Unfortunately I did not love this. I found the main male character Drew a little shallow and I did not enjoy being in his head at all. I felt like the love story moved way too fast. The writing was not bad but I disliked the way the story was planned out, I felt like I would’ve been a bit more authentic if it had progressed in another way, I was also a bit bored at times, but that was mainly due to the characters, which I did not connect with at all. I appreciated the short chapters because the story was lacking.

I thoroughly enjoyed this regency tale of Mary and Lord Andrew. The way they fall for each other was sweet and I loved watching them fight to be together.

Oh how I wanted to enjoy this...

I love a regency fic, I love the supressed emotion, I love misscommincation, dashing rogues, the full scope. I felt a little tinge of alarm when the opening line was a mockery of Jane Austin, but powered through. And really wished I hadn't.

The MMC is possibly the worst MMC I've read. He comes across as arrogant, rude, selfish and more than a little... yeah. He thinks he owns her, he's mad that she loves her family, he never once thinks about how things will affect her or hurt her. And he hurts her over and over again. He all but forces himself on her at times, wants her to be loyal to him - in his defence he stopped sleeping with people the day they met but does he tell her this? Or does he allow and encourage her to think he's still sleeping around?

He had countless chances to prove to her that he wasn't the blackguard people said he was, and all it would have cost him was swallowing his pride once. But no, he acts like the person people claim he is and then he gets mad at her, for believing that. How dare she trust her family. and all this internal thoughts about how she 'belongs' to him now, she his, its less romantic and more creepy.

And don't even get me started on the ending, this would have gone to at least a two star if it at least had a good ending. Hell, I would take 'an ending' but instead we just got another metaphorical slap in the face.

This was easy to read but I was a bit lost. Especially when I read its book 5 in a series I’ve never heard of? The MMC is quite arrogant in a way that doesn’t work today. And the FMC was juvenile, it wasn’t a great one imo

Thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I'm slightly disappointed I can't give this book less than one star. The MMC is despicable- he's an indebted poor man who wants a rich, pure, and innocent (gag) wife who won't bore him. Reading his POV was akin to torture. The FMC - of course being innocent and pure and young and rich - finds herself completely obsessed with this rogue (though I truly don't understand why since there's little to no development between these two characters) and can't resist his manly charm (gag x2).

This whole book felt extremely misogynistic - the MMC constantly love bombing and manipulating the "fragile, pure" lady into a marriage who just cannot resist him? There's absolutely no grounds for any of it and it just made me pissed off.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. I love dual POV stories and this one does not disappoint. I almost felt sorry for Drew, Lord Framlington, a notorious rake in his pursuit of pretty, innocent Mary Marlow, sister of a Duke and an heiress. Drew uses all his wiles to convince Mary that he loves her, taking her along a path of seduction that few women would be able to resist. But Mary knows she is risking losing the love of her family if she gives in to Drew. They constantly warn her against him, but that only makes his attraction stronger. There are so many facets to Drew's nature. Is he the rogue everyone says he was? Or is there a glimmer of a decent, caring man buried beneath the many layers he shows to the world? This is the first book in the 'Marlow' series and I will definitely be reading book 2, which continues the story of Drew and Mary.
Thank you to @BoldwoodBooks for allowing me to read this ARC in return for an honest review. #NetGalley

Andrew wants to get married and he sets his sights on Mary, regardless of his reputation as a fortune hunter. He is extremely arrogant, full of himself and a womanizer.

The story goes too fast, lacks details. Through the whole book, the banter and flirting are cringe worthy. He thinks everything belongs to him, even Mary.

Her brother and family warned her about him, but despite their warning, she falls for Andrew. She is too naive.

I got the impression that he pretends to love her all the time, it's hard to tell what he really feels. He wants a faithful wife, and he wants to be unfaithful. He is too forceful and handsy, playing with Mary.

The ending is extremely strange, unfulfilled and unfinished, as if the book was stopped in the middle of writing.

I did like Mary's family, their love and support for each other.

I give this book 2 stars.

this book was filled with the complexities and consequences of our decisions. and really how we move on from who we were or what people assume we are. is there something deeper in Lord Andrew. because on the surface people see him as a love them and leave them rogue. hes not trusted in any sense either with money or hearts.
Mary's family knows what they think of this man. and none of it is good. and with Mary new to the marriage and coming out market they are more wary than ever and tell her in no uncertain terms that this man is off limits.
Mary doesnt mind that. who would go after such a man. until she does. and starts to fall. there's something about him.
Andrew on the other hand could care less what they think of him. he would go for her anyway...until he does. she is everything that lights him up. she challenges him and hold him to better standards. but Andrew had a plan to marry for money. so he cant start his new wealthy life anew. and the trouble is Mary has all of that too. she comes from good "stock". she would help him transform his life. but there is more going on than marrying for money. and for this its confusing Andrew more than he wants to let on or admit.
will both of them go against what they are told to do or should do? but the fallout of this could be devastating for both.
and what do both of them really want?



