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How to Rescue a Rake
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Want to start reading Monday or Tuesday?
I did not begin today, but I plan to at least read chapter 1 tomorrow or Wednesday.
Hello!Did you get to read the 1st chapter? What are your thoughts?
I thought it was very promising! In the 1st book, Rebecca metions to Justina very briely about her kiss debt to some guy she met a few years ago, so when I learned the 2nd book was going to be about Reebecca and that guy (Lucky Luke, a.k.a. the long lost/dead brother of Darius, whose appearence at the end of the 1st book was amazing!), I got really excited. And here you get to read about that meeting. And oh boy, it did deliver!
I love Jayne Fresina's writing style: very refreshing and entertaining, with no basic writing in sight (probably my biggest pet peeve as a reader); it reminds me sometimes to Tessa Dare in that she uses humour and crazy/whimsical situations in her stories, but I think Fresina introduces them with more spontaneity than Dare, who I feel is losing her touch lately (her latests books/novellas have been a bit of a disappointment, or maybe it's me - I got into historical romance reading her books, so I have a soft spot for her). Also, Fresina writes banter really well, and it shows in the 1st chapter. Spark fly between those two!
What's going on in Lucky Luke's head? And what about Rebecca? The next chapters will tell :)
I read the first chapter. Grrrrrr! I really like Rebecca's spunk. Even though we were introduced to her in book 1, I already know get so much better after only one chapter. Lucky is a different story. I knew Darius' brother was a deadbeat. I did not expect him to drop in my estimation. He better display some good character traits SOON! and no, the hidden puppy and calling her brother's debt even for an IOU kiss is not nearly enough. The story is definitely promising. Any chapter one that gives me such a visceral reaction is promising.
I am in total agreement with your comments on Jayne Fresina's writing style. I can't quite put my finger on it; but it's just a perfect balance of witty, period appropriate, and funny. I also love it! Glad to have the trilogy on my series challenge.
I have to idea what is going on in Lucky Luke's head but I'm ready to find out! As a 17 year old girl who has lots of experience with male relatives, I think Rebecca is a combination of confused because his pieces don't add up and attracted. Might be her first attraction.
Just finished chapter 2. 22 and 37 is a pretty large age gap. I can enjoy younger woman, older man stories; but I just don't like Lucky Luke. I don't like that he was seduced by his brother's first love. I don't like that he has no responsibility or willingness to do anything that is not fun or hedonistic. I don't like that he despises women and only uses them and throws them away like trash. The writing is engaging, and I want to immediately continue reading. However, it's an uphill road to redeem this selfish H.
Haha Mariana, is it me or Lucky Luke is not to your liking? :)I really like Rebecca - she is very likeable, the no nonsense and strong type, even though she hides a romantic/dreamy side behind all that spunky exterior: she is the first one to say that she is fed up with men and that she is happy being a spinster, but I feel that deep down she wants to find romance but feels obliged to take care of her brother and father? Because when she meets Lucky Luke again - if you haven't read this part, SPOILER -, she "believes" (or wants to believe, which is different) that he has come to reclaim the kiss and she is BEYOND excited!! That made me laugh. I feel like she is very relatable, and you may be right: Lucky Luke might be her first attraction possibly because he's like an enigma to her; she has never met anyone like him, so mysterious, so different to the other "apes" she's been surrounded with, so when they meet I feel like she met her "match", someone who was out of the ordinary and could shake her beliefs regarding men and love.
About the age gap: I don't normally care, because it wasn't an uncommon thing back then really, but even though Darius and Justina did have a large age gap too, don't you feel that in this case it feels larger? Maybe it's because he seems to be a really rough/world weary 37 who has been thought death for a lot of years, whereas she seems a home-bound 22 year old spinster who takes care of her family, even though she has travelled a lot too? I don't know, that's my feeling. It feels odd, lol.
