You all know my love for historical fiction. For me it’s the perfect diversion after reading a mystery or too many contemporary romances back to back. Dearest Rogue is an older book, written in 2015 and I do think that the genre has made a shift that is on trend with what has gone on in the world today. The MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements have made diversity, equality, and historical truthfulness important to both writers and readers. So, this novel from 2015 is a little more old school. However, it does divert from the normal heroine has Duke fall in love with her theme. Our heroine, Lady Phoebe Batten, is the sister of a Duke, and is blind. Our hero is her guard, former Dragoon, Captain James Trevillion. Honorably discharged after being wounded in service. He is the security hired to keep her safe, which of course becomes an issue when someone is out to kidnap her.

Phoebe was fed up with being cushioned from life and wants to explore and live. She is a beautiful young woman whose eyesight disappeared in her teens. Capt. Trevillion has been her security for awhile but it’s only been recently that she has become curious about him. Most definitely because he’s the only man she’s allowed to be around since he’s a pretty surly guy. As we get to know the two of them together you appreciate his protective nature but also how he disagrees with the Duke’s instructions to keep Phoebe insulated from life. It’s because of him that she’s in situations where people can actually try to kidnap her but you can’t fault him for wanting her to have a life.

Other than the fact that someone is trying to kidnap her, the other conflict is more of an internal one. The Captain, with his bad leg, doesn’t feel like he’s good enough for Phoebe. It’s up to her to convince him that their class differences and his leg (and her being blind!) don’t make a difference. He’s the man for her. I really enjoyed their sweet conflict and the length of time it took for them to fall in love. This was a little bit more of a slow burn romance than you’d normally see in a historical novel.

Despite this novel being #8 in the Maiden Lane series, it can be read as a stand alone novel. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the St. Charles Robin Hood underlying plot that some of the other novels have played out. I enjoyed it and if you have a love for older historical novels I think you might too! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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