Customer Reviews

Never Romance a Rake

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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)

The story line is already described elsewhere in reviews. I did find it credible, unlike a couple of other reviewers. The author has already developed the character of our Rake, Kieran in other stories, but does a thorough job of reintroducing us to him and giving us his back story. I had no problem believing that he wanted to rescue Camille and that he had the "mine" reaction of desire to her immediatly. I also found Camille's reaction to Kieran, her stomach hitting bottom, and a reaction of desire believable.

I confess a bias toward this author's books. I love her characters; the reintrodction of these "old friends" as I think of them, in successive books. Ms. Carlyle is an excellent writer, and thank the gods she has incredible editors. I never get sidetracked by offensive grammatical and typographic errors.

I find all of the love scenes well done and HOT; and the interactions between the characters very realistic. She is an author that does the rare thing for me, her characters take on life and make the story multidimensional not just a flat read.

Unless she changes radically, I will be a fan for life.

I was looking forward to Never Romance a Rake because Kieran Neville intrigued me as the brother of the heroine in Never Lie to a Lady. Their relationship was really well done. You could see the strong bond between them, forged through the as yet undisclosed horrors they suffered together in the past - in this book we finally find out how terrible their childhood was on their uncle's sugar plantation in Barbados. So while the love is there between Kieran, Xanthia, and Gareth (the latter a kind of adopted sibling in the Neville family) that shared pain also keeps them apart because, in part, of the way Kieran reacts to his tortured past. He's very over the top in his grand passions of guilt and agony, isolating himself, shutting everyone out. But I still feel sympathy for him because his back story is compelling. It's a twisted family story of betrayal and forbidden passion and all that juicy stuff.

Anyway, I think Kieran was, for the most part, ok in this book. Not only does he have his tortured past, but he is suffering from some bodily ailment as well. We don't find out until later what exactly is wrong, but it's clear his hard life of drinking and debauchery has caught up with him at last. In his depression though, he's hardly inclined to do anything to prevent his decline or save himself. He's given up.

Then, at a fateful card game, while he's busy trying to drown his sorrows in drink and vice, the bad guy of the book wagers his daughter's hand in marriage. Enter Camille. Kieran is instantly attracted, and to save her, or so he says to make himself feel better, from the lecherous pervert who is also playing, Kieran wins the game. It's a fairly unoriginal, contrived way to bring our hero and heroine together. This premise kicks off an overly elaborate plot of hidden inheritances, secret parentages, and the evil pimp of a father.

The heroine is "feisty" and annoying - particularly her faux Frenchness. (She says "oui" a lot.) Nor is she particularly consistent as a character. She is also supposed to be cold and heartless, at least until Kieran gets to unlock her passions, of course and make her rethink her coldness. Her reasons for marrying involve the aforementioned tortuous plot of secret wills. She wants to thwart her father, who is mean and evil. But the grand scheme she cooks up is very stupid and she goes about it very stupidly. What would she have done if such a handsome fellow hadn't come along to free her from his evil clutches? Then she makes a show of saying she just wants Kieran for his "seed" because all she wants in life is a baby. But then she starts whining when she gets exactly the kind of loveless marriage she asked for from the start. Nor is her sad past half as traumatic as Kieran's, but she makes just as big a fuss about it. And Kieran gets annoying too, moping about, wondering if he can ever love or let anyone love him, despairing that he'll never be truly intimate, truly one with anyone. None of these angst-ridden inner ramblings gelled very well for me. None of it stirred my interest or sympathy. Kieran on his own is interesting and sympathetic. But when it comes to his relationship with Camille, he and she both got on my nerves or bored me. They didn't have much chemistry either. Their romance consisted of them each drifting about in their own little worlds, moping and sighing and declaiming the sadness of their blighted lives. The opening of Never Romance a Rake offers some lyrical, beautifully written prose, but the momentum swiftly waned after the first few pages.

