A Rogue by Any Other Name: The First Rule of Scoundrels

A Rogue by Any Other Name is the first book in Sarah MacLean's The Rules of Scoundrels series and from the first page to the last is filled with emotion - happiness, heartbreak, passion, romance - a truly fabulous story! I often find, with historical romances, that the rules society has placed on the women can make them seem mousey and pathetic, so I love it when an author takes those women and makes them strong enough to laugh at their peers - or at least not care enough to conform to what's expected of them. That always makes for some funny, sexy stories, and that's what Ms. MacLean has done with A Rogue by Any Other Name. I thoroughly enjoyed the Love By Numbers series - in fact, I've often said that if I could choose to be any heroine from a historical romance novel, it would be Lady Calpurnia Hartwell from Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake. She's strong, independent, feisty, funny... I'd be her in a heartbeat, but to be honest, I feel that way about most of Sarah MacLean's heroines. Rarely do I get as attached to the heroine of a story as I do to the hero, but with this author's books, I always do. But I digress.... Our hero, Michael, Marquess of Bourne, is horrible! He's not just an ass, he's a pain in the ass! And I adored every single bit of him! You just know that in the end, he's going to get his, and watching it come about is just so much fun! We go from him devising his plan for revenge, then watching him carry it out, knowing that he never considers - not even for a moment - that it won't go as flawlessly as he expected. Then we see, bit by bit, the transformation; the shock when he starts to question his motives, his feelings, his true wants and desires. I absolutely love watching this transformation! Our heroine, Lady Penelope Marbury, truly is my kind of woman. As I said above, Sarah MacLean is one of the few authors who can write heroines who are as perfect as her heroes. Penelope is, in some ways, a victim of her times, but she doesn't let those suffocating rules of society keep her from having an "adventure". I LOVE this about her! She reminds me somewhat of Lady Calpurnia, and perhaps that's why I adore her so much. She didn't sit about whimpering or simpering as she did her needlework, waiting for something exciting to happen. Nope! She found ways to create her own excitement. I love how she took life by the horns and didn't let go! And the story! Oh, my goodness! Take a rake - or in this case, a rogue - and give him a truly compelling, believable need for revenge, then toss in an innocent, but not naïve, heroine, and you have the makings of an incredible story, and that's what this one is. Twists, turns, heartache and happiness - never a dull moment and I adored every word! The bottom line: It probably goes without saying, but I can't say it enough - I love this story! It was filled with emotion and had me laughing, sighing and fanning myself, start to finish. Sarah MacLean is one of the few "auto-buy" authors on my list, and books like A Rogue by Any Other Name is why. I am soooo looking forward to the next book in the series, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover and cannot wait to watch Penelope's sister, Lady Philippa Marbury, match wits with the man known only as Cross, the bookkeeper of the The Fallen Angel gaming hell. That is a story guaranteed to deliver everything I crave in historical romance, and a story not to be missed!

