A Rake's Redemption: 6

Theo, Viscount Dunnley, has decided it's time to stop being a rake and to find a wife. Since his friends have married members of "The Six," he decides to check out the remaining single ladies of the group, reasoning that if his friends found suitable wives there, so would he. Sarah Mallory seems a likely prospect, but she tends to act a bit strangely around him, as if she doesn't like him. Theo's intrigued enough by this to focus his attention a little more closely on Sarah. Sarah is a bit frightened by her reaction to Theo, but she's more frightened by a threatening stalker-like suitor. As she and Theo get to know each other better, she begins to rely on him to protect her from Nasty Ned. The good: Sarah's problems with Ned really highlighted for me the everyday perils of a young woman of the ton, for whom reputation is everything, or nearly so. Any action she could take other than avoidance would have much more negative consequences for her than for him. I loved the hero's logical way of going about the business of finding a wife--it seemed typically male, and was written with great affection. As always with this author, the witty dialogue is a pleasure to read. The bad: Sarah's physical reactions were a bit overdone. There's not a lot of conflict. The verdict: A Rake's Redemption is a charming story that really pulled me in. It was also fun seeing the characters from the connecting stories again, and I'm looking forward to seeing which one of The Six finds true love next.

Yes, this novel is fairly uneventful in many ways, and I wish that some few more (normal) events might have occurred, but after reading a lot of HIDEOUS Regency romances, I was impressed with this writer. This book, more than most, gives the reader an idea of what it would be like to be a young lady in Regency England. There is no freedom, the idea of being left alone in a private room with a man who is not a relative is relatively disconcerting, and if one is harassed by a man, there is almost no one to turn to. Yes, there are no murders, or evil plots to avert, but, honestly, after reading so many of those, I get extremely tired of Regency romances that NEED to add those to stay interesting. I liked that the young lady in this was a lady and that the gentleman was exactly that. I think that this author could do with a few lessons in not repeating herself (as she does now) too often, and with learning to add some more interest to a story. However, all in all, I'll be getting more of her stuff. I hope she never feels the need to add a murder, or a novel wherein characters act like they live in 2000 rather than the 1800s.