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Rating: 
Summary: the disdainful earl learns his lesson
Review: For the past 10 years, the Earl of Bradenstoke has been peppered with letters from Miss Alice Cherville, taking him to task for not having taken on his father's promise to be a guardian to the Cherville siblings. However, because the late earl never communicated to his son his agreement to accept this obligation, and because the late earl had left things so badly for his son, the current earl felt little compunction about declining to accept the responsibilities of guardianship for six children he had never met and knew nothing about. This of course did not sit well with Alice, and she has carried a grudge against the earl close to her heart ever since. Presently, the Chervilles are in London: Alice (an heiress in her own right) has decided that she and her sisters should enjoy a London season. And hopefully the sisters will be able to find prospective husbands that they will love and respect before the Season is done. The earl however has no idea that the Chervilles are in London. So that when he spies a stunning beauty at a masquerade at Vauxhall Gardens, he is surprised to be told that this beguiling young woman is the very same termagant who has been tormenting him with missives! The earl had long decided that Alice and her siblings were encroaching mushrooms eager to take advantage of all the social cachet that the earl could offer them. And so, in the spirit of devilry, the earl decides to masquerade as his half-brother, Mr. Pinfrith, in order to play a trick on Alice. He spins her a tale of woe, and steals a couple of kisses. The laugh however, the earl discovers to his chagrin, is on him. For unexpectedly, he finds that he has lost his heart to the enchanting Alice. Alice, however makes it only all to clear that she prefers the Mr. Pinfrith (or the man whom she thinks is Pinfrith) to the disdainful earl. Can the earl persuade Alice to change her mind about him, and so give him a chance to win her heart? "A Rogue's Deception" was a rather light hearted Regency that takes place in London, and that uses the hustle and bustle of the London season as it's backdrop. While the main storyline follows the earl's courtship of Alice, there are also several other minor subplots involving the other Cherville women as they themselves seek out their perfect mate. Valerie King has written a very tight, smoothly paced and incredibly warm hearted romance novel. The pages fairly exudes all the affection and love that the Cherville siblings have for each other. King also does a very neat job of depicting the earl's tumultuous feelings for Alice -- feeling powerfully drawn to Alice, and yet not really wanting to acknowledge the depth of his feelings for her. However I couldn't get over his refusal to act as guardian to the Cherville children all those years ago. And that is partly because King doesn't go into that issue very much. For example, who ended up being the their legal guardian of the Chervilles? Surely not their woolly minded aunt? Given that Alice, the eldest Cherville child, was only 15 at the time of their parents' death, the earl's refusal to act for them could have been a very serious issue indeed. How did the Chervilles manage to go on all those years as one happy family in spite of their lack of a legal guardian? These questions kind of niggled at me, even as I surrendered myself of enjoying this warm and (at times) rather funny novel. All in all "A Rogue's Deception" was a rather enjoyable and warm hearted read. There were several rather funny bits in the novel, lots of romance and a sword fighting scene that was definitely out of the ordinary. Great fun.
Rating: 
Summary: unrealized potential
Review: I really wanted to like this book more than I did. But, the hero is a rogue of the worst kind for some time, the heroine is both too good to be true and too naive, historical innacuracies pull the reader out of the story, and King's style can become too sentimental and repetitious. King's style tries to be reminiscent of Jane Austen, but often feels forced and sounds trite. Plot elements often fail to become fully realized, especially as to their effects. A smile and a smoothly delivered line cannot end all potential scandal. King does, however, have a good handle on the seesaw type of relationship that permeates romance books. The too pat, but still entertaining fates of the heroine's sisters are also noteworthy. The villain was adroitly handled, and this heroine is one who can certainly stand on her own. Great potential in this book; I just wish it had been executed with greater care. Enjoyable, but hardly exceptional.
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