Andrew, Lord Framlington is a man accepted by society because he is a Lord, handsome, dangerous and a gambler.
He is on the hunt for a rich heiress, a woman he can bed, and with enough money to purchase some land so he can begin his life again.
He is tired of being the ‘whore’ beloved of the widows and wives of society, dependent on his good friend Peter, who has deep pockets and frequently stakes him at the card table.
He is jaded, exhausted and sick of heart, until he sees Mary Marlow, new to the marriage market, pure, innocent and a wealthy young woman in her own right.
He sets about winning her hand in marriage, much to the outrage and disgust of her family. She is besotted and he is in love for the first time in his life, but has no idea about how to go about making a new life.
Conflict, love, lust and deep longings need to be understood by both Andrew and Mary before they can begin to build a life together under the disapproving and watchful eyes of her family.

I struggled getting through this book. The premise of her family not liking him because he has a bad reputation is very weak. It was very disappointing because the writing was pretty good. The author did more showing than telling. I just felt like there wasn’t enough substance to the book.

I thought this started in an unrealistic manner with the heroine falling in love with the rogue after one dance, and then did not speak to them for a year. However it turned out to be a clever story. The rogue gets his way to marry a fortune yet also falls in love with the heroine. She agrees to elope with him knowing that her family would never sanction the match due to his reputation. There is a sort of happy ending, but they both have to live with the consequences of their decisions and while they would eventually get on amiably, there was anger on both sides in dealing with the fall out from their actions. This makes the storyline more realistic than many others.

2.5 stars

The Dangerous Love of a Rogue by Jane Lark is actually the fifth book in a series called the Marlow Intrigues. I haven't read the first four and I'm not sure you have to but I might go back to check them out to see. This one did feel like a complete book however there were a number of references to other Marlowes so just be aware in case you haven't read them either.

That said, this book focuses on Miss Mary Marlow as the fmc. She is newly out and considered one of the best picks for a wife as she comes from a good family, has a good dowry, and is pretty. Mary isn't really sure what she wants though - no one is really drawing her interest at all except for one man. The one her family has warned her to stay away from. Lord Andrew Framlington.

Lord Andrew (Drew) Framlington has been watching Mary and has decided she is the lady for him. Yes, he needs her dowry but it is more than that. She's willing to stand up to him and challenge him. She's everything he wants in a wife. The challenge is that her family would never accept him so he needs to get her to accept him and be willing to go against everything she has been taught and trust in him to eventually elope. He just needs to figure out how to win her over.

I found this to be a challenging read. I'm not sure how I felt about either character - mostly because Mary seemed so wishy washy and Andrew wouldn't talk to her / tell her anything. I get Mary not wanting to disappoint her family and doubting everything when she heard what Andrew said at the ball (over a year ago) but if you ask me, John can be mad about what was said but he also seems to be a bit of a hypocrite if his background is what Andrew says it was and is exactly what he is holding against Andrew.

And Andrew needs to just sit down and talk to Mary. That might clear up a lot and while I get his past and feelings aren't necessarily comfortable subjects, until he does, things are going to be bumpy. Also, the elopement. He could have been honest with Mary about that too. I'm not sure how she would have reacted but regardless, it was shady how he went about it.

The ending of this book did throw me off a bit. I'm not sure if we are going to get more of their story in subsequent books or not but it seemed very abrupt and I was looking for more of a resolution I guess. It didn't even seem like a happy for now as they both still seem like they are in a place of "I guess we're stuck with what we've done". I think I might pick up the next book just to see what is in the next book - if anything. That said, I'm on the fence with this one and not sure where I land on the recommendation.

Lark’s writing is lush and evocative, with plenty of swoon-worthy stolen moments and a strong sense of place for Regency London’s glittering social scene. I did find some plot beats predictable, and the “can I trust him?” trope lingered a bit long. Still, the emotional payoff was satisfying, especially for readers who enjoy themes of redemption and forbidden love.

A wonderful author who has written a story about a rogue and his woman. It is a steamy story. This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review. This review is mine.

Andrew, Lord Framlington is a man accepted by society because he is a Lord, handsome, dangerous and a gambler.
He is on the hunt for a rich heiress, a woman he can bed, and with enough money to purchase some land so he can begin his life again.
He is tired of being the ‘whore’ beloved of the widows and wives of society, dependent on his good friend Peter, who has deep pockets and frequently stakes him at the card table.
He is jaded, exhausted and sick of heart, until he sees Mary Marlow, new to the marriage market, pure, innocent and a wealthy young woman in her own right.
He sets about winning her hand in marriage, much to the outrage and disgust of her family. She is besotted and he is in love for the first time in his life, but has no idea about how to go about making a new life.
Conflict, love, lust and deep longings need to be understood by both Andrew and Mary before they can begin to build a life together under the disapproving and watchful eyes of her family.
If you are looking for a warm romantic Regency read The Dangerous Love of a Rogue is not for you, but if you are looking for something vastly different, Jane Lark has created the anti-hero, the man who needs to heal, in Andrew, Lord Framlington – a very dangerous rogue.