And about Lucky Luke... I may have to play devil's advocate in this case, haha! I feel as if he's a really insecure man (he considers himself a coward, and is he dyslexic?), lonely, very melancholic deep down, who feels like a burden and truly unworthy of his uptight and proper father/brother and leaves for India mainly due to all the scandal surrounding Darius' first love (something he apparently regrets and wants to discuss with Darius). Also, he seems happy and proud about Darius's current state (not so serious, happily married, no stammer). And let's not forget about "his" daughter! I though it was shocking that he didn't tell the truth, one point for Luke haha.
I've read up until chapter 8, and I'm enjoying it so far. Rebecca and Luke meet again, and sparks do fly! He's going to claim the kiss (in great part because she is the one who wants to give it, according to her because she always fulfills her promises and wants to get over with it - Rebecca, you lying cow!), but...
Will things be and feel the same after that kiss for our hero and heroine? We shall see ;)
I was through chapter 4 when I read your post, so I read on through your spoiler.You're right about Rebecca. She acts like a tomboy, but she reads romance. She pretends to even her close friends that she never wants to marry. She may even think she didn't want to when she lists all the things that are better than a man, but her heart is romantic. She just doesn't think her hero is out there.
Well put about the age gap. They feel much different in age than they really are. Luke is already planning for his imminent death. Rebecca may take care of her father and brother and be the responsible one of the family, but she also didn't have a mother to help guide her from girl to woman. I think that hindered development and kept her younger in some ways.
I agree with your comments about Lucky. He definitely doesn't feel like he lives up to his father's standards, so he just threw them out the window. He also must have at least one good quality. He apparently cares about others' physical if not emotional well-being.
About to read some more.
I am now through chapter 7. How magnanimous of Like to agree to the kiss! What could it hurt? I have to say, Luke lost more relationship points with that kiss. He definitely seems like the kind that would be good for a one night stand but nothing more. He's the type who is hurting and doesn't feel good enough, so he hurts others. Being upfront and honest that he will not marry but only use isn't good enough for me. How typical that just because Rebecca hides how much she enjoyed the kiss, he wants more. All the other women were easy, so he just took from them without them having any value. Because Rebecca is a challenge, she is different.
Fortunate, Jayne Fresina writes with a light tone. I know all will work out.
I have caught up with you. Maybe passed? I will stop reading until your next comments as I am through chapter 18.Chapter 10: (view spoiler)
Chapter 11: (view spoiler)
Chapter 13: (view spoiler)
Chapter 14: (view spoiler)
Chapter 15: (view spoiler)
Chapter 16: (view spoiler)
Chapter 17: (view spoiler)
Chapter 18: (view spoiler)
Mariana! Sorry for neglecting you! Real life got in the way, but thank you very much for your messages. I've read up to chapter 20, so no spoilers so far!I don't know what to add, only that you express yourself and your opinions in a very clear, short and perfectly understandable way. Love the chapter spoilers, lol!
Above all, whether you like Luke more or less, Jayne Fresina is a wonderful writer. I guess this is a "Sense and Sensibility" retelling (I'm not so familiar with that book, only watched the movie/BBC series), but I LOVE the fact that she picks some things from that story, as she did with Pride and Prejudice in the 1st book, and she goes and writes a totally different story, making it her own and not some déjà vu. Very talented. And very funny too: everytime I read Ham Lady I start chuckling, the idea of trying to pair her with Luke is insane! I haven't read the 3rd book's synopsis yet, but I guess it's going to be a Persuasion retelling of Diana and Sherringham? If so, I can't wait!!!
