Seeking revenge doesn't always pay off. When sweet revenge turns into love, it brings a dilemma.

Reuben is the most notorious rake, according to society. He attempts the event held for batchlrors seeking to secure a courtship leading to marriage. All the wallflowers are fascinated by him. What's not to like? He is goodlooking and wealthy and everything that the girls desire. Gladys is a wallflower, pressured by her parents to find a suitor. When she spots Reuben, she is just as smitten as are others in attendance. In need of some fresh air, she ventures in the garden to quench her need for air. Out of the blue, she is embraced into a passionate kiss. Only to realise that it is Reuben himself. He mistakes for Lady Midnight and by this time she is well and truly smitten. Her first kiss with a lot of promises attached. It's a dream come true. When she returns to the event, she is pressured some more by her despicable mother. She divulges that she is waiting for a wedding proposal by the next day and when nothing happens, she realises that she has been taken for a ride. Reuben has made a disappearing trick. He has ruined her reputation and now she is set on getting revenge.

Five years later, she returns to the venue to seek her revenge, but what she finds isn't entirely what she expects. They become fast friends have some good times together. Then the time comes when she reveals her real intent. From then on, it all goes to pots. She leaves him behind to return to London. Reuben has contacts. Contacts he uses to find her. He turns up on her doorsteps with a proposal. She is shocked. He has never forgotten her either.

It's a well related tale. I like Count Whiskers who makes a faux pas. It's hilarious and memorable. The whole book is enticing with the urgency of f the outcome. Reuben and Gladys do find what they have both been looking for. After all, leopards do change their spots. Very enjoyable indeed.

I was given an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

Taming the Rake by Erica Ridley is the second book in the Lords in Love series. The book is an enemies to lovers style with two interesting characters. I do need to state from the outset how much the family of Gladys Bells irritated me, but you’ll understand when you read it.

Gladys and Reuben met one night. He was thinking she was somebody else. Luckily Gladys stopped him before he “ruined” her. Only to have a number of people witness her running away - she was ruined anyhow. Her family disowned her and Gladys was left to find her own way. Ruined women had few if any choices and Gladys made the only choice she could.

Reuben, a rake, didn’t know what had happened and really didn’t remember her at all. Gladys however had years to play her revenge and that’s just what she is going to do. Reuben didn’t know what was happening to him as Gladys’ revenge played out. The problem was that both Rueben and Gladys had major chemistry.

The book was a fast read, without a lot of twists and turns. I enjoyed Gladys and her planned revenge, even when it bit back. Reuben was a clueless self centered rake and despite that I enjoyed his character! Taming the Rake by Erica Ridley was a fun read.

This is my first time reading this author and I appreciate the opportunity to become more familiar with her work via this advance review copy. I was intrigued by the book’s premise - young woman ruined by rakehell takes her revenge years later - and I found the writing style very polished and enjoyable to read, with some nicely drawn scenes of the protagonists getting to know each other. The storytelling seemed clunky to me, however. I’ll try to explain what I mean below.

The first five chapters came across to me as light-hearted, fluffy and fun, and the comedic tone worked well for the subject material (anxious mama tries to marry off her plain eldest daughter). It was an engaging set-up, although a number of plot elements required a lot of suspension of disbelief: the presence of a ‘matchmaking festival’ in Hampshire; the idea that parents trying to marry off a daughter would only bring her to one social event per year; and, especially, the notion that parents would disown their daughter immediately, in a public park, after a random stranger accuses her of looking rumpled at a ball the night before and is therefore compromised - had her parents and sister not noticed this the night before when they spent time with her at the ball?

From Chapter 6 onward, it was slightly jarring to find that after a five year time jump, the shy, plain, virginal, wallflower heroine (Gladys) is now a sultry courtesan who’s been selling her body for half a decade. That’s a huge amount of character development that happens off-page and that the reader is not privy to. It’s also difficult to believe Gladys amassed enough wealth in five years to “never need think about men ever again”. Maintaining a London townhouse and staff requires a steady income, and given that it’s acknowledged she had a steep learning curve when she began her profession, she presumably has not been earning high amounts for enough time to finance such an early retirement.

