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The Rake's Rainbow

(Three Best Friends #1)

Allison Lane

3.07 · Rating details · 267 ratings · 37 reviews

Miss Caroline Cummings was a vicar's daughter, the picture of propriety and the soul of innocence. Thomas Mannering was the most infamous rake in the realm, whose drinking, gambling, and womanizing had exiled him from polite society. Only the most bizarre of accidents could have made Caroline his bride--but accidents do happen and did.

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Paperback, 224 pages

Published January 1st 1996 by Signet

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3.07 ·

Rating details

· 267 ratings · 37 reviews

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Jul 26, 2012 Julz rated it liked it

Shelves: cheating-hero, hero-should-be-shown-the-door, 2013, cold-cruel-hero, ex-ow, floormat-heroine, forced-marriage, heartless-jerk-hero, hero-hates-heroine, hero-is-a-jerk

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well, this kind of blew chunks (pardon the pun for those who have read it ;D), but I had to give it at least 3.5 stars just for the level of WTFery.

Our hero is brokenhearted when the love of his life goes off and marries some grandpa who has money and a title. The dude spends a year whoring, spending and puking until daddy threatens to cut him off and makes him go fix up a dilapidated estate if he wants anything to live on. He’s got a little inheritance but he has to marry and is on his way to Well, this kind of blew chunks (pardon the pun for those who have read it ;D), but I had to give it at least 3.5 stars just for the level of WTFery.

Our hero is brokenhearted when the love of his life goes off and marries some grandpa who has money and a title. The dude spends a year whoring, spending and puking until daddy threatens to cut him off and makes him go fix up a dilapidated estate if he wants anything to live on. He’s got a little inheritance but he has to marry and is on his way to propose to some horse faced woman when an accident pairs him with our perfect heroine. (Mary Sue has nothing on this chick). She was going to live her life as a dowdy spinster anyway, so all is good…except for the fact that he still has it BAD for his old love and just hates our heroine with a passion because she’s not her.

I know this wasn’t supposed to be funny by a long shot, but I more or less read this as a comedy due to all the over the top levels of pure rage directed towards the heroine whenever she did something that actually benefitted him or was simply impressive (and you can bet there was plenty). She plays the pianoforte like Mozart, showing up his precious? Hates her. He stays gone for three weeks bumping nasties with his old flame and comes back to changes that would’ve taken him three months to accomplish? Hates her. He sends her off sight-unseen to meet his family and the ton without any support only to find that she changes into a beautiful swan (well, passable swan) and ingratiates herself to his entire family, all his old friends, and even her long lost duke uncle. Hates her. Hates her, hates her, hates her. All the way through the book…all the way to that talked about scene (at almost the very end!) where he is actually disappointed when the heroine survives an accident that almost killed her (and this is when he had started to like her…or recognized that he was being unfair.)

As a nice balance, as blind as he was to the wonderfulness of the heroine, he was equally so to the whorishness of the OW who was all about the money and titles and never missed an opportunity to sleep with everyone in town. He was uber obsessed with the slut throughout the entire story, though he held himself back for the most part…for honors sake. He was big on being honorable. *cough*

The entire book was a constant bombardment of him hating the heroine equally to his loving the OW while keeping his butt cheeks clinched in order to not pounce on her (the OW) in public and, thus, embarrass him and his whole family and ruin his sister’s chance for a good connection during her coming out. But then at the very end, he has a random epiphany where he sees the OW for the slut she is and recognizes that the heroine is the embodiment of all the perfection he had attributed to the skankwhore. Believable, eh?

