Tag: #RakesOfLondon

How to Ruin a Rake by Kate Pearce

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), historical-romance, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

How to Ruin a Rake (Rakes of London)How to Ruin a Rake by Kate Pearce

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Rakes of London, #2

Release Date: September 29, 2026

After her sister started a scandal, Lady Allegra Musgrove and her family decide to lay low in the country until the gossip dies down. She is waiting for the carriage when she is abducted by a very drunk masked man and told that she will be released shortly. Allegra, not one to play the damsel in distress, argues with her captor, and knocks him out by throwing a book at him. She thinks she will be released soon, but hours later, when the carriage crashes, she realizes how bad her situation really is. She finally wakes her abductor, who turns out to be the notorious rake, Max Devereux, Marquess of Blanchard. And she learns that she was taken by accident, but now they are stranded in the middle of nowhere with limited resources. Max promises to return her to her family and stifle any gossip, but the journey will not be without pitfalls, and their story won’t end when he gets her home.

Max Devereux, Marquess of Blachard, the very bored heir to the Duke of Barfleur, has made a huge mistake. He planned to abduct Allegra’s sister Lady Carenza and convince her to be seen with him in public, so he could win a wager. Instead, he was knocked unconscious by her younger sister, thrown from a carriage, his friend who he thought was driving is nowhere in sight and apparently, he stole his purse, and left in the middle of nowhere with a very angry Lady Allegra. He promises to return her to her family, with no one the wiser. He never expected to like her, or desire her or ever see her again after fulfilling his promise, but as they say, the best laid plans…

This was a well-written, nicely paced, fun read with very likable characters. Both Allegra and Max were easy to like, Allegra for her intelligence and Max for his charm and wit, I enjoyed watching each character grow and evolve, especially Max. This story has a lot going on; there is a wager gone wrong, abduction, a road trip, force proximity, a daring escape, steamyish love scenes, a marriage of convenience, real character growth, a serious lack of communication and finally a happy ending. I liked this story better than the first book, but I did feel like Allegra seemed to turn into a martyr towards the end of the book which seemed out of character and I do wish the book had an epilogue, but overall, it was a fast, fun, enjoyable read which I would happily recommend. This is the second book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

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

 

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. *