After going trough 20 chapters and reading your thoughts, I think Luke is a very complicated but equally rich and interesting character, so very different from his father and Darius. Luke is the first one to acknowledge the fact that his mother's dead was devastating for him and that, contrary to his father and brother, whom hid their sadness behind their stiff exterior, Luke went to showcase that anguish and grief in other ways, in this case through carelessness and a life full of excesses and fast women. In Darius's opinion, Luke was the apple of their mother's eye, and I think that that loss was so great for him (and the impossibility of dealing with that grief is "his own way", unlike his father and brother) that it made him shut down any possibility of emotional and/or love attachment to any other person. Darius states it simply but effectively: Luke is terrified of falling in love, maybe (probably) because he feels incapable of finding love, feeling vulnerable, only to lose it in the end. In Luke's words, he is happy to live alone in his island, and he speaks about the only real attachment in his life since forever, his dog Ness, as if he were a nuisance. So, not only he feels unworthy, a burden, inferior to his family and doens't let love into his life, but also he has a reading/writing disability that ashames him and he admits that he is a rake and a scoundrel. And there you have a bomb about to explode, haha! Poor thing.
There is a phrase that he says about Sarah that I think sums up perfectly his situation: she has never had a father, he has never had a daughter. They need GUIDANCE. I believe Luke has never had that in his life, and he needs it badly, even though he is a 37 year old decrepit . Will someone give it to him, maybe a woman called Rebecca? In his own words, "her kiss had restorative effects, for it gave him his courage back". Rebecca literaly changes his life: he is attracted to her, defends her when they criticise her clothes (and makes her feel feminive, something that no one has ever done before), feels respect for her, "saves" her reputation with a one way engagement because he feels it's the proper thing to do (no wonder she got mad, even though he gets madder when she thinks he did it to gain his inheritance; also, Luke and proper in the same sentence!?!); and he is dead set to win that wager, because he knows he has meet his equal, someone as passionate as him, who has hidden herself in the caring of her brother and father because she also lost her mother and longs for love but she is afraid. Rebecca is even jealous of the Ham Lady, she doesn't care much about Charles Clarendon because she can't stop thinking about Luke, and regrets inviting Charles to the Book Club ONLY because she feels remorse about what Luke will think. And let's not forget that she doesn't want to marry Luke because she has to take care of his father/brother and doens't want to be responsible of Darius and Justina losing their inheritance. There is no mention of not liking Luke anywhere. So they are a match made in heaven!
But is Luke so bad, after all? He considers himself a villain, but I think not! He has some positive traits, and the list is growing: he cares for his dog, he is happy for his brother and is fond of Justina, he repairs things... And what about refusing his inheritance for Darius and Justina? And assuming someone as his daughter when she is not his daughter, and hitting the living shit of the real father of said daughter because he raped Sally, her mother and later Luke's lover? He is no saint by any means, but he has some good points too :-)
I don't like neither of the Clarendons, and I agree with you about the leg pain thing. What's going on? I think he is afraid of going to see Justina's father, Doctor Penny, because he is afraid of getting bad news about his health (related to all the premonitory dream stuff), but the leg thing scapes me. And what about the stolen things from Justina, Diana and Ham Lady? Is Luke going to give the pearl and ruby collar to Rebecca? I've read up the the treasure hunting part, were Luke and Rebecca get paired. Those two together at night... !!!
P.D. God, this was exhausting to write. I'll try to be more brief in the next posts, it took me hours to write this!
Your writing and points are spot on, so thank you for taking the time. I totally understand about real life getting in the way. January is the busiest month at my work. I may work a lot of hours, but I also need books to escape and de-stress.Jayne Fresina is a wonderful writer. As you know, I read multiple books at a time. This one is by far the most engaging.
Luke is complex, and he does have lots of good qualities. As far as romances go, I just have a hard time believing that a man who uses women for sex and has hundreds of one nightstands can turn his life around and be faithful to one woman for the rest of his life.
Now I'm off to read some more to catch back up. I'll be back to post my thoughts.
message 13:
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Susanna Fair with Brazen Hair
(last edited Jan 20, 2020 01:06PM)
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rated it 4 stars
"As far as romances go, I just have a hard time believing that a man who uses women for sex and has hundreds of one nightstands can turn his life around and be faithful to one woman for the rest of his life".Mariana, I get your point and I guess in real life things don't usually work like that, but isn't that the way most of historical romances work when there is a rake/rogue/scoundrel hero? Manwhores who end up finding the love of their life and become devoted partners? "Reformed rakes make the best husbands"? I guess it's very delusional, but I think it's nice that they find "redemption" and try to change because they want to stay with the heroine or are so besotted they don't imagine being with anyone else. Unrealistic perharps, but it's part of the HEA. I really like it, lol.
