[Review] My Fake Rake, by Eva Leigh

Title My Fake Rake
Series: Union of the Rakes #1
Author: Eva Leigh
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: November 26th 2019

Synopsis:

In the first book in Eva Leigh's new Union of the Rakes series, a bluestocking hires a faux suitor to help her land an ideal husband only to be blindsided by real desire…

Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to "build" the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace's colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires.

In exchange for funding his passage on an expedition leaving London in a few months, Sebastian allows Grace to transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing—albeit fake—rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace's feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn't hired him to help her marry someone else...

Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he's faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future—and his heart.

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I really liked this book. This is a book for nerds, with nerds. Our couple is formed by Grace, a herpetologist (studies reptiles and amphibians), and Sebastian, an anthropologist. They’ve been friends for years, and they enjoy each other’s company. Sebastian has a huge crush on Grace, and Grace is slightly attracted to him, but neither one does anything about it.

Enter Mason Fredericks. He has money (which Seb doesn’t have), society loves him (Seb doesn’t do well in society), and he’s a fellow scholar with a similar field to Grace’s. She’s had a small crush on him for some time, and when her dad makes a request she can’t refuse, Grace asks Seb to help her get Mason’s attention.

Seb can’t say no to Grace. Even if it hurts him, he just wants to see her happy. And this is how he got himself in a situation where he’s helping the woman he loves, get another man.

Beta heroes, anyone? I have to say, each day I love them more and more. They are my kind of people.

I really liked how their relationship evolved from friends to lovers, which is one of my favourite tropes. Their relationship is based on love, friendship, and mutual respect – respect for each other, and their respective fields of study. It made me *swoon*.

It was interesting to see how they each dealt with their feelings, and how Sebastian sometimes was completely blind to how Grace was feeling, and vice-versa. There’s a lot of miscommunication in this book, which I’m not the biggest fan of, as this was pretty much the only thing stopping our couple of getting together, but we can overlook that for all the good stuff.

I also really enjoyed the companionship between the male characters of the Union of Rakes, as they support each other, no matter the circumstances. It’s the kind of friendship we all look up to. Which also means, I’m super excited to read the rest of the series!!!!

[Review] Would I Lie to the Duke, by Eva Leigh

Title Would I Lie to the Duke
Series: Union of the Rakes #2
Author: Eva Leigh
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: August 25th 2020

Synopsis:

When an ambitious entrepreneur pretends to be a lady of means, she catches the eye—and heart—of a duke...

Jessica McGale's family business desperately needs investors, and she's determined to succeed at any cost. But she knows London's elite will never look twice at a humble farm girl like herself. Posing as “Lady Whitfield,” however, places her in the orbit of wealthy, powerful people—most notably the Duke of Rotherby. His influence and support could save her company, but Jess never expected the effect he'd have on her.

Society thinks Noel is a notorious, carefree duke who dabbles in investments, but there's a side to him that only his closest friends see. When he crosses paths with Lady Whitfield at a business bazaar, his world tilts on its axis. She's brilliant and compelling, and brings him to his knees like no woman has before. Trust is difficult for Noel, but Jess makes him believe anything is possible...

As time ticks down on her Cinderella scheme, the thought of achieving her goal at Noel's expense breaks Jess' heart. He doesn't just want her now, he wants her forever. But will her secret end their future before it begins?

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

Would I Lie To The Duke is a book I had a hard time describing how it made me feel, for a very simple reason: I hate liars. [I like the fake relationship trope because both characters are aware and in on it]. And yet, I enjoyed this book quite a bit, with the exception of the moments I was reminded that Jess was lying, because she had several opportunities to tell the truth.

But let's start at the begging. Jess's family is in trouble and they might lose their livelihood, which is why she became a companion and is searching for people who will sell her family's soap in London, as well as invest in their factory.

Cue the Bazaar. A place where wealthy people look for their next profitable investments. It would be a dream to be able to present her project there.

After being rejected by Bond Street vendors, Jess meets (at a distance) the also investor and savvy Duke of Rotherby, Noel. And luck has it, he is one of the Bazaar's investors.

So, when Jess decides to try her luck, he is there, and she presents herself as a Lady, even though she is truly a commoner, a farm girl as she describes herself.

She continues her lie during the whole Bazaar, and her acquaintance with Noel, even when he tells her he feels so happy with her because she doesn't lie, and she doesn't want anything from him. She had several opportunities to tell him the truth. Not necessarily to the Bazaar people, but to him at least. And she abandons him after he pretty much pours his heart out. I was heartbroken for Noel.

In the end, I enjoyed the book, but ended up with the feeling that maybe they shouldn't be together. Jess had her reasons to lie, but that still could have changed as they got to know each other.

I was always disappointed with Jess when she failed to tell him the truth. I think he would have understood (as he did in the end) but suffered less if she had been honest. And I believe he would have helped her, if only she had asked. My favourite part (with the exception of the very sexy, very steamy sex scenes) was when Jess' siblings told her she didn't need to be doing all of that on her own. I think she really needed that bucket of cold water to take her down from the mind-set of "I'm essential, nothing will work without me". Because that's the feeling I got when she said to herself, she was doing it for family, they needed her, who would take care of them? But they were all grown ups. So.... there was a lot of lack of communication that could have helped so much.

I did like Noel quite a bit, as well as his friends. He was intelligent, business savvy, he cared about his tenants. Yes, he used to be quite a rake, but he never forgot his responsibilities. He admired other smart minds, no matter their gender. And he had a crooked smile, who can resist that?

I'm sure that when you read this, you'll think I didn't really enjoy the book, but that's a lie. Even with its problems, I laughed out loud several times as I was reading it, I loved the sexy moments, I really enjoyed a business/inventions background to the story, and I did like at least one of the main characters, which was enough to get me through the book with me cheering for Noel the whole time.

Steamy, great hero, and it left me curious about the other men in the Union of Rakes circle.