This Rake of Mine (Avon Romantic Treasure) [Mass Market Paperback]

I had previously read only one short story by Elizabeth Boyle in the anthology titled HERO, COME BACK. I wrote a review for that book and stated that I loved all the stories except.....yep, EB's. So, why did I buy this book? I obviously did not read my notes before placing the order.

This one (even though it is a full length story) will fare no better with me. I did not like it. If you don't want to find out what happens in the book I would recommend you stop reading now.

I was not enjoying the book, the plot, nor the characters but I had decided to read on because surely at some point Jack would come to realize he shared an historical event with Jane (Miranda) and everything could move on from there. Well! This author asked me to swallow a series of events which do not make logical sense to me. Miranda (Jane) was "ruined" by Mad Jack at the opera when he kissed her. I'm O.K. so far. Her parents (both parents, mind you, mother and father) were so title mad that they saw her ruination as the end of their plans for the future. They banished her to live with relatives but that is not all they did. Now it gets really stupid. They told everyone she had died and even had a funeral for her!!! She (Miranda) did not know this. She lived with one set of relatives until they both died. After moving to live with the second set of relations Miranda rebelled and decided to go teach at the school where she had been a student. Miss Emery made her living teaching and training young ladies from well-to-do families. She would have kept up with how her former students were doing. She read all the papers from London. Are we supposed to believe that she knew nothing of Miranda's disgrace? Are we supposed to think that she did not read in the papers that Miranda had died? How could she not have known, even if it had just been through gossip from her students and their parents? Four years after her banishment Miranda learned that her mother had died through the newspaper. People read those things with a vengeance because it was their most obvious source of news. For Miranda (now Jane) to never know that she had been killed off by her parents was just too much for me to swallow. And to have her hear it from Jack (even though at this point he still thought she was Jane) added a dimension which made me cringe. Her parents were so awful they would prefer to have her dead rather than married to him? Her father thought Jack would just spend all the dowry money so "let's tell everyone Miranda died" instead of accepting his offer of marriage? Yet when her father died he bequeathed his entire fortune to "Jane Porter". The whole book lost me right there.

I read it all. I didn't like it when I started and I didn't like it when I finished, but I was curious about what the author was going to do with all those characters. This book is a part of The Bachelor Chronicles and we met several characters who were obviously in previous books during the telling of this tale. I would imagine that some or all of the girls in this story go on to books of their own. Luckily for me, I don't have to worry about them any more. They can all go do all the improbable things this author can dream up but I will not be participating in the train wreck.

I enjoyed This Rake of Mine from beginning to end. It is a very cute read. There are interesting plot twists and we get to know several secondary characters well. The secondary characters are not boring. The chemistry between Jack & Miranda was very sensual and immediate. Wonderful love story, great characters with an emotionally scarred hero and strong but vulnerable heroine, unique setting, intriguing plot, heart-tugging emotion, excellent writing, intense sensual love scenes, and a superb ending. The plot was interesting and it kept you interested in what was going to happen next. It has intrigue, passion, revenge, and "wow" sensual tension. Most of all is the character development. I love stories that are character driven and not just about lust. I loved seeing Jack & Miranda fall in love. From page one the characters in this charming book reached out and grabbed me. Page after page I just got sucked in deeper until I closed the book with a happy sigh.

All I can say in conclusion is if you like a good, emotional, heart-tugging historical, with characters that leap off the pages, buy This Rake of Mine.

In 1801, Miranda Mabberly has some doubts about her upcoming marriage to Lord Oxley as he and her parents fail to defend her honor besmirched by her future mother-in-law. However, things are taken out of her hands when notorious rake Lord John Tremont blatantly accosts and kisses her at the opera. The nuptials are over and her parents blame Miranda, completely cutting her off.

After five years of begging her parents to let her come home and learning her mother died without anyone bothering to inform her, Miranda writes off her father. She takes a job as decorum teacher Miss Jane Porter at Miss Emily's Establishment for the Education of Genteel Young Ladies. After five years there she has inherited a small fortune so she plans to leave, but not before John visits the school to escort his disgraced niece home. He runs into Jane, but fails to recognize her though she knows him. Edged on by three matchmaking youngsters, John begins to court Jane who rejects the advances of a rake though they soon fall in love, but to persuade her remains impossible.

THIS RAKE OF MINE is an enjoyable regency romance that in many ways is typical of the sub-genre with a rake getting his comeuppance through love. The story line is refreshed by Miranda who gives up on those who should have rallied around her when she concludes that she will always be held culpable for the actions of John. This gives her the courage to move on and not to fear challenging the aristocracy including John and his older brother. Fans will enjoy this fine historical pot boiler starring an admirable heroine and the wastrel she reforms.

Harriet Klausner