carolesrandomlife

2/2/16: Free on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Know-Covent-Garden-Cubs-ebook/dp/B00W3WTUQI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1454439158&sr=1-1&keywords=the+rogue+you+know+shana+galen

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life

Another great installment in the Covent Garden Cubs series! I haven't read a whole lot of Shana Galen but I have really enjoyed each installment in this series. This book is part of a series but it could easily be read as a stand alone novel. There are characters in this story from earlier books but everything that you would need to enjoy this story is contained in this book. I wouldn't hesitate to grab this book even if you haven't read the previous installments.

I really liked this book even though my initial reaction was that it was a bit predictable. After giving it some thought, I have decided that being predictable isn't always such a bad thing, especially when it comes to historical romance. I like to read historical romances that are historically accurate so that adds some predictability to the equation. I am not an expert on this time period by any means but based on other books that I have it read, it did seem to be at least somewhat accurate. I also like to see a happy ending. I not only like it....I demand it. There is almost nothing worse that a romance novel that does not have a happy ending. I could have told you that the two main characters would end up with their own happily ever after before I read the first word. That means that during the entire book, I knew that they would overcome any problems because they had to end up together. You know what...it doesn't even matter because I enjoyed the journey. This is the kind of predictability that works for me. It is the little things that make a book a little different than the rest that makes all the difference.

I love the fact that this series is focused on a group of thieves. One of the main characters in this story, Gideon, is one of those thieves. It quickly becomes apparent that Gideon is really much more than a thief. He is really quite honorable and a genuinely good man who happens to be a thief simply because it is a means to survive. For me, Gideon was really the star of this book. I did like Lady Susanna more as the book progressed but at the beginning of the story she seemed overly spoiled and I have to admit that I wanted to slap her a couple of times. Of course, as the daughter of an Earl that would probably be quite realistic. I enjoyed the chemistry between Gideon and Susanna. I found that I really liked them as a couple and their willingness to sacrifice for each other was well-done.

I really liked the pacing of the story. There was a surprising amount of action for a historical romance which I think really sets this series apart from many others. The dog, Beauty, was fantastic and stole more than a few scenes. The dog was able to get the pair out of a couple of nearly impossible situations that did stretch the imagination a bit but I enjoyed every scene that featured Beauty. The balance between action, romance, and a bit of humor made this novel very enjoyable.

I would recommend this book to fans of historical romance. This is only the second full length book written by Shana Galen that I have read but I plan to continue reading works by this very talented author. I can't wait to see what else is going to happen in this series.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley for the purpose of providing an honest review.

Initial Thoughts
I liked this one but found it to be rather predictable. Still enjoyable