The Irish Rogue is absolutely, totally, utterly (insert superlative here) charming. It takes many of the characters we have encountered in Regency Romances before, the charming impecunious lass and the dashing titled gentleman, gets them out of London, and places them in Dublin.

Ailis O'Neill is the daughter of an Irish Squire. She lives in Dublin with her mother, her brother Eamonn, and her Uncle Thaddeus. Eamonn has ambitions to run for parliament which means that Ailis has to spend some time socializing with Dublin's political set. Ailis is not at all happy about this. She is a fierce and fiery Irish patriot, and bears the anti-Irish sentiments of many of the English inhabitants of Dublin with ill-disguised distaste. Ailis especially does not like her brother's friend and fellow officer, Lord Clane, whom she has pegged as a supercilious titled layabout who pads his coat.

Lord Clane proves not to be what Ailis expects. First of all, he does not pad his coat. He is not a foppish n'er do-well, and though he is an Earl, he is as Irish as the bodhran he plays so skillfully. The attraction between the two of them is as full of sexual tension as anything I have read in a long time. When Ailis touches Lord Clane's coat sleeve - they sizzle.

The plot is just complicated enough to hold the reader's interest with out overpowering the love story. Several years ago, Lord Clane had a secret life as the highwayman An Cu - The Hound. An Cu was an Irish Robin Hood who stole from the English rich and gave to the Irish poor. Ailis had a deep case of hero worship for An Cu and now he has surfaced again, but this An Cu is not Lord Clane. Clane is worried because the English are taking a very dim view of the highwayman's activities and he fears that the new An Cu may be Ailis's brother Eamonn, who has been sporting a larger than usual bank roll of late.

It is almost impossible to convey just how charming and funny this book is. Ailis is sharp, smart and eccentric without ever becoming silly or feisty. I would love to see her again in another book. Lord Clane is not quite as Original a character as Ailis, but he is still very likable indeed. The scene where he takes Ailis into a music shop and shows her that he can indeed play a bodhran is especially well done. Just wait till you read the proposal scene!

Like a good situation comedy, The Irish Rogue is full of wonderful supporting characters. Ailis's family and the members of Dublin Society are all excellent and really add color and character to the book. And when you find out who the false An Cu is, you'll be as surprised as I was, which is a good thing.

Sometimes after I have read one too many mundane Regencies I wonder if the genre has anything new to offer. Then I read a book like The Irish Rogue and have hope that as long as talented writers like Emma Jensen are around, the Regency Romance will thrive.