Anyway, I have about 30 pages left (I didn't finish last night because I fell asleep, haha), so I'll be back tomorrow!
Susanna Fair with Brazen Hair wrote: ""As far as romances go, I just have a hard time believing that a man who uses women for sex and has hundreds of one nightstands can turn his life around and be faithful to one woman for the rest..."
You're right. There is definitely a difference between reality and book fantasy. Obviously most women want a sexually experienced man, or the rake hero would not be so popular. I prefer the virgin hero or a man of good character who is not too sexually promiscuous like Lucky Luke's brother from book one, but I can definitely enjoy a book with a redeemed hero.
I finished and really enjoyed the writing and the story. I look forward to your comments tomorrow.
message 15:
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Susanna Fair with Brazen Hair
(last edited Jan 20, 2020 02:08PM)
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rated it 4 stars
Haha, I know you like a not so experienced/virgin hero. I like reading about both to be honest, but I guess in real life I would prefer someone with a less promiscuous past, but when love knocks at your door never say never.From the last books I've read, and knowing your taste in heroes, I recommend you this one:
The Widow of Rose House
Fastastic hero, very dreamy. If you get to read it, hope you like it :)
Mariana, I finished!!!!Is it me, or the resolution seemed rushed? I don't know, everything happened at once and it wasn't developed as the rest of the book (like in the first book): the stolen goods stuff, the ball at Manderson, no confrontation with Kit Clarendon... And the worst thing: Luke and Rebecca's attraction/build up was amazing throughout the book, and when they get it on at last, it was so brief!!! That was unfair, Jayne Fresina. And no epilogue! :/
But I loved how she turned the tables in the relationship, with Luke trying to be the proper gentleman to show Rebecca that his feeling towards hers were genuine ("a feller must persist"), while she became the active one (or naughty one in the words of Luke) and went after him, kissing him, going to his room and even proposing to make love. After all, she wanted someone proper, but in the end, she went for someone as passionate as her, someone who loved her but was wicked too, giving her that sinfully ever after. As Jayne Fresina beautifully writes at some point, "his (Charles Clarendon) simle is like a ray of sunshine, but she prefers the moonlight (Luke)".
Sigh. Super lovely overall. I must admit that I liked the first book better, but this was fantastic too. Kudos to Jayne Fresina. If you want to know about her books/series, check this post in her blog.
It was a pleasure to do this buddy reading with you, Mariana, thank you very much. I don't know if I'll read book 3 straightaway or I'll pick it up in a few weeks. If you keep with the challenge, good luck and happy reading!!!
xxx
Talk about sorry for abandoning when you didn't comment for only three days! I abandoned for three times that long. I have been VERY busy with work the past 10 days and have been absent from goodreads. I apologise for the delay in response. I can breathe now (finally).Thank you for the The Widow of Rose House recommendation. I already had on my TBR list, but now I definitely plan to read it soon.
I agree with your comments about the ending being a bit brief and not fully satisfying. However, compared to the other books I was reading at the time, this was the best. I also liked book 1 better, but this one was also good. I definitely plan to reread book 3, but I want to reread Sense and Sensibility first.
I also very much enjoyed the buddy read with you. Let me know if you decide you want to buddy read book 3 maybe in March
Mariana, I would love to to a buddy read for book 3 in March! Just let me know :-)
Susanna Fair with Brazen Hair wrote: "Mariana, I would love to to a buddy read for book 3 in March! Just let me know :-)"Great! :) We'll work out a day to start closer to time.
