Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780062065384 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 02/28/2012 |
| Series: | Rules of Scoundrels Series , #1 |
| Sold by: | HARPERCOLLINS |
| Format: | NOOK Book |
| Pages: | 400 |
| Sales rank: | 10,074 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
A Rogue By Any Other Name
4.4 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
273 reviews.
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What a delightful story! Sarah MacLean has taken an idea that in itself (on the surface) might seem to rankle more than one woman and weave it into a cloak every woman would want to wear.
"Poor Penelope"--as the story begins and weaves, we find that Penelope is used more often than appreciated, misunderstood more often than understood and without a doubt--underestimated by more than one foolish man in her life.
At the onset, Lord Bourne (don't dare call him Michael for at LEAST 200 pages!) does little to endear himself to her or to female readers, outside of being the consummate rogue and devastatingly handsome man.
Poor Penelope, becomes less poor and Lord Bourne, he remains the devastatingly handsome rogue that he begins, but adds to it, the quality of redeemed "fallen angel".
The writing is thorough and tightly strung. The characters are captivating (I can't wait to learn more about Cross and most especially, Chase). The inner narratives are beyond phenomenal.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the reading, and only wish that I had taken more time to read it. Putting it down was just a non-option and I definitely killed the entire day and most of the evening finishing it. :) (Don't you just hate when you do that??)
No hesitation in recommending this delightful book to future readers.
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Sarah MacLean has done it again! A Rogue By Any Other Name does not disappoint! I absolutely loved this book! Yes, Lord Bourne is an a$$ and a bit cruel, and quite arrogant *squee* but honestly it only made his redemption that much sweeter! I also loved Penelope and her transformation into a stronger woman who finally starts taking matters into her own hands and guiding her adventure in the directions she wished. Penelope's quick wit made for some wonderfully entertaining conversations between her and Lord Bourne, I laughed quite a bit. The quick wit doesn't stop there! I loved the camaraderie and banter between Bourne and the other partners of the The Fallen Angel! (I can wait to read the stories of Cross, Temple and the very mysterious Chase!) The marriage and subsequent courtship was both touching and sexy! Let me just say that Chapter 19... yowza! Oh my my! ;)
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This book was wonderful. And to the one saying it was all about romance and sex - IT'S A ROMANCE NOVEL! What did she expect??!?!
The end was absolutely wonderful. I cannot wait to read the other stories for the rest of the Fallen Angels.
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Great story line with excellent writing.
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I have read all of her books and instantly fell in love with them all!!!!! However, this book started out with so much potential but it fell short for me. The beginning and the end were great but the bulk of the story dragged and I kept feeling the characters should have been more developed and kept wishing for more explosive scenes like the initial "kidnapping." Out of all her books, this is my least favorite.
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Her story lines keep the reader turning the pages well past midnight. Reminds somewhat of Judith McNaught in that there is such a range of feeling in her books. Loved them all! Nice to check in on the lives of characters from a previous book.
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This book is so well written and although the storyline is set in the 1800 it doesn't detract from the intencity of the blooming love story between Penelope and Michael(Bourne). You will not regret taking time to read this book. I highly recommend if you enjoy a love story with alot of intense sexual content. Loved it.
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Sarah MacLean is one of the best writers of Historical Romance novels I've ever read. Plots are fantastic; characters well developed; witty and humorous dialogue. Can't say enough good things. Wonderful novel. Read...you won't be sorry.
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I love Penelope and Michael and all the story. I can´t wait for the next book
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I LOVE the series Amazing !!!! IS a must read ALL 4 books where great even book 3 there where negative reviews with some readers but I must say I'm glad I read it . If you have not read them read them you will not be dissapointed !
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A Rogue by Any Other Name is the first book in the Rules of Scoundrels series by Sarah MacLean. I love the World that the author has created. The characters are imperfect and human. Penelope is spunky and adventurous. Michael is focused on his revenge, so you don't see his true personality at first. You get glimpses of it until he catches himself and closes up again. I loved how the romance developed within this story. It was gradual and believable between the two of them. I felt like the pacing was perfect. Their bantering and chemistry was infectious, not to mention funny. They complement each other nicely. Penelope and Michael's story was beautifully told. I really enjoyed the letters sent back and forth between the two while Michael was away at school. The very last letter from Michael was perfect. It made me smile.
