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agrippinaes's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this was a good, solid historical romance book. The plot is quite simple but the book is well-paced; I thought the use of time skips allowed for things to move on more realistically. I liked both main characters and I thought they had really strong chemistry. Some of their scenes together were filled with sexual tension , whilst others were just lovely and sweet
Their dynamic was really interesting to me and I enjoyed watching their feelings for each other develop and unfold. Their backstories influenced the story in a way that never felt too heavy or too imposing and in both cases, felt perfectly matched with the tone of the rest of the book.
There were also some great side characters - I loved Quincy and Mr. Bloom, as examples of more minor characters, and I ended up becoming ever so slightly obsessed with West (I didn’t think I was till I read the notes I’d made whilst reading and the majority of them were observations about his character -
Also - I couldn’t finish the review without mentioning Helen and Winterbourne.
If I had any complaint, the ending was a bit blunt. I know that this was because a lot of the final conflict between them was wrapped up in the couple featuring in the next book, but still - there wasn’t really any
Unrelated note, but I wasn’t a fan of
Overall though this was a really enjoyable read and I loved every minute of it - until the ending which was maybe a little short and quick for my tastes.
I would recommend it if you want a solid historical romance story featuring a reforming rake and a young widow with some enemies-to-lovers vibes.
Content Warnings:
Spoiler
such as the one where she accidentally catches him bathingSpoiler
such as him helping her when she cries for the first time in years, or when he sees her holding a baby.Their dynamic was really interesting to me and I enjoyed watching their feelings for each other develop and unfold. Their backstories influenced the story in a way that never felt too heavy or too imposing and in both cases, felt perfectly matched with the tone of the rest of the book.
There were also some great side characters - I loved Quincy and Mr. Bloom, as examples of more minor characters, and I ended up becoming ever so slightly obsessed with West (I didn’t think I was till I read the notes I’d made whilst reading and the majority of them were observations about his character -
Spoiler
such as him developing brotherly feelings for the girls so quickly, him throwing himself into work on the land, the fact he saved a pig, the moment where Devon and Kathleen are having their big argument and he’s sighing in the middle of it saying “I don’t think I should be here” - they all made him really endearing and really enjoyable as a side character.Also - I couldn’t finish the review without mentioning Helen and Winterbourne.
Spoiler
I’m not usually a fan of a secondary romance in novels, and there were a couple of points where I felt it was in danger of taking over from the actual plot, but their scenes together were lovely. I loved her caring for him, reading to him, his first sighting of her and wanting to buy her gifts, the whole thing with the orchid that he did look after...I was distressed when their relationship fell apart even though I knew it was coming because they’re the main characters in the second book. I thought it as done well.If I had any complaint, the ending was a bit blunt. I know that this was because a lot of the final conflict between them was wrapped up in the couple featuring in the next book, but still - there wasn’t really any
Spoiler
discussion about their relationship going forwards beyond them loving each other and so on. I also wasn’t convinced by the pregnancy thing - I didn’t really understand how she could have ‘misled’ him about her courses starting just because she got her dates wrong. Like I know some women are really regular but unless she’d actually seen menstrual blood...why did she think she’d started her period? It just didn’t make any sense to me and it felt a bit too neat at the end.Unrelated note, but I wasn’t a fan of
Spoiler
Winterbourne’s behaviour towards Kathleen in that one scene. I sort of got why it was there - but it felt really unnecessary. I didn’t think it was needed.Overall though this was a really enjoyable read and I loved every minute of it - until the ending which was maybe a little short and quick for my tastes.
I would recommend it if you want a solid historical romance story featuring a reforming rake and a young widow with some enemies-to-lovers vibes.
Content Warnings:
Spoiler
Train accident, death on page, violence, sexual threat.bbckprpl's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewed here for CBR 14.
Spoilers below.
Devon Ravenel, the titular Cold-Hearted Rake of book 1 shows up at the family holding that he's recently & unexpectedly inherited after the accidental death of his cousin, with his brother, a bad attitude, and a big mouth. Kathleen, Lady Trenear, the widow of Devon's cousin, already resides there, with her late-husband's three sisters, all the mourning clothing four young ladies could ever require, and a well-earned distrust of all men Ravenel. How could they be anything but destined to fall in love?
