aliciareadsit's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While this is the 3rd book in the Mayfield Family Romances, this was my very first read which isn't a problem since it reads as a standalone. I really enjoyed this story, and I will definitely be picking up the rest of this series.
At the beginning of the story, we find Harry deep in gambling debt and drink. With a ruthless lender coming after him, he has no choice but to turn to a different kind of lender. One that will not only get him out of his financial mess, but also help him turn his life around--The mysterious Lord Damion.
Lord Damion, however, is not a man. It is our other MC Lady Sabrina, who after a terrible marriage to an abusive husband becomes a free woman of large means upon his sudden death.
When Sabrina takes on Harry's debts, she doesn't plan to have any kind of interaction with him, but that all changes when she finds him in an alley after being severely beaten. She takes him in to care of him and this is when their interactions begin.
I really enjoyed the premise of this story, as the dynamic is not typical for a Regency novel. Sabrina is five years older than Harry, plus Sabrina is the wealthy one. Not only that, but Sabrina takes Harry into HER home. So their relationship is definitely an intriguing part of the storyline.
My favorite part of this story however is that it is a story of redemption above all else. Sabrina has already grown through all the many challenges in her life previous to this, but that being said, she does go through a small transformation as well in relation to how she views men and relationships. This story is mainly about Harry though, and his growth. He turns his life around completely, with the help of Sabrina and her staff, and realizes he doesn't want the life he was leading. Because of these details, the story was a slow-burn romance, which was very fitting.
Overall this was a really fantastic Regency era read. Very unique in its premise, and engaging. I look forward to reading the other novels in this series.
**Many thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Josi S. Kilpack for the advanced paperback copy in exchange only for my honest thoughts and review!**
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While this is the 3rd book in the Mayfield Family Romances, this was my very first read which isn't a problem since it reads as a standalone. I really enjoyed this story, and I will definitely be picking up the rest of this series.
At the beginning of the story, we find Harry deep in gambling debt and drink. With a ruthless lender coming after him, he has no choice but to turn to a different kind of lender. One that will not only get him out of his financial mess, but also help him turn his life around--The mysterious Lord Damion.
Lord Damion, however, is not a man. It is our other MC Lady Sabrina, who after a terrible marriage to an abusive husband becomes a free woman of large means upon his sudden death.
When Sabrina takes on Harry's debts, she doesn't plan to have any kind of interaction with him, but that all changes when she finds him in an alley after being severely beaten. She takes him in to care of him and this is when their interactions begin.
I really enjoyed the premise of this story, as the dynamic is not typical for a Regency novel. Sabrina is five years older than Harry, plus Sabrina is the wealthy one. Not only that, but Sabrina takes Harry into HER home. So their relationship is definitely an intriguing part of the storyline.
My favorite part of this story however is that it is a story of redemption above all else. Sabrina has already grown through all the many challenges in her life previous to this, but that being said, she does go through a small transformation as well in relation to how she views men and relationships. This story is mainly about Harry though, and his growth. He turns his life around completely, with the help of Sabrina and her staff, and realizes he doesn't want the life he was leading. Because of these details, the story was a slow-burn romance, which was very fitting.
Overall this was a really fantastic Regency era read. Very unique in its premise, and engaging. I look forward to reading the other novels in this series.
**Many thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Josi S. Kilpack for the advanced paperback copy in exchange only for my honest thoughts and review!**
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rjordan19's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋
Sex Scene Length: only kisses
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): only kisses
Humor: Just a touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
Should I read in order?
This is the third book of Kilpack’s Mayfield Family series but I found it fine as a standalone.
Basic plot:
Sabrina comes across Harry after he’s been attacked by immoral money lenders and nurses him back to health.
Give this a try if you want:
- Both characters have a bit of anxiety
- Independent heroine – she inherited much upon her husband’s death and uses it for good within society
- Emotionally strong hero (hero cries)
- Chess!
- This is a Christian no sex romance – there are scenes of Bible reading and prayer
- Heroine nurses hero back to health
- Light touch of second chance – the hero has an empathetic encounter with the heroine 6 years prior (he’s going off with another woman and the heroine is married here so it wasn’t anything sexual)
My thoughts:
This one really isn’t my thing – I’m not looking for Christian romance – and I didn’t realize that it was when I picked it up. Generally I liked the writing quite a bit. But overall the themes of ‘vices’ needing to be overcome, the amount of warm milk drank, and the praying and Bible reading made this one not something I seek out in romance.
