The good girl made a good deal in “The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes” by Eva Leigh. In book one of the Last Chance Scoundrels series, Kieran Ransome and his brother helped jilt their own sister, for good reason, from their best friend. The scandalous antic led to his father, an earl, and his best friend’s father to demand all three men marry respectable women or financial support will cease.

Celeste Kilburn’s older brother is best friends with Kieran and she has the perfect reputation to get the rake into the ton’s good graces. In exchange for introducing him to respectable maidens, he will take her to disreputable places to experience freedom as “Salome” before being shackled by society’s standards.

I enjoyed the modern aspects in the book regarding consent, breaking the mold regarding masculinity, and inclusivity to name a few.

I love an aristocrat villain because it shows that no one is better than anyone else. I love that through freedom, discovery, and new friends, it helped Celeste both grow and get away from the villain’s grasp.

The chemistry between the main character can be felt, especially the anguish before their happily ever after.

If you enjoy good girls gone bad-ish, man-liner, and close proximity then this book is for you!

Thank you to Net Galley, Avon, and Harper Voyager US for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I can thoroughly say that I enjoyed The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes. The story follows rake hell Kieran Ransom and prim and proper debutante Celeste Kilburn. Basically Kieran along with his brother Finn and best friend Dom(Celeste’s brother) get into some trouble at the very start of the book, and this leads to the brothers’ parents along with Dom’s father giving them an ultimatum to become respectable and get married before the year is out. One thing leads to another and Kieran asks Celeste to make him respectable by introducing him to prospective brides and socializing with proper ton. Celeste is the proper heroine in the story that always does what is expected of her, but we find out she’s not satisfied with this “good girl” role she’s been filling. So Celeste makes a deal with Kieran that if she’s to make him respectable, he needs to take her out to London’s more disreputable side. Celeste wants to have fun and do what’s least expected for a change. I would recommend this book, I really had a good time reading Celeste and Kieran’s romance blossom. Plus it’s an extra steamy book! I can’t wait for Finn and Dom’s books either!

3.75/5 stars!

As one of the foremost scoundrels in London, the hero's latest antics resulted in a scandal that made the hero's father giving him an ultimatum. Needing help, the hero turns to the heroine and the two struck up a deal. Along the journey of helping each other, the hero and heroine ends up falling in love.

This is an enjoyable start to this latest Eva Leigh series. I enjoyed the main couple as individuals and their journey in their romantic relationship. There were supportive secondary characters and ones that were essential to the story. This story provided unexpected banter, sweetness, friendships, and humor. I enjoyed the overall story even with my personal preference of needing more details in certain parts of the book. And the book cover is eye-catching, so I hope that the rest of the series will have the same colorful book covers. In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading more Eva Leigh books in the future.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, steamy, held my interest and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Kieran is a rake with the threat of losing his income if he doesn't marry a respectable woman. Celeste is his friend's sister and a respectable woman among her peers. The two make a deal for her to introduce him to proper society women. Celeste only asks Kieran to take her to the places of ill repute where she has to disguise herself. Along the way the couple fall for each other and when a scandal erupts Kieran has to save the woman he loves in the way of marriage.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.

*4.5 Stars*

When Kieran instigates a huge scandal for his family, his father threatens to cut him off unless he finally buckles down and finds himself a respectable wife. But these kinds of ladies are in short supply in Kieran's life, he turns to his best friend's sister, Celeste for help. In return for introductions to respectable society, he will introduce her to the seedier side of London that he frequents.

Celeste breaks out of her gilded cage as "Salome", as Kieran escorts her around London. They both face intense pressure from their families to marry, and marry well, Kieran with the threats from his father, and Celeste's self-made father has high expectations of her too, to cement their place in society by marrying a titled lord. A useful plot device, but confusing. Celeste's family was already accepted in high society - her brother was set to marry an Earl's daughter, his best friends are titled, and Celeste receives all the best invites - which both seemed unusual and unbelievable, as well as made Celeste's prospective marriage superfluous.

This was a bit of a slow burn, but the chemistry between Kieran and Celeste was potent. I really enjoyed both of their characters, and their interactions together. They were both developed beautifully. And the dirty talk was delicious.

After reading this book I'm really excited for the rest of this series. There are some great side characters, and the scenes between Kieran, Finn, and Dom were especially funny.

This was a trope-tastic romp: best friend's sister, forbidden love, forced proximity, reformed rake and quid pro quo. But, it felt original, well developed, and I really liked the setup of the plot. Some people thought it was a slow start, but I was hooked from the beginning and found the story to be well-paced and cleverly done.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoyed this book and thought the characters were likable and interesting. I especially enjoyed the side characters and the potential for their future books.

