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Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: June 28, 2022
Synopsis
The mission: Find the Earl of Brundage’s runaway fiancee in exchange for a fortune. Child’s play for legendary British former spymaster, Christian Hawkes. The catch? Hawkes knows in his bones that Brundage is the traitor to England who landed him in a brutal French prison. Hawkes is destitute, the earl is desperate, and a bargain is struck.
Fleeing a savagely shattered dream, the sheltered Lady Aurelie Capet finds refuge in an alias and the warmth and kindness of the Grand Palace on the Thames—until a gorgeous, mysterious disturbance to her peace literally topples through the door.
An unexpected, fierce desire that feels destined, dangerous—and devastatingly sweet—ignites between the sheltered beauty and the jaded spy, and as they slowly unravel each other’s shocking secrets Hawkes closes in on the truth about the earl. Soon it’s clear they can have no future without vanquishing the past: Hawkes knows that loving her means avenging her. Aurelie knows that loving Hawkes means freeing him to do that, no matter the cost.
Review
*I voluntarily read and listened to a review copy of this book*
I have loved each of the books in the Palace of Rogues series and You Were Made to Be Mine was no different! The book checked off so many of my boxes and I think Aurelie and Christian’s story is my second favorite of the series. (I just love Tristan and Delilah’s story so much that Lady Derring Takes a Lover will forever be number one for me.) Please note: some aspects of the story might be triggering for readers, so please check the content warnings prior to starting.
Things to look forward to:
– Tropes like: age gap (MMC is 35 and FMC is 21), forced proximity, hidden identities, caretaker, only one bed
– I loved seeing Aurelie grow and become more confident as the book progressed. She has endured and risked so much for the chance at a better life and I really respected her grit and perseverance. Yes, she made some bad choices along the way, but given her history and level of desperation, it was understandable.
– Christian Hawkes. This starchy and clever spymaster was primed for quite the fall from the start and boy did Julie Anne Long deliver! I’m a sucker for the strong silent types, and though some of his tactics were questionable, his devotion and sense of honor were not. I did feel that his revenge/the mystery subplot overshadowed the romance a bit, but seeing Brundage get his comeuppance was very satisfying.
– Wonderful cameos from previous characters. I will always love Tristan and Delilah and there’s quite an emotional and tender scene between them in the book (as well as one featuring Lucien and Angelique). I think the author provided enough context and backstory that readers who haven’t read the previous books won’t be too lost, but I can understand the number of characters referenced and their substantial cameos might be a bit overwhelming.
I both listened to the audiobook and read the ebook of You Were Made to Be Mine and Justine Eyre’s performance was wonderful. She truly elevates the story with her superb narration and I definitely recommend experiencing this series on audio! I’m still hoping that we’ll get a book for Dot before this series is over *fingers crossed*
Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 4.5 stars
CW: sexual assault and rape (past), death of family members (past), treason, money laundering, MMC was imprisoned for 3 years after being betrayed, attempted robbery, stabbing, PTSD
Purchase You Were Made to Be Mine by Julie Anne Long here.
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