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This book was a recommended read on the B&N website. As I enjoy historical romances I bought it. It was WELL worth the money and I highly recommend it. I look forward to purchasing more books written by Ms MacLean.
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I liked this book very much, especially the end. I gave just 3 stars
because in the middle of the book it started to drag until almost at
the end.
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Pretty good story for light reading. I thought the last love scene was a little too long. I was losing interest and wishing the author would get on with the story.
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Another amazing work of MacLeans. This story captivated me from the beginning with a strong willed female main character. I love the premise of the male main character to have lost everything and made his way out of it and more. It felt like a true romance not just one that bloomed in a weeks time like other romance novels. It was nice that these characters were childhood friends that had feelings for each other even then. I loved all the secondary characters and how they played into Micheal's life. These people along with Penelope made the cold-hearted Micheal into a good man. This is an amazing read!
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While dark and wounded heroes bring out the nurturer in a woman¿s soul, I also think that they ignite the naughty spark in a woman¿s spirit! There is something about them, even though you may try to remain proper, that makes you want to show your own naughty self : ) They certainly won¿t reproach you for letting down your hair and giving in to temptation! Bad boys are just as delicious and delectable as that last piece of chocolate fudge cake that you devour in the dark on a midnight kitchen raid! Fallen Angels are also delicious bad boys, especially when they have a few surprises tucked beneath their wings : ) Even on the road to redemption, they manage to be nice and naughty! Whether earthly, unearthly, or somewhere in-between, Fallen Angels take romance reads to new heights : ) "A Rogue By Any Other Name" is the first book in the "Rules of Scoundrels" series from author Sarah MacLean, and it is a smashing start! The rogue in question, Michael, Marquess of Bourne, once lost everything with the turn of one card. Over the next decade, he not only recovers his losses, but increases his fortune many times over. Now one of four partners in an exclusive gaming hell called "The Fallen Angel", he is very much like a fallen angel being driven a burning need for vengeance. Marriage to his childhood friend, Lady Penelope Marbury, will help him to achieve his primary goal: regaining the land that was his inheritance and getting revenge on the man who took it from him. Even though she suffered the embarrassment and disappointment of a very public broken engagement, Penelope is still not willing to settle for a "suitable" marriage. She wants more--much more! A tortured hero, greatly in need of redemption, and a wonderful, spirited heroine make for a very satisfying and rewarding romance read. You will fall in love with Michael and Penelope, just as they fall so deeply in love with each other. A must read for devoted lovers of historical romance!Review Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
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Michael, the Marquess of Bourne, lost everything one night in a game of cards. Ten years later, he has not only surpassed the wealth he lost, but he is also one of the owners of an exclusive gaming hell called The Fallen Angel. Bent on revenge and the need to gain back all he has lost, he finds that he cannot pass up the chance at winning back his ancestral home, he'll do anything it takes to get it back, even if it means acquiring a wife in the process. Lady Penelope Marbury understands that spinsterhood awaits her. She's dealt with a broken engagement and boring courtships that have left her pining for something more. When her childhood friend Michael, whisks her away one night promising adventure and the illicit pleasures of the London underworld, she finds his promises too hard to resist. Sarah MacLean can do no wrong!! I love and own everything she's ever written for a reason... she's awesome!! Her books are awesome!! Her characters are awesome!! Need I say more? As a big fan of Ms. MacLean's Love By Numbers series, I was overjoyed to learn that she would have a breakout series - The Rules of Scoundrels: "Four scoundrels, each whispered about in ballrooms across London. Four aristocrats, each exiled from society, now royalty in the London underworld. Four loves, powerful enough to tame the darkness... and bring these fallen angels back into the light."Michael and Penelope were wonderful. Michael was dark and brooding - he's tormented, sarcastic and jaded (I love 'em like that!) and treats Penelope at arms length. He's a man with one thing on his mind... revenge, and nothing will stand in the way of him avenging himself. Penelope is feisty and witty and so full of life. I loved how proper she was even when Michael had her at her wits end.I adore stories of childhood friends becoming lovers and I especially loved reading Penelope and Michael's letters at the beginning of each chapter. I think it was splendidly done how you get to know their past through their letters without getting full chapters reminiscing on their time as children growing up. As with all her characters, Ms. MacLean makes you fall head over heels for them. Michael and Penelope's love story was swoon worthy. Michael was such a tormented character - it was hard not to feel as emotionally wrought out as Penelope was when it came to her feelings for him. These are the types of characters you become invested in - feeling their hurts and joys just as much as they do. Their happily-ever-after was a hard one to come by which made it even sweeter in the end.I cannot wait to see what Ms. MacLean has up her sleeves for the other three scoundrels in the series. I shall anxiously be awaiting the next in the series - One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. eeek!