If quick turn-arounds with nice big bows at the end are your pet-peeve, then this one will throw you over the top. If you can overlook the unrealistic 180 switcheroo in order to wallow through the most obscene level of OW worship you’ll ever come across, then you have good times ahead.
...more

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Jul 10, 2010 LuvGirl rated it liked it

Shelves: cheating-hero, shot-gun-wedding, rake-playboy, dead-tree-book, memorable-scene, i-hate-this-hero, 3-stars, so-bad-it-s-good

What kind of hero barfs on you after a night of debauchery? What kind of hero neglects his estates till it's ruined and it takes the heroine to set it to rights again and then he hates her because she bested him? What kind of hero is in love with the whorish OW to the point that his eye moistens with tears for her? What kind of hero doesn't see that the OW is a female dog that sleeps around with everyone even when he hears people talking about it? What kind of hero cheats with said OW? Here is t ...more

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Aug 15, 2018 Preeti ♥︎ (Romance She Reads) rated it really liked it

Shelves: he-actually-cheats, moc-arrnged-forcd-mino, he-is-a-self-serving-jerk, historical-rom, natc, _bbd, marrij-shotgun-or-for-kids-sake, he-loves-lusts-pursues-ow, ow-dumps_cheats-on-hero, hero-i-dint-like-or-connect-wid

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This infamous book has been on my radar for a while - for obvious reasons!

First things first, I enjoyed this book. Not really as a regency romance but more as a regency novel. And I put it at a ummm....3.75*.
My friends know of my unnatural peccadillo for cheating heroes (a damaged psychology, no doubt!) and so the cheating did not affect me as much as it did many readers. And this checks all boxes - no hiding behind separations, non-consummation of marriage etc. He is obsessed with the ow and he ...more

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Apr 19, 2011 boogenhagen rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Rake's Rainbow--Well Thomas is pretty much TSTL IMO. This is very rare in an H and probably the only thing that redeems him enough to be a Hero. I do admire the tenacity with which he hangs on to his illusions about Alicia but dang was he an idiot. His arrogance and his ability to blame everyone but himself and his object of affection was really irritating to me at times. Thomas actually has all the qualities of a good Alpha Hero except for his naïveté and self delusion about his grand love for Rake's Rainbow--Well Thomas is pretty much TSTL IMO. This is very rare in an H and probably the only thing that redeems him enough to be a Hero. I do admire the tenacity with which he hangs on to his illusions about Alicia but dang was he an idiot. His arrogance and his ability to blame everyone but himself and his object of affection was really irritating to me at times. Thomas actually has all the qualities of a good Alpha Hero except for his naïveté and self delusion about his grand love for Alicia. It is that slight skewing of traditional romantic Alpha Hero traits that makes this book interesting. Thomas is honourable, dedicated, focused and really tries hard to live up to his family's expectations of meeting their toplofty values. Unfortunately those very same traits allow him to be blinded to the true character of Alicia. It wasn't like Alicia wasn't giving off hints of her true personality left and right, but Thomas is so dedicated/devoted he just can't see the forest for the tree. I do think Ms. Lane drug his obsession out a bit too long and more of the ending should have been devoted to having Thomas show not tell Caroline how much he loves her. These obsessions of Thomas also concern me a bit for the future, how do we really know Thomas isn't going to go back to hating Caro again if he falls in lust with someone else? We kinda have to take it on faith and I don't have that much in this book.

Caro is sweet, practical and a perfect counterpart in so many ways to Thomas. What I don't like is how much pain and angst she has to suffer through and then we don't even get to see a really contrite Thomas suck up a lot. This is one novel where I wished the h was a bit more sophisticated, more sure of herself and had more of a sense of humor to be under awed by Thomas and more amused by Thomas' infatuation with Alicia instead of so grossly hurt. I wanted Caro to either start out with or acquire the maturity to realize that if Thomas has half the sterling qualities she thinks he does, he will realize what Alicia really is or he isn't really worth worrying about in the first place. I wanted Caro to have more confidence in herself and her value and more faith in her seductive abilities and be able to reason that Thomas would eventually care her far more than Alicia if he was half as smart as she thinks he is.

What I also liked was this is one of the few novels where the H's behavior is subjected to public humiliation, even if it is mostly in Thomas' mind, I actually liked the fact that he felt ashamed over his behavior and he had to worry about public humiliation and ridicule instead of the h for once. This reversal of positions really worked for me, and it is one of the things that makes the book bearable.

