Never a Gentleman (The Drake's Rakes, #2)

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Never a Gentleman (The Drake's Rakes #2)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 814 ratings · 151 reviews

SHE HIDES HER TRUE SELF . . .

Miss Grace Fairchild is under no illusions about her charms. Painfully plain, she is a soldier's daughter who has spent her life being useful, not learning the treacherous ways of the ton. She may have been caught in a scandal with society's favorite rogue, but how can she marry him when it means losing herself?

WHILE HE HIDES HIS TRUE COLORS ....more

Paperback, 433 pages

Published April 1st 2011 by Forever (first published March 9th 2011)

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Apr 17, 2011 Shawna rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of angsty historical romance, marriage of convenience theme & rake/plain jane spinster pairings

Shelves: eileen-dreyer-drakes-rakes, historical-romance, heroine-plain-jane-ugly-duckling, cop-bodyguard-govop-merc-military, hh-limp-paraplegic-wheelchair, hh-physical-mental-disability-ill, heroine-odd-spinster-wallflower, hero-cad-rake-rogue‎-scoundrel, married-couples-married-convenience, historical-romance-regency, rt-book-reviews-top-pick, heroine-abused-traumatic-past-rape, hh-politician-diplomat, angsty-dark-heavy-lotsa-drama, made-me-cry, heartbreaking-gutwrenching-romance, 2011-reads, 5-stars-or-higher, animals-matter, bdsm-kink, beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-beholder, best-faves-of-2011, brothers-sisters-cousins-family, cheating-hearts-fidelity-issues, enemies-to-lovers-opposites-attract, faux-betrothal-engagement, favorite-beautiful-lush-cool-covers, favorite-love-scenes, favorite-romance-series, favorites, hero-abused-scarred-tortured-angst, hero-alpha‎, hero-attractive-handsome-heartthrob, hero-bad-boy-playboy, hero-brooding, hero-cold-cruelbrute-dark-dangerous, hero-expert-skilled-voracious-lover, hero-i-wanna-smack, hero-not-enough-groveling, hero-redeems-himself-reformed, hero-stud-mantel-hall-of-fame, heroine-naïve-virgin-like-a-virgin, heroine-i-wanna-bitch-slap-annoying, heroine-kickass-spirited-strong, heroine-i-adore, heroine-tomboy-lady-in-pants, hh-aristocracy-nobility-royalty, hh-bad-communication-conflict-mgmt, hh-big-constant-misunderstandings, hh-social-class-wealth-matters, i-read-no-longer-own-sold-swapped, pregnancy-fertility-baby-kids-drama, revenge-deception-secrets-lies, star-crossed-lovers, steam-3-hot, unrequited-love-crush, best-top-favorites, best-endings-epilogues, controversial-memorable-event-scene, heroine-commoner-lower-class, mystery-intrigue-espionage-subplot, hh-spy-agent-for-crown-and-country, heroine-redhead, hero-authentic-uber-rake, hero-military-war-veteran, assassin, hh-sweet-nice-paired-vs-gruff-cynic, love-triangle-vying-courtships, masquerade-hide-your-face-identity, hero-asshat-award-hall-of-shame, tearjerker-tugs-at-heartstrings, a-all-time-best-of-best-fave-dik, hero-pissed-me-off-and-turned-me-on, hr-regency-napoleonic-era-wars, betrayal-is-such-a-bitter-pill

5 stars – Historical/Regency Romance

I’ve pondered my thoughts on this for a couple of days because my reactions to it were so strong that I’m still struggling to adequately express my feelings into a review. Not since Charlotte Featherstone’s Addicted and Sinful have I been so emotionally raw while/after reading a historical romance, and this definitely reminded me a little of those, at least in terms of evoking such powerful, conflicting responses.

It’s an unapologetically honest, emotionally de...more 5 stars – Historical/Regency Romance

I’ve pondered my thoughts on this for a couple of days because my reactions to it were so strong that I’m still struggling to adequately express my feelings into a review. Not since Charlotte Featherstone’s Addicted and Sinful have I been so emotionally raw while/after reading a historical romance, and this definitely reminded me a little of those, at least in terms of evoking such powerful, conflicting responses.

It’s an unapologetically honest, emotionally devastating, lushly sensual, intense, heartbreaking, explosively passionate, and eloquently written Regency romance that challenged, slayed, and moved me, often all at the same time. There were moments that twisted my guts like a pretzel and had me shedding tears of anguish in sympathy with the heroine’s torment.

Without giving away too much of a spoiler, (view spoiler) At times I wanted Grace to go all Stephen King Carrie on Diccan, the ton, and everyone else who had misjudged and mistreated her in life. But on the other hand, I often felt extreme frustration with Grace’s lowly opinion of herself and that she tolerated and perpetuated such abusive, cruel treatment and disdain from others. It’s not an easy read by any means, and there are facets that are very hard to digest, accept, and forgive, but I think the brutal honesty and realism is partly what makes this such an evocative, unforgettable read.

There are endless “marriage of convenience” stories and so often the road to love is, however romantic, much too idealistic, brief, and easy. Never a Gentleman is a much more candid depiction of how it would truly be for a notorious, attractive rake and spy who doesn’t desire marriage to find himself begrudgingly wedded to a plain, ungainly, physically disabled spinster. Although Diccan admires Grace, he still feels resentment for being forced by circumstances out of their control into a situation that interfered with his plans, risked his career, and stole his bachelor’s freedom. And bearing witness to Grace’s unremitting disappointments, unfulfilled desires, pain, and shame was so excruciatingly heartbreaking that there were moments when I had actual physical reactions as if I was suffering right along with her...with scalding hot tears running down my face, gut tightening, and heart racing and twisting in my chest.