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Maclean¿s latest focuses on Lady Penelope Marbury, years after she was jilted by the Duke of Leighton (as told in Maclean¿s previous book, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke¿s Heart). Michael, Marquess of Bourne, lost his inheritance his devious guardian, and, since then, has increased his funds and his notoriety -- but not his respectability -- by running one of London¿s most exclusive gaming hells. Still, he wants what he does not have: social standing, and his childhood home, which has been offered up as part of his childhood friend Penelope¿s dowry. Naturally, he kidnaps Penelope and marries her, and she pretends to all it is a love match.With her trademark humor and wit, Maclean offers up another heroine in the vein of Austen: smart, plucky, and opinionated, but all too familiar with the strictures society places on her. The challenges Penelope faces in her marriage to Bourne are at turns frustrating and heartwarming, and the growth and change in Penelope and Bourne¿s marriage makes for a read that is at turns fun, engrossing, and steamy.
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Sarah MacLean has a new series of books about fallen angels. These four aristocrats whose scandals have exiled them from society are now princes of the underworld. Lords Bourne, Temple, Chase, and Cross have become the powerful owners of the gaming club The Fallen Angel. This first book, A Rogue by Any Other Name: The First Rule of Scoundrels, is the story of Michael Lawler, the Marquess of Bourne who learns that love is more powerful than revenge.In 1821 Bourne was just out of school when he caught the gambling bug. With one card he lost everything but his title to his guardian, Viscount Langford. This action cast him out of society, out of his home, and into poverty. In the underworld he worked tirelessly to gain the funds to restore his inheritance. He became a ruthless partner in a gambling club, The Fallen Angel. Ten years later his opportunity for revenge presents itself. He not only has a shot at regaining his ancestral home, Falconwell, but also taking revenge on Viscount Langford.Bourne is willing to do whatever it takes, even marrying to gain Falconwell. The Marquess of Needham & Dolby has sweetened the dowry of his oldest daughter, Penelope Marbury. Penny has been always been the good daughter. In fact, she has been in love with her childhood friend, Michael, but did not have the courage to defy her parents and society when Michael was disgraced. She was supposed to marry the Duke of Leighton, but he threw her over to marry for love. Since then, she hasn't had many prospects. And adding Falconwell to the pot will certainly entice a man to marry a twenty-eight-year-old with a broken engagement in her past. After being compromised by Michael, Penny realizes that she is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Bourne is not the Michael she remembers. So she makes the best of a bad situation. She agrees to marry Bourne on the condition that the scandal of their marriage doesn't affect her sisters, that he reenter society, and that he find suitable husbands for her two unmarried sisters. Penelope gambles that she can give Bourne a happy and good marriage, that the Michael she knew and loved as a child has not died. However, that involves getting Michael to give up his plan of revenge and to chose a life with her.This was novel filled with adventure and romance. I learned a bit more about the seedier side of London, plus I liked these two childhood friends. Their "love match" starts out as a lie and turns into something each character deserves--a loving and happy partnership. Penny grows more courageous and adventurous and Michael discovers that revenge is not worth the possibilitly of losing the love of one's life.According to her web site MacLean is at work on the next book in the series: One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. I look forward to reading another fallen angel's love story.