TITLE: A Rogue by Any Other Name AUTHOR: Sarah MacLean SERIES: Rules of Scoundrels, Book 1 SETTING: early 1830s (post-Georgian, pre-Victorian), mostly London THEMES/TROPES: old friends-to-lovers, coerced marriage, revenge, redemption, spinster, “heartless” hero, reformed rake, gaming hell OVERVIEW: Lady Penelope Marbury has languished in Society for several years after a broken engagement placed her desirability in question, turning down a handful of so-so suitors and, without realizing it, putting her sisters’ futures in jeopardy—but her father is determined that it’s time she married. He’s added a valuable piece of land, newly acquired, to Penelope’s dowry, and the suitors are about to come pouring in. Though she knows she wants more than a bland Society marriage, Penelope is ready to accept a proposal from an old friend and settle into a comfortable life. That is, until another old friend, Michael, Lord Bourne, comes bursting back into her life, determined to have her dowry: the ancestral land that he lost on a foolish bet years earlier. Bourne has spent several years focused on two things, regaining his land and seeking revenge against the man who took it from him, and a wife seems a small price to pay to achieve at least one of those goals. His plan, however, did not account for the fact that the bride in question is the one woman who knew him before he was the dark, hardened Bourne—when he was happy, carefree Michael. Nor did he consider that his revenge might be something that hurts Penelope. And he certainly didn’t consider that he might care about hurting her. It all comes down to a decision between the goal he’s been chasing for so long—as goal that has hardened his heart—and giving Penelope the love and adventure that she’s always wanted. PROS: Love developing between old friends is one of my favorite romance archetypes, so this storyline automatically appealed to me. The concept of Bourne’s goals, and his guilt and shame at having lost his land to begin with, are a fabulous background for the story because it puts him and Penelope in a position where they’ve been separated for years and become very different people. Not only do they need to rediscover one another and their friendship, but his drive for revenge propels the drama between them. The two characters are both well-rounded and interesting, and their relationship develops at a good pace. Penelope is finding the gumption to seek some adventure in her life, but she’s not throwing propriety to the wind because she wants to help her sisters make good matches more than anything. Bourne is infused with a good amount of devil-may-care attitude with hints of solicitousness to show that he’s not truly heartless. I like that he has a major screw-up in his past because so many heroes are so infallible. Bourne is constructed as a very driven character, so it felt believable that once he found a goal that brought out the best in him (namely, love and family), his drive would make him strive to be better. The pace of the romance is fairly good, with plenty of trust issues because of the charade of a love match they put on for Society to make their marriage look less scandalous. Because they spend so much time pretending to be in love, there are points when the emotional progression feels a little redundant—“he cares about me … no, that was just pretend … but he does seem to care … no, that was just acting again”—but those emotional circles mostly make sense in the plot. One detail of this book that I love is the use of letters as epigraphs for each chapter, starting with letters between Penelope and Bourne when they were quite young and continuing to letters from Penelope that he never answered and then to letters that Penelope kept writing but never sent. CONS: The one aspect of Bourne that I found a little perplexing was his very insistent belief that he and his life aren’t good enough for Penelope. Perhaps if we got more information on the things he had done during the years when he was trying to earn back his lost fortune, this might make more sense, but the glimpses we get of the gaming hell he co-owns, particularly some details about how well-regulated it is and how well they treat their employees, does not paint a picture of a particularly dark life. The plot was very much focused on their emotional progression, which is not necessarily a con in itself, but the plot could have had more interest by being a bit more eventful. I would have liked a bit more of Bourne and Penelope interacting with secondary characters. I usually love secondary characters, and I did enjoy Cross, one of Bourne’s partners, but there just wasn’t a lot of the other characters in this story. RATINGS: Writing: 4/5 MacLean’s writing is consistently good. Characters: 5/5 Well-rounded and interesting. Plot: 4/5 Could have been a bit more eventful. Setting: 4/5 Bourne’s gaming hell is nicely detailed. Romance: 5/5 I love a friends-to-lovers story. Sexiness: 5/5 Well-written and integrated with romance. Humor: 3/5 Touches of humor, but not much laugh-out-loud. Average: 4.28 Great Romance Development between Old Friends OTHER INFO: This is the first of MacLean’s Rules of Scoundrels series, each book focusing on one of the four owners of the gaming hell called The Fallen Angel. Penelope previously appeared in the Love by Numbers series as the betrothed of the Duke of Leighton, the hero of the third book, and their broken engagement plays a big role in how she got to the place she’s at in this book. Reading that book before this one isn’t necessary, but I would recommend reading this book before moving on to the rest of the series because this book gives good background on Penelope’s sister Pippa, who is the next heroine in this series, paired with Bourne’s co-owner, Cross.

