This was a 3-for-1 romance novel and sometimes less is more. The opening scene of Ciaran and Lucy meeting during a secluded swim was hilarious. The second meeting, that occurred during a brawl, had me thinking I was in-store for an fun adventure. Sadly, soon after that, the romance kept getting sidetracked by almost identical romances between secondary characters. I just couldn't believe that three women held the exact same feelings for three men and that those three men reciprocated those feelings in turn. At one point I was hoping to get more of the story between one of the other coup!es.
Whi!e I loved the old movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brother's, this similar trope didn't work in a romance novel. This just became too syrupy sweet and unbelievable.

A guilty pleasure! I had not read the earlier books in the series before picking this one out (thanks Netgalley) so I came to the characters with fresh eyes - and it was fine as a standalone. Lucy has been living under the strictures of first her father and now her odious uncle, who wants to marry her off so that he can keep control of her inheritance. A chance meeting with Ciernan (the circumstances are unlikely btw but go with it) leads to a fast friendship and then a genius idea- that she will become engaged to him and then he'll leave her, drawing things out so that she gets past the age of 21 without being married. He, however, has a history back in Scotland. Of course, the two of them fall in love and well, you can more or less guess how this goes. I liked the characters and the story was a treat.

For The Sake Of A Scottish Rake, by Anna Bradley, is available at booksellers on 2-18-20. Rake is book 3 in Ms Bradley's Besotted Scots series. I've been a fan of Ms Bradley's since her first book in 2015. I discovered that book by accident, it had a hot cover, and have followed every series since then. I've given Rake a rare, for me, 5 stars. It's the most entertaining book I've read in some time. I was invested in the characters, their journey, and HEA. I liked Lucy and Ciaran and rooted for them from page 1 to the very end (which is good).

Lucy is a free spirit, finally set, kinda, free. She takes advantage of opportunities for adventures, trying not to get caught & ruin her reputation. I could believe her frame of mind and wish for something more. She meets Ciaran on her 1st big adventure and her lust for life brings Ciaran out of his funk. He's had to leave his home & start over & hasn't taken it well. He's a kind man, handsome too, Scottish with a sexy accent, and drawn to Lucy like a moth to a flame. They start as friends but in reality the relationship was more from the moment they met. Takes them an entire book to finally fess up and admit what we already knew. The journey is fun, witty, and sweet. The secondary characters are terrific and were fleshed out enough to make their love stories interesting too. Watching 3 bachelors taken to their knees is fun. Between the 3 couples there's a plethora of emotions flying around making for an interesting read. I really loved this book. Already looking forward to Ms Bradley's next offering.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#AnnaBradley #ForTheSakeOfAScottishRake #BesottedScots #netgalley #KensingtonPress #LyricalPress #historicalromance #romance

3 1/2 stars. This author knows how to weave a good story. I enjoyed the friends to lovers trope and both MCs were interesting and well developed. I have only read the first book in this series but I don't feel like I missed anything but not yet reading the 2nd book. Not my favorite by this author but would definitely recommend!

For The Sake of a Scottish Rake by Anna Bradley. This is the third book in the Besotted Scott series. I have read the second book in this series, but have not read the first book. I did not find that a problem understanding the plot and the characters in this book.

Lucy Sutcliffe has had a difficult life. Not monetarily but her father obviously suffered from mental illnesses and kept her quite close to home. Like not letting her out of the house. After his death, she moved in with her uncle, aunt and cousin. The first place they go to is Brighton right by the sea. Lucy goes swimming very early every morning, despite the fact it's not really a good idea. It is here she meets Ciaran. She enjoyed her time but knows that she will not see him again. Lucy is then forced to London for her season. Luckily Ciaran finds her again. However, Lucy is being forced into marrying a disgusting man. Not only is he older, but there seems to be some question about what happened to his last young wife. Lucy is being helped by Ciaran, cousin and some friends, but her uncle's deviousness puts her in a very dangerous situation. Can she find her way out? Can her friends help her? Can Ciaran step up and convince her that he loves her?

