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misspippireads's review against another edition
Alys Weston is masquerading as a man to be an estate manager at Strickland, so she can provide for her three wards.
Alchoholic Reginald Davenport's cousin returns Reggie's former home, Strickland, in hopes that the hostility between them will cease and Reggie will become a better man.
Time Period: Regency
Location: England
Reviewed from a library copy.
Alchoholic Reginald Davenport's cousin returns Reggie's former home, Strickland, in hopes that the hostility between them will cease and Reggie will become a better man.
Time Period: Regency
Location: England
Reviewed from a library copy.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
4.0
Didn't realize that this had been republished as The Rake in 1998 by Topaz. This original 1989 version is a Signet Super Regency. So I purchased a pb copy of the original and reread it in 2022. Will be interested to check it against the 1998 version to see if any changes have been made; there's an almost-forced-rape scene that seems pretty iffy, even for 1989...
sezola's review
4.0
Revenge, intrigue & a little love along the way
I really enjoyed this! Effy was an absolute firecracker. Even though she'd suffered, she never let that get her down. Harcourt made me swoon
I really enjoyed this! Effy was an absolute firecracker. Even though she'd suffered, she never let that get her down. Harcourt made me swoon
hm08's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
The reviews were all right. This would have been better titled "The Alcoholic" and I wouldn't have felt so sad and disappointed throughout most of the book. Big tip before reading: Adjust your expectations. When I did so accordingly, it was a lot easier for me to appreciate this story for what it was.
If reading a messy aristocrat's journey to sobriety over 400 plus pages is your thing (with a slow-burn romance at the background that is as hot as an extinguished candle), this could be a four/five-star read. The unnecessarily protracted angst with the heroine's past got on my nerves too.
The reviews were all right. This would have been better titled "The Alcoholic" and I wouldn't have felt so sad and disappointed throughout most of the book. Big tip before reading: Adjust your expectations. When I did so accordingly, it was a lot easier for me to appreciate this story for what it was.
If reading a messy aristocrat's journey to sobriety over 400 plus pages is your thing (with a slow-burn romance at the background that is as hot as an extinguished candle), this could be a four/five-star read. The unnecessarily protracted angst with the heroine's past got on my nerves too.
ssejig's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, I have to preface this with the fact that Mary Jo Putney is not one of my go-to authors. I like her well enough but she's not usually the person I pick up first to read. However, the re-write on this book caused me to sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting.
It has the well-used trope that Lady Alys Weston is masquerading as a man to make it in the world. However, I loved that Putney didn't have her dressing like a male. Nope (this is fairly early in the book, so it's not a spoiler). Instead, Alys just avoids the Earl and then, once the property she manages gets turned over to Reginald Davenport, she just walks up and says, "Yeah. I was taking care of it. Whaddya say about that?" And Reginald is surprisingly cool with it.
He was expected to be the next earl. His evil, old uncle lorded it over him and cut him off from the rest of his family. So, Reginald became what everyone expected him to become, a dissolute rake. Well, his cousin unexpectedly showed up and got the inheritance and the title. But the cousin is a really decent guy who thinks that Reginald just needs is something to occupy his time. So he does some digging and finds out that one of the title's properties was actually deeded to Reginald. So, can this be the start of his redemption?
The "B" story is also pretty cute. It turns out that Alys is the guardian of three children, one is a very beautiful (and surprisingly commensense, love that even in a B-heroine). Of course, Reginald has a young friend who happens to think she's the bees knees.
It has the well-used trope that Lady Alys Weston is masquerading as a man to make it in the world. However, I loved that Putney didn't have her dressing like a male. Nope (this is fairly early in the book, so it's not a spoiler). Instead, Alys just avoids the Earl and then, once the property she manages gets turned over to Reginald Davenport, she just walks up and says, "Yeah. I was taking care of it. Whaddya say about that?" And Reginald is surprisingly cool with it.
He was expected to be the next earl. His evil, old uncle lorded it over him and cut him off from the rest of his family. So, Reginald became what everyone expected him to become, a dissolute rake. Well, his cousin unexpectedly showed up and got the inheritance and the title. But the cousin is a really decent guy who thinks that Reginald just needs is something to occupy his time. So he does some digging and finds out that one of the title's properties was actually deeded to Reginald. So, can this be the start of his redemption?
The "B" story is also pretty cute. It turns out that Alys is the guardian of three children, one is a very beautiful (and surprisingly commensense, love that even in a B-heroine). Of course, Reginald has a young friend who happens to think she's the bees knees.
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