The Rogue You Know

June 22, 2015
Galen's second Covent Garden Cubs Regency (following Earls Just Want to Have Fun) is a passable but flawed story best suited to fans of the series. After the Earl of Dane's scandalous marriage to the former thief known as Marlowe, Dane's sister, Lady Susanna Derring, simmers with resentment under the thumb of her controlling mother. When Gideon Harrow, Marlowe's former associate, breaks into Dane's home to hide his latest stolen prize, Susanna blackmails Gideon into taking her to the famed Vauxhall Gardens, which her mother has forbidden her to visit. Gideon pulled this one last theft to gain money to go straight, but double-crossing a gang leader while doing it was not his best idea. Now he must fulfill Susanna's wish in order to get his prize back as they are chased across the city, ducking and dodging, trying to reach Vauxhall without money or a sensible plan. The class conflicts and pointed calls for social justice offer an interesting variation on the standard Regency romance, but the unsympathetic and underdeveloped characters lack chemistry and end up in absurdly contrived situations. Agent: Joanna MacKenzie, Browne and Miller Literary Associates.

September 1, 2015
Gideon Harrow keeps trying to get out, but they keep dragging him back in. But Beezle, current leader of the Covent Garden Cubs, promises Gideon that if he helps with one more jewel heist, he can finally call it quits. Gideon, however, has a slightly different plan in mind. Instead of turning the diamond and emerald necklace over to Beezle, Gideon decides he will keep the jewels himself and use the proceeds to finance his new life. What Gideon doesn't plan on is running into Lady Susanna Derring, who pockets the necklace and refuses to give it back unless he helps her escape her gilded cage. All Susanna wants is one real adventure. Unfortunately, she is about to discover that spending time with Gideon can be quite dangerous, especially when it comes to her heart. Fans of Disney's Tangled will enjoy Galen's (Earls Just Want to Have Fun, 2015) allusions to that film in her latest Regency historical, which will definitely delight all readers who like their romances with a sexy, fairy-tale edge.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)