So I have a new favorite author and its all thanks to a friend. I'm in charge of a big writing competition and one of the major deadlines were coming up, so I told her to name something fun for me to read. That I needed nothing that upped my stress level, just something to help me decompress at the end of the day. She recommended One Good Earl Deserves Another by Sarah MacLean which is one of her all time favorites books. However, I noticed that there was a book before it in the Rules of Scoundrels series and I have to read books in order so I picked up A Rogue by Any Other Name first. Let me just say... I lost a LOT of sleep because I couldn't put this book down. You have our heroine, Penelope, who is twenty-eight years old and unmarried because of a broken engagement from eight years ago which scandalized her. She's also turned down other engagements because the man who broke it off for her did so because he wished to marry the woman he loved. Penelope wants more out of life. More than being the proper lady who becomes the proper wife, more than a life in a loveless marriage, more adventure. When her father wins a particularly prime piece of real estate and attaches to Penelope's dowry, determined to get her married off, it looks like she'll get the adventure she's wanting. Our hero, Michael, Marquess of Bourne, lost his fortune at twenty-one in a game of chance and vowed revenge ever since. When his once childhood friend's father wins his land from the bastard who stole it from him and attaches it to her name, Michael kidnaps her with plans to ruin her and force her into marriage. He would have his inheritance back at any cost. It's been nine years and since then he's amassed his own fortune and runs one of the most legendary gaming hells in London. All with his eye on revenge. Penelope hasn't seen Michael in over nine years, since his ruination, but she's never stopped thinking about him. Always writing him letters, always putting flowers on his parents grave. When he shows up at her home one dark, cold night, she's happy to see him until she realizes just how much he's let his bitterness take over his life. This is not the boy she once knew. Knowing he is going to ruin her anyway, she strikes a deal. Michael insures that their scandalous marriage does not hamper her two younger sisters from making good matches on the marriage mart and she'd agree to marry him. When Michael agrees, he does not know what he's signing up for: A return to society, pretending to have made a love match, and a very tempting bride who wants adventures in his dark underworld. But they begin to wonder what part of the marriage is farce and what is true. This was a fabulous book that was almost painful to put down. When I did have to lay it aside and get work done, my mind was constantly one it. Well written, great tension, and just a fun read all around. Wonderful characters. I can't recommend this book enough. As I read each little snippet of letter at the beginning of each chapter, I would smile. They were one of my favorite parts. And I always got a sense that, even if Penelope didn't realize it, the reason she kept turning down for proposals was she was waiting for Michael.

This book is the first rule of scoundrel series and all I can say is that I Loved, Loved, Loved it!!!! Sarah Maclean does an excellent job of drawing the reader in from the first page to the last. Sarah Maclean takes readers on an emotional journey of revenge, trust, and everlasting love. As I was reading this book I couldn't put it down. One of my favorite passages in this book is when the Penelope asks Michael what comes next after revenge. He responds with " Then life. Finally. "Life out from the specter of that the past he gave me. Life without retribution. He paused. "Life with you." Penelope responds with "You're wrong. You shan't change. Instead, you shall remain in the darkness, cloaked in revenge. "You shall be unhappy, Michael. "And I shall be unhappy with you." He goes on to say she doesn't know about anger, disappointment. That she didn't know what it was like to have her life ripped away from her and want nothing more than to punish the man who did it. I loved what came next . The quiet words were like a canon in the room, echoing around Penelope until she could no longer hold her tongue. "You...selfish...man." She took a step toward him. "You think I do not understand disappointment?" You think I was not disappointed when I watched everyone around me-my friends, my sisters-marry? You think I was not devastated the I discovered that the man I was to marry was in love with another? You think I was not angry every day that I woke in my father's home knowing I might never have contentment... and that I would never find love? You think it is easy to be a woman like me, tossed from one man to another to control--father, fiancé, now husband? This is the sort of writing that makes you sigh and say Wow! I couldn't wait to read what came next. I will definitely be buying the other books in this series. This book is definitely going on my keeper shelf . I will be purchasing the paperback version also.

