Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love By Numbers #1)

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love By Numbers #1)

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4.1 of 5 stars 4.10  ·  rating details  ·  10,607 ratings  ·  1,011 reviews
A lady does not smoke cheroot. She does not ride astride. She does not fence or attend duels. She does not fire a pistol, and she never gambles at a gentlemen's club.

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell has always followed the rules, rules that have left her unmarried—and more than a little unsatisfied. And so she's vowed to break the rules and live the life of pleasure she's been miss...more
Paperback, 422 pages
Published March 30th 2010 by Avon

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Eastofoz
Feb 05, 2011 Eastofoz rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Kleypas/Quinn/Enoch/Chase/Anna Campbell
This book has everything single thing I love about romance novels:

• a kill me now s.o.b alpha hero (be still my pitter pattering heart :D)
• an amazing heroine who is (brace yourself now) **shock** normal
• biting humor
• great repartee
• story focus on h/h 99.9% of the time (a rare breed of book)
• originality for something that's been done 36 gazillion times
• superb tension building
• unpredictability where you’re expecting the predictable (aka bug-eyed scenes)
• chilling meanness
• sex-a-licio...more
Shawna
5+ stars – Historical Romance

What a wonderful, charming, sexy, entertaining, sweet, funny, emotional, steamy, and well-written regency romance with an utterly lovable, quirky, plump, Plain Jane, wallflower, spinster heroine and a sexy-as-sin, tarnished-heart-of-gold rogue hero to die for!

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake is a truly delightful read with everything I love in a historical romance: an engaging story, witty dialogue, humor, drama, emotion, smokin’ hot love scenes, an endearin...more
Baba  ♥♥♥ Marcus, Tyler, Tate, Dan, Ty, & Hunter
FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED

"I love you. I love your extravagant name and your beautiful face and your brilliant mind and your ridiculous list and your taste for adventure, which I imagine is very likely going to be the actual cause (view spoiler)[of my death. And I very much wanted to be able to tell you all that before you were shot in a field." (hide spoiler)]

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Even though the plot is very predictable, I really enjoyed Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. It's another winner and delightfully p...more
♡KarLynP♡
An entertaining Regency read. The writing voice reminds me of Eloise James, Suzanne Enoch, Stephanie Lauren. The heat is more pronounced though, I'd say on that level its similar to Kleypas or Gaelen Foley. This is hot! I enjoyed it, and the characters were fun. In many ways it's a typical regency story that centers around all the events the Ton participates in to 'see and be seen' (Balls, operas, shopping on Bond street, museums...etc.) The storyline is a bit of a farce and does require you to...more
Suzanne the Mighty ~Satin Seductress~
2012 Reread! I still love this book, I wish I could give it more then 5 stars!


I really loved this book! I loved the idea of the list of forbidden activities, the lovable rake and the unconventional heroine.

It all starts when 27 year old spinster Callie hears her younger sister having a romantic liason with her fiancee at their betrothal dinner and hears herself described as passive. This instigates her to make a list of actvities that she has always wanted to do, such as gamble at a gentlemans c...more
Dina
I love the inside cover of this book!

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Karla (Mossy Love Grotto)
There once was a plain and plumpish blubbery waste of space girl with tons of money called Calpurnia, who never got married even though she had some suitors. We're told she's a pragmatic girl who has dreams of marriage, house, home, and children, but she's turned everyone away because they're not the same as that handsome guy she once talked to for a couple minutes a decade ago about how her quaintly Classical name isn't really cause for eternal shame and contemplated suicide.

So in the meantime,...more
Annie (Under the Covers Book Blog)
May 02, 2011 Annie (Under the Covers Book Blog) rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Annie (Under the Covers Book Blog) by: Leah
I’ve always said RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN

And I’m sure Lady Calpurnia Hartwell would agree with me on that!

As a twenty-eight year old self-proclaimed spinster, Callie is feeling pretty crappy about how her life turned out. Her younger sister is engaged to be married to a duke , no less, while she’s been put away on the shelf, doomed to be alone and unloved forever.

Tired of sitting around the perimeter edges at all the balls, Callie decides to take a more adventurous route in life. Her plan?...more
Juliana
Yay!! Finally a good new release, a wonderful new author, and a fantastic shy-wallflower-heroine (4.5 stars)

Summary
"Plain" and spinsterish 28-year-old Lady Calpurnia "Callie" Hartwell is sick of being seen as an old spinster, on-the-shelf, passive, and uninteresting - and thus THE LIST is born. On this list of nine things are activities that normally-shy Callie would never have dared to even contemplate, let alone actually do (gamble at a gentleman's club, drink scotch, smoke a cheroot, attend a...more
Lola
SPOILERS/RANT

