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The Devils of Dover, Book 3
From the publisher:
Baron. Physician. Smuggler. Harland Hayward is living a double life as an aristocrat by day and a criminal by night. As a doctor, Harland has the perfect cover to appear in odd places at all hours, a cover he uses to his advantage. He’s chosen this life to save his family from financial ruin, but he draws the line at taking advantage of the honest and trustworthy Katherine Wright.
Katherine thought she was done smuggling. Having finally convinced her ailing father and injured brother to abandon their criminal pursuits, she’s returned to England to help them escape to a new life–once she helps them fulfill their last contract. And that means working with Hayward, even when her instincts tell her that becoming his ally may be a risk to her heart – as well as her life.
Bowen is an award winning romance writer and this is only the second book of hers that I’ve read, and the first in this series. It’s a very good, very suspenseful read.
Our heroine is a surgeon, although the protocol of the day states that there is no such thing as a lady doctor. Nonetheless, Katherine is a doctor, trained by her mother and by war. She followed her heart, going off to war with a man who promised to marry her. Instead, he abandoned her, leaving her bitter and suspicious. But she learned a lot, she stayed abroad and took care of many soldiers who weren’t wealthy enough for a real, AKA, male doctor.
Once again we have to truly suspend our disbelief and I don’t mind at all. I like these strong, smart, completely fictional women who should have been able to kick butt instead of being relegated to looking pretty and capturing a husband. The hero is also an anomaly; a member of the peerage who is a practicing doctor instead of just practicing gambling and hunting as befits his station. Oh, and both of them are smugglers. This is a complex story with a lot of suspense due to all the illegal activity going on, not to mention a power hungry zealot as the town lawman.
A comment on the cover, because I do, at times, judge a book by its cover. If I saw this on the shelf in a bookstore or library, I would not realize that it is historical based on the picture on the cover. The title certainly hints at it, not a lot of contemporary romances use “rogue” in the title. But it looks like a pretty modern guy, maybe wearing a puffy shirt (remember that Seinfeld episode?)
6/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
A ROGUE BY NIGHT by Kelly Bowen. Forever (May 28, 2019). ISBN 978-1478918622. 368p.
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