Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: The Gentleman and The Rogue

AUTHOR: Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon

PUBLISHER: Duet Publishing

LENGTH: 83,000 Words

BLURB:

Lad from the streets meets lord of the manor. Both men’s lives will be changed forever.

When Sir Alan Watleigh goes searching for sex, he never imagines the street rat he brings home for one last bit of pleasure in his darkest hour will be the man who hauls him back from the edge of the grave.

Despite his harsh life in the slums of London, Jem is a bright, cheerful young man. He’s also witty, irreverent, glib, and makes Alan laugh–a rare occasion since war time trauma and the death of his family have made the man a ghost of his former self.

A single night of meaningless sex turns into an offer of permanent employment. Jem acts as Alan’s valet, but offers him so much more than polished boots and starched cravats. Just as the men are adjusting to their new living arrangement, news about a former soldier under his command sends Sir Watleigh and Jem on the road to save a child in danger.
The journey brings them closer together as they travel from lust toward love. They rescue the girl from the clutches of an insane surgeon, who is as interested in experimenting on the vulnerable human spirit as he is on physical bodies. Alan realizes his love for Jem when he nearly loses him, but is Alan’s love strong enough to risk society discovering the truth about him? And is he strong enough to finally accept his sexual inclinations?

REVIEW:

I was so excited to read about a young man whose life is turned around with the help of a man of power and is in a place of hopelessness himself.

Jem Brown is a young man whose life isn’t that great.  He’s lived a life of hardship and struggle.  He knows who he is and even though his life isn’t the greatest, it isn’t the worst either.  Jem is this wonderful character who is funny, witty and so very irreverent.  He has this wonderful outlook on life and isn’t sad with his lot in life.  He works and is able to survive.  Jem has the pleasure of meeting Alan and thus his life gets so much better.  He’s able to have a job, a roof over his head and wages that don’t require him to sleep with others.

Alan Watleigh is a soldier who is, I hate to say broken, but maybe bent is a better word.  He’s been injured in battle and gotten hooked on opium.  But, he’s clean and sober.  The problem is that while he was hurt, his brother and parents all passed away.  Alan is filled with hopelessness and depression.  He is gay and yet, he’s rarely acknowledged this urges.  He’s so lost that he decides to have one last night with a man and then commit suicide.  But what he wasn’t expecting was to be charmed by the young man that he takes home.  Now, Alan has this man who gives him not only the passion that he’s always craved, but gives him joy and happiness.  Alan is a good man who just had a run of bad things happening to him.  He’s got this wonderful since of honor and loyalty.  Alan has this wonderful heart and it’s been bruised for awhile now, and he wasn’t expecting Jem to help heal it.

These two different men are such a wonderful couple.  I loved seeing how they both started out and to see them fall in love with each other, it was really sweet to watch.  They showed their feelings for each other in the way that they spoke and also in the way that they loved each other.  They allowed time to get to know each other and really feel comfortable with each other.  They were what the other person needed.  It was nice to see Alan become lighter and allow his feelings to come out a bit.  Jem really stood up and allowed his need to love and be loved help him find his family.  It was beautiful to watch them.

Now, there were a few secondary characters in this book.  I liked Badgemann.  He was in the service with Alan and Alan had saved his life.  Badgemann did the same for Alan when he got hooked on the opium.  He is this wonderfully kind man who also had so much honor and loyalty.  I loved how he showed his love and respect for those in his family.  Major “Annie” Cutler, was a sweet little girl.  She was raised on the lines as her parents were there.  She was orphaned and taken by the villain in the story, and yet this little girl kept her bravery.  She survived this horrible ordeal and she’s coming out the other side.

This was a wonderful little historical read.  I am not a huge fan of the genre, but I could really appreciate this book.  I loved the way the authors gave such wonderful descriptions of the time. I truly felt that I was there.  This story had such wonderful character that you won’t be disappointed.  From the moment you start, until the moment you finish, you’ll be wrapped up in Jem and Alan’s world.

Sit back and enjoy a great romance set in a time long gone.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

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