A Rogue By Any Other Name tells the tale of two childhood friends reunited after more than a decade of trials and tribulations, ultimately finding that true friendship never dies. I give it four star and recommend to all. In the novel, Michael Lawler and Penelope Marbury are childhood friends who correspond after Michael leaves for Eton. Many letters are provided as introductions to each chapter, giving the reader a deeper understanding of what the characters were going through during that time. Michael’s parents die and he becomes the Marquess of Bourne, and later he loses the entirety of the marquessate’s unentailed holdings to a man named Langford in one hand of blackjack (vingt-et-un), leaving him with a cold and empty manor house. He vows to get his properties back and his revenge on Langford. Penelope has suffered her share of heartache, as well, being jilted by her fiancée, the Duke of Leighton, then later having no success in finding a suitable husband amidst the disparaging gossip of the ton. At twenty-eight, she feels firmly established as a spinster and gives up hope of finding a husband until her father forces her to do so in order to salvage her younger sisters’ chances at matrimony. Her father wins the land around Michael’s manor house from Langford in a card game and attaches it Penelope’s dowry, assuring her of many proposals to come. Michael and Penelope meet, in a way by chance, and he abducts her holds her hostage in his manor house so that she will be forced to marry him. The deed is done, and the two have to figure out how to be married before either or both of them is destroyed or runs mad. I must say that I liked this book the first time I read it, but a staggering revelation at the end of No Good Duke Goes Unpunished (The Third Rule of Scoundrels) made me decide to re-read all the books a second time. Now I will say that I really liked this book. I think with this series the old adage about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts is true. My enjoyment of the first book in the series was increased exponentially when considered in light of books two and three. Now I am eagerly awaiting book four! The pace of the novel is great; there is always something happening to move the plot forward, and there are no superfluous scenes. I really liked how the reader is given the backstory of Michael and Penelope’s friendship through their letters – much more interesting than heavy narration and occasionally even adds some comedic relief to an otherwise heart-breaking relationship history. To wit, when the declarations of love are spoken, the reader can more easily accept the feelings as having depth and duration. The development of the romantic relationship is believable. It is also on the graphic side, so appropriate for adults only. The plotline is simple, but not mind-numbingly so, and the other owners of Michael's gaming establishment, The Fallen Angel, provide excellent depth to the plot. Character development is also well done. Narration mixed with direct communication of the characters’ thoughts show how the character come to think the way they do and how their motivations and reasoning changes. This series is a must read.

I enjoyed Sarah MacLean's last series as a light, fun trio, and was looking forward to these releases. "A Rogue by Any Other Name" features Penelope, who has a basic similarity to her Greek namesake - she waits a decade for her love to return to her (a childhood friend, the friendship with whom is relived in a cutesy but effective manner through letter excerpts at the beginning of each chapter). I appreciated that she hadn't been actively pining for him during his entire absence from her life, and that she goes through an interesting and gradual realization about the depth of her feelings for him. She also has a good personal development in learning how to ask for what she wants in life. Penny is sometimes silly but overall lovely, and I liked her. The hero, Bourne/Michael, is a bit flimsier - we learn immediately about his fall in fortune, and get only the vaguest rationale for why he'd want to restore his inheritance and title when he's successfully reinvented himself as a gaming hell owner. A very wealthy one, at that, whom society is apparently ready to welcome back at any time (he's a Marquess to boot). I found his revenge and defense M.O. pretty tiring. It's not really a surprise when, SPOILER ALERT, he chooses Penelope over revenge at the end, but she has to help him out in that situation, which is frankly the best surprise of the entire book. He's not the reason for the three stars, though. No, I found this book especially mediocre because it could have saved about 1000 words by not repeating, or restating, or rephrasing quite so much. And the short paragraphs. The italicized, one-sentence paragraphs. Ye gods, the style of this book. The style, people. Not a style. A way to drag out a plot that could have been a novella instead. But no. Just say it again, in italics. That makes it seem like development. Also throw in some lame lines about honor among thieves and rules of scoundrels. (This style choice pays off as a Penny punchline in the climactic end sequence, but is pretty flat when being used as "banter" otherwise.) The plot was fairly sound, the heroine decent, and the setting swell (The Fallen Angel gaming club, which seems to be the center of the series, it pretty bad ass). But the choppy, redundant style just made my brain want to punch itself. The second book, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover: The Second Rule of Scoundrels , is much better. The books are written to be stand-alone, so you can skip "A Rogue..." altogether and not be the poorer for it.

