Notorious, handsome, and decadent, the Lords of Vice prowl the glittering ballrooms of Regency London— breaking rules and hearts with equal aplomb. But even the wildest rogue must eventually meet his match…

Seduce Lady Juliana Ivers and then cast her aside: Those are his sister’s instructions. Alexius Braverton, Marquess of Sinclair—known as Sin to theton—is happy enough to oblige, especially when he catches a glimpse of his target. Juliana is completely unlike the empty-headed chits who barely hold his attention for a week. A true gentleman would leave her to find a worthy suitor. But then, a Lord of Vice would never claim to be a gentleman.

Juliana is expected to marry well to improve her family’s finances, even if she secretly longs to make a living through her musical compositions. A dalliance can only complicate matters, though not even practical Juliana can help succumbing to the aptly named Sin. But one unforgettable night will draw her into a scandalous affair—and a seduction begun as sport will soon become deliciously, dangerously real…

All Night With a Rogue by Alexandra Hawkins (Lords of Vice #1)
February 2, 2010
Historical Romance
Paperback, 320 Pages
St. Martin’s
Reviewed by Mandi

Alexius Lothar Braverton, Marquess of Sinclair, aka “Sin” to his friends is having a grand ‘ole time in the dark of the garden, with a lady on her knees in front of him. That is until he looks up and sees Lady Juliana Ivers sitting in a tree above him, utterly embarrassed she is witnessing this scene. Ironically, Juliana is in the tree because she needed to escape a pursuer who probably had the same thing on his mind. Sin discreetly get his lady friend to disappear, for he is very intrigued by the gorgeous woman who is stuck in the tree. Sin finds many women beautiful – he has lived his life using women and discarding them just as easily. He grew with a very cold hearted father and Sin has not had a life where the word love is used.

Sin is not alone in his rakish ways. His friends has created the Lord’s of Vice club – seven members who enjoy women, alcohol and gaming. Sin is accompanied by Reign, Dare, Vane, Frost, Saint and Hunter. The first floor of the house is used as a club for guests and possible new members. Upstairs, the Lords of Vice are able to get away from society and partake in their gambling, drinking and let’s not forget women, in private.

Juliana’s father passed away with many gaming debts and her family’s estate got passed down to a distant cousin, Lord Duncombe. Although he has reversed the family fortune, he wants nothing to do with Juliana, her mother and two sisters and they are living at the mercy of him. Juliana’s mother also has a gambling problem, and when her debts exceed what she can pay and Lord Duncombe refuses to help, her only option is to pawn off her daughter to the highest bidder.

For as cold as Sin is, there is something about Juliana that breaks through to his heart just a bit. There is an attraction that first night that he cannot deny. Juliana has caught the eye of Sin’s half-sister, Belinda as well. Juliana has a friendship with Lord Kyd, a man Belinda has feelings for. She feels very threatened by this relationship and wants Kyd for herself. Belinda proposes a bet – Sin needs to use his charms to seduce Juliana so she will leave Kyd’s side, full well knowing Sin will toss Juliana to the curb when he so desires. Sin, being the rogue he is, accepts this challenge. However, when he learns that Juliana may be taken to cover her mother’s debt, Sin’s protectiveness goes on full alert. The ruse of his sister’s challenge becomes small compared to his true feelings for Juliana.

All Night With a Rogue is a book that has stuck with me since I read the last page. Alexandra Hawkins does a great job showing us why Sin, is a rogue. He definitely lives up to his name and is one of the more crueler, cold rogues I have read about. Halfway through the book I really doubted that Sin could be redeemed. I tend to lean more towards the colder, broken heroes in historical romances, because I love to see them break free of the ice. Is Sin redeemed? Yes, and I will get more into that in a minute. My biggest problem of the book is the author only tells us of the love affair between Sin and Juliana. Oh, we see the romantic encounters, and they are done in good detail, but they are as cold as Sin himself. It is only told to us that Juliana falls in love with him and they have a torrid love affair.

In fact the romance between these two are a little uncomfortable. It always felt like Sin is pushing Juliana to go farther. She is always resistant to his advances, however that does not stop him. Her body wants him, and in the end she is not regretful, but getting there, often she says no, or stop, and he continues until she lets go.

“We should stop.”
”Perhaps. Though it seems a tad cruel to leave me in this shameful predicament.” He slowly moved his hips against hers. In spite of her initial pain, her core was wet and accepting of his intrusion.
”Cruel?” She glared up at him. “I am cruel?”

After a night of passion, where Sin has to persuade Juliana to have sex with him, the very next page states, “Days passed into weeks as Juliana blissfully savored the private joy of being Sin’s lover.”

We went from a love scene where Juliana is very unsure of even wanting intercourse with a man, to the next page where they have had this wonderful love affair. We never get to see the eager, happy side of Juliana in bed with Sin. All we see is the nervous, unsure Juliana.

It is not until the last quarter of the book, where I feel all parties are redeemed. Sin becomes the hero as he is desperate to save Juliana from an awful fate imposed by her own mother. Even her mother is somewhat redeemed, where at first I found her a despicable person, even her sisters were annoying, at the end that annoyance turns to charming banter and had me giggling as they try to help Sin save Juliana.

After a rocky start, I will say All Night with a Rogue turned out to be an enjoyable read, and not only that but Sin and the other Lords of Vice have stuck with me. I find myself thinking about his character often – although I didn’t always buy into Juliana’s love for him, Sin himself is a very intriguing, dark, rake and I think many will find him appealing. The next book dives into Reign’s journey, and I am interested to see where we end up.

Rating: 3/5

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