The thing is that Devon isn't really all that cold-hearted, and eventually decides that he can't just sell off the family estates, abandon these ladies to their poor fortunes, and disenfranchise all of the tenants of all of those holdings as well. With some unexpected help from his used-to-be-ne'er-do-well of a brother, several other friends (who become more important as the series develops), & a stroke of good luck, Devon manages to excel as Lord Trenear, no matter how much he protested the title & its responsibilities at first. He also realizes pretty quickly that he'd like Lady Trenear to STAY Lady Trenear, and most of the book is him figuring out how to make that happen. Kathleen's reluctance to commit her life to another Ravenel is understandable, and the dance between the two of them, and what each of them needs in order to meet in the middle, is entertaining.
The book contains one of my favorite tropes: Someone is injured, and someone else realizes how deeply they care for them while waiting to see how bad it actually is. It's got all the "oh God, have I waited too long to tell them??" angst a reader would ever need. It also includes a hero who eventually knows the heroine so well that he can figure out the one thing she needs well before she does, and let me tell you that this is why the weaponized incompetence of actual human males makes me livid, because Devon Ravenel, self-proclaimed rake and waste of space, manages to understand Kathleen's need for reassurance and propriety on a level so deep that he invites her (basically) foster mother to visit them to give her approval of their relationship, long before Kathleen even recognizes that that is part of what is holding her back. And random internet dude #33 wants to mansplain why he doesn't know his own children's grade in school? No thank you.
Quote: “It’s far easier to make a heart stop beating entirely than to keep it from loving the wrong person.”
Spoilers below.
Devon Ravenel, the titular Cold-Hearted Rake of book 1 shows up at the family holding that he's recently & unexpectedly inherited after the accidental death of his cousin, with his brother, a bad attitude, and a big mouth. Kathleen, Lady Trenear, the widow of Devon's cousin, already resides there, with her late-husband's three sisters, all the mourning clothing four young ladies could ever require, and a well-earned distrust of all men Ravenel. How could they be anything but destined to fall in love?
The thing is that Devon isn't really all that cold-hearted, and eventually decides that he can't just sell off the family estates, abandon these ladies to their poor fortunes, and disenfranchise all of the tenants of all of those holdings as well. With some unexpected help from his used-to-be-ne'er-do-well of a brother, several other friends (who become more important as the series develops), & a stroke of good luck, Devon manages to excel as Lord Trenear, no matter how much he protested the title & its responsibilities at first. He also realizes pretty quickly that he'd like Lady Trenear to STAY Lady Trenear, and most of the book is him figuring out how to make that happen. Kathleen's reluctance to commit her life to another Ravenel is understandable, and the dance between the two of them, and what each of them needs in order to meet in the middle, is entertaining.
The book contains one of my favorite tropes: Someone is injured, and someone else realizes how deeply they care for them while waiting to see how bad it actually is. It's got all the "oh God, have I waited too long to tell them??" angst a reader would ever need. It also includes a hero who eventually knows the heroine so well that he can figure out the one thing she needs well before she does, and let me tell you that this is why the weaponized incompetence of actual human males makes me livid, because Devon Ravenel, self-proclaimed rake and waste of space, manages to understand Kathleen's need for reassurance and propriety on a level so deep that he invites her (basically) foster mother to visit them to give her approval of their relationship, long before Kathleen even recognizes that that is part of what is holding her back. And random internet dude #33 wants to mansplain why he doesn't know his own children's grade in school? No thank you.
Quote: “It’s far easier to make a heart stop beating entirely than to keep it from loving the wrong person.”
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
3.0
I loved this novel from the off-set, falling into its pages like a heroine falling for a man in breeches. Our dashing hero was cold and cruel at times but it was clear throughout the novel that there was more to Devon than a cold-heart and a big... ego. And our tragic, sassy heroine would lead him into a better life with her witty banter and her supporting cast of loveable characters.
The plot was actually rather standard for a Regency novel, yet it had that feel good factor that made you really care about the estate and the tenants farms. I really wanted to know how Devon fixed the situation.
Then about half way through the novel there was terrible train wreck. Figuratively as well as literally. With this train wreck there came a shift in the focus of the novel. Now we no longer cared about the farms or the estate, nor the gentle development of our characters. Now we were heading full-throttle into sexual chemistry and the sole focus was suddenly on Devon and Kathleen.