What I did not like about the book was that Thomas was still hating Caro up to page 203 of a 215 page book. This whole way of Thomas thinking he hates Caro and she is a millstone went on way too long IMO. That thinking that berated and vilified Caro should have stopped around page 185 and Thomas should have seen through Alicia much sooner. Caro deserved a courtship and Ms. Lane was remiss in not providing one for her. Thomas did not necessarily have to grovel on his knees, but it would have been really nice to see him trying to court Caro as assiduously as he courted Alicia and that would have made the HEA more of an HEA. As it was, I kinda felt we got left with a HFN as there was no real guarantee Thomas wouldn't run off amok with a new obsession. ...more

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Jul 13, 2015 Aayesha Khatri marked it as to-read

Shelves: finally-found-ittttt

All the bad reviews about this book make me want to read it more hehehe *rubs hands in glee*

Edited 02-03-16
So I finally found this wonderfully nasty book! *so blissful I want to cry*

BUT I HAVE TESTS AND EXAMS ONE AFTER THE OTHER WITH NO TIME TO BREATHE OR SLEEP OR EAT SO HOW WILL I READ THIS *WAILS*

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Aug 11, 2015 Lyuda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: regency-traditional

If you go to traditional regency romance for coziness and comfort, you definitely want to skip this story. If you’re looking for a likable hero, you will not find him here. What you find instead is emotionally charged story of marriage on the rocks. And my rating is based not on likability of the character but on the story writing, plot, and characterization. The latter being one of the finest I’ve encountered in a long time.
When a coach accident lands the vicar's daughter Caroline Cummings and If you go to traditional regency romance for coziness and comfort, you definitely want to skip this story. If you’re looking for a likable hero, you will not find him here. What you find instead is emotionally charged story of marriage on the rocks. And my rating is based not on likability of the character but on the story writing, plot, and characterization. The latter being one of the finest I’ve encountered in a long time.
When a coach accident lands the vicar's daughter Caroline Cummings and disreputable rake Thomas Mannering in the same bed at a local inn, their only choice is marriage. Their marriage could benefit both of them: to escape from being a perpetual governess and life of poverty for her and to gain inheritance for him. It would also help Thomas in gaining respect of his father and society again and erase year of debauchery. The cause of debauchery or, as his friends called it "temporary insanity", was his obsession with a now-married London beauty Alicia - a heartless, fickle nymphomaniac. Throughout most of the story Thomas is blind to Alicia’s faults. She is a star and his angel and nobody in the world could compete with her or remove her from the pedestal he had erected. And certainly this person would not be his wife whose competence, strength of character, and independence, suddenly shakes its foundation.
This was definitely dark, disturbing read but, because it was so competently written, also very absorbing and fascinating. I never got bored, felt the need to skim over or skip ahead. Yes, the characters were flowed and, in hero’s case, the flows made him very unlikable. But the author’s ability to go beyond the stereotypes of the genre was admirable. The depth of characterization, the storytelling was excellent. The author’s careful research of the era gives the book a very authentic air. There were also interesting observations about life and customs of the time. If you like “atypical” regencies by such authors as Diana Brown, Sheila Bishop or Norma Lee Clark, try the story. ...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Katie RA. rated it it was ok

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

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Jul 11, 2018 April Reader rated it did not like it

Shelves: ebook, cheating-hero, troubled-marriage, historical, fidelity-issues

Unbelievably awful. This book was a disaster.

I don't hate the trope of having the H be in love with OW while slowly falling for h. It's built in angst and drama.

This book, however, had a stupid and whiny H. I couldn't stand him. We're told that he's smart and people often underestimate him. I wish we were shown that quality because there wasn't a single scene where I thought he had anything going on between the ears. The H was TSTL.

Spoiler content & rant below.

I also hated that Alicia was b Unbelievably awful. This book was a disaster.

I don't hate the trope of having the H be in love with OW while slowly falling for h. It's built in angst and drama.

This book, however, had a stupid and whiny H. I couldn't stand him. We're told that he's smart and people often underestimate him. I wish we were shown that quality because there wasn't a single scene where I thought he had anything going on between the ears. The H was TSTL.

Spoiler content & rant below.