The rakish hero’s longstanding obsession with “Lady Dawn”, his nickname for Gladys after meeting her briefly at the matchmaking festival ball where she’s subsequently ruined, didn’t ring true to me either. Their kissing/fondling session was interrupted five years ago and ever since, he’s only interested in sleeping with lookalikes - despite the fact he couldn’t even remember what she looked like after he met her. What fuelled this obsession? In general, I didn’t find much here in the way of nuanced character development, and the protagonists never felt like real people to me. The reader is told early on why Reuben is the way he is, and this information is repeated at intervals as though the reader might have forgotten. Gladys never evinces much of a personality beyond liking to read and seeking revenge.

There are some very dark themes in this book, such as being rejected by one’s family and having to sell one’s body to survive, that are not addressed with the attention or depth I would expect. These themes don’t align well with the overall tone of the book, which isn’t exactly jaunty but certainly veers more toward rom-com than angst-fest. The text *says* that Gladys is angry about losing everything in her life due to Reuben’s thoughtlessness, but the reader never sees an acknowledgment of the trauma she must have experienced as an impoverished, homeless innocent abandoned by her loved ones and lured into prostitution, nor does the reader come to understand how she managed to work through that trauma. It’s never entirely clear how Gladys feels about her career. She is proud of keeping herself afloat, but is she proud of the relational and practical skills she’s acquired? Does she enjoy sex at all? Does she despise men and/or polite society for placing her in this position?

Overall, I didn’t feel that the execution of this book lived up to its premise. Historical romance often does more telling than showing, but I found this to be particularly the case with “Taming the Rake”.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is the 2nd book of Lords in Love series, it can be read as stand alone. My first in this series and this book is good. When a wallflower make revenge, the thorns coming out. Miss Gladys Bell reputation destroy because of Reuben Medford, she want him to pay. After all this years Reuben always looking for one woman, Lady Dawn the one who got away. When he see the glimps in Gladys he run for it without realise it is the same woman. I love how Gladys determine to revenge, it is sweet how Reuben longing for her and I glad finally he learn the lesson.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#TamingtheRake #LordsinLove #EricaRidley #WebMotion #AuthorCollective20 #NetGalley #ARC

Oh... gosh. I ... don't really know what to do with this one. A chirpy, fluffy book about a woman forced in to prostitution... tonally all wrong. I finished it, just, but feeling very icky about it all.

Received an ARC by Netgalley.

I am a big fan of historical fantasies.

This recent read still surprised me so much, from one of the main characters being a selfish idiot to another thrown out in the streets by her own parents.

Historical romances usually take on a softer version of romance on the female characters projecting the males as someone who is in pain or unworthy, but this one was tough.

When I started reading, I didn't think I would like Gladys for some reason, but I started connecting with the character as I knew more about her. Same with Reuben too. I wish we had more information about other characters like Gladys' sister after she is married, whether Gladys' parents repented for what they have done, etc.

It just felt the entire world revolved around Gladys and Reuben in this novel.

One other thing - not a flaw - but illogical, is the mention of rockets in historical novels.. unless I am very wrong, I don't think rockets are even part of the century they are in.

Overall, it is definitely a great read and I lost some sleep over it (and that's a good thing) because I needed to know what happens next. :)

After being compromised by a rake she thought would marry her, Gladys is shunned by society and her family. She is forced to earn a living as a courtesan. Five years later she vows to get her revenge on the man that caused her life such misery, Reuben. I received an ARC from NetGalley and WebMotion for my honest review.

Gladys has waited 5 long years to get revenge on Reuben. She does just that. She also learned that there is more than meets the eye about Reuben. He lets his walls down and shows her his true self. The ending has a perfect happy ever after, my favorite. I thought that, Taming the Rake, is a wonderful novel. I love all of Ridley's book though so I might be biased.

The premise of this book was really good and intriguing, however, the execution was just boring and too plain for me. The first chapter frustrates me because apparently we could only open a historical romance during some kind of ball. Gladys, our heroine, has no personality and wasn't a fun character to follow around. It's definitely not for me.

