There are little ones in the beginning, and as the fights and occasional misunderstandings (and purposeful misunderstanding due to wishes to punish one's self) get bigger then apologies follow suit. Throughout this book, MacLean writes many apologies and that is my very favorite thing to read. Also, Sophie can shame spiral with the best of them and that is incredibly relatable and heartbreaking. I just think this combination works weirdly well.

I also happen to love a heroine who both lacks confidence and is reckless. I genuinely like it when characters' motivations lean into 'I am punishing you because that will hurt me and I do not deserve happiness' I am not sure what this tendency says about me but this is King and I loved it. The banter in The Rogue Not Taken is absolutely riveting. But I spent a huge amount of time reading this book laughing. This book was so high action that I just wanted some time at the end to really marinate in the angst before happiness arrived.īut I did truly have the most fabulous time reading this book. The reader (or at least this reader) needed a little bit more time to wallow in the sadness of everyone being mad at each other before everything was concluded. I in no way think the end of the book was bad, I just think it needed a bit of room to breathe. But overall I just really love King and Sophie. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Agency.I think the first 3/4 of this book are perfect and the end is a touch rushed. The saucy setup for another love match will have readers eager for the next in the series. Seraphina’s sisters keep things lively, and new characters are just as spirited. The chase grows tiring, but readers will empathize with the redeemed Malcolm. Passion is reignited, but she fears that they can’t overcome their past, which results in wishy-washy behavior. Seraphina wants her freedom so she can circumvent the British law that a woman’s property belongs to her husband, but living with Malcolm soon reminds her what first attracted her to him. In order to buy some time to change her mind, Malcolm agrees to the divorce but asks her to live with him for six weeks and help him find another wife. Instead, to his shock, she returns and announces she wants a divorce. Malcolm plans to woo back his wife, Seraphina, whom he sent away shortly after their wedding because she had deceived him. MacLean’s clever explanation of the scandal at the heart of her previous Regency romance, The Rogue Not Taken, will impress readers who found Malcolm Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven, entirely insufferable in the earlier book.

The rogue not taken by sarah maclean