Reviewed at Another Look Book Reviews Hmm, I wonder if Sarah MacLean will ever write a book that I don't love? Probably not. I quite simply enjoy her gift for story telling. A Rogue By Any Other Name was outstanding. When I purchased A Rogue By Any Other Name, I had no idea that Lady Penelope was the jilted fiance of the Duke of Leighton from Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart. I was so happy when I discovered that she was the main heroine. While reading that previous book, I had wondered about that poor innocent fiance and what was to ever become of her. I only feel bad that it took nine years, after the Eleven Scandals' story ended, for Lady Penelope to get her deserved story. Thankfully Sarah MacLean did not make her fans wait nine years for the book to come out! First let me comment on the stunning book cover. Is that not a picture of true beauty? I just love historical romance covers and A Rogue By Any Other Name just became one of the top spots on my all time favourite cover list. The art department was very good to Sarah MacLean. I am a big fan of the historical romance formula where the protagonists get married near the beginning of the book. What a treat to have A Rogue By Any Other Name go this route. Sure Lady Penelope and Michael were not in love and the marriage was rather a means to an end but regardless, I love the journey of how they fell in love with each other. Another romance formula that I am a fan of is when the protagonists have a childhood history. Well once again I was loving the history and memories that Lady Penelope conjured up. While devouring reading A Rogue, I loved that I really didn't know what Michael's every thought was. This style is another writing kudos to Sarah MacLean. I don't want to know everything that the hero is thinking during or after a scene. His thoughts were included in every now and then but after he did some heinous act, I totally enjoyed reading what Penelope's reaction was. She surprised me often and I loved her not being predicable. Nothing makes me happier than to read about a rake, rogue or blackguard change his ways and fall head over heels in love. Except for maybe an awesome heroine who had the unwitting power to make them trust their feelings. Teasers: ice skating with roasted chestnuts, fur blanket, mosaic glass, secret back entrance to the club (that I really want to know more about!!!)

A ROGUE BY ANY OTHER NAME is the first book of Sarah MacLean's Rules of Scoundrels series. The four books of the series tell the stories of four partner who have been exiled from society. The four are partners in a fabulous gaming hell known as the Fallen Angel. Each book begins with the story of the fall from grace of each of the partners. In A ROGUE BY ANY OTHER NAME, we learn the story of Michael Lawler, Marquess of Bourne, who was orphaned at the age of 16. At the age of 21, he lost everything on a turn of the cards at vingt et un. Exiled from society, he has built a new life for himself as the games manager at the Fallen Angel. The heroine of the story is Lady Penelope Marbury, who was the ex-fiancé of the Duke of Leighton from ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE'S HEART. Penelope has spent the eight years since her broken engagement searching for the kind of love that the Duke found in that book. She and Michael were friends when they were growing up, but she hasn't seen him in 16 years. "[T]hey'd been friends once. Long ago, before he'd become handsome as the devil and twice as cold." The two meet again because Penelope's father has acquired a portion of Bourne's family estate and Bourne wants it. He compromises her and forces their marriage. This book is much darker than MacLean's previous Love By Numbers Series. Bourne is a dark, cold man when the book begins. He doesn't try to disguise his motives but rather takes what he wants. What he wants is his land and revenge on the man who took everything from him. Bourne is obsessed with revenge and doesn't really care who gets hurt in the process. I confess that I like dark, sexy, tortured heroes. Bourne is definitely of the dark and tortured variety and he is a jerk a lot in this book. I like that though because I love that he is redeemed by his love for Penelope. Penelope has grown and changed in the eight years since ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE'S HEART. I found it very interesting that it was the love story in that book that changed Penelope. It made her dissatisfied with the unemotional life that she had expected to live. It made her want love. I also really liked how strong Penelope is. Bourne tries to intimidate her and yet she refused to yield. Even when she cannot win against him, she is strong and makes the best deal she can. I also really like that it is Penelope that is the heroine in the story. She is the one who takes the actions to help Bourne. She is the instigator of much of the movement in their relationship. She is the powerful one. The secondary characters are strong and pull at the reader to know what their stories are. I also really enjoy that MacLean uses secondary characters from her other novels. It is always a nice surprise for a small character to make an appearance. The book also leaves small questions about the other partners in the series which makes me want to read the next book. And speaking of the next book....This book has a fantastic epilogue that is really a prologue for ONE GOOD EARL DESERVES A LOVER.

