Monday 12 May 2014

Never Kiss a Rake by Anne Stuart



Bryony Russel's life has come crashing down around her ears. Her family is disgraced and her father is dead. She and her three sisters have no money and everything looks bleak. That is until Bryony comes across a secret note, written by her father just before he died. Suddenly his accidental death doesn't seem like so much an accident. In light of this new knowledge Byrony is convinced her father was not guilty of the crimes he was accused of and that the man who was, would be behind her father's death. Armed with only her own wits and intelligence Byrony decides to go undercover as a housekeeper in order to infiltrate the house of the man who called himself her father's business partner, Lord Kilmartyn, a devilish Irish-born rake who has been left suspiciously unscathed in her father's financial downfall. She is determined to prove the guilt of Kilmartyn, though whether for her father's murder and her family downfall, or another dark secret entirely, she isn't sure. But something is going on in the Kilmartyn house, and Bryony is determined to find it all out, and soon before the strange emotions that she feels whenever she sees Lord Kilmartyn overwhelm her. 

This novel can be considered a historical romance as well as wickedly fun and entertaining. When I first read the title I was definitely intrigued. There's nothing I like better than a good romp with the old-school bad-boy trope of the rake. And let me just say, I was not disappointed. This story had all the makings of what pluck a romance out of the myriad of typical, overdone, and cliched bad writing and sets it apart as something truly worth reading. 

Romance so often has a bad rap for not being quality writing; the indulgence of desperate housewives and sexually frustrated virgins. And it's true, there are many a romance that live up to that expectation with bad plot and even worse writing style. I think so much of the problem comes with the idea that a good story can't have some good sex and romance thrown in without the quality dropping. Good stories, like life, absolutely can and will contain some sexy bits which add rather than detract, in my opinion. My cardinal rule of good romantical (yes, this is a word...I just made it up) story telling is: if you can remove the sex and some of the romance and still have a working plot and story then you are doing something right. If I'm searching for the plot while wading through badly written sex scenes and dubiously corny romantic love then chances are I'm going to say a romance isn't up to snuff as a good story. Perhaps my expectations are high, but it is what it is. The story, first and foremost, is what is important to me.

That being said, Never Kiss a Rake was a good story AND it contained a good romance. 

Don't get me wrong. I still caught a few mistakes here and there and some of the romance parts were played up a little bit more than I think the character's initial feelings would have warranted. However it was something I could overlook, especially considering my interest in the suspenseful mystery plot that kept me going as well as the delicious encounters between the main character and the rake himself. Another part of the story that totally made up for any misgivings I might have had was the narration hopping to Kilmartyn occasionally and a few other characters. It made things really interesting and I very much enjoyed seeing and hearing the different point's of view. 

All in all, if you're looking to have a little fun and relax with a book that doesn't take a lot of effort but still delivers the goods, this is the story for you. I thoroughly enjoyed myself from start to finish and despite all stereotypes reading romance comes with, still give it a high recommend. 

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