This Book was kind of a three for one special. There were three couples that found love during the novel. I think that made it more fun. Especially since everybody seemed to be clueless about the one they were attracted to, but everybody else knew. I think Lucy's uncle's deviousness was very twisted and was very glad her aunt and cousin tried to help her in so many ways. The end was a bit of a thriller and kept my attention. For The Sake of a Scottish Rake by Anna Bradley was a good read.

This is book 3 of the most recent Anna Bradley series. I haven't read the first one yet (Wayward Bride), but have read the second and loved it! This can be read easily as a standalone. Previous characters are briefly mentioned or make small appearances, but nothing that would affect the story.

Lucinda is with her extended family on a short vacation before the London season when she meets Ciaran. What follows is a sweet and lovely friendship that forms between the two. Ciaran is supposed to be on his way to Scotland to tie up some unfinished emotional business, but he must make sure Lucinda is fairing well during her first season. When he arrives, he finds all is not well, and helps her hatch a plan.

I think you should try this story if
You have tried Anna Bradley and disliked her stories in the past – really! I know people dislike many of her heroes, but Ciaran is totally different. This story was also less angst than her usual work.
You like a beta hero!
You like friends to lovers
You like a rescue plot, where not only the does the hero rescue the heroine, but she rescues herself as well
You like the fake relationship trope

I overall liked Lucinda. She has a sweet, curious, adventurous personality. She wants to see and experience what she can of the world. But she is also aware of the social constrictions of her time and that's something I love about Bradley's books and heroines. They are independent while still knowing they can't just do whatever they want without repercussions. She does make some decisions that irritated me a bit, more so towards the end of the book.

Ciaran I found to be unlike any of Bradley's other heroes. He's such a beta hero. He's oh so sweet. Caring. Responsible for Lucinda once he creates this relationship with her. I really enjoyed him as well.

I adore Bradley's kisses and sex scenes. This was on the lower steam end, tension building slowly throughout the story. A kiss and 1-2 scenes take place after the 60% mark I believe. I love them because they are filled with descriptions and longing and feelings and so detailed. They make me melt.

I think a part of me didn't love this story quite as much as I could have because I just read Scot Under the Covers by Suzanne Enoch and the plot was so similar. They are far from the same book, but just very similar feelings with the two characters becoming friends first, the personalities of the heroes, and the fact that the heroines had villain suitors.

I give 4 stars. Thank you netgalley for the complimentary ARC. These opinions are my own.

This is my first book from Anna Bradley, and I could not put it down. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the characters and absolutely loved that the minor characters found love and married just like the hero and heroine. I hate seeing an obvious infatuation of minor characters and then having to wait for their story/book to get their happy ending.

Lady Lucinda Sutcliffe, Lucy, wants to tip toe around the rules and hope for the best. When she takes an early morning swim in the ocean she is "rescued" by Ciaran Ramsey. Ciaran becomes her rescuer in several scenarios and eventually learns that in none of them did she actually need to be rescued. Over the days they form a friendship and when she finds out her Uncle is planning on selling her to a someone with evil intentions then he agrees to a fake courtship. But through the days and the time spent together the lines get blurred between friends and faux courting. When her uncle keeps pressuring her to marry the man of his choosing and her home life becomes unsafe; will Ciaran be able to keep Lucy safe? Will they give into their budding love or remain friends forever?

It was such a fun story and I absolutely loved the characters. I am looking forward to reading more from Mrs. Bradley and this is one book you should not skip.

Cute

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Besotted Scots
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

For the Sake of a Scottish Rake follows Lucy, a 20 year old heiress who is living with her cousin and her family. One early morning while Lucy is out for a swim, Ciaran attempts to save her when he thinks that she can't swim. This starts a friendship that is forced apart when Lucy's family leaves for London. After a series of events, Lucy and Ciaran meet again but Lucy's uncle plans on marrying her off to a man 3 times her age. Lucy and Ciaran start a fake courtship until she turns 21 so she can control her inheritance.

