A Rogue to Ruin is an easy-to-read historical romance. Anne Pemberton was once a popular young woman before her failed betrothal led to her being shunned from society. Rafe Blackwell is a family-oriented former thief who is still searching for answers regarding his family's history.

Anne and Rafe meet at a bookshop very early on in the book. I liked that Anne wasn't shy and initiated a lot of the interactions between them. They agree not to disclose their names to one another and just enjoy a few afternoons together. There were some nice moments between them but I felt like their relationship was too rushed. I definitely needed a few more scenes between them to understand why they liked one another.

Time passes and Anne eventually becomes betrothed to another, which ends abruptly as he is arrested and taken away at the altar. This leads to Anne's ostracization by society. A few months later, she encounters Rafe again and realises she is still attracted to him. The rest of the book is focussed on uncovering the secrets of Rafe's family history and subsequently proving his identity.

The love between Anne and Rafe is a quiet, ordinary one but I would have liked to have seen more passion between them. Overall, I enjoyed the plotline more than the romance!

I love this story so much! This is the first book I’ve read written by Darcy Burke, but definitely not the last one. Now I need Jane´s story so I´m going for it!!
Anne Pemberton was one of the Season’s most popular young misses until her betrothed was arrested for extortion at their wedding. Now a social pariah, she can’t help but think back to the dashing gentleman she met before the Season started. Though they spent several afternoons exploring East London together, they never disclosed their names. They did, however, share a kiss, and Anne can’t forget it—or him.
Former thief Rafe Blackwell is now a respectable gentleman with one goal: to take down the man who murdered his parents. Reunited with Anne, their attraction still blazes strong, and he can’t let her get too close, for his heart is forever cold and his mission too desperate. But when Anne seeks to save him—both emotionally and physically—he’ll have to embrace the darkness or risk losing the only light he’s ever known.
This is a beautiful love story. I enjoyed their time together so much!! The dialogs are witty and funny. Rafe is sooo sexy and absolutely fascinated with Anne, but he is also decided to fight his feeling for her all the way. The secondary characters are perfection. I would love to be friends with them LOL. This story was an amazing journey with a lot of romance, kisses, hot moments and adventure.
This book is a must! I highly recommend it!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Great read. Darcy Burke weaves another creative tale. Anne and Rafe's story starts as an innocent flirtation with a younger girl and older man. When she fails to show up for their secret meeting, Rafe chalks it up to fate's loss. Later, they meet again after Anne suffers from disgrace at the alter. Rafe sees another side of Anne and appreciates her brave maturity and boldness but resists her. He is on a mission to right a wrong and will not let anyone get in his way. Unfortunately, Anne's godfather is at the root of Rafe's anger, and the friend-to-lover trope develops with a twist. I enjoyed their story and the way Burke depicts the independent Anne in a world of social rigidity. The redemption and justice for Rafe were satisfying and prove that, with the love of a good woman, all things are possible.

So this book is the last book in a three-part series and the final book of 6 books total. I did not read any of those books, I own them but didn't read them. This book is the redemption story of what I am guessing is the villain in some of the other books. There's a lot of backstories that are relayed to anyone who hasn't read the first 6, which I appreciated but at times confused me with the story that I was reading. It took me away from Rafe and Anne. I probably wouldn't recommend reading this book if you haven't read the others, however, normally I would have put the book down and picked up the others, but I loved the characters so much I had to see it through till the end.

It's not often that you get a self-assured virgin heroine, I sort of loved that Anne chased after Rafe. At no time was she weak in character. The author alludes to a broken engagement that was a central plot in one of the other books so I can't say how she was in that book. But in this one, I really liked her.

The prologue starts off with Anne and Rafe meeting at Hatchards and developing an anonymous friendship that soon turns romantic until one day Anne fails to show up for their meeting. This book picks up months later when Rafe, a former crime lord/moneylender has reinvented himself into a Mayfair gentleman. Anne immediately seeks to reconnect with Rafe while Rafe is attempting to solve the mystery of his childhood.

