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A Kiss from a Rogue (Rescued from Ruin) Paperback – July 30, 2019
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All she wants is an ordinary life
A cruel past left Hannah Gray with one simple longing—normalcy. Normal ladies ride and waltz without fear. They have safe, normal husbands to give them safe, normal kisses. After years of healing, she’s ready to find “normal” for herself, and Lady Wallingham’s house party is the perfect place to begin. Perfect, that is, except for the cynical wolf-in-rogue’s-clothing whose every hungry glance threatens to crack her armor and pierce her fragile heart.
All he wants is to forget her
Bow Street runner Jonas Hawthorn vowed never to see the cold, haughty Miss Gray again. A year ago, he nearly died trying to protect her, only to be dismissed like a lowly servant. But soon, he’ll have land and servants of his own. He just has to locate an old dowager’s stolen goods, collect his prize, and avoid the beauty who haunts him like a moonlit sky.
All it takes is a single kiss
He never meant to touch her. She never meant to reveal the truth. But once he’s tasted the heat and longing hidden beneath her icy mask, the only mystery this Bow Street man burns to solve is how a roguish wolf might win the elusive Miss Gray for himself.
- Print length298 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJuly 30, 2019
- Dimensions5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
- ISBN-101950805034
- ISBN-13978-1950805037
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Product details
- Publisher : Verity Jane Publishing, LLC (July 30, 2019)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 298 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1950805034
- ISBN-13 : 978-1950805037
- Item Weight : 14.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,246,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11,942 in Victorian Historical Romance (Books)
- #18,287 in Regency Romances
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Reading romance novels came easily to Elisa Braden. Writing them? That took a little longer. After graduating with degrees in creative writing and history, Elisa spent too many years in “real” jobs writing T-shirt copy ... and other people’s resumes ... and articles about giftware displays. But that was before she woke up and started dreaming about the very unreal job of being a romance novelist. Better late than never.
Elisa lives in the Pacific Northwest, where you're constitutionally required to like the colors green and gray. Good thing she does. Other items on the "like" list include cute dogs, strong coffee, and epic movies. Of course, her favorite thing of all is hearing from readers who love her characters as much as she does.
If you're one of those, get in touch on Facebook (@authorelisabraden) and Twitter (@trueelisabraden), visit her website (www.elisabraden.com), and - most importantly - be the first to hear about new releases, price specials, and fun bonuses by signing up for her email newsletter (bit.ly/ElisaBradenNewsletter). It's easy, quick, and FREE.
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**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."
It breaks my heart to have to say goodbye to all the fabulous characters created by Mrs Elisa Braden in her Rescued from Ruin series.
I came to love them all even the two men portrayed as vilains at the beginning of it.
If you love shy but strong and willful heroines and domineering men falling hard for their other half, this is the series for you.
In the previous book, we left Jonas and Hannah, heartbroken, unable to make their hopes come to life.
But it is without counting for a meddling friend and a scheming Lady whom will take their fate in their hands.
What a mess these two damaged souls will find themselves in, but such a sweet and fun-filled turmoil, with of course its dose of sorrows and grief.
With the manipulative Lady Wallingham involved, it is sure their road to their HEA will not be a slick and bland one.
What I love so much with Mrs Elisa Braden is she takes no prisoners, her characters despite their past and mistakes are strong willed, they might at time retreat but they never back off when facing an issue and here Hannah who is first presented as a broken woman, she is no wilting flower, she bends to the wind but does not break.
She tried and tries to be “normal”, but what is normalcy if it is to be bored.
Around her, she has everyday, proofs that all the women in her life are no ordinary beings, they all had to fight to be rewarded with love, their roads to their love was not slick.
So how I cheered when she decided to go out of her comfort zone to find her own deserved recompense.
« No man was more dangerous to her heart than Jonas Hawthorn. But no other man had seized her heart as his sole possession, either. »
At first Jonas was an enigma, a mystery to be solved. What lies beneath his mask, a wolf in hound’s clothing, a lone beast on the prowl. Ready to strike if needed.
His whole life, he has avoided to hang his heart in the balance, until her.
The Snow-Queen who awakens desires and needs he longs for but is afraid to experience.
Yet, when a shard of hope appears he is all set to engage his soul for the one woman who brightens his days and invades his nights.
« we are all damaged in one way or another. The ones who truly love us don’t judge us by our scars but by who we’ve become as a result.” »
Despite the pain and despair both suffered in the hands of the other, it was also a journey filled with affection and passion.
And lightened by their friends interferences and involvement.
(Oh my god, the scene with all the women giving advices of how to train a man to be a very obedient hound.)
« “Even when you feel silly about it. And tell him the truth, dearest. Trust is the soil. Love is the bloom.” »
One last thought before saying farewell to everyone.
Lady Wallingham has pervaded the life of so many characters during the narrating of these 12 stories with her sole existence and her correspondence, so this last foray in her epistolary exchanges closes the loop, sheds light on the extraordinary woman she is and the love she has received and given.
So, Bye to Annabelle and Robert, Victoria and Lucien, Jane and Harrison, Sarah and Colin, Charlotte and Benedict, Viola and James, Julia and Charles, Maureen and Henry, Augusta and Sebastian, Eugenia and Phineas, Julia and Charles, Hannah and Jonas, Lord and Lady Huxley and finally The fabulous and authoritarian Dowager Marchioness Of Wallingham and her hound Humphrey.
I was granted an advance copy by the author but also purchased my own copy. This is my true and unbiased opinion.
Top reviews from other countries

