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Heartsick and desperate to return home to America, Georgina Anderson boards the Maiden Anne disguised as a cabin boy, never dreaming she'll be forced into intimate servitude at the whim of the ship's irrepressible captain, James Mallory.

The black sheep of a proud and tempestuous family, the handsome ex-pirate once swore no woman alive could entice him into matrimony. But on the high seas his resolve will be weakened by an unrestrained passion and by the high-spirited beauty whose love of freedom and adventure rivals his own.

Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE]
ACE #1

426 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1990

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About the author

Johanna Lindsey

167 books7,009 followers
Johanna Helen Howard was born on March 10, 1952 in Germany, where her father, Edwin Dennis Howard, a soldier in the U.S. Army was stationed. The family moved about a great deal when she was young. Her father always dreamed of retiring to Hawaii, and after he passed away in 1964 Johanna and her mother settled there to honor him.

In 1970, when she was still in school, she married Ralph Lindsey, becoming a young housewife. The marriage had three children; Alfred, Joseph and Garret, who already have made her a grandmother. After her husband's death, Johanna moved to Maine, New England, to stay near her family.

Johanna Lindsey wrote her first book, Captive Bride in 1977 "on a whim", and the book was a success. By 2006, with over 58 Million copies of her books have been sold worldwide, with translations appearing in 12 languages, Johanna Lindsey is one of the world's most popular authors of historical romance.

Johanna's books span the various eras of history, including books set in the Middle Ages, the American "Old West" and the popular Regency England-Scotland. She has even written a few sci-fi romances. By far the most popular among her books are the stories about the Malory-Anderson Family, a Regency England saga.

Johanna Lindsey died on Oct. 27, 2019 in Nashua, N.H. She was 67.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,136 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
4,377 reviews70.2k followers
August 5, 2024
This cover is Fabiolous, right?!
I. am. hilarious.

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I went into this knowing that it was an (almost) 20 year old romance about pirates, so I was prepared to give it some wiggle room for a lot of things. But, at the same time, this one kept popping up as one of the Top Pirate Romances of all time, so I was also seriously excited by the prospect of reading such a guilty pleasure.
*whispers*
Faaaabio...


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Sadly, this did not live up to my (rather pathetic) expectations. And while I was a bit let down by the lack of swashbuckling, I was quite honestly more let down by the lack of hot n' dirty pirate sex. I mean, there was sex, but it was just...eh.

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Ha! Ok, I'm throwing this one in as a freebie:

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Can't unsee that shit, can you? You're welcome, Goodreads!

Ok, ok.
So what was wrong with Gentle Rogue, you ask?
Well, more than likely the problem stems from it being an (almost) 20 year old romance about pirates. So. Yeah.
It was just dull by today's romance standards, and since I didn't read it back in the day, I didn't have the nostalgia to poke me in the feels and trick me into enjoying it more.

description

Still, there were very real problems with the story.
I thought Mallory was an asshole. And not in a rogue-ish way, either. Just douchey, you know? He was an ass for the sake of being an ass, and for some unknown reason, everyone thought it was charming.
Ok, you know that person who likes to make rude comments loudly about strangers in public, while everyone else just cringes inwardly and looks away?
That's Mallory in a nutshell. You'd think he gets away with it because he's got money and comes from nobility, but that's not it.
It's apparently because he's better at fighting than anyone else in the world.
He's a ninja-pirate!
*rolls eyes*
Whatever.
Georgina wasn't any better. She was an idiot. The book tried to pass her off as a determined little spitfire, but what that actually meant was dumbass. She was like a cat who eats a ball of yarn, then freaks out because there's shit hanging out of their ass on a string. Except she wasn't as much fun to watch.
In short, they were both ridiculous, and I didn't like either of them.

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Then there was the gross age gap. First, let me say that I'm not knocking age gaps. But my personal cutoff date on said gap is whether or not this person could be your parent. Georgina was 22, and Mallory had a son who was 17. Sorry, that's cutting it a little too close for my taste.
Blech...

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Another annoyance was all the times that Georgina got nervous or ran off and hid because either Mallory or one of her brothers was threatening to beat her. And, no, none of them ever did, so I probably could have given that a pass if the book had been more interesting. As it was, it grated on my nerves and made me hate all the characters even more.

Still. Fabio.
2 stars for the story and an extra star for that cover.

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Sexy Pirate Buddy Read with Jeff & Holly

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Except neither of them read this. So, I'm just that idiot who climbed the water tower, got drunk waiting for her friends to show up, and had to be forcibly removed by the cops for trying to pee off the edge. Thanks for leaving me hanging, guys!
Profile Image for Alp.
763 reviews449 followers
March 28, 2018
Ugh, I hated this book!


**Some spoilers ahead.


The hero, Captain, James Mallory, was a real jerk. An obnoxious person. He intended to deceive Georgina into believing that he didn’t remember her at all in order to get her into his bed. Yuck! That was disgusting!

And Georgina was no better than him. She was so darn hot-headed, impulsive, and way too stubborn in a foolish way. She seemed to have a habit of making dumb mistakes and too many bad decisions although her friend tried to warn her and pleaded with her to change her mind. But did this woman listen? No.

