Review: Hot but light on plot
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 4, 2012
Rogues is the third in the Brook Street series, and while the characters have wandered in and out of the other books, the tale stands alone. I didn't feel that I'd missed any huge chunks of character development by coming in at this point. Some of the secondary characters here star in their own stories, so readers will feel a warm familiarity as they read through this and other of Ava March's works.Bisexual Robert may find entertainment with this young widow or that, but his true friendship and hottest sex happen with his best friend Linus. Linus cuts his own wide swath through the available men, of which there seem to be plenty, and every few weeks he enjoys a hot romp with Robert. They're neighbors, friends, and have plenty of benefits. It's working fine, until Robert decides he wants more.And his straightforward request for an exclusive relationship is met by a polite refusal. Completely perplexed and unwilling to let "no" stand, Robert launches into heavy pursuit, only to be thwarted repeatedly.Linus' reasons eventually surface, and while they seem a trifle flimsy and lacking in true understanding of his friend's character, they do provide some entertaining cat and mouse scenes. These two know each other well, having been childhood friends, yet they still don't know each other well enough to discern sincerity or to trust in certain things. They both grow over the course of the story and have something new with which to surprise the other by the end.A better Regency scholar than I might find objections to the historical accuracy, but as a casual reader of the period, I found few breaks in tone or history to throw me out of the story, aside from wondering how Robert was so accepted into society when he was too poor to maintain his own servants. The period's antipathy toward homosexual lovers did get a nod, yet Linus could still be considered a rakehell, though he was never known to approach the ladies. Perhaps his reputation was strictly among other men of the persuasion and this was mentioned elsewhere, or perhaps we must chalk this one up to bending the rules just enough to let the story exist.All told, Rogues was fun and definitely hot, if a trifle light on plot, there being no external conflict. A pleasant afternoon's read.