by Amelia Grey
Series: First Comes Love #2
Published on April 28, 2020 by St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 9781250218780
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 304
Genres: Adult, Historical Romance, Romance
She had an acceptable marriage of convenience. Now widowed, can this determined and beautiful mother find true and forever love?
The sinking of the Salty Dove took her husband’s life―but it didn’t drown Julia Fairbright’s courage to endure. She creates a proper life for herself and her young son. But now, the ton’s most notorious rogue is back in London, and how he makes Julia feel is anything but proper. She can’t deny the desires he awakens in her, even though she knows that the handsome devil will surely break her heart.
Garrett Stockton owns a successful shipping company and is rumored to have a woman on every continent and half-a-dozen in England. The truth, however, is that Garrett has but one mistress: the wide open sea. That is, until he meets Julia, whose spirit of independence matches his own. What begins as a flirtatious battle of wits turns far more passionate than either of them could have imagined. Suddenly, Garrett’s only desire is to sail into the sunset with Julia as his wife and young Chatwyn his son. But she won’t take his hand―how can he convince her that his love is real and his heart is hers?
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Another Unmemorable Romance
After reading The Earl Next Door, I said I’d pick up the sequel, Gone With the Rogue so when I had the opportunity, I took it. And overall, it was… eh.
As far as historical romances go, it’s definitely not the worst I’ve read but it certainly isn’t the best or really a standout in any way. Once more, I struggled with the leading lady (in this case, Julia). Her life and her son’s are controlled by her father-in-law, a duke, and he has such a tight hold on her that she has very little freedom despite being a widow. And you’ll know this because it’s mentioned in nearly every chapter of the book.
While I get that this is the driving force behind Julia’s actions, the constant repetition of her lack of control drove me up a wall. Especially when it seemed to hinder Julia from coming to the most logical conclusion rather than actual plan to blackmail the duke with papers that may exist and might be helpful. So from the very beginning, I was skeptical of this story.
And Julia simply wasn’t all that memorable as a character. She became one-note quite quickly, so I looked to the leading gentleman, Garrett, to provide the story with something special.
Which he didn’t. Similarly average love interest, though I appreciated that he had more internal conflicts going on over the course of the story, even if I felt like his attraction to Julia became more of an insta-love situation rather than a relationship developing.
There was just a distance between me and the characters, and the story as a whole felt a bit passive rather than engaging.
As to the story itself, it was about as memorable as the characters. Mostly sneaky conversations between Julia and Garrett. A bit of conflict thrown in at the beginning, middle, and end. And that’s it! I don’t expect to feel the stakes in a romance quite like I would in a fantasy novel, for example, because romances have happily ever afters. It’s just part of the genre. But I didn’t feel any tension at all which wasn’t so great.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with this series (as I’m guessing there will be at least one more book). The first one was at least enjoyable but Gone With the Rogue was a bit of a slog. Will be curious to see what happens next.
About Austine
I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.
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