How to Rescue a Rake by Jayne FresinaHOW TO RESCUE A RAKE:
Reject his marriage proposal
Nathaniel Sherringham has returned to Hawcombe Prior a changed man. Gone is the reckless rake who went out on a limb to propose to Diana Makepiece three years ago. Now Nate's mysterious new wealth has the town's rumor mill spinning. To stir things up (and get Diana's attention), Nate boldly announces his plans to marry "any suitable girl" under the age of 25.
Run away
Diana, now 27 and still single, is acutely aware of Nate's return. When her mother suggests a trip to visit a cousin in Bath, Diana leaps at the chance to escape the heartbreak and regret she can't help but feel in Nate's presence...and avoid his irritating charade to find a bride.
But for Nate, Diana has always been the one. He might just have to follow her to Bath and once again lay his heart on the line to win her attention-and her heart.
What day would you like to begin reading? I am flexible in the month of March.
Mariana, can #3 be read w/o reading previous in series? I normally like--erm, must? ;-) --read in order, but NTM author & this is at local library. As for timing, I'll probably bring up rear b/c must read borrowed items b4 return date :)
Yes. This is a reread for me. I read book 3 as a standalone a while back and just this year went back and read the novella and preceding two full-length books. This one is available in both Hoopla and CloudLibrary if you have access to either.
Susanna Fair with Brazen Hair and I plan to start reading next Friday.
*fingers crossed* I'm next up in hold, so should get in time start w/ you @ 20th, give or take a few days :)
Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "*fingers crossed* I'm next up in hold, so should get in time start w/ you @ 20th, give or take a few days :)"Great!
With all that is going on in the world, are you ladies ready to start; or do you want to wait another few days? I'm flexible.
I am going too start reading today. Will post my thoughts tonight.
I read the prologue. This is a reread for me. This is the only one of the series I previously read about four years ago. I recently listened to Persuasion for the first time, so I am sure my reaction will be somewhat different having now read all the series before this one and the book that inspired the story.
Hello!Just a quick update to say that I'm on Chapter 10 already! I've been going to work (no work from home for me, sadly) and I've been without a computer the whole week (I don't like writing on my phone).
But.. it's the weekend and I have a computer, so I'll start pouring my thoughts here from tomorrow onwards!
Hope you are enjoying the book :)
Sorry to hear you still have to go to work. My husband does too. I am one of the fortunate many who can work from home (good thing since schools and daycares are closed and I have two young daughters). I always write on my phone because I work on my computer for 50 hours a week and like to have a break, but I know what you mean. Communicating on my phone is much more time consuming than typing and leads to plenty of typos.I am enjoying the book even more than the first time. I could hardly put it down last night. I am Already through chapter 12.
I feel the pain in both Nathaniel and Diana. They are both flawed characters. If only they could be honest with themselves and communicate with each other. I do appreciate that Nathaniel is finally recognizing that his flirting can create expectations and potential heartbreak. Fortunately, in spite of the sadness and disappointment, the book also has the witty humor I have come to expect from Jayne Fresina. Otherwise, it would be too depressing for this time. I am not usually a fan of second chance stories. They have to be done very well as both Persuasion and this one are.
message 32:
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Susanna Fair with Brazen Hair
(last edited Mar 29, 2020 02:45PM)
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rated it 4 stars
Hi!I'm glad you are enjoying the book this second time areound even more! I guess knowing the background of the characters and having read Persuasion is a plus. Persuasion is my favourite book by Jane Austen and I love the way Jayne Fresina (J.F.) is interlacing said storyline with Nathaniel and Diana's story! I was eager to read about those two and, so far, I have 0 dissapointments!
I haven't read many second chance romance stories, but I guess this one is a bit different than the others, more like an unfinished business thing? Either way, this story is less "mischievous" and more melancholic and "what if" than the first two books, but J.F. is such a talented writer that she is able to make something that would be a tear jerker "this is so sad" story into an entertaining and kind of hopeful one, were you root for the main characters, without forgetting the witty touches here and there, something to be expected in every J.F. book. It's a pitty I have barely seen her mentioned, because she is a joy to read! More for us, I guess :)
I'm on chapter 17 I think, but I'll write down my thoughts more thoroughbly tomorrow. Until then, happy reading and stay safe!
