Never Romance a Rakeby Liz Carlylereviewed by Cheryl SneedAugust 2008, 448 pages, Publisher: Pocket, ISBN: 1416527168 Back Cover Blurb: Shunning the glittering elite of high society Kieran, Baron Rothewell, prefers the dangerous pursuits of London's demimonde. Hardened by a tormented past, he cares little for anyone or anything. So how can he resist the wager proposed by the dissolute Comte de Valigny? A hand of cards for the possession of the comte's exquisite daughter.
Abandoned by her highborn father - until he decides to use her - Mademoiselle Camille Marchand puts no trust in an aristocrat's honor, especially that of the notorious baron. She too is gambling - for her life - and Rothwell is just one more card to be used. But whatever dark desires run through his veins call to her own, and the heart plays its own game - winner take all!
Liz Carlyle finishes up her "Rothewell Family" series with the brooding, reckless, self-destructive Kieran, Baron Rothewell, who, it turns out, has plenty of reason to brood.
We have learned, through the other books in the series that the Rothewell siblings grew up the wards of their violent, sadistic uncle in the West Indies. Now in England, Kieran's already self-destructive tendencies have been exacerbated by a diagnosis of impending death by his physician. His drinking, carousing, gambling and low company are hurtling him headlong, uncaring, toward the end, when something happens that rouses him from his self-imposed stupor.
During an infamous French comte's more infamous gambling nights, the comte offers his beautiful and well-dowered daughter up for sale. This is not quite your usual "selling your daughter to meet a gaming debt" plot - Camille is quite willing to marry whoever wins. She has powerful reasons of her own to go along with the plan - she must get away from her repulsive father, and she will come into a hefty legacy from her maternal grandfather upon her marriage and an even greater one upon the birth of a child. Camille desperately needs to gain some control over her life and her desire for a child of her own is primal.
Kieran is disgusted by the whole sordid event, even while he is attracted to Camille. But when the high bidder appears to be a loathsome sexual deviant, he steps in and wins her, offering to release her of any obligation to marry him, an offer she refuses.
It is fascinating to watch these two very different characters - Camille seemingly so cold and calculating, and Kieran seemingly so indifferent to all about him, even himself - gradually thaw and drop their barriers, learning the true person beneath the façade and falling in love with what each finds unlovable in themselves. But with Kieran's precarious health, how can there be a HEA?
I loved Never Romance a Rake. In previous books, I will admit to some impatience with Kieran and his excesses, but his backstory is so movingly and affectingly told that I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. But when he stepped up and stopped feeling sorry for himself - that's when I fell for him. Camille is a strong woman who has been buffeted by circumstance. But even so, she manages to maintain her strength and assert her needs. Once she works out her feelings for Kieran, she doesn't let him get away with anything. Go girl.
This is a great book, filled with great characters - we even get to spend some time with everybody's favorite Carlyle secondary character, George Kemble. Never Romance a Rake is a rollercoaster of emotions and I urge you to get on board.
Reviewed by Cheryl Sneed, August 19, 2008
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