Eileen Dreyer is a very talented author, and the crucial insight she gives into Diccan’s motives, reactions, and agonizing internal conflict is what kept me from outright throwing the book across the room on several occasions. And perhaps an even more astounding credit to the author is that I ultimately, reluctantly forgave and became slightly enamored of Diccan, which is no small feat, considering the utter hell he put Grace and me through. And the HEA was all the more satisfying and moving because it was hard-fought, beautiful, and genuine.

Never a Gentleman is a remarkable, poignant, and profound romance with intrigue and angst galore that really put me through the emotional cheese grater and necessitated wearing my big girl panties, but it’s also one that I won’t soon forget. Big 5 stars!

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Apr 09, 2012 Dinjolina rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: cheating-jerk, plots-i-hate, pretentious-read, omg-eeeewww, moron-hero, my-spine-got-kidnapped-by-aliens

So the author woke up one morning and realized she missed good old bodice rippers.
Instead of going to the library and satisfying her need with a good oldie she decided to introduce the new generations to old school plots with cheating,spays and a lovable but tough hero that is stuck with a plain Jane.

And oh joy! When she finished, us devoted fans had the charming experience of reading this peace of sh...shoes!

Look, we got a heroine! Ain't she cute? A ditzy heroine. Wait...how is she ditzy if we...more

34 likes · like · see review

Apr 07, 2011 Colleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, published-april-2011, 2011, on-my-kindle, favorites, made-me-cry

I went from being so excited that the next book in this series was out (I thoroughly enjoyed Barely a Lady) to being very nervous when I saw so many negative reviews. Plus, I read some of the spoilers (I just can't help myself) and knew about "the scene." I don't typically approve of what happens in "the scene" either, but I have to say I disagree with those negative reviews. I do agree with those that say it was awful; it was and my heart bled/ached for Grace (and I wanted to do some serious bo...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Ing rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My Synopis:

Grace Fairchild is a respectable spinster. She has traveled the world and seen things no woman should ever witness. Grace was raised by her father, who was a soldier during the Waterloo wars. She'll never be considered the reigning beauty of the ton nor is she their favorite. Grace is very plain, thin, extremely tall, and has one lame leg. She does have the devotion of her friends, the soldiers she befriended during her days marching with her father and her staff. All of them adore an...more

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May 29, 2011 Duchess Melissa of Allanbury rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, favorites

Where do I even begin...well first off if your the type of romance reader that loves all the giddy, mushy, and butterflies in your belly feeling when you read a good romance than this book may not be for you. For in this book there is no moment when the hero sees the heroine from across the room and believes she is the most beautiful woman. No in this book Grace is considered plain, unattractive, and just plain invisible to all. She is treated with little respect and sacrifices her own happines...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Fani rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Boddice ripper fans only

Recommended to Fani by: Shawna

Shelves: boddice-ripper-oldish, keepers-romance, hero-is-cold-or-rough, heroine-i-loved, mystery-subplot, plain-spinster-or-wallflower, disabled-or-scarred, angsty, marriage-forced-or-convenience, smexin-hot, spy-or-politics-subplot, agent-bodyguard-lawman, secrets-and-misunderstandings, controversial-theme-or-act, heartwrenching, he-did-a-bad-bad-thing, hero-is-a-rake, unrequited-love, 3rd-person-involved, he-is-beautiful-she-is-not

I hate that GR doesn't allow for half stars. This is a 4.5 for me, not 4 nor 5 either. Still, the ending was just my cuppa, emotional, angsty, heartwrenching and I liked the heroes, especially the heroine so much I decided to round it to 5 stars.

The hero is part of an English spy group, called Drake's Rakes. After a meeting with an informant and while on his way back to London to report, he's drugged along with the heroine and put in the same bed where they're soon discovered by a dozen ton memb...more I hate that GR doesn't allow for half stars. This is a 4.5 for me, not 4 nor 5 either. Still, the ending was just my cuppa, emotional, angsty, heartwrenching and I liked the heroes, especially the heroine so much I decided to round it to 5 stars.

The hero is part of an English spy group, called Drake's Rakes. After a meeting with an informant and while on his way back to London to report, he's drugged along with the heroine and put in the same bed where they're soon discovered by a dozen ton members. So, a marriage of convenience is mandatory.
The hero, Diccan, is one of the most popular men of the ton; tall, handsome, stylish, suave, he's the man everyone tries to follow. The heroine Grace on the other hand, is 6 feet tall, thin and straight as a board, with a bad leg; she's considered the most 'unfortunate' spinster in England. So, a lot of eyes are on this wedding and all of them see it as a joke. No one is expecting Diccan to stay true to his wife and soon enough, Diccan proves them right.

There are many reviews out there for this one and I believe most if not all of them address the main issue of this book, so I guess it's not a spoiler anymore. However, since some people don't want to read any hint about the book's plot, I'm using the new spoiler brackets. So, if you already know what the big fuss is you may read on, since nothing else is revealed. If not, then this is the time to leave the boat!

(view spoiler)

I read in a review, that Grace was a weak heroine; I didn't see that. On the contrary, she's one of my favorite heroines ever. She knew what she wanted, how much of what she wanted could she get and set to get it, without whinning or wallowing. She knew when to step back and listen to the voice of reason and when not to. She knew her husband enough, even after he hurt her, to not believe everything she heard about him. She got in a marriage she didn't want to and tried to make the best of it without hysterics or temper tantrums as many romance heroines are prone to do. I loved her for that.

The one thing I didn't like was a couple of stupid plot turns/scenes. There really is no other word than 'stupid' to describe them. They made no sense, didn't fit with the heroes' personalities, and only served the plot's and author's convenience. I wish the author had found another way to handle those issues. And I have to say that if Marcus Drake, as head of Drake Rake's is set up for a next book, Ms Dreyer is doing a piss poor job of setting him up; he hasn't made ONE right decision in the whole book.

