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thahreemmuzainah's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
tlovesbooks's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mj414's review against another edition
3.0
The premise of this story didn't work for me. Henrietta, a lady, the diamond of the season, is ruined because she slept with one of her suitors but decided she doesn't want to marry him. Then to make matters worse, you find out fairly early on that she's not legitimate which would make you think she'd try to make a match that would cement her aristocratic status. But no, because she has zero impulse control, she's like "innie minnie minie moe, I wanna boink that one." There's no thought to pregnancy or her loss of virtue and how that will affect her future. Nothing. No thoughts. Henrietta is one dimensional and boring.
She proceeds to sleep with Trem, again with no thoughts towards pregnancy or how it could affect her future. Trem is at least thinking about these things even though he really shouldn't be messing with his best friend's much younger sister.
All in all, the characterization in this book needed to be fleshed out more. The plot was uninteresting.
She proceeds to sleep with Trem, again with no thoughts towards pregnancy or how it could affect her future. Trem is at least thinking about these things even though he really shouldn't be messing with his best friend's much younger sister.
All in all, the characterization in this book needed to be fleshed out more. The plot was uninteresting.
vanitas's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
useris_away's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 stars.
such a fun and easy read! read this on a short getaway to the mountains and relaxed so much bc i don't have to think much reading this. hopefully this gets me out of my reading slump this year.
such a fun and easy read! read this on a short getaway to the mountains and relaxed so much bc i don't have to think much reading this. hopefully this gets me out of my reading slump this year.
tinaha083's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun, easy read. The spice got to be a bit much at times, and I eventually started skimming as it wasn’t really having any impact on the overall plot. The characters were a bit simplistic and not really developed or fleshed out. Having said that, this is the second in a loosely connected series, so I may have gotten more out of it if I’d read the first one. Overall it was entertaining while I was reading it, but nothing to write home about. I would read something else by her as a palate cleanser between heavier books, though.
ec_newman's review against another edition
Honestly....way too modern for a historical romance, and maybe it's nitpicky of me, but the intimate scenes were so unrealistic (there is no way she was that adept) and...I would just really appreciate some realism in sex.
mdexter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
purely_romantic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
CWs and CNs at the end.
The second book in Lydia Lloyd’s The Rake Chronicles focused on yet another one of the titular rakes–four men who have been friends since boyhood–and Henrietta, the plucky, chaotic and audacious younger sister of John from book 1. I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to read this because it was just a perfect read, and once again, showcased Lloyd’s exquisite skill with both the time period and the beats of a Regency romance.
We first meet Henrietta in the previous book and she caught my attention even then. Now a few years older and out in society, she is just as sassy and wonderful on page and the talk of the ton. One of my favourite things about her is that though she is young and slightly impetuous she is not a blushing and naive miss just waiting for the action to happen to her. And when her casual liaison with a childhood friend, who now will simply not take no for an answer, is found out by her big brother’s best friend, she confronts him with the double standards of their time in possibly one of my favourite scenes of the book. Henrietta has carried a flame for the handsome Viscount since she was young, and suddenly her girlish crush is very much an adult want and the two characters cannot help but be so very drawn to each other, even as Trem must do all he can to protect Henrietta’s reputation as well as conceal this secret from her brother.
One thing Lloyd is exceptionally skilled at doing is writing chemistry between two characters that just sizzles off the page. The heat in both their physical and emotional wants is palpable and laced with so much heat and tenderness. These are not just intimate scenes for the sake of them; these are scenes that tell us so much about both characters’ vulnerabilities, their strengths and just how far they are willing to go for each other. Trem may be an experienced and gossiped about rake, but with Henrietta he feels safe, wanted and like he has found home, and she finally feels seen as a woman and not the little girl he had always thought she was. The way they protect each other and find their happily ever after, even with some drama along the way was just perfect! 5 big stars!
CWs: a mention of SA, racism and racial discrimination; mentions of a traumatic childbirth and death due to childbirth; unwanted and persistent attention from a former love interest throughout the book.
