Never Kiss a Rake

Scandal at the House of Russell #1

by Anne Stuart

Anguished by death. Driven by revenge.

Bryony Russell and her two sisters are left destitute by the disgrace and unexpected death of their father, a wealthy shipping magnate. He left a cryptic note, and Bryony is determined to find the real villain and clear her father’s name. In disguise as a servant, Bryony infiltrates the home of her father’s business partner to find proof of his guilt…or innocence. It’s not just clues that Bryony finds, but temptation too…

Adrian Bruton, Earl of Kilmartyn, immediately suspects there is something not quite right about his new housekeeper. The brooding, irresistible rake plays along because he has his own guilty secrets, and his venal, scheming wife holds the key to them, trapping him in a hate-filled marriage. But against his will he’s fascinated by Bryony, seeing past the scars on her face to show her the beauty she never knew she had. Bryony must uncover the truth and attempt to preserve her father’s legacy, before things go too far and she falls in love with a man who might very well be her worst enemy.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Adult, Audiobook, Mystery

265 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2013

About the author

Anne Stuart is a grandmaster of the genre, winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of more than thirty-five years in the romance business, and still just keeps getting better.

Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.

She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.

When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.

Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.

Reviews

[Duchess Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Oh, my love," he said softly, "you terrify me."

Oh, the wonderful world of an Anne Stuart novel...

Despite the fact that Stuart's typical ultra gamma hero was lacking a bit in his gamma-ness, this was still a fantastic story. Bryony, the heroine, is in search of the man who killed his father, stole his money, and left his daughters not only destitute, but shunned from society due to the cloud of suspicion hanging over their family name. The Earl of Kilmartyn was his business partner, and due to a multitude of reasonable conclusions, is first in line for Bryony's suspicions. She infiltrates the married Earl's household posing as a new housekeeper.

Kilmartyn is married, this is true. His wife of ten years is very nearly his only match in beauty in all of England. But her disgusting, cruel nature, and her many affairs that she parades in front of her husband have hardened him to her, and love and marriage as well.

"Well, you might not mind beimg surrounded by ugliness, but I do," she snapped.
He was already surrounded by ugliness, the ugliness of human nature eat its worst, and he'd been chained to her for close to a decade."

Until Bryony comes along, with her pox scars and her pride, her steadfast nature, and her obvious secrets.



I loved that Kilmartyn had Bryony figured out almost from the get go. She's been secluded her entire life, a recluse by choice after her mother convinced her that her scars made her inappropriate for society. So Bryony is a bit naive, but she is SO STRONG in character. And she truly fights her attraction to the most beautiful man she has ever seen, knowing in her heart that her ugliness could never attract a man, let alone him.

"He wasn't even touching her, and yet she felt invaded, taken, seduced, and enraptured, all from the deep, piercing look that caught between them pulling her like a riptide, and she swayed toward him, wanting to feel his body against her. Her breasts were hot, there was a tight feeling in her belly, and she wanted...she wanted...she couldn't name what she wanted. She could only feel it."

It sounds very cliche, but I can't think of how else to phrase this: Kylmarten and Bryony simply break down each other's walls. A la Anne Stuart Style...with their snooty back and forth, their obvious disdain and mistrust of one another...they constantly condescended to each other! And I had to laugh...seriously, these two and their constant sexually charged frustration was a joy to read.

"He didn't have much of a conscience left, but what remained seemed to belong to Bryony."

* Arc courtesy of Montlake via Netgalley
* Quotes used with permission

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread on Audiobook Fall 2018:

It was great listening to this on audiobook. Xe Sanders is a lovely narrator, with a talent for female and male voices. She endowed Adrian with all the roguish sensuality that his character emanates. She also captures Briony's mix of no-nonsenseness and vulnerability.

Casting Choices:

Liam McIntyre as Adrian, Lord Kilmartyn

Claire Foy as Bryony Russell

Previous Review:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing is sly, sensual, humorous and firmly ensconced in the period. Even if I wasn't the biggest Anne Stuart fan on earth, I will still have found this book utterly enchanting.

I was really nervous with the storyline because I hate adultery with a burning passion. I'm happy with how things unfolded. There was no line crossing in this book that I couldn't live with. While Lord Kilmartyn is supposed to be a sleazy rake, I was completely in love with him quite early on in the book. I found him very seductive and I could see why Bryony fell for him, despite being a very sensible young woman. I liked the importance of his Irish heritage to his persona, and how it had gotten him into a shaky situation of late, but defined him in a way that he couldn't turn his back on. I wish that Ms. Stuart had delved more into where his marriage went wrong, but I got the impression that he wanted to be a good husband to his wife at some point, and he loved her, but now he hated her. In some books with the unrepentant, adulterous rake, I question the character's ability to remain faithful to the heroine, but I have no doubt that Kilmartyn would be capable of that with Bryony. His caring for her when she was in need was very touching and showed more than words.

I also loved Bryony as a character. Her pain in feeling unloved and unattractive because of her smallpox scars made sense. While it scarred her self-esteem, she was still a strong-minded person and no fainting flower in the face of her family's recent change in fortunes. I like her pluck and how her natural personality comes out in her interactions with Kilmartyn. I rooted for her to get him, and win him over in a way that didn't cross the line into adultery or illicit affair territory and I was glad Ms. Stuart gave her that happy ending with no compromise in that area.

The secondary characters are a fun addition to the book, with a little bit of the "Upstairs, Downstairs" vibe as Bryony gets engrossed in the world of the servants and they take her in, especially Mrs. Harkins the kindly chef.

I confess I read the last book before this, so I sort of know how it ends, but it didn't spoil things for me. There is still plenty of mystery in the storyline with what happened to Bryony and her sisters' father to keep the story interesting. That is if steamy romance with a soon-to-be reformed rake isn't enough to keep things exciting.

Never Kiss a Rake is a promising start to this newest historical romance series by Ms. Stuart. She brings all the steamy romance and engaging characters that make her books delicious reads for me. I hope to read Never Trust a Pirate very soon.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
In a Word: Decent
This book is Free on Kindle Unlimited

This is not really a genre that I have a lot of experience in reading and reviewing so bear with me. Let’s face it, I think we all sort of expect these things to be cliche as f*ck, and this book was really no exception. It was a quick read and a fun story with some major drags and pretty much everything one would expect.

What I liked

Bryony Russell is a decent heroine (with one dominant complaint listed later on in this review). She is strong and clever and tough as nails. She is also a little insecure, a little aloof at times, and she definitely thinks she’s sneakier than she actually is which makes for some very fun moments in this book.

Speaking of flaws, no one is more flawed than our very own “rake”, Adrian Bruton, Earl of Kilmartyn. He is your quintessential “hot guy with a bad attitude”, and to be honest, I not-so-secretly love the “bad boy who becomes good for a girl” trope. This book of course throws down with the uber cliché on this front and ... I'm totally cool with it.

The chemistry and banter between our two MCs was really fun and enjoyable and exactly what I came for.

What I did not like

I swear if I had to hear about how "ugly" Bryony was because of a few pock marks on her cheek (despite the fact that every man she came in contact with thought she was "gorgeous") I was going to lose my freaking mind!!! While I liked her character for the most part, she was definitely the cliché "unwanted spinster who is gorgeous and single for no determinate reason". Let's call her Sally Spinster shall me. But again, I knew this was going to be a pile of clichés to begin with so I have no one to blame but myself.

