A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

TO TEMPT A RAKE

Author: Cara Elliott ISBN:9780446541305 2/2011 HISTORICAL Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL
Time Period: Regency

To Tempt a Rake by Cara Elliott
Kate Woodbridge has spent most of her life sailing to exotic ports around the globe, acquiring an expertise in botany, along with a few less ladylike skills. So when a deathbed promise to her parents brings her to London to seek reconciliation with her grandfather, the imperious Duke of Cluyne, she feels like a fish out of water. Her outspoken views and fiery temper tend to set off sparks in Society-especially with the rakish Conte of Como.

A devil-may-care rogue, Marco finds the alluring and mysterious Kate a tempting target for his flirtations. But when murder strikes at the duke's country house party he begins to suspect that she's hiding a dark secret. He has his own clandestine reasons for offering to help her prove her innocence . . . And so begins a journey of dangerous deception that leads from England to the glittering ballrooms of Vienna, where Marco and Kate must duel with a deadly villain . . . and their own explosive attraction.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I'm not quite sure what I want to say about TO TEMPT A RAKE. It is one of those books that I find hard to define, because it doesn't really stand out as a waste of money or money well spent. Perhaps lukewarm is the best adjective I can think of at the moment to describe it.

With a lackluster attraction between the hero and heroine, dialogue that could use spice as well, and side characters that are more interesting than the main ones, I can't work up real emotion over this one. At times, it shows moments of real intrigue and mystery. I can see a spark of flame between the romantic couple and start to get excited about their affair, but the flame is doused just as quickly as it flared to life. Other times, I am simply reading the pages because I have to. I suppose with this type of book I am just going to say that it is "okay". What a boring word to use, but it is an accurate one.

Shannon Johnson

Close Window or Back to Previous Page