Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt

Breakdown: 

Lady Phoebe Batten is the sister of the Duke of Wakefield. She is cherished, treasured, and protected because she is nearly blind. Hired by her brother, she is guarded by Captain James Trevillion, previously from the 4^th Dragoons who has been prematurely retired due to his injuries while serving the king.

Lowdown:

I was looking forward to this book. Not as good as Duke of Midnight which is Book 6 of the Maiden Lane series but still highly entertaining. Why? Because of Captain James T.

Stoic. Silent. Capable.

Injured in the line of battle. Hardened by the streets of London. 

Protective. Possessive.

Should I go on?

I am a sucker. A sucker I tells you for the strong, silent, cerebral male. Loud, obnoxious alphas have their place. But give me one that can shut the f*ck up and can still get his testosterone filled point across anyways?

Mmmmmm……

Don’t judge me.

Trevillion tries desperately to hide his passion for his charge and, at first, is highly successful in his endeavors. She is too young. Too innocent. Waaaay above his station in life so he cannot go there. You only know his true struggle because of his inner monologue.

She looked young and a little lost, though she stood in her own ancestral home. He wanted rather badly to go to her and take her into his arms again. To offer comfort where it was neither needed nor wanted. Something in his chest ached— just once, briefly— before he shoved it down and covered it with all the reasons his instinctive reactions were impossible

For her age (one and twenty), status (a caged noblewoman), and her blindness, Lady Phoebe's character is as developed as her environment would allow. How can you grow when you have an older brother who protects you to the point of suppression? She is treated like a frail, weak creature. She is suffocating under the guise of well intentions. She tries to tell her family her need for some freedom but they fall on deaf ears.

There’s a suspenseful plot buried in this love story. It wasn’t that plausible and, to tell you the truth, it didn’t really hold my interest. I mainly read this book for the story between Phoebe and Trevillion. I find that subplot was more background noise than anything and I could have done without it.

All in all. A good read.