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A review by abrittlebee
The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham
3.0
Despite the fact I read a lot of romance, I tend to shy away from the genre’s most popular subclass; historical. This isn’t due to any sort of aversion to historical novels in general. I simply find myself disinterested in many of their more common themes. However, I have been trying to remedy this and seek out historical and regency romances that pique my interest. For The Rakess, my draw was definitely the characters.
In truth, had it not been for the character role reversal, I could see this falling in with the plethora of other historicals that are enjoyable but might not be particularly memorable. The storyline itself isn’t that uncommon. Widow with young children is seduced and tames the promiscuous rake. Yet, it is the gender swap specifically that makes this novel so different and intriguing. Instead of a widow we have a widower, and instead of a rake a rakess. With this simple alteration it changes the dynamic of the novel and puts the heroine, Seraphina, at the forefront as the more charismatic of the two protagonists. It also changes one of the overarching external conflicts to one that many romance readers can understand and relate to, the one for gender and sexual equality. It was a feminist twist I greatly appreciated.
The Rakess is by no means perfect. The story is a little predictable, and Adam, though charming and sweet, is a little bland when compared to his female counterpart. All the same, the good of this book far outweighs the mediocre, making it a joy to read and a definite recommendation.
In truth, had it not been for the character role reversal, I could see this falling in with the plethora of other historicals that are enjoyable but might not be particularly memorable. The storyline itself isn’t that uncommon. Widow with young children is seduced and tames the promiscuous rake. Yet, it is the gender swap specifically that makes this novel so different and intriguing. Instead of a widow we have a widower, and instead of a rake a rakess. With this simple alteration it changes the dynamic of the novel and puts the heroine, Seraphina, at the forefront as the more charismatic of the two protagonists. It also changes one of the overarching external conflicts to one that many romance readers can understand and relate to, the one for gender and sexual equality. It was a feminist twist I greatly appreciated.
The Rakess is by no means perfect. The story is a little predictable, and Adam, though charming and sweet, is a little bland when compared to his female counterpart. All the same, the good of this book far outweighs the mediocre, making it a joy to read and a definite recommendation.