CNs: This is a brother’s best friend/best friend’s sister romance which also has an age gap. The book is also high heat and contains several on-screen sex scenes. Thank you to the author for an ARC and this is my voluntary review.
The second book in Lydia Lloyd’s The Rake Chronicles focused on yet another one of the titular rakes–four men who have been friends since boyhood–and Henrietta, the plucky, chaotic and audacious younger sister of John from book 1. I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to read this because it was just a perfect read, and once again, showcased Lloyd’s exquisite skill with both the time period and the beats of a Regency romance.
We first meet Henrietta in the previous book and she caught my attention even then. Now a few years older and out in society, she is just as sassy and wonderful on page and the talk of the ton. One of my favourite things about her is that though she is young and slightly impetuous she is not a blushing and naive miss just waiting for the action to happen to her. And when her casual liaison with a childhood friend, who now will simply not take no for an answer, is found out by her big brother’s best friend, she confronts him with the double standards of their time in possibly one of my favourite scenes of the book. Henrietta has carried a flame for the handsome Viscount since she was young, and suddenly her girlish crush is very much an adult want and the two characters cannot help but be so very drawn to each other, even as Trem must do all he can to protect Henrietta’s reputation as well as conceal this secret from her brother.
One thing Lloyd is exceptionally skilled at doing is writing chemistry between two characters that just sizzles off the page. The heat in both their physical and emotional wants is palpable and laced with so much heat and tenderness. These are not just intimate scenes for the sake of them; these are scenes that tell us so much about both characters’ vulnerabilities, their strengths and just how far they are willing to go for each other. Trem may be an experienced and gossiped about rake, but with Henrietta he feels safe, wanted and like he has found home, and she finally feels seen as a woman and not the little girl he had always thought she was. The way they protect each other and find their happily ever after, even with some drama along the way was just perfect! 5 big stars!
CWs: a mention of SA, racism and racial discrimination; mentions of a traumatic childbirth and death due to childbirth; unwanted and persistent attention from a former love interest throughout the book.
CNs: This is a brother’s best friend/best friend’s sister romance which also has an age gap. The book is also high heat and contains several on-screen sex scenes. Thank you to the author for an ARC and this is my voluntary review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism and Sexual assault
annick's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really wanted to like this book. I like the author’s onstage posts about Historical romance novels.
But this drags because there is too much of the narrative allocated to describing the inner thoughts of the main characters.
I like spice but there was so much that the frisson was lost by the speed and scale of the sex scenes. Some scenes weren’t engaging and I skimmed over.
I wanted more banter and humour.
I wanted less melodrama with the miscommunications and the off-scale persistent attentions from the rejected Hartley
The ebook had several typos of wrong pronouns. I don’t mind this.
The author has a phd in 19th century british lit but she makes a few odd choices. The reference to a performance of Ovid seemed poorly written when its more usual to refer to the title of a writer’s work rather than the writer. Why not mention which poem/work of Ovid ?
I question some anachronistic references to waltz’s and white wedding dresses. I think those come in the 1830s or 40s.
These are minor issues but they added to my broader frustrations with the plot, pacing, narrative and dialogue.
But this drags because there is too much of the narrative allocated to describing the inner thoughts of the main characters.
I like spice but there was so much that the frisson was lost by the speed and scale of the sex scenes. Some scenes weren’t engaging and I skimmed over.
I wanted more banter and humour.
I wanted less melodrama with the miscommunications and the off-scale persistent attentions from the rejected Hartley
The ebook had several typos of wrong pronouns. I don’t mind this.
The author has a phd in 19th century british lit but she makes a few odd choices. The reference to a performance of Ovid seemed poorly written when its more usual to refer to the title of a writer’s work rather than the writer. Why not mention which poem/work of Ovid ?
I question some anachronistic references to waltz’s and white wedding dresses. I think those come in the 1830s or 40s.
These are minor issues but they added to my broader frustrations with the plot, pacing, narrative and dialogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism