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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
On a re-read, found the story entertaining despite the childish antics of the H/h and abrupt ending to the tale.
A nice, kind of short historical romance.
But I did have some issues at first. Some very disturbing things mentioned. Regan grew up with the Lords of Vice, scoundrels all of them. Ok nothing wrong there. That thing came when Dare thought back about how he stopped swimming with her at 13 cos he felt something...ok euwwww! She was 13, you were 21! I can forgive you for kissing her at 15, but that is still, ok no. I tried to put that behind me so I could enjoy the book.
She comes back at 20 and he does not recognize her at first...whatever.
She wants him, he thinks with his head in his pants and stuff obviously happens. Her brother is very whatever about the whole thing. Not a fan of her brother.
But hey, I enjoyed it... after getting over the euww parts. They have their little dance. There is drama with his family and everyone will live happily ever after.
But I did have some issues at first. Some very disturbing things mentioned. Regan grew up with the Lords of Vice, scoundrels all of them. Ok nothing wrong there. That thing came when Dare thought back about how he stopped swimming with her at 13 cos he felt something...ok euwwww! She was 13, you were 21! I can forgive you for kissing her at 15, but that is still, ok no. I tried to put that behind me so I could enjoy the book.
She comes back at 20 and he does not recognize her at first...whatever.
She wants him, he thinks with his head in his pants and stuff obviously happens. Her brother is very whatever about the whole thing. Not a fan of her brother.
But hey, I enjoyed it... after getting over the euww parts. They have their little dance. There is drama with his family and everyone will live happily ever after.
Curious enough to buy, good enough to stay up late. Not sure I am enticed to buy a book the author again. Choose it because I was drawn to the characters, the other 2 I would read, but feel no urge to purchase.
I'm not going to lie. I picked this up at Goodwill and I needed a quick read after spending time the past couple of months with some big books and big authors that require some big thought. I haven't read a regency in a long time, I finished the Virgin River series, I watched Season 1 of Bridgerton, so thought I'd give this a try.
I read it until the end. There were some overused words and phrases which I won't repeat here. I find it irritating when all people talk in insults, one-ups, and the main character sticks out their tongue instead of witty repartee. I detected no underlying themes or prose I'd want to quote. It was quick. It seemed to plod along and then introduced a lot of things in the last 30 pages or so. I had a hard time keeping the names of the Lords of Vice apart as they are all interchangeable and have nicknames like Frost, Dare, Sin, Reign, Squid, Fingers (the last two made up). It was fine.
Would I read more of this series? Probably not.
I read it until the end. There were some overused words and phrases which I won't repeat here. I find it irritating when all people talk in insults, one-ups, and the main character sticks out their tongue instead of witty repartee. I detected no underlying themes or prose I'd want to quote. It was quick. It seemed to plod along and then introduced a lot of things in the last 30 pages or so. I had a hard time keeping the names of the Lords of Vice apart as they are all interchangeable and have nicknames like Frost, Dare, Sin, Reign, Squid, Fingers (the last two made up). It was fine.
Would I read more of this series? Probably not.
Meh. Since this book is the highest rated in this series it seems I might be done with this series. The romance was unfortunately not believable for me. Also, the editing in this book and the two before it get a bit weird. Like a chapter was suddenly cut short and the next chapter just moves on to a couple hours later, its a bit weird. And the chemistry between these two was just lacking.
Lady Regan, was raised by her brother, a member of the Lords of Vice. As such she grew up learning to climb trees, fishing, fencing lessons and gambling. Regan is not your typical English miss. But when Regan and "Dare" are caught kissing, her brother sends her away to school and for five years she has been patient. Regan was hurt when her brother sent her away, and from the only family she has ever known. Now she is ready to take part of the Season, and put her brother in his place a bit, and seduce Dare and show him what she is made of. Dare was betrayed by the only woman he ever loved, who married his brother because he was the "heir". Dare is the second son, and has been a member of the Lord of Vice, but there is one woman who has held his interest more than any other, but she is forbidden, but when she comes back to London, and he is forced to escort her, passions between them are inflamed and this time it won't be just desire than could be dangerous to them...
After Dark With A Scoundrel is the third installment in the Lords of Vice series. I am very proud of myself for having read this series in order so far....I hope I can keep going strong. I have the worst habit of reading a series out of order. But since all of the books are at my local library, I decided to try this one in order. In this book we have Dare's book, and we have Regan as the heroine. Now I will say that if you have yet to read this author, and you love historical romance and you want to get started into historical romance...this series just might be for you. I feel like this author is underrated, but as far as regency romances go, this author is at the top of the list. You can never go wrong with Alexandra Hawkins.
We begin with bit of bad luck for Regan. Regan is a bit of a tom boy, and has a connection and bond with all of the Lords of Vice, and you see the close ties she has with them. AT the beginning she is only fifteen, and through a twist of events, she ends up in a sensual embrace with Dare, which she doesn't expect but that kiss changes her. When her brother forces her to school, she is furious and hurt. Now we skip ahead five years, Regan is still just as mischievous and sassy as ever, five years at school hasn't changed her personality, she just has a better way of seeming to be more polished. She is determined to come to London and make some changes in her life. Her first goal is to show up with no notice to her brother, and to seduce the one man she craves. This heroine...was so fun, and she definitely has the type of personality you can just enjoy while reading her. This story definitely had me laughing, and the kind of creative schemes she comes up with, and then join that up with her wit and sass...well she is a heroine you can adore.
