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patricia_nascimento 's review for:
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
by Sarah MacLean
RATING: 3.5 stars.
After all the YA books I've read this year I decided I needed to switch genres even if just for a little while. And Sarah MacLean seemed like the perfect choice. I've had this book on my shelves ever since it came out and I've read so many good reviews that I thought I should finally read it.
It felt good to read an adult book for once even if it falls into the category of "brain candy". I was looking for a quick, sensual and funny read and Sarah MacLean's debut delivered.
Lady Calpurnia Hartwell, sister of an Earl and renowned paragon of virtue among the best of London's society has had enough. Enough of being meek and well behaved. Enough of being overlooked by men. Enough of being "on the shelf". So she decides to make a list of things that she dreams of doing; scandalous things like drinking scotch and gambling at a men's club. And who better to help her than the most infamous rake of London?
Honestly there's isn't much in this book that wasn't already in other historical romances I've read. The plot isn't exactly original: there was the bold but innocent heroine and the rakish but honorable hero that seem to meet everywhere and have all these opportunities to be alone. Of course the hero has a dark past and the heroine is chirpy and believes in luurve. Same old, same old. There was even the infamous "scene in a carriage" (I think I wrote somewhere I was getting tired of those).
Still, the characters were charismatic and most important of all there was chemistry. Oh and humor (I like humor with my historical romances, that's why I love Julia Quinn).
That, more than the plot or character traits (which vary little from one book to the next, no matter the author) is what makes or breaks an historical romance in my opinion. That and the writing style. MacLean delivers superbly on both accounts with sparks flying between her protagonists and an engaging writing. The pace was pretty good and she is great at writing scenes that pull at your heartstrings (even if they are cheesy).
There was an overuse of certain expressions like "this kiss was different from all the others they had previously shared" for example. Ugh, I was so tired of reading that. Every time the protagonists kissed there it was.
That aside, I enjoyed this book immensely and am very happy that I decided to buy the rest of the series a while back. I'll certainly be adding Sarah MacLean to my list of historical romance authors to watch out for.
After all the YA books I've read this year I decided I needed to switch genres even if just for a little while. And Sarah MacLean seemed like the perfect choice. I've had this book on my shelves ever since it came out and I've read so many good reviews that I thought I should finally read it.
It felt good to read an adult book for once even if it falls into the category of "brain candy". I was looking for a quick, sensual and funny read and Sarah MacLean's debut delivered.
Lady Calpurnia Hartwell, sister of an Earl and renowned paragon of virtue among the best of London's society has had enough. Enough of being meek and well behaved. Enough of being overlooked by men. Enough of being "on the shelf". So she decides to make a list of things that she dreams of doing; scandalous things like drinking scotch and gambling at a men's club. And who better to help her than the most infamous rake of London?
Honestly there's isn't much in this book that wasn't already in other historical romances I've read. The plot isn't exactly original: there was the bold but innocent heroine and the rakish but honorable hero that seem to meet everywhere and have all these opportunities to be alone. Of course the hero has a dark past and the heroine is chirpy and believes in luurve. Same old, same old. There was even the infamous "scene in a carriage" (I think I wrote somewhere I was getting tired of those).
Still, the characters were charismatic and most important of all there was chemistry. Oh and humor (I like humor with my historical romances, that's why I love Julia Quinn).
That, more than the plot or character traits (which vary little from one book to the next, no matter the author) is what makes or breaks an historical romance in my opinion. That and the writing style. MacLean delivers superbly on both accounts with sparks flying between her protagonists and an engaging writing. The pace was pretty good and she is great at writing scenes that pull at your heartstrings (even if they are cheesy).
There was an overuse of certain expressions like "this kiss was different from all the others they had previously shared" for example. Ugh, I was so tired of reading that. Every time the protagonists kissed there it was.
That aside, I enjoyed this book immensely and am very happy that I decided to buy the rest of the series a while back. I'll certainly be adding Sarah MacLean to my list of historical romance authors to watch out for.