I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When You Wish Upon A Rogue, by Anna Bennett, is available at booksellers on 5-26-20. Wish is book 3 in Ms Bennett's Debutante Diaries series. I've given this story a rare, for me, five stars. I actually cried. Darn Ms Bennett, she made me cry. I liked the characters and became involved in their journey and HEA. More than that though, I loved the story line. Love, loss, heartbreak, sorrow, depression, PTSD. So many emotions beyond the usual romance fare. While the heroine, Sophie, is lovely, brave and loves her family & friends, she's not the main character. Reese, our hero, is the one who will truly break your heart. I rooted for him and was pleased when he finally came through. An imperfect hero, how perfect.

#AnnaBennett #Netgalley #DebutanteDiaries #StMartin'sPaperbacks #historicalromance #romance ( )

I love a good Regency romance. Actually, I love to read everything so my tastes are all over the place. But a Regency romance fitted in between the thrillers and mysteries and biographies and war novels provides the perfect escape to a world where you can’t help but fall in love with the characters – even if they are rogues or scoundrels to begin with – and where you can’t turn the pages fast enough to get to that happy-ever-after ending, but at the same time want to stay in this world with these people forever.

When You Wish Upon a Rogue is the third entry in author Anna Bennett’s Debutante Diaries series, but it’s the first one I’ve read and it was just fine as a standalone. It’s sweet and delightful and will make you smile. It’s fast paced and deliberate at the same time, if that makes sense, giving you rich detail about the setting and characters so you feel you know them well and are right at home with them and feel their anxiety and pain. Reese is irresistible – tragic, grumpy, sad but a romantic at heart. Just what Sophie needs and wants in her heart of hearts. Except she’s already almost promised to another and Reese can’t have her. Even if he was suitable, which he is not. He’s definitely not a society favorite.

Another joy about reading a Regency romance is that you get to visit a time and place where women are constrained, restrained, and bossed around, but our heroine is generally strong willed, determined, adventurous and perseveres. We get to spend time in that place so different from our own, glad we’re not her and oh so happy for her victory in the end.

Sophie and Reese and all the supporting characters are rich and full and engaging, even if some of them are villains. Thanks to St. Martin’s for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed When You Wish Upon a Rogue and recommend it without hesitation. I can’t wait to read the next story in the series and go back and catch up with what I’ve missed. ( )

Series: Debutante Diaries #3
Publication Date: 5/26/20
Number of Pages: 320

Sophie Kendall is the last unmarried member of the original group of friends who agreed to keep diaries sharing their experiences of their seasons. Her friends Fiona (First Earl I See Tonight) and Lily (The Duke Is But a Dream) have both found love and marriage, but that doesn’t appear to be an option for Sophie. Her family is on the brink of destitution, and they expect her to marry Charles, a wealthy marquess who has agreed to pay her father’s debts in return for her hand in marriage. The bright spot in her life is the weekly meetings of Debutante Underground, but she knows she’ll have to sacrifice that as well as love in order to save her family.

Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, is a wretched and troubled man. Plagued with nightmares from deep-seated feelings of guilt and remorse. It seems he was never where he needed to be in order to save the people he loved. He goes for days on end without sleep, and when he does sleep, he has soul-deep nightmares. Then, quite by chance, he meets a young woman who calms the beast in his soul, and that allows him a few hours of good sleep. She left him some of the valerian roots she used to make the tea – and he’s tried it – but the tea doesn’t do it. It had to be something about the woman herself that calms him.

Henry seeks Sophie out and asks her to help him sleep again. She doesn’t buy it at first, but finally agrees – and they set up a regular Friday meeting to help Henry sleep. As they spend time together, they begin to care for each other – but they know their time together will end soon. Sophie’s family is waiting for her and Charles to officially announce their engagement. How can they save her family and still be together? You’ll just have to read the book – but expect lots of lovely romance, some surprising revelations, and a delightful twist before they finally get their HEA.