The majority of the story is about Rafe finding out about his origins and there's a lot of dialogue around that. Actual character dialogue. If you were a fan of the first 5 books, you will probably love this but as someone new to this series, I wanted more action. Anne becomes this calming influence in Rafe's life and soon he can't deny his attraction to her.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, so much that I wanted to go and read the others in my kindle library to find out what I missed. Darcy tells really concise and compelling stories. I always enjoy picking up her books. Sometimes her dialogue is a little too informal for the time period so if you are a historical romance purist, you will be annoyed, but if you are looking for an enjoyable suspension of reality - this is your book.

3 stars because I didn't read the others but if I had, I am sure I would have given it 4 stars.

A Rogue to Ruin by Darcy Burke
Rating: 5-stars
**WARNING: Spoilers below!!**
Summary: Anne Pemberton is hiding out at her sister’s home because she was literally about to marry her fiancé when he was arrested for extortion. Enter Rafe Blackwell (Bowles, Mallory, etc.; he has too many names!), a man Anne knows, yet she does not know that she knows him. Rafe is trying to stay away from Anne. He is drawn to her, yet his past is anything but a gentleman’s. He does not believe he is worthy of Anne, as much as he would like to be. All of this is happening while Rafe is trying to find out who he really is. He and his sister, Selina, were kidnapped from their home when he was 5 and Selina was 2. Recent events have triggered some memories for him, but what do they mean? In short, his uncle ordered the murder of his father (and him, although that clearly did not work) to assume the role of Earl of Stone. (Might I add he also wanted his brother’s wife, so he did not mean to murder her, too, but she refused to leave her husband in the fire, who was drugged to sleep through the tragedy.)
I found this to be an engaging read and finished it in two days despite having two young children. Rafe has made hard choices in his past, but Ms. Burke does an excellent job of showing that he is not the criminal life forced him to be. He cares about others, poor orphans especially, and longs for a family of his own. While he does not feel he is worthy of Anne, it is not to the point of being annoying (as I find some writers tend to push too far). Anne is an excellent heroine. She knows what she wants and strives to get it, Society be damned. She is also very loving and cares deeply for her friends and family, even those who end up not deserving it. There is also great chemistry between Anne and Rafe, with a fair number of scenes between the two lovers.
If you have read Ms. Burke’s other books, you will be overjoyed to see many familiar faces making appearances throughout this story (something I love to see authors do!).
Pick up this book (after reading Selina and Beatrix’s stories, of course) and get lost for an afternoon or two. You will not regret it!
I received a free advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is an intriguing story that is filled with suspense, romance, lies and betrayal. Rafe grew up in the streets of London, stealing for a man who'd bought he and his sister from the "uncle" who had been raising them.. He broke away from the man when he was in his 20's and built his own not so legal business. Eventually he gave all of that up, became a legitimate business owner and moved to "the right" part of London. While he's out one day he meets a woman he renders aid to, then befriends. Anne was not in any rush to put herself on the marriage mart, and she spent 2 hours once a week at a bookstore, alone. They were intrigued with each other, and formed a friendship, a friendship that turned to more, until the day Anne didn't show. Three months go by before they see each again, they run into each other after Rafe discovers that he had been at a house with a certain folly, and was invited there. Rafe had always wondered who he was, his "uncle" only told him that it didn't matter. From that first memory Rafe learns the truth about what happened to he and his sister after the fire that killed their parents, and who he is. Anne is determined to get Rafe to acknowledge that there's, Rafe is determined to keep her away from him because he's not a person she should be with. Rafe is really a kind, considerate and caring person. Anne is strong, stubborn and sweet. This story will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end

***Historical Romance***

I found this book to be an entertaining and engaging read, with an excellent relationship developing between the two main characters, building up to an explosive ending. This was not a straight forward Regency Romance, but involved some suspense, intrigue and unexpected revelations.

Rafe is a man who has excelled on the streets of regency London gradually moving from illegal, dangerous work to becoming a respectable gentleman, but a wrong done to him in his past changes his world and threatens his future. Anne is the goddaughter of an Earl, and suffering the social ignominy of her fiance being arrested on their wedding day. We have met both of these characters previously in other books, and I thought it was lovely to see their own story develop. Rafe and Anne had an immediate attraction, and this story had plenty of chemistry and intimate moments that really drew me in.

While the relationship of Rafe and Anne is the heart of this novel, Rafe's history is the central story running through this book. The return of other characters from the previous books also added wonderfully to this world.

