Cold-Hearted Rake (Cold-Hearted Rake #1) by Lisa Kleypas

Blurb...

A twist of fate...

Devon Ravenel, London's most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities . . . and more than a few surprises. His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl's three innocent sisters are still occupying the house . . . along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon's own.

A clash of wills...

Kathleen knows better than to trust a ruthless scoundrel like Devon. But the fiery attraction between them is impossible to deny—and from the first moment Devon holds her in his arms, he vows to do whatever it takes to possess her. As Kathleen finds herself yielding to his skillfully erotic seduction, only one question remains:

Can she keep from surrendering her heart to the most dangerous man she's ever known?

Lisa Kleypas is back, and back in a big way with Cold-Hearted Rake, her first historical romance in years, and it's everything we long time fans have come to expect from her storytelling: It's romantic, poignant, funny, and oh, so very sexy!

I have to say, I was over the moon when I learned Ms. Kleypas had teamed up with Avon Books again and would be giving us a new historical romance series. Many will agree with me when I say she's easily one of the best romance authors out there - and it's stories like Cold-Hearted Rake which bear proof of that.

Devon is a bastard, and I couldn't believe I'd ever come to love him. But love him I do. He's honorable, sexy, compassionate - but before those things surfaced he had to open his eyes to the world around him to find that he's not the only person who matters. Fortunately, there was a red-haired beauty to help him see the err of his ways.

Kathleen has had it rough, but that's only served to make her a strong, independent woman; the kind of woman who can stand up to a rake like Devon Ravenel.

I could be wrong, but this might just be the steamiest book Ms. Kleypas has written. Kathleen and Devon's sexual chemistry sizzled throughout their story and made this one very sexy read.

The supporting cast - Helen, Cassandra, and Pandora - are all ladies needing their stories told, and I can't wait to read their happily ever afters. Helen is up next and wow. Just wow. I can already tell her's is going to be one roller-coaster ride of a tale!

An ARC was provided by Avon Books. In appreciation I'm giving them an honest review.

Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed by Anna Campbell

Will a week of seduction...

Desperate to save her sister's life, Sidonie Forsythe has agreed to submit herself to a terrible fate: Beyond the foreboding walls of Castle Craven, a notorious, hideously scarred scoundrel will take her virtue over the course of seven sinful nights. Yet instead of a monster, she encounters a man like no other. And during this week, she comes to care for Jonas Merrick in ways that defy all logic—even as a dark secret she carries threatens them both.

...Spark a lifetime of passionate surrender?

Ruthless loner Jonas knows exactly who he is. Should he forget, even for a moment, the curse he bears, a mere glance in the mirror serves as an agonizing reminder. So when the lovely Sidonie turns up on his doorstep, her seduction is an even more delicious prospect than he originally planned. But the hardened outcast is soon moved by her innocent beauty, sharp wit, and surprising courage. Now as dangerous enemies gather at the gate to destroy them, can their new, fragile love survive?

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Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed is the first book in Anna Campbell's Sons of Sin series. It's a gothic-esque romance with a Beauty and the Beast feel, and is a very passionate, very sexy story.

Anna Campbell is one of my favorite Historical Romance authors. She writes compelling characters living in complex worlds. They're tortured souls with tragic pasts, people in need of the kind of redemption and salvation that can only be found in the arms of their one true love.

But for some minor issues I had with pacing and flow, there's so much to love about this story! Jonas and Sidonie are wonderful characters and from the start I couldn't help but care for them and want them to be together. And while I do like Sidonie, I fell especially hard for Jonas, the scarred, bitter man. His life, his loss, his seemingly empty future... he's the kind of hero who captures my heart in a big way.

I'm looking forward to reading more in this series!  

A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets...

A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance—including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to such unexplored pleasures.

Bourne may be a prince of London’s underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness—a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them... even her heart.

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 A Rogue by Any Other Name is the first book in Sarah MacLean’s The Rules of Scoundrels series and from the first page to the last is filled with emotion – happiness, heartbreak, passion, romance – a truly fabulous story!

I often find, with historical romances, that the rules society has placed on the women can make them seem mousey and pathetic, so I love it when an author takes those women and makes them strong enough to laugh at their peers – or at least gives them enough gumption to not care so much about what society thinks that they conform to what’s expected of them. That always makes for some funny, sexy stories, and that’s what Ms. MacLean has done with A Rogue by Any Other Name.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Love By Numbers series – in fact, I’ve often said that if I could choose to be any heroine from a historical romance novel, it would be Lady Calpurnia Hartwell from Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake. She’s strong, independent, feisty, funny… I’d be her in a heartbeat, but to be honest, I feel that way about most of Sarah MacLean’s heroines. Rarely do I get as attached to the heroine of a story as I do to the hero, but with this author’s books, I always do. 

But I digress….

Our hero, Michael, Marquess of Bourne, is horrible! He’s not just an ass, he’s a pain in the ass! And I adored every single bit of him! You just know that in the end, he’s going to get his, and watching it come about is just so much fun! We go from him devising his plan for revenge, then watching him carry it out, knowing that he never considers - not even for a moment - that it won’t go as flawlessly as he expected. Then we see, bit by bit, the transformation; the shock when he starts to question his motives, his feelings, his true wants and desires. I absolutely love watching this transformation!

Our heroine, Lady Penelope Marbury, truly is my kind of woman. As I said above, Sarah MacLean is one of the few authors who can write heroines who are as perfect as her heroes. Penelope is, in some ways, a victim of her times, but she doesn’t let those suffocating rules of society keep her from having an “adventure”. I LOVE this about her! She reminds me somewhat of Lady Calpurnia, and perhaps that’s why I adore her so much. She didn’t sit about whimpering or simpering as she did her needlework, waiting for something exciting to happen. Nope! She found ways to create her own excitement. I love how she took life by the horns and didn’t let go!

And the story! Oh, my goodness! Take a rake – or in this case, a rogue – and give him a truly compelling, believable reason for revenge and toss in an innocent, but not naïve, heroine, and you have the makings of an incredible story, and that’s what this one is. Twists, turns, heartache and happiness – never a dull moment and I adored every word!

The bottom line: It probably goes without saying, but I can’t say it enough – I love this story! It was filled with emotion and had me laughing, sighing and fanning myself, start to finish. Sarah MacLean is one of the few “auto-buy” authors on my list, and books like A Rogue by Any Other Name is why.

I am soooo looking forward to the next book in the series, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover and cannot wait to watch Penelope’s sister, Lady Philippa Marbury, match wits with the man known only as Cross, the bookkeeper of the The Fallen Angel gaming hell. That is a story guaranteed to deliver everything I crave in historical romance, and a story not to be missed!