In the end though, I liked the author's writing style and the heroes too much to let these 'stupid' scenes destroy my appreciation of the story. I loved it and look forward to more books my Eileen Dreyer.

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Aug 13, 2011 Kelly22 rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of rake/plain Jane’s intense marriage-of-convenience historical romance plots

Recommended to Kelly22 by: Jenny, Amber and Thea

Shelves: alpha-hero, hero-arrogant-autocratic, bad-boy-rake-rogue-casanova, bdsm-kink, beloved-favorites, intense-powerful-storyline, brazen-unrepentant-rakes, brooding-dangerous-hero, commoner-heroine, cop-lawbody-army-bodygrd-hero, dirty-talker, enemy-to-lover, gamma-anti-hero, hero-makes-good-girls-go-bad, gorgeous-handsome-attractive-hero, heartbreaking-powerful-romance, hero-accomplished-lover, hh-spy, historical-romance, hottest-love-scenes-ever, love-triangle, made-me-cry, marriage-betrothal-of-convenience, married-couples, notorious-playboy-commitment-phobic, opposites-attract, powerful-endings-epilogues, prim-proper-prudish-heroine, reformed-rake-player, silver-tongued-sweet-talker-hero, tortured-hero, virgin-herione, wallflower-spinster-plain-heroine, working-class-heroine, hh-limp-bodily-or-mentally-imperfct, 5-stars, cheating-elements, hero-real-jerk-yet-irresistible, hh-aristocrat-peer-royal-nobel

5.00 Stars - Regency/Historical Romance

Okay wow. This was a very unusual book telling the story of a spy who needed to make many unforgiving sacrifices to redeem his country and therefore upsetting and compromising his personal life and a woman who commits the crime of falling in love with him.

Grace Fairchild, a very plain and uncharacteristically tall daughter of a soldier knows how mediocre and unappealing she is in terms of her physical beauty to the male race. Otherwise she excels in everyth...more 5.00 Stars - Regency/Historical Romance

Okay wow. This was a very unusual book telling the story of a spy who needed to make many unforgiving sacrifices to redeem his country and therefore upsetting and compromising his personal life and a woman who commits the crime of falling in love with him.

Grace Fairchild, a very plain and uncharacteristically tall daughter of a soldier knows how mediocre and unappealing she is in terms of her physical beauty to the male race. Otherwise she excels in everything starting from taking care of injured soldiers across the globe to riding horses and camels impeccably, which not necessarily makes her a popular applicant to male suitors. She accepts it and lives her life on her terms. Until one night. She finds herself in bed with a drugged/doped Diccan Hilliard who, like her, have no idea how he ended up there.

Diccan Hilliard, the ton’s most striking bachelor with exquisite taste in ladies has lived a debauched life. He is a notorious rake and the son of the most reverend Lord Evelyn Hilliard, Bishop of Slough. Working as a spy for Drake, he is a man with mission who will go any length for his country. He is running various operations to retrieve information on a group named The Lions who plan to compromise and replace the existing monarchy. He is a skillful man who knows how to do his job without much difficulty. Until one night. Diccan finds himself in bed with Grace whose looks he absolutely abhorred. He doesn’t know what else to do other than get married to save his and Grace’s reputation when it became apparent that it was one of his enemy’s ploys to slow him down.

They get married quickly even if Diccan had no wish to spend the rest of his life with Grace. But, he never dreamed that he will come to desire the woman he once nicknamed Boadicea. Grace, who didn’t want to get married to Diccan out of obligation, finds it impossible not to get attracted to this dashing rogue of a husband. Their mutual longing and ardor keeps developing at once. But Diccan has secrets. He has clandestine events and business wrapped up in his life like a second skin. Question is, can Grace live through them? Can she forgive him for his mistakes if any and reward his goodness? Can Diccan get over her physical flaw and come to know her inner beauty and the fact that how much he needed her in his life? Or will he be too late to help her accept him so that they acknowledge their delicate relationship to make it a stronger one and archive their HEA in the end?

I loved the book. It tells the good old marriage-of-convenience plot in a new, refreshing and I MUST say controversial way. The book will make you cry, irate and frustrating at times. It deals with a very controversial theme which broke my heart when I was reading it. Grace was one sad, unfortunate person who had to go through tremendous pain until the book ends. I’ll admit she made me feel depressed most times. Being seriously unattractive she was married to a tremendously handsome man. Not exactly a favorable and blessed position to be. Diccan was an accomplished hero, who did his best admiring a rather physically faulty heroine at places. But at some scenes, he was terribly unforgivable and frustrating. He was a man devoted to his country for which he had to make sacrifices which sadly ended up hurting Grace for which he should’ve had much groveling to do. It was hard to read this book but it was worth it. The author did her homework with the various geographical and cultural histories of diverse countries. I can’t talk about this book much without giving out its spoilers. I won’t be giving away its spoilers because it will make me talk about something that makes the book so controversial. It hurts and gives me a very bad feeling when I do. All I’ll say, Never A Gentleman will remain quite a memorable read.(less)

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Mar 29, 2011 Catherine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-vixen-reviews, angst, cheating-sleeps-with-someone-else, crime-police-mystery-private-invest, england, first-reads-arcs-won-a-copy, historical, read-2011, romance, series, sucked

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Page 242*… It’ll be a scene that I’ll always think of first when this book comes to mind. It’s the scene where any hope of a real relationship burned to cinder in my eyes and my stomach dropped through the floor. Not cool. Not cool at all.

What’s so bad about this scene is how much it blindsided me. I just did not see it coming. On page 231* I started to get a bad feeling, but before that? No. I knew that the intrigue had changed because a new character had come to town, but I still (naively) tho...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Ellyce rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, historical-romance, favorite-historicals

I was really anticipating Diccan and Grace's story because I enjoyed the setup for them in 'Barely a Lady'. This book both lived up to my expectations and didn't. I will admit that I have not read Dreyer's contemporary works, but what the two historical books that she's written are very different from the standard genre conventions.

