The Last Rogue

Fans of Connie Mason will enjoy her latest book in her Rogue Series, THE LAST ROGUE. It continues in the same vein as the others, with a randy hero, Lucas Viscount Westmore who has sworn himself off sex and women after a bad experience with his last lover who turns up dead after trying to trap him into marriage due to her pregnancy with another man who appears to have abandoned her. He removes himself from English Society and retreats to a small village in Cornwall. There he meets the aptly named Bliss Hartley. Her beauty tempts him and his sworn celibacy quickly becomes a bane he must endure. The close lipped villagers are very protective of Bliss Hartley and her mysterious goings- on and soon set off warning bells for Luc when he realizes there is smuggling activities at work here and a mysterious person named Shadow is their ring leader. He realizes Bliss is involved and wants to protect her from the dangerous repercussions should she be caught. Claiming her as his fiancée they soon marry and return to England. While someone is plotting to kill Lucas Bliss is called back to her village home where she is soon enveloped again in the snuggling intrigue. Connie Mason continues to weave fun, sexy and sensual books that are geared towards the historical romance reader fan that enjoys a good reading romp. As with her others in this series, this is sure to please and is a lot of fun to read. Tara Green

Luc, Viscount of Westmore, a notrious rake, is in self imposed exile in St Ives, Cornwall, after the death of one of his mistresses who jumped into the River Thames. He blames himself for her death and has decided to remain celibate in the remote corner of Cornwall for one year. In St Ives he sees a mysterious beauty on the edge of a cliff. He believes that she will jump into sea so grabs to save her. He discovers that she is in fact Bliss Hartley, the daughter of squire of St Ives. There is a conspiracy going in St Ives and Luc discovers that the whole village is involved in a smuggling operation including Bliss who he finds himself attracted to. He is more than tempted to break his 1 year vow of celibacy. The villagers are betrayed by a person who has informed the authorities of the smuggling operation. Bliss is arrested and Luc then saves her by covering up all the evidence. He also marries her and whisks her off to London. However, Luc cannot promise Bliss that he will change his ways and remain faithful to her. In London Luc finds that he is a target of someone who wishes him dead. But who is this mysterious enemy who tries time and time again to end his life? This was a run of the mill regency romance of reformed rake who falls for a beautiful innocent. There are some action and suspense scenes in the form of the smuggling operations. It was a good read but nothing exceptional. Although the love scenes between Luc and Bliss were hot and numerous. Lea Ling Tsang

In 1820 Viscount Lucas Westmore is about to pull out of Lady Sybil Roxbury, but she tightens and holds him in place. He is unable to remove himself and releases his seed inside her. Afterward Luke realizes that Sybil is already pregnant and trying to pass the unborn off as his. He tells her he will not marry her, but promises to find her a spouse. Two days later, the London Times announces that Sybil is dead an apparent suicide. Filled with remorse, the rake vows to give up sex. He leaves London for exile in St. Ives on the Cornish coast.During his nocturnal wanderings to escape from the guilt that erodes his soul, he observes a smuggling operation headed by the Shadow. Finding a reason to live, he makes inquiries, but the villagers say nothing. Still he concludes that the squire's daughter Bliss Hartley is the Shadow. He saves her life by informing the excise men that she is his fiancée. They marry mostly out of his failure to help Sybil, but love begins to blossom until an unknown person tries to kill Luc and someone else has taken on her former identity of the Shadow.The latest Rogue regency romance is a delightful charmer starring two fabulous protagonists. Luc is an honorable person trying to do the right thing though his lament over failing Sybil seems an unfair self condemnation. Bliss is typical of many of the sub-genre heroines as she is courageous, independent, and performs an occupation that most men would fear to try. Together they make a fierce team for their enemies to cope with but a fabulous read for fans of Connie Mason.Harriet Klausner

Viscount Lucas "Luc" Westmore was the last man known to see Lady Sybil alive. Sybil had tried to entrap Luc into marriage and failed. She desperately admitted to being pregnant by a married man and need to wed quickly. Lucas promised to help her find a husband within the next two weeks. However, only two days later Sybil was found dead in the Thames, seemingly by suicide. Filled with remorse, Lucas made a vow of celibacy to last for one year. He left London for Cornwall, the small village of St. Ives, and found himself in the middle of smugglers. Bliss Hartley was the daughter of a squire. Her father was ill and Bliss, along with everyone else in the village, turned to smuggling for money. She only wanted to make enough to take her father to a specialist in London. But there was a traitor within the smugglers ranks. I must skip much here. The author has placed many surprises in this little village for her readers. To tell any more would give SO MUCH away. Therefore, let us fast forward. Bliss and Luc marry and return to London. It became obvious that the talk of Lady Sybil's death had not yet ceased. Bliss was faced with trusting her husband, though he still kept a few secrets from her and had bluntly informed her not to expect him to remain faithful to her. Lucas did not believe he was in love with Bliss and kept trying to put distance between them. ***** I did NOT want to see this series end. Each Rogue's story has touched my heart, but this one even more so than the others. Bliss and Lucas are so well matched. I would say that I will miss them, but I know I will be rereading this story again very soon. All three in this series have been placed on my "Keeper" shelf. The author, Connie Mason, has proven that she is a gifted story teller, especially in the Regency era. Word has it that the author's next release will be in November 2004, titled "THE PIRATE PRINCE". Though it will not be set in London, (Perhaps the author can be persuaded to return to London again in the near future.) I look forward to the next adventure. Highly recommended reading once again! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.