Ok so let's face it. I was here for one thing and one thing only. The hot sex. Yeah, I said it. And there was sex ... and it was hot ... and I would have appreciated more of it but whatever.

Where we fell off the wagon here was when this book tried to be about more than romance and, in my opinion, failed.

The whole murder mystery aspect of this book fell super flat for me. I really just wanted more silly moments and sexy moments (because these moments were fantastic really). Once the story started to veer from the romance and into the mystery, I lost interest almost completely. The plot twists were all predictable, the suspense was not suspenseful and the mystery was not very exciting at all. Luckily the hot chemistry and funny banter between our main characters was entertaining enough to carry this story through and make this read a decent one overall.

In Conclusion

This book was a quick, easy and fun read. Not groundbreaking literature by any means but decent enough for a nice rainy day.

[emtee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was desire, this was madness. Lust and insanity, wrapped together into a tight grip of impossibility, but she no longer cared.

It’s no secret that I love Anne Stuart’s historicals, and this book was no exception, though it was more “Anne Stuart lite” than the typical AS book. Still an enjoyable read by one of my favorite authors.

Kilmartyn was wicked and sexy and delicious, but didn’t quite rise to the status of a true antihero. More a debauched, misunderstood rake with terrible secrets, trapped in a hateful marriage to a truly awful woman who threatened to frame him for a crime he didn’t commit. I was very intrigued by him and loved that the story included his POV. He was definitely a much more sympathetic character than the usual AS antihero and I ended up falling for him in a big way.

Maybe she was a wandering lunatic, bringing danger into his household. Wouldn’t that be delightful? he thought with cynical amusement. One could only hope.

Bryony was a smart, fearless young woman who soon realized that by infiltrating Kilmartyn’s household, she was in waaaay over her head. Kilmartyn was always one step ahead of her, and I enjoyed their little game of cat and mouse immensely. She was trying to play the role of housekeeper to find out if he was responsible for her father’s death, but her true personality kept bubbling up and while it raised Kilmartyn’s suspicions, it was her mystery and these glimpses of the real Bryony that fascinated him.

He didn’t rise. Of course he didn’t, she was a servant, she reminded herself. “I haven’t dismissed you, Bryony.” It was a challenge, with a charming smile and eyes of forest green. Servility could only carry her so far. “But I’ve dismissed you, my lord,” she said serenely, and sailed from the room, closing the door behind her. She should have been horrified by her temerity, shocked by her boldness. But she heard his laughter behind the heavy door, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Together, they had amazing chemistry, drawn to one another like moths to a flame. Knowing, fearing, that giving in to their desires could reduce them to cinders, they simply could not stay away from one another. The slow burn was delicious and by the time the flame grew into a blazing fire (his wife was no longer in the picture, so no cheating), neither cared that they would be consumed. They simply had to be together, like one simply had to breathe.

“Your first duty is pleasing me,” he said, and she felt a little frisson of uncertainty run down her backbone. His half-closed eyes opened suddenly, green meeting her own dark blue, and for a moment she froze, staring up at him, unable to move. And yet how could she say she froze, when she was suffused with such heat? Never had she felt anything like this. He wasn’t even touching her, and yet she felt invaded, taken, seduced, and enraptured, all from the deep, piercing look that caught between them, pulling her like a riptide, and she swayed toward him, wanting to feel his body against hers.

And he was feeling it too, she knew it. That look was holding him captive as well, unable to move, staring down at her with fathomless emotion, need and doubt and surprise. Need won out, and he moved his head down toward hers, and she knew he was going to kiss her, really kiss her, going to take her, and she would let him, God, she would let him, and…

Kilmartyn’s wife ends up murdered by the evil villain who killed Bryony’s father and the latter part of the book finds Bryony in grave danger as they work together to figure out who, exactly, is behind the murders. I liked the tangled web of suspicion and doubt and intrigue, and though it was an integral part of the story, it didn’t overshadow the relationship. And as a bonus, there was no annoying side romance to take away from the hot, sweet intensity that was Bryony and Kilmartyn.

“Please,” she said, no longer sure what she was asking for. “Please,” he echoed, his voice soft and seductive, and she raised her eyes to meet his. A mistake. She, who knew far too well the emptiness of physical beauty, was enrapt by his beautiful face, his forest green eyes, his tawny mane of hair and seductive, cynical mouth. He was beautiful, and he wanted her. And God help her, she wanted him. Not because of his beauty, but because of the odd gentleness in his manner when she didn’t expect it, because of the lost look in his green eyes, because of the way he made her feel with just a few words, because of the way he made her melt when he touched her. The jaded rake he presented to the world was just as much a mask as her own was.

[Crista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Stuart is in a league all her own, so when reading a book written by her, it almost requires it’s own rating system. Never Kiss A Rake, while certainly not her best work, is still written by this master storyteller and therefore is still well worth your time and money.

Never Kiss a Rake is the first book in the highly anticipated trilogy featuring the Russell sisters. Their father has been accused of stealing money from the company that he had part ownership of. A shadow of shame has been cast upon their family name and their father has recently been killed in a suspicious carriage accident. The girls all believe that their father was killed and framed for illegal money laundering. The eldest, Bryony, goes under cover as a servant in Adrian Bruton, the Earl of Kilmartyn’s household in order to uncover the truth about her father. Adrian was part owner of the company and his shares in the company have mysteriously been untouched by the laundering. He is the prime suspect and Bryony believes him to be guilty of murder and theft.

Anne Stuart’s are legendary, and Adrian Bruton does not disappoint. He follows the tried and true Stuart formula of witty, slightly dangerous, and unrepentant heroes, and rescues this otherwise mediocre novel.

Interestingly, what’s different about this book is that Adrian is married. Although his wife is a terrible person and the marriage is really in name only, this fact did provide some practical challenges to the romance between Adrian and Bryony. Thankfully this is short lived, and this tension is quickly resolved. For those opposed to “cheating themes”, I don’t think this book will bother most people. Adrian’s wife is truly evil.

I wish I would’ve loved Bryony more than I did. Her character just grated on my nerves. She was scarred from small pox and is constantly bringing this fact up. I felt compassion for her poor self-image (at first), but after awhile it became a character flaw. She is unconvincing as a servant and I wasn’t really sure what Adrian saw in her (and this fact had NOTHING to do with her scars!)

This book has a little bit of everything: suspense, action, romance, and mystery. It sets up the next book perfectly and the next sister gets paired with a dangerous pirate (lucky girl)!

Like I said, although this is no where near Anne Stuart’s best work, it is still entertaining, and meeting the delicious Adrian Bruton is well worth putting up with the slightly annoying Bryony Russell.

4 stars

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Stuart has become my go to for a quick romantic read. I like other novels in this genre but most of the books I’ve read by Stuart have been roughly 250 pages. Just enough for me to get to know the characters, have a little fun with the story, indulge in a sex scene or two and then move along without too much filler and fluff to spoil my appetite.

Bryony is the eldest daughter of three in the Russel family. After the disgrace and death of their father who is thought to have stolen money from some of his investors they are left with practically nothing. But Bryony isn’t one to just sit back. She has decided to take matters into her own hands and try to find the man truly responsible for such deeds. She goes into service for Kilmartyn one of the suspects hoping to find proof. However she finds she is in a little over her head.

