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Lord Harry Montague is a rake and a
wastrel. He spends all his time gambling and going to
parties rather than thinking about his family or future.
Then his father, the Marquess of Merlton, arrives in London
just as he rescues a stray dog from being hit by a cart on a
whim. Before Harry knows what hit him, he’s in his father’s
carriage with his new dog, on the way to the family estate.
He fights his father every step of the way, especially when
he finds out that the man wants him to marry a neighboring
squire’s daughter for land and money. With the help of his
valet, he hatches a scheme to make her not want to marry
him.
Prudence Culpepper knows her father and
the Marquess want her to marry Lord Harry to join their
estates, but she has no intention of marrying a rake. Once
she meets Harry, she’s even more determined not to marry
him. She much prefers the restrained admiration of an army
lieutenant who has been courting her. When Harry lets her
in on his scheme, she plays along willingly—but will their
pretense become something more?
A Rake’s Redemption was my first foray into
ebook Regencies. Harry starts the story as the typical
Regency rake, only concerned with gambling, drinking, and
all that. He’s estranged from his father and older brother,
although the reasons for the estrangement aren’t
well-explained. As the story progressed, he slowly began to
understand and even embrace his responsibilities, which was
a welcome change. Prudence is a traditional smart,
well-off, and nearly-on-the-shelf miss. I liked her
feistiness and the fact that she didn’t fall all over
Harry. The conflict between Harry and Prudence, as well as
their slow change of heart toward one another, held my
interest. Unfortunately, both characters’ reactions to a
conflict that began near the end of the story didn’t ring
true for me, and the ending didn’t either. Despite this
flaw, however, I did enjoy the story. I would like to read
Rosalinda’s Revenge to see if some of the reasons for
Harry’s behavior are explained. If you like Regencies,
love/hate relationships, and sweet romances, you will
probably like this story. |