Thought this was a great premise but the book failed to catch my attention. I ended up not finishing this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This story has promise, but ultimately fails. The characters are immature and aggravating. There's also the case of insta love that never sits well in a story.

This one was a dnf for me. I agree with the other reviews so I’ll keep mine short. I didn’t enjoy any of the characters.

As an avid Regency reader from a young age I am very familiar with the different stylistic choices when writing historical novels. Some focus on the light-hearted relationships, adding farcical misunderstandings and witty banter, some focus on family relationships and others still focus on the spice- the enticement and titillation of the forbidden within the time period.
You can usually tell what type of regency you are reading by the cover. Cartoon covers are a fun light-hearted romp, almost romantic comedy- these are your Alexandra Vashti, Martha Waters and Julia Quinn. Those that focus on family life, broadly encompassing the world have more serious covers- like Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh and Eloise James. The final ones are those that depend on the spice and steamy scenes to sell you, these usually have a half-naked couple entwined on the cover, you don't expect anything serious- Sally Vixen, Ava MacAdams and Em Brown.

Jane Lark's book manages to fall somewhere between Eloise James and Sally Vixen; yet the cover promises laughs.
I pretty much guarantee you will not laugh at The Dangerous Love of a Rogue.

The MMC is a walking red flag. Raised in the demi-monde and used to using his body to fund his lifestyle, he is now desperate for money after squandering his ill-gotten gains. He spends his time leaning on his richer friends and carousing. until he spots Mary- a sweet innocent debutante and decides he wants her because she's 'pure' and unlikely to cheat on him.
However he knows that her brother and father will not let him near her because of his reputation and so he stares at her before demanding a dance.
After that one dance she is enthralled by him, so much so that, even though they don't speak for a year, she feels like she's meant to be with him.
Cue sneaking around, Machiavellian schemes and some of the most toxic behaviour from any regency hero- even Mr Wickham would be ashamed.

The book ends, not on a HEA, or even HFN but on a WTF.

Andrew is basically your first teenage boyfriend who demands you love him more than your family and, at one point, practically says the words "If you love me, you'll sleep with me." Nothing has given me the ick faster.
And Mary is the quintessential "I can change him."

Emotionally immature and desperate hero, bland heroine, toxic relationship pretending to be romantic and the sensible family as the ones getting in the way of true love. This is like Colleen Hoover and Stephanie Meyer decided to get together and write regency.

Pass.

. ݁₊ ⊹ — 2.5 ⭐️ — . ݁˖ . ݁
started april 29th | finished april may 1st
ˋ°•*⁀➷ historical romance, third person pov

ˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 ♡
the cover is so cute, i love it sm. i looked up this book on goodreads and apperantly it was already published once in 2015. i don’t know what the reason is that it’s being published again ten years later but i liked the new look way more.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 ♡
i’m sorry but there’s A LOT i didn’t like. okay so first of all, it was so confusing. it took me multiple chapters to even realise what the two main characters were called. this story is all about the plot which isn’t bad at all, but this is is a ROMANCE book guys. you can’t write a romance book without focusing on the characters a lot. also what’s up with that ending? like you can’t even call that an ending. the book just stopped in the middle of them playing a board game. it either should’ve ended during the wedding or should’ve been longer and show their marriage more.

⌞ 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐰 ⌝ her character was so stupid i’m sorry. i feel like the author was trying to make her strong and independent but also loving but she just ended up dumb. i was 31% into the book and girl’s already like “i love him but i can’t love him why do i love him do i love him”. bro NO, just no. i checked how far i’m into the book and WHEN THIS IS GONNA BE OVER anytime she opened her mouth. and she wasn’t even annoying, she was just so naive and dumb and couldn’t make up her mind.

⌞ 𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 “𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰” 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 ⌝ there’s a lot that i have to say about him and none of it is good. first of all, i love a good broken mc but wtf was this. i feel like that’s what the author was trying to make him but he was just so confusing and weird, like if he had two personalities. one moment, he’s like: “i want a rich wife to pay off my debts and that’s all i am practically making a girl believe i love her and i’m gonna lie to her and then take all her money” and then he’s like: “omg mary is so gorgeous and innocent i want her to be my wife she’s so pleasent to the eye i don’t even want her for her money anymore”. like WHAT? another thing is, there is just something so weird about using like old serious kinda english while writing sex scenes or writing about a male character being attracted to a woman, i’m sorry. my brain is probably just way too used to college dark romances but it was so cringe. i also feel like all of the characters had NO life, NO brain and NO own thoughts.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ♡
i am dissapointed, i really am. this book has such a cute cover and so much potential but it feels like a badly written wattpad story.

───୨ৎ────

⤷ thank you for this arc to gemini books group and netgalley in exchange for my honest review!!

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this one. I just couldn’t get into it. I found the writing style to be off putting and confusing.