The Irish Rake - Emma Lange

Miss Gillian Edwards was barely more than a schoolgirl, and certainly as innocent as one - but she knew how shockingly evil the Marquess of Clare was. He did not even try to hide a history of illicit loves that ran the gamut from London ‘lightskirts' to highborn ladies. Nor did he conceal his scorn for marriage and morality and his devotion to the pleasures of the flesh.

Thus Gillian was forewarned and should have been forearmed when she found herself face-to-face with this man whose dazzling good looks were clearly lascivious lures. All she had to do was remind herself that she was engaged to wed the wealthy, handsome, and aristocratic Lord Lionel Rockingham, the ideal partner for a perfect marriage.

All she had to do was say no to the maddeningly mocking Marquess, who would never stoop to seduce an unwilling woman. But strangely enough, what Gillian did was something else . . .

I did enjoy this story but not as much as A Certain Reputation, the first I've read by this author. I did have more trouble relating to and liking the hero and the heroine and that must be a part of my problem.

The heroine is very young and at first it seems her attraction to the hero is a bit of hero worship more than a real emotion as she doesn't know him all that well. As they start to see more of each other, she has an accident and has to spend some time in his house. I could see how he started feeling attracted to her but really couldn't understand what kept her attracted to him other than him being described as a rake with a charming attitude towards the ladies.

The end is marked by a big misunderstanding that if the heroine hadn't been the young and impulsive girl she was could have been avoided with an honest conversation between them. As it was I enjoyed at least the fact that since she was the one jumping to conclusions it was also her that went looking for him to apologise.

Grade: 4/5