It was a enjoyable read overall. It's light hearted without all those unconvential villians and secrets for the sake of having a plot. It just focuses on Callie's hilarious determination to break the rules, being a spinster at twenty-eight years old, while falling for Ralston, a rake who gets in her way. Callie also chaperones his half young sister, Juliana, so they get closer. Throw in a slight problem of the hero secretly betting against the heroine before realizing he loves her,...more
Rane
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake had everything I love about romance novels, humor, drama, wallflowers and a rake. Once I picked this book up, it was very hard to put down, it’s that fun to read.
With a heroine Lady Calpurnia Hartwell or Callie being front and center, a wallflower and now a spinster, Callie was a great lead as she made a list to do, something wild , something that breaks her out of the mold she’s been placed in. What made Callie so great was how relatable she was to t...more
Jillian -always aspiring-
Admittedly, Sarah MacLean and I didn't start off on the best foot. Her debut novel, the young adult Regency mystery romance The Season, left me with lukewarm feelings because -- even though I really liked the characters -- I simply had expected more from a book that prided itself on being reminiscent of Austen in some ways. However, after learning of MacLean's recent foray into the realm of adult historical romance, I wanted to give her another chance. Such was my state when I decided to read Ni...more
Gabriella *is awesome*


"NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE" Happens to be a fun yet adventures read about a young spinster callie and her single minded decision to cross out all her rakish wants from her rakish to-do list.....but what she defiantly didn't plan, was to fall for her partner in crime and willing accompliance Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston who seems to rather take her list quiet seriously, especially ,RULE NO.1 ...

1) To KISS SOMEONE PASSIONATELY


All in all, i cant really say i didn...more
 ~V~

**4 1/2 stars**

I'm not typically a fan of historical romances, specifically Regency romances...all the titles and dialogue have a tendency to drive me a little nutty, but they didn't bother me in this one...dare i say that Sarah Maclean might be making a convert of me!?

It was super sweet and extremely sexy!! Calpurnia being the super sweet and Ralston being the "extremely sexy!!" ;) I love story lines where the bad boy, or in this case the Rake, is brought to his knees by the innocent wallflower...more
Vinaya
Nine Rules to Follow When Writing a (Regency) Romance:

1. Read Georgette Heyer: This one is self-evident. (If it's not, read this)

2. Spinster on the shelf: Make sure your heroine is never the belle of the ball. Young, vibrant beautiful ladies are, of course, infinitely less interesting than pale, passive, middle-aged women who somehow mysteriously retain the fresh bloom of youth and the ability to attract rich, handsome men who are being desperately pursued by 17 and 18-year olds. Right.

3. The ha...more
Mojca
Lady Calpurnia Hartwell has always known what was expected of her. Be proper, be well-behaved, ne a lady, get married, procreate...Unfortunately, all didn’t go according to plan. All her propriety and good, lady-like behavior has done for her is put her firmly on the shelf, turning her into a 28-year-old spinster. Bye-bye marriage, bye-bye procreation. And she can safely say she’s pretty content with her life...Until her younger sister gets engaged and Calpurnia overhears the betrothed couple sa...more
 Lady Jayne *~*The Beach Bandida*~*
(4.5 Stars)

I really enjoyed this... but I'm a little sad that it wasn't an OMG-I-LOVED-it!!-5 Star read for me, like it was for others. I really wanted it to be!

I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved the heroine (Lady Calpurnia) and the hero (Gabriel St. John, Marquess of Ralston) and their repartee was great. The chemistry was hot. There were humorous moments. And moments that made me teary for the heroine (mostly - Oh, how my heart ached for "plain and plump" Callie!) and the hero (somewhat). Ma...more
Auntee
Jun 11, 2010 Auntee rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone who likes a good romance
Recommended to Auntee by: Kathrynn M., Eastofoz, everyone
I loved this book! Loved it! For the last few years I've drifted away from reading historicals, but with all the rave reviews regarding this book I thought I had to take the plunge and see what all the fuss was about. And all those glowing reviews are not wrong, IMO--this was one delicious read!

I absolutely adored the heroine in this book--and I'm not one who usually falls for the heroine. But there was something so real, likable and relatable about the character of Lady Calpurnia "Callie' Hartw...more
Taryn at My Secret Romance
Jul 22, 2011 Taryn at My Secret Romance rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who loves Historical Romance
3.5 stars.

This list is a list that Lady Calpurnia, or Callie, made up of all the things that are forbidden for her to do since she is a woman. She figures since she is going to be a spinster for the rest of her life, she wants to live life to the fullest. Let see if I have lived life to the fullest, too.

1. Kiss someone-passionately. Check!

2. Smoke cheroot and drink scotch. Check! Check!

3. Ride astride. Check! Check! Yes, two checks. If you have read the book then you know why the two checks. :)

4...more
Dancechica
This book was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed some of it, but most of the book had me either annoyed or rolling my eyes.

A large part of the reason why the book didn’t work for me was the characters, particularly the hero and heroine. They felt like genre stereotypes; like characters I’ve met in a dozen other romances. There was nothing unique or memorable about them.

I couldn’t figure out why the two fell in love with each other. The only thing Ralston seemed attracted to was Calpurnia's “innocence...more
Galla
The basic set-up for this novel is something you've seen before if you read historical romances set in the nineteenth century: "plain" spinster meets dashing, profligate man. This is a very well-executed take on the theme with likable main characters, and Callie's list of "rules" to break is a creative and fun plot device (especially since Gabriel has a knack for showing up when she's breaking the rules).

