TRUE PLEASURE.
Raised by a titled, yet degenerate, father, Emma Jensen never imagined the gambling lessons she learned as a child would one da... read full description
reviews
Feb 02, 2012
Nikki
rated it: 
DNF (thanks to the heroine) but 2 stars nevertheless.
What a disappointing follow-up to To Tempt A Scotsman. I'd been so looking forward to reading Hart's story but Emma ruined the entire thing for me.
Her complete lack of proprietary was not as charming as Alex's had been in Scotsman. I really feel her situation, steeped in lies and deception, could have very well been avoided.
And call me crazy, but I prefer my heroines to actually WANT to feel attraction, des More...
What a disappointing follow-up to To Tempt A Scotsman. I'd been so looking forward to reading Hart's story but Emma ruined the entire thing for me.
Her complete lack of proprietary was not as charming as Alex's had been in Scotsman. I really feel her situation, steeped in lies and deception, could have very well been avoided.
And call me crazy, but I prefer my heroines to actually WANT to feel attraction, des More...
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Oct 16, 2008
Julie (jjmachshev)
rated it: 
3.5 stars for Victoria Dahl's "A Rake's Guide to Pleasure", mostly for the incredibly hot sex with heavy hints of dominance by our hero. If it wasn't for the weaker plot, it would have gotten that 4th star.
She's the daughter of the deceased Baron Denmore, a totally degenerate member of the Hellfire Club who turned his home into a den of iniquity while caring for his grandchildren. Emma saw things as a young child that tore her innocence away. After his death, she was lef More...
She's the daughter of the deceased Baron Denmore, a totally degenerate member of the Hellfire Club who turned his home into a den of iniquity while caring for his grandchildren. Emma saw things as a young child that tore her innocence away. After his death, she was lef More...
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Feb 19, 2011
Jennifer
rated it: 
Another good period romance from Dahl. Very tense, great pacing. It is rather a cheesy cover, and title... not really indicative of the story. Emma is a young noblewoman whose family have all died, leaving her virtually penniless - she has undertaken to travel to London, under the guise of a widow, and engage in games of chance with nobleman suckers, to make her fortune in a few short months, before someone finds out the ruse and she has to flee. It's utterly brazen (not to mention preposterous)
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Sep 26, 2010
Jane
rated it:
Ok story about a woman gambling to earn money to support herself and using a fake name.
STORY BRIEF:
Emily’s family has died. She has no money, so she pretends to be a titled widow so she can attend London parties and gamble with men. She is a skilled gambler and plans to earn enough money so she can support herself with the interest income without getting married. Hart is a Duke planning never to marry. He sees Emily gambling and is attracted to her. She doesn’t want a rela More...
STORY BRIEF:
Emily’s family has died. She has no money, so she pretends to be a titled widow so she can attend London parties and gamble with men. She is a skilled gambler and plans to earn enough money so she can support herself with the interest income without getting married. Hart is a Duke planning never to marry. He sees Emily gambling and is attracted to her. She doesn’t want a rela More...
Aug 12, 2010
Susan
rated it: 
Spare me the title, the cover quote, and the terrible cover. Honestly, had I just stumbled upon this book on my own I would never have picked it up. It looks ghastly.
Another hot Duke running around London, single. You swear, if I had any sense I'd quit reading books that had the word Duke on the inside/back cover.
Emma, the young widow of Baron Denmore is in London, being notorious. She's staying up well into the wee hours of the morning, and she's gambling, she's drinking More...
Another hot Duke running around London, single. You swear, if I had any sense I'd quit reading books that had the word Duke on the inside/back cover.
Emma, the young widow of Baron Denmore is in London, being notorious. She's staying up well into the wee hours of the morning, and she's gambling, she's drinking More...
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Sep 23, 2011
Erin
rated it:
Victoria Dahl, you naughty naughty girl. This is definitely hotter than the average historical.
Hotness aside, I was a little concerned with how much the hero and heroine...how shall I say it....hated each other for much of the book. They both have major issues to deal with, which makes their personality clashes expected. Aside: maybe this is the feminist in me talking, but personally I found Emma's Lily-Bart-esque problems a bit more pressing than Hart's "I was a fool for lov More...
Hotness aside, I was a little concerned with how much the hero and heroine...how shall I say it....hated each other for much of the book. They both have major issues to deal with, which makes their personality clashes expected. Aside: maybe this is the feminist in me talking, but personally I found Emma's Lily-Bart-esque problems a bit more pressing than Hart's "I was a fool for lov More...