Moreover, I didn’t like that she got all hot and bothered over a man whom she knew nothing about whenever he was around. Just one touch from him could make her all but melt into a puddle of lust. Seriously? She stupidly let him seduce her, coaxed her into giving up her virginity to him. I have to say that Georgina definitely wasn’t my kind of heroine in every way.

For me, this woman came across more like a dimwit than a naïf. I didn’t like her whatsoever.

Accordingly, it’s plain and clear that I disliked both James and Georgina. They’re one of the worst couples I’ve ever read!

Well, just when I thought this book couldn’t get any worse, it could! The supporting characters were very annoying. They couldn’t impress me even a bit. Georgina’s brothers were all idiots. They kept fighting with one another like children. I liked none of them.

Apparently, there was nothing pleasant about this book for me. Even the ending wasn’t as good as I hoped it to be. Not once did this story make me crack a smile. Now I don’t think I have enough courage to read anything by this author again.

I’m obviously not the target audience…
February 7, 2022
whenparvatichanrecommendsabook1
💕LOL this one was funny💕
This book had a lot of issues for me, but at the end it's one of my favorites and I'll reread in the years to come.

I personally, thought this is like a historical romance version of The V Girl, one of my all-time-favs and maybe that's why I liked this one so much:

The V Girl A Coming of Age Story by Mya Robarts vs Gentle Rogue (Malory-Anderson Family, #3) by Johanna Lindsey
♥ age gap
♥ In the first chapters h has to lick her wounds, and she does it with maturity.
♥H is imperfect, serious, and dangerous but sometimes he says the funniest things!!
♥ h is stubborn, imperfect and when H makes her angry she says very funny things.
♥ h's family is funny and makes you laugh.
♥ H is the tallest of them all, the broadest of them all, the blondest of them all, kind of a brute....and sort of a dominant.
♥ h has good has very good reasons to hate H's people, but she just can't resist him
♥ H and h never have sex with other partners after meeting
♥ Happy ending that makes you want more and more

So I'll send recs to all my friends that read and enjoy V girl because this book is really something. I'll read more of Johanna Lindsey!
💕GUUUYYSSS Skip book 1 and 3 and dive right into this one.💕

September 1
When you get a rec from a friend who shares your taste so much it's almost unnatural
whenparvatichanrecommendsabook
I already owned it with a different cover. Gentle Rogue (Malory Family, #3) by Johanna Lindsey I'll get into this one soon, Parvati chan and Sweety chan always recommend the best books so this one goes to top of TBR pile.

whenparvatichanrecommendsabook1

*kisses kindle app*💕
Profile Image for Jessica .
2,320 reviews15.1k followers
January 9, 2021
Hmmm. How do I review this book? This is Johanna Lindsey's most beloved novel and I was so ready for this pirate story. Unfortunately, I was pretty underwhelmed with this one.

When the book started, I really loved the premise. Georgie had to disguise herself as a cabin boy for James in order to earn passage to America. James knows Georgie is a woman, but he agrees to take her onboard because he's intrigued and wants to play games with her. Their attraction and animosity towards each other was a lot of fun, but there really wasn't anything to this book plot-wise. Georgie just goes places and that's really it. She lets the men fling her around everywhere and she's constantly fighting them to try and get what she wants, but she only gets what she wants because James makes it so.

So while the romance was fun, the rest of the plot felt pretty underwhelming and for a 400 page book, not a whole lot actually happened. And I love pirate romances because of the atmosphere of taking place at sea and sailing the ship, but Georgie and James pretty much stay in his cabin the whole time and I didn't get that at-sea vibe I crave in my pirate romances. So while I wanted to love it, this one was just an average book to me.
Profile Image for Dear Faye.
492 reviews2,134 followers
April 24, 2015
Meh. Sexist themes. Dominant male. Virgin female who was pretty much manipulated into having sex with the sorry excuse of a love interest, and then thought nothing of it. BLAH.

Profile Image for FlibBityFLooB.
936 reviews153 followers
February 21, 2024
Re-read 2/2024 --- somehow I conned my husband into listening to the audiobook with me -- he even admitted to enjoying it in the end. VICTORY! :)

Re-read 7/18/10 -- Man... I think I even liked this audiobook better the second time around. Pirrrrrrrratical fun. ;)

4.5/5 stars. This was my first novel by Johanna Lindsey, though I read a short-story of hers in an anthology before reading this book. As I listened to the audiobook, I was trying to determine why I was enjoying the book so much, despite numerous bodice-ripper type of clichés. I made myself a list to justify both my enjoyment and distaste.

Reasons I enjoyed this book?

