From New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath, comes the second book in a brand new series, The Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, featuring three eligible bachelors…and the scoundrels that reside within each.
Born to the street but raised within the aristocracy, Drake Darling can’t escape his sordid beginnings. Not when Lady Ophelia Lyttleton snubs him at every turn, a constant reminder he’s not truly one of them. But after rescuing her from a mysterious drowning, he realizes she doesn’t remember who she is. With plans to bring her to heel, he insists she’s his housekeeper—never expecting to fall for the charming beauty.
While Ophelia might not recall her life before Drake, she has little doubt she belongs with him. The desire she feels for her dark, brooding employer can’t be denied, regardless of consequences. So when Ophelia’s memory returns, she is devastated by the depth of his betrayal. Now Drake must risk everything to prove she can trust this rogue with her heart once more.
About the Author:
LORRAINE HEATH always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals and computer code, but something was always missing. After reading a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including RWA’s RITA® and a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times best-seller lists.
Jennifer’s Review of Once More, My Darling Rogue
Review (5 Stars): Drake Darling has never been able to forget the events of his childhood and even with all the success that he has achieved, those memories are never far from his thoughts. Lady Ophelia Lyttleton has known Drake for years and has always treated him as though he was beneath her. The two verbally spar with one another every chance they get and it has become a game to see who will win first. One night, Drake finds a young woman on the side of the river, dirty, bruised and has no idea who she is or how she got there. What surprises Drake the most is that the young woman is none other than Lady Ophelia and she has no memories of Drake whatsoever. As a punishment for the way that she has treated him all these years, Drake tells Lady Ophelia that she is his servant and makes her spend her time doing servant duties. As the days pass, Drake finds himself falling for the new Lady Ophelia and dreads the day when her memories return, knowing that she will hate him even more for what he has done. But Lady Ophelia is falling for Drake as well and maybe this chance at love will finally help melt her deeply protected heart of ice.
I absolutely fell in love with Drake Darling in Once More, My Darling Rogue. He was a charming man who couldn’t understand why Lady Ophelia hated him so much when he never did anything to hurt her. In a way, he felt that he deserved the verbal abuse because of his torrid beginnings but Lady Ophelia was downright cruel, mean and vindictive whenever Drake was around. I loved when she became Phee, the woman with no memories, who was sweet, kind and a crusader against any injustice in the world. I didn’t agree with Drake for making Phee believe that she was a servant as retaliation for all the things that she had done to him, but if he hadn’t, he would have never seen the amazing woman she could become.
Drake and Lady Ophelia were two very interesting characters because they both believed that they were unworthy of love because of events that happened in their childhoods. They were haunted by their past and were finally able to heal their broken spirits by finding love in each others arms. This love story brought me to tears when I discovered both of their secrets and to what lengths Drake went to make amends for what he had done to Lady Ophelia when she had lost her memories. Such a beautiful story of love and forgiveness between two emotionally scarred people who deserved to find love and found it in the most unlikely of places. This is one of my favorite books this year and I am looking forward to reading more from this talented writer.
Thank you for hosting today!
OMGoodness, what an excellent review! Not just glowing about the book, but it was succinct and explained much that I didn’t understand from other reviews or excerpts. Now I am curious as to what scarred Ophelia since, apparently, she had a traumatic experience when young that made her think she was unworthy of love…like Drake thinks of himself. I agree that on the one hand, what Drake did when Ophelia lost her memory was mean spirited, but I completely understand it. I can’t wait to read the entire story to find out what happens! Thanks so much for the post.