I'm not sure what puts a book ahead of similar ones. I think it's just good quality writing and intelligent handling of the characters. Everyone in this story is interesting, even the side characters. And the central relationship is really touching yet psychologically truthful. At 21 Michael lost his inheritance and family estate when his mentor conned him in a card game. Ten years later he is bitter and ruthless but financially successful. Then he discovers that his longed for family estate is now part of the dowry of a childhood friend. He sets out to acquire her as part of a plan of revenge. Michael sounds a lot like the boyfriend that you counsel your BFF to leave cause he's just not emotionally available. So his redemption is even more engrossing. One entertaining thing about historical romance is the variety of sex scenes. There are steamy billiard room acrobatics that give this book an MA rating, so not for younger readers.

Loved everything about this book. Couldn't put it down, not even for sleep. The story gets going from the beginning, doesn't waste time, no over descriptions, just great

Ten years ago, Michael Lawler, Marquess of Bourne, was left with nothing to his name except his title. Now a partner in London's most notorious gaming hell, Michael is a cold and ruthless man who will stop at nothing to get his revenge - even marrying Lady Penelope Marbury - his childhood friend for her dowry. Penelope was put firmly on the shelf when she was jilted and left for fortune hunters. She is determined to find adventure, passion and love. Luckily for her, Penelope dreams of finding all these things with her new husband, even if he's no longer the fun loving man she remembers. Bourne is determined to spare Penelope from the hard and unsavoury man he has become but he has no power to fight against the love that she will offer if he takes the greatest risk of all. -- Sarah MacLean has been an auto buy for me ever since I read the wonderful Nine Rules... This story doesn't quite reach the same heights but I still loved it and definitely feel it's deserving of 5 stars. Michael is my favourite kind of hero - tortured, full of angst and feels undeserving of, while really in need of, the love of a good woman. I also just adored Penelope. She appeared briefly in Eleven Scandals... but this book starts a new series (the Rules of Scoundrels Quartet) so there's no need to have read any books to understand and enjoy this one. Penelope was feisty and fun while also being quite vulnerable and naive at times. She was someone that I really rooted for from beginning to end. The relationship between Michael and Penelope was filled with chemistry and passion. The letters that started off each chapter were a lovely addition and really built on the pair's past relationship. It was also easy to see the pair growing and falling in love which was a treat to read and kept me turning the pages at all hours. I'm looking forward to the other stories in the series and would recommend this book to you if you like a fun and interesting romance with great characters and good storytelling. 5 stars.

I like it... Not really love it. It took time for the Hero to turn around and let go his stubbornness. Love the Heroine... My first book by the author. Her storytelling sets the tone for the series no doubt. Will read more of her books.

I liked the story, however I admit I skipped some pages because I was a little bored and somehow, when I began reading, after 2 hours, I’ve barely read 80 pages or so. I didn’t like Michael until the very last chapters, he was just so mean to Penelope since this was kind of a Hades/Persephone retelling. Anyway, I liked him a little bit more when he understood his wrong ways and realised how lucky he actually was of having Penelope’s love. In my opinion, he needed to grovel a little more. Penelope was amazing and definitely the tornado Michael needed to realise how much he was wasting his life on revenge. She was never the damsel in distress, in fact she was Michael’s hero.