The book was fine. I didn't grow attached to any of the characters and found both MC's a little boring. Lucy is supposed to be this slightly wild, unconventional women but all she does is go swimming alone and knows how to pick a lock. What drove me crazy was that Lucy kept saying that she was Ciaran's best friend and that they were just friends when he asked her to accept him as her husband. Being friends was her whole reason to turn down the proposal and it got old real fast. Ciaran was ok, at least he didn't have the weird possessive thing going on. The side characters were ok. The whole book was fine.

Shout out to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in the Besotted Scots series and I believe it also features characters that appeared in the author's previous series. I think you can get away with reading it as a standalone but some of the characters may make more sense if you've read the author's other work. Our broody hero Ciaran is a bit depressed and kind of floating through life after being forced to flee his home and leave behind the woman he loved. Our headstrong heroine Lucy, orphaned and now the ward of her villainous uncle, is constantly finding herself in scrapes - due in part to her free-spirit naivete after years of living in isolation with her father. Ciaran and Lucy meet by happenstance and begin an unlikely friendship. This leads to a fake engagement in an attempt to thwart her guardian's malicious plotting. In addition to the central story, we also get two cute secondary bonus romances! This was such a charming friends to lovers story and like the previous books in the series - I enjoyed it immensely! Can't wait to read more from the author!

This is my fair and honest review, in my own words, given in return for this ARC. A quirky lady meets the unsuitable man of hers dreams. Can her ability to tell fanciful tales reel him in, or send him running?

For the Sake of a Scottish Rake is the third book in the Besotted Scots series. I haven’t read all the earlier books in the series, but I don’t feel like I missed anything by not reading them. The main characters were well-developed, and the book had a lot of humor. At first the book seemed to drag, but it speeds up once they arrive in London for the Season.
Lady Lucinda “Lucy” Sutcliffe had led a sheltered and she was ready for adventure. She meets and is “rescued” by Ciaran while swimming in the ocean. Although she didn’t need rescuing then, she does once she realizes her uncle had plans to marry her off and steal her money.
Ciaran Ramsey had been wandering through life after having to leave Scotland the woman he had loved all his life. Meeting Lucy seemed to rouse Ciaran from dull life. He tried to stay away from Lucy, but finally admitted to his interest in Lucy and their morning meetings on the beach.
When Lucy comes up with the idea of a fake engagement for six weeks, Ciaran was not going to let it be to any other man but himself. The more time they spend together as an engaged couple, the stronger their feelings become. Will they realize their love for one another before her uncle accomplishes his plans?
Once my interest was caught by the book it was hard to put down. Lucy was self-reliant, feisty, and full of spunk. Ciaran was a hero needing someone to help bring him back to life. I enjoyed the book, although I wish the author would have let the two other couples have their own books. Their courtships sounded like they had a great story behind them.

This was an enjoyable, but perhaps perplexing read. I enjoy the author’s writing style and I liked the premise of the story, but I didn’t care for the resolution. I LOVED that we got three romances for the price of one. I didn’t feel that the two additional romances detracted from the main romance at all since they mostly took place in the background. You knew they were happening, but they weren’t “in your face”.

We first met the Ramsey family in the final book of this author’s Somerset Sisters, More Or Less A Temptress. Three siblings, Lachlan, Isla, and Ciaran had to flee their home in Scotland when Lachlan was falsely accused of murder. At that same time, their mother told them that they had a brother, Finn, in England – and he is the Marquess of Huntington. As she lay dying, their mother urged them to flee to England and find their brother. Since then, we’ve seen Isla find her HEA in The Wayward Bride, and now, finally, the match I’ve been waiting for, Ciaran.

Of the Ramsey siblings, the one who was most affected by having to leave Scotland was Ciaran. In the year since they left, he has only half lived. He’s been listless, restless, bored and unhappy – especially since his siblings wed and they now have lives of their own. Ciaran longs to return to Scotland and to see if he can reunite with his betrothed who jilted him before Ciaran had to leave. His siblings have just encouraged him to accompany a couple of older ladies to Brighton to assure their safety. Little does he know that his life is about to be turned upside down.