I am still a bit confused about everyone calling the heroine a lady, even though she’s a bastard. It seemed a bit far stretched how it was just accepted. I did like both main characters quite a bit though. And I loved that in this one the heroine was in a place of security after what she’d been through and was in a position to help the hero. I think those looking for a low steam read about healing could really love this novel.
Content warnings:
- Heroine’s first marriage is filled with hurt, physical violence, and verbal abuse
- Heroine miscarries (remembered, not on page)
- Hero suffers from alcoholism and a gambling addiction and there’s quite a bit of page time recovery
- Mention of hero’s uncle making his fortune in India
- Heroine is thought to be infertile after her miscarriage (told by a doctor)
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
82% - kiss
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋
Sex Scene Length: only kisses
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): only kisses
Humor: Just a touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
Should I read in order?
This is the third book of Kilpack’s Mayfield Family series but I found it fine as a standalone.
Basic plot:
Sabrina comes across Harry after he’s been attacked by immoral money lenders and nurses him back to health.
Give this a try if you want:
- Both characters have a bit of anxiety
- Independent heroine – she inherited much upon her husband’s death and uses it for good within society
- Emotionally strong hero (hero cries)
- Chess!
- This is a Christian no sex romance – there are scenes of Bible reading and prayer
- Heroine nurses hero back to health
- Light touch of second chance – the hero has an empathetic encounter with the heroine 6 years prior (he’s going off with another woman and the heroine is married here so it wasn’t anything sexual)
My thoughts:
This one really isn’t my thing – I’m not looking for Christian romance – and I didn’t realize that it was when I picked it up. Generally I liked the writing quite a bit. But overall the themes of ‘vices’ needing to be overcome, the amount of warm milk drank, and the praying and Bible reading made this one not something I seek out in romance.
I am still a bit confused about everyone calling the heroine a lady, even though she’s a bastard. It seemed a bit far stretched how it was just accepted. I did like both main characters quite a bit though. And I loved that in this one the heroine was in a place of security after what she’d been through and was in a position to help the hero. I think those looking for a low steam read about healing could really love this novel.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
- Heroine’s first marriage is filled with hurt, physical violence, and verbal abuse
- Heroine miscarries (remembered, not on page)
- Hero suffers from alcoholism and a gambling addiction and there’s quite a bit of page time recovery
- Mention of hero’s uncle making his fortune in India
- Heroine is thought to be infertile after her miscarriage (told by a doctor)
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Spoiler
82% - kiss
illusie's review against another edition
3.0
The book start with Sabrina who's husband is abusive. This is glossed over. It would have given the book more depth is it gave more attention to Sabrina's emotions. Now it was more a detached background story. The romance in this book lacked chemisty. I didn't really like Harry. He is a gambler and is on the brink of losing everything. I like how Sabrina helps others, which is unusual for the time period the book is set in. Overall I liked the book.
yaragirl's review against another edition
2.0
Rakes and Roses is the third book in the Mayfield Family series by Josi S. Kilpack.
This book, like the previous books, is part of the proper romance genre - which means it's clean when it comes to sexual content. Additionally, these novels might have Christian content thought they vary wildly as to how overt the Christian content might be - sometimes, you might not even notice it.
Having read the first two books in this series and enjoyed them very much, I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, this book was not a good addition to this series. There was no chemistry between the two main characters which means romance was absent in a romantic novel.
Additionally, unlike on the previous two books the Christian messaging was obvious and unmistakable. For those who are not religious it might be uncomfortable.
The Highlights
For a proper romance, I thought the premise of the story was intriguing and a change from the typical plots we see in this genre. You get a lot of "House Parties" in this genre for some reason.
The story follows Harold "Harry" Stillman, a degenerate gambler and drunk who hits rock bottom and Lady Sabrina, the bastard daughter of a duke. She survived an abusive marriage and now dedicates herself to helping others.
Lady Sabrina has a savior complex and has decided to focus this on saving young men who find themselves down on their luck because of their poor life choices. Posing as the moneylender, Lord Damion, Sabrina seeks to help young men by getting them out of the financial trouble, and as payment, they must mend their ways and leave their vices behind, or else they lose everything they have. Interesting, right? And it was for the first quarter of the book. It depicted this storyline in a very tame and clean way, but it had potential.
I will give credit for writing a somewhat credible, if not supremely sanitized, depiction of having to go through withdrawals from alcohol abuse. At least the author made an attempt at creating a realistic scenario.
The Lowlights
So while the premise of this book was intriguing and different from the usual fare, it's execution wasn't as strong as it needed to be to carry this story to the depths it had the possibility of achieving. It ended up feeling a bit shallow, early on in the story we see how low Harry's vices have brought him and we see him battling his alcoholism, and yet it still felt very superficial. Sabrina's past with a violent marriage also felt unexplored and frankly, it felt like a device to give her vulnerability rather than being part of her character growth.
