TLDR: A must-buy romance, preferably after you have read the preceding 9 books and the prequel.
**I was given an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.** I also purchased my own copy when the book was first put up for pre-order.
The technical stuff:
A Kiss from a Rogue is the 10th (or 11th, if you choose to count the prequel) and final book for the Rescued from Ruin (RFR) series by Elisa Braden. This is a period romance, set in the early 1800s. The book can be read as a stand-alone novel, but much of the nuance may be lost since all the main characters from the previous 9 books put in at least a "cameo" appearance. (Ms. Braden has indicated that the characters from this series may make "guest appearances" in another series she will be writing. The Huxleys make at least an appearance in Ms. Braden's upcoming book The Making of a Highlander.)
The story is written in third person, and is reasonably historically accurate. A Kiss from a Rogue begins with a prologue detailing the experiences of Hannah Gray going back 5 years prior to when she makes her first appearance in the RFR book #7 Confessions of a Dangerous Lord. The book generally runs linearly in time, with discussion of prior history and memories to fill in any backstory. The book's epilogue ends approximately 5 years after RFR #9, A Marriage Made in Scandal.
Less technical stuff and opinions:
I love the dedication from Ms. Braden to those of us who are fans of the RFR series... we get the "shorthand" of the dedication from the pet names of each of the characters.
I've always loved that Elisa Braden's characters are not carbon-copies of each other, nor is it the same story being told multiple times. Pet names, fears, conflicts, anxieties, mannerisms aren't all the same (or even the same at all) across characters, which makes the stories feel much more authentic. The fact that she doesn't "end" the story at the wedding, but shows the work that still needs to be done to build a marriage is perhaps singular among romance writers. I also love her insights that speak to the heart, among them: "Trust is the soil. Love is the bloom", "the ones who truly love us don't judge us by our scars, but by who we've become as a result", developing attachment [a relationship] takes time, patience, and bravery.
Phineas Brand, Earl of Holstoke is the half-brother to Hannah Gray, as we discover in RFR #7. Holstoke is one of my favorite (perhaps the favorite) character in the RFR series, so I have enjoyed "getting to know" him and Hannah in their initial appearance in RFR #7, their ongoing story of his marriage to Lady Eugenia Holstoke in RFR #9 A Marriage Made in Scandal, and on into this book. I am delighted that Hannah gets her own story, and that Phineas and Genie Brand are significant supporting characters to Hannah's and Jonas's story.
Jonas Hawthorne, a wolfish Bow Street runner, also makes his first appearance in RFR #9. He returns to RFR world, invited to Grimsgate at the request of Lady Wallingham, when he is offered a substantial reward for finding a box that has been stolen and bringing the thief to her.
The story is compelling; overcoming misunderstandings and faulty assumptions (as is generally the case in romances) but also overcoming--working through--significant trauma, and how that trauma affects people both differently and similarly. There are both interpersonal conflicts between the couple, external challenges, and intrapersonal struggles of self-doubt and confusion. It challenges (as do all the RFR books) what it means to be "normal", how obstacles sand off our rough edges, what it is we think we want may not be what we really want, and how our idiosyncrasies are what make us a good fit for those that come to love us. There is also a lot of humor -- the men discussing how they make their wives happy, the women discussing husbands both physically and how to bring him to heel, the advice Hannah gets from all and sundry about how to approach this relationship, and how Jonas and Hannah finally get around to becoming engaged.
The book is bittersweet for fans of RFR in two ways: first, that this is the conclusion to a wonderful romantic series, and we get a deeper insight into the dragon, the dowager Lady Wallingham. It is also a celebration--it feels like coming to a reunion of friends you've not seen in a while and love wholeheartedly, and the affirmation that "Dragons need their treasure. Wolves need their moon."
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Top reviews from other countries
Roslyn Jane
Excellent! Thoroughly recommend!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 2, 2019sharon plowman
Not a rotten egg amongst them!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 13, 2021
