Tag: Kate Pearce

Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Only Rakes Need Apply (Rakes of London)Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: Rakes of London

Release Date: October 28, 2025

After two long years, Carenza, the widowed Countess Smythe-Harding has finally finished mourning her late (and unlamented) husband and is ready to move on with her life. After enduring a miserable marriage with a man that cheated on her and left her penniless, she has no desire to remarry but does miss the benefits of the marriage bed. After jokingly saying she should place an ad for a lover, her best friend Olivia Sheraton places the ad and sets up a place for them to interview applicants. Carenza is mortified but goes along with it. When her late husband’s best friend Julian Laurent shows up and stops the nonsense, he makes Carenza an offer of his own – he will be her lover, no strings attached.

Julian Laurent has known Carenza for most of her life, as their family estates border each other. As the second son, Julian had no fortune, title or purpose, so he did as many other “spares” did and sowed his wild oats in London and gaining a reputation as a rake. But recently he inherited a massive fortune from his godmother and has tried to become more responsible. When he learns that Carenza has placed an ad for a lover, he can’t stand by and let her ruin her reputation, so he intervenes, not intending to offer himself to her, but that is exactly what happens. Too bad they both have enemies determined to see them ruined before they can claim their HEA.

I have mixed feeling about this book, I loved the idea of the story and felt that the story was well-written with some great characters. But at the same time, there was a lot going on and despite the steamy love scenes, I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Carenza and Julian – in fact at some points I wondered if they even liked each other. I did like Carenza’s circle of friends, which gave the story a bit of a “Desperate Housewives” vibe, but even that created more drama than the story could support. I finished the book and felt like the story was too chaotic and I didn’t get enough closure – I know this was the start of a series, so some unfinished business is bound to work its way through future installments – but this was more about things that were central to this story. Overall, I didn’t love this story, but I didn’t hate it either – I will definitely be reading the next book to see if I judged this installment too harshly.

*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. *

Taming the Temptress by Kate Pearce

On By TracyIn Author Collaboration Series, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Novella, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Taming the TemptressTaming the Temptress by Kate Pearce

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Witches’ Ball, #3 & Paranormal Romance, #4

Release Date: September 5, 2023

Nanto-Svelta “Nant” is a water deity, she is happy tending her waterways and granting wishes made at her wells in Bocka Morrow. The only other person she interacts with is her half-sister, Malakia, who is now happily married to a mortal. Years ago, Nant was burned by a lover and now no longer trusts her heart and has no desire to find a mate, even if she is lonely. But when her father, the Cornish water god, Endellion, commands her to attend the Witches Ball, she has no choice but to attend. With her sister’s help and an eleven seamstress, Nant is ready to go to the ball. Almost as soon as she enters Nightshade Manor, she meets Mr. Taranis, when she stops short and he runs into her. Needless to say, it is not love at first sight, but later the two share a kiss that she blithely brushes off and tries to pretend didn’t affect her. But it did, and that scares her.

Taranis is the ancient Cornish god of storms, he and his family came to England with the Romans, and while his family left, Taranis remained to help the local people. But he is lonely and when he meets Nant, he is sure she is The One and sets out to prove it. Nant is wary, but slowly begins to fall for Taranis and begins to think that she could be happy. However, when she learns the truth about their original meeting, she feels betrayed. Taranis will have to prove that she can trust him and that his love is true, or he will lose her forever.

This was such a great addition to the Witches’ Ball series (and ties into Kate Pearce’s Paranormal Romance Series), the story is full of witty banter, steamy love scenes, great secondary characters, a bit of drama, some heartache, and finally a soulmate type love with the promise of HEA. This is the third book in the series, but it is loosely connected to the other books in the series and could easily be read as a standalone title. I loved this story and happily recommend it!