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Penelope Marbury is not in a happy place. She has been proposed to by her childhood friend, Tommy Alles and knows it would be a disaster if she said yes. On the other hand she has been publicly jilted, and on the marriage mart for several years with no possibilities and her younger sisters will pay the price if she doesn¿t marry. At the same time, her other childhood friend, Michael, Marquess of Bourne, learns that Penelope¿s father has made his ancestral lands part of Penelope¿s dowry. Michael had wagered his inheritance away when he was a foolish 21 year old playing too deep against a man he disliked. His life¿s goal since then has been to regain his lost property and get his revenge. All of these events culminate in Michael expanding his plan for revenge to include seducing or coercing Penelope into marriage. Penelope agrees to marry him after he compromises her but forces him to agree to help her sisters. Thus the marriage begins¿..I really enjoyed this book. I had read the previous series ender when Penelope was jilted by the Duke of Leighton. In that book, I was rooting for Leighton and his love to be together, so it was interesting to revisit that situation from the point of view of the one who was left behind and who society then perceived as damaged goods. Penelope has been dealt a bad hand but she kept her head up and never gave up feeling she deserved a marriage based on love not just duty. Michael on the other hand has to learn that he is worthy of love and that he can forgive himself for his past mistake.There is great chemistry between these two characters and a lot of history, played out in letters at the start of each chapter. The secondary characters are integral to the plot and at least one is the set up for the next book in the series. This book is a great beginning to a new series that I can¿t wait to read.
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Penelope was a very interesting heroine. On the surface a typical aristocrat but one who has been affected by a broken engagement. She ends up married to Bourne (I have to admit I spent most of the book picturing Matt Damon) who is looking for revenge against his guardian who betrayed him. Interesting characters and premise. I think I am looking forward to the next book even more.
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It took me a lot longer than I expected to make peace with this book. I went into it expecting nothing less than instant love and further fodder for my MacLean fangirlism, so it came as quite a shock when instalove failed to happen. What was even more surprising was that when the book was finished, I was unable to pinpoint just what the story made me feel.Penelope is a far cry from MacLean¿s traditional heroines which are of the stubborn, pig-headed, gutsy variety. Penelope was an overly self-conscious, insecure, bullied woman who felt nothing was due to her, not even her own happiness. She was so extremely pitiful at times that I started to wonder if the self-loathing really was going to be the sum total of her character traits, leaving no room for any of the traits I¿ve come to expect in a MacLean leading lady. Whenever she was given an opportunity to display some gumption, her attempts were still flimsy and she never really stopped asking permission or seeking acceptance.I was equally as disenamored with Bourne, our unscrupulous bad boy whose past and present misdeeds have left him out of favor with the highly judgmental ton. A leading man who is a notorious rake, has a colorful past and leads a slightly suspect life are traits of the standard issue romance hero. These things are perfectly acceptable in a playboy but Bourne¿s character was just¿mean! He was entirely unpolished, heartless and his treatment of Penelope bordered on abusive. The dry, sarcastic, often boorish, MacLean hero with his devil-may-care attitude never appeared and I was left struggling to find any sympathy or connection with him.Oddly enough, some of my favorite moments in the book occurred at times when Penelope was at her least likable. Her opinion of herself is so very low that there were instances where my heart nearly broke at her acceptance of deserving so very little in life. I hurt for her to the point of tears and I can¿t help but wish more for her than what (and who) she ultimately ended up with. This is sad because their past relationship was so much more intriguing than their current one. I absolutely adored, with all the adoration there is, the letters at the beginning of each chapter. I¿m such a dunce. I didn¿t even realize who it was she was writing to until about halfway in.I¿m very much aware that I¿m being a bit hypercritical of characters in a romance novel and I also realize that it¿s probably a bit selfish (with a wee touch of hypocrisy) to expect an author to follow the same formula that she¿s been using for every book. Maybe my struggle is with myself and not the writing. It¿s perfectly reasonable to want to explore a character from a different angle so perhaps I just need to get with the program. I did so enjoy her Love by Numbers series and I guess I¿m just kind of nostalgic for that type of story.
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Really great story. Author kept it moving fast enough I could keep from exploding from michaels stupidy. Thanks for the tears, could of made a few better laughs.
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I enjoyed it. I enjoyed all her novels that I have read thus far. Good storylines and rich characters. If you like Julia Quinn you will like Sarah MacLean. She isn't quite as good but she is getting there. Enjoy!
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Loved this book, kept me captivated up to the end!
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