While the Duke Was Sleeping: The Rogue Files

I was hoping to like this, but it just didn't work for me. I love "While You Were Sleeping", but it does not fit this setting. First of all, one of the things that makes the original story work is the lightheartedness of the relationship between the hero and heroine. That's lacking here. The witty banter between the characters is not there. The hero's backstory flattens any lightheartedness mistaken identity might have wrought. Good-bye possibly comical misunderstanding - hello angst. All the humor was squashed out like a bug.

While I appreciate that Jordan was trying to follow some of the basics of the storyline, the idea that the heroine (a shop girl) would end up with the type of access she did to a duke's household was pretty absurd (showing up in the wee hours of the morning, knocking on the front door without rousing the entire house, and being admitted without fuss). Also, once the hero and heroine have engaged in practically everything but intercourse, any feelings or conversations about feeling bad because the heroine is supposedly the duke's fiance are simply ridiculous.

I found some of the secondary characters to be annoying. The heroine's sister, Bryony, was irritating and pointless to me. If she is going to be used as a character in a future story, she is going to have to change a great deal so she is not so shallow and insipid.

The storyline might have worked (or at least not have been so awkward) had the "sleeping" brother not been a duke. Having the duke's family fawn all over a girl from a flower shop without batting an eyelash in regards to her station was pretty unrealistic.

This reminded me of reading Eloisa James' "When Beauty Tamed the Beast". The story of that novel was the television show "House" set in another era. "Sleeping", like "Beast" relies too much on the nudge-nudge-wink-wink, "see what we did there?" type of cutesiness with its storyline. This type of plot device pulls me right out of the story. Perhaps if it had been more subtle, I would have found it charming instead.

And finally, there was one other thing that stuck out to me. There were multiple instances where Poppy addressed the duke as "my lord". I am no expert on this, but shouldn't he have been addressed as "Your Grace"?

I cannot blame Jordan for wanting to use the "While You Were Sleeping" storyline. Unfortunately, all of the charm and humor that make the original story so good are missing here.

This book is pretty bad. Very little substance here. The hero and the heroin seem to share very little beyond physical passion and I didn't like the way the hero comes across as sexually menacing. Plus, how many times can he cage her in with his arms?

Additionally, while I am all for suspending reality to a degree, the premise here is just silly. There is no way Poppy or even Syrian for that matter would have been included in an aristocratic family in this way.

In my opinion this book is not worth any time or money.

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

While the Duke Was Sleeping by Sophie Jordan
Book One of the Rogue Files series
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: October 25, 2016
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sometimes the man of your dreams . . .

Shop girl Poppy Fairchurch knows it’s pointless fantasizing about the Duke of Autenberry. Still, dreams can’t hurt anyone . . . unlike the carriage Poppy spies bearing down upon the unsuspecting duke. After she pulls him to safety, the duke lapses into a coma and Poppy is mistaken for his fiancée. But one person isn’t fooled: his arrogant and much too handsome half-brother, Struan Mackenzie. Soon Poppy isn’t sure what she wants more . . . the fantasy of her duke or the reality of one smoldering Scot who challenges her at every turn.

. . . is not who you think.

An illegitimate second son, Struan may have built an empire and established himself as one of the wealthiest men in Britain, but he knows he will always be an outsider among the ton. Just like he knows the infuriating Poppy is a liar. There’s no way the haughty Duke of Autenberry would deign to wed a working class girl. It doesn’t matter how charming she is. Or tempting. Or how much Struan wants her for himself.

What I Liked:

I actually wasn't sure that I would enjoy this book, since the premise was all about a girl who is infatuated with one man from afar, but really falls in love with another. BUT, this book surprised me! The romance was so fun and steamy and shippy. Jordan's historical romance novels have been good and not-so-good, for me, but this one was great.

Poppy Fairchurch is a shopgirl, working in a florist's shop. One of the shop's best customers is the Duke of Autenberry, who comes every week to buy flowers for a different woman (doubtless his various paramours). The first time Poppy sees him, she is totally infatuated. She builds a fantasy in her head that they fall in love, and get married... despite the fact that neither has said more than five words to each other. One day, she sees the Duke punch another man, and a fight ensues. She runs to stop the fight, and the Duke gets hurt to the point of a coma. When she accompanies him and the stranger (who turns out to be the Duke's half-brother), Poppy is beside herself. She mutters something along the lines of "we're to be married someday, remember?"... and the housekeeper hears her muttering, and mistakes Poppy as the Duke's fiancee (the Duke has no fiancee though). Soon everyone is convinced that Poppy is Autenberry's fiance (the dowager duchess, the Duke's siblings, even Struan Mackenzie, the Duke's half-brother from the fight). But Poppy finds herself drawn to the half-brother, and not the Duke. As the Duke lies in a coma, Poppy plays along with her lie, and she and Struan get closer. But what will happen when the Duke awakes?

