An Unmistakable Rogue

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An Unmistakable Rogue

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Chastity Somers is married and widowed within three days. Picking up the pieces of her broken heart, she rescues her late husband’s young cousins from a workhouse. She is determined to start her own orphanage by accepting her husband’s inheritance in Sunnyledge. She didn’t anticipate anything would stand in her way of providing a home for her charges. Then unexpectedly Reed Gilbride shows up, claiming that he is the lost heir of Sunnyledge.

      Reed Gilbride had never known the love of his real parents, having been raised by a couple who were not related and who never let him forget it. When he receives word that he’s the missing heir to Sunnyledge, it intrigues him to find a piece of his lost heritage. He is surprised to find a houseful of children and one beautiful, strong-willed woman who claims she is the rightful owner. He has three months to prove her wrong. Who will win out in the end, and at what cost?

     Annette Blair is one of my all time favorite authors. Her writing skill is in a league by itself. An Unmistakable Rogue is the third book in one of the best series I’ve read in a decade. This series is a definite must have for any historical romance fan who craves a book that leaves a lasting impression. Very Highly Recommended.  Suzie Housley

Escape to Romance

Annette Blair
Zebra, October 2003
The Rogues Club, Book Three
Steamy
$5.99 U.S.
ISBN: 0-8217-7468-9

AN UNMISTAKABLE ROUGE is the third book in Annette Blair's Rogue Series. One of the things I like about Annette Blair is that she always delivers a great story. AN UNMISTAKABLE ROGUE lives up to the standards set in the first two books in the series.

Chastity Somers had been married and widowed within three days. She found and stole her deceased husband's young cousins from a workhouse because she was determined to save them from a fate worse than death. All she wanted was to love them and make a home for them. She realized that having been a nun before she married meant she knew nothing about raising children, but surely all the children needed was love and affection. She had lots of both to give. Chastity had never been allowed to hug anyone because it was not allowed at the convent. As much as the four children needed her, she needed them more. Chastity contacted the solicitor for Sunnyledge and headed toward the estate. She was determined to start her own orphanage. If no one else showed up to lay claim to Sunnyledge and she could prove herself, Sunnyledge would be hers.

Reed Gilbride received the same mysterious note that Chastity's deceased husband had received. The note informed him that he was the missing heir to Sunnyledge. He had always wondered what his background was and who his parents had been. He had been raised by a couple that never let him forget he was not their child. Somehow, they always had money to help him when needed. He, as the oldest, had to help raise twelve children. There was nothing about the little creatures he could abide. What were children and their inept keeper doing at Sunnyledge? He had exactly three months to prove his heritage. He wanted nothing to do with any of them. There was something sexy about the little nun and the poppet tore at his heart.

Finding themselves together at Sunnyledge, Chastity and Reed make a pact. He would help her with the children and she would help him hunt for proof of his birthright. Together they made a great team. There was a fly in the ointment. Either someone was working against them or Reed was extremely accident prone. Who would want to keep him from finding his birthright and why?

Annette Blair is a wonderful writer. The characters in AN UNMISTAKABLE ROGUE are heartwarming. Reed's growth as a father is fun to watch develop. Reed's nemesis has a clear purpose and adds mystery to the story. The added twist in the end about Reed's twin brings the novel to a satisfying end. I enjoyed AN UNMISTAKABLE ROGUE. I am anxious to find out if the Rogue Series will continue.  -- Dawn Myers

Huntress Reviews

 Scribes World

An Unmistakable Rogue
Annette Blair
Zebra, ISBN 0821774689

"Chastity Somers is intent on claiming her husband's inheritance that includes four orphaned children and a house. She has a slight problem... there is another claimant to the house and without it she has no place for the children. Actually, she has another problem - Reed Gilbride. He is the other claimant and affects her much too strongly for her peace of mind. Adopting her former persona of nun, Chastity settles into an uneasy truce with Reed. They will share the house while they look for proof of ownership. Chastity finds herself wanting to share the house permanently with Reed, making a future together. Yet, he cannot put his past behind him, so any hope she holds is doomed.

Reed Gilbride was adopted and has known it his entire life, as his parents treated him like a mule. He's never known why he wasn't loved enough to be raised by his own family, but knows it must be something horrible. Combined with that, he will not take responsibility for anyone else's life. And he absolutely refuses to have anything to do with four children, not to mention a nun. However, the heart doesn't always listen...