Lady Lucinda (Lucy) Sutcliffe is the daughter of the Earl of Bellamy. Her father developed a neurosis after his wife was killed by a highwayman and everybody thought him mad. Basically, he walled himself and Lucy off from the world. Lucy had lived in isolation until her father passed away and she transferred into the care of her Uncle Jarvis. Lucy isn’t wild, exactly, she’s just exuberant to be out of isolation and to be able to enjoy the world. In her enthusiasm, and naivete, she finds herself in a couple of situations that lead someone else (read that Ciaran) to believe that she needed rescuing. She didn’t, she had a plan, but you can’t argue with someone who is the size of a house. And, actually, she does need rescuing, she just doesn’t know it yet.

I loved their first meeting. It was entertaining and funny and sets the pace for many of their interactions. I loved how smart and resourceful Lucy was – with one minor blip when she did the required TSTL action. However, she soon overcame that and was back to her resourceful self – and rescued herself.

What didn’t I like? Well, as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t like the resolution. There was a very, very, vile villain – I mean despicable (just wait until you read all he does) – and he gets absolutely no, none, nada, zip, zilch punishment. Actually, it felt to me as if he were rewarded. At the very least he could have had to flee to the continent – but – I would have preferred that someone hang him upside down from a tree with his nose in a red ant bed – then dribble him with honey and let the ants take care of the rest. Sorry, did I mention he was vile?

The thing that perplexed me was how Jarvis came to be her guardian. Her father was an earl, and whoever inherited the earldom would have been her nearest male relative. So, why wasn’t he her guardian? Jarvis didn’t inherit the earldom, so how could he be her nearest male relative? Jarvis could have been her mother’s brother I guess, but, still, things just don’t run through the mother’s side. If nobody inherited the title, the estate would have reverted to the crown, so how would she have inherited Bellamy House? Maybe Bellamy house was a smaller, unentailed property, but it was where she and the earl lived, so I can’t imagine it being unentailed. It was just that that particular scenario didn’t make sense to me. No real explanations were provided.

All-in-all, it was an enjoyable read with delightful characters, witty moments, tense moments, and a lovely romance – or three.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an advanced reader’s copy of For the Sake of a Scottish Rake by Anna Bradley.

I’ve been wanting to read Ciaran’s story for a while. He’s always been an intriguing character to me from the previous books in the series.

I loved the meet cute in this story. I liked that the story focused on Ciaran and Lucy developing a friendship first. The story had what I thought was a good twist. I liked Lucy though I didn’t always agree with her actions and she seemed a bit reckless at times.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and reading how Ciaran and Lucy get to their HEA.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this awesome, witty, story of Ciarin and Lucy. Lucy was a strong willed heroine and Ciarin was a hero in need of saving. He thought Lucy needed rescuing from the sea, but she was just having a morning swim. She kicked him for his efforts. This is a delightful friend to lovers story. Soon their friendship turns into more. Her evil uncle plans her marriage to an evil old man to get him out of debt. You must read this to find out what happens. You won’t be sorry. It is wonderful with well thought out characters. Fall in love with Lucy and Ciarin on the path to a HEA. I highly recommend this book and any by this author. I give it five stars.

<b>FRIENDS TO LOVERS IN THE BEST WAY! ❤</b>

This book came out of left field. Honestly, I didn't have the highest expectations. Oh boy, how wrong I was! This is definitely among the better historical romances I have read - and I have read quite a few!

<i>Disclaimer - this is the 3rd book in a series where I have not read the rest. This will not affect the following review.</i>

<b>👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍</b>

<u>Romance</u>: The relationship between the two main characters, Lucy and Ciaran, was just adorable! I loved how they started out as friends and built a relationship from there. No insta-love here and I ❤ it!

<u>Lucy</u>: I love strong, female leads and Lucy definitely takes her place amongst those! She was headstrong, brave and brazen - and she didn't need a man to save her! Literally!

