3.3 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

To save the woman he loved, he would have to give her up.

A Rogue at Stonecliffe stars two characters that were introduced in the first of the series, An Affair at Stonecliffe. While you'd be a little lost understanding some family and friendship dynamics, I do think you could jump into the series here. Annabeth and Sloane were two characters that instantly caught my attention when I was reading the first. Annabeth the quieter friend and Sloane the black sheep cousin, and when it was hinted at that these two had a past, I was highly anticipating their book. I was locked into the beginning of this with a prologue that showed these two madly in love, only to have it come to a screeching halt when Sloane is approached by a spymaster for England's foreign office and blackmailed to become a spy and smuggler. Turns out that Annabeth's father has been dealing with his own blackmail and is in danger of being outed as a turncoat, giving English secrets to the French. Sloane, not wanting Annabeth to have to reap the emotional and societal repercussions of having her father revealed as a traitor, breaks off their engagement and leaves to go be a spy in the war.

“I didn't lie to you.” His eyes burned into hers, and he moved closer.

Twelve years go by and Sloane's looked down in society as a smuggler and traitor to England, so even though the war is over and he's made money, he still stays away from Annabeth. If you read the first, you'll remember that Annabeth finally agreed to become engaged to her childhood friend Nathan when he was on his deathbed. When she starts cleaning out the home her father left her in his will for them to move into after they're married, it stirs up a hornet's nest. Like I said, I loved the beginning of this, with seeing how happy and in love Annabeth and Sloane were to the heartbreaking decision Sloane had to make to not tell Annabeth why he was abruptly leaving her. When these two finally talked after the twelve years separation, you could feel the love and hurt. It was teeth gritting emotion that I anticipated burning up the pages but the story took a little bit of a pivot with concentrating more on the spy mystery.

He'd been chasing the wrong villain.

Annabeth gets kidnapped with her maid and when Nathan goes to Sloane, thinking he's behind it, it alerts Sloane to the danger Annabeth is now in. Sloane realizes that Annabeth's maid is really an old spy buddy he worked with during the war, Verity. Verity was hired by a P.I. to find a document that was supposedly written by Annabeth's father outing, not only himself as a traitor, but the person that blackmailed him into committing his acts and is a traitor themselves and one the foreign office has been searching for. The plot pulls in the spymaster Sloane and Verity worked for and some of Annabeth's family and friends as they become redherrings, along with Annabeth's grandmother and her not to be messed with pug readers will remember from the first. The mystery plot gets a bit loose with having to search out puzzle boxes Annabeth's father made and hoping the document is in one of them and they begin to travel around sort of searching for them. Really though, it's to deliver the forced proximity for our second chance couple.

Was it because she wanted to prove that she could resist Sloane? Or because she wanted to give into the temptation?

I thought this couple had the chemistry in the beginning and the potential for amazing explosive emotion to revel in throughout the story and when they were together and focusing on their issues, I did feel pulled back in but the mystery just takes over too much in the second half. It gave the story kind of an uneven pace, heating up when Annabeth and Sloane focus on them and then slowing when the mystery plot dragged out too much with it's going in circles. There was also too much stagnated repetitiveness with some of the relationship, I wanted Annabeth and Sloane to get into it earlier and develop from there instead of saying some of the same stuff over and over.

Sloane was not the boy she had loved. But she had the uneasy feeling that she was falling in love with the man he'd become.

I did enjoy how Annabeth's character did show some growth, she realizes that she has just been letting other people dictate her life, she didn't fight for Sloane when he first left her. I liked how this had Annabeth taking more agency at the end and fired up her character. I'm not sure I saw the same in Sloane, he has some of that self-righteousness attitude, saying he left and took all the blame when he was trying to protect Annabeth but gets called out on it some when it becomes clear he never truly felt good enough for her and was always waiting for the other shoe to drop in their beginning relationship. I would have liked Sloane to show more actionable want for Annabeth at the end, that we got glimpses of in the beginning.

A groan sounded deep in his throat and he turned, setting her on the dresser, sweeping away the objects atop it and sending them tumbling to the floor.

The ending reveal of who was behind the traitorous deeds was somewhat predictable but delivered with some last second danger. I was a little disappointed in how quickly and a bit ho-hum, with the oft used, “she almost died!” so now I'm going to go for her declaration of love we got from Sloane at the very end. I wanted a bit more of the beginning's teeth gritting emotion instead of the focus on the spy mystery but I still think this was a couple that people will enjoy reading about. ( )

Good combination of second chance romance and spy story. The book opened twelve years before the main story. Sloane and Annabeth are teenagers in the throes of first love. They are full of plans for their future, including marriage, as soon as Annabeth is old enough. But fate has other plans for them. Sloane is approached by a man who tells him that Annabeth's father is selling secrets to the French. He promises Sloane he won't turn in her father if Sloane goes to work for him as a spy and smuggler. Sloane will do anything to protect Annabeth from the scandal of having a traitor for a father, so he agrees. But he can't tell Annabeth why he's leaving, so he just disappears.

