Review: Great Book by a Talented New Writer!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 13, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this  book.  Ms. du Bois is a new author, and I believe this may be her first book, if not, then her second.  IMO, Ms. du Bois' writing career has gotten off to an auspicious start.  "The Rogue's Reluctant Rose" while not a perfect novel, is quite well written with an interesting plot and well developed characters.Araminta is a beautiful young lady who finds herself in the predicament of having to marry well in order to save her family from financial ruin.  Said family consists of her newly widowed sister in law and her young nephew.  Araminta is determined to do all in her power to take care of her family, even if it means sacrificing her own dreams of a loving husband and family of her own.  To that end, she sets her sights on marriage to the wealthy Sir Timothy.Although her conscience is racked with guilt at marrying a man for his money, Minta will not let anything get in the way of her well set plans.  Minta and the hero, Jasper Devereaux, Marquis of Chestleton (love that name) meet at a social gathering.  There is an immediate attraction between the two.  Jasper has a reputation of being a rogue and despoiler of innocents......a reputation which, as is typical in these types of novels, is completely exaggerated.Jasper is a complicated character.  He does not believe in love, and thinks that such soft emotions are nonsense.  In truth, Jasper was himself in love as a young man in a relationship that did not end well.  As such, his bad experience has tainted his view of relationships and women in general.  The story that develops, while predictable, is entertaining.  The plot moved at a nice, quick pace and kept me engaged from start to finish.  Minta and Jasper do get to spend some significant time alone together.I read other reviews where those reviewers commented on the lack of authenticity in some parts of the plot, specifically the instance where Minta spends several days at Jasper's estate without a chaperone.  While I agree with those reviewers, I have to say I found this book so enjoyable that I was more than willing to give Ms. du Bois some creative license to bend the regency society rules to accommodate her story.  I also feel it necessary to point out that the reason Minta was staying at Jasper's home was due to an illness.  Furthermore, they weren't exactly alone as his young daughter, Charlotte, and her governess were in residence.  (Flimsy chaperones I know, but there you have it.)Minta is fascinated by Jasper, but she does not understand him.  Additionally, she knows she must stay away from him as she cannot afford any taint on her character while she tries to get Sir Timothy to propose.  For his part, Jasper is enthralled by Araminta.  He is under the mistaken belief that if only he can have her then these unseemly feelings he has for her will be eradicated.  How these two determined, stubborn, people achieve their HEA makes a very entertaining story.*SPOILER SPOILER*  The only issue I had with the plot was Minta's reaction when she discovered that Charlotte is Jasper's illegitimate daughter, not his niece as he had led her to believe.  I thought she overreacted when she discovered the truth, and found myself quite annoyed with her for a time.  Especially because she would not give Jasper the chance to explain even though he begged her to listen!  *END OF SPOILER*Other than that, however, I think this is an excellent book.  It is a wonderful regency romance by a talented new author.  My congratulations to you Ms. du Bois on a job well done!  FYI, this is a clean romance.  Happy reading!