The Ruin of a Rake

4.75 - well........now what am i meant to do with my life?? my local libraries only carry so many gay historical romances and i don't have money to purchase ebooks...

This book was delightful, and I'm just sad I didn't finish reading it sooner!

Really enjoyed this book. I loved the banter between the main characters, the wit and sarcasm made their interactions both cute and funny. Definitely want to read more from this author.

What a fun series this has been. I didn't know I would enjoy historical romances this much, but I really did. And the ending is super sweet and amazing... loved the way the author interconnected all three stories !!!

Well, I've not read the two previous books, didn't even realize it was a series until I'd already gotten fairly far into the book, since I read precious little prose LGBT erotica (manga, on the other hand...). And this made me squee as much as Yuri! On Ice, so yeah, I absolutely had a ball reading it. It made me laugh, I might have been a trifle moved, and I got super into it. Julian made me laugh quite a bit. And I loved that his sister was a crazy cat lady (not that we can relate, oh no no, not at all). I can't give this less than four stars because it was fun and adorable and utterly charming.

Needed a palate cleanser after some denser books! Sweet story, pretty explicit open-door scenes. I liked Julian and Courtenay together, especially as Julian schemed to manipulate the town to keep their affair a secret, and the depth of character of the “rake.”

Reread January 2021
Love the ending. By ending, I literally mean the final chapter. Love the ... uniquely worded words of endearment because Julian just cannot say it. Love the fact that what you see is most definitely NOT what you get with these two.


Original Review
I love both these guys so much. They are so wonderfully imperfect and simply amazing together. I will say, I was surprised how quickly their relationship moves, but I guess that was for the issue that cropped up late in the story. For once, it wasn't a misunderstanding. (I'm going to avoid spoilers here, but let's just say that it was handled wonderfully and totally believably for these two characters.)

I love Julian - admittedly, repressed characters are exactly the kind I LOVE to see unbend - and he's so prim and proper that when he does, it's gorgeous. And I adore Courtenay who is such a sweetheart that I just want to hug him and never let go.