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The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh [BOOK REVIEW]

I am so thrilled to be joining the blog tour for The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes by Eva Leigh. Huge thanks to the team at Mills & Boon, for sending me a copy of the book. The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes is the first book in the Last Chance Scoundrels series.

About The Book:

Pages: 368

Genre: Regency Romance

Publisher: Mills & Boon

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★/★

Synopsis:

When Kieran Ransome’s latest antics result in a massive scandal, his father issues an ultimatum: find a respectable wife or inherit nothing. But as one of London’s most inveterate scoundrels, Kieran doesn’t know any ladies who fit the bill. Or does he?

Celeste Kilburn is a society darling, beloved by influential members of the ton. But keeping a spotless reputation leaves little room for adventure and she longs to escape her gilded cage, especially with her impending engagement to a stuffy earl. When Kieran—her older brother’s best friend and an irresistibly attractive rogue—begs for her help, Celeste makes a deal: she’ll introduce him to the right social circles if he’ll show her the scandalous side of London.

In between proper teas and garden parties, Kieran escorts Celeste—disguised as “Salome”—to rowdy gaming hells, wild fêtes, and sensual art salons. As they spend more time together, their initial attraction builds to a desperate desire that neither can ignore. But when someone discovers their midnight exploits, Celeste’s freedom and reputation are endangered, and Kieran must save the woman he loves… respectable or not.

My Thoughts:

The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes is the second book I’ve read by Eva Leigh, the first one being “Would I Lie to the Duke”. Eva has a wonderful way of inviting you into the Regency period and keeping you hooked. I read this book very fast and enjoyed every chapter. I managed to avoid the hype that is Bridgerton for a very long time, haven’t watched a single episode, but after reading this book I binge watched the whole first season. In two days. I even started to say things like “I shall like a coffee very much.”

Back to our book, I loved Kieran and Celeste’s romance and passion so much! It’s one of those stories of slow-burn romance, where we all know these two people have feelings for each other, but they are the last ones to realize it. And by not telling each other what they feel, they are hurting themselves too. The tension is there throughout the whole book. Kieran appears to be a rake, but has a soft spot. And Celeste appears to be a respectable lady in society, but has a wild heart.

“Some men loved breasts, others were enthralled by arses or legs. But Kieran could write stanza after stanza on the allure of a woman’s neck.”

We get a lot of adventures in the book as well.

Celeste gets to ecplore the scandalous side of London and I loved her wild spirit. It was nice to meet a character in that time thatis not afraid to speak her mind, share her hopes, dreams and passions. And it was nice to meet a man that listened to a woman and actually respected her choices and cared for her freedom of speech.

“So long as no one’s harmed in its getting,” he said, his voice low, “we ought to be free to find our joy where we can. God knows that in this life, none of it’s guaranteed.”

The story intrigued me and the romance kept me going. It’s a lovely book to dive into and escape reality for a second. Even if you’re not a regency novel fan, if you love sexy and fun slow-burn romances, I warmly recommend checking “The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes” out.

About The Author:

Eva Leigh is a USA Today bestselling author who writes novels chock-full of determined women and men who are here for it. She enjoys baking, spending too much time on the Internet, and listening to music from the ’80s. Eva and her husband live in Central California.

Eva also writes in multiple romance genres as RITA-award nominated Zoë Archer. As Alexis Stanton, she wrote the novel on which the top-rated Hallmark holiday movie “A Timeless Christmas” was based.

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★★★★

Thank you to Mills & Boon, for sending me a copy of Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh, and for the opportunity to participate on this blog tour.

Would I Lie to the Duke by Eva Leigh is the second book in the Union of the Rakes series. It can be easily read as a standalone though.

Synopsis:

This is the story of Jessica McGale. Her family business is in need of investors, after it collapses due to a fire. Jessica is determined to acquire investors for her business at any cost. When she realises that London’s elite will never give a chance to a humble farm girl like herself, she does the unthinkable. She poses as “Lady Whitfield” and joins the elite on the table. She especially tries to get close to the Duke of Rotherby, as his influence and support could save her company. But one thing Jess never expected to happen, is to grow feelings for him.

Noel is the carefree and notorious duke, but only his close friends truly know him. When he meets Lady Whitfield at the business bazaar, his world shifts. She makes him want to obey every command she tells, which is something he never imagined doing. He struggles to trust people, but trusting Jess is so easy.

But what happens when the business bazaar is over, and so is the fake portrayal of Lady Whitfield? How do you cope when someone has lied to you, but you want them in your life forever? Read this amazing book to find out!

My Thoughts:

I was so hooked about this book, and I finished it in two days. While the plot is a bit predictable and it has a Cinderella vibe to it, I still enjoyed it a lot.

I could completely understand where Jess was coming from, and in order to save her business, I don’t think there were any other options, given how much rejection she faced in the first chapters. But as soon as she started developing feelings, she should’ve been honest with Noel. The person in me felt uncomfortable for her every single time she would deliberately put herself in an awkward situation and not tell the truth when she had a chance to. And the business trip to the farm? Oh, that got me biting my nails again. I also understand that continuing with the deception was a crucial part of the plot, to produce the drama that it did, but I am just not a fan of dishonesty.

Noel was an amazing character, even though, at times, he seemed like the typical rich boy.

I loved the way his relationship with Jess progressed during the couple of days, and how he started opening up. Honestly, I didn’t believe it at first, given that it was based on a lie. I thought that given the fact how much trust issues he had, he could never get past her betrayal. And for me, his way of coping and resolving the issue didn’t fit with his character. I have the feeling that people who are lucky enough to have a high income and live in the elite societies are much more wary of “gold diggers”, and everything Jess does (even though for a good reason), seems to be for her business. So I wouldn’t have blamed him if he reacted in a way more different way and just told her to “bugger off”.

Overall, I enjoyed Would I Lie to the Duke and it was a very pleasurable short read to get me away from reality. I don’t always dive into historical romance, and this was a surprising change that ended on a positive note. Honestly, I am glad that it sparks a debate in my mind and makes me think of “what I would have done” on either side of the relationship. I would have acted very differently. And maybe that’s the reason I’m not married to a duke (yet). 😀