I also hated that Alicia was basically Alice from The Velvet Promise (which came out 5 years prior to Rake's Rainbow). It was a coincidence that I read Rake's Rainbow immediately after the Velvet Promise and I couldn't help but notice the similarities (rip offs?). In both stories, the H is in love with Alice/Alicia, both OWs look the same physically except that Alice has weird teeth but is otherwise the perfect angelic blond, both H's think their Alice/Alicia is the perfect virtue of womanhood and a gentle soul because of how delicately she acts around H. In reality Alice/Alicia is sleeping around with any available penis. Everyone but the H is aware that Alice/Alicia is a hoe-bag because she just looks so darn innocent. Oh, did I mention that the H proposed to Alice/Alicia only to be turned down so that Alice/Alicia can marry a gross but rich older man? Alice/Alicia tell H that her father forced her into the marriage and that she really would rather marry H but unfortunately she must wed the old rich man. Said old rich man conveniently dies and poor h thinks that H will leave her to be with Alice/Alicia or will take up with Alice/Alicia. The H eventually learns that Alice/Alicia convinced her father to allow the marriage to old rich man instead of him. H also eventually learns what everyone else already knew all along: Alice/Alicia is a hoe-bag who is pretending to be innocent to fool unsuspecting H.

That storyline was goofy in the Velvet Promise and even worse in this one. It also loses points for being a blatant rip-off. At least change the OW's name and appearance!

I truly felt for the h when her husband was acting a fool but I wanted to shake her when H comes to grovel. Instead of letting him grovel and win her back, she forgives him immediately and tells him that she didn't expect him to be faithful so it's all good. WHAT.

For starters, if h didn't expect him to be faithful, why the f... was she so upset every time H made a fool of himself over OW?? She acted like her feelings had no value whatsoever so it's ok that he cheated and made an ass of himself at every opportunity. Even if she didn't expect him to be faithful, why not call him out on how his fawning over OW made her feel? How about telling how his horrid treatment of h made her feel? Nope, none of that. Apparently, the h does not value herself in the least so she didn't call out H for any of his actions. Even he told her that she should give him h*ll for it.

Another WTF: Somewhere towards the end of the book, there's a comment that H is chasing rainbows when it comes to OW. That brings me to the title of the book. The h is such a non-entity in this book that even the title is about OW. Just no. ...more

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Oct 31, 2017 shewhorefusestonameherself rated it it was ok

Abuser and abused

She passively waits for him to come to his senses. He’s mentally challenged and I have no reason to expect his obsessiveness and quick rage won’t tear up again.

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Jan 22, 2016 Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" rated it liked it

Shelves: hero-is-wealthy, hero-is-a-rake-or-libertine, hero-in-love-with-ow, hero-compromises-heroine, has-a-rep-player-womanizer-manwhore, moc-forced-marriage-shotgun-wedding, ow, paperback, regency-georgian-victorian, husband-cheats

I've read so many spoilers and discussions on this one over the years, so I didn't go in blind. Maybe if I had, I would rate lower. However, I read through a "knowing" filter and it did affect my rating. As much as Alicia is the H's "true love", his ideal and obsession, I would have questioned this if it hadn't played out the way the story did. I projected ideals on his love and did not believe or want to see the bad. If Alicia had been the h, we might question his judgment but be convinced he w ...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Leonie rated it did not like it

Shelves: historical-romance

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

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Aug 09, 2018 Nancy Foster rated it really liked it · review of another edition

i did finish this book. i must say the hero is one the dumbest i've ever read in a romance. even worse then gavin in "the velvet promise".

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Oct 21, 2014 Aisha Davis rated it it was ok

Shelves: cheater

Not my cup of Joe

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Mar 31, 2015 Reader rated it liked it

It's such a good book but then....SPOILER ALERT!! - he wishes she had died...come on! I wouldn't want a H like that...ever!