An excellent love story revolving around Gladys and Reuben. The characters are well written and entertaining. I would recommend this book as an excellent read.

2 stars = it was just okay
Unfortunately this book didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t really like the heroine or her story. Was being a courtesan her only choice when her parents disowned her? And I don’t like revenge or stories about it. Getting revenge says much more about the seeker than the one who did the harm. All in all this definitely wasn’t the book for me. I’m sure others would not have the same problems with the book that I did.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Erica Ridley is always a reliable historical romance read. There's always great chemistry, there's always a fun hook and the leads must work for their HEA that happens in a satisfying squeeworthy way. Taming the Rake is no exception. At first I was nervous since the "ruined" heroine seeking vengeance is not a typical trope I'm a fan of - actually not a fan of any vengeance trope, male or female. However, this was done in a way that endeared me to both characters rather than being angry at the situation. (Though yes, I was bummed at the beginning, too). But don't worry, our heroine ends up strong and in charge. And she's witty to boot.

Thanks to Netgalley, WebMotion, and Erica Ridley for an ARC for an honest review..

Surprisingly, I found this book an entire miss.. An oddity because Ridley is normally a favorite.

Unfortunately, I felt like the book was too dark in themes, especially in regards to Gladys. Felt inescapable at times. And Reuben never felt like a deserving love interest. I tried so hard to like the romance but he was so self-involved that I couldn't champion him.

There were elements I enjoyed. Moments in their interactions in the middle of the story. There wasn't enough enjoyment for the sake of it, though.

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Lords in Love series. Gladys the wallflower is at the Marrywell Matchmaking Festival for the fourth time and needs to find a marriage match before her dowry is given to her delightful younger sister. She finds herself kissed in a garden and expected a proposal from the handsome gentleman, but he never shows up, and she was spotted in a disheveled state, so now she’s publicly ruined as well. Her family cuts her off completely and she has to survive on her own. Five years later, she returns to Marrywell to find the man who ruined her and seek revenge. But he’s a lot less rakish than he seemed before and Gladys is at risk of falling in love.

Gladys is a timid wallflower, never asked to dance, overlooked by every gentleman at balls. Her parents are desperate to find her a husband. While at the final ball of a matchmaking festival, her mother tells her she must find someone. Every man here is looking for a wife. When Gladys goes into the garden a man suddenly grabs her and kisses her. He's mistaken her for someone else, but Gladys thinks this means he will marry her. Rueben is the most notorious rake in England. He's had hundred if not thousands of women. He sticks to widows or unhappily married women, only those who understand he's only with a woman once and then moves to the next. At the festival he's had sex with eight women in one day. The next day, Gladys waits for his arrival with her family for his proposal. She waits, and waits, and waits, realizing that he's not coming. While the family is at a park, the rumor spreads that she kissed a man. Her horrified parents ban her from their lives at that instant. With a sudden flash forward five years, Gladys is an extremely wealthy, confident, and beautiful ex-courtesan. She returns to this years' matchmaking festival hoping to find Reuben and make him pay for what he did to her by making him fall in love with her and turning her back on him. So, O.K. I guess my problem is glossing over the entire time between a young sheltered girl is standing on the grass at a park with her parents and being forced into the sex trade. Nothing is said of where she went that day and the extreme trauma she endured for years. She does meet Rueben again of course. His treatment of women is due to his insecurity in thinking no one will like him? There is a nice groveling scene from Reuben.

I really enjoyed this revenge/secret identity romance and although the first couple of chapters feel clumsily written, beyond these the writing and story soon flow. I don't know how authentic Gladys' being disowned and put out on the street by her parents would be during the 1800's, but it feels like a particularly harsh treatment and I'm not sure it's credible to have no trauma going from dowdy wallflower to successful courtesan - or indeed what that journey might look like, since there was no real coverage of this timeline. Despite that, on the whole this is an easy to read, enjoyable story, which moves along at a good pace.

Thanks to NetGallery for the 'Read Now' - I enjoyed the book immensely. It's out on March 24, 2023.

