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Reformed Rakes #3
When Only a Rake Will Do
With a fondness for fairytales, Daphne Hewitt has long dreamt of falling in love and living out a romantic tale all of her own. Unfortunately, however, when her brother recklessly gambles away the family fortune her idealistic fantasies are abruptly shattered. Reluctantly agreeing to marry a man she despises to save her family from ruin, a man old enough to be her grandfather, Daphne is forced to accept that her future will be nothing like the storybook love affair she’s always envisioned. Nevertheless, she is boldly determined to experience at least one aspect of her forsaken fairytale before saying I do, passion. And who better to aid in her quest than Lord Brendon Leighton, the devilishly handsome rogue whose skill in the bedchamber is rumored to be unsurpassed? As one of England’s most infamous and beloved rakes,Brendon Leighton is well-accustomed to the amorous attentions he receives from the women of his acquaintance. Even so, nothing could have prepared him for the scandalous proposal he receives from Lady Daphne Hewitt, an innocent young miss out for her first London Season, or for the overwhelming temptation that it would present. Nonetheless, and despite being utterly captivated by her remarkable beauty and winsome nature, he knows that he can’t possibly agree to her bold request. But all too soon, Brendon discovers that doing the honorable thing is far more easily said than done.The Reformed Rakes Book 1 – Until You (Nicholas) Book 2 – You, and Only You (Alex) Book 3 – When Only a Rake Will Do (Brendon) (Although these books are part of a series, written in chronological order and feature recurring characters, each can be read as a stand-alone novel.)
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 11, 2014
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January 8, 2018
This is the 3rd novel in the Reformed Rake series by this author and it was wonderful. The H in this novel is the younger brother of the hottie H from Until You. The H Brendon is the younger brother of a duke but he is extremely wealthy since he has his own fleet of merchant ships. He often serves as the captain of one of these ships and at the start of this novel, he has returned to visit his relatives ( his older brother Nicholas, sister in law Ashleigh, their 5 year old son Justin and his grandmother the Dowager Duchess ). This novel takes place about 6 years or so after the last time we saw the younger Brendon in the first novel Until You. In that novel he was such a chivalrous sweetheart of a best buddy to the heroine Ashleigh. In this novel, we also get to see how wonderful and chivalrous he continues to be as he sets out to help the heroine Daphne. Brendon is very different from his older brother Nicholas and I must admit that I love Nicholas more ( even though Nick was a bit of an asshole in his novel ).
The heroine in this novel is a young noble woman called Daphne whose parents and elder brother have died leaving just her and her much younger sister to depend on their surviving brother who just happens to be a gambler and a wastrel. Daphne's brother has managed to gamble away nearly all of the money he inherited and he has also lost Daphne's dowry and that of their baby sister. This guy is a selfish loser who decides that the only way to recoup his losses is to sell Daphne in marriage to an old lecherous nobleman. The old man in question is fat, gross, yucky and every time he meets Daphne he tries to touch her. The old man is also a vain show off ( don't ask me why ) who wants everybody in the Ton to envy him when he marries the young beautiful Daphne. Daphne is a beautiful blue eyed blonde who has attracted lots of admirers but there is no one willing to fork out the tons of cash to pay off her brother's gambling debts, except the gross old fat man.
Poor Daphne is a sentimental romantic who yearns for true love and the only reason she agrees to marry the Jabba the Hut lookalike guy is because of her little sister. If she doesn't marry Jabba then there will be no money to take care of her sickly sister. Daphne falls in love with Brendon when she sees him and he is similarly drawn to her. I enjoyed how his sister in law, Ashleigh tries to interfere to match make. Brendon is still not ready for marriage so he tries to stay away from Daphne but he is shocked when she is the one who comes to him with a proposition of her own: Daphne wants to know what it will feel like to make love to a man she truly desires and she wants that to happen before she married Jabba. She chooses Brendon as her tutor in the arts of love. Brendon says no at first but later changes his mind because he is jealous that she will find another guy to teach her.
