#Review: A Good Rogue is Hard to Find by Kelly Bowen - 3.5 Wine Glasses

Title: A Good Rogue is Hard to Find
Series: The Lords of Worth  #2
Author: Kelly Bowen 
Format:  Paperbook & eBook, 358 pages
Published: April 28, 2015 by Forever
ASIN: B00MEMMSK2
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 
Source: Netgalley
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

HE THOUGHT HE'D SEEN IT ALL . . . 

The rogue's life has been good to William Somerhall: He has his fortune, his racehorses, and his freedom. Then he moves in with his mother. It seems the eccentric Dowager Duchess of Worth has been barely skirting social disaster-assisted by one Miss Jenna Hughes, who is far too bright and beautiful to be wasting her youth as a paid companion. Now home to keep his mother from ruin, William intends to learn what's afoot by keeping his friends close-and the tempting Miss Hughes closer still.

. . . UNTIL HE MEETS HER

He's tall, dark, and damnably intelligent-unfortunately for Jenna. She and the duchess are in the "redistribution business," taking from the rich and giving to the poor, and it's going great - until he shows up. But even as William plots to make an honest woman out of her, Jenna will use all her wiles to reveal just how bad a rogue he can be . . . 

Kimberly’s Thoughts:
William is a high ranking duke who finds all the trappings that come along with the title more annoying than enjoyable.  All he wants to do is be left alone to ride, breed, and race his horses but when talk about his mother's eccentrics starts to get louder, he decides it's time to assert his presence.  Jenna is his mother's companion and the mysterious captivating lady he meet at a ball.  Her mannerisms and personality in public and private don't quite match up and what she is really doing with his mother starts to become a question William finds himself asking.  Jenna may be more than just his mother's wallflower companion and William might just be more than a duke.

A Good Rogue is Hard to Find is second in the Lords of Worth series from new author Kelly Bowen and if you ignore the overly common historical romance title (I don't consider this hero a rogue but can a regency romance exist without rogue in the title?) there is some surprisingly good depth to this story.  I didn't feel the story was especially ground breaking but our couple was level headed and shared a bond that was easy to feel to me as the reader.  There was an ease to the writing and flow to the story and characters that was enjoyable to read, certain aspects felt a little implausible in regards to Jenna and William's mother mission to avenge the poor but not so much that I wasn't willing to go along with it all.  The beginning was a little slow moving for me but the story picked up speed around 45% in when William and Jenna started to come together and be a little feisty.

William was a good character in that he at first fit the role of his times, oblivious to his privileges.  He focuses on his horses because he can and maybe a bit sulky because he is annoyed with how everyone only views him as a duke and not as a singular man.  When he finds out what his mother and Jenna is involved in, he is awakened to his advantages.  The world suddenly becomes grey for him and I thought his evolution was believable and impactful.  Jenna was the forceful, feisty, avenging angel character but with more realism, thought, and useful action behind her.  The network and how she goes about getting aristocrats to pay back their debts to merchants with the help of William's mother may not be wholly believable but it was valuable in its effectiveness.  When William and Jenna start to come together and the tangled weave of Jenna's actions starts to get unraveled by William, the couple shone.  There was good emotion between the two and their dialogue was tinged with sweet humor.   William being outwitted by his mother and Jenna and being lead on a merry chase was also entertaining to read.  The best aspect though, was how William grew as a character with Jenna's influence; they didn't complete each other so much as made each other better.

I loved the character of William's mother, Eleanor, and her backstory of being oppressed by her husband and how she has cultivated the reputation of being a head in the clouds eccentric only to rival any military general with her network of spies and soldiers helping her to bring aristocrats to her quiet form of justice.  There is a story of quiet enduring, surviving, and thriving behind her that was pushed a little more to the side than I wanted but probably warranted; I hope she gets a novella and a happy ever after.  There were at times I thought the author got a bit heavy handed with the righteousness of the poor versus the rich.  It was a bit manipulative with the sob stories, guilt, and wanting to punish when William sits in the House of Lords and is a powerful duke, he has the power to truly change things and Jenna kind of ignored that in favor of being a feel good vigilante.   

With this being a new author I was impressed with the quality of writing and the emotion between our couple, I just wish there had been more of it.  Ultimately, the main message of the characters and their desire to be seen as more than who they are represented to be and instead who they honestly are was heartfelt.  This author has promise and I'll be on the lookout for the next book in the series starring William's sister and his friend.