Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love by Numbers, Bk 1)
Author:
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Author:
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Helpful Score: 5
~ YAY!! FINALLY A GOOD NEW RELEASE, A WONDERFUL NEW AUTHOR, AND A FANTASTIC SHY-WALLFLOWER-HEROINE (4.5 stars) ~
SUMMARY:
"Plain" and spinsterish 28-year-old Lady Calpurnia "Callie" Hartwell is sick of being seen as an old spinster, on-the-shelf, passive, and uninteresting - and thus THE LIST is born. On this list of nine things are activities that normally-shy Callie would never have dared to even contemplate, let alone actually do (gamble at a gentleman's club, drink scotch, smoke a cheroot, attend a duel, kiss someone passionately, etc.). Her partner in crime becomes Gabriel, Marquess of Ralston, the notorious rake whom she has secretly had a crush on for ten years.
Gabriel - unlike most HR heroes, of course! - is completely opposed to the idea of love due to his parents' disastrous marriage. He is somewhat elusive and inaccessible, and does not easily open himself up to others or have the approachable demeanor that his twin brother does. A recently discovered half-sister has left him in a quandary, as her background will make it hard for the ton to accept her. So who better to help him launch her in society than the spinster with the perfect (-ly boring) reputation - who happens to conveniently have shown up at his house in the middle of the night seeking a kiss. Callie, on her end, wants to live life and experience some adventure; she is more than willing to help with Gabriel's sister, so a deal is struck and the rest is history!
This book has wonderful leading characters, great supporting ones as well (especially the siblings - they're stellar), there were many laugh-out-loud scenes, the witty banter and teasing between Gabriel and Callie will leave you smiling, and the tension/romance was great.
REACTION:
So great to find a new author and it was wonderful to finally read a good "new release" book after such a string of bad ones by some of my favorite historical romance authors. MacLean has a new book coming out again soon - October 26th to be exact - and I can't wait (!!!). The book is TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD (yes, are we sensing a pattern here with the titles?) and it will feature Gabriel's twin brother, Lord Nicholas St. Justin, and Lady Isabel Townsend (who we have not yet been introduced to). We also have Gabriel's sister's and Callie's brother's books to look forward to!
SIMILAR BOOKS:
I'm a big fan of the shy-wallflower-intelligent-plain heroines - I know, unlike almost every other historical romance reader out there ;-). Anyway, here are more of my favorite books that have the same type of heroine; they're not in order of preference, but they were all 4-5 star reads for me:
~ Lisa Kleypas --- DEVIL IN WINTER, DREAMING OF YOU
~ Suzanne Enoch --- ALWAYS A SCOUNDREL, LONDON'S PERFECT SCOUNDREL (this book doesn't totally fit into the category, but the books are similar and it is one of my top five favorite HR books of all-time)
~ Christina Dodd --- ONE KISS FROM YOU, RULES OF SURRENDER, THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS
~ Julia Quinn --- ROMANCING MISTER BRIDGERTON
~ Sabrina Jeffries --- A NOTORIOUS LOVE
~ Judith Ivory --- THE PROPOSITION
~ Jane Feather --- THE LEAST LIKELY BRIDE
SIDE NOTE:
Oh, and P.S. did I mention how FABULOUS it was to finally have a character named Juliana whose name is spelled the same way as mine and is NOT one of the book's evil characters?!?! Totally looking forward to her romance with what we can only assume will be the horrid Duke of Leighton.
SUMMARY:
"Plain" and spinsterish 28-year-old Lady Calpurnia "Callie" Hartwell is sick of being seen as an old spinster, on-the-shelf, passive, and uninteresting - and thus THE LIST is born. On this list of nine things are activities that normally-shy Callie would never have dared to even contemplate, let alone actually do (gamble at a gentleman's club, drink scotch, smoke a cheroot, attend a duel, kiss someone passionately, etc.). Her partner in crime becomes Gabriel, Marquess of Ralston, the notorious rake whom she has secretly had a crush on for ten years.
Gabriel - unlike most HR heroes, of course! - is completely opposed to the idea of love due to his parents' disastrous marriage. He is somewhat elusive and inaccessible, and does not easily open himself up to others or have the approachable demeanor that his twin brother does. A recently discovered half-sister has left him in a quandary, as her background will make it hard for the ton to accept her. So who better to help him launch her in society than the spinster with the perfect (-ly boring) reputation - who happens to conveniently have shown up at his house in the middle of the night seeking a kiss. Callie, on her end, wants to live life and experience some adventure; she is more than willing to help with Gabriel's sister, so a deal is struck and the rest is history!
This book has wonderful leading characters, great supporting ones as well (especially the siblings - they're stellar), there were many laugh-out-loud scenes, the witty banter and teasing between Gabriel and Callie will leave you smiling, and the tension/romance was great.
REACTION:
So great to find a new author and it was wonderful to finally read a good "new release" book after such a string of bad ones by some of my favorite historical romance authors. MacLean has a new book coming out again soon - October 26th to be exact - and I can't wait (!!!). The book is TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD (yes, are we sensing a pattern here with the titles?) and it will feature Gabriel's twin brother, Lord Nicholas St. Justin, and Lady Isabel Townsend (who we have not yet been introduced to). We also have Gabriel's sister's and Callie's brother's books to look forward to!
SIMILAR BOOKS:
I'm a big fan of the shy-wallflower-intelligent-plain heroines - I know, unlike almost every other historical romance reader out there ;-). Anyway, here are more of my favorite books that have the same type of heroine; they're not in order of preference, but they were all 4-5 star reads for me:
~ Lisa Kleypas --- DEVIL IN WINTER, DREAMING OF YOU
~ Suzanne Enoch --- ALWAYS A SCOUNDREL, LONDON'S PERFECT SCOUNDREL (this book doesn't totally fit into the category, but the books are similar and it is one of my top five favorite HR books of all-time)
~ Christina Dodd --- ONE KISS FROM YOU, RULES OF SURRENDER, THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS
~ Julia Quinn --- ROMANCING MISTER BRIDGERTON
~ Sabrina Jeffries --- A NOTORIOUS LOVE
~ Judith Ivory --- THE PROPOSITION
~ Jane Feather --- THE LEAST LIKELY BRIDE
SIDE NOTE:
Oh, and P.S. did I mention how FABULOUS it was to finally have a character named Juliana whose name is spelled the same way as mine and is NOT one of the book's evil characters?!?! Totally looking forward to her romance with what we can only assume will be the horrid Duke of Leighton.
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