Grace was a very likeable heroine, and I felt so bad for her throughout the entire book. The love story did not start off kindly or gently like other marriage of con...more I was really anticipating Diccan and Grace's story because I enjoyed the setup for them in 'Barely a Lady'. This book both lived up to my expectations and didn't. I will admit that I have not read Dreyer's contemporary works, but what the two historical books that she's written are very different from the standard genre conventions.

Grace was a very likeable heroine, and I felt so bad for her throughout the entire book. The love story did not start off kindly or gently like other marriage of convenience books go, although the usual amount of awkwardness was definitely there. The hero made me feel conflicted, because he was likable enough, but would then go and do something that threw the heroine for a loop, or vice versa. I know it's often done in romance novels, but there's usually some sort of build-up, which was lacking here.

I think that the biggest problem I had with the book was that after all that Grace had to put up with from Diccan because of his obligations to his country - sleeping with his mistress, being cold to her, embarrassment, humiliation, feeling unwanted and alone, giving up the few dreams and joys she had left, becoming a shell of herself (all to keep her safe from those who wanted to kill her, so that she could meld to fit into society) - it sort of amounted to nothing. Yes, there was danger and a fight scene with the villainous Surgeon. But she was never placed into a situation like abduction by the Lions or any real threats, etc. I'm not saying that I would have liked her to have been, and perhaps I've read too many romance novels involving espionage where the heroine has to have at least one attempt be made to kidnap her (and maybe it's nice that Dreyer doesn't take that conventional turn) - but Grace was never really in that much danger. There were always people there to watch her and keep her safe without her knowing, and she herself was very capable (her handling of guns and the like).

Overall, though, I did enjoy this book. I liked how different the author made it (the Diccan repeatedly sleeping with his mistress whilst married to Grace was a definite turn - color me surprised, because most romance authors don't go there. There might be the thought, but it is usually met out with the hero not doing it). The characters were enjoyable, and I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation most of the time. (less)

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Mar 05, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, series-to-try, 2011-read, rogue-rake, gutwrenching-emotional-hearbreaking, historical-regency, library-loan, 5-star-reads, re-read

Never a Gentleman is an emotionaly draining book with a hero that behaves dispicably to the heroine and I loved every minute of it! Eileen Dreyer's Drake Rakes series is wonderful and I recommend it to anyone who likes suspensful, angsty historicals.

I love books where my actual body physically reacts to the emotions and pain the characters go through. Dreyer's writing made me feel all of the heroine Grace's emotions- humiliation, sadness, anger, and grief. Many readers may not like the actions a...more

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Jan 04, 2012 K rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

Grace, the 6 foot tall horse-faced girl with a limp, is possibly my favorite romance novel heroine of all time. She's good without being bland, aware of her flaws while avoiding self-pity, and best of all, unlike 99% of women in these books, she is actually fairly up front about wanting to do it with her dude. There are some more surprising elements that set this book apart from others in the genre, and a decently dense plot that unfortunately does contain some unnecessarily K-drama level noble...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Sonya Heaney rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

How bizarre to read through the reviews and find lots of complaining about the hero of this book, but nothing about the heroine’s behaviour.

This had all the ingredients for a book I’d love, but the author has taken a ‘Girl Power’ attitude to her writing, something that always infuriates me, because it means the woman has carte blanche to be violent, and we’re supposed to see her as empowered.

I first became uneasy on page 27, when this happens:

She never let him finish. Winding up like a premier

...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Elis Madison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: authors-to-follow, adventure-and-danger, era-regency, fresh-quirks, hero-needs-colonoscopy-2-find-head, dwippy-heroine, marriage-of-convenience, mean-people, nice-twist, part-of-series, secret-fraternity

It's almost unfair to review any book I read after a Monica McCarty gem, but I hoped that this one would hold up, and it did. Eileen Dreyer doesn't get into the historical detail McCarty does (thus far, tho I would really love to see her try), but she knows how to tell a story that delivers an emotional punch that makes up for it.

This is the second in the Drakes Rakes series, and it continues with the themes of espionage, romance, betrayal and forgiveness—powerful themes for me, if done well. B...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Mydearloverboy rated it 3 of 5 stars

sigh...such conflicting feelings I have about this book. She was such a strong character yet weak when it comes to voicing her thoughts. I really felt that the hero doesn't deserve her. Throughout the book, she has done so much for him and he was such a jerk, which I know mostly was unintentional as he says, but he never does anything to fix it. He doesn't show that he loves her. But her character was well portrayed in this book and I guess, this is a more realistic type of historical romance th...more

