Rake in Disguise by Jane Charles

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Wicked Widows League #33 & Observations of a Wallflower #6

Release Date: September 16, 2025

Lady Blythe Clay nee Claxton has endured a lot since marrying Lieutenant John Clay, a man her father the Duke of Arscott did not approve of, but she believed they loved each other and eventually her father would come around. When the war started, Blythe followed John to France and has been done her best to be a good wife, but now after four years of marriage, John has realized that her father is never going to support them and has decided that he is done with Blythe and sells her in a public wife auction! Blythe is beyond mortified by the auction and isn’t sure what to expect when Dr. Orlando Valentine buys her. She has seen him before associating with the camp followers and thinks he is a rake. But she is surprised when he rents her a room at a local inn and treats her with respect. They become friends and soon deeper feelings develop, but Orlando will not dishonor her by committing adultery. After the battle of Waterloo, Blythe goes looking for Orlando and learns that her husband was killed. She is overwhelmed by the news and when she sees Orlando treating the injured, she knows she is not good enough for him and that is it time for her to return home. She leaves him a letter and hopes he will seek her out in England. But it will be almost three years before they meet again, can they rekindle the feelings they once had, or has too much time passed for a second chance?

Dr. Orlando Valentine fell in love with Blythe before he ever met her but kept his distance when he learned she was married. When he sees her being auctioned, he steps in and saves her. He takes her to the tent he shares with his sister Isabella but quickly realizes that she can’t stay there. He finds a room at an inn for her and visits her each night, so the innkeeper thinks they are married. Their friendship grows and he falls fast and hard for her and believes she cares for him too, but when she disappears without a word after Waterloo and he learns she is now a widow, he thinks she realized that she was too good for him and left. He doesn’t try to find her, thinking she wants nothing to do with him, but when their paths cross years later, Orlando decides he wants answers and won’t let her walk away again.

What a sweet, second chance romance this was! Blythe and Orlando are both characters that I knew and liked from previous Jane Charles books, and I was so happy to learn that this would be their love story! The book is basically written in two parts, before Waterloo and then three years later in England, and finally gives readers who have been following both families, some long awaited answers about Orlando’s love life! The story is packed with emotion, secrets, betrayal, hope, friendship, insecurities, warm love scenes, acceptance and finally a long-awaited HEA complete with a very sweet epilogue! I loved this book and would highly recommend it to my fellow HR readers, especially those who have been following the Valentine and Claxton family sagas!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *