Meet a Rogue at Midnight

Gina
Conkle
Genre: 
Historical

Jonas Braithwaithe has returned home to make peace with his grandfather. Now a respected sailor and businessman, he’s hoping to put to rest his reputation as the small town’s leading troublemaker, but trouble (and scandal) has a habit of following him. He barely arrives home when he interrupts a housebreaking – and discovers a luscious young woman in his bedchamber.

Livvy Halsey is hiding a secret: it is she, not her respected academic father, who is writing a popular series of Roman histories.  Providing for her family has been her life – until she runs into her childhood friend Jonas and discovers that he can still light fires within her. Sparks fly, but Jonas does not intend to remain in a town that has no respect for him.  Can he be content with only stolen kisses and a few passionate moments with Livvy?

Ms. Conkle’s Georgian England is lush and full, and with two such sympathetic characters, it is impossible not to be drawn in to her story. Jonas struggles with self-image, Livvy with the difficulties of supporting her family through her father’s decline. While their chemistry is undeniable and the final act satisfying, the reader may wish that Conkle spent more time resolving these personal issues. Abrupt POV shifts occasionally disrupt the narrative, but these are small complaints. Ms. Conkle builds a lovely world that crackles with energy and romance. Readers looking for an escape will be more than satisfied. 

Janice Martin