Never Romance a Rake [Hardcover]

Liz Carlyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2008

In this sizzling third book in New York Times bestselling author Liz Carlyle's compelling historical trilogy, a cynical rake joins a sinister game of cards with dangerously seductive stakes.If he wins this hand...Shunning the glittering elite of high society Kieran, Baron Rothewell, prefers the dangerous pursuits of London's demimonde. Hardened by a tormented past, he cares little for anyone or anything. So how can he resist the wager proposed by the dissolute Comte de Valigny? A hand of cards for the possession of the comte's exquisite daughter.Will he win her heart?Abandoned by her highborn father until he decides to use her Mademoiselle Camille Marchand puts no trust in an aristocrat's honor, especially that of the notorious baron. She too is gambling for her life and Rothwell is just one more card to be used. But whatever dark desires run through his veins call to her own, and the heart plays its own.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 436 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star Books; Book Club edition (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739498177
• ISBN-13: 978-0739498170
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,552,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

During her frequent travels to London, Liz always packs her pearls, her dancing slippers, and her whalebone corset, confident in the belief that eventually she will receive an invitation to a ball or a rout. Alas, none has been forthcoming. While waiting, however, she has managed to learn where all the damp, dark alleys and low public houses can be found.



When Liz isn't living in the 19th century, she resides in Cary, North Carolina with her husband, a corporate attorney, and their four very fine felines.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gets better by the second half of the novel, August 18, 2008

By 

Melissa (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Never Romance a Rake (Mass Market Paperback)

At first I thought I would hate this novel because the leads were so unlikable. Kieran, Baron Rothwell is a wastrel with little personality and Camille Marchand is coldly calculating. They meet under strange circumstances; Camille's father has wagered her in a card game. Camille is illegitimate, extraordinarily lovely, aloof and resigned to her fate, so Kieran wants her instantly and wins her.

They immediately leave for London where Kieran has Camille ensconced with his respectable cousin. He agrees to the marriage after he discovers that Camille will only inherit her grandfather's money if she marries an Englishman and produces an heir, and her time is close to running out according to the will. Camille wants her independence and a child with no husband to interfere with her life after her child is born. She is in essence a twenty-first century woman trapped in the 19th century, quite the forward thinker. Kieran is accommodating to this because he just wants a few tumbles and is content for Camille to lead her own life.

Fortunately these characters develop some kindness, compassion and an interest in each other half way through the novel; otherwise I would have stopped reading. Camille, whose husband describes her as cold, soon realizes that she is. And Kieran soon finds his wife charming and irresistible. They do have many obstacles to overcome, namely Kieran's terrible childhood in Barbados, his illness and ennui and Camille's deep distrust of men. This is handled deftly and this couple learns to trust and believe in a future together.

30 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars have your cake and eat it too., July 26, 2008

By 

mlle. x (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Never Romance a Rake (Mass Market Paperback)

NEVER ROMANCE A RAKE begins when the Comte de Valigny gambles away his daughter's hand in marriage. Camille is pretty and has a good dowry, but I had a hard time believing a pair of dissolute aristocrats would compete to leg-shackle themselves to a woman of poor reputation, whom they have never previously met, when neither is in need of money. Sleep with? Sure. Marry? No. Actually, Camille is the one who needs to get married, and she's not too particular about the groom.

Kieran has a terminal illness and since he expects to die shortly he's able to see marriage as an act of charity; he's saving Camille from marriage to a disgusting pervert. Camille tells Kieran that she's not very interested in wastrels like himself, but she has a use for his name and his seed - they're how she'll gain access to her inheritence.

Both are determined not to develop any emotional attachment for one another.

From there on out it's all moody histrionics. Kieran isn't much of a scoundrel - he's more like a martyr who's chosen death by non-traditional means. He spends his time wallowing in self-loathing and making sure that Camille is well taken care of. He realizes he's becoming attached to her, but he doesn't want Camille to be upset when he dies so he struggles to maintain distance. He spends a lot of time moping.

As for Camille...first she loathes Kieran because she thinks he's just a loser addicted to vice. Then they get married, and she has a crisis of conscience - how could she like sex with such a bad man? So far so good. But before long, she starts to actually like Kieran. And then the reader is treated to endless mental monologues about whether or not it's ok to like Kieran, and how she doesn't want to get hurt.

The sex is pretty tame. Every once and a while there's a hint of the kind of dark dominance that you expect to find in a novel about a woman gambled away during a card game, where Kieran is demanding and a bit crude, but these rare moments felt out of place to me. The truth is that Kieran is not an alpha male at all - he's pure beta. In a confrontation his most violent move is generally retreat, and from the start, it's really just a question of how long it will take Camille to take charge of him. Never the reverse.

Liz Carlyle's Devil trilogy has exactly the kind of romance I was hoping to find here - exuberantly sensual, with just enough edge to be exciting and a little dark. NEVER ROMANCE A RAKE is just gormless. Liz Carlyle used to be on my auto-buy list - but this is the third or fourth book of hers to disappoint me, and I don't think I'll be picking up another in the future.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never wager against the heart of a rake -4 1/2 stars, July 23, 2008

By 

Misuzmama (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Romance a Rake (Mass Market Paperback)

One game, one card decides the fate of two lives. Kieran, Baron Rothwell, is used to high stakes games. But little does he realize that this particular wager is one that will effect his life forever. The rake immerses himself in gambling, drinking and loose women -they make the past guilt and grief more bearable. This one particular woman who is offered, however, is different. She's an innocent lady. And Kieran will be damned if he lets her suffer with her conniving father any longer. This is one hand that he must win.

The beautiful Mademoiselle Camille Marchand just wants the whole blasted thing over. She knows that these men her father has assembled have no honor. Men never do -she learned that growing up with her mother. But she needs one of the drunken fools to fulfill the terms of her grandfather's will before time runs out.

Only soon afterwards do Kieran and Camille realize that they may have gotten into something more than the simple wager bargained for.

Another very good book from Carlyle. Many of her hero's in previous books suffer from some sort of childhood abuse and/or guilt. Never Romance A Rake is no exception. In fact Kieran suffers from both as well as being seriously physically ill. The debase rogue leads a troubled and demoralizing lifestyle. And suffers for it. Hardly the stuff of dreams for a historical romance reader. Ah! But we love to reform our rakes! And Carlyle always does it so well, managing to take the lowest of the low and make them lovable.

Then we have our heroine, Camille, who unlike other rake-reforming-women, is cynical and emotionless with a troubled past as well. She doesn't care to change any man, least of all the scoundrel Keiran. Camille is simply numb to men. And here as well Carlyle does a superb job turning her around, making these two suffering protagonists find love together.

So if you liked Carlyle's previous slightly-darker-than-your-average-romance books, then you might like Never Romance A Rake too. Its a bit slower paced and more melodramatic/depressing than the average historical romance but good reading none the less. I think this one is the best in the series, although as a whole her *Devil series* The Devil You Know, A Deal With the Devil, The Devil to Pay is her best work IMHO.

I also recommend these books for readers who enjoy books with *hero illness*-

When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton Family Series)

One Perfect Rose (Fallen Angels)