 My love of historical romance stories where the heroine has über-protective brothers who act crazy out of love for their sister. In this book, Georgina has 5 older brothers :) Fisticuffs ensue. Rinse, Lather, Repeat. More fisticuffs. 5-on-1 brother against pirate. Wheee! I’m almost surprised Georgina didn’t leap into the ring herself. I loved the description of sprawled legs and flinging arms. Then post-fight, the blithe retort of James to Georgie in front of her brothers: “I don’t think they like me, George.” Or, how about the silly discourse between the brothers: “Should we really hang him if he marries Georgie? It doesn’t seem right, hanging a brother-in-law.” Resume fisticuffs. :)
 My secret-obsession with men wearing pirate shirts, tight pants, and an earring. Wheeee! PIRATE!
 My extreme enjoyment of picturing a “gentleman”-pirate in the spirit of the Pirates of Penzance, not the raping-pillaging sort.
 I hate to admit, but I love a gender-bender/woman-in-pants pretending to be a guy plotline.
 The audiobook narrator’s voice when reading the character of James Mallory reminded me of the audiobook narrator who reads the character of Barrons in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. The narrator also did a good job with the brogue of Ian. I like it when audiobook narrators can do different voices and accents.
 References by Americans in the book to London as a “den of iniquity”. People usually romanticize London during books of this time period, so it was fun to see characters hating the idea of England and London. Not that I have anything against the UK myself. :)
 I like characters in books that can raise their eyebrow at something another character says. James had a very sexy way of raising his eyebrow in the book and not saying anything aloud, but saying everything with his expression.
 Did I mention I like to picture men with earrings and pirate-shirts? I might just have to dress my husband up next Halloween… Make him swab the deck or walk-the-plank or something. Hmmmm…

So, what were my issues with the book?

 Despite Georgie as a spitfire heroine with a supposedly hot temper, she seemed rather wimply at times. The whole nausea thing annoyed me in the book. Dizzyness and urge to faint or something, I could understand. But nausea? Feeling like throwing up on the Pirate? Bah! She was ready to jump his bones, not vomit.
 Flippant disregard for chance of pregnancy on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Ummmm. Seemed a bit unrealistic to me. Maybe not for the guy in the 1800s harboring a secret female in his cabin, but I would at least think Georgie would at least have a tinge of worry about it.
 The idea that Georgie could pull off a 12 year old boy when she was a 22 year old female without anyone suspecting. Too young and too unbelievable. And an icky thought. When I pictured Georgie in drag, I saw her as a 17 year old cabin-boy in my head. Not 12.
 I was reading along, and suddenly it felt like I was reading The Flame and the Flower by Woodiwiss. Except with retired pirates. Yes, I know they are really very different books. But, I still felt like I was blending the stories together in my head.
 There was no cannon fire at sea when I was expecting it. They saw a pirate ship, but instead of fighting, they ran away. BOOOOO!!!!! I wanted battle and sword fighting/swashbuckling.
 Lack of sea chanty singing and sea monsters. Where there are pirates there should be sea-chanties and drunken behavior. And large octopi or squids. Maybe I’ve read too much paranormal fiction recently. I doubt that there are many sea monsters in historical romance, other than that recent rewrite of Austen with Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I might just have to read that…
 Parts of the book were so cheesy that I felt like a voyeur watching a bad Cinemax late-night movie. At least they were cheesy fun like flaming hot cheesey goo on pizza fresh out of the oven.

Would I read it again?

*Raises an eyebrow* You question that? Of course I would, though it likely won’t be for a while until I’m in the mood again for a protective – brothers – of – gender – bender – spitfire – heroine – who – has – frisky – behavior – at – sea – with – gentleman – pirate - captain storyline. Somehow, I doubt this is the only historical romance with that plot, but I could be wrong. :)
Profile Image for  Danielle The Book Huntress .
2,697 reviews6,442 followers
August 20, 2009
James Malory, rogue, rake, and pirate. And very sexy guy. This guy is an original. You know he's something special when you meet him in Love Only Once, and I was eager to read his book. Well I definitely enjoyed seeing James meet his HEA with Georgina.

This was a fun, sexy book. I tell you, James Malory is a guy who goes after what he wants. Once he figures out that his cabin boy is a girl, she's in his bed a very short time later. Little does he know that she has lots of big, strong, angry brothers. But he's not about to let them take about the woman that he has claimed all for his own.

James is such a funny guy. I love his rivalry with his brother Anthony, and his comraderie with his crew. It was nice to see him get to know his long-lost illegitimate son, Jeremy, who resembles the Malory clan more than he does. Actually Jeremy looks a lot like his brother Anthony. I love his raunchy nature, but how he is actually very gentle and loving with George.

The love scenes in this book were singe-worthy back in the day. Nowadays, I think they would be tame as far as how explicit they are not. But I feel the attraction and chemistry between James and George make this book sizzle for me. Gentle Rogue is a winner.
Profile Image for Stacey.
1,446 reviews1,140 followers
July 20, 2020
An easy listening experience...

Gentle Rogue is exactly what I expect from a historical romance written 30 years ago. I expect the hero to be a bit of a douchewaffle. I expect the heroine to be a bit bratty. I expect that the hero and heroine will change their ways because of true love...

I love the *heroine dresses as a lad and gets caught by the hero* storyline. In this one, Georgie has no idea that her appeal is amplified with the figure-hugging breeches. When she's caught out in her disguise for a second time, it's no wonder James wants to 'play' with her a bit. It was quite humorous that Georgie wants to keep the disguise... but be treated like a lady too.

The narrator did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life. Her accents, male and female voices and the emotions portrayed were spot on. I never had a problem identifying when a character changed.

The Malory-Anderson Family series is one I have enjoyed and I will definitely be going on in the series. Let's hope that some of George's blockhead brothers get exactly what they deserve when it's time for their love story.

Profile Image for Zeek.
889 reviews149 followers
April 26, 2017
Strong willed Georgina Anderson is determined to find the fiancé she lost four years earlier when he had been impressed into service by the British during the war of 1812. Doing so meant leaving the five older brothers who raised her, as well as her home in America, but she’ll be damned if she’d let a little thing like war, time, and distance get in between her and her plans for the future.

And find him she does. However her ‘fiancé’ is married and settled down- to someone else!- and he is baffled that she actually is still clinging to the hope of marrying him. Hurt and more than a little red-faced, all Georgie wants to do now is get out of Jolly ol’ dreadful England- but the only immediate way back to America is to work her way home incognito as a cabin boy!

One problem. The Captain of the ship turns out to be the one man who knows exactly who she is.

James Mallory cant believe the impish girl dressed as a man he ran into weeks ago- and has never forgotten- has made her way onto his ship. Her "cabin boy" disguise isn’t fooling him… but he’s not telling her because this is the perfect opportunity to keep the feisty little darling nearby- and get her into his bed.

To keep the game afoot he must keep up an act, pretending that she is what she says she is. But the game of seduction he plans backfires, and he finds himself just as trapped into their respective roles as she is. Passion burns and all is revealed rather quickly- because this temperamental woman fascinates him to no end- but he’s got an even bigger stumbling block looming unaware ahead of him… Her brothers.

Written back in the days of big hair and Fabio covers, Johanna Lindsey defined the historical romance genre. Why have I clung to the romance genre all these years? Because of this book…and ones like it. Yes the plot is cheesy as all get out- but the characters and dialogue are as fresh today as they ever were.

Unfortunately Johanna Lindsey’s newer releases are decidedly lacking. Still, if you want to know why Lindsey’s name became legendary or why her books sold-and are still being sold- in the millions all over the world, read Gentle Rogue.
Profile Image for Suzan.
609 reviews
September 28, 2021
Bir yere kadar o kadar güzel gidiyordu ki 4,5 kesindi ama sonra çok saçmaladı uzadı vs yinede aralarındaki atışmaları okuması çok keyifliydi 🤗
Profile Image for Raffaella.
1,527 reviews196 followers
September 3, 2021
I have no words.
I laughed so much, actually I'm still laughing.
This book is a perfect example of an author's masterpiece. I read many JD's books, and some of them are really good, but no one like this.
What I appreciate in her works is that her books doesn't follow a similar pattern: some are really angsty, some are bodice-rippers, some are lighter. This one is fun. Really fun.
The title is very appropriate because the hero, James Mallory, is really a gentle rogue.
He's a Captain, a lord, and an ex pirate.
He's a womanizer, and swears he'll never marry because many of his lovers were married women.
He's a tough kind of guy, but not the brooding kind. He has not some dark past behind, he's just a man used to get always what he wants. To get, because he goes and get it, not because he already has it.
The heroine disguises herself as a cabin boy in his ship, but James immediately recognizes her as the woman he met some time ago in a tavern, always disguised as a boy, and for whom he immediately felt an immediate attraction. Of course he pretends not to recognize her and plans to seduce her during their journey to America.
They have a hot affair, and when they reach America the heroine meets one of her brothers and leavse the hero without a word.
I loved that he immediately changed his plans and followed her.
He tried to find her, and he went to a party in her house knowing her brothers could recognize him as the pirate Hawke, risking his life.
The scene at her party with her brothers is one of the best I've ever read. He makes explicit ( and very rude) remarks about their affair in front of her brothers, and of course they force him to marry her.
Of course we readers understand immediately that he is smitten with the heroine and wants her back with him forever. This was very clear from the start.
He always act as a man who is madly in love with his woman.
He's like a dog who barks but doesn't bite, and even when he barks we know it's to keep up with appearance.
I love this character, of course he's not the most romantic of gentleman, when he repeatedly picks the h up and takes her about like a package under his arm (he's a mountain of a man, and she's quite petite), he's a savage and a rogue but never ever a cruel man.
He's strong and determined and when he decided he wants the heroine he goes and gets him even with unfair means.
Some dialogue are really exhilarating, and I found myself reading the book very slowly because I didn't want to end it! And that's new for me.
I really recommend it to everybody, because it's a fun and entertaining reading, without triggers.
There's low angst level, no ow drama (there's an om but he's immediately dispatched), no villains and no mystery or characters who detract attentions from H/h.
This is a book worth reading (and re-reading).


Profile Image for Kat Desi.
Author 2 books73 followers
August 1, 2015
I don't know how many times I've read this book over the years, but each time I do, I still giggle over it. James is definitely my favorite Malory, along with Anthony.
Profile Image for Inna.
1,596 reviews344 followers
May 10, 2024
2 stars. What in the predator romance is this?

I really don’t understand all the good reviews. I know that expectations were low when this was written, but apparently it was totally normal for an old man to seduce a young and completely naive girl? This guy has a son who is 5 years younger than the heroine! He’s likely 40+ years old, while the heroine is a really sheltered 22 year old girl.

And I say girl because calling this heroine a woman is a stretch. She thinks she’s getting sick to her stomach every time she gets turned on. SHE DOESN’T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO GET AROUSED. Meanwhile, the hero takes her confession of “an upset stomach” as a green light to fuck her. That first sex scene and all the consequent ones read very much like coercion, even if the heroine *technically* consented. She has the worst case of betraying body syndrome that I’ve read in a LONG time. He touches her arm and she drops everything to let him fuck her. And he does, with no foreplay, with no warmup, he just goes for it. The details are very minimal when it comes to the sex scenes, but it was enough for me to feel uncomfortable.