They spend a hot sexy weekend together at a cottage and Daphne is really sad when it ends because she knows she will never enjoy being in Jabba's bed ( yuck and double yuck ) after making love with Brendon. Meanwhile the gallant and chivalrous Brendon is tormented by thoughts of Daphne being forced to marry another man. Brendon doesn't want Daphne to marry another man so he eventually hires an investigator to help him find out exactly what Daphne's pimp brother is up to. After Brendon discovers what the pimp brother is planning, he goes to meet Jabba and he pays him back all the money ( with interest, because Brendon is just rolling in dough ). Jabba refuses the money because he really wants Daphne. Brendon then threatens Jabba with some sensitive information that could create a huge scandal for the obese old fool. This makes Jabba back down and agree to destroy the betrothal contract he had signed with Daphne's pimp brother. Brendon then reunites with his true love and tells her how he saved the day !
I enjoyed reading about Brendon because he was a less harsh type of alpha H. He definitely went all out to save his woman and he was the best doting uncle to his nephew Justin. It was also wonderful to see the sexy twosome, Nicholas and Ashleigh, again and to observe how everybody in the Ton is so envious of their super couple status.
The heroine in this novel is a young noble woman called Daphne whose parents and elder brother have died leaving just her and her much younger sister to depend on their surviving brother who just happens to be a gambler and a wastrel. Daphne's brother has managed to gamble away nearly all of the money he inherited and he has also lost Daphne's dowry and that of their baby sister. This guy is a selfish loser who decides that the only way to recoup his losses is to sell Daphne in marriage to an old lecherous nobleman. The old man in question is fat, gross, yucky and every time he meets Daphne he tries to touch her. The old man is also a vain show off ( don't ask me why ) who wants everybody in the Ton to envy him when he marries the young beautiful Daphne. Daphne is a beautiful blue eyed blonde who has attracted lots of admirers but there is no one willing to fork out the tons of cash to pay off her brother's gambling debts, except the gross old fat man.
Poor Daphne is a sentimental romantic who yearns for true love and the only reason she agrees to marry the Jabba the Hut lookalike guy is because of her little sister. If she doesn't marry Jabba then there will be no money to take care of her sickly sister. Daphne falls in love with Brendon when she sees him and he is similarly drawn to her. I enjoyed how his sister in law, Ashleigh tries to interfere to match make. Brendon is still not ready for marriage so he tries to stay away from Daphne but he is shocked when she is the one who comes to him with a proposition of her own: Daphne wants to know what it will feel like to make love to a man she truly desires and she wants that to happen before she married Jabba. She chooses Brendon as her tutor in the arts of love. Brendon says no at first but later changes his mind because he is jealous that she will find another guy to teach her.
They spend a hot sexy weekend together at a cottage and Daphne is really sad when it ends because she knows she will never enjoy being in Jabba's bed ( yuck and double yuck ) after making love with Brendon. Meanwhile the gallant and chivalrous Brendon is tormented by thoughts of Daphne being forced to marry another man. Brendon doesn't want Daphne to marry another man so he eventually hires an investigator to help him find out exactly what Daphne's pimp brother is up to. After Brendon discovers what the pimp brother is planning, he goes to meet Jabba and he pays him back all the money ( with interest, because Brendon is just rolling in dough ). Jabba refuses the money because he really wants Daphne. Brendon then threatens Jabba with some sensitive information that could create a huge scandal for the obese old fool. This makes Jabba back down and agree to destroy the betrothal contract he had signed with Daphne's pimp brother. Brendon then reunites with his true love and tells her how he saved the day !
I enjoyed reading about Brendon because he was a less harsh type of alpha H. He definitely went all out to save his woman and he was the best doting uncle to his nephew Justin. It was also wonderful to see the sexy twosome, Nicholas and Ashleigh, again and to observe how everybody in the Ton is so envious of their super couple status.