Overall this was an excellent read. The characters were really likeable and charming, the plot was intriguing and involving, and the relationship between Rafe and Anne was believable and heartwarming.

This was an interesting read, and I’m looking forward to reading more by Darcy Burke in the future. I think the challenge will just be figuring out where to start since there’s a lot of cross-series overlap, or at least I interpreted such from the endless name dropping of no fewer than five couples from other books.

While reading this, I felt like I was at a networking event trying desperately to remember everyone’s names and connections to each other. It’s possible to start with this third book in a trilogy like I did, but I’d assume it would be a smoother ride for those who begin at the beginning.

That said, there was an interesting mystery that formed the center of the plot’s conflict. If you prefer your historical romances to be more historically accurate, this may be the book for you. Language, clothing, and details like hiring hermits to live on your land and lend it a romantic air all provide a rich sense of place and time.

The romantic scenes were steamy, original, and plentiful. Time was well spent coming up with these scenes, and it shows.

My thanks to NetGalley and Darcy Burke Publishing for the free ARC!

Rafe Blackwell has done a lot of things he isn’t proud of, but he did them so that he and especially Selina would survive and find something better. He has changed; he wants to be a gentleman. Most of all wants to find out who he and Selina are and what really happened to his family. He and Selina have been searching for clues to their origins and have found a promising piece of information. Following that clue, with the help of friends, they are going to discover a lot more than they can imagine.

We last saw Anne when her betrothed was arrested for extortion at the altar before the wedding begins. Rafe and Anne meet Hatchard’s book store and strike up a wonderful, if anonymous friendship as Lord Bodyguard and Mrs. Dazzling. They enjoy each other’s company and have much in common. After losing track of each other, they meet again when Rafe comes to Anthony to ask for help with tracing the new information. After that, they seem to run into each other everywhere. Pain from the past causes Rafe to resist their growing attraction. Hopefully, Anne will be able to break down the walls he has built around his heart.

This is an amazing mystery and adventure, and an absolutely fantastic love story. It is action-packed and full of secrets, danger, betrayal, all kinds of scandal, murder, and attempted murder (multiple times). Rafe and Anne are remarkable. They seem so different; he hard and a little grumpy, and she outgoing and optimistic. But, they are both kind, caring, protective of those they love, just wonderful. Selina and Harry, Thomas and Beatrix, and Jane and Anthony are here to help finally solve the mystery. And solved it is. The villain is shocking, but the truth is delicious! This story, the whole series, is great. Definitely 5 stars!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Darcy Burke has hit a home run with this book! Rafe and Anne meet unexpectedly in a book shop. They agree to keep their identities a secret from one another; however when Anne no longer shows up, neither of them can forget the other.

When Rafe comes across Anne in the most unexpected place, romance blooms anew. Can this pair find true love at last? Readers will love this book. I couldn't put it down.

I loved reading this novel. It was a fun and a light read. The main characters not sharing their names with each other is one of my favorite arcs and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

An extraordinary conclusion to a wonderful series, full of everything wanted when reading a perfect historical romance! A chance meeting, intrigue, murder, suspense, mystery, villians, an undeniable chemistry and two fabulous characters with a wrap up with surprises.

Such a romantic beginning... Meeting in a bookstore, not telling each other their real names, but meeting each week for an adventure. sigh. Then one week she does not show up and he is... a little little disappointed, frustrated.. he was broken anyway so what more could he expect?

Then they meet again unexpectedly and everything changes. Well almost. They both have a past, he a hugh one that has woven through other stories and he feels unworthy. After all he had been a criminal... was he still? She was determined to become a spinster or at least dictate her life.. But she could not forget him..

Simply marvelous, sigh worthy and my favorite of the series!

Love love Darcy! I’ve read just about all of her books going back to Her Wicked Ways. Always a great read . sexy, passionate, engaging! Love this book!

I really enjoyed this book, Rafe and Selina are kidnapped as children to prevent their uncle from killing them, they have to live with the dregs of London’s underworld to survive but their enduring lovely characters still remain when as adults they return to find their rightful role in London society, the romance between Anne and Rafe is a joy to behold and her determination for them to be together despite many pitfalls is endearing.. Another great story from this author.