Besides just being a predator, this hero clearly doesn’t even try to use the fucking pull out method when fucking a ton of randoms constantly. He already has one bastard son, and the hero and his friend JOKE about him probably having more out there. Ha fucking ha. Of course he has more out there! He doesn’t discriminate with who he seduces. He doesn’t just go for women who are knowledgeable enough to prevent pregnancy, because “variety is the spice of life” or some such shite. He went for the virgin heroine without a thought, knowing that she’s a virgin. She gets pregnant immediately. 🤯🤯🤯 He didn’t even think to discuss birth control with her. He just fucked her and was planning at first to leave her, and then eventually his plans changed to making her his mistress.

The constant reminders to his past as absolutely nausea inducing. He wasn’t just a rake/manwhore/whatever, he is in the top 10% of worst literary rakes in the way that he’s described. This book gives new meaning to the age old adage “he’s got hoes in different area codes”. This guy literally travels the world and indiscriminately fucks women everywhere he goes. He’s not averse to sleeping with anyone… virgins, married women, doxies, tavern girls, etc. If they have a hole to fuck, this guy fucks. Here’s a nice quote from the book, where the hero’s dear niece explains her uncle’s past:
“Well, as I was saying, Uncle James was a bit more than just a connoisseur of women. For a while after he first embarked on what was to be a very jaded career, you might have called him a glutton. Morning, noon, and night, and never with the same woman.”


What a man! SO virile, SO desirable, SO riddled with STDs. To say that he’s probably got other children out there is laughable, with how much of a hoe this man has been for his entire adult life. He probably has so many bastards out in the world that he would need a small island to house them all.

Then there’s this gem:

“I for one, am eternally grateful for every one of my Nicholas's past mistresses. Without the experience—"

"I think we get your drift, m'dear," Roslynn cut in, and couldn't help grinning. "And we might even agree," she added, seeing that Georgina was smiling, too.”


Of course, the attitude between the ladies about how much better their husbands are in bed is pretty laughable considering the sex scenes are just some kissing and then he sticks it in. What a great lover! 🤪 I’m sure they will be eternally grateful for their husbands’ past experience once they start getting itchy and scratchy down below.

You know what else didn’t help this story? The audiobook makes the heroine sound 12 (even when she’s not pretending to be a 12 year old boy) and the hero sounds like a 50 year old creep. And sadly, I don’t think that the narrator did a bad job. He really was written that way.

I really could go on and on about this book, but I just want to forget that I read it at this point. The extra star is because there were some really humerous parts to the book, and some good banter. Unfortunately, those parts were eventually overshadowed by the predatory hero and his creepy AF actions. I feel like I need a bath after reading this book. Or a spiritual cleansing.

Safety is questionable, big time
✔️Heroine is the most virgin of virgins
✔️Hero is the most rakiest of rakes
✔️Hero definitely gives the heroine some STDs along with the baby
✔️Hero meets the heroine, and sets up a sex date with a barmaid in the same scene (to be fair, heroine runs from him and he doesn’t expect to see her again)
✔️Hero had a bastard son who is only 5 years younger than the heroine
✔️Huge age gap, but his age is never given
✔️Tons of talk about his past, and how much of a hoe he has been
✔️no OW/OM drama, but lots of jealousy from the hero over nothing
✔️no scenes with OM/OW
✔️no cheating in the book, but the chance of this guy staying faithful is basically nil in my mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Alejandra.
275 reviews51 followers
December 14, 2018
Aprovechando que no me apetecía mucho leer a la Carr para el Rita de este mes, he optado por reencontrarme con Los Malory de la Lindsey. En especial con James que, junto a Anthony, es mi favorito de esta serie.
Amable y tirano es un libro genial, muy divertido y lleno de situaciones que han hecho una delicia mis ratos lectores.
Georgie es una protagonista de las que me gustan, con carácter y genio, sin una pizca de tonta. Y bueno, James, con su humor, su sinvergonzonería y cara dura, es el alma de este libro.
Me alegra mucho terminar mi Reto Rita con una lectura como esta, de las que te dejan con una sonrisa bobalicona en la boca.
Profile Image for Millie.
89 reviews35 followers
May 3, 2022
Let me be honest here: I really struggled with the first part of this book. I don’t know if it’s me in a bad mood or am I genuinely not into the girl-disguised-as-a-boy trope; either way, it took me ages. The second part I finished in like a day. Here is me waking up from a book slump.



Rich and spoiled, Georgina Anderson was in love with a boy and had waited years for him to come home from war. Long after the war, he still hasn’t come back to his betrothed. Georgina asked her brothers to search for him but they all think she should move on, but she was stubborn. When she thought it was due time they meet, she ran away from home and searched for him in the dreaded English land. When a certain incident happened, she had to wear a disguise as a boy in order to come home. The Captain of the ship she had to work for is James Malory. A rake. He knew from the start that she was a girl. While Georgina had the notion that he was fooled, she continued to work as his cabin boy. James uses this opportunity to torment and seduce her. But uh-oh, she doesn’t know that he’s a pirate! And he doesn’t know she has a number of brothers that are over-protective! Also... both of their family are batsht crazy and that took up a good portion of the book.