June 25, 2022
~Slight angst, slightly steamy regency HR~
Jennifer McNare is one of my favorite regency authors. I think I like the way she writes her books more than the more established authors in the genre, like Eloisa James and Lorraine Heath. Even though I am not the biggest fan of the heroine falling in love with the hero first, and the hero being polite to her because he doesn't want to hurt his feelings as he knows she loves him as in this book, I still really like her stories.
I have read a book(s) before with a similar plot of a girl is forced to marry a much older, ugly lord, but before that can happen, she wants a taste of passion and desire with the handsome lord of her choosing and/or she deliberately sets out to ruin herself so she cannot marry that distasteful lord. That being said, I still really enjoyed this one.
At the end of the book, I felt kind of bad for Earl Blackburn 💀💀💀, who could be construed as the villain/antagonist (the guy she was supposed to marry because of her brother's dismal finances), because he loses his promised bride (no, this isn't a spoiler...we know it's probably going to end HEA). Even ugly, old guys like him deserve love. Even if their personalities aren't the best either (though to be honest, we never really saw this...unless you consider him intentionally burning down his cotton mill and not caring that 8 people were seriously injured...but so many rich people were like this back then).
The end of the Table of Contents I noticed was messed up in the ebook I purchased from Amazon. One example is that the Table of Contents didn't list a Chapter 17, but the book had one.
I really hope Jennifer McNare starts writing again! The website linked at the beginning of the book no longer exists. Maybe she didn't want to renew it since she's no longer actively writing. I wish there was more info about her because there was no About Author page at the end of the book.
Jennifer McNare is one of my favorite regency authors. I think I like the way she writes her books more than the more established authors in the genre, like Eloisa James and Lorraine Heath. Even though I am not the biggest fan of the heroine falling in love with the hero first, and the hero being polite to her because he doesn't want to hurt his feelings as he knows she loves him as in this book, I still really like her stories.
I have read a book(s) before with a similar plot of a girl is forced to marry a much older, ugly lord, but before that can happen, she wants a taste of passion and desire with the handsome lord of her choosing and/or she deliberately sets out to ruin herself so she cannot marry that distasteful lord. That being said, I still really enjoyed this one.
At the end of the book, I felt kind of bad for Earl Blackburn 💀💀💀, who could be construed as the villain/antagonist (the guy she was supposed to marry because of her brother's dismal finances), because he loses his promised bride (no, this isn't a spoiler...we know it's probably going to end HEA). Even ugly, old guys like him deserve love. Even if their personalities aren't the best either (though to be honest, we never really saw this...unless you consider him intentionally burning down his cotton mill and not caring that 8 people were seriously injured...but so many rich people were like this back then).
The end of the Table of Contents I noticed was messed up in the ebook I purchased from Amazon. One example is that the Table of Contents didn't list a Chapter 17, but the book had one.
I really hope Jennifer McNare starts writing again! The website linked at the beginning of the book no longer exists. Maybe she didn't want to renew it since she's no longer actively writing. I wish there was more info about her because there was no About Author page at the end of the book.
October 21, 2021
ROMANTIC AN SENSUAL LOVE STORY!!
I was slightly disappointed in "When Only a Rake Will Do". It could be that the previous books in this series were 5star and very good, that I expected too much from this story. I was very excited for Brandon Leightons story. He has been a featured character since book1 Until You. Brandon is the 2nd son of a Duke. Wealthy and powerful in his own right. His brother is Nicolas Leighton the Duke of Sethe Bk1. Until You.
Daphne is the daughter of a Viscount her parents an older brother are deceased. Her younger brother Thomas now holds the title Viscount Huxley. Thomas is young and not at all prepared to handle the title. He has wager and lost all of the families vast fortune. The very old an very unattractive Earl of Blackburn has bought his markers in order to force a marriage to the young and beautiful Daphne Hewitt, Thomas's sister.