May 01, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
This book was a fun historical romance–the classic tale of a woman impersonating someone of a different class in order to get her life back on track. We meet Lady Emma Denmore, a very young widow, who is quite the gambler. She’s working toward a very specific goal and doing her best to keep any hint of her former life a secret. But in her former life, she met the notorious Hart, Duke of Sommerhart, at one of her father’s raunchy parties. A confirmed bachelor always on the lookout for eager w
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Oct 10, 2011
Monica
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book, much better than I did the first book in the series. I love the way Emma decides to take her life into her own hands and make herself stable as opposed to finding a man to do it for her. The characters in this book are truly top notch, some of the best historical romance characters I have had the pleasure of reading.
The plot moved at a fast pace, although the sensual scenes are still lacking some of the heat that Victoria Dahl's more recent work has. I am no More...
The plot moved at a fast pace, although the sensual scenes are still lacking some of the heat that Victoria Dahl's more recent work has. I am no More...
Jul 12, 2010
Marquetta (LoveToReadForFun)
rated it:
Emma Jensen is pulling a scam. Desperate for money, she poses as Lady Denmore. Because Lord Denmore was known as a recluse, no one questions her identity when she arrives in London, gambling with the local gentry. Emma's behavior is seen as eccentric and harmless and the local noblemen humor the young widow, excusing her outrageous behavior on being recently widowed. Then enters Duke of Somerhart, or Hart, a man from her past, only he doesn't know it. When he starts meddling in her affairs, it c
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Feb 01, 2012
Erin
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book continuing on the Huntington Series. I really love the concept of these couples throwing convention to the wind and finding their HEA without the restrictions of society. Emma and Hart's relationship started out scandalously and yet both found peace and trust in each other despite their beginning of lies. While this book skirted my line of tolerance for the whole "guy seduces gal even though she says no" trope and almost went over to stalkerish tendencies, th
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May 05, 2011
Jill
rated it:
Emma Jensen takes her leave of the country to head to London. She makes the acquaintance of an old family friend by portraying herself as a young eccentric widow who enjoys gambling. In reality, Emma desperately needs the money to live on so she can live independently from an ardent suitor from her past. In London she catches the eye of Somerhart, a Duke who has the reputation of quite the womanizer. In truth though, Somerhart is anything but a rake. He was once spurned very publicly by his lady
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Oct 03, 2009
Photojim
rated it:
My third historical romance in a month. The big difference is that I actually liked this one. Despite the cheesy title, the book was well written. I liked the characters and the plot. I would call it a drawing room tale with sex. Emma Jensen was raised in a house of ill-repute but a father who was less than ideal. After her family situation changes again, she decides to go to London to earn enough money to live on her own. There she meets the Duke of Sumerhart. Most call him Winterheart,
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May 13, 2010
Siela
rated it:
I found out about Victoria Dahl when I read Talk Me Down, which I think is safe to say, is her first most popular book. I looked her up and found her other historical romance books.
I finally found a copy of A Rake's Guide to Pleasure and I found myself very pleasantly surprised. It was a well written book with great characters that you find yourself caring for despite their shortcomings. Emma Jensen is one of the smartest, most strong-minded and sassiest heroines I've read. And Hart More...
I finally found a copy of A Rake's Guide to Pleasure and I found myself very pleasantly surprised. It was a well written book with great characters that you find yourself caring for despite their shortcomings. Emma Jensen is one of the smartest, most strong-minded and sassiest heroines I've read. And Hart More...
Jun 17, 2011
Hannah
rated it:
Emma Jensen was raised by a man who loved to indulge in life’s pleasures, but she never thought the desensitization she went through as a child would help her when she became an adult. Posing as a widow, Emma heads to London with her new housekeeper who’s just escaped her abusive husband just before the season starts to win a fortune that she can finally make a life for herself from. When the Duke of Somerhart first meets Emma, he doesn’t realize that he’s met her before, but it’s been so long h
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Jun 06, 2009
Katie(babs)
rated it:
I must say that Victoria Dahl has some of the best historical romance covers around. I really do love the ones where the man and woman are mostly naked in a sea of silk sheets, and her latest, A Rake’s Guide to Pleasure is no exception. But a cover can only do so much for sales. A Rake’s Guide to Pleasure is a well-written, sexy romance with two mature characters who want totally different things in life. The Duke of Somerhart refuses to take the word “no” for an answer from Emma Jensen, who pre
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Jul 12, 2011
Babyfishmouth
rated it:
This is the first book I've read by Victoria Dahl. It didn't grab me and there was something a little off between hero and heroine. She was a little too lusty for a virgin and I couldn't figure out what exactly he saw in her, besides her wild side. I guess she relived his boredom. Overall writing style was nice and the ending was much better than the middle bits.
