Are we really up to nine books in Julie Anne Long’s The Palace of Rogues series?! GAME OF ROGUES brings the reader Long’s well-known and even more well- received witty banter along with plenty of emotional depth and slow- burn chemistry. This series is connected by the backdrop against which all the romances play out: the boarding house, The Grand Palace, on the Thames. Many a romance has blossomed by the forced proximity engendered by The Grand Palace’s rules, which include dining together and spending the evening in the drawing room together at least four nights every week. The proprietresses designed these rules to foster an eccentric, found-family community, and the results are delightful.
I was a bit anxious starting this book, which contained many tropes that I’ve grown to actively dislike in most books. I’ve had it with useless fribbles gambling away their family’s fortune. I’m tired of reading about the scoundrels who run gaming halls where such useless members of the ton ruin their lives. And I dislike the concept of a gently born lady being forced to sell her virginity to save the family’s fortune, especially to the owner of a gaming hell. And yet!!! Long is such a marvelous writer that she overcomes all my natural antipathies, and I’m so glad I persisted because I really enjoyed this novel.
GAME OF ROGUES contains all of the things I would expect of a Long romance. My top favorite thing about Long’s novels is the clever repartee. I highlighted the heck out of this book with the fabulous back-and-forth between Guinevere “Ginny” Woodville and Gabriel Marchand. Although Gabriel initially refuses to help Ginny after her brother is fleeced at Lucifer’s Fall, he suggests he’ll forgive the house debt for a night in Ginny’s bed; he slowly becomes a redeemed character. This is another place where Long’s writing shines- the emotional depth and the yearning that burns.
The emotional journey of Ginny and Gabriel falling in love feels incredibly authentic and earned, which is so satisfying to me. The many recurring secondary characters who show up here bring additional emotional depth and humor to the story. Julie Anne Long’s GAME OF ROGUES is chock-full of witty exchanges, desperate longing, and smoldering sexuality. Snap this one up!
Gabriel Marchand ruthlessly fought his way up from the gutters of St. Giles to preside over London’s most exclusive gaming hell. Few dare cross him. But when a young earl gambles away his inheritance, Marchand makes an enemy: a woman with wit like a dagger and the softest eyes he’s ever seen.
Spend a night in his bed, and he’ll call off the debt. This is the offer he makes Guinevere Woodville, the earl’s sister, when she blames him for her brother’s disaster. She’d rather die, of course. But when their seething enmity gives way to sizzling attraction at The Grand Palace on the Thames, his offer haunts them. Soon it seems a matter of not if, but when.
It's not long before Ginny is facing two stark truths: the so-called worst man in London is the best man she’s ever known....and keeping him would mean losing everything and everyone else she loves. But Marchand has one final card to play…and losing everything is a risk he’s willing to take if it means a chance to love her forever.
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