This is a nicely written book with lovely characters. I particularly liked Henry who was grumpy and curmudgeonly – until he wasn’t. Then he was such a lovely, romantic man – you’ll fall in love with him yourself!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. When You Wish Upon A Rogue is the third book in Anna Bennett’s series The Debutante Diaries. This book could be read as a stand-alone as the author does an excellent job of filling in the background details, but I think you would enjoy it even more if you’ve read the first two books. Sophie Kendall’s parents have arranged a marriage for her to save the family from financial ruin. She’s accepted that this is her fate until a chance encounter with Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, leads to a friendship and then something more. Henry Reese was never meant to be the Earl, the accidental death of the older brother he’d worshipped has left him with a tangled mess of an inheritance, uncertain finances and the deaths of his fellow soldiers shortly after his departure from the front has him afraid to fall asleep because of the nightmares that haunt his dreams. Spending time with Sophie is the only thing that gives him peace, but he can’t solve her family's financial problems, and all looks bleak for them. I enjoyed reading their story very much and do recommend this book and the first two books in the series. They feature strong heroines and heroes who appreciate their strengths. Medium Steam. Publishing Date May 26, 2020. #WhenYouWishUponARogue #AnnaBennett #NetGalley #HistoricalRomance #StMartinsPress #bookstagram ( )

Full Review appeared at Reader's Edyn on 03/23/20

Sophie has never felt like she has found her true calling. She is extraordinarily gifted with plants of all varieties, but she feels there is something else she should be doing. Sure, as part of the trio that makes up the Debutante’s Revenge, she aids in pairing the perfect drawings with the words written for each column. But it isn’t until she starts the Debutante Underground – a non-judgmental space where fans of the column can come together to discuss the weekly paragraphs of advice - that she begins to feel like she has purpose. Having outgrown their small space, Sophie is in search of a new place to use for their secret meetings. When she bumps into Reese, she finds a new calling of sorts and before too long strikes up a bargain with him that quickly has her entire being – heart, body, and soul on the line. Despite Sophie’s yearning for the troubled Earl, she is plagued with the burden of responsibility to dig her family out of a deep hole. Sophie has to marry one not of her choosing despite her heart belonging to Reese or risk her family’s ruin. Never mind that the ruin is not of her doing in any way. Ever the dutiful daughter, she will bear her burden with her shoulders held high no matter how much she wishes she could abandon her fate for her own happiness with Reese. Consequently, she determines to take what she can until her life is no longer her own.

Reese is having none of it. Sophie unexpectedly appeared in his life and brings a sense of calm where heretofore only demons and darkness raged. He struggles when she is away but focuses on their next meeting and the tasks she outlines for his beguiling garden. He was playing dirty when he lured her in with the unkempt thing, overrun by weeds and years of neglect, but he knew her love of nature and took a chance with which to lure her into his bargain. Now that he’s got her, he isn’t sure he can ever let her go. Losing her means succumbing to the demons within once again. It will be a point of no return if he is drawn back into the horrific gloom; an oppression he won’t be able to claw back from once consumed. Anxious to keep her from the clutches of another, even knowing she could do better than himself, he places his trust in their love. Knowing that allowing her to walk away might be the worst decision ever, he permits it, having no other choice at the time. When a threat to Sophie unexpectedly rears its ugly head, it turns out to be the Hail Mary he was desperately seeking and could be the one thing that allows him to make Sophie his in every possible way. Forever. But first, he will have to enlist a bit of aid from a couple of mischievous, former debutantes.