Additionally, unlike the two previous books, the Christian message in this story was loud and clear. Harry basically had to "find Jesus" to help him battle his vices and addictions. They were even bible verses included. Now, I'm not religious, but I'm not opposed to having religious content as part of the story if it's done in an organic way and not just be a just a tool.
For example, before Harry seeks the help of Lord Damien and feels like the world is caving in on him, why not have him try to pray as a last resort, asking God for his help even though he doesn't deserve it. Then, when he gets help in the form of Lord Damien, he can reconnect with God because he believes that God sent him Lord Damien to him as he had prayed for when he was down on his luck.
What we got, however, felt to me like it was included because it was a requirement. It felt preachy, which I really disliked. I don't want to read proselytizing in my romance novels.
The chemistry between the two characters was non-existing. I'm not exaggerating, I felt nothing for them as a couple, and I kept on waiting for the romance to start, but it never did. Sabrina feels an attraction to Harry almost from the beginning, but it's not a very strong attraction, and Harry doesn't start seeing Sabrina as a love interest until 2/3 of the way through the book. No romantic tension, no chemistry, no real build-up.
Finally, it's a small annoyance, but I wish they had not changed the style of the covers. I liked the cover art style of the first two books; it was unique. This cover looks like every other proper romance cover out there.
Conclusion
This book was a huge disappointment for me, I've been waiting since last year for the continuation of this series, and it was sadly a letdown. I don’t think I'll continue reading this series. For those who like proper romances I recommend the first two books, but don't go any further.
The second book “Daisies and Desire” is my favorite of the first two books.
Audible Note
Justine Eyre narrated the audiobook. I've listened to many books narrated by JE, and I like the way she narrates and her ability to create distinctive voices for each character.
This book, like the previous books, is part of the proper romance genre - which means it's clean when it comes to sexual content. Additionally, these novels might have Christian content thought they vary wildly as to how overt the Christian content might be - sometimes, you might not even notice it.
Having read the first two books in this series and enjoyed them very much, I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, this book was not a good addition to this series. There was no chemistry between the two main characters which means romance was absent in a romantic novel.
Additionally, unlike on the previous two books the Christian messaging was obvious and unmistakable. For those who are not religious it might be uncomfortable.
The Highlights
For a proper romance, I thought the premise of the story was intriguing and a change from the typical plots we see in this genre. You get a lot of "House Parties" in this genre for some reason.
The story follows Harold "Harry" Stillman, a degenerate gambler and drunk who hits rock bottom and Lady Sabrina, the bastard daughter of a duke. She survived an abusive marriage and now dedicates herself to helping others.
Lady Sabrina has a savior complex and has decided to focus this on saving young men who find themselves down on their luck because of their poor life choices. Posing as the moneylender, Lord Damion, Sabrina seeks to help young men by getting them out of the financial trouble, and as payment, they must mend their ways and leave their vices behind, or else they lose everything they have. Interesting, right? And it was for the first quarter of the book. It depicted this storyline in a very tame and clean way, but it had potential.
I will give credit for writing a somewhat credible, if not supremely sanitized, depiction of having to go through withdrawals from alcohol abuse. At least the author made an attempt at creating a realistic scenario.
The Lowlights
So while the premise of this book was intriguing and different from the usual fare, it's execution wasn't as strong as it needed to be to carry this story to the depths it had the possibility of achieving. It ended up feeling a bit shallow, early on in the story we see how low Harry's vices have brought him and we see him battling his alcoholism, and yet it still felt very superficial. Sabrina's past with a violent marriage also felt unexplored and frankly, it felt like a device to give her vulnerability rather than being part of her character growth.
Additionally, unlike the two previous books, the Christian message in this story was loud and clear. Harry basically had to "find Jesus" to help him battle his vices and addictions. They were even bible verses included. Now, I'm not religious, but I'm not opposed to having religious content as part of the story if it's done in an organic way and not just be a just a tool.
For example, before Harry seeks the help of Lord Damien and feels like the world is caving in on him, why not have him try to pray as a last resort, asking God for his help even though he doesn't deserve it. Then, when he gets help in the form of Lord Damien, he can reconnect with God because he believes that God sent him Lord Damien to him as he had prayed for when he was down on his luck.
What we got, however, felt to me like it was included because it was a requirement. It felt preachy, which I really disliked. I don't want to read proselytizing in my romance novels.