But the family dynamics are good tho.

Well to make this short, I did enjoy this book. The second part was sweet I guess.

This book is part of a series, so Lindsey really did try to throw a lot of names at me, but I was not paying attention to those characters.



I was only there for the romance and it gave me that... in the second half. I wouldn’t say the first half is romance. It was just borderline coercion.



Don’t get me wrong it’s not r**e. She was a willing participant. But good god I’m tired of them deceiving each other. It seems to me they’re just two irresponsible people. Character-wise, they're alright. I didn’t have much of a problem. The author dragged a few scenes to make fan service happen, though.

One thing I didn't like was how much Georgina's looks are dramatized. She was stunning, sure. It was good a few times, but when her nephew (i think) almost molest her (and the only reason he stopped was because they figured out who she was) I was like...



This book is entertaining enough, and some moments made me laugh out loud. Most of it is family chaos. It has romantic humor which I prioritized in my books. Some moments do make me swoon and I'll probably come back for that a few times. Overall, not bad. Ratings is because I read this at the wrong time.
Profile Image for Parvati Patil .
215 reviews
August 27, 2020
Loved it.
Georgina's brothers are adorable and I wish there have been more of them. How Georgina didn't send them a letter as soon as she arrived to Mallory state?

A few complaints here and there but overall great.

AMY: This one is right on your alley.
Profile Image for Wendy,  Lady Evelyn Quince.
358 reviews186 followers
March 21, 2021
I first read this book eons ago, back when Johanna Lindsey was for me the greatest writer on earth. Yeah, I was a dumb kid, but weren't we all a little bit? I remember anxiously walking to Woolworth's every day in November of 1990, freaking out for her latest book and annoying the clerks by repeatedly asking when were the new ones coming in!

The day I saw the shelf stocker opening up a new box, I grabbed the first book out from the top, not even caring that it has a slit in the cover. I was a bit disheartened because for a Duillo-Fabio-Lindsey cover, save for Georgina's lovely rose-trimmed gown, that cover was ugly with it drab green tones! But then when I saw the cover for Lindsey's next book, Once a Princess (Cardinia's Royal Family, #1) by Johanna Lindsey , that got me more depressed. No more Fabio (although he'd make a comeback for a few more of Lindsey's books) and it was a step-back to boot, with a flowery font. I actually preferred that crappy, pointed Sci-Fi looking font. The old Lindsey era was over with Gentle Rogue.

Gentle Rogue starts out hilariously with Georgina Anderson trying to kill a cockroach, failing, and not caring as long as it's out of her sight. As this is a very silly book, as usual with Lindsey check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride.

Parts of this book runs parallel to to its precursor Tender Rebel (Malory-Anderson Family, #2) by Johanna Lindsey (which wasn't that great due to a dull-as-dishwater heroine), and there is a lot of repetition of previous scenes. But in Gentle Rogue all the characters are a blast, especially Georgina's five belligerent older brothers who take turns beating up James. My favorite brother was Warren, and his book The Magic of You (Malory-Anderson Family, #4) by Johanna Lindsey is my 2nd favorite in the Malory series, where he meets his match with the much younger and very persistent Amy Malory. For me those two books are the high points in the Malory-Anderson series, although Gentle Rogue is by far the best.

And yes, the title of the book is true, for hard-muscled ex-pirate James Malory is a unrepentant rogue, through and through, taking advantage of the heroine Georgina and disgracing her in front of her brothers so that he's forced to wed her. James is such a droll charmer, witty and very arrogant. I enjoyed this book when I first read it, but over the years I've learned to love it so much more, especially now that I picture James looking like another blond, green eyed Englishman: a young Sean Bean!

 photo Sean_Bean.jpg

GRRR...

5 stars
Profile Image for *The Angry Reader*.
1,429 reviews335 followers
November 29, 2017
5 Old School stars!! (I'm doing the Running Man thanks to all this delicious 90s goodness!) This book had everything fabulous in early romance books without any of the crap (the rapey-rape).

James is a pirate, Englishman, rake, lord, and douche. Georgie is a sassy ass who pretends to be a cabin boy on his ship. He half-tortures her (and cocks his eyebrow a lot). She runs her mouth and does goofy things and loses her temper.

Man, plot doesn't matter. What matters is that James is the most perfectly awful hero ever. Dude is just this side of being unbearable - which made him a delight to read. So much love/hate for his pompous ass. And Georgie brought her A-Game, took none of his shit, and kicked ass.

It's been a long time since a book took me this far outside my head-space so that I could just read and enjoy. I wasn't evaluating it for anything bc I was too lost in the awesome.

January 5, 2019
Love me a good historical romance with the sarcasm and the steamy scenes to boot!

🔥 There’s just something about a full length, stand alone historical romance novel that sets the stage for other writers to live up to.

🔥 Old school historical romances are the epitome of angry lust, forcing the reader to stay engaged most and most likely staying awake until the wee hours of the morning.

🔥 This one is snarky and devious and. . .

i like it alot

🔥 I feel fulfilled reading a full length (350+ pages) novel that keeps my attention so thoroughly and it is rare.