Kilmartyn, married the wrong woman ten years ago and has regretted it more many years since. She has used his one secret against him to make his life miserable while she has dalliances with many men on the side.

“I miss you in my bed.”
“You surprise me, my love. There are usually so many occupying it that I wouldn’t have thought you’d notice.” The retort wasn’t a wise move on his part, but there were times he couldn’t resist.

When Bryony enters his employ he catches on right away she isn’t just the housekeeper she claims to be but is a spy. Although he thinks she is spying for different reasons. Kilmartyn starts to take great joy from his interactions with her trying to ferret out just why she is there. But once the game between them starts he isn’t sure he wants it to end.

She looked up at him, all stubborn defiance. She was a charming woman but a terrible spy. Didn’t she know her best bet was to encourage his advances instead of trying to drive him away? She was much more likely to ferret out his secrets by curling up next to him.

It is an intriguing and tangled mess that is funny and sweet at times.

As the sexual tension between Byrony and Kilmartyn grew I liked the play on words between them. I even liked the unusual way they looked out for each other even though they really didn’t trust one another.

Unfortunately the stove wasn’t hot enough, and I gave in to temptation. I realize it was unpardonable, but—”
“Oh, I rather like the idea of you giving into temptation.

The writing in this flows and I really enjoyed most of it but I’m going to say that had I simply read the book I probably would only give it 3 stars HOWEVER I purchased the accompanying audio at the same time and there was something about the narrator’s performance of the characters that increased my enjoyment of this story immensely.

Xe Sands did an incredible job of narrating the story and I do believe she sold it to me. Sands voice portrayal of Kilmartyn was perfect for me and I was complete in her thrall every time she was that character. I don’t believe I’ve ever been so turned on by a female narrator. The slow Irish brogue she chose for Kilmartyn was better than anything I would have thought up in my own head.

[Roma Cordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it.

[Beanbag Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a sudden craving for historical romance and, lo and behold, an Anne Stuart trilogy was advertised on my Kindle. I decided to try it.

Now, I’ve only ever read one other Anne Stuart book, but I do like her writing. I think she creates improbable, but satisfying stories and I figured I’d be getting something I could at least enjoy for a few days.

I was right, but only just. The premise of the series is that three sisters – heiresses to a shipping magnate’s fortune – are ruined and thrown to the mercies of the world because their father supposedly embezzled all the money from his business and then managed to kill himself in a carriage accident while trying to get away. So no one will have anything to do with them and all their money and belongings has been confiscated. The evidence against their father is thin and they want to find out who the real culprit is, restoring their standing in society and clearing their father’s name.

Good premise, but the use of TSTL behavior on the parts of the heroines (and in some cases the heroes) in order to further the plot was a real problem for me.

In this first book, Never Kiss a Rake, the oldest sister, Bryonny manages to secure a position as housekeeper to the notorious rake, Adrian Bruton, the Earl of Kilmartyn. He’s a married man and his wife is a lunatic and shrew who sleeps with most men who cross her path and who lives to make Adrian’s life miserable.

Bryonny has been a recluse since she was 12-years-old due to some leftover pock marks on one side of her face. Other than that, she and her sisters are raving beauties. But Bryonny’s mother was adamant that Bryonny was hideous because of the scars and no better than a burden. Which, understandable, distorted the young woman’s view of herself.

The story ends well, but unresolved, which is why you must read the next book. The overriding arc of investigating the three possible villains (according to the sisters) is what ties all the stories together.

It’s not bad. It’s Anne Stuart, after all, but I really don’t like unbelievably stupid behavior as a plot devise. There are so many things that can happen organically if a little bit of thought goes into it, I just don’t have patience for the making someone a moron even if it’s just for one scene so the Big Event can happen. It’s annoying.

I’m giving this one 4 stars, although it’s more of a 3.5 – 3.75. I think some of the action could have happened in a more believable manner, but I did like the leads and I was happy for them to end up together. There was some nice dialog and Stuart writes enjoyable love scenes. And since I was craving historical romance at that time, it did hit the spot.

[Dabney · Rating 2 out of 5]

this review was originally published at Dear Author

Dear Ms. Stuart:

In 2010, you released two enjoyable historical romances in your The House of  Rohan series (not to be confused with the Kings of Rohan). The two books, Reckless and Ruthless, featured classic Stuart heroes: gorgeous, sexy men with power and wealth who nefariously seduce spinster heroines whom they then fall deeply, irrevocably in love with. My favorite of the two Rohan books is Reckless whose hero, Adrian, is a sinfully magnetic rake. Now, in the mid 1800's Adrian was not a common name for men. I am thus baffled you, in Never Kiss a Rake, named the hero of this novel Adrian too. The only answer I can come up with is that Never Kiss a Rake is a rehash of names, personalities, plot, and prose from your earlier books. If there's an original thing in this book--other than the heroine having had small pox as a child--I missed it.

The heroine of this book, Bryony Russell, has been left penniless by her ostensibly feckless father. Bryony (like Elinor Harriman, the cranky heroine of   Ruthless ) is responsible for her sisters (one of whom is gorgeous just like Lydia in   Ruthless ). Bryony is convinced that her father, in the weeks before his death, was swindled then murdered by one of his investors. She leaves her sisters with their kindly elderly Nanny (there's one of these in   Ruthless   too) and gets herself hired as the housekeeper in the house of one such investor, Adrian Bruton, Earl of Kilmartyn.

Adrian Bruton is a notorious womanizer with a faithless, evil wife whom he stays married to under the threat of blackmail. He's a celebrious Cyprian who drinks far more than he should, is seemingly self-indulgent, and has few compunctions about going after what he wants. (Are there any guilt-stricken Stuart heroes?) Like Adrian the first, he's gorgeous, tall, graceful, with a full mouth and bright eyes. From the moment he sees Bryony, he considers seducing her--like many a Stuart hero, her primness strikes him as wildly erotic. She's calling herself Mrs. Greaves, but he's sure there's never been a Mr. Greaves and that she's untouched. She's prickly--her personality reminds me greatly of the heroine of Ruthless--and Adrian decides to mess with her just because he can.

Bryony moves in Adrian's household and, despite being from the upper class, not only pulls off being a housekeeper but does a ridiculously good job at it as well. The servants--the ones she doesn't fire--all come to love her and work to protect her from both Adrian's dissolute charms and from the nastiness of Cecily, Lady Kilmartyn.

When Bryony is not scrubbing, polishing, cleaning, or supervising, she's obsessing over Adrian.

Is he her father's betrayer? Why does he put up with his witch of a wife? What would his lips feel like if she stole a kiss  from his beautiful mouth when he's passed out drunk (answer: firm and with a hint of the "smoky flavor of the whiskey")? Why did he use the world "orgasmic" to describe the way she eats and what does that word mean anyway? And what on earth would happen if she accidentally on-purpose wandered in to his bed one night and, horrors of horrors, he was in it? And he was naked?

“Are you going to rape me?”  

“Of course not. I wouldn’t have to. I could have you eating out of my hand if I set my mind to it.”

She ground her teeth. “I am not a virgin, I am not puritanical, we are not going to have any kind of . . . carnal debauchery at all. Now let me up.”  

He didn’t laugh at her this time. He fell back against the mattress with a weary sigh, still holding on to her wrist. “Now that’s the damnable problem, my angel. I’m all set to play the villain, have my disgusting, delicious way with you to both your pleasure and mine, and you say something completely adorable like ‘carnal debauchery.’ How is a man to react to something like that?”  