Brandon and Daphne meet and have an immediate attraction. Daphne despises the Earl of Blackburn as he is old enough to be her Grandfather. He comes across as an old slimy character. The kind that makes you skin crawl. Daphne comes up with a plan to have her fairytale dreams fulfilled before she has to marry the Earl. She makes an amorous an sensual deal with Braden. They of course fall in love and Braden figures out a way to upend the Earl and save Daphne. The problems with the story is it just ends abruptly. It just needed more of a ending and it just didn't meet the mark as the first two books. I am off to read bk 4 Dreaming of You. I hope it is as good as books one and two!!
I was slightly disappointed in "When Only a Rake Will Do". It could be that the previous books in this series were 5star and very good, that I expected too much from this story. I was very excited for Brandon Leightons story. He has been a featured character since book1 Until You. Brandon is the 2nd son of a Duke. Wealthy and powerful in his own right. His brother is Nicolas Leighton the Duke of Sethe Bk1. Until You.
Daphne is the daughter of a Viscount her parents an older brother are deceased. Her younger brother Thomas now holds the title Viscount Huxley. Thomas is young and not at all prepared to handle the title. He has wager and lost all of the families vast fortune. The very old an very unattractive Earl of Blackburn has bought his markers in order to force a marriage to the young and beautiful Daphne Hewitt, Thomas's sister.
Brandon and Daphne meet and have an immediate attraction. Daphne despises the Earl of Blackburn as he is old enough to be her Grandfather. He comes across as an old slimy character. The kind that makes you skin crawl. Daphne comes up with a plan to have her fairytale dreams fulfilled before she has to marry the Earl. She makes an amorous an sensual deal with Braden. They of course fall in love and Braden figures out a way to upend the Earl and save Daphne. The problems with the story is it just ends abruptly. It just needed more of a ending and it just didn't meet the mark as the first two books. I am off to read bk 4 Dreaming of You. I hope it is as good as books one and two!!
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September 26, 2019dnf
November 16, 2015
I thought the story was good but not executed well. The last chapters were written in a pace way too fast. Overall, it was entertaining enough to make it into a 3 stars.
August 12, 2016
Not a lot of angst but enjoyable! Hero was a sweetheart and so was Daphne! Book 1 in the series was by far the best though! Even so Jennifer McNare has become an auto buy :)
July 24, 2016
This is book 3 in a series by Jennifer Mcnare. I just did not like this as much as the others in the series. It was shorter than the others and the way the "Villain" was handled was way to easy.
June 16, 2019
Oh dreams do come true.
Daphne has to marry...a toad! A repulsive lecherous toad due to get brother's wasteful life.
She must feign her interest and encourage young bucks in an act for her amphibious suitor
But she wants to feel passion before she throws her life away life away to protect her younger sister and fulfil her duty her family.
Brandon Leighton is home. Back from the seas travelling the world on his ships as a successful importer exporter. A known rake. Could he be the answer Daphne's dreams for a taste of happiness before descending into a dispiriting marriage?
Can Brendan and Daphne recognise their feelings for each other if he is?
Daphne has to marry...a toad! A repulsive lecherous toad due to get brother's wasteful life.
She must feign her interest and encourage young bucks in an act for her amphibious suitor
But she wants to feel passion before she throws her life away life away to protect her younger sister and fulfil her duty her family.
Brandon Leighton is home. Back from the seas travelling the world on his ships as a successful importer exporter. A known rake. Could he be the answer Daphne's dreams for a taste of happiness before descending into a dispiriting marriage?
Can Brendan and Daphne recognise their feelings for each other if he is?
August 4, 2020
Honestly the angst was strong and well done, the heroine was really in a bad position, and the drama in the story came from creepy old guys and a family out of money, so it seemed more realistic than some dramas.
I like that the heroine made some strong and bold choices, if incredibly bold for the time.