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May 02, 2012 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think that the story was great. But just like the first book I had issues with the hero. I think with these heroes that treat the heroines badly (even if there was a good reason) I think I just want more groveling. For example when grace realizes that Diccan did everything to protect Grace and it hurt him to do it, I still think that there should have been more apologies. I also have an issue with everyone thinking of Grace as plain. I mean who does that. I understand maybe thinking it once or...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Diana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: angst-it-s-the-angst, better-than-this, big-secret, catalyst-for-change, change-of-heart, declaration-of-love, cruel-fathers, conversations-are-love, doubts-and-insecurities, e-books, favorite-couples, favorites, fiction, faux-relationships, gasp-worthy, gut-wrenching, happy-endings, heartwrenching, hidden-depths, romances-historical, love-yourself, made-me-cry-a-lot, marriage-of-convenience, moments-it-s-the-moments, no-makeovers-required, overcoming-the-past, part-of-series, patience-is-a-virtue, heroine-plain-ordinary, real-deal, recommended-reads, redemption-in-love, romance, salvation-and-redemption, sacrifice, shades-of-gray, shrouded-in-mystery, so-much-love, spreading-the-love, steamy-reads, tearjerkers, tender-moments-that-tug-at-your-hea, the-ties-that-bind, to-be-read-over-and-over-again, hero-tortured-in-need-of-love, unexpected, transformed-by-love, heroine-stalwart-strong-steadfast, heroes-that-love-them, favorite-heroines, favorite-heroes, 2011-reads, heroine-spinster, strong-friendships, heroine-strong-willed-stubborn, hero-strong-willed-stubborn, unconventional-heroines, undeniable-attraction, unforgettable-kiss, unrequited-love, hero-very-smart, polar-opposites, opposites-attract, loyalty-and-love, intense, infatuation-into-love, how-do-you-not-love-the-hero, hopeless-romantic, hero-guilt-ridden, heartaches-and-heartbreaks, getting-to-know-you, forgiveness, friendship-into-love, fidelity-issues, falling-in-love, espionage, driving-force, courtship-after-the-marriage, hero-very-charming, awesomely-awesome-reads, awesome-ensemble, hero-alpha, all-time-faves, all-about-the-heroine, banterbanterbanter, convenient-marriage, exotic-locales, heroes-in-pursuit, heroes-with-mistresses, heroine-not-ave-damsel-in-distress, parental-issues, heroine-passionate, hero-passionate, secret-identities-and-impersonation, hero-sexy-as-hell, sigh-inducing, heroine-wallflower, hero-career-spy, heroine-very-tall, heroine-independent, heroine-animal-lover, heroine-damaged-hurt, heroine-scarred-disfigured-hurt, heroine-prim-proper, heroine-handicapped, betrayal, deception-and-lies, first-kiss, hero-dark-brooding, hero-damaged-hurt

He hides his true colors while she hides her true self. That statement alone would have gotten me to read this book right away, but as it was, back in April or something, I kept hearing about this book with many readers either abhorring "that scene" and hating the book completely, or admiring the book because of it ... I didn't want to be spoiled so I went ahead and downloaded this and read straightaway. I was so very curious to see what everyone was talking about, and I was really interested to...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Supriya rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is EVEN BETTER than Barely A Lady. You can wrap the drama around yourself like an enormous fleece blanket and roll around in it. And colour me shocked at an ~unattractive~ heroine. Not "unfashionably good-looking," not "doesn't know her own looks," not "tomboy who cleans up stunningly," but actually someone with lifeless hair, a long jaw, a bony body and - gasp - a walking disability. And the hero is perfect and marvellous and oozes sex appeal!

So then, why? There's a Marriage of Convenienc...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Book Binge Blog added it

Shelves: dnf, for-review, historical, forever

Grace Fairchild and Diccan Hilliard have been duped. They’ve woken up in bed together – both naked – but neither have memories of what happened. Diccan, that last he remembered was on a ship to Dover.

Diccan decides to marry Grace as there are so many witnesses to the scandal but Grace doesn’t want to be married. She wants to go off to her home and just be. She wants to decorate the way she wants, raise horses and live the way she wants, which is something she’s never done. But Diccan and a regim...more Grace Fairchild and Diccan Hilliard have been duped. They’ve woken up in bed together – both naked – but neither have memories of what happened. Diccan, that last he remembered was on a ship to Dover.

Diccan decides to marry Grace as there are so many witnesses to the scandal but Grace doesn’t want to be married. She wants to go off to her home and just be. She wants to decorate the way she wants, raise horses and live the way she wants, which is something she’s never done. But Diccan and a regiment of soldiers (Grace’s friends) insist and so Grace and Diccan marry and head off to London so that Diccan can get back to work as a diplomat and Grace and set up housing for them. But all is not as it seems. There is the evil “Surgeon” who we heard about in the last book who has escaped from Newgate prison and is on the loose. Diccan must make the public believe that he has no care for Grace so that she can’t be used against him by his enemies.

I have to tell you that I only read 266 of the 400 pages in this book. From the beginning of the book I had real problems with Diccan. He liked Grace as a person, but Grace is quite plain-faced and apparently that was something he couldn’t quite handle. Diccan shuddered at the thought of marrying her and the thought of bedding her made his balls shrivel. Nice. He thought horribly nasty thoughts about Grace but was nice to her to her face and actually defended her to others. But did that make him a better person when he was revealing so much about his shallow personality in his thoughts? Once the couple got to London Diccan did a disappearing act on a regular basis (because of the whole enemy issue) and was actually sleeping with his mistress. Yes, he was doing it because he was getting information from her but he was still cheating on Grace and that made me dislike him even more – the bastard. My heart, while reading, actually ached for the pain that Grace was going through and I felt so horrible for the fact that she had to live through these circumstances.

So what was the straw that broke the camel’s back with this book? Grace’s uncle approaches her and states that he has information that Diccan is a traitor to England. The uncle takes Grace to a house where someone from the Home Office takes her to a room where they can see into the next house. Diccan is there with his mistress and they’re having sex and talking about things that indeed show that he could be a traitor (but we know otherwise). When Diccan arrives home the next morning does Grace confront him, call him a cheating rat bastard who can burn in hell for all she cares? No, she states to him that she wants him to do the sexual things to her that he was doing to his mistress. With that scene I lost all respect for Grace and decided that frankly I didn’t care what happened between this pair.

I’m sure that everything ended up just peachy dandy for Grace and Diccan at the end of the book – he became who she truly wanted him to be, he fell madly in love with her and they all lived HEA, but the way this couple was acting was just not something I want to read about in my romance novels. Yes, I like angst and conflict as well as the next person but after a hero has acted so badly there is really nothing he could have done that would have redeemed himself in my eyes.

