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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Start to the Husband Hunter's Club, July 1, 2009
Right away I enjoyed the premise of Led Astray by a Rake; four debutantes fresh from finishing school are going to take the fine art of marriage and courtship into their own hands. They organize a husband Hunting Club formed solely so they may chose their husbands, instead of their parents choosing for them.
Livy knows who she wants to marry, in fact she has known since she was ten. Lord Dominic Lacey is the man for her despite his reputation as Wicked Nic. She proposes to him within the first few chapters, her rehearsed speech is both sweet and logical and she absolutely stuns Nic.
Nic is not searching for a bride. He enjoys his carefree ways and even though he and Livy have known each other for years and have been friends he recognizes that she is essentially an innocent, and too good for the likes of him. Livy is not to be dissuaded though and she is quick to rethink her strategy when her antics do not have the desired results. She has help from an unexpected source but she is also hindered from her marriage goal by her overprotective parents. Livy's parents have lost a daughter already and they are worried about Livy leaving them too. Therefore, they have the perfect husband picked out for Livy, a respectable, boring but condescending fellow in the village.
Livy has some set backs on her campaign to win Nic but she also scores some great victories too. She is a wonderful strategist and tactician. Nic barely stands a chance against her because he is truly torn between his desire to be with Livy and his equal longing to protect her from his sordid reputation and secrets too.
This novel was fresh and romantic. Livy is sweet but with enough zest to keep the reader from being bored. She is really the star of this novel. Nic is interesting but he could have been a bit more on the wicked side. He is almost tame with Livy. Still this is an entertaining novel and I eagerly await the stories of Livy's other friends as they go on their husband hunt.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Led Astray by a Rake by Sara Bennett, July 17, 2009
"Led Astray by a Rake" is a delightfully sinful historical by Sara Bennett. It has luscious sex, family secrets, and a hero that's both tortured and gallant at the same time.
Livy is an icy blonde who burns to be a little bad. Watching her friends fall in love and marry happily has made her determined to get the man she wants...Wicked Nic.
Nic knows Livy is absolutely the last woman he could consider marrying, but spending time with her brings him a measure of peace at the same time her beauty seduces his sensual soul. When he inadvertently 'ruins' her, he finds himself surprised to realize the thought of marrying her is not distasteful at all...quite the opposite in fact.
I didn't guess the family secret until the author revealed it even though, looking back, there were plenty of clues. That's always so much fun. The pull between these two is absolutely electric and there's even a secondary romance between the upper staff that adds to the plot and its denouement.
"Led Astray by a Rake" is a lush historical with a bit of mystery, a bit of wickedness, and more than one subplot. Quite a fun way to spend the afternoon!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
terrific early Victorian romance, May 29, 2009
In 1837 recent Miss Debenham's Finishing School graduate Miss Lucille Monteith knows she must marry a respectable suitor, but the only man she desires is the unacceptable Lord Dominic "Wicked Nic" Lacey, who proposed to her when she was ten. Olivia swears the scandalous Wicked Nic hides his caring soul from the world, but admits to herself that she may be biased by her feelings and her childhood memories of a kindhearted friend.
Dominic conceals a horrific secret that if revealed would destroy him because his Livy would hate him; thus he avoids her as the Wicked Nic. Still as servants matchmake the pair in that subtle manipulation those under the stairs can do, they fall in love, but each risks their respective heart, she her family's wrath if he stays true to form and he his soul if he reveals what he knows and must tell her.
The first Husband Hunters Club is a terrific early Victorian romance starring a wonderful young lady and a male rake with incredible layers of depth that only his beloved and his caring servant seem to see underneath his façade. In many ways on surface the lead couple steps out of the nineteenth century romance prototype, but deep Dominic with his secret provides the freshness to a strong opening act. Fans will not be led astray by an author with Sara Bennett's talent that shines through in this fine historical.
Harriet Klausner
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