No Good Duke Goes Unpunished

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished (The Rules of Scoundrels #3) by Sarah MacLean (2013)

I've been reading this series completely out of order. I began with #4, Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover, then progressed to #1, A Rogue by Any Other Name. Now I've just finished #3, No Good Duke Goes Unpunished and I can confidently say that this series should win some sort of prize for Best Titles Ever. The one I haven't read, #2, is called One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. I rest my case.

But about the story. It begins with the Duke of Lamont waking up and expecting to find a woman next to him in bed, but finding only blood. He has no memory of the night. He does remember the woman though, because she was engaged to marry his father. Now she's apparently dead and for the next twelve years he's known as the Killer Duke.

Then one day she appears - Mara Lowe. She's been in hiding this whole time, but now feels a lot of guilt about setting up this innocent guy. She offers to finally clear his name and they enter into an agreement in which he will pay her to spend time with him in public and then she will be revealed as who she truly is, exonerating him. The money will go towards saving the orphanage she runs. She's desperate for money because her reckless, irresponsible brother has lost everything. Of course, even though Temple (as the Duke is called these days) and Mara should be sworn enemies because of their history, they are drawn to each other despite how much they each try to resist.

Mara has all the best qualities of a romance heroine. She is strong, witty, doesn't take crap from anyone, and despite living in the 19th century she can take care of herself perfectly well, thank you very much. I loved some of the things she said and, in fact, would love to start using the words "scallawaginous" and "scoundrelly." Also, she has a pet pig named Lavender who sleeps on a cushion. As pet pigs should. This novel also has one of my very favorite tropes: Temple becomes gravely injured and Mara helps nurse him back to health. Well, she doesn't help a whole lot since she isn't allowed near him for a while, but it still works for me.

The only issue I really had is that the characters seemed determined to make things more difficult for themselves than they needed to be, which is an all-too-common problem I encounter in romance novels. There was a point where it seemed like they were pretty much all set, but Mara still insisted they couldn't be together. Oh, and the word "worrying" was really overused. Not as in an anxious feeling, but as in fiddling with something (like a lip or a nipple.) It was used about 5 times in the course of just a few pages, which seems excessive. But these are very minor issues with a book that I found overall pretty enjoyable.

You may recall that I struggled a bit with the last book I read because I wasn't really in the mood to read about Soviet oppression around the time of the US election, but do you know what I did want to read? This. This is exactly what I needed. I actually began it before finishing the last book because I really, really needed some comfort and pleasure. Sarah MacLean came through for me, as I knew she would. I have only one more book in this series to read, and I was surprised to learn that on Goodreads it has the highest rating in the series. I've enjoyed them all so far, but I absolutely loved Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover, and now I'm looking forward to reading the one that, apparently, many people loved even more.

A Rogue By Any Other Name

A Rogue By Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels #1) by Sarah MacLean (2012)

I've already read the fourth in this series, Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover, and I liked it so much I decided to go back and try this first one. Each book in the series is about one of four owners of a "gambling hell" (a casino) called The Fallen Angel. In this first volume, the Marquess of Bourne is set on reclaiming the fortune he lost many years ago in a wager, and then taking revenge on the man he lost to. However, the fortune is suddenly part of the dowry of Lady Penelope Marbury, on the verge of spinsterhood after a scandalous broken engagement years ago. The two knew each other as children, but that was long ago and Michael has obviously changed a great deal. The friend that Penelope remembered would never have forced a lady into marriage just to get a piece of property.

This is an interesting setup, the book beginning with an unwanted marriage and then going from there. It's apparently not an uncommon trope, one that I can see working pretty well for historical novels (though less effectively in a contemporary.) Here it worked well. Marriage at the time was often based on social or economic considerations, and thought Penelope had really hoped for a love match, she was resigned to her fate. I really felt for her during the long days and nights of her new husband's absence, during which she would be stuck at home (the aptly named Hell House), frequently staring out the window watching for Michael's carriage and wishing for adventure.

She got adventure though, when she finally took matters into her own hands and visited The Fallen Angel, which Michael was quite unhappy about. What made their relationship so interesting wasn't even the marriage of convenience, it was their shared history. Michael had become a pretty cold, driven man but deep down he couldn't quite forget how much he cared for Penelope, no matter how much he tried. When she approached danger or when another man acted interested in her, Michael reacted pretty harshly and protectively. Their relationship was borne out of a lot of really conflicting feelings, but I found it convincing.

Penelope's younger sisters were also integral to the plot, as part of the reason she relented to marry Michael was in hopes of his help finding good matches for them later. There were a lot of high-stakes deals in this novel, and I don't just mean at the gambling hell. One of her sisters, Pippa, was far too smart for the dimwit she was about to marry, though everyone including Pippa seemed to think it was nevertheless a good match. And that was about all one could hope for; it was ridiculous and risky to hold out for a perfect match, or a love match. Though I think Pippa eventually gets hers, since she stars in the second book in the series, which interests me just based on how smart and eccentric she is.

Another character I wish we saw more of was Michael's housekeeper Mrs. Worth. She was young for a housekeeper, and talked to Michael in a way that nobody else in the story could get away with. What Penelope first noticed about her was how beautiful she was, but she also has a potentially interesting back story. I was hoping she would have a larger part, or be featured in another book in this series, but I guess we have to settle for just a glimpse of her.

All in all, the story and the progression of the romance was satisfying. Each chapter began with letters between Penelope and Michael from when they were younger, though as the novel progressed, the correspondence became decidedly one-sided, which was kind of sad. I liked how this part of their background was shared throughout the book, adding depth to the current story. Michael was maybe not my favorite romantic hero, as he was so hell-bent on revenge for the past he kept screwing up the present. But that's why Penelope was there I guess, to knock some sense into him.

I think I still liked Never Judge a Lady By Her Cover better, but I still liked this enough to read more by Sarah MacLean. I have another book from this series, and I'm also interested in her new Scandal and Scoundrel series, which begins with The Rogue Not Taken. It's really all about the clever, hilarious titles, isn't it? Though MacLean is also great at writing strong female characters and snappy dialogue, so her stories are quite a treat.

A Rogue By Any Other Name is part of my TBR Pile Challenge, which means that I've now finished 3 out of 10 on my list. It's tempting to think that I'm way ahead of the game, but I'm really just front-loading because by late summer I'll be bogged down with reading for the Community Read and won't have time for these at all. And I haven't even started on anything for my Shakespeare Challenge, though that is up next, I think.

Additionally, the pink cover fills a square for Winter Bingo! At least I think it is pink? Sometimes it looks more red, but when I focus on the dress it looks pink. Maybe it's just my monitor - I read the ebook so the cover appears black and white on my nook. At any rate, I'm taking it. Here's my updated Winter Bingo card!