☠️ - None that I can think of

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️BOTTOM LINE: If you love historical romances, READ IT! If you aren't into historical romance or have never delved into the genre, READ IT!
Profile Image for Maureen.
682 reviews2 followers
February 13, 2024
Books I Own. Mad About Series Challenge 2024 HRBC. The h is Georgina Anderson, 22 and an American from a Wealthy Shipping Family from Bridgeport Connecticut. The H is James Malory, Viscount Ryding aka Captain Hawke (Privateer)36 third son in the Malory family. Georgie is the youngest of 6 children with 5 older brothers that man their own ships. She went to England to seek her fiancé of six years to find him married with a family. Disillusioned, she along with Mac her friend boarded the Maiden Anne to work their way back to America. Captain James Malory was her boss and Georgie his cabin boy. She thought he didn’t recognize her but both he and his second mate Connie both recognized Georgie and Mac from 6 weeks before when they encountered them in a dockside bar. Eventually Georgie is caught out as a woman after telling James he made her nauseous. He kissed her and she immediately fell under his spell and they became lovers. She leaves the ship and gets on her brothers ship after docking in Jamaica without saying goodbye. He pursues her and goes to her home in Bridgeport confronts her at a family ball celebrating all the Anderson home at one time in a decade. Her brothers force them to get married after they find out they were lovers. The rest is a little bit of a family feud but a HEA. Can’t wait to find out if Georgie and James have a girl or a boy. ( I know it’s a girl).

Review I liked:She was a mystery, all right, and one he meant to solve. But first he was going to amuse himself with her charade by installing her in his cabin and letting her think his cabin boy always slept there. He would have to pretend he didn’t recognize her, or let her assume he simply didn’t remember their encounter. Of course, there was the possibility that she might not remember it, but no matter. Before the voyage was over, she’d share more than his cabin. She’d share his bed.


Besides my love/hate of Fabio covers and my love/hate of "old school romances" (though I guess this straddles the line between 'old school' and 'modern' as it was published in 1990) - I wound up loving this book. The only other older romance I've read is Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught and the problematic parts put me in such a bad mood for days. I was so surprised and happy this book felt fun and... dare I say... lighthearted?

SUMMARY

Georgiana "Georgie" Anderson is in England against her will and trying to hitch a ride on a ship back to America. The youngest of six siblings and the only girl, she's been raised around sailing and shipping businesses her whole life and after jaunting to England with only Mac (an uncle figure) she's hellbent on getting back to America, ASAP.

The only availability is on a ship where they'll have to work, which means Georgie will masquerade as a 12 year old cabin boy for the captain, who just happens to be James Malory - a pirate, rake, debaucher.

But James sees through her disguise immediately and finds himself intrigued by her, something that doesn't happen often. And as they set sail for Jamaica (where she plans to find another ship to route her back to America), he'll do anything to keep her close.

THOUGHTS

Like I said, I was surprised by how fun this book was. I feel like I expect old school romances to be much more serious and I liked that we got a ton of POV from James and that he wasn't an emotionally stunted iceman. Sure, he has emotional problems and frequently talks about not wanting a wife or commitment... but he's not a truly evil person.

I found the scenes between him and Georgie to be really funny. As the audience, we know that he knows she's a woman, while she believes she's getting away with the gig. So he's trying to push her into crying "chicken" by asking her to wash his back, by walking around naked, by one night complaining that he has a headache and needing her to read erotica to him to put him to sleep. I fully recognize these things aren't okay for a captain to do to a cabin boy or a woman dressed as a cabin boy, but just within the story and how James was written I leaned into the comedy of errors aspect of the story.

I didn't love either of them as a character, because Georgie was so brash and hotheaded she came across as bratty or spoiled, but I thought them paired up was funny. As was the inclusion of both of their family's, even though at times the scenes with what felt like a dozen people felt like they were running on. I especially enjoyed interactions between Georgie and Jeremy her "stepson" who's only 3 years younger than her.
Profile Image for KC.
527 reviews22 followers
February 20, 2019
Eh. James was a smug, arrogant ass whom I just couldn't get behind. I usually really like Lindsey's heroes because even when they're arrogant they still possess a certain charm and are oh, so smitten with their heroines. In this case the only person James was completely smitten or in love with was himself, which translated into less romance and fun.
Profile Image for Sibel Gandy.
1,012 reviews70 followers
January 27, 2021
4,5 / 5
Serideki en sevdiğim kitap. 3. okuyuşum sanırım ve her seferinde zevkle okuyorum 😊
Profile Image for Arzu.
280 reviews
November 20, 2023
Kaçak Yolcu

Ben seriye ortadan başladığımdan kitabın başları sarmasa da -kim kimdir kim nedir bilmediğimden- biraz zor okusam da sonrası çorap söküğü gibi geldi.

James kitap boyunca hem eğlendin hem de bizi eğlendirttin. Seni okurken baya güldüm zaten ve bir de George'a olan takıntın trajikomikti zaten. Sen o kadar git çapkınlık yap kadın uzmanı ol, sonra da gel erkek kıyafeti içinde oğlan çocuğunu oynayan bir kadının peşinde dört dön.