I felt a bit bored during this section, moreso when the focus reshifted onto Helen and Rhys. Clearly this was a set-up for the next novel, but it drew the focus away from Devon and Kathleen and I didn't feel that this was satisfactory, but it also didn't satisfy the Helen and Rhys storyline!
Further knocking the rating down for this novel was Kathleen. She started off so sassy and I genuinely liked how she bantered with the boys and was no nonsense. Then suddenly she turned. She started to suck the fun out of everything. She was judgemental and bitchy and whiny and self-serving. By the end of the novel I could barely read the sections with her name in them, because she was being so horrible. Why was she so determined to destroy Helen's relationship? And to do so without any regret or thought. Why was that her place?
Every other character had some development in this novel. Devon and West especially, and with obvious intentions for Helen and Winterbourne. Kathleen was like, the anti-developer. She didn't become a better person at all, she dragged other people down with her.
Overall I think this was a strong starter, but it certainly flagged toward the end of the novel. I adored West and Devon but Kathleen? Nah.
The plot was actually rather standard for a Regency novel, yet it had that feel good factor that made you really care about the estate and the tenants farms. I really wanted to know how Devon fixed the situation.
Then about half way through the novel there was terrible train wreck. Figuratively as well as literally. With this train wreck there came a shift in the focus of the novel. Now we no longer cared about the farms or the estate, nor the gentle development of our characters. Now we were heading full-throttle into sexual chemistry and the sole focus was suddenly on Devon and Kathleen.
I felt a bit bored during this section, moreso when the focus reshifted onto Helen and Rhys. Clearly this was a set-up for the next novel, but it drew the focus away from Devon and Kathleen and I didn't feel that this was satisfactory, but it also didn't satisfy the Helen and Rhys storyline!
Further knocking the rating down for this novel was Kathleen. She started off so sassy and I genuinely liked how she bantered with the boys and was no nonsense. Then suddenly she turned. She started to suck the fun out of everything. She was judgemental and bitchy and whiny and self-serving. By the end of the novel I could barely read the sections with her name in them, because she was being so horrible. Why was she so determined to destroy Helen's relationship? And to do so without any regret or thought. Why was that her place?
Every other character had some development in this novel. Devon and West especially, and with obvious intentions for Helen and Winterbourne. Kathleen was like, the anti-developer. She didn't become a better person at all, she dragged other people down with her.
Overall I think this was a strong starter, but it certainly flagged toward the end of the novel. I adored West and Devon but Kathleen? Nah.
kboehm1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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
4.0
graceangelmama's review against another edition
1.0
The best part of this book was West Ravenel- he made me smile here and in Hello, Stranger. Sadly, West is not our hero, Devon is.
I wanted to like Devon, as my first exposure to him was in Devil in Spring and liked him, but felt he never really humbled himself here and he was AWFUL to Kathleen multiple times. Also, the sexy time “choices” he ALLOWED her? No thank you. The consent issues I felt were there were problematic for me. Also, I’m not keen on the Neanderthal Cave Man Alpha hero
I wanted to like Devon, as my first exposure to him was in Devil in Spring and liked him, but felt he never really humbled himself here and he was AWFUL to Kathleen multiple times. Also, the sexy time “choices” he ALLOWED her? No thank you. The consent issues I felt were there were problematic for me. Also, I’m not keen on the Neanderthal Cave Man Alpha hero
eminator3000's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I think I cared about the other characters more than the main couple but I still enjoyed the story!
whovianpnw's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
burningupasun's review against another edition
3.0
I'm torn. I wanted to love this, and I did really enjoy parts of it. The sisters, Kathleen, the setting, some of the events and plot. But god did I kind of hate the love interest. I know these stories follow a similar theme of "man is an asshole but becomes kinder and is changed by love" but honestly Devon kind of stayed a dick to the very end, and it was exceedingly frustrating. He also bordered way too close on the line of consent quite a few times and I really don't find that appealing. Also I get that it's a sexy romance but do the men in these books literally ever not think about sex? Sheesh.
But I do want to find out what happens to the characters so I'll probably read the next one. Hopefully it'll be better, though I'm not optimistic given what we saw of he next book's love interest in this book.
But I do want to find out what happens to the characters so I'll probably read the next one. Hopefully it'll be better, though I'm not optimistic given what we saw of he next book's love interest in this book.
debrakelsey's review against another edition
5.0
I ate this up!! With all of the time spent teasing Rhys and Helen, I’m feral to start their book.
etclibrarian's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75