Please remember: these are my thoughts on this book and others may feel differently.

DNF

This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Tracy.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 22, 2011 CoffeeTimeRomance andMore rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

Never a Gentleman is full of passion, danger, spies, adventure, a villainous vixen, and a vulgar villain. The emotions continue to swell and expand throughout this novel as Grace fights against those who would see her marriage to Diccan fail as well, as those who would see him ruined. I was so engrossed with Eileen Dreyer’s Regency tale that I ranted and raved and harped at Diccan each time he stated something insensitive as well as his moronic actions that seemed to have disaster written all ov...more

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Apr 16, 2011 cecilia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: green-covers, torso-covers, sitting-covers, dresses-covers

Never A Gentleman is an absolutely scrumptious read that blew me away with how fun, emotional, and different it was. My heart wept, broke, raced, and leapt for joy as the pages turned and the main characters struggled to be honest with each other. Delicious, delicious, oh my goodness, DELICIOUS!

I loved Grace and her strength to put others' wants and needs before her own. Even though she finally had the chance to break free from society's obligations and sink into her little slice of country para...more Never A Gentleman is an absolutely scrumptious read that blew me away with how fun, emotional, and different it was. My heart wept, broke, raced, and leapt for joy as the pages turned and the main characters struggled to be honest with each other. Delicious, delicious, oh my goodness, DELICIOUS!

I loved Grace and her strength to put others' wants and needs before her own. Even though she finally had the chance to break free from society's obligations and sink into her little slice of country paradise with all her exotic treasures from traveling abroad. No more mockery of her limp, no more snide comments about how plain she looked or dressed, no more Diccan who seems to blow more cold than hot and threatens to shatter everything Grace holds dear - including her spirit.

While Diccan does the inexcusable when it comes to flaunting his affair in Grace's face, the reason behind it softens the blow. Too bad no one really knows that he is simply trying to protect Grace by sleeping with the enemy. Yeah... I sorta feel bad for Diccan, but he sorta dug his own grave really. When Diccan comes clean with all his despicable truth, it was a relief for all involved - most especially Diccan himself. It does bring to question as to how far Diccan should have taken his assignment and how honest he should have been with Grace in the very beginning.

I know that Never A Gentleman may not be for everyone. It is not your delicate or pretty romance - no, not by a long shot - but there is great heart within this story that will appeal to those who enjoy well-developed characters. Grace and Diccan each had a vulnerability that made me want to hug and slap them at the same time.

The intrigue storyline was all right, I suppose. Can't really say too much since I jumped in the middle of it. I will be reading Book 1 (already bought!) and will keep an eye out for Book 3 to come out before I make any final judgment. I don't think this plays a major role in the romance arc except for giving Diccan reason to be so horrible to Grace. If anything, I think the romance itself stands on its own quite nicely - and the intrigue is just bonus thrills.

And one last thing - I totally loved their wedding scene! It was so unique and colorful and cultural - and so totally them - that it has be to the cutest wedding ever written! :)
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Mar 31, 2011 Mary Gramlich rated it 5 of 5 stars

NEVER a GENTLEMAN written by Eileen Dreyer
Book #2 in the Drake’s Rakes Series
04/11- Grand Central Publishing - Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

What happens when an ugly duckling realizes she was a swan all along?

Diccan Hilliard is a man defending his country and will do everything in his power to work toward protection of the crown, even marry a woman he is not particularly fond of. Grace Fairchild had spent her life living with her father during his military career traveling across the globe sa...more NEVER a GENTLEMAN written by Eileen Dreyer
Book #2 in the Drake’s Rakes Series
04/11- Grand Central Publishing - Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

What happens when an ugly duckling realizes she was a swan all along?

Diccan Hilliard is a man defending his country and will do everything in his power to work toward protection of the crown, even marry a woman he is not particularly fond of. Grace Fairchild had spent her life living with her father during his military career traveling across the globe saving lives and surviving her mother’s scandals. But Grace always dreamed of being her own person and never thought to wake up in a strange bed with Diccan next to her and members of the ton crashing through the door to catch them. Someone is setting both of them up a reason neither can fathom and now they are married to resolve the potential scandal and don’t know what to do with one another.

Grace knows the military and the horror of battle and from this has so many loyal soldiers to her they even have a name “Grace’s Grenadiers” that are determined to make sure she is happy and Diccan is treating her right. Diccan has his own group called “Drake’s Rakes” who are fighting a sinister and treasonous bunch of men that are determined to bring the English dynasty to its knees and the most treacherous one of all just escaped from prison and is looking for revenge. Diccan must sneak away under the cover of darkness and do his best to not let Grace know what he is up to or his true feelings for her. He believes keeping emotionally distant from her will make the pain less horrible should they be parted, but Grace doesn’t want a pretend marriage she wants the love for Diccan to be returned. She transforms herself into the belle of the ball and is taught the proper behavior of someone in her social stature. But giving up her charity work and ignoring her friends is bad enough but Diccan’s total disregard for the respectability of their marriage has to stop. Grace uses all her wiles to turn his head and get him back in her arms and sharing a bed, will it be enough to win him over?

It takes a near death experience, rogues, rakes and rebel rousers to shake Diccan out of his present state of mind and realize that there are more important things in life than just oneself. Diccan and Grace separately are strong fighters but together they will save the country, their marriage and possibly one another from danger.

This second book in the series is a wonderful combination of romance, mystery and thrilling suspense. You fall in love with Grace immediately but Diccan takes a little time to understand but once you figure out the truth is hidden inside him the reader knows love can conquer all.
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Jul 30, 2012 Carolyn F. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, library-book

There are two things I'm a sucker for in my romance books - a good cry and an injured hero. This was a good cry. In fact, I was weepy pretty much from the start to the end. When a heroine's self-esteem is so low that she thinks no one would ever want her and then circumstances (whether true or not) reiterate that, I'm bawling like a baby. Grace is very tall (6 feet in 1815 is very, very tall) and disabled, born with a leg disability that has her limping. She was also born with red hair that her...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Shabby Girl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: four-star-books

I was recommended this book by friends from the Romance Refugees forum, and I'm so glad to have read it.

