4.25 stars - Reviewed for Wit and Sin

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.

Miss Lily Hartley is the anonymous mastermind behind the ton’s latest obsession: The Debutante’s Revenge, a tell-all advice column for young ladies. To keep her identity hidden, Lily delivers her columns disguised as a boy—which is well and good, until she lands in the middle of tavern brawl. As luck would have it, a devastatingly handsome duke sweeps in to rescue her.

This was a great story by a great author. I’ve read a number of her books and they don’t disappoint. I really liked both main characters as well as the plot. I recommend. 

This was a great story by a great author. I’ve read a number of her books and they don’t disappoint. I really liked both main characters as well as the plot. I recommend.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

This one was cute, a bit slow, but had good characters. The plot was interesting and something I haven’t seen much of--the whole loss of memory thing--which added to the conflict. The passion was good. I am not sure what exactly made it seem to move along slowly, but I did struggle to keep with it from time to time. I did enjoy returning to the Debutante’s Revenge group of women and definitely want more from the series, but I want to say I liked book 1 more than I liked book 2. I can't put my finger on why this one was a bit of a struggle to read, if you have read it yet, what are your thoughts? Am I crazy about it seemed a bit slow?  Would love other's thoughts on this one.  I do look forward to continuing with the series so this definitely was an enjoyable read, just not my favorite.

I don't read many historical romances, but the amnesia plot of this one caught my interest. The story does require a tremendous suspension of disbelief, but I expected some of that just from reading the blurb. What I didn't expect was how eye-rollingly over the top it would turn out to be. It's mostly fluff, and there's nothing wrong with that except it had so much potential to be something more. We have the gruff but redeemable hero, and a strong-willed heroine trying to break free of the bonds of the time period even if she has to do it in secret. But here's the problem, we're never given exactly what time period that is. Judging by several things in the story, I'm assuming sometime in the 1800s, but then some character actions would be better suited to something more current. The amnesia angle that drew me to the book in the first place was interesting, but I don't buy everything that happened in the two weeks that Lily didn't know who she was. Even that fact that she was allowed to stay with the Duke and his sister gave me pause, let alone everything else that happened. Then there's the Duke. I love a redeemable grouch, but the whole too emotionally broken to love anyone has been done and done again. Add to that the sheer amount of personal growth Nash went through in just two weeks, and I give you yet another eye roll. Yes, this pair fell madly in love in two weeks - two weeks that Lily didn't even know who she was or where she came from. And that led to another problem for me. Going on my assumption of setting, Lily's background pushed it over the edge for me. I'll leave those details out to avoid spoilers, but it seems pretty far-fetched. As it turned out, Lily's secret life as a columnist was the most interesting part of this one for me with the rest amounting to a fluffy, instalove story. The book is well-written, and the premise is good, I just really hoped for something more.

First Earl I See Tonight - Anna Bennett 

Fiona seeks out the help of Grey, the Earl of Ravenport, because she can’t forget how he very gracefully “rescued” her after she made a fool of herself by tripping in the middle of a ballroom. In her mind he’s an honorable man that would at least listen to her plight and with any luck she could convince him to marry her. I had some trouble connecting to her in the beginning because more than trying to be in good terms with him (after all, SHE was asking HIM a huge favor) she tended to correct, challenge, and even berate him. And what did he do? He found her attitude “refreshing” ¯_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t know, I’ve never thought rudeness a refreshing trait but what do I know… Fiona was a romantic at heart so I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she acted that way because she thought she was going to marry for other reasons than love.

Gray was an honorable man that just happened to be cynical about love, and with good reasons. He was not exactly surly but I wouldn’t call him the life of the party either. His parents left his life and earldom in shambles and the few people he’d come to love and trust ended up betraying him. But even with all that baggage he was still considerate and caring. Once he realized Fiona and he made a good match he took upon himself to make her feel at the very least admired and protected. Of course it didn’t take long for either one of them to admit being in love and once they did I thought Gray did a wonderful job at declaring his love.

As far as the blackmail, I was glad Fiona was smart enough to open up to Gray and that he didn’t act like she had betrayed him as well. I think they both acted accordingly and to the best of their abilities given the situation. I didn’t like much how they took care of the blackmailer because to me his punishment was kind of vague and left me wondering if he’d come back after our couple in later books. All in all it was an enjoyable read and I recommend it for anyone in search of a light read.

*I received this book at no cost to me and I volunteered to read it; this is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher**