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The Companion Secret Rogues and Rebels Book 1 edition by Susanna Craig Literature Fiction eBooks

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The Companion Secret Rogues and Rebels Book 1 edition by Susanna Craig Literature Fiction eBooks

(4.5 stars) I'm rounding up to 5 stars for this book. IMO, it's worth it for meeting my criteria for really good historical romance. (1) My HR reads have to be well written. I dislike grammar and spelling mistakes and over-the-top anachronistic language and behavior and I love intelligent writing that flows and pleases. (2) My HR reads also have to have complex, complicated, very real and well-developed characters. (3) The romance of the story has to develop organically and realistically, but still give me the warm fuzzies. (4) As icing on the cake, I like some history in my historical romance, although that seems to be asking a lot lately.

So this new release by Craig meets all four of those criteria. The author has three degrees in literature and is an English professor at (I believe) university level. And her writing reflects this. Dang. It's good. IMO, HRs should be written so that they can appeal to all age levels. Many lately are neglecting my very mature age group, more or less implying that I shouldn't be reading romance anymore and should leave the genre to younger readers.

I appreciate all Craig's characters and their distinct personalities and the fact that, although this plot makes use of many oft-employed tropes, it never feels cookie-cutter. Yes, we have a rake with a tragic backstory. Yes, we have a poor heroine working as companion in her aunt's household. Yes, we have that rake needing to marry and produce heirs with a respectable girl of the peerage to keep his title and estates out of the hands of his wastrel cousin. And we also have that trope of wooing the appropriate woman while falling in love with the "wrong" one.

But Craig takes all these done-before tropes and gives them a makeover. Our rake is truly one that I felt sympathy for from the get-go, as opposed to many other storybook rakes who annoy the heck out of me. And the author lets us know that this rake, Gabriel Finch, Marquess of Ashborough, is worth caring about. After all, how could his best friend since their schooldays, a younger son who is intended for the church and is a truly good and lovely man, care so much about Ash otherwise? His friend Fox knows there is room for improvement in Ash's behavior but that he is basically a good man. And we readers get to learn about this good in Ash as the story progresses.

Now to our heroine. She's no downtrodden sad-sack, no impecunious orphan. She lived a happy life in Ireland with her parents and numerous siblings, but she has a secret. It's the reason she's in London as companion to her aunt. Camellia has written a novel, THE WILD IRISH ROSE, and she wants to get it published. She does find a publisher who sees the book's promise but he asks her to rewrite the character of the fictional rake, who is, to the publisher's eyes, too over-the-top. And what an opportunity for Camellia to observe a real life specimen of the rake species as Ash woos her cousin Felicity, the woman he has chosen as his future wife.

This would be enough for many HR authors to be able to fill up sufficient pages for a book. But Craig makes it more complex. And she adds some history so the book deserves the H of the genre HR. That novel written by Camellia may on the surface be a melodrama of an Irish lass seduced by a dissolute English rake, but there's more to it. After all, this is at the time of the 1798 Irish Rebellion against English control and Camellia has written this book to try to make the English more sympathetic to the Irish cause. As a matter of interest, Craig lets us know in the Author's Notes at the end that this is an homage to an actual Irish woman whose THE WILD IRISH GIRL; A NATIONAL TALE was published in 1806.

After months of finding no recently-released HRs that were worth the read, I'm grateful to Craig for supplying this one. It's intelligently written, the characters are beautifully written, and it's romantic. Although it has a few sexual encounters between H and h, this isn't the usual excessive gratuitous sex held together by a few pages of plot. And, although much of the plot and many of the character types have been encountered before in many other books, Craig made it all feel fresh to me.

And there are dogs. Several dogs. And an actual reason why they are in the story. Not just there to be cute, the way other authors will drop children and animals into a story so we'll all go ""Aww, isn't that sweet?" There's clever writing here. Well-developed characters. A great love story. (Actually there are two love stories here. A secondary that is very satisfying.) I've got Book #2 in this Rogues and Rebels series pre-ordered.


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The Companion Secret Rogues and Rebels Book 1 edition by Susanna Craig Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

Gabriel is a lord with a terrible reputation. He's the Marquess of Ashborough and many people fear him. He's rich, handsome and much disliked. Someone is after what he has and he needs to take action before he'll lose it all. What he requires to save his name and his estate is a devout wife. Lady Felicity seems to be the ideal candidate. She's lovely and well mannered, she has a flawless reputation and her father needs money, so getting a lucrative offer from Gabriel would be well received. However, Felicity has a cousin Gabriel can't get out of his mind. Camellia is everything he's ever wanted in a woman, but she can't be his future.

Camellia is in London because her demanding aunt needs a companion, but she has an ulterior motive. She wants to sell her novel. Writing is her passion and she's found a publisher who's interested in her story. However, she should make her male main character more realistic. Lord Ash would be the ideal example, he's a rake and Camellia feels she should protect Felicity from such a man. When she gets to know Gabriel though, she finds out he isn't the man people are making him out to be at all. Camellia comes from a family with many secrets and going home would put her at risk. Gabriel isn't willing to let anything compromise her safety, but what about his own future? Will these two troubled people find a way out of their difficult situations?

The Companion's Secret is a terrific fascinating story. It's clear from the beginning that Camellia and Gabriel have a beautiful connection. When they are together sparks fly, their dialogue is witty and intelligent and they seem to perfectly understand each other. I loved how well suited they are. Unfortunately Gabriel is looking for a certain kind of wife and Felicity is exactly the woman he should marry, but there isn't any chemistry between them. I was curious to find out if they'd be able to get themselves out of the unfortunate situation they're in and couldn't turn the pages quickly enough to absorb every possible detail. Susanna Craig has written a captivating story with fabulous intriguing main characters. I was glued to the pages of The Companion's Secret from beginning to end.

Susanna Craig has a fantastic compelling writing style. I loved the complex love story she's managed to come up with. I admired the idea behind it and loved the execution, the complex relationships between the main characters are working incredibly well. There's plenty of tension, there's some great suspense and there are many unexpected twists and turns. I love it when a story comes together in such a splendid manner. The Companion's Secret is wonderfully romantic and there are many interesting layers that totally enchanted me. I highly recommend this gorgeous charming book.
Ok it's not the first book I've won from goodreads but it's always a kick. However I will admit that if I don't like the book I win I don't leave a review. Seems rude to criticize a gift. Even though you're supposed to.

However no problem with this book. For me it was 5 stars. Liked the hero. The heroine. The family . The servant. The best friend. The dogs. Most of all liked the story. No problem giving it 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one.
(4.5 stars) I'm rounding up to 5 stars for this book. IMO, it's worth it for meeting my criteria for really good historical romance. (1) My HR reads have to be well written. I dislike grammar and spelling mistakes and over-the-top anachronistic language and behavior and I love intelligent writing that flows and pleases. (2) My HR reads also have to have complex, complicated, very real and well-developed characters. (3) The romance of the story has to develop organically and realistically, but still give me the warm fuzzies. (4) As icing on the cake, I like some history in my historical romance, although that seems to be asking a lot lately.

So this new release by Craig meets all four of those criteria. The author has three degrees in literature and is an English professor at (I believe) university level. And her writing reflects this. Dang. It's good. IMO, HRs should be written so that they can appeal to all age levels. Many lately are neglecting my very mature age group, more or less implying that I shouldn't be reading romance anymore and should leave the genre to younger readers.

I appreciate all Craig's characters and their distinct personalities and the fact that, although this plot makes use of many oft-employed tropes, it never feels cookie-cutter. Yes, we have a rake with a tragic backstory. Yes, we have a poor heroine working as companion in her aunt's household. Yes, we have that rake needing to marry and produce heirs with a respectable girl of the peerage to keep his title and estates out of the hands of his wastrel cousin. And we also have that trope of wooing the appropriate woman while falling in love with the "wrong" one.

But Craig takes all these done-before tropes and gives them a makeover. Our rake is truly one that I felt sympathy for from the get-go, as opposed to many other storybook rakes who annoy the heck out of me. And the author lets us know that this rake, Gabriel Finch, Marquess of Ashborough, is worth caring about. After all, how could his best friend since their schooldays, a younger son who is intended for the church and is a truly good and lovely man, care so much about Ash otherwise? His friend Fox knows there is room for improvement in Ash's behavior but that he is basically a good man. And we readers get to learn about this good in Ash as the story progresses.

Now to our heroine. She's no downtrodden sad-sack, no impecunious orphan. She lived a happy life in Ireland with her parents and numerous siblings, but she has a secret. It's the reason she's in London as companion to her aunt. Camellia has written a novel, THE WILD IRISH ROSE, and she wants to get it published. She does find a publisher who sees the book's promise but he asks her to rewrite the character of the fictional rake, who is, to the publisher's eyes, too over-the-top. And what an opportunity for Camellia to observe a real life specimen of the rake species as Ash woos her cousin Felicity, the woman he has chosen as his future wife.

This would be enough for many HR authors to be able to fill up sufficient pages for a book. But Craig makes it more complex. And she adds some history so the book deserves the H of the genre HR. That novel written by Camellia may on the surface be a melodrama of an Irish lass seduced by a dissolute English rake, but there's more to it. After all, this is at the time of the 1798 Irish Rebellion against English control and Camellia has written this book to try to make the English more sympathetic to the Irish cause. As a matter of interest, Craig lets us know in the Author's Notes at the end that this is an homage to an actual Irish woman whose THE WILD IRISH GIRL; A NATIONAL TALE was published in 1806.

After months of finding no recently-released HRs that were worth the read, I'm grateful to Craig for supplying this one. It's intelligently written, the characters are beautifully written, and it's romantic. Although it has a few sexual encounters between H and h, this isn't the usual excessive gratuitous sex held together by a few pages of plot. And, although much of the plot and many of the character types have been encountered before in many other books, Craig made it all feel fresh to me.

And there are dogs. Several dogs. And an actual reason why they are in the story. Not just there to be cute, the way other authors will drop children and animals into a story so we'll all go ""Aww, isn't that sweet?" There's clever writing here. Well-developed characters. A great love story. (Actually there are two love stories here. A secondary that is very satisfying.) I've got Book #2 in this Rogues and Rebels series pre-ordered.