You are right. Thus isn't quite a second chance story. It doesn't have the cheating or whatever typically causes the rift. Unfinished business, I like that. In this story, Nathaniel just waited too long too realize he actually wanted Diana. He only wanted her once he realized she was no longer available. I guess it be like that sometimes.Book 3 is definitely the most serious of the series. Less slapstick. I really feel the pain in my heart as well as that knot in my stomach, but I also experience the hope for these two to grow as individuals and together.
I haven't read all of Jane Austen's books. Of the ones I have, I think Sense and Sensibility might be my favorite, but I really enjoyed Persuasion too. I am glad I decided to read it for the first time just before this.
I will read through chapter 17 (or maybe a bit further) by this time tomorrow.
I am now also through chapter 17.During these chapters, there were two scenes I especially liked:
1) I loved the dinner scene where they were unexpectedly brought back together but pretended to just meet. Diana was a witty bright light. Her facial expressions and engaging attitude was wonderful. I also liked that Nathaniel was bold enough to play footsies.
2) Even better was the end of chapter 17.
"Diana was about to close her book. Nathaniel reached over again and placed his hand on the page to prevent it.
“Read on,” he insisted. “I hear you.”
She looked down at his hand spread upon her page.
“I am listening,” he told her earnestly. “To you.”"
I read chapters 18 and 19 last night. I am still enjoying it. I just don't understand why Diana wants a lover but not a husband. I get why she broke off her betrothal, but why would that put her off marriage altogether?
First, she needs a husband. I don't know that she will have enough income to live off of whatever her mother leaves her. They are barely making it as it is.
Second, why would she risk what her mother lived through? Obviously her mother thought she would marry her lover, but he left her pregnant, alone, and without money or family. She ended up bitter, lonely, and poor. Surely Diana wouldn't want to take a lover and risk the same!
I finished. Enjoyed it as much or more than the first time. I'll wait to read your thoughts.
Ughh, Mariana, I'm so sorry, real life got in the way and I didn't have Internet, though I got to end the book. I'm glad you enjoyed it even more than the first time! I guess having read the first twoo books helps a lot. In my case, I loved it! I really like the way Jayne Fresina has adapted the Jane Austen stories into this series: if you already know the story, you get and idea of what is going to happen, but she doesn't make a copy of it as many people would have done, she "adapts" them and makes them her own, with that special touch I've grown to love.
As I mentioned, Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen book (I haven't read all her books, but give me time), and when I learned that the third book was going to be a Persuasion retelling with Nathaniel and Diana, I was over the moon! And it hasn't dissapointed, although there are several points that don't make it a 5 star book for me.
While I enjoyed the melancholic tone of the story even more than the first or second book, I can't get over Diana's "opening her mother's pantry forgiven jars" moment, a.k.a. the "I want a lover, not a husband" turn of events. It felt a little bit rushed and thoroughbly unexpected. As Jayne Fresina writes at some point, Jussy was the mischievious one, Rebecca the bold one, but what about Diana? Well, Diana was the level headed one, calm but so full of emotions she learnt not to express them or she would bust. I guess when she went to Bath and decided to be herself and meets with Nathaniel again, there is a point where that emotional volcano exploded, but I think it was too much! I remember reading the part where Nathaniel accompanied her to the dressmaker and she kissed him or let her kiss her in an alley and I was like "whoa, what happened, Diana!". Don't get me wrong, I found admirable the way Diana opened up in Bath, and it was wonderful to see her blossom like a flower and start to live her life the way she wanted. I found some symbolism with the bird she "freed" at the beginning of the book during the dance when she met Nathaniel again, and how everytime she saw the "same" bird said bird was blossoming too, found a mate and had little birds, some kind of "premonition" to what she was to expect one she freed herself.
