The Raider by Jude Deveraux [Review]

The Raider (Montgomery/Taggert Family #4) by Jude Deveraux
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: May 7, 2024

Montgomery/Taggert Family
1. The Black Lyon
2. The Duchess
3. The Temptress
4. The Raider - Paperback | Kindle
5. Mountain Laurel
6. Sweet Liar
7. Wishes
8. The Princess
9. Eternity
10. Someone to Love
11. The Heiress
12. The Awakening
13. The Invitation
14. High Tide
15. A Knight in Shining Armor

Jude Deveraux
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

In colonial New England, the British are hunting a fearless, masked patriot whose daring foils them at every turn. He's known simply as the Raider.

Jessica Taggert, a proud-tempered beauty, thrills to the Raider's scorching midnight embrace, but despises Alexander Montgomery, the drunken town buffoon.

In truth, the cleverly disguised Montgomery lives two lives...and only his triumph over the hated Redcoats will free him, at last, to know the full pleasure of Jessica's love.

Thoughts on The Raider: This installment introduces us to the sprawling Taggert family and how their fortunes became intertwined with the Montogmerys. Admittedly, these Taggerts are painfully poor (no qualifiers on this, Jessica and her brothers and sisters live in a shack and are struggling by any standards) and the Montgomerys are decidedly not. You know, seeing as they pretty much own the town of Warbrooke. The point is while the Taggerts we meet in later books are well off, Jessica and her siblings are very much not.

That doesn't bother Alexander much. What bothers him is that the beautiful Jessica laughs in his face and mocks him when he returns home. But then, it could be argued that his disguise as a portly man of leisure who cares only for himself is pretty darn good. It fools everyone at first, even the people who know him best.

While Jessica and Alexander verbally fling barbs at one another, Alexander is also moonlighting as the dashing Raider who likes to kiss pretty women and swoop in to save the day. The pretty woman he likes to kiss the most? Jessica Taggert. So as Jessica and portly Alexander eventually put down their verbal swords and become friends, Jessica and Raider Alexander start dancing around one another in a more romantic sense. Or something. Let's just say that Jessica has a lot on her plate and Alexander is at the middle of all of it.

The Taggert family is fantastic (poor, proud, and completely dedicated to pulling their weight) and the games Alexander and Jessica engage in are kind of a lot (but also kind of funny since neither wants to admit things). A little romance and a dash of daring. I'M IN!