Pursued by the Rake by Mary Lancaster


‘And yet still, he had touched no more than her hand, her wrist.

Dear God, to be closer to him now, feel his kisses on her mouth, the hardness of his body, naked and caressing...She could not control the tiny gasp.

They stood a yard away from her bedchamber door.

“Why,” he whispered, “do I always find it so hard to say goodnight to you?”’


This was such a cleverly mapped out, beautifully written, wonderfully executed love story. It was a delicious, sensual, slow-burning tale of second-chances, unlikely friendships, bravery, highway robberies, scandal and a touch of royal salaciousness to give it all a bit more bite.


I adored our heroine, Hazel. Although she started out this story fleeing, in peril, unsure and a little aggravated by her circumstances, she never let those negative emotions swamp her. She merely gathered her courage and set off on a different route. I loved her wit and intelligence, how she bantered and threw barbs at Joe. She wasn’t intimidated by him or her situation. It was wonderful to watch their reluctant friendship blossom and grow, to see the initial reactions and misconceptions fall by the wayside as they were forced into close proximity with each other. The slow-burn, stoke the embers and watch it flare kind of passion, is always a thousand times more thrilling, seductie and elevating than the love stories that rush everything, leaving readers feeling dissatisfied.


Joe was a truly sublime hero. He had that rakish air about him when we first encountered him but you just knew going in that there were as many layers to his personality as there was to Hazel’s. He was a little reckless, a bit of a mischievous hellion and a flirt to boot, but there was no mistaking his depth of loyalty, chivalry and adoration when it came to our intrepid female protagonist, Hazel.


Having two perfectly matched, exceptionally well written lead characters such as Hazel and Joe certainly brings the story to life in vivid technicolour. The descriptions were impeccable, the children adding humour and devilry, the dialogue sparkling and amusing. In a nutshell, Pursued By the Rake was an absolutely joyful and thoroughly entertaining madcap adventure, full of romance, comedy, bad guys, revenge, absurd jailbreak plans and an Ottoman prince.


‘Slowly, he raised one hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. Then he raised the other and turned it so that he could drop a kiss on the inside of her wrist. This time, his lips lingered, and a thrill seemed to run through her veins like fire.’

Miss Hazel Curwen is one of Princess Caroline's Ladies who finds herself in a terrifying position in the royal chambers. Trying to save her reputation she sets off for the only help she can think of, only to run into trouble.

Sir Joseph Sayle is a diplomat who uses his natural charm all over the world in service to England. Sometimes he has been known to be in bedrooms that are not his own. At heart he is a gentleman willing to help a lady in distress.

A fun historical romance with fabulous characters and a nasty villain with revenge in mind. A real romp through the countryside.

This is the first book in a series and I will definitely be reading the rest.

Great fun.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was enjoyable. Hazel's reputation will be ruined if it gets put that she was unchaperoned at an orgy. She along with 3 other young ladies in waiting assumed they were to travel with the Princess of Wales but she was already gone when they arrived at her estate. Hazel decides to travel to her old governess's home in order to pretend she was there all along. Sir Joseph helps her by bring her to his mother's estate picking up a gaggle of children along the way. I liked hazel and Joe's realtionship. Their wasn't very much to the story but it was a fun way to spend a few hours. I would be open to reading something else by this author.

Will her ruin become her salvation...

Nothing better than be at the beginning of a series, no feelings of having missed something, no regret to have not read the book before, no visiting characters as everyone is newly introduced.
I have read quite a lot of regency stories, and few to none where with the Princess of Wales as a “side character”, as even if she is not physically present, she is part of the plot. Every regency set story mentions Prinny but near to none his estranged wife. Plus, while I have read some romances with ladies-in-waiting, I quite thought it was a custom of the past, well something before the XIXth century. But of course, there are royals, so there is a court with its lot of courtiers.

Hazel and Joe courtship was quite sweet, while Hazel after her first encounter with him labeled him as a rake, and tried to avoid his presence. When in time of need, he is the only one to step in and help her.
And very soon, she realizes everything she thought about him was only preconceived ideas. He is his reputation but also a kind and caring man, not one to hesitate to give a hand when necessary.
Joe knows his relationship with Hazel was strained by their first meeting, she dislikes everything he represents.
But the more time they spend time together, the more she lets her enmity shows. Revealing the fair and thoughtful woman she is.
This is a journey of discovery for them, where they bury the past and their false assumptions to open their heart to something they did not expect.
Both are very likable characters and while I did not agree with Hazel last move, I also understand why, because it was a considerate choice.
Mrs Lancaster gifts us with a lovely tale of seing past society’s lenses.
I hope we will see again Selim.
4.5 stars

I was granted an advance copy by the publisher Dragonblade Publishing, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

Miss Hazel Curwen finds herself facing ruin after she and three other ladies-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales, after left alone overnight at a wild party at the princess’ residence. Fleeing from the scene, seems the only means of saving their reputation. Soon after, Hazel finds herself accepting help from Sir Joseph Sayle, a man who she believes took advantage of the princess. Despite her initial perception of Joseph, Hazel soon finds herself, enjoying his company as they travel to their destination. It soon becomes apparent he may not be the rake that she thought him to be.
Both Hazel and Joseph are interesting characters and their time together gradually revealed their true personalities. Joseph is definitely more than he initially seems, coming across as a man of honour, who is both passionate and caring. Hazel’s journey is quite a difficult one, as she tries to uncover who has been involved in her fall from grace. Despite this, the romance between the couple was definitely forefront in this story, making for a great read.

I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

Lancaster's debut for her new series was definitely not a disappointment. I can see why other reviewers may feel it was a bit slow or bland, but I felt like that made it all the more interesting as we uncovered the "real" personalities of the characters. I thought the heroine would be a timid, damsel in distress type, but was happy to see that she has some hidden backbone, depth and fire that I love to see in female protagonists. Although there were some typical tropes (as with most historical/regency romance), the romance was still very sweet and I thought Lancaster did a delightful job putting some new spins on an old genre.

This book was an easy read, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a lighthearted weekend/beach read.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I give the author props for an original beginning. The heroine meets the hero when he walks about of the princess's bedroom, buttoning his pants after he had been 'cavorting' with the princess. I was intrigued, but sceptical that these two would find common ground and find love in this story. I expected a mish-mash of ideas, one more outlandish than the next. But this author was unexpectedly clever and concise. The heroine has made an enemy because she didn't want to 'cavort' with a slimy Lord. So he sets up an elaborate trap to ruin the reputation of 4 of the princess's hand maidens. When the 4 ladies realized that they had been ruined by attending an orgy when they had been invited by the princess to attend her, they went 4 seperate ways. Our heroine met the hero along the way and had some very interesting and realistic adventures where they see found common ground. They saved children, discovered espionage, and assisted a political ali. This author uses a deft turn of phrase and ingenious ideas to tell her story. There was a fair-should-be-fare situation with spelling, but other than that the book was correct with spelling and grammar. The story is very well written with all the plots taken care of and no danglers. This is a stand alone story that made sense. I highly recommend reading. I give it 5 stars.

I had to DNF this one at 25%. I might pick it up later on, but I really struggled to get into it. The characters felt very bland for me and I wasn't able to get connect with them at all. I was also really confused about what was happening as well. I didn't know who was who. We were just chucked into it and it didn't do anything for me.

This is my fair and honest review, voluntarily given and in my own words, for this ARC. Not a steamy tale by any means. To me, the tale was a bit disjointed. Too many tales within it that really should have been seperate stories.