“He’s supposed to release me.”  

“I ought to,” he said. “If I had any scrap of decency left in me.” He turned his face, and she could see him in the shaft of moonlight, his skin white gold. It was then she realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Realized that he wasn’t wearing anything at all. “Fortunately,” he added, “any decency is long gone.” And he pulled her over on top of him.  

“If you keep this up I’m going to get dizzy.” This time she managed a satisfactorily dry, cautious tone.  

He put his lips to her ear, and she could feel his hot breath against her skin. “You already are dizzy, my dear Miss Greaves. Your heart is pounding, your pulses are racing, and your nipples are hard. I’m willing to bet my sweet little virgin is wet.”  

She frowned, ignoring the nipple part. “Wet?”  

“Between your legs. It’s a sign of arousal, your body readying itself for mine.”  

“That’s disgusting.”

Well, the sex isn't disgusting but it's prosaic. It's possible I've read too many Anne Stuart novels but I feel sure I've read every sex scene in this book before. Adrian's a god in bed who, even as he murmurs he shouldn't, takes her virginity and teaches her the joys of one or two Latin terms. Bryony needs loads of reassurance her flaws (a slightly pockmarked side of her face and lack of familiarity with male anatomy) don't make her unworthy of his ministrations. Even as she moans beneath him, she wonders if he's a murderer. (I can think of at least eight Stuart heroines who've quivered and questioned in the same way.)

It's annoying to spend so much time reading about Bryony's fears about Adrian because there's no suspense whatsoever about whom the big bad really is. And, if you've read the heroine in danger scene at the end of Reckless, you've more or less read the heroine in danger scene at the end of Never Kiss a Rake.

I like many of Anne Stuart's novels. I like some of her books that are obviously derivative of other Stuart works. The entire Ice series shares many similarities none of which kept me from enjoying (most 0f) them. Never Kiss a Rake is, however, derivative and dull. The former characteristic highlights the latter. In the hands of a weaker writer, this book would have gotten a D from me. Ms. Stuart writes well, however, and her prose is smooth and assured. I'm going with a C-.

Dabney

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narration - B+/Content - B- Review from 2013

Never Kiss a Rake is the first book in a new historical trilogy from Anne Stuart which features the three Russell sisters, Bryony, Maddy, and Sophie. Their father, a renowned and wealthy financier, has died suddenly and in mysterious circumstances, leaving them destitute. Based on the scrap of a note she has found, the eldest sister, Bryony, believes her father was murdered and likely that one or more of his business partners was responsible.

Determined to find out the truth, Bryony decides that the best way to ferret out the information she needs is to infiltrate the households of these men – among whom are the privateer Captain Morgan and Adrian Bruton, Earl of Kilmartyn and, to that end, she secures herself an interview in the Earl’s household, where there is a housekeeper’s position available. She is interviewed by the beautiful and pampered Countess of Kilmartyn, who is about to dismiss her when her husband intervenes and hires Bryony.

Kilmartyn is widely known to be a rake of the worst sort and seducer of beautiful women. His relationship with his wife is acrimonious to say the least – their mutual hatred is palpable. But Cecily has some dirt on Adrian, which she is using to blackmail him and prevent his leaving her. She might not want him (and in fact has a string of lovers) but she doesn’t want anyone else to have him, either. Kilmartyn is immediately intrigued by Bryony, sensing that she is not at all what she seems, and his conversation is liberally peppered with sexual innuendo, partly in an attempt to unsettle her into revealing her true purpose in his house, and partly because he really does want to take her to bed.

He’s one of those intensely masculine heroes that it could be easy to dislike because he’s so confident about his ability to seduce the woman he wants … and yet he’s ridiculously attractive. As a Goodreads friend commented to me, “ain’t no badder boy than an Anne Stuart bad-boy” and I can certainly agree with that!

I know that Xe Sands has narrated a number of Anne Stuart’s other books, but this was my first time listening to her, and I was very impressed. She has a beautifully smooth speaking voice and her character voices were all appropriate and well differentiated. I admit, when I read in Ms. Stuart’s recent interview that Ms Sands would be using British accents for the characters but her own natural accent for the narration, I was apprehensive. As I’m sure has become apparent from my reviews, I have a bit of a bee-in-my-bonnet about accents, and finding them poorly or inconsistently done can easily ruin an audio for me.

But I’m pleased to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. I admit that it did take me a little while to get used to the switching between trans-Atlantic accents, but once I did, I could admire the skill it must require to be able to do that so readily and believably. In terms of the characters, I liked the softness Ms. Sands brought to Bryony’s voice while managing to make it clear that she had a backbone of steel underneath. She brought a tremulous quality to her voice in her more vulnerable moments, which worked very well. The other minor characters such as the housekeeper and servants were all well portrayed as were the characters of Cecily and Brown. If I have one niggle, it’s with the way she voiced Kilmartyn. She gave him a very throaty, louche – and admittedly sexy – almost-growl which was more than tinged with an Irish accent, all of which was very much in keeping with his character. But sometimes, his voice was so low and soft that I found I had to concentrate really hard to make out the individual words. To coin a phrase – he sounded so laid back he was almost on the floor!

Never Kiss a Rake bristles with sexual tension as Bryony battles her attraction to her gorgeous employer while trying to find evidence of his involvement of financial wrong-doing and her father’s murder – and simultaneously hoping to discover he had nothing to do with any of it.

But there are weaknesses, too. The identity of the villain is fairly obvious from the outset, although to be fair, we don’t discover the reasons for his actions, and I suspect these will not be revealed until the final book. I thought the final third of the book, in which Bryony and Kilmartyn begin – individually – to suspect that Cecily has been murdered was a little weak and didn’t hang as tightly together as the rest of the story.

On the positive side, the two protagonists are well-drawn and engaging, even if I found Bryony’s inability to trust Adrian and believe that he did truly want her until the last possible minute became rather annoying. (Even when they’re finally in bed together, she tells him she doesn’t trust him – but makes love with him anyway.) Adrian is rather delicious, even though he does remind me of a few of Ms. Stuart’s other historical heroes – but I can forgive that because of the way he is so desperate to protect Bryony even as he’s proclaiming himself to be an immoral bastard.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Never Kiss a Rake and am looking forward to the remaining books in the series. The pacing is good, the writing excellent and the sexually-charged banter between Bryony and Kilmartyn is a delight.

[Nabilah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her storylines have always been a bit cray-cray. This one is no exception. I find it too repetitive esp the "will they, won't they" part. So, not one of her best, but good enough.

[Keri · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. Now going into this review I want to say I have nothing but mad love for Anne Stuart and some of my most treasured books in my collection have her name on them. But I didn’t love this book and I really wanted to. I didn’t think that Bryony or Aiden were particularly likable characters. Bryony, more for her attitude about her pox scars and how it affected her perception of herself. I mean, I felt that drug on too long in the book. Aiden, who is married btw, for his part was a one dimensional rake. Through most of the book, he looked at Bryony as nothing more than someone to play games with and good for a tup, because he was a rake and that is what rakes do. Then when he had his epiphany about Bryony’s dad and what a mentor he was and how honest he was, but prior to that he fully believed that her dad did the deed. Never even gave a thought about his mentor or his three girls. Huh??? I could never understand how two banks folded trying to support this embezzlement scheme, but yet Aiden’s stock was never affected, but yet he was a partner??? Double huh??? Then his guilt about something that he supported in Ireland, but in the end turned out to cause some deaths. Well were you sending support and help to the families you impacted? I understand feeling guilty, but what were you doing to belay the guilt, just whining about it. Then how his wife blackmailed him into marrying her because of it. I didn't have enough context to be able to get an understanding on how that happened.