<u>Original</u>: Regency romances are hard to make original, I think. There's isn't much variety in the plots or the characters. However, this did feel somewhat original and different. No, it wasn't a genre bending kind of book, but it was a great attempt at a new take.

<u>Read on!</u>: Perhaps the greatest thing I can say, that I take with me after reading this... I want to read the rest of the series!

For the Sake of a Scottish Rake is a clever, fun regency romance. While there is the requisite evil uncle trying to get control over the heroine's fortune Lucy is a clever, strong heroine able to get herself out of trouble and is looking for adventure. She and Ciaran meet early one morning on the beach in Brighton. Ciaran thinks she's drowning and is kicked in the face trying to save her!! Regardless a friendship soon develops between them which inevitably leads
to love...but neither will admit to it. With a great love story and charming characters I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Lucinda "Lucy" Sutcliffe has come to live with her uncle, aunt and cousin. Although her uncle is a jerk, so far things haven't been so bad. She has met and made a friend, Ciaran Ramsey. Lucinda has even recently found out that she will get to have a season, which is exciting. What's not exciting is that her uncle arranges her marriage to an absolute lecher.

Ciaran never would have believed men and women could be just friends, but Lucy has shown him it's possible. He is all set to leave for Scotland until he learns Lucy is being forced to marry a man not of her choosing. Ciaran decides to stay and court her himself, on the condition that after six months, they'll go their separate ways as Lucy will come into her inheritance. Easy enough, right?

I give FOR THE SAKE OF THE SCOTTISH RAKE by author Anna Bradley 3.5 stars. It got off to a great start, but Ciaran kind of put me off with his hemming and hawing around whether he had feelings for Lucy or not. I really liked that they had so a strong friendship and how it slowly led to more. This is the third addition to Ms. Bradley's BESOTTED SCOTS series. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

3.5 rounded up

Lady Lucinda Sutcliffe has lived a very sheltered life and is now finally about to have a season. As she spends time in Brighton with her aunt and uncle, Lucy embraces freedom and danger, making the acquaintance of heroic Scotsman Ciaran Ramsey, who seems to always be there to save her from a scrape. Lucy doesn't really need saving, but her friendship with Ciaran continues to grow stronger and when she learns of her uncle's plan to sell her off in marriage to a scoundrel in exchange for the forgiveness of his debts and a piece of her fortune, Lucy realizes she does need Ciaran's help. She only needs to avoid marriage for a few weeks until she turns 21 and gains control of her fortune so a fake engagement to Ciaran is just the thing. She plans to have him jilt her once her birthday has passed, but their feelings soon become all too real, only Lucy continues to believe them to be one-sided.

Lucy was ridiculously frustrating. She was stubborn and willfully naive, despite the fact that she was fully aware of just how sheltered she really was. Even after learning of her uncle's scheming, she didn't really think he would stoop to doing such a thing to her, despite the fact that his own wife and daughter hate him. She just never stopped to think about anything, especially Ciaran's feelings, and refused to listen to him; she was happy enough to doubt Ciaran while putting undeserved faith in her terrible uncle's sense of decency. It made no sense.

This one was full of angst, people who have no idea how to communicate, and scheming relatives who are constantly being underestimated. This was definitely a slow burn between Ciaran and Lucy because they started off as friends and because of this stunted communication. The plot was heavily driven by Lucy making stupid decisions and I found myself rapidly losing patience with her. The pace did finally pick up in the last quarter or so, though still plagued with poor decisions and lack of communication, but it did hold my attention and kept me invested. When the communication did finally come, however, it was truly lovely, especially on Ciaran's part and given his struggle with depression and apathy in the previous books of this series. All in all, I enjoyed this one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved reading the exciting and captivating romance story. Since Lucinda's Uncle Jarvis is deep in debt, he wants her to marry an old man, Godfrey, but Lucinda wants her best friend, Ciaran Ramsey to help her and pretend to be courting her, but Ciaran has plans to return to Scotland. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, full of heart-wrenching, suspense, and action, and a must read love story.
I reviewed a copy of the book from NetGalley.