But joy of joys! This is not just Hannah and Jonah’s love story: We are given much more than a glimpse of Lady Wallingham’s own love story, as she has summoned Jonas to help find a stolen trunk containing her love letters to her beloved late husband. She has featured in every one of the series and we have been teased and tantalised by her dry wit, intelligence and good sense - according to the indomitable Lady W - at the start of each chapter. She has been a help in developing love between our other heroes and heroines. Many of Elisa’s fans have asked her to tell us more of Lady Wallingham’s personal experience of love and she has so beautifully done this in A Kiss From a Rogue.
And then also we are able to say goodby to most of the gents and their ladies who we have come to love in their own stories as they come to Lady Wallingham’s house party. A Happy Ever After ending for Hannah and Jonas, but it is also quite lovely to meet up with these other favourites. A truly beautiful end to an absolutely riveting and wonderful series. I cannot wait for the next series!

Hannah Gray has had a brutal and cruel past which has left her with scars both physical and psychological. It has taken a long time for her to slowly accept and attempt a measure of normalcy in her life. With the love, patience and understanding of her family, she is finally ready to try and find a love of her own with whom she can raise a family. To do this though, she would have to meet a man that would not frighten her - a normal, safe man. Persuaded by her sister in law, Genie, she agrees to attend Lady Wallingham’s house party - the ideal place to begin her search. But is it chance that she meets again the only man her heart has ever yearned for?
Jonas Hawthorn has never forgotten Hannah from the turbulent events of a year ago. He had fallen hard and risked his life for her – only to have been cruelly rebuffed. Summoned by Lady Wallingham, he is tasked to recover a stolen trunk – after which he will be richly rewarded. But can he protect his heart from being destroyed a second time or will he finally be able to claim Hannah for his own?
This story absolutely blew me away – both Hannah and Jonas are emotionally guarded people who find it difficult to let people in and share emotions but are confronted with a passion so strong they almost do not know how to cope with it. Their journey - sensitively guided by their loving friends is an emotional and uplifting one.
Hannah’s story could have taken a dark turn given the horrors she lived through but Elisa manages to balance perfectly the dark with the light. Hannah as a heroine is beyond compare. Her journey, her anxieties, her self doubt are balanced with her hope, her determination, her awakening to love and her sweet pursuit of Jonas. Elisa writes her story with great sensitivity and understanding interlaced with sweet humour. She is definitely Phineas’ sister and her attempt at ‘wooing’ Jonas made me laugh.
Jonas is an equally amazing hero. He has suffered a lot of loss in his life and is scared to let anyone too close. Even though he gets his heart’s desire, he finds it difficult to truly be open with his feelings. The typical lone wolf hero, he has to learn to trust and open his heart to not just Hannah but the concept of friends, family – people he can depend on. He needs equally to be rescued from his solitary existence and Hannah and her family and friends teach him that it is not a weakness to need other people.
Interwoven amongst the central love story we have the mystery of who stole Lady Wallingham’s trunk. Elisa uses this and the house party to realistically give the reader an opportunity to catch up with all the previous characters in the ‘Rescued from Ruin’ family. Everyone plays a valid part in the story and we are given a glimpse of their lives as it is now which is wonderful. It is great to pick up on their little idiosyncrasies and share the joke. We even finally meet Lady Wallingham’s scapegrace nephew Cecil.
What I truly treasure also are the small snippets which preface each chapter highlighting the relationship between Lady Wallingham and her husband. We gain an insight into the rollercoaster their lives would have been and the deep love they shared. It was truly poignant.
Although this story is in part a culmination of the series, you would not flounder if you read as a standalone. Elisa gives enough explanation so new readers are not confused but also not too much that previous readers find it repetitive. I would of course recommend that you do read the previous books as it will give a greater understanding of Hannah’s journey and because they are all fabulously written.
Elisa is a master storyteller and this book left me speechless, teary but with a definite smile in my heart.
I have been given an ARC by the author but I also ordered a copy of my own.

Hannah and Jonas, I mist say, they went beyond expectations and I have to say that Hannah is now my favourite heroine ever,how she went past her fears, bit by bit, and truly reached for what she wanted, how everyone helped her with her insecurities and how Jonas was with her. Even though it's a love story, it's a book about personal growth and the strength of a broken woman and it was beautiful seeing her develop as a character.
Jonas was a mistery at first, but he had growth kn the book as well, we have a man who is not a lord, or even a gentleman by that time standards and yet, we have an exemplary hero, a bit stubborn, but exemplary nonetheless.
Their love story, as unconventional as it was, is more beautiful than one between a lord and a lady, in the end we get two ordinary characters, who fall in love and somehow "save" each other.
And lastly,thank you Elisa for the courtship letters of a certain dragon lady, it was truly a pleasure and hope to still see her in future books.
*I received this book in form of an ARC from the author in exchange for my honest review*

