Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a lovely discovery!, May 29, 2009
Every once in a while you come across an author totally unfamiliar and you decide to take a chance. I did this years ago with Anne Gracie and more recently with Elizabeth Rolls and both are on my keeper shelf. I can't recall how I found Hazel Statham but somehow I got there via a comment on amazon. Please, everyone who loves the traditional regency, take note: this author has produced books that are charming, full of lovely characters, contain beautifully crafted prose and sweet, fulfilling stories.
Lizzie's Rake is the story of a young woman whose wastrel brother has lost the family estate in a card game and then disappeared to the USA. The estate is won and lost another time and thus comes into the hands of the Earl of St Ive, known amongst the ton as a Super Rake. Actually, the earl is kind hearted, loyal to his family, decent and a good landlord. He attracts women to be sure but he is fair with them and no one really has cause to complain about being connected to him.
When he decides to inspect his new winnings, he meets Lizzie and her younger twin brother and sister, now left destitute and soon to be homeless. Lizzie is a girl of strength of character but has had much thrust upon her unfairly and now has to deal with it. Maxim, the Earl of St Ive, decides that he will help her and, in so doing, for the first time in his life falls in love, truly, madly deeply.
The usual misunderstandings arise as the course of true love does not run smoothly with Lizzie refusing to own up to her own feelings and Maxim dismayed that she can't see that he really means it. Perhaps she protests too much but, well, it's a fairy tale afterall!
If I had to make a criticism here, it would be that we should know more about Lizzie's brother. I found it difficult to accept that the young lord would abandon his family without a second thought and that he is never mentioned again after the opening scenes. Indeed, I rather thought Maxim should have brought him to brook.
Well, fans, here is a good read, a comfort read, with a very admirable hero and feisty heroine. One of my private rules for giving a book 5 stars is that I have to fall in love with the hero. Yes, I did with Maxim!
Highly recommended for lovers of the traditional regency. There was sexual tension without looking behind the bedroom door and excellent dialogue and carefully wrought narrative description.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A delightful, historical read and easily recommended., June 11, 2009
I found this to be a charming book. Hazel has captured the Regency period perfectly. Elizabeth is a strong young woman who refuses to be pressured and Maxim is a man who unwillingly loses his heart to her. William and Lucy are sweet and completely taken with Maxim. Aunt Bella is simply lovely. With a bit of mystery and a lot of romance, Lizzie's Rake is a delightful read. I was surprised that it wasn't longer, but I soon realized that it was enthralling and just the right length.
I think that Maxim reformed a bit quickly, but perhaps finding his world unexpectedly turned upside down by a defiant girl was enough to do that. And, I do wish that we knew more about Elizabeth's older brother and what happened to him after he lost the estate by gambling. But, at any rate, Hazel has created some endearing characters. The romance is passionate, but sweet and appropriately honorable. A delightful, historical read and easily recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Become immersed in 19th century society!, June 1, 2009
From the very beginning, the reader feels immersed in the unique society of early nineteenth century England called the Regency period. From London society to the cold Yorkshire country, events unfold that influence the characters' lives at every turn.
Maxim Beaufort Earl of St. Ive, a true Corinthian, member of the Four Horse Club, and much sought after by the females of London society, both the respectable and the not so respectable, won Briarhall in Yorkshire at the game table. This out-of-the-way property alters his life.
Elizabeth Granger and the ten-year-old twins, Lucy and William along with the housekeeper Mrs. Rush reside at Briarhall with Elizabeth managing things the best she can after their brother gambled away everything then departed for the Americas.
Lizzie's Rake has all the ingredients of a Regency romance. While the plot is predictable, it is so well written with delightful characters, one is caught up in events making this a most satisfying story of a rocky road to love.
Maxim's Aunt Bella, Lucy, and William are winsome characters that come alive and add new dimensions to the story. While Ingles, Elizabeth's ex-fiancé brings an undercurrent into the lives of the hero and heroine that creates misunderstandings, pain and misery--emotionally and physically.
Hazel Statham's unobtrusive writing style makes the reader feel involved in the happenings. While Lizzie finds her way in a society alien to the one she grew up in, Maxim, known as "The Indomitable", finds himself at a loss as he strives to gain Lizzie's love and trust in light of his past life with its excesses. The resolution to the problem has more than a little hurt in it.
Originally posted at [...]
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