Customer Reviews

Led Astray by a Rake (The Husband Hunters Club)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

"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!

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

I really had a hard time rating this book because although the storyline was somewhat interesting, the writing was just too simple and predictable for my taste. I knew everything that would happen before it did, but because I love a book in which the heroine pursues the hero, I still found it mildly entertaining. The most enjoyable part of the book for me was in the beginning when Livy was trying to get Nic to marry her and he was trying his best to resist her, but then the plot went nowhere after Livy's other suitor's brother was trying to kill Nic for a very stupid reason. It was just one of the many silly implements that was thrown into the plot without substance. They were obvious failed attempts to fill up the book after the hero and heroine had to get married. I really wanted to like this book but I just cannot recommend it.

Miss Olivia Monteith along with her friends is a recent graduate of Miss Debenham's Finishing School. Having been "schooled" in the art of procuring a respectable, hopefully rich, titled husband. She had not been taught to follow her heart or lead with her feelings but these are things Livy is self-taught in and intends to pursue. She is seeking a love match that will provide her with desire and passion and while she keeps this information from her parents her fellow members of The Husband Hunters Club know what she is seeking. But when she revels to her friends that she has set her sights on Lord Dominic "Wicked Nic" Lacey even her friends are shocked. They don't see a happily ever after for Livy with Nic but Livy disagrees. She has been in love with Nic since she was 10 years old and he rescued her from a fall. He promised to marry her then and she intends to hold him to that obligation.

While he may be a rake and wastrel Nic is also a man fulfilling his obligations. He and his mother live on the same property and he cares for her since his father's death. This death she blames on Nic and she refuses to acknowledge his existence as anything but a man sharing space. He has few friends and less interaction with proper society so when Livy shows up on his doorstep and states her intentions he is quite frankly shocked. He explains that things said as children do not hold up for adults but Livy is determined to claim this man as her husband and nothing will stop her from her goal.

But what Olivia does not know is the secret that has been suffocating Nic since his father's death. Could he be the one responsible for what had happened when a young woman shows up claiming that the child she bore needs to be provided for. Is the subsequent fight between Nic and his father what pushed the man to his demise - Nic is not sure but these doubts are enough to keep him away from anything that would involve commitment.

However Livy is more determined to be with Nic than he is to stay away from her. She uses every trick she knows to bind herself to him and to keep herself away from the man who does want her - Theodore. While he may be an acceptable husband he is not what Livy thinks will make her happy but when all the secrets from his past are revealed will she be able to not only forgive him but love him knowing that the things he has done affected her family as well as her.

This is my first but by no means my last Sara Bennett. I particularly loved the secrets that lead you to open one door only to find another one behind it - and - this one is locked up tight. Nic is a great hero because he is flawed and self-doubting while Livy is a ray of sunshine in his dark existence. She is head strong and fighting for freedom her parents seem unable to give but she fights to have. Great read and comes highly recommended.

Mary Gramlich is The Reading Reviewer at [...].

Olivia Monteith may appear to be an icy blond but in reality she is a fiery woman who does not want to follow the path her parents want her to. She refuses to marry the man her parents have chosen for her, though no one will listen to her. She has set her cap on the one man everyone disdains, Lord Dominic Lacey "Wicked Nic" has been the man in her heart ever since the tragedy that befell her family, and he acted as her friend. But, even her friends in Miss Debenham's Finishing School that make up the Husband Hinters Club are stunned by her choice. The problem may come when the unmovable force of Olivia meets the stubborn Wicked Nic. Will she get what she wants in the end? And if she does, might there be consequences that she never dreamed of?

Nic is going to do everything he can to keep Olivia away from him. Whether his heart is in it or not, he is determined to keep her from being ruined. He doesn't count on just how stubborn, and desirable, she has become though.

Led Astray By A Rake was another strong story from Sara Bennett and an intriguing start at a new trilogy. Ms. Bennett does not write the normal historical, all of her stories have at least a few twists and turns, making them more enjoyable. Led Astray By A Rake is no different and kept my attention throughout the story. I look forward to reading the escapades of the rest of the Husband Hunters Club. If you enjoy historical romances by the likes of Julia Quinn and Lisa Kleypas than you will like Sara Bennett and you need to pick up Led Astray By A Rake.


Tanya
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I really enjoyed this book, I love books when I know there will be more then one and you know from the very beginning that's there is. I love Olivia she strong, independent doesn't let anything stop her just like your modern day women!

Loved the fact you got two love stories in one also just wished it included more of the other husband hunter club members you kinda of forget there are more of them there not mentioned? Plot is good love scenes are great HOT HOT! And the heroine is wonderful! I liked the fact that it was the women who was the chaser and not the hero!

Love this book on to the next "To Pleasure the "Duke"

This is/was the first romance novel that I have read. I must say that it was amazing and I am hooked. Sara Bennett is a great author. The era of the book is interesting. Dating back to the 1800's times were much different then than they are today. Very hot read!!

When I was a child, radio advertisements for a certain corporation had a jingle that said the product was so inexpensive because of,
"Low overhead,
Low overhead!"
This book appears to have been written on low overhead and, apparently, minimal interest in the subject matter. First, the hero is introduced as Lord Dominic Lacey. Shortly thereafter, he is Lord Lacey. Then it appears that he is the heir to a title. Now the heir would not be "Lord Firstname Anybody," because that was a style for a younger son, so he has to be Lord Lacey (presumably the next lesser title in whatever his father's string of titles may be).
That's aside from all the rest of the improbabilities.
It's not kind to say that a book is awful. Nevertheless, as a warning to other readers -- this is a very poorly written, improbably plotted, and quite horrible book.