George'un bazı sahnelerdeki boşvermişliğini dehşetle okudum ama senin de kendince haklı sebeplerin vardı. James gibi bir adamı nerde bulacaktın ki? Ki bulamazdın zaten, bu arada adamı da kendine meftun ettin tabi seni çakal George. Ve zaten dağ gibi arkasında beş abi vardı. Bu arada şaka gibi beş abi nedir ya? İnsanda o yaşa kadar kafasında saç kalmazdı sinirden stresten. Bu arada hikayemizin gizli kahramanı Molcomn, o olmasa kızımız bu hayal kırıklığı ile James'a o kadar çabuk bağlanmazdı.

Ve James'in bazı hareketleri vardı ki özellikle George'un balo sahnesinde abileri ile olan diyaloglarını okurken neye uğradığımı şaşırdım. James'in hangi çesit yürek yiyip bu hale geldiğini çözmeye çalışıyordum, cidden. Ve sonda da öğreniyoruz ki bunların hepsini bilinçli olarak yapmış şarlatan. Kitaptaki aile bağlarına bayıldım baya komikti. Ve kimsenin James ve George'a inanmamasına ne demeli? George onlara kendilerini inandırmak için ne yapacağını şaşırdı. Demek ki James'in çapkınlık hayatı beş abili bir kadına kadarmış.Dünya bir çapkını daha kaybetti🎉


Okurken içimin yağları eridiği sahne tabi ki de kızın abileri ile karşılaşmasıydı. Sen misin kıza umut vermeden postalayayım diyen?! Al sana beş abi. Kitabı yüzümde oluşan sırıtmayla bitirdim ve söyleyebilirim ki çene kaslarım ağrıdı. Historical için yeni bir yazar daha buldum ve mutluyum. Okuyun kaçırmayın derim.

(Kızın yaşı bana adama göre baya küçük gelse de kızı ben 27 olarak düşündüm ve okuması daha kolay oldu.)
Profile Image for majo .
656 reviews305 followers
September 19, 2018
This book was enjoyable. Really, it was.

But, I've heard that it was a slow-burn romance about this girl that has to dress as a boy in order to travel to her home in a pirate ship, and ends up falling in love with the captain. That concept was what made me read this book. My main problem with this book was that the ship plot was too short and after a week aboard she and the captain start a relationship (so, not a slow-burn). The rest of the book centers in the dynamics between the protagonist and her five brothers who discover what happened on the ship, and don't want her to be with the captain. And the first 20% of the book happens before she goes into the ship.

So basically, this book wasn't what I was promised and for that I gave this this rating.
Profile Image for Michelle.
394 reviews21 followers
August 12, 2009
I really enjoyed Gentle Rogue. The image of Georgie disguised as a scrawny twelve year old cabin boy with a temper was so funny. She thought that Captain James Malory didn’t know who she was but James knew all right. She was the ‘wench’ disguised as a boy he’d been looking for since the day she kicked him in the shins and ran off after he carried her out of a Tavern. She’s been on his mind for days and it was just his luck that Georgie happened to step onto his ship.

James decides to play along with her charade until Georgie admits who she really is. Georgie gets so hot and nauseous having to be near James all day and all night. She was no idea that these are feelings of arousal so when James kisses her she let’s everything go. The truth is out and they spend the rest of their journey together in passion, nothing more. James has vowed he will never marry and Georgie knows that their time together will end as soon as they dock. Too bad Georgie’s already fallen in love!

When Georgie’s brothers come into the story it gets really exciting! Five strong captains who are very overprotective of their little sister! They are so angry when they find out Georgie traveled all the way to England, worked disguised as a cabin boy, shared a cabin with James, realize she’s been compromised and that she’s pregnant! They force James and Georgie to marry but they give James a hard time, get him beaten up in the process and even try to get him hanged. Though they forced the marriage they had no plans on letting them be together. James had such a hard time admitting he loved Georgie. He was such a Rogue, and he never had anything nice or sweet to say. He would always yell “Georgie is not leaving me” rather then tell her how he really felt. It wasn’t until he finally admitted that she couldn’t leave because he LOVED her that Georgie’s brothers finally let them be!

I loved the bantering between the brothers. They were just like Anthony and James. They were so funny! Also I was busting up that nobody in the Malory family believed that James actually married. Even when Georgie was right in front of them they thought that she must be his mistress… Very good book!






Profile Image for Kimberly Carrington-Fox.
798 reviews190 followers
May 20, 2016
Realmente son 4/4'5 pero, qué narices, hay que ser generosa cuando, a pesar de los momentos más flojos, te lo pasas tan bien leyendo un libro como me lo he pasado yo con Amable y tirano. James Malory ya me tenía encandilada desde el primer libro de la saga, me enamoró en el segundo y en éste ya doy palmas con las orejas cada vez que aparece, es un personaje que te conquista con cada acción que realiza y cada palabra que dice. Y George es un encanto, de pichotismo ausente, o que se agradece muchísimo.
Me ha faltado más tensión sexual pero entiendo que no está el libro para esas cosas cuando luego hay que dar más vueltas que el baúl de la Piquer. Y no se le nota especialmente el viejunismo aunque tiene sus cositas básicas en la Lindsey que pueden hacerte ladear el moño.
Vamos, que me lo he pasado genial con el libro pero sobre todo, he disfrutado con los momentos de James con Anthony, divertidísimos, no me cansaba de leerlos. Lo mejor sin duda.
En fin, que James Malory a mis enaguas!!! I love youuuuuuuuu!!!
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