Releases on: Marth 24th

Summary:
Gladys Bell is a wallflower with hopeless prospects, whose parents have brought her to a matchmaking ball to be, well, matched. Unfortunately, she makes out with the rakiest of rakes, Reuben Medford, is seen, ruined, and disowned. Now she's out to ruin Reuben the way he ruined her... and it goes from there.

My review:
First off, this was my first Erica Ridley book! I've heard her name thrown around a few times so I was definitely curious going into this.

The first few chapters of Taming the Rake were basically a train-wreck occurring in slow motion: Gladys being a naive wallflower, Reuben and his internal whining about no one taking him seriously because he's a slutty, slutty man, and only his uncle's cat loves him(?), and then, well, the Ruination.

I had some whiplash when there was a flash-forward five years later and we find out Gladys is now a fairly popular courtesan. I'd expected Gladys to immediately hunt down Reuben to enact her revenge; not take a half-decade to concoct a revenge plot. That being said, courtesan heroines (not fake courtesans!) are far and few between and I was intrigued, so I went on.

The ✨revenge✨ itself was fairly simple: get Reuben to fall for her and then emotionally wreck him before leaving. It's pretty classic as for as HR revenge plots go (see: the og, the greatest, our king himself, McKenna from Again the Magic by Kleypas), but the novelty here was that it was a woman doing it. And Reuben fell for her comically fast- man was panting after her like a dog within 10 seconds of (re)meeting her. Cue a lot of "dates", including going to a beer ale garden and an aphrodisiac picnic before they finally seal the deal.

The Sex:
So as far as the sex went, it happened once. It was fine. It was very much set as the climax of the plot. I've said this before, but when you have (especially) heroes who are rakes, sex is sex for them; The novelty when it comes to their heroines is the emotional connection, so that is often what takes precedent in the plot. There are some books where the novelty for rakish heroes is sex-with-emotions, but that wasn't the case in this particular story.

Overall:
Final aspect of the plot worth mentioning is the Grovel. There was a Grovel. It was a decent grovel as far as grovels go, especially since it was delivered on her doorstep with him on his knees. Overall, this was a straightforward book with a straightforward plot, almost veering towards a romcom, in my opinion. It didn't entirely work for me, but I think fans of Julia Quinn and Sabrina Jeffries who are looking for stories set outside the ton with a little more subversive heroines will enjoy it.

Thank you to Author Collective 20 and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I'm undecided if I liked this book or not. Gladys is a young women going through her 4th season of trying to find a husband. She thinks she's found him. But it's not to be. She has alot of struggles along the way and finally seeks revenge on the man that caused all the struggles.

This was not what I was expecting.
This story is tragic and depressing. I am absolutely heartbroken for Gladys. I was in tears because the consequences for one kiss was so harsh and undeserved. And the hero has no clue he caused this for her! No apologies, no acknowledgement. I was not satisfied with the romance. The heroine's backstory was so tragic that it was hard to glance over it and root for her to get with the person who led her to those circumstances.
This book just made me sad.

Miss Gladys Bell is in her 4th and final season to find a husband. She is approached by Mr. Alsop but he only wants to marry her for the property that is her dowry; he has absolutely no interest in her. She is resigned to the idea of a loveless marriage until she falls into the arms of the gorgeous rake, Reuben Medford. Gladys is naive and thinks that Reuben wants to marry her, which basically leads to disaster. After being “ruined”, Gladys is disowned and left to find her own way. With no skills and no references, prostitution is her only option for survival. She becomes a successful, wealthy courtesan and decides that a little revenge is deserved. It’s hard to hate Reuben when you know that he is the way that he is because his only living relative has told him over and over again since he was young that he is worthless, unlovable and that the only reason someone would want to marry him would be for his title. With this in mind, Reuben has no plan to marry and assumes that he is only good for women to seek their pleasure with him. As Gladys begins her plans of revenge, she spends more and more time with Reuben, only to learn that he might not be the horrible person that she remembers. I loved the interactions of these two as they continued a chaste relationship. This is another 5 star story in my opinion.