The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie

Book Description:
She ran from a brute...

Fleeing the harsh guardianship of her grandfather, Prudence Merridew escapes with her beautiful younger sisters to London. One of them must marry - and fast. To act as her sisters' chaperone, Prudence invents a secret engagement to a reclusive duke... But when the duke arrives unexpectedly in London, she needs his help to avert disaster.

...into the arms of a rake

Aristocratic Gideon, handsome, rakish and with a strong frivolous streak, casually hijacks Prudence's game, awarding himself a stolen kiss or three along the way. Used to managing sisters and elderly men, Prudence is completely out of her depth with a charming, devious and utterly irresistible rake. And her plot goes terribly - if deliciously - awry...

Just a quickie review at least to say that I found this regency romance adorable and really enjoyed it. It would have been a total froth fest for me if the girls' grandfather, who they were running away from, hadn't turned out to be so awful! He would beat them repeatedly and he was the worst of villains, it just did not sit well with me. But aside from that I had a good time reading this on the beach.

I loved Gideon, he was handsome and devilish and I loved his antics and the mix ups that ensued between Prudence and her great-uncle Oswald in regard to her supposed betrothal to Gideon! Some of the side characters were memorable, such as Oswald and Gideon's aunt, but the younger sisters were not fully developed, though I suspect they have books of their own to look forward to. The youngest had some spunk and I liked her direct approach when it came to Gideon and her sister. Much of the story was implausible, yet entertaining. I love runaway adventures, especially when dukes and earls are involved who have lots of money! *grin*

Prudence was endearing and wasn't overly bogged down by that "I'm the ugly one, all my sisters are so much more beautiful than me" syndrome, though this was the general theme of the book, but it was offset by the fact that Gideon completely felt the opposite way! It was refreshing, and for once we have a less than perfect heroine. Prudence had some smarts, but she was a complete ninny when she kept insisting she had to remain true to her secret fiancee who was somewhere in India.

It all came out well in the end, and I felt like clapping when it was over. Not much in the way of sex, though there was always a deep undercurrent of sexual appeal between Gideon and Prudence - plus, he was always trying to seduce her! But, for the most part, it was all sweet and light (not including the dark undertones of their brutal grandfather, but he gets his just desserts in the end). I'll definitely be reading the rest of the Merridew Sisters series in the future!

4/5

Share