Like I said, this book's premise didn't really appeal to me, so I wasn't sure I'd like this book. Even if Poppy is simply pretending to be the fiancee... she is infatuated with Autenberry. But as the story progresses, we can clearly see that she adores the idea of Autenberry - the idea she has in her head. Who he really is, that's a completely different story.

So, Poppy is a romantic and a dreamer. She follows her heart and not always her head, though she is clever. She feels awful about the lie, and would have come clean within the day, but Autenberry's friend Lord Tucker asked her to continue the lie, since Autenberry's family was so happy about him finally settling down (Autenberry is a rake of epic proportions). Poppy is kind and selfless, giving up a lot of her life to take care of and raise her beautiful and vivacious fifteen-year-old sister.

Struan Mackenzie is the bastard son of the late Duke of Autenberry, just a year younger than the current Duke. He's from Scotland (hence the name), and he has never had anything to do with his father's family. His father threw Struan's mother out, and the current Duke never wanted to be reminded of his father's indiscretions. So Struan has no relationship with his half-brother, or half-sisters, or the dowager duchess. And after Struan's mother died young... Struan has no one. And he wants nothing from Autenberry. Struan is extremely wealthy and successful. He came to England looking for a bride, and he definitely found what he was looking for.

I adored Struan! He had an incredibly difficult childhood, but he made himself into something much more. He's big and rough and a little possessive, and he likes getting what he wants. Jordan writes this type of alpha really well.

You'll recall Struan being in Jordan's Debutante Files series - he courted Aurelia in All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue! I like this crossover between the series.

The Duke of Autenberry was in a coma for the entire book, and anyway, there was no real romance between Poppy and him. The romance is entirely between Struan and Poppy, and it's steamy and sweet. At first everything is purely physical, but you can see that the two are drawn to each other. They have verrrry hot chemistry, and the tension boils throughout the book. But I liked seeing them fall for each other too. It wasn't easy, because Struan believed her to be his brother's fiancee, and Poppy knew that she wasn't but had to keep up the pretense. So in a way, it was wrong of them to fool around, but the engagement was never real. Still, questionable morals much, Struan?

One thing that I especially loved was the ending, for several reasons. Yes, we get a nice happily-ever-after. But I love that Struan leaves after Poppy pushes him away (and the Duke too - after he wakes up), and POPPY is the one to chase Struan down. Often in adult romance novels, you'll see that the woman pushes the man away, the man leaves, and then the man comes back begging and pleading. To me, I'd like to see the woman fight for what she wants more often... especially if she's the one messing up (in this case, Poppy kept saying no and pushing Struan away). So, good for Poppy! I'm glad she created her own ending.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! I look forward to reading more from this series. I'm sure Jordan will write a book for Autenberry, redeeming him in some way. And we'll see Tucker's story too (I hope). I would love to read about Bryony (Poppy's younger sister) too!

What I Did Not Like:

One could say that the entire idea behind this book is silly... Poppy's ridiculous dream about marrying the Duke, and getting overheard muttering that. BUT. I liked how absurd it was, though at first the idea really bothered me.

Another thing - so Jordan specifically writes that Struan has rough, slightly more adventurous tastes than English noblemen... I was totally hoping to see this wild side, when Struan would get it on with Poppy. Sadly nothing they did together was "wild" or "rough". Still steamy, but nothing different.

I felt a little weird about typing this dislike. Hopefully that made sense though!

Would I Recommend It:

This was probably one of the more fun and steamy historical romance novels I've read recently, and I would definitely recommend it. It's not bogged down by angst and drama and hardships, though it's not cute and fluffy either. This book is full of fiery passion!

Rating:

4 stars. I'm glad I wasn't deterred - I almost didn't read this one. I hope the next book, The Scandal of It All, will be just as good!

This is the story of a shop girl who is love with a Duke. The Duke doesn't even know she is alive. He frequents the flower shop she works in to send flowers to his lovers, his many lovers. Poppy Fairchurch is a poor country girl who has come to the big city with her younger sister after her father has passed away. She works in the flower shop and barely gets by, but she promised her father that she would look after her younger sister. Her only enjoyment in life is her daydream that the Duke will notice her and sweep her away to a new life where they live happily ever after.

Then one day the unthinkable happened, he was almost hit by a coach and four while brawling with another Gentleman in front of the flower shop. Poppy rushes out to the Duke's aid and saves him from getting run over and then she gets rescues by the other Gentleman before she gets run over by the same coach.

In the confusion of helping get the Duke to his home, Poppy is mistaken for the Duke's Fiancee. The man that saved Poppy turns out to be the Duke's bastard half brother. Straun MacKenzie does not like the Duke but he is intrigued by Poppy. When the Duke's family finds out that Poppy is his betrothed they are so excited that they invite Poppy and her sister to stay with them until the Duke wakes up from the coma he is in.

Poppy is stuck living the lie that she is betrothed to the Duke until he wakes up and now she has to deal with Straun MacKenzie who she says she wants nothing to do with, or is she kidding herself? There is a palatable attraction between Struan and Poppy. What will happen when the Duke wakes up and tells everyone he isn't betrothed to Poppy? Will Poppy give in to Struan's seduction? She is confused but tempted.

