Review: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

Sarah MacLean's Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake is a wonderfully imaginative narrative in a classic victorian world about a not-so-staid spinster and a notorious Rake who suddenly finds himself saddled with a sister he never knew he had.

First as for the cover; the title didn't grab me much except for screaming victorian romance, and I am a sucker for Victorian romances. It's a bit too long and the rhyme doesn't really help it much, but it's also by no means a terrible title. The cover picture was well done, it again pushed Victorian romance without being embarassing to buy. The back synopsis is what really sold the book. It gave you a sprited heroine and a not quite boorish hero; though I was upset that the back didn't mention the hero's sister anywhere when she was not only a major character, but a turning plot point. Besides that fact however, the back text was excellent and as I have never read Sarah MacLean before, it was the pivoting factor that had the book in my hands at the checkout line.

Now for the book: It was very entertaining to follow along as the heroine managed to surprise everone up to and including herself. MacLean managed to take an old tale, that of the "older" woman (in this caswe a whopping 28!) reclaiming her life and managed to make it refreshing and fun. The hero, Gabriel St. John, Marquess of Ralston, is suitably wicked but with enough redeming qualities to make you want to see him reform. The side characters added to the plot though some of them were a bit on the transparent side, the main characters were very refreshing and interesting.

All in all I really liked the book and thoroughly recommend it!