Sloane is back in London twelve years later, his spying days behind him. He's turned his smuggling into a successful business, but rumors that he was spying for the French have made him a social pariah. He avoids society whenever possible and doesn't care about their opinion of him. When he gets word that Annabeth is in danger because of either his or her father's actions, Sloane is determined to protect her. The trouble is Annabeth wants nothing to do with him or his protection.

Sloane's abandonment devastated Annabeth, and it took her years to put him behind her. She's engaged to Nathan, a good man she can depend on. Their relationship may lack the fire of her time with Sloane, but passion isn't everything. She's furious when he reappears in her life, claiming she's in danger and trying to get her to leave London. But when she is kidnapped and only escapes with the help of her maid (who isn't really a maid), she agrees that she needs help.

I loved that Annabeth wouldn't sit back and be taken care of. The news that she is in danger because someone wants one of her father's papers has her determined to be involved in finding the paper. Sloane walks a fine line between truth and deception, keeping what is in that paper a secret. There's plenty of action as he and Annabeth travel all over while attempting to find the missing document. It doesn't take long for their old feelings to come back to life, but Annabeth isn't sure she's ready to trust Sloane with her heart again. It doesn't help that she's certain he's still keeping secrets, and his lack of trust feels like another betrayal.

I liked seeing the changes in Sloane and Annabeth. She is no longer the naïve teenager who believes love is all she needs. Her strength, determination, and resourcefulness amaze Sloane. At the same time, Annabeth can see that Sloane is just as charming as ever and more confident than he was as a boy. Both need to let go of their past hurts and bitterness before they can look to a future together. And to do that, they must learn to trust each other. It wasn't easy, but the emotional clearing of the air gave me hope for a bright future for them.

The suspense of the story was well done. I was glued to the pages through each step of the search. Some intriguing twists kept Annabeth and Sloane on their toes. As the story progressed, I got the feeling that there was more to the missing paper than they knew. The final confrontation had me on the edge of my seat until it was resolved, and the bad guy was caught in his own web.

As is usual with the author's books, the secondary characters play critical roles in the story. Annabeth's fiancé, Nathan, is a nice guy, and I felt bad for him once Sloane reappeared on the scene. Not only does he do the right thing, but he also becomes an active participant in resolving the mystery. Also involved is Verity, a former spy partner of Sloane's. She is bold, beautiful, and extremely good at what she does. The antagonism between her and Nathan is hilarious, and the sparks of attraction leap off the page. It looks like they will be the main characters in the next book, and I can't wait to read it. I also adored Annabeth's grandmother, Lady Lockwood. She is a hoot to watch as she keeps everyone in line.

#netgalley ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this story as I do most stories written by this author. Secrets, in real life or fiction, annoy me because they cause more pain than they alleviate. They are, however, a part of both real life and fiction. The secret in this book caused a massive amount of pain for both the keeper of the secret and the one the secret was supposed to shield.

Twelve years before the time this story takes place, Annabeth Winfield and Sloane Rutherford were totally, completely, indelibly in love. Though they were both still teenagers, they wanted to marry as soon as she reached her majority. While both families were equals in social standing, Sloane always felt inferior because of his father's wastrel ways. That, of course, didn’t keep him from loving Annabeth with his entire being – and he would do anything or give up anything to protect her – or would he? Annabeth certainly didn’t feel protected or loved when Sloane gave her up and left to become a smuggler and a spy for the French.

Now, the war is over and Sloane is back. He’s wealthy, still charming and handsome – and also a social pariah because of spying for the French. He knows he cannot rekindle his relationship with Annabeth, but he can protect her from the danger she is now in. Or can he? Will she allow it? She wants nothing to do with the man who broke her heart and ruined her life. Her family, and particularly her betrothed, certainly don’t want him around her in any respect. Can they keep her safe without him?

It was delightful to see how Sloane and Annabeth had grown and matured from those two bright-eyed teenagers who were so in love. Annabeth’s strength, resilience, and resourcefulness amazed Sloane. It was lovely to see the now-grown adults they now are, find their way through the bitterness and unhappiness to a mature relationship.

I enjoyed the two main characters, of course, but I also loved the supporting characters. The crotchety grandmother, Lady Lockwood, will make you snicker. She takes no prisoners and doesn’t suffer fools. Nathan, Annabeth’s betrothed, is a sweet and gentle man you will adore – and we’ll see more of him in the next book. Verity, one of Sloane’s former spy partners, is enigmatic and puzzling – and we’ll see more of her in the next book as well.

We have a book with spies, betrayals, traitors, danger, excitement, road trips, and an epic love story -- what is not to love? I recommend the story and hope you will love it if you choose to read it. For me though, it just didn’t feel completely finished. It begged for an epilogue with a wedding. Why? Well – we’d already been to the point where they were in love and going to marry – and look what happened. So, for me to feel comfortable – as if they really had their lasting HEA – I needed a wedding – and maybe a baby on the way or something.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )