A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I used to read romance novels in high school. Never the entire book, mind you. Just the dog-eared passages passed around under the cafeteria tables. I tried the Lucky Harbor books a while back, and qrew tired of “(Female name) bangs (male name), the hot (job title) in Lucky Harbor.” plotlines. * So I again wrote off the genre, until I received this book as part of the Book Riot Quarterly Box for May, the theme being “Expand Your Readerly Horizons.”
For the first 50 or so pages, I read it on the train while hiding the book in my purse so people wouldn’t see the cover of the very “plain” (yeah right) Penelope come-hithering on the stairs. Then as the plot pulled me deeper in I didn’t care who saw that I was reading a romance novel.
The difference between this book and the ones I read in high school is that Penelope isn’t really a victim. Sure, she’s in a rough spot and she’s mostly powerless to change it, but within the societal framework that she’s a part of she’s very adept at thinking her way into and out of situations. Michael’s an ass, but it’s 1831 London – ALL of the men in that book are asses.
Yes, I’ll read the next one in the series. YOU WIN, SARAH MACLEAN AND BOOK RIOT.
* (Male name), the hot pharmacist in Lucky Harbor must have a hard time keeping antibiotics in stock, ifyouknowwhatImean.
