Series: Debutante Diaries, Book 3
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: May 26, 2020
Source: Publisher
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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…
When You Wish Upon a Rogue is incredibly sweet without ever becoming saccharine. Anna Bennett’s third Debutante Diaries installment has a gorgeous setting with some fairytale elements that easily captured my interest, so when you add in such likeable characters as Sophie and Reese it’s easy to see why I fell into this story with such ease.
By all outward appearances, Sophie Kendall is the proper society miss. She says and does what she should and without question she will protect her family’s wellbeing by marrying a marquess she doesn’t love. Underneath that, however, is a much more interesting woman. Sophie chairs a weekly meeting of women from all different classes who discuss The Debutante’s Revenge, a column Sophie secretly works on with her two best friends. Sophie has more spirit than most people would give her credit for and she’s a nurturer at heart. Her love of plants and gardening is something even a person with a black thumb like myself can enjoy reading about.
Chance brings Sophie into contact with Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire. The new earl is grieving and unable to sleep when they first meet, but something about her soothes him to the point where he’s able to rest for the first time in forever. Reese is a hero with a good heart and a troubled soul. When he and Sophie strike a bargain – she can use a property he owns to hold her meetings if she secretly meets with him once a week to help him sleep – it gives them time outside what they would ever be able to traditionally have to come to know each other. I loved their secret meetings and the almost fairytale-like setting of the manor garden Sophie and Reese bring back to life. The two of them are free to be themselves and open up in ways they never would normally, making their swift slide into love work for me.
However, sometimes love isn’t enough and that’s the case in When You Wish Upon a Rogue. The earldom Reese inherited needs a lot of help and there’s no way he can rush in and be the wealthy white knight her family requires at the moment. How things work out, I won’t spoil. I will say that the route the characters take is a bit predictable, but that didn’t bother me.
Sophie’s book is the third in the Debutante Diaries, but having not yet read First Earl I See Tonight or The Duke Is But a Dream I can safely say it reads well as a standalone. I did enjoy Sophie’s friendship with Fiona and Lily and the themes of women supporting other women were strong in this book, which I loved. With its lush background and endearing characters When You Wish Upon a Rogue is the perfect historical romance to escape with.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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