This is a book where, for me, it was the heroine, Grace, who made the book unputdownable. She is absolutely my favourite type of heroine. She's very strong - boy has she been dragged all over the world and from war to war by her General father - but she's also very tall and plain so she's suffered a lot at the "beautiful peoples'" hands too. The lovely thing about her is she's loyal, trustwort...more I was recommended this book by friends from the Romance Refugees forum, and I'm so glad to have read it.

This is a book where, for me, it was the heroine, Grace, who made the book unputdownable. She is absolutely my favourite type of heroine. She's very strong - boy has she been dragged all over the world and from war to war by her General father - but she's also very tall and plain so she's suffered a lot at the "beautiful peoples'" hands too. The lovely thing about her is she's loyal, trustworthy, the best sort of friend you could have, but she's not appreciated by the masses. She does have two very close female friends, and lots of soldier friends, many of whose lives she's saved. She feels very lonely though as she's never been settled in one place, and whilst her friends love her, she doesn't feel she'll ever find a life mate. She feels totally unloveable because of her looks.

Enter the hero ... the book doesn't waste any time starting ... the hero is found in Grace's bed. He thinks she's sneaked into his room to compromise him, when in fact he's been drugged and put into her bed. Of course, he offers marriage, and the book takes off from there.

Not only does this book have the plain but wonderful heroine storyline, but also another favourite of mine ... the marriage of convenience. I love that theme because it puts two people together who would never in a million years have found each other by themselves and over time they get to know each other and fall in love. *big sigh* And this author has done it very well.

She hasn't made it an easy road, and there is a lot of resistence by both parties ... the heroine, actually having an attraction to the hero before the book starts, but thinking not in a million would he even look at her as a woman, let alone a wife, and the hero who says to himself he's liked the heroine, but is totally not interested in her. Even though I think there was a zing between them at the start, the hero really doesn't give them a chance almost right through to the end of the book. I don't think he can believe in a million that he would love her. Looks are just oh so important, aren't they? And the poor heroine, I totally understand her, I think is realistic in believing the hero (being the hottest guy in town) wouldn't want her for any money.

There is only one glitch in this book for me. (view spoiler)

I must say that it's usually the hero that makes books for me, but as I said earlier, in this book it was the heroine. I loved her. The hero, not so much. I felt he was a bit arrogant through most of the book, and it was only towards the end that I started to get a feel for him. I did like him at the end, but I'm not sure I loved him. The heroine forgave and loved him more than me!

All in all, I really, really enjoyed this book. I read it in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. It has a suspense theme running through it and I'm part way through the third book now, and it hasn't been solved yet, and I'm still guessing. So that's good. It's not obvious who the bad guys are yet. I'm loving this author's writing and I'll be hunting down more of her books in the future.
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Apr 22, 2011 Gaby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit, historical-romance, romance, summer-reading

I'd read Dryer's earlier novel, Barely a Lady and was drawn in to the plots and political intrigue. So, when some of the same characters - Diccan and Grace- are caught in a related political plot, I was eager to follow the story. This next in the Drake's Rake series gives us Grace, who proves to be a particularly endearing heroine. Raised by the General and taught to be stoic, practical, and to carry on, she faces all sorts of humiliating and awful situations with grace and character. As her cha...more

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May 11, 2011 Crystal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, romance

I'd like to hope that this is merely a sophomore slump for the author and that the third book in this series will make up for the shortcomings of this novel.

Grace is nowhere near as interesting of a female lead as Olivia was. For someone who grew up seeing the world, having to think of quick fixes and solutions to keep people protected, and constantly described as being a military woman, Grace is not all too bright. While I can understand her hesitation to trust Diccan entirely, her inability to...more I'd like to hope that this is merely a sophomore slump for the author and that the third book in this series will make up for the shortcomings of this novel.

Grace is nowhere near as interesting of a female lead as Olivia was. For someone who grew up seeing the world, having to think of quick fixes and solutions to keep people protected, and constantly described as being a military woman, Grace is not all too bright. While I can understand her hesitation to trust Diccan entirely, her inability to detect that there was something more going on was astonishing. She couldn't seem to figure out that Diccan felt something for her and she couldn't seem to figure out the nature of his relationship with Minette. She was far too busy picking at her insecurities to notice anything going on around her. And that was another shortcoming of this novel in comparison to the first: the repetition.

A bulk of the novel spent time mentioning to the reader just how plain Grace was. Every character it seemed like made mention of it if the narration itself did not in just about every chapter. It was literally to the point that I sighed and muttered a "I get it" every time it came up after a while. There was also Grace's constant internal battle with herself about Diccan's true feelings that I mentioned she couldn't seem to pick up on whatsoever. Even the book itself pointed out that this was constantly happening: something good would happen, he'd leave or do something prickish, and her trust would be shattered. All-in-all, it made some parts difficult to read and it made Grace out to be about as smart and interesting as a wooden post with a wet paperbag over over it. There were also other things that I found tiring as a repeating element.

