win. Throughout their rocky relationship Lucy comes to learn that marriage and womanly things may not be ALL bad, you can enjoy pretty things and fall in love and yet still want to conquer the patriarchy, and Tristan learns that the world is not an easy place if you are not a man. As time wears on, they begin to realize the struggles that one another are going through and they grow together as they learn to conquer those obstacles together.
The romantic relationship in this book was, of course, one of my favourite parts. It wasn’t a relationship that had one character trying to change the other or conforming to what they thought the other wanted. Both of these characters stubbornly maintained their own personalities while still falling being able to fall in love, not despite their faults, but because of them. And they didn’t change to become better people, they grew to be better. And they grew together. The author made a story where each half of the couple truly stood on equal footing with each other. It had faults and cracks but it was still beautiful.
The characterization was another amazing aspect. The depth of the relationships between Lucie and her family was fun to explore. No family is perfect and those dynamics are part of what shapes you as a person. Lucie's Mother's hot and cold demeanour, her brother’s disinterest, her cousins immaturity, her friend's loyalty and support, all of this made Lucie the loveable character that she was. This book showed that even healthy relationships are far from perfect and that they are all more than just what you see on the surface. This author didn’t shy away from the ugliness of that. It wasn’t just there, thrown in for the drama, it helped build up this word of Lucie’s life and helped us understand her a little more as a person.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy about this book is that there were a few times where it got kind of cheesy which didn't seem to fit in with the narrative throughout the rest of the book. The climax of the story had some very soapy moments that made me think of scenes from daytime television (you know those really crappy shows that have been running for a million years for who knows what reason?). I could have done without the soap opera drama of it all but I get that that’s sort of what you sign up for when you pick up a romance novel.
In the end, I absolutely loved this book. I finished it while in front of a roaring fire at an isolated cabin surrounded by family and that moment was the best feeling in the world. A good book, a cozy spot, and the people you love all around you. It was a great way to end the year. I give it 5 stars because it was an absolute gem. I recommend this if you need that giggly, light-hearted, addicting story in your life right now.
If you’ve read it, comment below and let's chat!