The chemistry between the two characters was non-existing. I'm not exaggerating, I felt nothing for them as a couple, and I kept on waiting for the romance to start, but it never did. Sabrina feels an attraction to Harry almost from the beginning, but it's not a very strong attraction, and Harry doesn't start seeing Sabrina as a love interest until 2/3 of the way through the book. No romantic tension, no chemistry, no real build-up.
Finally, it's a small annoyance, but I wish they had not changed the style of the covers. I liked the cover art style of the first two books; it was unique. This cover looks like every other proper romance cover out there.
Conclusion
This book was a huge disappointment for me, I've been waiting since last year for the continuation of this series, and it was sadly a letdown. I don’t think I'll continue reading this series. For those who like proper romances I recommend the first two books, but don't go any further.
The second book “Daisies and Desire” is my favorite of the first two books.
Audible Note
Justine Eyre narrated the audiobook. I've listened to many books narrated by JE, and I like the way she narrates and her ability to create distinctive voices for each character.
limabean74's review against another edition
4.0
Such a wonderful story, I just loved Sabrina and Harry.
bookswithnopictures's review against another edition
4.0
Josi's writing never fails to wrap me up in a happy little book bubble. Rakes and Roses is no exception.
The love story takes a backseat to Harry's redemption. In a genre that is flooded with romance, this was a really nice change of pace. Harry is essentially an addict. He's addicted to alcohol, gambling, and general carousing. His uncle offers him a way out of this lifestyle, but Harry is not at all interested in reforming his ways. About a year later, Harry hits a personal low and owes thousands of pounds to what we would now call a loan shark. He's burned bridges with family and friends and gets one last opportunity to change his ways. As with most who struggle, Harry has highs and lows and ultimately has to decide for himself to change his life.
Rakes and Roses is a clean regency and an easy read.
Thank you, Shadow Mountain and NetGalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.
The love story takes a backseat to Harry's redemption. In a genre that is flooded with romance, this was a really nice change of pace. Harry is essentially an addict. He's addicted to alcohol, gambling, and general carousing. His uncle offers him a way out of this lifestyle, but Harry is not at all interested in reforming his ways. About a year later, Harry hits a personal low and owes thousands of pounds to what we would now call a loan shark. He's burned bridges with family and friends and gets one last opportunity to change his ways. As with most who struggle, Harry has highs and lows and ultimately has to decide for himself to change his life.
Rakes and Roses is a clean regency and an easy read.
Thank you, Shadow Mountain and NetGalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.
ebgracie77's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed it. I do feel like there could have been more but is it a bad thing when a book leaves me wanting more?
bandnerd77's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars
Full review and content guide at https://betterbookbureau.weebly.com/reviews/rakes-and-roses-kilpack
Full review and content guide at https://betterbookbureau.weebly.com/reviews/rakes-and-roses-kilpack
karenthornell's review against another edition
4.0
Josi Kilpack is one of the best clean romance authors when it comes to writing about internal growth. This story was no different. Harry starts about as low as you can go, and it was very realistic and rewarding to watch him overcome his many vices and become a better man. It was also rather gratifying to see the hero of the story really in the position of damsel in distress. Sabrina, by contrast, was a force to be reckoned with, and the real hero of this story. She has dealt with her truly horrible past life and has come out on top in a most benevolent way. Overall, the romance was fairly nonexistant in the first half of the book while Harry went through what he needed to in order to be even considered a match for Lady Sabrina. The story really picked up in the last third, as the plot line took a turn for the fast-paced and exciting. With the exception of Harry's speech where he admits his feelings for Sabrina (which was incredible), the epilogue was my very favorite part of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book!
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book!
melissasbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this third book in the Mayfield Family series! Harry is a drunk, gambler, and rake. When he finally reaches a point where his drinking and gambling has nearly ruined him, he gains a glimmer of hope from a mysterious financer named Lord Damion. Lady Sabrina has had a difficult life. Born on the wrong side of the blanket and married to a detestable man, she finally gains her freedom and wealth untold when her abusive husband unexpectedly dies. When she comes across Harry at his lowest point, she immediately remembers the man who once captured her imagination with his kindness years before. She decides to help him but must remain on guard lest she lose her heart and everything she has gained.
I loved the romance between Harry and Sabrina. They have a unique relationship where in this case the woman has the upper hand and advantage. I loved how their interactions lead to love as they get to know one another. Love this series and can't wait for the next book!
I loved the romance between Harry and Sabrina. They have a unique relationship where in this case the woman has the upper hand and advantage. I loved how their interactions lead to love as they get to know one another. Love this series and can't wait for the next book!