REVIEW: I Loved a Rogue by Katharine Ashe

I Loved a Rogue is the third and final book in Katharine Ashe’s Prince Catcher series, about a trio of sisters who were rescued from a shipwreck, and adopted by a kindly vicar and raised as his own children. After getting their fortune told by a mysterious gypsy, the sisters each search for a prince to marry.

With her younger two sisters successfully married off, although not to princes, Eleanor Caulfield is fairly happy with taking care of her father’s household, and yearning for the boy who left her behind. However, change is afoot—her father is getting married, displacing her, and the “boy” who left her behind is now a man, and he is back. Taliesin Wolfe, who left eleven years earlier, has returned for the vicar’s wedding. A gypsy orphan, he traveled with his family during the summers, and spent his winters working for the vicar in return for an education. During that time he fell in love with Eleanor, and he never forgot her either.

He’d never in eleven years imagined he would be alone with this woman again. He had never imagined he would want to be, and that he would want to touch her with the intensity with which he wanted to touch her now.

However, circumstance and not wanting to be a third wheel at her father’s house have allowed Eleanor to travel, to stretch her wings away from her loving but over-protective family. She decides to investigate the mystery of her parentage, and her sisters send her off, but only with the protection of Taliesin. So off they go on the adventure of a lifetime, Eleanor and Taliesin, with only the chaperonage of a fierce teenaged maid and a coachman. They learn how to deal with each other as adults, and also learn a great deal about themselves and where they come from.

Both Taliesin and Eleanor are interesting characters with intriguing motivations and reasonings, but they are strongly restrained by their class distinctions—Taliesin being a gypsy and Eleanor being gently raised as a member of a vicar’s family. To that end, they both are well aware of how they feel, but don’t share it with the other because of these limitations. Sometimes I find this a bit frustrating, but this novel keeps the interest going with continued revelations, although there’s a deus ex machina at the end which ties everything together.

I greatly enjoyed this book despite some personal nitpicks that may only bother me. However, with strong characters and excellent writing I didn’t mind it quite as much as I would normally. If you are new to the Price Catcher series you will probably want to go back and read the other novels, but “I Loved a Rogue” quite stands alone on its own also.

Book Info:

Published February 24th 2015 by Avon | Prince Catcher series #3

She can pour tea, manage a household, and sew a modest gown. In short, Eleanor Caulfield is the perfect vicar’s daughter. Yet there was a time when she’d risked everything for a black-eyed gypsy who left her brokenhearted. Now he stands before her—dark, virile, and ready to escort her on a journey to find the truth about her heritage.

Leaving eleven years ago should have given Taliesin freedom. Instead he’s returned to Eleanor, determined to have her all to himself, tempting her with kisses and promising her a passion she’s so long denied herself. But if he was infatuated before, he’s utterly unprepared for what will happen when Eleanor decides to abandon convention—and truly live.