Also, the ending felt rushed to me, just like the ending of book two. It was very intelligent of Jayne Fresina not rewrite THE LETTER part of Persuasion into this book (and what a letter!), but making all the story around the letter Nathaniel threw into Diana's window. I liked Fresina's approach in this case, the fact that Diana seeked Nathaniel, but it felt abrupt. I really loved this pairing, and I think they deserved a longer ending, haha!
And, on a side note, I would have liked to read about Lucy too. She was a bit annoying, but a novella about how the guy that fancied her (sorry, forgot the name) wins her over with Nathaniel's help. Maybe it's just that I want to read more of Jayne Fresina ans this series, but I think that, after beeing a secondary character in all the book and being a Book Club Belle herself, she deserved more than a mention.
But anyway. Really enjoyed it, I found the book to be sooo romantic! Like the whole dinner when Nathaniel and Diana meet again in Bath, or that very moment you wrote when he tells her that "I am listening, to you". SIGH. It's the "you pierce my soul" moment of this book. I migh have made some sound when I red that part. And it's all the more poignant because it sumps up Nathaniel and Diana's relantionship and what they learn from each other to end up happily ever after: she learns from him to open up and speak her mind, while he learns from her to listen, to stop and pay attention, because it's so worth it.
Ahhh, so beautiful! It was a pleasure to read this series. Thank you so much for making me discover this lovely and engaging series. And Jayne Fresina too! What a joy to read :)
I just finished this book, based on this thread's recommendation. I found it charming! I haven't read Persuasion (yet), but I liked how Diana was able to see some of herself in the Persuasion characters, yet she didn't see all the parallels.As far as pacing goes, I agree that the beginning was a little slow and the ending a little fast. So much of the book was about Diana and Sherry being stuck in misconceptions about each other, and then Diana refusing to change, and then all of a sudden she did change. I would have liked to see more for Sherry to do besides figure out whether he was interested in Diana anymore. Still, it was very enjoyable, and I ignored some responsibilities to finish it, which is always the sign of a good book!
PS Mariana - I agree, the dinner scene was one of my favorites, and the moment when Nate insisted Diana keep reading was when I really, truly fell for him!
I agree with both your comments. Retellings are not my favorite trope, but Jayne Fresina adapted these very well.
From the decision to have a lover rather than a husband to the end dropped the rating from 5 to 4 stars.
There should be a couple of novellas with stories of secondary characters. Three books in the series is not enough.
I have not read any other Jayne Fresina books, but I plan to try. Hopefully I am not disappointed.
Historical Romance Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Persuasion (other topics)How to Rescue a Rake (other topics)
How to Rescue a Rake (other topics)
The Widow of Rose House (other topics)
Sinfully Ever After (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jayne Fresina (other topics)Jayne Fresina (other topics)
HOW TO RESCUE A RAKE:
Reject his marriage proposal
Nathaniel Sherringham has returned to Hawcombe Prior a changed man. Gone is the reckless rake who went out on a limb to propose to Diana Makepiece three years ago. Now Nate's mysterious new wealth has the town's rumor mill spinning. To stir things up (and get Diana's attention), Nate boldly announces his plans to marry "any suitable girl" under the age of 25.
Run away
Diana, now 27 and still single, is acutely aware of Nate's return. When her mother suggests a trip to visit a cousin in Bath, Diana leaps at the chance to escape the heartbreak and regret she can't help but feel in Nate's presence...and avoid his irritating charade to find a bride.
But for Nate, Diana has always been the one. He might just have to follow her to Bath and once again lay his heart on the line to win her attention-and her heart.
Previously about:
Teaching scandalous young men a lesson? This is not your typical book club...
To Rebecca Sherringham, all men are open books—read quickly and forgotten. Perhaps she's just too practical for love. The last thing she needs is another bore around—especially one that's supposed to be dead.
Captain Lucius "Luke" Wainwright turns up a decade after disappearing without a trace. He's on a mission to claim his birthright, and he's not going away again until he gets it. But Becky and the ladies of the village Book Club Belles Society won't let this rogue get away with his sins. He'll soon find that certain young ladies are accustomed to dealing with villains.