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The Reluctant Rake

Jeanne Savery

256 pages

A sparkling Regency romp where a proper lady and a misunderstood rogue must match wits to save a friend and end up losing their hearts.

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What it feels like

This charming Regency romance delivers a brisk and engaging experience built on the classic trope of the proper lady and the misunderstood rake. The mood is swoony and adventurous, balancing sparkling banter with earnest emotional stakes as the protagonists form a reluctant alliance. Readers will find themselves swept up in a narrative that explores the tension between societal reputation and hidden depths, anchored by the lingering heat of a past kiss. The prose is witty and traditional, perfectly suited for the era, moving the emotional arc from guarded suspicion to wholehearted romantic surrender. It is an absolute delight for anyone who loves watching a chivalrous rogue prove his true worth to a fiercely protective heroine.

Mood: swoony
adventurous
charming
Tone: romantic
witty
earnest
playful
Pace: brisk
Themes: hidden depths · reputation versus reality · reluctant alliances · second chances at love · protecting family
The writing: Classic Regency romance prose that balances sparkling banter with earnest emotional introspection.
The arc: Moves from guarded suspicion and lingering attraction to mutual trust and wholehearted romantic surrender.
Who it's for: Readers who love a classic opposites-attract Regency romance where a misunderstood rogue proves his worth to a proper heroine.

Content notes

threat to a family member

About the book

SHE WAS EVERYTHING THAT WAS PROPER... — Miss Althea Bronson has a sterling reputation, and she intends to do keep it that way...even if it means concealing her long-held feelings for the ton's leading rake. So when Sir Valerian Underwood comes calling, her first reaction is to show him the door. But it seems that Sir Val has good reason for seeking her out: her dearest friend, Val's naive young cousin Abigail, is in grave danger, and only by joining forces can Althea and Val hope to keep the girl safe. Yet who, Althea wonders, will protect her from the charms of the most famous philanderer in London?

HE WAS ANYTHING BUT...

Val knows full well that he's earned his reputation. Yet there is another side to him that few see... the responsible land-owner, the generous patron, the chivalrous gentleman willing to risk life and limb to protect his cousin from an unconscionable cad. But no matter what action Val takes, Althea, a woman who has kept him at arm's length ever since they shared one fiery kiss, persists in seeing him as a heartless ne'er-do-well. Now, as they match wits against a ruthless blackguard, his only hope is to prove that he's a changed man... one who could give Althea the kind of love she deserves...

Description from Open Library.

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