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Debutante Diaries, Book 3
From the publisher:
A New York Times Book Review Summer Read Pick!
Once upon a time in Anna Bennett’s When You Wish Upon a Rogue, three young ladies vowed to record their first London seasons and to fill in the gaps of their educations.
She knows what she wants.
Miss Sophie Kendall is happiest arranging the secret meetings of the Debutante Underground, a group of women who come together to discuss the weekly advice column The Debutante’s Revenge. What makes Sophie most unhappy is her impending march down the aisle to a man she does not love. But her family’s finances are in increasingly dire straits.
He makes an offer she can’t refuse.
Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, hasn’t slept in weeks. Desperate to escape his manor house and its haunting memories, he heads for one of his abandoned London properties. There he meets a beautiful, intriguing woman―trespassing. Reese is far less interested in Sophie’s search for a secret meeting spot than he is in her surprising ability to soothe his demons. So he strikes a bargain with her: his shop in exchange for spending one night a week with him.
Is this love for real―or just a dream?
Sophie never expected this to happen. But she cannot deny the fire Reese sparks in her―and soon their shared desire burns bright. Sophie is irrevocably promised to another. But maybe these two ill-fated lovers can find a way to risk it all―all the way to happily ever after…
This author was new to me and once again I find myself reading a new series out of order. I poked around and found the first book in this series, The Duke Is But a Dream, hiding on my Kindle so I will read that one next. This was a good read even though I definitely knew I was missing information.
Sophie’s family has arranged a marriage for her to a nice looking man, but she feels nothing for him. She has been putting him off but agrees to announce their betrothal before the season ends. Her father drinks and has lost quite a bit of money leaving her family in dire straights. This marriage is the way to fix that and Sophie feels that responsibility keenly.
Sophie and her friends run a newspaper column discussing various women’s issues of the day. Sophie also runs a women’s group, when they discuss the weekly column. The group has been growing and they need a larger space. This is a secret group, known only to the women who go as men would shut it down immediately. Sophie finds an empty store nearby and meets the owner. He has some serious health issues that sound like PTSD, of course, undiagnosed and untreated. He suffers from insomnia, but spending time with Sophie allows him to sleep. He makes her a deal; she must spend the night with him once a week and then she can use the space she needs.
This was a definite stretch for me to accept this premise, but I did and it was a good story. There is a bit of sex, some humor, and interesting characters. Nothing really new here but why reinvent the wheel when it works perfectly well. At least well enough for me to read more from this author.
6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A ROGUE by Anna Bennett. St. Martin’s Paperbacks (May 26, 2020). ISBN 978-1250199508. 336 pages.
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