This is a story that brings together steamy chemistry, full of life characters, enticing mystery, a enchanting mix of flavors and spices to make you hunger for more. WICKEDLY SENSUAL!!
After Dark With A Scoundrel is the third installment in the Lords of Vice series. I am very proud of myself for having read this series in order so far....I hope I can keep going strong. I have the worst habit of reading a series out of order. But since all of the books are at my local library, I decided to try this one in order. In this book we have Dare's book, and we have Regan as the heroine. Now I will say that if you have yet to read this author, and you love historical romance and you want to get started into historical romance...this series just might be for you. I feel like this author is underrated, but as far as regency romances go, this author is at the top of the list. You can never go wrong with Alexandra Hawkins.
We begin with bit of bad luck for Regan. Regan is a bit of a tom boy, and has a connection and bond with all of the Lords of Vice, and you see the close ties she has with them. AT the beginning she is only fifteen, and through a twist of events, she ends up in a sensual embrace with Dare, which she doesn't expect but that kiss changes her. When her brother forces her to school, she is furious and hurt. Now we skip ahead five years, Regan is still just as mischievous and sassy as ever, five years at school hasn't changed her personality, she just has a better way of seeming to be more polished. She is determined to come to London and make some changes in her life. Her first goal is to show up with no notice to her brother, and to seduce the one man she craves. This heroine...was so fun, and she definitely has the type of personality you can just enjoy while reading her. This story definitely had me laughing, and the kind of creative schemes she comes up with, and then join that up with her wit and sass...well she is a heroine you can adore.
This is a story that brings together steamy chemistry, full of life characters, enticing mystery, a enchanting mix of flavors and spices to make you hunger for more. WICKEDLY SENSUAL!!
I probably would have given this book 3.5 stars if half stars were a possibility, but I rounded down because I was really bothered by some of the story elements. For example, in the beginning Dare came across as a decent guy despite calling himself one of the Lords of Vice. He made an effort to take care of his family even after Charles and Allegra's betrayal, plus he looked after Regan to ensure that no rake took advantage of her (besides himself, anyway). Given this characterization, it didn't make sense to me that Dare would begin an affair with Regan with no qualms whatsoever. Once he decided to seduce her, he just went ahead and did it without thinking of the potential consequences (including pregnancy!) or having any second thoughts. He had to have known that she would be terribly hurt when he announced that he had no intention of marrying her, and that she would be ruined if their affair ever came to light. Considering his behavior towards his family and the fact that he considered Regan a part of it, why wouldn't Dare have taken more care with her? No matter his reasons, his behavior towards Regan was pretty awful IMO, and he didn't seem very remorseful at the end of the book. I would have liked to see him grovel a little more before Regan agreed to marry him.
Frost's reaction when he discovered Dare and Regan's affair didn't make sense to me either. Sure, Dare was one of his best friends, but I still think Frost would have done something more than throw Dare out of the house after discovering that he had ruined his sister. At the very least, I would have expected him to be a LOT more angry than he was. Also, while I understand why Frost would have told Regan that it was for the best that Dare didn't want to marry her (he thought Dare was still in love with Allegra), I'm surprised that he didn't push them to get married anyway. As a rake himself, he was a lot more understanding of their affair than most brothers would have been, but he must have known that the rules for gently bred young ladies were different than those for the young men of the ton. He told Regan that one affair wouldn't hurt her, but I don't think that's entirely true. Even if no one found out about Regan and Dare's affair right away, what if she had gone on to marry someone else? There could have been a huge scandal when her husband discovered on their wedding night that she wasn't a virgin. In those days, there were a lot of men who would not have accepted a wife who wasn't a virgin, so she still could have been ruined if her husband tried to have the marriage annulled.
Overall, despite my problems with parts of the plot, I thought this was a mostly enjoyable book. I think the first two books in the series were better, though, and I agree with the reviewers who have noted that Hawkins could have done a better job with the material. Hopefully the next book in the series will be an improvement on this one.
Frost's reaction when he discovered Dare and Regan's affair didn't make sense to me either. Sure, Dare was one of his best friends, but I still think Frost would have done something more than throw Dare out of the house after discovering that he had ruined his sister. At the very least, I would have expected him to be a LOT more angry than he was. Also, while I understand why Frost would have told Regan that it was for the best that Dare didn't want to marry her (he thought Dare was still in love with Allegra), I'm surprised that he didn't push them to get married anyway. As a rake himself, he was a lot more understanding of their affair than most brothers would have been, but he must have known that the rules for gently bred young ladies were different than those for the young men of the ton. He told Regan that one affair wouldn't hurt her, but I don't think that's entirely true. Even if no one found out about Regan and Dare's affair right away, what if she had gone on to marry someone else? There could have been a huge scandal when her husband discovered on their wedding night that she wasn't a virgin. In those days, there were a lot of men who would not have accepted a wife who wasn't a virgin, so she still could have been ruined if her husband tried to have the marriage annulled.
Overall, despite my problems with parts of the plot, I thought this was a mostly enjoyable book. I think the first two books in the series were better, though, and I agree with the reviewers who have noted that Hawkins could have done a better job with the material. Hopefully the next book in the series will be an improvement on this one.