Then his dealing with Bryony once he magically put it altogether in his head about who she was. He was constantly back and forth, I should play the good guy, but she is alone and no one will know and I can buy her off …on and on. (This only reinforced that I didn’t care for him.) The marriage aspect was just a small part of the book and Aiden’s wife was so darn mean, I wanted to kill her myself. I warmed up to Bryony eventually, but I never bought into to the love angle. It just wasn’t there for me. Yes, for the most part Aiden did the right thing, but it wasn’t because he really wanted to. I also hated the paperback format, but that had no impact to my rating. The ending is a bit odd, but this is going to be a story arc that will span all three books, so I expected it. Having said all of this, I still intend to get the next book in the series but I sure hope this was just first book, first series syndrome.

[Gerbera_Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my second time reading Anne Stuart's work, and after reading Ruthless, I expected something good. What a disappointment this was. The book was well written and detailed but it centered around only few locations and didn't have any side plots which made it, how shall I put it, very narrow for me. The culprits were so over the top obnoxiously evil that it bordered on comic, and I expected someone to grow a mustache and start twirling it while laughing ominously Mwuahahaha! Urgh.

The book started well with 3 orphaned sisters hatching a plan to uncover their father's murder. I got behind that quickly, but when Bryony entered into Earl of Kilmartyn's household, it all went hell. When the wicked wife bleated: "I can't be surrounded by ugly things" and Adrian was such a super observant person that he uncovered Bryony's scheme within 3 minutes, I just couldn't take it seriously. I started skipping and fast reading after 25%. By the time I reached 52% I went into supersonic skipping mode because the ridiculousness reached new high. The figurative mustache twirling started with the disclosure of all foul deeds and plans for the future. Why?! Something had to stay hidden to keep a smidge of interest.

The finale was very unsatisfying. The villains perished quietly and the couple is left sort of happy but melancholy over the fact that things with Bryony's father are still unresolved, thus giving the second sister a chance to, no doubt, concoct another asinine scheme to meet her man. Plus Bryony sucked as a housekeep and Adrian sounded like he was playing part in badly directed historical porn when he talked and obviously was meant to be seductive. *gag* Hope the next will be marginally better. I am nothing if not determined, since I bought all three books already. *face palm* Sorry for bad review... it couldn't be helped

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated 2 Oct 2013 to include link to separate review at All About Romance

Never Kiss a Rake is the first book in a new historical trilogy from Anne Stuart which features the three Russell sisters, Bryony, Maddy and Sophie.

Their father, a renowned and wealthy financier, has died suddenly and in mysterious circumstances, leaving them destitute. Based on the scrap of a note she has found, the eldest sister, Bryony, believes her father was murdered and that it is likely that one or more of his business partners was responsible.

Determined to find out the truth, Bryony decides that the best way to ferret out the information she needs is to infiltrate the households of these men – among whom are the privateer Captain Morgan and Adrian Bruton, Earl of Kilmartyn and to that end, she secures herself an interview in the Earl’s household, where there is a housekeeper’s position available.

She is interviewed by the beautiful and pampered Countess of Kilmartyn, who is about to dismiss her when her husband intervenes and Bryony is hired.

Kilmartyn is widely known to be a rake of the worst sort and seducer of beautiful women. His relationship with his wife is acrimonious to say the least – their mutual hatred is palpable. But Cecily has some dirt on Adrian which she is using to blackmail him and prevent his leaving her. She might not want him and in fact has a string of lovers – but she doesn’t want anyone else to have him, either.

Kilmartyn is immediately intrigued by Bryony, sensing that she is not at all what she seems, and his conversation is liberally peppered with sexual innuendo, partly in an attempt to unsettle her into revealing her true purpose in his house, and partly because he really does want to take her to bed.

He’s one of those intensely masculine heroes that it could be easy to dislike because he’s so confident about his ability to seduce the woman he wants … and yet he’s ridiculously attractive. As a Goodreads friend commented to me – “ain’t no badder boy than an Anne Stuart bad-boy”, and I can certainly agree with that!

Bryony has spent the majority of her life living apart from society, believing herself to be highly unattractive because of the scars she bears as the result of a childhood illness. Her mother called her ugly and all but rejected her, so Bryony has grown up believing that no man could ever want her, the story put about in society being that she is a reclusive invalid. But in reality, her scars are nowhere near as bad as she thinks:

The scars on her face really were a trifle – he’d seen worse on aristocrats who’d suffered from a surfeit of spots when they were young.

and they don’t bother Kilmartyn in the least; he finds the idea that she has no idea as to how attractive she truly is makes her even more appealing.

The book bristles with sexual tension as Bryony battles her attraction to her gorgeous employer while trying to find evidence of his involvement of financial wrong-doing and her father’s murder – and simultaneously hoping to discover he had nothing to do with any of it.

But there are weaknesses, too. The identity of the villain is fairly obvious from the outset, although to be fair, we don’t discover the reasons for his actions, and I suspect these will not be revealed until the final book. I thought the final third of the book, in which Bryony and Kilmartyn begin – individually – to suspect that Cecily has been murdered was a little weak and not as tightly written as the rest of the story.

On the positive side, the two protagonists are well-drawn and engaging, even if I found Bryony’s inability to trust Adrian and believe that he did truly want her until the last possible minute became rather annoying. (Even when they’re finally in bed together, she tells him she doesn’t trust him – but makes love with him anyway.) Adrian is rather delicious, even though he does remind me of a few of Ms Stuart’s other historical heroes – but I can forgive that because of the way he is so desperate to protect Bryony even as he’s proclaiming himself to be an immoral bastard.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Never Kiss a Rake and am looking forward to reading the remaining books in the series. The pacing is good, the writing excellent and the sexually-charged banter between Bryony and Kilmartyn was a delight.

[Fangirl Musings · Rating 1 out of 5]

DOWN & DIRTY QUICKIE REVIEW!

One Sentence Summary:

She's his scarred, dumb-ass housekeeper spy & he's a married, rich dip-shit.

Name That Trope:

* Everybody’s Too Stupid To Live
* Sense, Mother Fucker, DO YOU MAKE IT?!
* “I think he’s a cold blooded murderer but he’s sooooooooOoooo sexy!"

What part made you fangirl squeal:

The part where my ass got to turn the last page.

Favorite Character:

Any character not in this book! Okay, fiiiiiiiiine. I guess the cat. Wait. Was there a cat? I think there was a cat??? There should have been a cat.

How smexy was the smex?

SUPER HAWT! Like, OH-MY-GOD HOT ‘CAUSE HERO’S THAT DON’T RESPECT CONSENT ARE SooOoOOOoOOo SEXY... -_-

Whose Line Is It Anyway:

Mr Asshole: You’re going to say yes.
Miss Dumbass: No, I wont.
Mr Asshole: Yes, you will. Because you want me just as much as I want you. Your mouth may be full of lies but your body betrays you.

Got any bitching to do?

Brace yourself, this is gonna get ranty!

1) She’s investigating hero for her father’s death, his wife ends up murdered, & she CONSTANTLY flips between trusting & not trusting the hero with literally no proof or anecdotal evidence aside from her gut!!!!!?!?!?!?!

2) The whole book: "I think he’s a bad guy. He doesn’t think my smallpox scars are ugly. He wants to bang me. We banged. There’s a bad guy. Love? WHOOP THERE IT IS!"

3) All this mofo ever does is try to sex up our girl. That’s it. Nothing else. No deep conversations. No getting to know her. Just, “ME WANNA PUT MY SAUSAGE IN YOUR BATTER!”

4) Consent issues. Consent issues for days & days & man I wanna chop his mini-me off with a spoon.

Visually Depict Yo Book Feels:



Famous last words:

No, the hero never sexually assaults the heroine but he literally pulls the “no means yes” card. No, the story isn’t RAGE inducingly bad, but a lot of it's potential legit went nowhere. And no, the romance ain’t romantic; the love came outta nowhere! The 3rd arc rushes the badguy conflict resolution, the sex is shoved in at the last minute, the plotting was pathetic, the characters were weak AND THIS BOOK IS NO!

-------------------------------------

For a more in depth, LOL-fest discussion on romance novels and romance Asian dramas, HERE BE MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL:

https://www.youtube.com/fangirlmusings

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddy read with Dhini and Funzee

Adrian, Earl of Kilmartyn





He's a passionate, sexy like hell Irish man, but he's having the most unhappy marriage. With the most beautiful Lady in London as a wife, he should be happy, but yet, he felt trapped with a loveless , unfaithful, bitchy wife for 10 years!

Until he met his pretend housekeeper, Bryony!
And the spark begin, the fire between them they can not resist.

She tasted of the redemption he could never have, the fiery hell he was heading for. She tasted of everything he had ever wanted...

He needed Bryony, nothing but Bryony, breathing her, taking her, drowning in her.

I loved the spark and chemistry between them. I loved how Adrian tried to pursue Bryony to have him.
Bryony is a brave and strong girl, she knew what she wanted. And she wanted Adrian.

But then, Adrian was a married man, even his wife was an evil and parade her lovers in front of him, he's a gentleman.

But there's secrets...lots of secrets they're keep from each other. Starting with Bryony's father's death, unfinishrled business, jealous business partner and also Adrian's wife's secret.
Bryony suspected Adrian had something to do with her father's murder. Was he a murderer? And why did Bryony still didn't believe him until almost the end of the book, and why at the same time she was so eager to protect adrian from whatever secret he's neen hiding?

And what. did Adrian. do to earn Bryony's trust?

I loved the story...but the ending was sooooo anoying... the secret reminds still.

Niw I can't patiently wait for the second installment !

Rcommended.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty by-the-numbers Victorian romance with most of the roles going as you'd expect. The not-yet-thirty virgin enters the house of someone she suspects of ruining her father—someone titled, rich, and world weary. Naturally, sparks ensue. And intrigue. All the latent trust issues spark about and, of course, the two are inevitably drawn together in the end.

Add a plot that was, at best, serviceable and you have a book that meets expectations without really trying for better. The biggest weakness of the book was actually the villain. He was murky and his competence (and lucidity) faded in and out rather conveniently. And I really wish we had a confirmed kill at the end. Nothing would kill my desire to read further than to find that he persists in the rest of the books.

Still, it's well-written enough and it did engage my interest right to the end. I suppose I just liked Bryony and was more than willing to see her find happiness.

A note about Steamy: On the high side, for all there weren't that many explicit scenes. They were, however, long and there was enough innuendo, playing around, and frank talk to make sex permeate the book somewhat. Bonus points, however, for giving virginity the weight it deserves and for not simply ignoring potential pregnancy (on screen, anyway).

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh... it was okay. I got tired of the heroine constantly thinking she was ugly while all the other characters kept thinking she was beautiful. I also didn't really feel the connection between the hero and heroine, though I desperately wanted to.

Hero is married, but his wife is a random bitch he has no connection to, so no fear there.

[Blog] - [Bookstagram]

[Missy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think this author is for me. I'm going to finish this series (since it's available in audio via Kindle Unlimited) and hope that I won't be tempted to pick up another one of her books.

I disliked the narrator. I wonder if she's partially to blame for my lack of enjoyment of this story. I don't know. The story was slow, and nothing seemed to be happening. By the end of the book, the hero isn't cleared of suspicion of murdering his wife, so he and the heroine fled the country to the continent. Um, okay. What kind of HEA is that? Will all loose ends get tied up in the final book of the series?

Side note: I dislike the book covers for this series.

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was good

[Booklover, Indianapolis · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Sep) 2.5*

I really love Anne Stuart. I think her Gamma heros are great, her heroines usually don't annoy me, and most of what I've read I've really liked. So it pains me a bit to give this book less than stellar marks. It's not that it was bad, necessarily, it just wasn't good.

The storyline is pretty similar to a lot of her other historicals - not very pretty but strong will heroine infiltrates hero's house to try and figure out if he was involved in the mysterious ruination and subsequent death of her father. Surprisingly, Kilmartyn is not a Gamma hero at all. In fact, he's not even Alpha. He's kind of, well, milquetoast. There is nothing Rakish (title?) about him - we hear he sleeps around, but never see any evidence of his philandering ways. He's got a horrible wife who he hates (she is blackmailing him, has evidence of something he did that could get him arrested and even possibly hung for treason). However, we only ever see them together once, never learn how he met her, fell in love with her, how she got this evidence, why she wants to stay with him when she appears to hate him too. Is it just because he is rich? Never says. There are no characters here other than the house staff (I loved the side stories that appeared in the House of Rohan series). We learn very little about Kilmartyn's life.

Bryony (hate this name!) is a woman in her late 20s who was "hidden" (sort of) by her family due to her face, which is somewhat scarred w/small pox scars. Kilmartyn, of course, barely notices these scars and feels a sexual attraction to her from their first meeting. There is a convoluted storyline about her father being accused of embezzlement from his company - this caused two (!) banks to fail, he lost everything, his family was left destitute. Kilmartyn was his business partner but somehow his shares in the company stayed intact and he lost nothing. He looked at Bryony's father as a mentor, but never once quesitoned why this honest man would have done this, or what happened to his beloved daughters after he died. She makes some odd choices - I'm always amazed when heroines, especially one like this who was raised to be a lady, think they can all of a sudden put on their Super-Spy hat and find evidence of a crime. She makes some really odd choices, like when she cleans up Kilmartyn's wife's room - the sign of a struggle, broken stuff everywhere, blood on the floor - but tells no one, and then later finds bloody clothes in Kilmartyn's closet and rather than leaving them or getting rid of them, she throws them out the window, figuring that she does not really believe he's guilty of harming his wife - but just in case, well, if the clothes are meant to be found they will and he'll just have to deal with the fall out. Huh?!

This book just had a slapped-together feel to it. There was no real connection between Kilmartyn and Bryony, the sex was brief and rushed. And the ending...well, what there was of an ending made no sense. The villian does not really explain who he is, why he was sleeping w/Kilmartyn's wife, why he hates Kilmartyn, how he's managed to get so much damage done. He disappears (as there are, I believe, two more books (Bryony has two sisters), I doubt very much he's dead), and Kilmartyn, who is at this point suspected in the disappearance of his wife (we know she's dead), runs away, Bryony at his side. To be continued... The biggest sin this book created, besides the weird and unfinished ending, was that it was, much as I hate to say it, well...kind of boring. I mean, it's readable, and it is Anne Stuart, and it's not as bad as Silver Falls (IMO, her worst), but it's really not very good. But, I will perservere and try the next one when it comes out in December (at least, I plan to, but who knows!).

