A review by earlgaytea711
9 Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 I picked this one up on recommendation from Holly at Belle of the Library and I’m so glad I did. While I have many issues with it, I still had a thoroughly enjoyable time reading it and I can’t wait to read the rest in the series. I’m hopeful that MacLean’s writing improves with time and experience. 

One of my biggest issues with this novel is pacing. Sometimes it felt like things happened SO quickly I barely had time to register what happened and other times it felt so slow that I felt like I’d been reading the same thing for 5 years. 

I really like Callie! She seems like the kind of person I would be in the regency era. But I think the book told us a lot about how prim and proper and wall flowery she is and didn’t really show it. So when she starts breaking rules it feels like that’s just who she is and not something she really had to push herself to do. 

I also felt like Ralston was very wishy washy. He was so hot and cold that I was mostly annoyed with him. I understand the reasoning but it felt like a lot of waffling just to keep the book going. 

Honestly, I think my biggest gripe was the length. The book could have been about 100 pages less and it would have probably gotten 4 or 4.5 stars from me. But it dragged on in those slow parts and felt repetitive because of Ralston’s indecisiveness. 

I love the banter between Callie and Ralston. In general I loved Callie’s interactions with everyone. She was funny, pushed against society’s rules, and yet still tried to remain prim and proper. It makes me wish more of the pages were dedicated to showing Callie’s transformation then Ralston’s inability to be in touch with his feelings.
 
I don’t usually talk about the erotic scenes in these novels because most of the time I skim them. I’ve read so much romance that those scenes are mostly the same and boring for me but MacLean’s writing of them kept me engaged and waiting to see what would happen. I really enjoyed that. 

Overall, it was a pretty good read. I’ll be picking up the sequel sometime soon. It definitely could have been better in my opinion but it was still very enjoyable and fun.