AN UNMISTAKABLE ROGUE is a wonderfully written story with captivating characters and a plot that leaves the reader guessing. Ms Blair grounds the story in her time period, gives enough details to be engrossing and not boring then weaves a tale that sweeps the reader from page to page. The suspense element in the story is handled with a masterful touch. I am eagerly awaiting her next offering." Reviewed by Karen Larsen

Romance Designs

Overall:

Sensuality:History:

Reviewer Comments: 1817 – The Cotswald, England - Chastity Somers had grown up in a convent with no demonstrative affection or love. Seizing the chance to leave she married the kindly doctor who administered to the nuns at the convent, William, and accompanied him to England to his aunt’s and to claim an inheritance as the long-lost Earl of Barrington. Unfortunately, on the voyage home she became a widow. Arriving in England Chastity traveled to the only relative she knew of to find that William’s aunt had also died leaving four orphans she had been caring for. Chasity needed to give love as much as to receive it and embraced these children as her own though the powers to be deemed that they should be sent to an orphanage – snatching that bit of short-lived happiness from her. In the middle of the night while Chastity was ‘rescuing’ the children from the orphanage that Chastity would meet up with Reed Gilbride.

Reed Gilbride, Waterloo hero and unmistakable rogue that he was, grew up the oldest in a household with twelve other children. He was reminded by the father of the brood from the very first, that he was there on sufferance and did not belong to them – consequently he grew up ‘unloved’ and leery of forming any attachments. He may have helped Chastity, only because she happened to land on him as she fell off a roof but that was all – he would help her to find her way and then he’d get down to his business –to claim hisinheritance as the long-lost Earl of St. Ives. However, to his dismay, in order to prove his claim, Reed would be forced to work hand in hand with Chastity – and her band of brigands – to search the house for proof. Chastity had convinced the executor to let her start a home for children on the estate if Reed’s claim could not be proven. Reed had three months to find the proof he needed, otherwise the earldom would be extinct and the estate would be turned over to ‘Sister’ Chastity, whom Reed wrongly surmised as a nun - and Chastity felt safer in not correcting him. As both Reed and Chastity fought their growing attraction an old evil came back to finish the job of annihilating the St. Ives line.

This was such a great and sweetly touching love story, made all the more so by the most beautiful and touching portrayals of the ‘band of brigands’, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Becka. The children will touch your hearts as they did to melt the block of ice that was Reed’s heart. The author used Becka, the little three-year-old girl, brilliantly and she will have you both laughing and sobbing at times. The madness of the villain in the story will also have you chewing your fingernails as the danger grows in proportion to the budding love story. This was an outstanding story and the writing and plot were terrific. I highly recommend this book and will be looking to find the first two books of this rogue series by this author.  Marilyn, Romance Designs

Romance and Friends

Chastity Somers is in the process of stealing four children from the workhouse when she gets caught by Reed Gilbride.  She cons Reed into helping her escape with the children.  Reed hates children and wants nothing to do with them.  Yesterday, Chastity met with an attorney.  Her husband had received a letter and was on his way to England with Chastity to claim an inheritance he knew nothing about.  Chastity went in his place the day before.  She is now a widow, William died during the crossing.  Mr. Sennett informed Chastity that any claim William may have had died with him.  However, since the inheritance has not yet been claimed, he will allow Chastity to live on the property.  The inheritance has to be claimed within 20 years, which will soon be up.  Mr. Sennett will allow Chastity to operate a home for unwanted children on the property if no one claims the inheritance. 

Reed Gilbride served during the war with Napoleon.  Now that he is out of the service, he needs to find his roots.  He knows that the people that raised him weren’t his birth parents.  They definitely made that fact known to him while he was growing up.  They had quite a few of their own children and they worked Reed hard while he was growing up.  He has a received a letter directing him to Mr. Sennett as well.  Mr. Sennett tells Reed that he will have to provide proof that he is the heir to the Earl of Barrington before he will release the inheritance.  Reed plans on finding that proof in the Earl’s property.

Chastity manages to get the children to Sunnyledge.  They decide to sleep in the kitchen their first night there.  When the children are all bedded down for the evening, Chastity hears a noise.  She grabs a knife and goes to the front door.  There is a man there.  It turns out to be Reed.  The two recognize each other.  Chastity ends up offering Reed a position as caretaker for the property and the two of them decide to search for any evidence together. 

They are both attracted to each other.  Chastity was a nun before she married William and she still wears the black habit.  She has altered it to suit as widow’s weeds.  Reed finds her veil and believes Chastity to be a nun.  Chastity doesn’t tell Reed that she is a widow.  She is hoping that if Reed believes her to be a nun, they will be able to fight the attraction between them.  When Reed discovers the truth, all bets are off and the seduction begins.  Meanwhile, Reed ends up with all kinds of accidents happening to him.