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Nov 22, 2015 sraxe marked it as do-not-read

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

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May 27, 2012 Mary23nm rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-library-or-wplc-has, xreviews-comments

This book kept me interested, and I normally would have rated it 4 stars. The hero was such an idiot for most of the book though, that I subtracted one star. 3/5

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Jan 22, 2019 Darbella rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 2.5 stars. A well written story I will give the author that. However, the hero emotionally cheats until near the very end of the story and actually cheats once with the ow after he and the heroine are married. For me the ending was too rushed with no epilgoue to show that he has attitude towards Caroline forever.
I do not understand (we hear his internal thoughts all throughout the book) his sudden turn of emotions. He went from hating/not liking Caroline in his thoughts even towards the end of ...more

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Mar 17, 2019 Nelly rated it liked it

Shelves: 2nd-chance, angsty, annoying-mc, arranged-marriage, cheating, family-drama, hate-to-love, idiot-hero, mean-hero, rushed-ending

The hero of this book has to to be the dumbest character ever written... My god, the man was stupid!
It's one thing for the hero to obsessed with another woman while being in couple with the heroine, but blaming her for being better than said other woman? No, Thomas was really dumb!

And what about that ending? He learnt the truth about his beloved by eavesdropping the gossip between her maids? I.. can't!

Anyway, that story was another case of so bad it is good lol, so I will give it 3 stars because ...more

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May 25, 2018 Cerulean rated it really liked it

Fairly entertaining plot, interesting characters, and strong writing. Had the potential to be a tear jerker.

I give it a 3.5 stars but rounded it up as overall, it was among the better books I have read recently. This is a pretty decent story but could have been actually awthum (4 solid stars) if it had a bit more angst and a bit more groveling by the hero at the end. The final couple of chapter also seemed a bit rushed like the author just wanted to wrap things up. But otherwise, it was a good ...more

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Jun 02, 2017 ohmybookreview rated it did not like it

Questo è il peggior romance che io abbia mai letto in tutta la mia esistenza di book addicted. Il protagonista un vero idiota e la storia un inutile groviglio di episodi irritanti. L'heroina almeno aveva quell'intelligenza che l'ha salvata dal limbo della noia ... e pensare che le storie a tema "lui ama l'altra" mi piacciono molto ... ma non quando governate dall'idiozia!!

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Jun 03, 2018 Xandrah rated it it was ok

The hero in this book has got to be one of the worst protagonists in the romancelandia. Ever! The heroine deserves better. I didn’t buy his last minute awakening. I didn’t buy his professed love for the heroine in the end. It felt rushed and so sudden. His hatred towards the heroine and his obsession over the OW was dragged... way too long.

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Mar 23, 2017 Paula Mosher rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Well done regency

The characters are well-rounded, complete. The plot contained the problems of a marriage of convenience between strangers in an age in which appearance was everything and manners its support. Caroline and Thomas were wonderful protagonists. The author created a group of people I want to read about further. I want to know what happens to all of them; especially Wroxleigh. She created a world I want to know more about and that's not easy.

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Aug 31, 2016 Reader rated it really liked it

Shelves: cheating, emotional

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really liked this book, it was angsty and super emotional.

The story is about a handsome rake that fell in obsession with a beautiful girl that ended up marrying a gay old enough to be her grandfather. He could not handle this so he spend the whole year going broke while gaming and using prostitutes. His father put a stop to it because he's only the second son, so no title and not a lot of money when the father dies. The hero will actually have to start making his own money because his inherita I really liked this book, it was angsty and super emotional.

