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| Never Romance a Rake | 
 enlarge | Author: Liz Carlyle
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $1.65
You Save: $6.34 (79%)
New (39) Used (52) from $0.84
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 6317
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: 1st Pocket Books Pbk. Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 1416527168
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781416527169
ASIN: 1416527168
Publication Date: July 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In this sizzling third book in New York Times bestselling author Liz Carlyle's compelling historical trilogy, a cynical rake joins a sinister game of cards with dangerously seductive stakes.If he wins this hand...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. Will he win her heart?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!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 have your cake and eat it too. July 26, 2008
14 out of 20 found this review helpful
NEVER ROMANCE A RAKE begins when the Comte de Valigny gambles away his daughter's hand in marriage. Camille is pretty and has a good dowry, but I had a hard time believing a pair of dissolute aristocrats would compete to leg-shackle themselves to a woman of poor reputation, whom they have never previously met, when neither is in need of money. Sleep with? Sure. Marry? No. Actually, Camille is the one who needs to get married, and she's not too particular about the groom.
Kieran has a terminal illness and since he expects to die shortly he's able to see marriage as an act of charity; he's saving Camille from marriage to a disgusting pervert. Camille tells Kieran that she's not very interested in wastrels like himself, but she has a use for his name and his seed - they're how she'll gain access to her inheritence.
Both are determined not to develop any emotional attachment for one another.
From there on out it's all moody histrionics. Kieran isn't much of a scoundrel - he's more like a martyr who's chosen death by non-traditional means. He spends his time wallowing in self-loathing and making sure that Camille is well taken care of. He realizes he's becoming attached to her, but he doesn't want Camille to be upset when he dies so he struggles to maintain distance. He spends a lot of time moping.
As for Camille...first she loathes Kieran because she thinks he's just a loser addicted to vice. Then they get married, and she has a crisis of conscience - how could she like sex with such a bad man? So far so good. But before long, she starts to actually like Kieran. And then the reader is treated to endless mental monologues about whether or not it's ok to like Kieran, and how she doesn't want to get hurt.
The sex is pretty tame. Every once and a while there's a hint of the kind of dark dominance that you expect to find in a novel about a woman gambled away during a card game, where Kieran is demanding and a bit crude, but these rare moments felt out of place to me. The truth is that Kieran is not an alpha male at all - he's pure beta. In a confrontation his most violent move is generally retreat, and from the start, it's really just a question of how long it will take Camille to take charge of him. Never the reverse.
Liz Carlyle's Devil trilogy has exactly the kind of romance I was hoping to find here - exuberantly sensual, with just enough edge to be exciting and a little dark. NEVER ROMANCE A RAKE is just gormless. Liz Carlyle used to be on my auto-buy list - but this is the third or fourth book of hers to disappoint me, and I don't think I'll be picking up another in the future.
 Never wager against the heart of a rake -4 1/2 stars July 24, 2008
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
One game, one card decides the fate of two lives. Kieran, Baron Rothwell, is used to high stakes games. But little does he realize that this particular wager is one that will effect his life forever. The rake immerses himself in gambling, drinking and loose women -they make the past guilt and grief more bearable. This one particular woman who is offered, however, is different. She's an innocent lady. And Kieran will be damned if he lets her suffer with her conniving father any longer. This is one hand that he must win.
The beautiful Mademoiselle Camille Marchand just wants the whole blasted thing over. She knows that these men her father has assembled have no honor. Men never do -she learned that growing up with her mother. But she needs one of the drunken fools to fulfill the terms of her grandfather's will before time runs out.
Only soon afterwards do Kieran and Camille realize that they may have gotten into something more than the simple wager bargained for.
Another very good book from Carlyle. Many of her hero's in previous books suffer from some sort of childhood abuse and/or guilt. Never Romance A Rake is no exception. In fact Kieran suffers from both as well as being seriously physically ill. The debase rogue leads a troubled and demoralizing lifestyle. And suffers for it. Hardly the stuff of dreams for a historical romance reader. Ah! But we love to reform our rakes! And Carlyle always does it so well, managing to take the lowest of the low and make them lovable.
Then we have our heroine, Camille, who unlike other rake-reforming-women, is cynical and emotionless with a troubled past as well. She doesn't care to change any man, least of all the scoundrel Keiran. Camille is simply numb to men. And here as well Carlyle does a superb job turning her around, making these two suffering protagonists find love together.
So if you liked Carlyle's previous slightly-darker-than-your-average-romance books, then you might like Never Romance A Rake too. Its a bit slower paced and more melodramatic/depressing than the average historical romance but good reading none the less. I think this one is the best in the series, although as a whole her *Devil series* The Devil You Know, A Deal With the Devil, The Devil to Pay is her best work IMHO.
I also recommend these books for readers who enjoy books with *hero illness*-
When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton Family Series)
One Perfect Rose (Fallen Angels)
A yawner July 24, 2008
7 out of 15 found this review helpful
Liz Carlyle used to be one of my favorites. Whatever happened to her likeable/loveable characters and engrossing plot that she used to write. I couldn't care less about Kieran and Camille. Very boring and Camille's "franglish" was annoying. Could not finish this one.
 Disappointment! July 23, 2008
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
Wow!!! What a disappointment after reading, " Never lie to a lady." I am still a fan of Ms. Carlyle, but not of this book. One word, BORING!!! I found my skimming through most of the book. The lead characters were very card board in personality. The story was very wordy. Don't waste your time buying this book, if you are a Carlyle fan, get it at the library for free!
Luck, Be a Lady Tonight July 23, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
When children are abused, they often grow up to abuse others, especially their own children, who they see as an imperfect reflection of themselves. Others, when abused, turn the anger inward and may grow up with a wall around them, hoping to make them impervious to hurt by keeping others out of their sphere. Kieran, Baron Rothewell appears to me to be such a one. The saving of him is the result of the appearance of the beautiful Mademoiselle Camille Marchand, a woman who has seen hardship herself.
Time and circumstance are twin hands that shape the destiny of these two people. Camille suffers the indignity of being sold/wagered in a card game by her very own father. Kieran, partly from his desire for her and partly because his belief that he is mortally ill has made him vulnerable, saves her. Though neither has dared dream of true love, their journey toward that end makes this book a page-turner. Kieran's tentative walk from his dark life into the light is like watching a birth.
For Carlyle fans old and new, I recommend Never Romance a Rake without reservation.
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