The Rogue Not Taken

Scandal & Scoundrel, Book 1

By: Sarah MacLean

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lady Sophie - Society Splash!

When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn't saving her from ruin. It's filled with it.

Rogue - Reign of Ravishment!

Kingscote - "King" - the marquess of Eversley, has never met a woman he couldn't charm, resulting in a reputation far worse than the truth, a general sense that he's more pretty face than proper gentleman, and an irate summons home to the Scottish border. When King discovers stowaway Sophie, however, the journey becomes anything but boring.

War? Or More?

He thinks she's trying to trick him into marriage. She wouldn't have him if he were the last man on Earth. But carriages bring close quarters, dark secrets, and unbearable temptation, making opposites altogether too attractive....

©2015 Sarah Trabucchi (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Bantering Rogue

I've read and enjoyed some of Sarah MacLean's books previously so when this book came up on sale I had to listen. Although this one is not my favorite it still was entertaining and fun. I enjoyed the fast pace of this book, the adventure, and the bantering of the characters. I wasn't a fan of some unnecessary cruel dialog from the "hero" which only made him seem more like an immature bully. But, thankfully he worked out some issues and grew up a bit. 😊

Note: This book does have strong language and explicit sex.

Loved the narration of Justine Eyre. I've listened to other books she's narrated and I've never been disappointed. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to narrators so please listen to the audio sample before you purchase any book.

Overall, I liked this book and will be getting the next in this series. 😉

Liked it

Any additional comments?

Pretty good story - good characters. Sophie and King suddenly meet and go for a wild ride for days. Sparks fly, tempers flare and romance ensues. Sophie's sisters are notorious in London. They were made ladies when their coal miner father "won" the title of Earle. Their behavior is not acceptable to the ton and they are ridiculed. Sophie is the youngest and least noticed of the sisters, but they are all called "soiled" and "dangerous". Sophie, who hates the aristocracy, snaps when her married eldest sister is embarrassed by her Duke husband at a summer party. Sophie takes drastic action against him resulting in her family being shunned by society. As she flees the party, Sophie runs into "King" who is in line for the title of Duke. It is a very bad meeting and gets worse - but fun to listen to. The performance is very good and I recommend this book for a fun listen. It is not great literature, but it is pleasant and entertaining. Kept my interest from the beginning to the end.

Freaking FAAAAANTASTIC

What an amazing book! I love how the story moved from one location to another and the creativity of the heroine in her garments during that time. She was brave and intelligent and interesting and a little spoiled and naive all at the same time. I can say I was NEVER bored at any single moment of this book and the push and pull between the H/H kept me glued to the book. A sigh worthy love match!

pleasantly surprised

Very good story. better than I expected. narrator did excellent job with all voices except for King's. I had hoped he would sound more masculine and less like the snobbish aristocrats. excellent overall.

Sarah MacLean delivers!

Newly introduced to Sarah MacLean last fall I have devoured most of her book list. The Rogue Not Taken is a fast-paced wonderful storyline from start to finish. I love happy endings and this one takes it to the next level!

Narration

I loved the story. But the narration lacked some... The narrator sounded: bored. No other words to describe it.

Brava, Sarah MacLean

Oh my this was fun!!! I just plain loved it.

Sarah MacLean is a genius. Her books maintain a very high quality and consistency of entertainment. She is one of the authors whose new work I pre-order as soon as it's available. This book was highly anticipated and well worth the wait.

I don't know if it was the characters, the story, the writing, the verbal sparring, or the humor that can be singled out as the best part of this book. To be honest, I was a bit concerned when I earlier read a synopsis of the book and that "K family" was mentioned. I try to avoid them at all times and I was afraid this would put them in a book I was very anxious to read. No worries! I should have trusted the author. Everything about this book was perfect!

Sophie and King are delightful! Their dialogue is witty and engaging. The secondary characters are intriguing and I hope we learn more about them. (Justine Eyre's portrayal of the Scottish Duke was a bit off - not like her normally impeccable work.)

The only thing wrong with this book is that it's over and we have to wait for the next one. This should be a great series. Brava, Sarah MacLean!

bicker-fest 2016

What disappointed you about The Rogue Not Taken?

I can’t believe that this is the same author that gave me one of my favorite books “9 rules to break when romancing a rake”. Her writing has been going downhill since that high-point and I think with this book she has hit rock bottom..
There was a very creepy scene when the hero asks the heroine to describe what she saw in the stables between a footman & maid. He keeps asking " what did you see Sophie?". I had a Silence of the Lambs moment.."what did you see Clarice?, then what did you do Clarice?" I half expected someone's face to get eaten.It made me feel a knot in my stomach. Especially when the hero is approx. 13 years older than the heroine and should have some more sophistication and smoother lines. He comes off as an immature jerk.

What do you think your next listen will be?