The story is about a handsome rake that fell in obsession with a beautiful girl that ended up marrying a gay old enough to be her grandfather. He could not handle this so he spend the whole year going broke while gaming and using prostitutes. His father put a stop to it because he's only the second son, so no title and not a lot of money when the father dies. The hero will actually have to start making his own money because his inheritance is not so big, just one place thats already stripped bare.
The hero has to get married to get his inheritance, but he has damaged his reputation so badly in the past year that no one will have him. He is a rake, but worse, he is a title-less broke rake. the only one that still might take him is a lady that no one wants because she is seen as kinda stupid.
On the way to meet this woman the hero gets blackout drunk and passes out on the heroine in the coach. The coach gets into an accident and everyone believes that they are married, so to save face the hero proposes a marriage of convenience, which she accepts.
The heroine is from a good lineage but is a poor vicars daughter, 1 in 12, so a lot of kids. this environment meant that she was smart independent and not helpless, she could take care of herself. The first week of their marriage was good with a lot of sex. but this ended when he heard her playing the piano and realised that his wife could do this better than the love of his life. he again could not handle it and went away. while away he bumped into the other woman who is now a married other woman, she seduced him and he cheated on this wife. he felt bad because this went against everything he believed in( a gentleman doesnt break his word and has honor. instead of being honest with caro about what he did he got pissed that she was so independent and did not seem to need him, he grew distant and short tempered.
When they had to go to London a worker broke his leg and he choose to stay behind and send his new wife alone to London to meet his family for the first time. ( I hated him for this, shes a country girl and she going to meet your family alone for the first time, and he knows how his family can be). But the heroine again surprises him and becomes the belle of the ball by having everyone's approval and admiration. he again doesnt like that she survived without him and his adoration for the helpless Alicia grows. Than Alicia's husband dies and later the hero's big brother dies so the hero is now the heir to everything.
The best part of this book was that Alicia got what she deserved. she was 19, greedy, spoiled, sluttish and a shrew, an all around bad person. her husband threw her out of his bed after a week of marriage(not a virgin and obviously slept around a lot), thus Alicia had a lot of affairs but because its the ton no one said it out loud, just whispered about it. It was the worst kept secret around, the only person not believing it was the hero because Alicia was still on that pedestal he put her on. But now she was desperate, the husband died and left her nothing, just with what she came with, which is not much, and no one wants to marry the town slut so the only option left is the hero(who now has a wife).
And this is the part i did not like about the book: in the very last part is an assassination attempt on caro so she runs away. she knows its the other woman, the hero reluctantly comes to this same conclusion(the pedestal was made of extra hard alien steel i think) so he walks to Alicia's house to talk it out, while there he eavesdrops on the servants gossip and hears how Alicia really is and how foolish he really was this whole time. he is embarrassed, ashamed and pissed off, so he tells Alicia off and breaks ties with her. he eventually follows Caro home and after some action they have a 10 minute talk and all is well again.

Angst wise this story was great, it had everything. but the grovel was just not there. i really wanted him to show her that he loved her and make her fall in love with him. be as obsessed with her as he was with Alicia. but the story ended. i liked it because he grew to love her, he saw her virtues instead of imagining the virtues she would have(like he did with Alicia). its not an insta love story which i loved because there is no such thing, its called lust. but they both learned to love each other. Caro did not even like Thomas when they met, but eventually she loved him first because she was not already in love with someone else. and Thomas stayed in love so long because he actually did not see Alicia that much, so he created this perfect woman in his mind that was hard to let go.

1 star deducted for the no grovel but otherwise, loved this book. ...more

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Mar 01, 2017 Cc rated it did not like it

He's on the OCD spectrum and she's a saint.

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Oct 30, 2014 Jules rated it did not like it

Shelves: abrupt-quick-unsatisfactory-ending, bully, depressing, historic-london, cheater

This was the first book I'd read by Allison Lane, and I think it might be the last. I almost never say this about a book but that. was. BAD. I WANTED to like it. I mean, the premise wasn't bad....rake being forced to marry a plain-Jane, even though he loves another....but surely he'll come to realize what a true gem he married instead, and love his wife right?......RIGHT??

Um, nope! Not really. Thomas was the worst male lead character I've ever read. There was absolutely nothing to like about hi ...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Lynn rated it really liked it

Shelves: very-amorous-hero-horndog, unheroic-hero, ugly-duckling, rake, vicious-ow, other-woman, married-to-another, jealous-ex, in-love-with-another, has-or-has-mistress

Took me forever to find this book, everyone said I would hate it and I did ...sorta... but clarifying in that I hated the Hero who if playing a villian would be not aptly named....I went back and forth between he was insane or if he was the most self destructive, self absorbed idiot who ever walked the earth... (i settled on c all the above)....