I will give her books a second or third try (maybe read a contemporary) since I definitely saw some promise in this one.
I will give her books a second or third try (maybe read a contemporary) since I definitely saw some promise in this one.
Sep 16, 2009
Julie
rated it:
I really enjoyed this Victorian romance set in England in the 1840's. The heroine Emma was not your usual virginal type. Emma was a gambler who was set on making as much money as she could get so she could invest it and then live quietly in a cottage by the sea alone and unfettered. Not what you'd expect from the notorious lady she poses as who is hell bent on betting on anything that moved. Little did she know she would catch the eye of Hart, the Duke, our hero. And what a swoonworthy hero he w
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Mar 15, 2009
Margarks
rated it:
I picked this up because I liked Talk Me Down so much, that I wanted to try some of Dahl's other books. I liked it, but it wasn't as great as Talk Me Down. Mostly it was a lot darker, the heroine having suffered some abuse as a child (mostly mental/emotional). I also would have liked the hero and heroine to spend more time together, build their relationship more before the end. But, I still enjoyed her writing style and will be looking for more books by her.
Dec 29, 2009
Brandy Ahviel ~(charmdmom)
rated it:
I loved this book. From the beginning you are led to believe that the heroine is doing the right thing, then you discover that she is about to do the worse thing a woman in her position could do. Yet while she is going to ransom her find she lets herself go and is taken into to bed with her captive, who awakens everthing inside of her.
Her captive is also taken away by how much feeling he has for the woman who did save him and at the same time is going to be stealing money away from them. More...
Her captive is also taken away by how much feeling he has for the woman who did save him and at the same time is going to be stealing money away from them. More...
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Mar 27, 2009
Cameron
rated it:
First of all I was embarrassed by the cover, but because her "corset" isn't really a corset at all and is completely incorrect for the time period. Made me fume a little every time I saw it.
Otherwise it's an entertaining little romance with not too many bits that made me groan with despair at the stupidity of the characters.
Otherwise it's an entertaining little romance with not too many bits that made me groan with despair at the stupidity of the characters.
Jul 18, 2009
Jasmine
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
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Oct 08, 2010
Portia
rated it:
Enjoyed this very much. Emma is a great heroine, very strong and determined, even though she's battling against past sorrows. Love the way she gets on with the job of surviving and isn't afraid to use nefarious means.
Hart is a good match for her, with secrets of his own. Their shared journey towards a happy resolution swept me along.
Hart is a good match for her, with secrets of his own. Their shared journey towards a happy resolution swept me along.
Oct 12, 2011
Dawn
rated it:
I liked the plot of this historical romance and it had an exciting ending but the beginning started to drag on and the heroine got rather stubborn. Lady Emma Denmore is doing a lot of gambling and winning which intrigues the Duke of Somerhart.
Sep 16, 2009
Amanda
rated it:
I have NO IDEA why this book had this title. Seriously. NO. IDEA. The hero was not a rake and there was no guide to any kind of pleasure.
Not a bad book, though. I couldn't put it down.
Not a bad book, though. I couldn't put it down.
Nov 20, 2011
Moss
rated it:
I am not kidding: sell your granny, do a sponsored walk, stick everything you own on eBay, but get this book.
You will not regret it. It is the SHIZZ.
RTC.
You will not regret it. It is the SHIZZ.
RTC.
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Aug 03, 2010
Ruth
rated it:
This is a great story about two sad, lonely people, who have a HEA. The heroine is superb - a tragic background, no future, a past she desperately wants to hide, and gifts for gambling and lying shamelessly. The hero is stiff, haunted by his past, and desperate to forget it. They both have what they have been led to believe are "wicked desires", which must be controlled at all costs. Throw in a nutcase ex, a whole cast of secondary characters, a great plot and a well-written story,
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Jun 08, 2009
Jess
rated it:
Not as good as Talk Me Down, but it's an earlier book and I like current stuff better than regency. That said, I like Dahl's writing and this is good (if not clean :) ) fun.
Apr 02, 2010
Kassie
rated it:
Took me a long time to get into this book.......almost stopped reading it, but something drew me on.....and as it ended, it was intriguing and I liked it!!!!
Jan 12, 2012
Kristi
rated it:
I love Victoria Dahl, but A Rake's Guide to Pleasure was not her best book. I found myself skipping pages just to get through it.
Oct 06, 2011
Charisse
rated it:
3.5 stars - I took off half a star for the lame Matthew Bromley plot line. Just didn't do it for me.