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Bryony Russell is determined to clear her disgraced father's name and proof that his carriage accident was no accident at all but murder. Left with only a cryptic note from her father, she decides to infiltrate the house of his business partner, Adrian Bruton, Earl of Kilmartyn, the only person who wasn't left penniless from her father's supposed fraud. But posing as his housekeeper is harder than she expected, especially when she feels a helpless attraction and connection, one he seems to reciprocate.

A wickedly sensual hero, a sensible practical heroine; I love that combination and Anne Stuart does it really well, Adrian is naughty enough to ping on the bad boy radar, but with enough sweetness in him to get us girls melting at his beautiful feet. And Bryony was great in her practical glory, and watching helplessly throw sense out the window to fall in love with the wicked Earl was fun to read. But she did all this and more a lot better in her Wicked House of Rohan series, that didn't stop me from enjoying this book though; the characters were interesting, the sexual tension and connection between Adrian and Bryony was good and Never Kiss a Rake was definitely a page turner.

What has stopped me from giving this book a higher rating even though I did like the characters, story and the writing, is that I had a sense of deja vu whilst I was reading it. There are a lot of books like this one out there in historical romance and there was nothing about Never Kiss a Rake that stood out amoungst the crowd. Like I said above her Wicked House of Rohan series has the same kind of dynamic as this book, only I felt the characters and the romance had much more depth and feeling then this did.

Anne Stuart is a fantastic writer so although I have read better before that didn't stop me from enjoying Never Kiss a Rake and it certainly won't stop me from reading the next book in this series.

[Lea's Audiobooks Hensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My comments from AudioGals' discussion:

I finished listening over the weekend. I thought Xe’s choices in performing were perfect especially when it came to the use of accents/non-accents. I did wish Kilmartyn sounded a little less rakish in the first third of the book but Xe was performing the written word faithfully. After all, rake was part of the title and, true to Anne Stuart, she doesn’t hesitate to make her heroes sound a bit too sleazy if it fits her purpose.

After the House of Rohan series, Never Kiss a Rake seems a little mild by comparison. But at times with that series (which I gave all A or B grades), I’d be thinking, “No! He did not just do that. Oh, no, that IS what he just did!”

Overall a very enjoyable audio! At Goodreads, I’m giving the narration an A- and the book content a B and overall grade of 4+ stars.

[Tin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received this review copy through Netgalley. Thank you to Anne Stuart and to Montlake Romance for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.

* * *

Bryony, Maddy and Sophie Russell are the daughters of the disgraced shipping magnate, Eustace Russell, who died under mysterious circumstances after he was found guilty of embezzlement and caused a nationwide panic, which almost toppled the banking industry.

Now orphaned, penniless and with nowhere else to go, the sisters are plotting how they can clear their father's name and restore their own reputations. Their only clue is a hastily scribbled note by their father:

Don't trust any of them. Someone's stealing money, and it looks like Kilmartyn's in league with them, no matter what excuses he makes. Don't trust Morgan either. Never trust a pirate. Something's going on, and I'll get to the bottom of it, or --
- loc 151

Bryony targets Lord Kilmartyn first, thinking that, as her father's partner, he had the most to gain from their father's ruin -- and, despite the financial crisis, it seems Lord Kilmartyn's fortunes remain intact. She decides to infiltrate Kilmartyn's household as a housekeeper, hoping to find clues to his involvement.

Getting into the Kilmartyn household was relatively easy -- what Bryony didn't expect was Lady Kilmartyn's hostility and most certainly not Lord Kilmartyn's marked preference for her.

Adrian Brutton knew Mrs. Bryony Greaves wasn't who she claimed she was, but then, who was he to judge? An Irish peer, with a damning secret that only his devilish wife knew about and held above his head like the sword of Damocles, so he allows the beautiful, albeit deceitful, "Mrs. Greaves" into his household, eager to discover her secrets.

Stuart has been exploring the hedonistic-reprobate-reluctantly-turned-hero character type in most of her novels and Adrian Brutton stands, perhaps, in the top 5. (I don't think he can beat the Rohans, though.) Immediately after hiring Bryony, his first thought is how best to seduce her:

He'd always liked a challenge, and she was so tightly buttoned up she might as well be wearing armor. How hard would it be to strip off that armor?

...

Yes, he did like a challenge. He wasn't sure whether he was going to seduce Mrs. Greaves, or simply see if he could make her smile, but he was always interested in a challenge.
- loc 448

What is the appeal of such a hero, who is on the verge of villainy? I think part of this kind of hero's appeal is that he is not bound by the same rules that govern gentlemen. He moves and speaks without care for society and convention -- and will almost always scandalize and shock the other characters (and readers) out of their comfort zone. Because of his atypical nature, we come to expect the unexpected from him -- and it makes for a very compelling, very interesting story. Anne Stuart writes this kind of "hero" so convincingly and so well.

Bryony isn't your typical heroine: one side of her face is pockmarked after a childhood bout with smallpox. Her own mother thought she was hideous and had hidden Bryony from the world. Bryony grew up believing and continues to believe that she could never be presentable in society's eyes.

"...You know that I'm much better suited to being a housekeeper. Maids are supposed to be pleasant to look upon. Have you ever seen a maid who looks like me?" Bryony said evenly.
- loc 201 to 214

It is, perhaps, Bryony's lack of self-esteem that makes her susceptible to Adrian's charms and attentions. It surprised me when she started to succumb to it after three days. This is the one aspect of the novel that I was not convinced of: how quickly Bryony falls in love with him. He flirts with her and embarrasses her with conversations filled with sexual innuendo -- and she falls for him? Adrian's one saving grace is that he is handsome and the most beautiful man Bryony has ever seen. I think Bryony is secretly flattered with his attempts at seducing her -- but that is lust, not love. Plus, it seems Bryony has forgotten that Adrian is married.

In the darkness her scars were invisible, in the darkness this beautiful man wanted her, and she would endure anything for the bizarre glory of this deep, draining kiss.
- loc 1983

On the other hand, I understand why Adrian could love Bryony -- she is unlike the ladies of society and, more importantly, she is unlike his wife -- who is concerned with artifice and have no sense of morality or kindness.

Stuart portrays the Kilmartyn townhouse as a house of secrets -- a place of mostly shadows and very little light. Bryony enters this house of stairs, so many stairs without rails -- where one false move could mean a broken arm or leg or neck -- of rooms, so many rooms with only two known inhabitants who hate each other openly, and are living in separate rooms on separate floors of the house --

Stuart conveys very vividly the mysteriousness of the house and of the people who live there -- is Adrian guilty of ruining Bryony's father? Is he guilty of more? What other secrets are kept within this very expensive townhouse on Mayfair, which looks quite stately and beautiful on the outside but is dusty, ill-kept and rat-infested inside?

A game of cat and mouse: Adrian knows Bryony is spying -- but for what, and for whom? Bryony knows Adrian is hiding something -- would she find the answers in the mysterious leather-bound journal in his room?

This is Anne Stuart doing what she does best: developing a complicated relationship between two broken souls: one an unrepentant sinner and the other, a woman with no sense of self worth. She throws her characters into a tailspin of mystery, murder, of questions with a million possible answers. All in all, making this a truly engrossing read.

[Μαρία Γεωργοπούλου · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A nice read with interesting characters... The only reason I gave 3.5 stars is because I found the ending kind of hasty and without many details!

[Elis Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a treat when Anne Stuart comes out with a new historical. The Rohan series reveled in sinister, tormented heroes and naïve-to-the-extreme ingénues. This one is a radical change, but it’s great in a new and different way.

The Russell sisters have been left orphaned, penniless, and with a sullied family name that renders them (at least the two who could have hoped to marry) ineligible to gentlemen of their former social class. All because their father, a successful but rather unlikeable businessman, supposedly embezzled scads of money from his partnership, resulting in the collapse of two banks, then scarpered and got himself killed in a carriage accident in the process.



The girls aren’t buying it. Their father might not have been the most congenial of men, but he was honest, and he loved his daughters. He wouldn’t have left them behind, even if he had committed the felony. Plus he left a note casting doubt on his three business partners. Problem is they can’t get the detectives and lawyers to believe them. So they decide to do some sleuthing of their own.



The first partner they want to investigate is Adrian Bruton, Earl of Kilmartyn. He is the lone member of the partnership whose wealth was not embezzled—suspicious, that. Bruton is married to a renowned beauty, but he’s also a notorious profligate, and probably not above seducing the help—one of many reasons he can’t hold onto servants. But Bryony, the oldest sister, isn’t worried about that—a childhood case of smallpox left her face scarred, and she’s been told often enough that she’s ugly. She seeks a position as housekeeper, giving her name as Mrs. Greaves.

She finds herself in a house full of secrets. The earl hates his wife but can’t rid himself of her because she knows too much. The wife hates him right back, but it pisses her off that he doesn’t share her bed. Not that her bed is vacant much. And there’s this cousin of hers that occasionally appears. And there’s a staff that isn’t good for, well, anything, from what Bryony can see. She sets about putting things to rights, while seeking excuses to search for evidence against the distressingly handsome earl.

Adrian knows right off that something’s fishy about his new housekeeper, but hell, he’s bored and the mystery is amusing—she’s clearly a spy, but who sent her and what do they want? Besides, those little scars on her cheek do nothing to obscure her quiet beauty, and he finds her blushes adorable. He’ll figure out her secret—and enjoy her in his bed while he’s at it.

As always, the hero is not an especially nice guy, which makes the sexual tension between him and the fragile Bryony dangerous. You can’t help rooting for them even when you want to tell her to run the other way. And the HEA is entirely unexpected, but leaves plenty of room for the sequels which are bound to be delicious.

The series isn’t a whodunit—we identify the villain early on. It’s more of a howcatchum, with the romance weaving around more murder, mayhem, and a sadistic serial killer. The next book’s out on December 3, and can be pre-ordered for $3.99 on Kindle as I write this.

Anne Stuart can’t seem to miss—this is another 4.5 star thriller.

[Carrie (Rotten Banana) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed at Red Hot Books http://redhotbooks.com/2013/08/never-...

Anne Stuart is one of my favorite authors who has been at the game since the 70’s. I love her because she writes such deliciously dark unrepentant anti-heroes unlike any other. Never Kiss a Rake is the first book in a historical romance trilogy about three sisters who go into service in the households of very bad men in order to discover who was responsible for their father’s downfall and death.

After finding a mysterious note left behind by her father, Bryony Russell is convinced that her father didn’t embezzle money from his shipping business and his death might not have been accidental. As the eldest sister, Bryony decides it’s up to her to get to the bottom of the matter. She sends her sisters away, puts on a shabby frock and attempts to infiltrate the Earl of Kilmartyn’s house by applying as housekeeper. Of course, things never go as planned for Bryony. The house is a disaster, the earl’s wife is catty vindictive witch and the information she wants to get on Kilmartyn is nowhere to be found.

Adrian Bruton, Lord Kilmartyn has many chips on his shoulders – he’s at the bottom of the society hierarchy as a second rate Irish lord, his wife has no regard for him whatsoever and, suddenly, the new housekeeper is not what she appears to be. Immediately realizing that Bryony is no housekeeper, he resolves to play the game and figure out the mystery of her appearance in his household.

Bryony is quite naïve having been sheltered for nearly all of her life because of the pox marks on her face, first by her mother and later by choice. It’s been drilled into her consciousness that she would never have a man because of her facial defects. While Bryony is immediately attracted to Kilmartyn, she can’t conceive how he would ever feel the same about her even when he is blatant in his advances. Her internal dialog almost entirely revolved around this issue and it became tedious quickly.

Kilmartyn was softer than I expected for a Stuart hero. There was nothing inherently dangerous or villainous about him. He was slightly wicked to go along with Bryony’s ruse and let her play her game but that was minor. He took care to ensure that Bryony was safe from his wife’s venom and gentle with her insecurities. I guess I was just disappointed that he was nicer than I had anticipated.

The major issue I had with the book was that it consisted of mostly the inward monologue of Kilmartyn and Bryony. Pages and pages of their thoughts, with little interaction with other characters made for very slow plodding reading. I found myself skimming pages. Too much time the main characters heads left the suspense plot short changed and the romance flat.

Even the best authors write clunkers, so while this one didn’t work for me, I will absolutely be reading the next book.

Grade: C-

*ARC provided by Montlake via NetGalley

[Korey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This won't win any awards for originality but Stuart's skillful execution of some admittedly well worn tropes was pleasing to me as a reader. Stuart writes well, her plotting is brisk and she packs plenty of intrigue into 270 pages. We've got secret identities and double crosses, murder and other assorted mayhem, marital infidelities, secret accidental funding of Irish terrorism, and of course the steadily increasing sexual tension between Bryony and Adrian as Bryony goes undercover as a housekeeper in Adrian's household to investigate the death of her unjustly disgraced father.

The romance is based primarily on flirtation and sexual attraction. There's lots of fun banter and heat and longing. Generally, I would like a romance story to feature a longer courtship and a more substantive connection between the leads beyond the carnal but in this case I enjoyed Briony and Adrian's dynamic even if I acknowledge it was kind of shallow. I liked Briony and Adrian a lot as individual characters, and I totally bought into their compatibility.

I look forward to continuing this series.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Backstory: Three sisters, a father who they think was murdered, stolen money, and three suspects.

Trope: Pretending to be a servant to gain entrance into a household.

Plot: Bryony goes to work for Adrian Bruton, one of the suspects and her Father’s former partner. He has problems and a secret but not the one she is looking for. Someone wants him framed and her dead. Add a wife who is holding a secret over Bryony and hates Adrian.

Writing: The story moves smoothly and builds to a satisfying conclusion for the first sister. Not everything is solved in book one. There are two more suspects and two more sisters so I will be looking for Scandal at the House of Russell # 2 and 3.

Montlake published Never Kiss a Rake by Anne Stuart in 2013.

I received a review copy of Never Kiss a Rake from Amazon Vine.

[Mitzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note to self:

This is 1st book in new series and pretty unexciting with little steam. Try next book and hope it is better.

Narration was done in American accent with H dialog in Irish (very slight accent) and dialog of h in British accent (very slight to no accent). The secondary characters were very good. The narration was very fast except when the H was speaking.

Book-Grade C & Narration Grade C+