I like that the heroine made some strong and bold choices, if incredibly bold for the time.
May 22, 2024
DNF at 97%
Probably a record… this was quite possibly one of the most boring books I’ve ever read. To the extent that I couldn’t stomach finishing even the last 15 pages. How I even made it that far is a true mystery although the short length may be one reason.
Poor Daphne really needs to figure out the difference between love and lust. As does Brendan for that matter.
Probably a record… this was quite possibly one of the most boring books I’ve ever read. To the extent that I couldn’t stomach finishing even the last 15 pages. How I even made it that far is a true mystery although the short length may be one reason.
Poor Daphne really needs to figure out the difference between love and lust. As does Brendan for that matter.
March 24, 2019
Loved this book and this series. I don’t understand these men and their reluctance to admit they have fallen in love but still quite enjoyed the series. Told in third person with dual viewpoints.
February 22, 2021
The story is repetitive and so similar to the previous two but very much enjoyable and surprisingly ended up my favorite.
November 5, 2021
Nice romance
Took a little bit of time to see any chemistry between the two, but it turned around into a lovely romance
Took a little bit of time to see any chemistry between the two, but it turned around into a lovely romance
March 23, 2022
3.75 stars
July 4, 2023
DNF because the heroine is 18
That's gross
That's gross
February 16, 2025
Hero saves girl from marrying awful man and has some fun doing it. Fun read. Nothing super memorae.
April 30, 2025
1.5 star.
January 10, 2015
Almost a good book
This book went along pretty well until the last few chapters wherein it rapidly went flat......the ending is just too stupid to even consider. What a waste.
This book went along pretty well until the last few chapters wherein it rapidly went flat......the ending is just too stupid to even consider. What a waste.
May 20, 2015
What a great ending to the series. Not sure who was my favourite but all the characters in this series were brilliant. They all had different journeys but they got there HEA in the end.
August 8, 2015
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! The perfect mix of: passion, intrigue and romance.
May 14, 2020
The author tried too hard to give a new twist to a HEA historical novel and ended up making it a bit of a b0re instead... It was slightly disappointing :-(
June 8, 2015
Very light and not a lot of angst.
historical
January 15, 2019With a fondness for fairytales, Daphne Hewitt has long-dreamt of falling in love and living out a romantic tale all of her own. Unfortunately, however, when her brother recklessly gambles away the family fortune her idealistic fantasies are abruptly shattered. Reluctantly agreeing to marry a man she despises to save her family from ruin, a man old enough to be her grandfather, Daphne is forced to accept that her future will be nothing like the storybook love affair she’s always envisioned. Nevertheless, she is boldly determined to experience at least one aspect of her forsaken fairytale before saying I do, passion. And who better to aid in her quest than Lord Brendon Leighton, the devilishly handsome rogue whose skill in the bedchamber is rumored to be unsurpassed?
As one of England’s most infamous and beloved rakes, Brendon Leighton is well-accustomed to the amorous attentions he receives from the women of his acquaintance. Even so, nothing could have prepared him for the scandalous proposal he receives from Lady Daphne Hewitt, an innocent young miss out for her first London Season, or for the overwhelming temptation that it would present. Nonetheless, and despite being utterly captivated by her remarkable beauty and winsome nature, he knows that he can’t possibly agree to her bold request. But all too soon, Brendon discovers that doing the honorable thing is far more easily said than done.
As one of England’s most infamous and beloved rakes, Brendon Leighton is well-accustomed to the amorous attentions he receives from the women of his acquaintance. Even so, nothing could have prepared him for the scandalous proposal he receives from Lady Daphne Hewitt, an innocent young miss out for her first London Season, or for the overwhelming temptation that it would present. Nonetheless, and despite being utterly captivated by her remarkable beauty and winsome nature, he knows that he can’t possibly agree to her bold request. But all too soon, Brendon discovers that doing the honorable thing is far more easily said than done.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews