Review -- All Night With a Rogue

All Night With a Rogue
By Alexandra Hawkins
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: February 2, 2010




Alexius Braverton, Marquess of Sinclair – or Sin to his friends and lovers – is given a simple request by his beloved sister, Belle: seduce Lady Juliana Ivers and then reject her. Evidently, Lady Juliana is threatening Belle’s relationship with a suitor. Sin has no doubt that the task will be easy enough. After all, he and his friends (known as the Lords of Vice) are notorious for their expertise in the art of seduction . . . which is precisely why they formed a private club wherein to carry out those disreputable activities. However, Sin doesn’t realize that Lady Juliana is the same young woman he’d recently become instantly attracted to upon their unusual meeting at a fête. So naturally the situation turns out to be most convenient for him. Or so he thinks.

Like so many young ladies of the ton, Lady Juliana Ivers comes to London to enjoy the Season with her mother and sisters. Her mother, Lady Duncombe, wants to find husbands for her daughters since the family was left with little money upon her husband’s untimely death years ago. Conversely, Juliana has other plans. She loves music and creates her own compositions, so her sole reason for being in town is to find someone to publish her sonatas. Then the pesky Marquess of Sinclair takes an interest in her and begins to openly court her. She knows that he isn’t marriage material, so why is he constantly everywhere she goes? And why does she start to not mind that he is?

This sexy debut from Alexandra Hawkins begins what promises to be a great series full of sensually decadent heroes. And wow, does this one start off with a bang! The opening scene is one that I’ll not forget anytime soon. Picture the heroine hiding in a tree watching as the hero is being pleasured on a bench below. Yep, certainly got my attention!

Sin and Juliana mix well together – both are passionate, though in entirely different subjects, and both are very clever. Once they become lovers, Juliana is smart enough to have absolutely no illusions that it will lead to marriage because she knows Sin’s reputation. Even after falling in love with him, she harbors no ideas of marriage with him. More than anything, she envies the freedoms and privileges he enjoys as a man, especially since being a woman hinders her from having her music published. Even though Sin is a complete rake, he loves his sister, flaws and all. Yet it’s his relationship with Juliana that makes him want to better himself. Therefore, he is completely torn between the two.

He owed his loyalty and love to one and greatly admired and desired the other. What had begun as a lark had become complicated ever since he allowed his growing affection for Juliana to sway him.

I really enjoyed Sin and Juliana’s journey, despite the fact that at one point they were kept apart a bit too long for my tastes. Ms. Hawkins does make up for it, however. Sin’s grand gesture for winning over the fair Lady Juliana and gaining her forgiveness is nothing short of sigh-worthy. Each of the other future heroes – all with equally delicious nicknames – are introduced in this one and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Til Dawn with a Devil, out August 2010. I certainly enjoyed spending All Night with a Rogue and believe you will, too!

~Andrea