The Rules of Scoundrels series by Sarah MacLean -> Restarting July 12th, 2024

[Aly]

What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets...

A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance—including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to such unexplored pleasures.

Bourne may be a prince of London’s underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness—a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them... even her heart.

[Kira]

Chapter 1-4: (view spoiler)[Michael's personality intrigued me, obviously I am disheartened by what he went through and the viscount was a scoundrel for cheating him the way he did, I can almost sympathise with him and his heartless nature atm. That being said, no one can deny the sizzling chemistry between him and Penelope and I am excited to see how it fleshes out further (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5-8: (view spoiler)[The mariage happened so quickly that Penelope hardly had any time to breathe, I do feel for Michael but he should have given Penelope some time atleast to get acquainted with the idea. I am relieved however that she managed to persuade him to find matches that suit her sisters rather than accepting the first one that pops up. I wish to see how Penelope manages to break down the walls Michael has built around himself (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 9-13: (view spoiler)[I understand why Michael is pushing Penelope away but come on - this coldness is gotta hurt, whenever I read the letters she wrote to Michael all those years ago, I realise how much she missed him, her best friend, her partner in crime. I agree that Michael would regret it if he ruined Tommy for his revenge and i hope he listens to his wife for once (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 14-17: (view spoiler)[Michael is trying so hard to win over Penelope but no one can fault her for being angry, Michael can't see that the revenge would not make him happy and he needs love in his life. I really enjoyed their ice skating date and the game of charades after, it was like a breath of fresh air watching Michael enjoy his life for once. I wish he just stops pushing Penelope away (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[Damn I loved how Penelope was such a badass and ruined the viscount in a single move, I also very much enjoyed the chemistry between him and Michael and the way she made him realise what he really wants. The ending warmed up my heart honestly and the epilogue just made me want to pick up the next book already lol (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Starting next week.

[Kira]

Chapter 1-4: (view spoiler)[I love Philippa already! Her odd and quirky nature are what set her apart and Castleton is absolutely not the right match for her. I was surprised by her no nonsense attitude and the way she propositioned Cross. I am wondering how his brother died in the first place. This Knight fellow is so shrewd , blacmailing Cross into marrying her daughter. I guess Castleton would be the one marrying Maggie if it comes to it (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 5-7: (view spoiler)[Philippa is so insistent on finding out all about the carnal pleasures before she weds and it's understandable especially when she sees Olivia's rendezvous with her betrothed. Castleton is so boring, not at all fit for someone as fascinating as Pippa. I love how she pushes Cross all the time, the way he always gets trapped in her words. Her seeking out a prostitute at the club was rather forward of her and I loved how Cross was forced to surrender to her eventually (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 8-11: (view spoiler)[Their lessons arghhh!!! I love how Pippa gets so jealous assuming Lavinia to be Cross' paramour, I can't wait to see her reaction when she ultimately finds out that she is indeed his sister, how embarrased she would be! Cross and Pippa are absolutely perfect together, he worships her, desires her and cannot stay away no matter how much he tries. His words to her to teach her temptation were marvelous, I am excited to read about their next encounter or shall I say lesson lol (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 12-15: (view spoiler)[Lord Catleton kissing Pippa was the most cringy thing I have read in a while, I could sense how uncomfortable she was through the pages while her kiss with Cross was anything but that. I was starting to wonder where Knight was and boom he popped up at the masquerade. I can't believe Sally would betray Cross that way, and then Knight's blackmail ugh. They should come up with the plan to marry Knight's daughter to Castleton soon afterall he is an earl as well (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[Oh this was such a perfect ending! Pippa ending her engagement to Castleton in such a gracious manner won my heart and I respect her even more for coming up with such a brilliant plan to help out Cross with Knight. He severely underestimated her no doubt. His friends talking some sense into him and Cross running over to her house to stop the wedding was noteworthy as well. The epilogue was the perfect way to honor Baine and I absolutely loved this love story! (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 1-4: (view spoiler)[Whatever reasons Mara had for leaving the way she did, I do not approve of the way she let everyone believe that Temple had killed her and shunned by the whole society. I am immediately displeased by her character. Her brother though is an even bigger asshole, he might have helped her run away but at present all he cares about is money. I am wondering how Temple would look past everything and eventually fall for Mara (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5-8: (view spoiler)[The attraction between these two is undeniable and I guess I am warming up to Mara as well, She needed to run and Temple was unknowingly the one caught in crossfire. Temple obviously cares for her but won't accept it, him spending his morning at the orphanage tutoring the boys was so sweet. I am loving their bickering , there is so much passion in every conversation they have (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 9-13: (view spoiler)[Damn everything was going so well, I was so curious to see how the fight between Mara and Temple would go and what had Mara planned to ensure her win but I really her brother for ruining everything all the time. He shouldn't have stabbed Temple. No wonder none of the other owners of the Fallen Angel trusted Mara not being involved in this deception. Temple is falling for her, I want to see if his doubt about the kid in the orphanage is right or not (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 14-17: (view spoiler)[Mara's father was such a horrible person, abusing her since childhood. No wonder she was scared of men and decided to run away. I knew Temple would not ruin her at the end but did not expect for Mara to own up to it all in front of the whole society, she is one brave woman. Chase lied to Temple but he only wished to protect him. Everyone's childhood has been such a shit one in this book (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[ It isn't a historical romance unless the man chases the woman after she runs away thinking she doesn't deserve the man or his love or both, lol. But, Mara shattering that mirror and going to Temple instead the other way around made this a lot better. Her brother was such a fool to challenge Temple once again. The epilogue has left me in shock tbh. CHASE IS A WOMAN!!?? That should be interesting to read about, it has hyped me up for the final book in the series (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Starting Book 4 now!

