Book Review #youweremadetobemine #julieannelong #netgalley #bookreview
This fifth installment in Julie Anne Long's Palace of Rogues series is an intriguing, slow burn romance with heavy found family aspects and a strong cast of characters. I really enjoyed this novel and am absolutely adoring this series. Long has a way of building a rich world and community in her series, I love that her novels all seem to belong to the same expansive world and that Long provides the reader with constant glimpses into past characters. I will say that even though you can read this novel as a standalone it definitely holds more meaning and interest if you read the books in order because you will have a much stronger understanding of past characters which do still have a strong presents in this new romance. Long's writing is well paced and is very entertaining as the plot weaves around our hero and heroine and slowly draws them together and into each other's sphere.
Hawkes, a former British spymaster, is tasked at the start of the novel with finding an earl's missing fiance. Hawkes is destitute so when the desperate earl needs his help he overlooks past transgressions in hopes to find further proof of the earl' s treason. Lady Aurelie flees her only home after the devastating shattering of her dreams (content note for rape) and finds refuge with and alias at the Grand Palace on the Thames when she is welcomed with kindness and understanding. Soon Hawkes and Aurelie find themselves in each other's obit, with fake identities, very intrigued by the other and slowly unmasking each other's secrets.
This novel is truly a slow burn with lots of moving parts in the plot that feature characters outside of our main romantic couple. And even though Aurelie and Hawkes do not officially meet until about a third of the way into the story, I found that Long was able to easily draw me into the plot and I was interested in learning how the outside plot around our main hero and heroine would play out. I found that as soon as Aurelie and Hawkes meet and are on the page together that they have a really lovely instant chemistry. It is as if both their souls recognize a truth in the other and through this they slowly open themselves up. I love that as their secrets are slowly revealed that neither judges the other for the decisions they have made. They both have an understanding of the other that runs deep and true which leaves them open to listening and understanding. I love that they have an inherit trust with the other which means they never have to have a falling out with each other, they see the other for their strengths and they have faith in the other to make the right decision.
The Palace on the Thames is a place of refuge, hope, understanding and found family. This novel is a charming addition to the palace's story. I would very much recommend this series in order to truly respect the work and world building that Julie Anne Long is doing, and I am so looking forward to the next chapter in this series!
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.