I loved this story. Poppy and Struan are both struggling with their feelings for each other and you can feel the emotions as you read. I have been waiting for Struan's story and it was worth the wait. Sophie has a way with words that very few writers can match. Her plots are splendid and her characters are brilliant. I own every Historical Romance she has written and I whole heartily recommend her books.

Shopgirl Poppy Fairchurch is in love with a duke. But the duke doesn't even recognize her existence although he encounters her on a regular basis during his weekly visits to the flower shop where she works. After his most recent visit to the shop, Poppy is witness to his altercation with another man and as the duke is in the sights of a carriage bearing down on him she rushes to his aid by pushing him out of harm's way. Sadly he hits his had and slips into a coma. Poppy is urged to accompany the duke home and is joined in the carriage by the 'other man' who she quickly learns is the duke's half brother. When they arrive at the duke's home, Poppy is mistakenly identified by the housekeeper as the duke's betrothed and she makes no correction to that error, feeling the time wasn't right and anyhow, she wants to keep watch over 'her' duke. What follows is a cat and mouse game between Poppy and Struan, the Scottish half-brother. And we all know that hate is just one step away from love.

This story was certainly different from most other period romances. However, I found the characters to be underdeveloped and the story slow-moving in most places. And when the duke awakes, I found his easy acceptance of Poppy in his life a bit difficult to believe. I'm sure it would take any duke, especially one who has surfaced from a coma, longer than twenty-four hours to decide that the woman who was masquerading as his betrothed was in fact acceptable as a wife. The inner turmoil that both Poppy and Struan face could have been better and more intimately portrayed.
Overall I give this one three stars.

Not sure why so many are comparing it to the movie. Was it supposed to be an admitted spinoff of that movie? If so, I don't see why the author would do that. I didnt' see the movie but it wasn't it a modern romance? I guess it was based on the same premise but I think it is a bit ridiculous to compare this to a Sandra Bullock movie.
However, I am very disappointed. I was a big fan of Sophie Jordan. She has had a couple of recent misses. Her older work was much better. This plot was very unbelievable plot as many said. Was the family stupid? only the Duke's best friend seen through her, or did he? Did he just overhear? I forgot already. It wasn't terrible. I certainly got through it fast enough, cover to cover. The romance was frustrating. All the foreplay, too much of it and then they actually get together only once, and practically at the end? Again, not very believable and a little silly. Liked the hero a lot but not sure what he seen in plain old Poppy. Bad description of the heroine. What color was her hair again? Dark blond? Chestnut? It was actually first referred to as light, like a dark blond then as chestnut! No eye color. Just thin and drab, and repeated over and over how much prettier her younger sister was. It was a total turn off.

Enjoyable characters, witty banter, great chemistry, While The Duke Was Sleeping has it all! When Poppy and Struan aren't driving each other crazy, they're steam up the pages. I'm not sure their relationship would have played out the same way IRL, but that's part of the fun of reading fiction.

Very happy with condition of the book and arrival time.

If you loved the movie "while you were sleeping" you will love this romance story.

3.5 Stars!

While the Duke Was Sleeping was a fun twist on the movie While You Were Sleeping and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit!

Poppy Fairchurch is a shop girl who dreams of the day when one of her customers, the Duke of Autenberry, will realize he's in love with her and they can live happily ever after. One day, she witnesses him get into a fight and ends up saving him from being struck by a carriage only for him to fall into a coma. Due to a series of misunderstandings, it is believed that Poppy is his fiancée and she is welcomed into a world she never would have become part of. The one person who doesn't believe Poppy to be the Duke's fiancée is his half-brother, Struan. And so begins a battle of wills between the two as they try to navigate the time following the Duke's accident.

Right from the start, I really enjoyed Poppy and Struan together. They had incredible banter and insane amounts of chemistry. The two really push each other and open up about their lives in ways they've never done with anyone else. I liked that aside from their physical chemistry, they clicked together very well as people. You don't always get that in historical romance, so it was a nice change. That's not to say their physical attraction wasn't well written, it was. The two had such amazing chemistry, I'm surprised they weren't tearing at each other's clothes more often.

The biggest thing in the book I didn't like was how long Poppy held on to her love of the Duke. I felt that could have been resolved a bit sooner and the book could have been trimmed down a bit. Also, there were a few inconsistencies with Poppy regarding her age and when she and the Duke met. First, it's stated Poppy and the Duke met on May 17th and then a few chapters later it's June 17th. As to her age, it's stated that she's twenty years old. However, she tells Struan her mother passed twelve years ago when she was twelve years old. Those inconsistencies pulled me out of the story a bit, but thankfully, it was only those two occurrences.

Overall, While the Duke Was Sleeping was a lot of fun and I'd definitely recommend it. I'll be checking out The Debutante Files series soon as this is a spinoff of those books.