My next listen will be a good book, probably by stephanie laurenz.Nothing by this author

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

the narration was okay, but I had to give up on the story just after the 6 hour mark.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment and incredible sadnesss. .This book threw me back to the childhood trauma of my parent’s horrific marriage and subsequent divorce. The couple in this book are so filled with bile and vitriol that I kept having flashbacks to the worst of my youth. The only thing missing from the arguments was the female saying “ just ask for directions” and the male saying he knew where they were and not lost. This would have been all of the most awful times spent with my parents.
Even from the beginning the heroine says “ thank you for rescuing me” and the hero says” I didn’t rescue you ” to the point where the hero says “ I’m sorry.” And the heroine says “ you’re not sorry.”. This was just a series of conflict and argument for no reason .

Any additional comments?

I am over 50 and this book had me do something for the first time…take an alcoholic drink alone. My first shot came 5 hours into the book, when I should really have stopped listening and not taken a drink. The second shot came 6 hours into the book , when I realized that sipping slowly would be required. After reliving some of my emotionally scarring memories, I gave up and stopped when the heroine’s internal monologue identified the problem with this book “ I adored and loathed him”. Any book that has this much conflict in the characters can only be worse for the reader.

A Rogue listen

This isn't your normal English romance. This story is filled with a long journey with different twist and turns along the way. It dragged on sometimes, but other than that a OK listen. I am not sure if I want to read the next book in the series .

Up and down listen

The Rogue Not Taken

First of all the narrator gets the Scots accent wrong...it is totally Irish!

It started a little slow for me, but as soon as they got to the little town....it drug me in. Then it kinda lost me again. I love the supporting characters. John is great! But then they weren't in the story anymore.

It was very up and down for me. I liked both H&H ..but I didn't LOVE them. It was so frustrating at times. The heroine acted so strong...then had bad self esteem. The hero was kind of an ass...but then not. The ending made me mad..then it was good again, but it all seemed so rushed.

It was good..not great.. but I'm glad I listened. I liked the "story" but I just think it could have been written a bit better..or maybe it is just that some of the characters could have been tweaked a little, to make the overall book better.

should come with a sex warning!

I am sick and tired of downloading a regency romance to have it end up as practically porn! the story was good ( very similar to a gorgette hayer) but was just ruined by unnecessary humping. don't get me wrong I'm not a prude. but I just want a nice story!

Lovely Book, Good Narrator............♡

This book is your Typical regency romance with dry humour, and romance with a Happy Ever After.. A very pleasant Recording as the Narrator can make or break a book...xx

Drivel Could not get past Chapter 3

This was clearly written by someone who does not understand how Society worked The plot was ridiculous

Did not finish

I could not get beyond chapter 3 of this book because the narrator's voice grated on my nerves so much. I wish the people who chose the narrator would realise that most listeners would prefer a deeper basic tone for the stories. That is another wasted credit. I have no idea if t he story was any good because I could not persevere.

Enjoyable story

A thoroughly good listen to a well told story .
The story is narrated well and enjoyable to listen to .The story itself keeps you entertained, it has humour,excitement, passion and romance .
I will certainly listen to more of this author

Great read

This book had it all! Romance, loss and a little steam. It’s the kind of book I’d listen to again

Good plot but Regency????

American authors should have a thorough understanding of the English class system before attempting to write about a period when class barriers were strictly enforced. It's a good plot but it's not Regency.

Emotional roller coaster.

This book is such fun, humorous and sweet, cast in shadow by all the glorious drama. Loved it all! The narrator is epic as well. Perfect for the book. There were times where I did question my sanity about loving the book so much, but meh. Sanity is overrated, and all the feelings glorious.
Now don´t think this is a silly book. It isn´t. Everything adds up here. The heroine and hero of the story are two strong and endearing people, faced with dilemmas social standing and expectations create. And a healthy dose of drama. Goody. Is the hero a raging idiot? Yes, but a sweet one. Based on real life, there is a lot of them. The heroine is so perfectly, tragically on point, given the time period of the story. Her dilemma is for me the heart of the book, and how can it not be? Being a woman today imagining the complete lack of options women of the past had to face. The heroine alone makes this a 5 star read for me. Utterly loveable. And the hero gets a lot of love as well. Well meaning idiots with tragic past get a clean slate, if they bring humor as well. And this one even did grow up, with minor resistance, in the end. Actually, all in all, adorable.
The only question I have after reading such a solid book is about the contraception of the time period in question. As we find out the father of the hero, has had a partner all the time since the hero left home. Young partner. I seriously want to know why there are no half siblings lurking around after all that time. But that is not a question important to the story itself.
What is important is the story, storytelling and worldbuilding. And the narrator on audio. And all of that is perfectly, utterly fabulous here. Am so happy to have found this story.

This book was literally perfect

Broke my heart, made me cackle, and fall in love with two vividly layered characters. Couldn’t recommend it enough.

Entertaining

The heroine is disillusioned by Socity. When she finds herself in a unexpected position, decides to try for freedom, as she has nothing to lose.
The hero, despite his reputation finds himself being dragged along behind her adventures.
The secondary characters are good and though the hero does have a "self pitying" moment. He soon comes to his sense and sorts things out.