[Kira]

Prologue- Chapter 4: (view spoiler)[ I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that Chase is actually a woman and a lady at that! She even has a daughter, nothing in the previous three books of the series could have prepared me for this reveal. I am liking the flirtations between her and Duncan and although he has discovered her identity as Anna, he still doesn't know she and Chase are the same. I can't wait for the reaction when he finds out. I wonder what the earl holds over him which makes him publish articles he doesn't agree with personally (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 5-9: (view spoiler)[AAAHHH Georgina and Duncan's chemistry is on fire, I was looking forward to when they'd decide to give into their desires and I had an inkling Georgina would be the one making the proposal, turns out I was right. Duncan saved her from the vile man and I feel bad that she won't even consider him a propsect because he isn't titled. I am curious to see when and how she changes her mind. Duncan and Caroline would bond well together imo, (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 10-14: (view spoiler)[Georgina is well on her way to fall in love with Duncan and I suspect Duncan already has but she was still not ready to tell him the truth about her identity and that made me sad. i was not expecting their arrangement to come to end so soon, the way Duncan threw her out of the house after being so open with her was quite harsh but I understand since he himself was hurt Georgina won't consider marrying him because he has no title. I wish Georgina comes clean to him soon and we find out what the earl holds over Duncan (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 15-18: (view spoiler)[Wow Duncan's past seems to be embrolied in scandal, I am dying to find out exactly what it is that he is so shameful about he'd rather listen to everything Tremley says instead of facing the past. I am impressed that Georgina was able to keep her identity a secret for this long, she didn't melt even when Duncan barged into the club asking for Chase I was sure that she'd come clean at that moment. Duncan and Caroline hit it off well like I imagined which made me feel really good. Now off to learn about the well kept secrets (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Finished: (view spoiler)[What a marvelous end to the series indeed, Duncan's secret was so noble although I didn't expect Cynthia to be Tremley's half sister, he was as selfish as his father not caring about anything but himself. His poor wife went through so much. I had a good laugh by the way Georgina defeated him at his own game, he was so furious lol. When Duncan spoke the truth about his past, my heart broke for him. The epilogue was a perfect one with all four scoundrels and their partners having a jolly good time with one another (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Will come back to this series when I feel like reading HR.

[Melanie]

Will be starting this one soon after I finish a few other reads.

[Ashlyn]

Melanie wrote: "Will be starting this one soon after I finish a few other reads."

Same.

[Melanie]

Should finally be getting to this one this week.

[Ashlyn]

Getting to this series soon.

[Ashlyn]

Will start soon.

[Ashlyn]

Probably will start this next week.

[Ashlyn]

Started

[Ashlyn]

I forgot about this one, but will come back.

[Ashlyn]

Will get back to this soon.

[Ashlyn]

Getting to this soon.

[Melanie]

I'll be starting this one soon, just finishing up some other buddy reads first.

[Ashlyn]

Reading next week

[Ashlyn]

Getting to this one soon

[Ashlyn]

Getting to soon

[Ashlyn]

I will get to this. It’s due back at the library soon.

[Aly]

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RESTARTING JULY 12TH, 2024

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[Ashlyn]

Haven't had a chance to start this one yet.

[Elizabeth]

Excited to read this one! I have the first book checked out

[Ashlyn]

Updating this now since I’ll be on vacation the next few weeks.

[Elizabeth]

Starting soon. Finishing up another book first

[Ashlyn]

Will read this one soon

[Melanie]

I'll be getting to this one soon.

[Ashlyn]

Started

[Ashlyn]

Chapters 1-4 (view spoiler)[Im really liking this one so far! I love how he just showed up and basically kidnapped her and demanded they were going to get married. I’m interested to see where this goes, especially with their past. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Chapters 5-10 (view spoiler)[I am LOVING this one. I love the whole marriage of connivence factor. Also love that she is having all these feelings and reactions about being married that she didn't expect. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Chapters 11-16 (view spoiler)[Im really enjoying these two together. It’s clear that he is falling in love with her but needs to understand not to focus on the revenge anymore. I’m excited to see where this goes and loved that he felt like he was part of a family. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Finished (view spoiler)[I loved how she bluffed at the end and didn’t actually have any dirt on the guy. But also I kind of wished the epilogue wouldn’t have set up the next book and just told us something more about the couple. (hide spoiler)]

[Elizabeth]

Starting soon

[Ashlyn]

Getting back to this one this month

[Elizabeth]

Me too

[Ashlyn]

I’m hoping to read this next week 🤞

[Ashlyn]

Reading soon

[Elizabeth]

Same here. I've been in a bit of a slump

[Ashlyn]

Will read

[Ashlyn]

Have this checked out from my library

[Ashlyn]

Started

[Ashlyn]

Chapters 1-5 (view spoiler)[Okay, I really like that she is wanting the sex lessons and know about it before she gets married. But I really think she is settling and I don’t know how I feel about her cheating because I feel like she is going to. (hide spoiler)]