Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Rakess

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham

6 reviews

aqtbenz's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Content Warnings

ontheoffbeat's review against another edition

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fast-paced

1.5

A gender-swapped interpretation of the "rake" trope in this historical romance following a sexually liberated female author and her attraction to a scottish architect and single father.

The author's note and the social movement that the author chose to focus on for this book were both intriguing and garnered my excitement. The movement in question is the early women's equal rights movement that began at the tail end of 18th century going into the 19th century. Pioneers of this movement included Mary Wollstonecraft, author of The Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and the leading inspiration behind the protagonist of The Rakess, Seraphina Arden. Unfortunately, Seraphina did not come close to capturing the fervency of Wollstonecraft. This rakess remained cold, robotic even, throughout the entire novel. If there's one thing that this gender-swapped experiment of the trope proves it's that no matter what gender they are, a rake(ss) is still an ass. Her love interest, a Scottish architect by the name of Adam Anderson, likewise was poorly-written. His trauma from losing his wife and baby in childbirth is not handled carefully and instead came off as quite silly and melodramatic. It reminded me of the character writing of Anthony Bridgerton, whose fears also came off as silly and not the sources of turmoil that they were set out to be. I would hope authors and editors would go through more care in properly exploring the trauma of these characters while also bridging this gap of understanding between the modern audience, who live in a society where modern medicine has solved many health issues that would have been a death sentence two hundred years ago, and the characters of Regency England, who would not have such luxuries in their lifetime. This book also contains one of my least favorite tropes ever.

Any book that mentions that the protagonist is, or could possibly be, infertile usually ends in a surprise pregnancy and it makes me sick!

The best part of this book were the side characters, that is, the remaining members of the Society of Sirens. I would be interested in reading the sequel if it comes. I only say "if" because there is no information anywhere on the status of book 2 in this series therefore I won't be holding my breath.

Overall, The Rakess set its target high but did not hit the mark.

Content Warnings