All characters in the story have been wounded.  Reed had a difficult childhood.  The people that raised him only kept him for the money they received.  They never cared about him and definitely let him know.  He has built walls around his heart to keep himself from getting hurt again.  He knows what it is like to be raised without love.  Chastity was left on the convent’s doorstep as a baby, and she was raised by nuns.  They didn’t believe in displays of affection and Chastity is desperate for someone to love her.  The children’s parents were missionaries.  When their father took sick, their mother left them with a relative and went to take care of their father.  The relative died and Chastity found them in the basement, taking care of themselves.  When Chastity wouldn’t perform the services that the Beadle of the Church demanded, he put them in a workhouse.  Chastity couldn’t bear the thought of them there and decided to rescue them herself.  The youngest, Bekah, doesn’t even talk. 

This is definitely not your typical Regency.  There are no balls, no fancy clothes or society.  What this story is filled with is love.  How the power of love can overcome just about everything that life throws at it.  This is a heartwarming tale as we watch the children begin to breach the walls that Reed has built around his heart, especially little Bekah.  Annette Blair tells a very heartwarming tale as Chastity tries to take care of the children when she can’t even take care of herself.  Reed has to teach her how to cook and milk a cow.  Chastity’s nursing skills come into play when Reed ends up getting hit with an arrow.  This is a definite heartwarming tale that I heartily recommend.  Romance and Friends

Reader to Reader

Thirty years ago, a pious Vicar deems it his duty to save the souls of the Earl of Barrington's newborn twin boys after the Countess died in childbirth.  The languid twin was given to a maid; the more robust twin was given to the midwife, and instructions were given to both women to name and raise each child as their own. 

Two men have received identical, anonymous notes that proclaim them to be the missing St. Yves, Earl of Barrington, heir to Sunnyledge.   There is also a caveat:  "Beware there is one who would steal your heritage."

William Somers, a medical doctor from Beaupre, France, received one of the notes, but fell overboard in a channel storm while en route to England.  William's widow, Chastity, tries to claim his inheritance but is informed that since she has not produced an heir to the line this is impossible.  Charity wants to establish an orphanage at Sunnyledge and already has in her care four orphaned cousins of her husband -- Matthew, twelve; Mark, ten; Luke, eight; and Bekah, two.  However, if a legal St. Yves heir cannot be located within twenty years from the old Earl's death, Everard Sennett, the Barrington solicitor and executor, has the option of awarding the estate to a charity of his choice.  The deadline for this decision is only three months away and Mr. Sennett agrees that Chastity and her charges may live at Sunnyledge during this time. 

Reed Gilbride, a career soldier in Wellington's Life Guards, received the second anonymous note proclaiming him to be the missing St. Yves heir.  Reed was raised as a foster child and the eldest in a family of thirteen children with an abusive, drunken father, and was expected to take care of his "siblings" and do hard manual labor on the farm from an early age.  Reed is not as interested in claiming the estates and title as he is in wanting to know why his parents gave him away.  Mr. Sennett also sends Reed to Sunnyledge where the young man must produce evidence of his birthright.

Chastity and Reed arrive at Sunnyledge within hours of each other, but both are less than truthful for their reasons for being there.  Reed is under the impression that Chastity is a nun; she believes him to be a man down on his luck and offers him room and board in exchange for repair work on the run down mansion.  Given his past and having to take care of twelve children for his foster family, Reed is under the impression that he really does not like children, and sees Chastity's orphans as little demons.  In spite of their obvious differences the two are drawn to each other, with Reed feeling pangs of great remorse at being attracted to a nun!

Annette Blair has produced another winning story in this humorous yet very emotional story of an "angel" and a "rogue".  The presence of four heart-stealing orphans is just icing on a very delectable cake.  AN UNMISTAKABLE ROGUE is an excellent addition to Ms. Blair's "Rogue Series".  Reed was introduced as "an adopted rogue" in AN UNFORGETTABLE ROGUE, so this story can stand alone or be thoroughly enjoyed as part of the series.  Ashford Blackburn, the Earl of Blackburn, makes an appearance and tells us that he must have a wife immediately, so we are assured of another "Rogue" having his story told in the near future.  Betty Cox

Romantic Times Book Club 

"Abandoned as a child and raised in a French nunnery, Chastity Somers marries to escape.  widowed, she arrives in England to claim her husband's family estate and establish a home for abandoned children.  With no proof of her husband's claim, the estate will go to the solicitor's charity of choice in three months.  Chastity has until then to accomplish her mission and prove her good morals.

Reed Gilbride, also abandoned as a child, lays claim to the same estate but must find proof somewhere in the house before the three-month deadline.  Chastity and Reed first meet in London when she illegally rescues four children from a workhouse.  While Reed doesn't like children, he's attracted to Chastity, whom he (at first) believes to be a nun.

Blair achieves an innovative mix of family frolic and period gothic that moves quickly into fast-paced romance.  There's plenty of believable sexual tension and a wonderful "Gift of the Magi"-style ending."  SENSUAL  Gerry Benninger

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