Anne Pemberton is the ‘ Diamond of the Ton” and she is determined to marry well to satisfy her parents decree. The man who she is about to marry on her wedding day is arrested for extortion and a list of other crimes. She is grateful not to marry this criminal, but now she is a pariah in the eyes of society even though it wasn’t her to commit the crimes.

Rafe Blackwell is no longer a man of the criminal element. He has recreated a new life , but in doing so, he has now discovered that he is now an Earl. However, he needs to find a way to uncover evidence the evidence of the man who orchestrated the murder of his parents death. This same person was the cause of his life in the criminal underworld.

Anne & Rafe had met in unusual circumstances which there liaison between them is definitely totally different. They meet again as respectable ’ton’ and their lives take on a whirlwind of a journey.

The author has a way of weaving the characters so that they become entrenched within your mind. You automatically turn the pages to see what befalls your character next or if the characters are going to have that first kiss. Darcy Burke makes you see the scene as though you are in it.
This book was very predictable, but I love the authors writing style.

I would recommend this book.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

I enjoyed this book and it was great to dive into Rafe's story. The way they met and how their relationship developed was done well but to be honest, Anne wasn't my favorite heroine. There was something about her that drove me crazy. With that said, the writing was very well done and the character development as well as the story kept me engaged.

I'll definitely continue to check out Burke's stories and can't wait to see what she writes next!

I've enjoyed several of Darcy's other books, so I'm always here for something she writes without reading the synopsis.

I really liked Anne and Rafe. She knows what she wants and is determined to get it. He's pulled himself out of a horrible childhood and is looking to the future. Together they have instant friendship, coupled with curiosity. There are a lot a lot a lot of characters here and I think it was a downfall for me not being familiar with all of them.

Plot wise, it was good. There are a lot of sweet scenes and I enjoyed the slow progression of the relationship. The conflict was a slow burn and came to a climax and resolution in a few pages. I will say the epilogue was fantastic and I really wanted just a bit more of a futuretake, but that's likely me just being greedy.

Overall, it was a great story with characters I really liked. I'm definitely going to go back and read the other two in the series.

**Huge thanks to Darcy Burke for providing the arc free of charge**

I really enjoyed this story. While the love story is primary (as is expected in a historical romance), there are also complex characters with complicated pasts and mysteries. I do wish that I had read the previous novels in this series because I was searching for information on characters that had already been introduced. This novel was still enjoyable, regardless of my reading it out of order. I will definitely be going back and reading the previous novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Darcey Burke Publishing for providing a copy of this eARC for review.

I received "A Rogue to Ruin" from Netgalley and voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Darcy Burke can write no wrong....she is dazzling in her story telling. The hero, Lord Bodyguard as called by the heroine,Mrs. Dazing, meet at a bookseller's while she has a veil on to keep her identity a secret. However,  destiny has other plans as he scares off some men who were bothering her. They develop an anonymous friendship where neither truly knows who the other is, except for their character and nature.
Rafe Blackwell/Bowles and Anne Pemberton then meet again one day, and their story becomes one of those that they or Rafe thinks that can never be more than a friendship because of his past. A beautifully written love story!

I found A Rogue to Ruin to be an enjoyable and engaging romantic read. From the first moment we meet Anne and her mysterious stranger in Hatchards book shop, I was intrigued by their characters and their developing relationship. Rafe's secretive background provided plenty of hidden twists and turns and kept those pages turning.
The romance between Anne and Rafe developed quickly, but organically and their intimate moments were sensual and steamy, while also being sweet and romantic. I particularly enjoyed Anne's slightly more confident approach to broadening her sexual knowledge - it was a very different approach to the usual timid virgins and provided some amusing moments. The supporting characters were also interesting and well-developed and made me want to get to know them more.
I found Burke's writing style to be incredibly easy to read, and the plot was well-paced. The emotional conflicts between Anne and Rafe were dealt with quickly and didn't feel like drama for the state of drama. Instead, they felt like realistic obstacles that were dealt with in a mature and reasonable way. The real climatic threat to their relationship was exciting and made for a gripping end to the book.
I've never read anything by Darcy Burke before, but I was very excited to find that this is actually the third book in her "Pretenders" series and I now can't wait to go back and catch up on books 1 & 2.