While being a continuing series, I expect that some themes and plot elements will reappear. I expect betrayals, revelations as well as familiar characters. However this was clumsily handled and it felt like Dreyer just didn't know what to do with these two characters. In Barely a Lady, the politics, secret organizations, the war, etc. all had just as much involvement and were of interest to me as a reader. Because it stood out, Barely a Lady really broke my expectations of this being a simply trashy romance novel read. Never a Gentleman, however, breaks that. Instead, it becomes a backdrop and the romance overshadows the political going-ons to the point that little progress is made in regards to Drake's Rakes, the British Lions, or the Surgeon. It leads everything in the book that pertains to the politics to merely be puppet strings to make the romance have dynamics it otherwise would not have. The confrontation with the Surgeon towards the end seemed like a near-repeat of the occurrence with Olivia making it feel forced and contrived. The purported treason showing up again served no purpose other than to give Grace suspicions of Diccan that she hardly paid attention to because she was too busy carrying on about how worthless and plain she is. It was also such a pain to see Olivia & Jack reduced to just brief cameos in a way as well when there was hardly any need to do that.

Now, I know that is a lot of negatives, but I did actually overall enjoy reading the book. I thought Diccan was a strong character and Dreyer did well fleshing him out. Unlike his lady counterpart, he had been fleshed out marvelously. He had depth to him and his feelings felt realistic to me. I know many reviewers here on GR did not approve of the things he said or did, comparing him to abusive/cheating husband, but I think they glossed right over his feelings as well as the possibilities of gray areas. I felt like that was what really kept me reading more than anything was Diccan and it's a shame the book spent so much time with Grace rather than Diccan. I felt like he had the magic that existed from the last book with him still even if Grace fell flat on her face.

Another positive thing that kept me persevering through Grace's undiluted and excessive angst was the writing style. Dreyer did make a few mistakes of repeating herself and phrases a little closer together than I would have possibly liked, but it's forgivable compared to the aforementioned negatives. She still has a very unique voice and a way with words that makes reading delightful.

While I did like this book, I loved the first and the preview of the third leaves me worried about this series. I feel like it's heading down a dangerous path where the political storyline is slowly being degraded for a chance to have everyone have sex a handful of times with someone they have a love/hate relationship with until they finally work everything out in the end and it's fine and dandy. I really hope she throws in more of the political process, takes away a little bit of the sex and even chips in a bit of a sad ending or two every now and then. Otherwise, I think she may lose me as a reader.(less)

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Apr 17, 2011 Fatma rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 14, 2011 Patti Loves FAB Romance rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Grace Fairchild is a soldier's daughter, on her way to Dover. She wakes up in Cantebury, in the arms of Diccan Hilliard, a notorious rake. Neither knows how they got there. To save Grace's reputation as a lady and Diccan's reputation as a gentleman, they quickly marry.

Grace is devastated, she'd been planning on finally living life on her own terms, no longer traveling the world with her father, settling down and raising horses. Diccan is a spy, and after this incident he's not sure who to trust....more

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May 16, 2011 Krishna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is one heavy story. I’ve never read anything from Eileen Dreyer but I’m happy that I found this one.
I have mixed feeling while I was reading this. At times, I want to get inside the book and just bash Diccan in the head for being cruel to Grace, though I know he’s just pretending, it still gets to me. I guess, that’s why I have mixed feelings on this book because you can’t truly hate Diccan because you know that he has a reason on why he’s treating Grace that way. The part that I didn’t lik...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 06, 2011 Noelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, owned, 2011-reads, alpha-male, cheating-hero, forced-marraige, great-love-scenes, hero-embarrassed-of-heroine, hero-mean-to-heroine, heroine-almost-dies, historical, scarred-heroine

This is the first book by Eileen Dreyer that I've read and I'll be looking for some more. It took me a while to read this one but that was because of a busy schedule and not because of lack of interest.

Diccan (H) knew that someone was setting him up when he woke up in Grace's (h) bed, the most loved virgin spinster in England. He's working to uncover a sinister plot and now someone is trying to throw him off the trail. Now that he's compromised Grace he has no choice to to marry her. The screwed...more

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About Eileen Dreyer

New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Eileen Dreyer, known as Kathleen Korbel to her Silhouette readers, has published 28 romance novels, 8 medico-forensic suspenses, and 7 short stories.

2012 sees Eileen enjoying critical acclaim for her first foray into historical romance, the Drake's Rakes series, which follow the lives of a group of British aristocrats who are willing to sacrifice ev...more New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Eileen Dreyer, known as Kathleen Korbel to her Silhouette readers, has published 28 romance novels, 8 medico-forensic suspenses, and 7 short stories.

2012 sees Eileen enjoying critical acclaim for her first foray into historical romance, the Drake's Rakes series, which follow the lives of a group of British aristocrats who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep their country safe. After publication of the first trilogy in the series, she has just signed for the next trilogy, following the graduates of the aptly named Last Chance Academy, who each finds herself crossing swords with Drake's Rakes. Eileen spent time not only in England and Italy, but India to research the series (it's a filthy job, but somebody has to do it).

A retired trauma nurse, Eileen lives in her native St. Louis with her husband, children, and large and noisy Irish family, of which she is the reluctant matriarch. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the limelight.

Dreyer won her first publishing award in 1987, being named the best new Contemporary Romance Author by RT Bookclub. Since that time she has also garnered not only five other writing awards from RT, but five RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, which secures her only the fourth place in the Romance Writers of America prestigious Hall of Fame. Since extending her reach to suspense, she has also garnered a coveted Anthony Award nomination.

A frequent speaker at conferences, she maintains membership in Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and, just in case things go wrong, Emergency Nurses Association and International Association of Forensic Nurses.

Eileen is an addicted traveler, having sung in some of the best Irish pubs in the world, and admits she sees research as a handy way to salve her insatiable curiosity. She counts film producers, police detectives and Olympic athletes as some of her sources and friends. She's also trained in forensic nursing and death investigation, although she doesn't see herself actively working in the field, unless this writing thing doesn't pan out.

Get in touch: eileendreyer@eileendreyer.com(less)

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Always a Temptress (The Drake's Rakes #3)

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Never a Gentleman (The Drake's Rakes #2)

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