The supporting characters are a good group. Not one person in this book has an evil sibling...more
D.G.
First of all, please know that I’m picky. For a romance to grab me, it has to have a compelling plot, interesting characters and internal consistency. This last quality is what I called when the elements of the story come together to form a cohesive whole. If one of those elements is missing, I start having problems with the book.

Nine Rules has a compelling central plot – a wallflower who decides to eschew convention and her reputation to do things she always wanted to do because she wants to li...more
Lady Heather
aaawwww! Callie & Gabriel are amazing together! I loved the whole concept of Callie and her list of what proper women 'were not to do' and yet she found the courage to do them. It was wonderful to read as she accomplished each item on her list, how much she began to 'soar' as a women.
What a wonderful story. I look forward to reading more from Ms. MacLean.
Jenny E
5 HUGE STARS!!

What a wonderful read! Honestly, I had a hard time getting into this book, but because it was reviewed so well by a lot of people I follow on GR, I gave it 100 pages before I put it down. Literally on page 99 it hit me, and I was hooked and couldn't put it down from then on! The next 300 pages were AMAZING!! I read until I couldn't keep my eyes open and then woke up with the book first thing on my mind and picked it up again until I finished it!

I love reading books where I actuall...more
Dija
May 03, 2012 Dija rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of cute romances and twins.
Summarizing the basic plot in Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, I came up with the following list:

Aging spinster? Check.
Dashing rogue? Check.
Spinster pining after rogue for years because he's the first man to have truly "seen" her? Check.
Too many coincidences bringing said spinster and rogue together to be anything but believable? Check.
A realistic and genuinely sweet romance? ...Wait a minute.

Callie met Ralston after spending yet another ball as a wallflower. He comforts her and make...more
FlibBityFLooB
4.5/5 stars. Before I start this review, I will admit that I really enjoyed this book. I definitely look forward to reading more of this author in the future. I am close to giving the book 5 stars from my enjoyment level reading it, but I am not ready to do that. I hate to harp on the negative, but feel I better explain why I docked this book 1/2 a point :)

Here were my issues:
- There was some really fun talk during the intimate scenes... I always love when the hero talks during his seduction. Ho...more
Robin (RBBR)
Although apparently not the first book by this author it is my understanding that it is her first Romance. Prior to this one she wrote a Young Adult novel called The Season which if you asked me is Romance intended for a slightly younger audience but enjoyable to all ages.

Anyway this book is about a girl named Calpurnia who does not fit the stereotype of what is considered beautiful and on top of that she has a mother with the fashion sense of a, well she doesn't have any. Callie apparently neve...more
Kristi (The Story Siren)
You wouldn't know it from my blog, but I am a HUGE romance fan. I love historical and paranormal romance. If you look at my Goodreads shelves you'll find romance novels scattered among all the ya titles.

My mom and I were going to do a mom and daughter review for this, because she reads more romance novels then anyone I know and I let her read my copy of Nine Rules and she devoured it, and then of course I took it back.... but anyway like I said we were going to do a mother/daughter review, but i...more
Pamela(AllHoney)
The first book in the Love By Numbers series. I know people hate it when they read a review that says "I liked it" without a lot of fancy words to back up why they liked it but the truth is, I did like it and I don't have the fancy words to say why. It was a romance with lots of banter. I guess it would qualify for the Ugly Duckling plot-line. The Hunky Rake and the Plain Jane who has loved him for a decade.
Crista
I can thank this book for a lost night of sleep, but I can also thank it for some HUGE reading entertainment!

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell "Callie" is not your typical heroine. She is officially "on the shelf", is described as plain and plump, and has no real hope of ever landing a husband. Callie decides that she's had enough of sitting and watching her life pass by and creates a list of things she wants to experience. All nine activities on her list are scandalous for a lady to engage in, but Calli...more
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topics  posts  views  last activity   
sequel? 7 205 Jun 12, 2013 08:09pm  
What's The Name o...: a putrid dress and kissing in the garden? [s] 7 116 Aug 29, 2012 11:56pm  
Vaginal Fantasy H...: * Nine Rules to Break Discussion Thread *SPOILERS* 143 577 Aug 22, 2012 01:11pm  
Vaginal Fantasy T...: Nine Rules To Break Discussion thread **SPOILERS** 1 10 Jun 26, 2012 04:16pm  
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love By Number, #1)
Nueve reglas que romper para conquistar a un granuja (Love by numbers, #1)
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (The Ralstons, #1)
9 Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Kindle Edition)
Lehrmeister der Leidenschaft (Love By Numbers #1)

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Sarah MacLean is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of YA and adult romance.

She grew up in Rhode Island, where she spent much of her free time bemoaning the fact that she was more than a century too late for own Season. Her unabashed addiction to historical fiction helped to earn her a degree in European History from Smith College before she moved to New York City to pursue a career...more
More about Sarah MacLean...
A Rogue by Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels, #1) Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart (Love By Numbers, #3) The Season Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord (Love By Numbers, #2) One Good Earl Deserves a Lover (The Rules of Scoundrels, #2)

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“Kisses should not leave you satisfied.” 44 people liked it
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