I know that this series is meant to be a trilogy … but please allow another book. I have no idea how it could occur – possibly through Delilah in the subsequent story – but I would love more time with these fantastic characters! I don’t want it to be over! Ms. Bennett has created a world in which a reader can happily and willingly immerse themselves into. A theme that carried over from book to book was the troubled, nearly broken, brooding men who lacked only the love of a fiercely loyal woman, entrusted to protect their hearts. While the men are dark and afflicted with their own personal tragedy, the women are their polar opposites – bright, accepting, and healing with their optimistic views, assessing the world in ways completely different from their men who have nearly been undone by it. The case was the same in this book. But rather than Sophie repairing Reese’s damage, Reese equally repaired Sophie’s pains and insecurities. Each allows the other to embrace who they truly are, growing to their full potential and never condemning one another for past misdeeds. I adored how Ms. Bennett acknowledged PTSD in a time where nothing of the sort was recognized and certainly not spoken aloud. Likewise, how Sophie's talented green thumb is instrumental in initially bringing Reese around. Ms. Bennett played to Sophie’s strengths that we saw in each of the previous books even though Sophie herself had yet to identify such traits as empowering. Reese, true to form, believes he is no good for Sophie and could never give her the life she deserves. But Reese is a bit quicker on the uptake than in the previous installments in the series. He recognizes his need for Sophie rather early on and isn’t afraid to express it. She is the one who balks despite confirming her own affection, given the dire state of her family’s affairs. Also wonderfully constructed was Reese’s garden which Sophie soon discovers to be a tribute of sorts to the Underworld. I wish I could see something like this in real life. It was an absolutely marvelous addition and appropriate given Sophie’s entanglement with her own Underground and the darkness Reece is desperately trying to escape.

I would like to point out that Sophie being forced to dig her family out of their appalling situation is utter garbage. Not to mention it would have been a temporary fix given her father’s habits. Sell your soul and end up right back where you started or worse. *sigh* That was my estimation of the inexcusable situation. And I get her sister being sickly, but dang did I ever want to slap that entitled brat’s face right off the pages. Good grief! However, I absolutely loved the outcome of everything once it was all said and done. Well played, yet again Ms. Bennett. And what’s a Debutante Diary book without more from the fabulous debutantes? Things have been progressing nicely with the column and the trio of friends have been quite accustomed to their routine of sketching, advising, and pairing together in secret. With the addition of the Underground, they also have insight into the thoughts and feedback of their readers as well as what advice they want to hear next. With Sophie’s identity protected, she is free to bring the musings back to Fiona and Lily each week. But the column has been a source of controversy lately. While this isn’t specifically anything new to the women, some naysayers are now speaking of leading a revolt of sorts to end the column once and for all. The question then remains as to how to respond. Reply in a way in which to head off controversy or embrace it and effectively tell the opposers to kick rocks. And might I say their response is nothing short of brilliant!

Getting to revisit with the previous cast was especially appreciated as I had formed an attachment to them all. I particularly loved the mention of Lily’s desk – “a gift from her besotted Duke” – as it immediately took me back to the scene in which she was gifted said desk. 😉 If the sensuality in the first two books was blazing, this latest addition will put them both to shame. Sophie insists on a no contact rule, knowing her power to resist Reese will crumble with the slightest touch. Understanding exactly her intent because he is very much in the same boat, they get a bit creative with their “contact”. Be prepared for some steamy sensual encounters. *fans self* If this is to be my last encounter with the delightful debutantes I have come to adore, then the series couldn’t have ended any better. Ms. Bennett keeps the engagement flowing from start to finish in all the books, not just this one. Never stalling, always in motion. The clever wit and relatable characters bring this series to life in a most appealing way. And through it all the same theme remains. Family is what we make of it whether through friendship, blood, or love. No matter what you endure in life – whether joyous or gut-wrenching – that kind of family can always be counted on to share your successes and failures, to support you no matter what the circumstances, and to always be there through thick and thin. Above all, Fiona, Lily and Sophie created a family just as described, which later extended to include Gray, Nash, and Reese. Love will always prevail. Those who treasure Historical HEAs are sure to become enchanted with these inspiring characters in no time at all. Packed full of brooding males, inspiring women, twists and turns, and scorching hot romantic interludes, I know I was. I only wish I had more time to spend within the series of the insightful (if a bit wicked) Debutante Diaries.

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. ( )