SPOILER RANT:

He delights in finding his wife a pretty great lay..only to PUNISH her because he had not been able to bed his "true love" whom...everyone ...more

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Sep 03, 2017 Rose rated it it was ok

Shelves: bad-family-relations, estranged-couple, great-heroine, historical-fiction, immoral-hero, love-story, regency-romance, struggling-marraige, abuse

Nasty. The hero is so bad that it feels like an accidental when he reforms. The Heroine is the only reason I give this book any stars, because she took her vows very seriously, and was a good wife and good example even when the husband was at his worst.

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Aug 10, 2014 Nenya rated it it was ok

Shelves: cheating-hero

not going to reread it ever again (maybe, most likely)...
instead of enumerating the reasons why, here are the shelves Julz's has put this on:
cheating-hero, hero-should-be-shown-the-door, stayed-mad-the-whole-time, ow-involved, moc, uber-trainwreck, wallbanger, forced-marriage, heartless-jerk-hero, floormat-heroine, mean-angry-dude, hero-hates-heroine, ex-ow, cold-cruel-hero, historical-romance, hero-is-a-jerk, mistress-rubbed-in-heroines-face, 2013, wtfery
that's a very good summary of the book ...more

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Sep 22, 2013 Edan Marie Esquibel rated it it was ok

After breaking my period of "celibacy" with reading books, I've decided to start with this one..

Okayyy... not really my usual "like" but.. ehh, it was... err, okay I guess.

Plot not too thick.
Strong heroine... definitely a check!
But seriously, despite all the books that I've read, this must be the one having the most unlikable hero.. LIKE SERIOUSLY.

Okay, I've never known obsession first hand, but God! Whenever this trait of his surfaces, my brows automatically meet, accompanied by eyes rolling a ...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Mary rated it liked it · review of another edition

Signet Regency Romance - the boys need saving, the men are tortured souls. Not trashy like Harlequin Romances, but still romantic. Plus you get to learn a lot about the upper class lives of Regency England. FUN!

These are my guilty pleasures. My best friend and I used to read them in high school.

The Rake's Rainbow: A drunk man and a spinster lady end up together in the same bed at an Inn after a stage coach accident. Honor makes them get married b/c she has been compromised. Unfortunately, he's i ...more

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About Allison Lane

Allison Lane

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Allison Lane is the author of 20 Regency novels and 6 novellas. She is a Holt Medallion Winner and the 2005 Romantic Times Career Achievement Award Winner, as well as National Readers' Choice Awards Finalist for three books.

Notes from Allison Lane:

I am not one of those who always wanted to be a writer, though I suspect I wanted to be just about everything else -- doctor, astronaut, artist, scienti Allison Lane is the author of 20 Regency novels and 6 novellas. She is a Holt Medallion Winner and the 2005 Romantic Times Career Achievement Award Winner, as well as National Readers' Choice Awards Finalist for three books.

Notes from Allison Lane:

I am not one of those who always wanted to be a writer, though I suspect I wanted to be just about everything else -- doctor, astronaut, artist, scientist, and concert pianist, to name only a few. My actual careers were not quite so exciting. Designing computer software and running horse shows gave way to motherhood, home improvement projects, and teaching piano. But books have always been one of the cornerstones of my life.

When I was growing up in the mid-west, reading and music kept me sane through frequent changes of address. As an adult, books offered a respite from the strain of daily living. Often I would finish the last page with the thought, I wish I were that creative. Occasionally it would change to, Surely even I could do better than this! So one day I tried. But this is not a fairy tale, folks. My first book was less than stellar. In fact, it stunk. Good writing is hard work. But I enjoyed the process (or maybe I just enjoy playing God) so I tried again. By the third tale, I had a publishable story.

Where am I headed in the future? I don’t yet know. For now, I write Regencies. It is a fascinating period and an entertaining genre. My work is classed as traditional though I don’t consider it in quite that way. I try to avoid clichés -- except for happy endings, of course; those are what offer us respite from that daily crisis. But I like to pose universal problems to my characters and then watch them find solutions. I have long been fascinated by how people surmount problems to find the happiness that we all deserve.

These days my spare time is limited. Writing consumes most of my day. I still read as much as ever and keep up with the world of science. And everyone knows better than to step between me and a TV during football season -- it somehow takes an extra month to complete fall manuscripts.

From: Regency Reads ...more