So little time and so many books to read and this one was not worthy of my time. It did not grab me from the start--it never hooked me in. For one thing I did not like either the heroine or the hero in this story--I kept reading hoping something would endear me to either character-it never happened.

The hero was a depressing character--I didn't find him colorful or delightful ever - not to mention attractive-- so often in a romance book if the hero is a delightfully delish character it carries the rest of the book. The heroine I did not like either -- she came across cold, hard and angry. So put the two characters together and nothing redeeming came of the experience reading this book.

A bit harsh, but it is so disappointing to devote ones precious time and money and come away not satisfied.

Mademoiselle Marchand (Camille) is a desperate woman. She is a French woman in England and she needs to marry an English "blue blood" within the next six weeks to get her inheritance. And she will even get more if she is able to have a child within two years. She has revealed part of this to her wastrel father but not all, for which she is glad when he offers her hand in marriage as part of a card game. Luckily Baron Rothewell decides to save this damsel in distress and throws the game thus giving himself a betrothed. But, he is clear with her that he plans to not change any of his rakehell ways and that is the bargain that he is willing to offer. But, no matter what his intent is he can't seem to keep his eyes off Camille and she seems to be losing the one thing she is most afraid of, her heart. Can they work things out and work together for their goals before it is too late?

Wow, Never Romance A Rake had more of a happy ending that even I expected. This is the third book in Ms. Carlyle's latest trilogy and I thoroughly enjoyed the overall story. I was especially intrigued by the medical terms, diagnoses etc. that were discussed during the story. Never Romance A Rake also takes you briefly onto more than one continent it tells some of what is happening in France and the West Indies during this same time. I found how Ms. Carlyle ties all of these facets together to be fun. This book has it all, headstrong women and men, growing love and an engagement via. a card game. I enjoyed Never Romance A Rake and think other historical romance fans will also, especially with the overall twists and turns their "bargain" takes.

Tanya
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Kieran, the hero, has basically grown up outside of England cares little for his title. He battles with guilt and shame at having had an affair with his brother's wife, both of whom are dead. He smokes and drinks and basically does little to care for himself. His lifestyle has gotten so bad that it is affecting his health and he suffers from severe pains. He figures there's no point in changing anything...

Then he meets Camille. Kieran is at a card came when Camille's father, addicted to the game and broke, offers the winner Camille in marriage. Kieran, feeling bad for the girl, cheats and wins her.

Overall, I enjoyed Never Romance a Rake. At the beginning of the Relationship there was little feeling between the two but it slowly into more. Kieran's illness plays an important part in the book and Camille's struggle between keeping her heart and giving it up was believable (unlike overdone in most books). I also liked how Kieran, after FINALLY seeing a doctor, actually followed the doctor's advice. He actually did get over his stubbornness.

The reason why I didn't give the book a 5 is because I felt the love scenes were stale and lacking. I skipped over nearly all of them. Also, for a reader not familiar with the books it was difficult to keep track of all the other characters. Another minor complaint was that I sometimes got annoyed at Camille's constant usage of French. I'm sure most readers were as lost as I was when she spoke. I was also slightly disappointed in the epilogue, I felt as if it could have been better.

Despite all of that, I do recommend Never Romance a Rake. This and The Devil You Know has made me want to read more books by this author.

I actually gave a pretty bad review to 'Never Decieve a Duke' because of Gareth's highly disturbing past but I did like Liz Caryle's writing, so I picked this one up.

This was a great reforming the rake story. These severly flawed characters are thrown together and you watch them develop. I loved that Camille was not an imature wimp and that Kiernan could finally show his softer side with her.

I recommend.

This is my least favorite book of the series. It had all the potential to be a really romantically suspenseful book but somehow missed the spot. It was if Caryle was trying too hard. I really struggled through two thirds of the book and really only got into it in the last few chapters, which is why I eventually decided on 3 stars as opposed to 2 stars. Carlyle is one of my top 5 - 8 authors and I highly recommend previous works.