✨a s*xually repressed heroine and a sexy, eyeliner wearing reformed rake based off of aidan turner who wants nothing but to ravish her ✨

Is there some secret rule that fictional, rakish scoundrels get to have so much power over me? 😩🙌🏽

This series is going to follow three delicious rakes who have to get married before they get cutoff. . . chaos and scandalous romance to be expected 😏😏 This book was a satisfying and scrumptious start to the series 😩

Tropes:
🥺 reformed rake bad boy with a secret soft side
😏 non-toxic hero who wears eyeliner
🔥 brother’s best friend
😉 they give each other lessons
💃🏽 s*xually repressed heroine finds her freedom through him
🥵 dirty talk

Leigh is an expert at giving us a reliable, well done romance that takes simple tropes and delivers them in a shiny, sexy, irresistible package 😍😍

The dirty talk, the steam, the chemistry. . . how could I ever be expected to stay calm and collected with these odds stacked up against me? 😩😩

I know we all love a good romance sparked by a scandal. And this book gives us nothing but the best. Kieran turns to the s*xually repressed heroine and promises to show her the world if she teaches him respectability in return. 😏

I have mentioned this before, I don’t really like the “she asks him for lessons,” trope. I don’t know why, it just gets a little dry and redundant for me sometimes. But I have found some books where it worked for me, I can confidently add this book to that list. 🙌🏽🙌🏽

Celeste was headstrong and rambunctious, blooming like a flower when given the opportunity and the freedom, much like many of us, I am sure. Her thirst for something more was refreshing and relatable 😍😍

Leigh doesn’t necessarily do something extraordinary or give us something brand new with this book. But what she does give us, she’s written and developed to perfection 😍 Both characters were intricately layered and wonderfully mature. There was no time wasted on miscommunication or childish conflict 😩🙌🏽

I cannot wait to read more from this series. Finn and Dom have already piqued my interested, don’t be shocked if I fall head over heels for them 😏😏

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 stars | 🌶🌶.5/ 5 steam

Thank you to Avon, Netgalley, and Eva Leigh for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion ❤️

If you're looking for an ADVENTURE filled with witty banter, a rogue being rogue-ish, and a heroine wishing for more excitement, this one is for you. It's setting up an incredibly compelling story, and the characters here are just the absolute most loveable! I would read a hundred more pages about their exploits!

If only NetGalley would let me give half stars, I’d give this book 3.5 stars instead of what looks like 3.

Kieran, the third son of an earl, is a rake and the book starts with him and his brother, Finn, helping their best friend, Dom, skip out on his wedding to their sister. The set-up for the next two books in this series is established!

Our heroine is Celeste, who is now her family’s remaining hope to raise their social status in society. Her father is a self-made man who wants the stature and respectability of those born into society. Luckily for her, she’s been to finishing school and she’s being courted by a future Marquess. (Perhaps this was changed for the final published version, but her father calls her Star, and it’s not explained how she has that nickname although it’s not hard to connect Celeste and Star.)

Celeste wants more out of life than being a lady of society. She wants to give back to Ratcliff, the community where she spent part of her youth, before her family had wealth. She wants adventure too, so she makes a deal with Kieran. She’ll help him improve his reputation to meet his parent’s demands, in return he takes her to places she’d never be allowed to go as herself. You can imagine what happens from there.

The writing is good, the historical elements seem well-researched and the story is low-angst and sweet. The big surprise and treat is that the first eleven chapters give zero hint of the dirty talk that the second half of the book contains! I won’t spoil any other surprises, but I will say that this reader fully appreciated this surprise and even more, the use of the c-word in a consensual, respectful and racy encounter!

I’m familiar with this author and her body of work, but I didn’t love this book. I never really connected with the characters and never got the sense they were fully developed. The story was driven by action and reaction and character seemed to adapt to each situation rather than drive it.

Still, Ms. Leigh is doing some good work incorporating progressive and feminist ideals into modern historical romance and I hope that the rest of the series integrates more of her character and storytelling skills as she navigates this growth as a writer.

Thanks to NetGalley I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.

I truly loved this historical romance! After Kieran becomes embroiled in a scandal, he is offered an ultimatum from his father - get married to a respectable lady within a year or be cut off financially. Kieran soon realizes that he only knows one respectable lady - his best friend's sister, Celeste Kilburn. She agrees to help Kieran make inroads with society ladies in exchange for him showing her the "seedier" sides of the city. Their time together quickly turns into desire for each other that they cannot ignore.

I loved that, though society didn't really allow her to, Celeste has agency in this book! She knows that she can't have that agency in regular society so she creates a space in which she can, through her bargain with Kieran. And for as much of a "rake" as Kieran portrays himself to be, it's so clear how kind and soft-hearted he is through his actions and his poetry.

Overall I highly recommend this one and can't wait to read the next in the series!

Notorious rake Kieran goes too far—contributing to a scandal that could ruin his sister's reputation. His father gives him an ultimatum: marry a respectable lady within a twelvemonth, or lose his allowance. So he asks Celeste, his best friend's sister, to help him rehabilitate his reputation. She agrees, with one stipulation: introduce her to the more risqué side of London society, before she resigns herself to a loveless marriage with the stodgy earl who's courting her. Reluctantly, Kieran agrees, squiring her about disguised as "Salome." But what will they do if her true identity is discovered?

The tension and chemistry between these two is off the charts. If you like stories of reputed good girls letting loose and getting into late-night shenanigans, this book is for you.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes is the first book in Eva Leigh's Last Chance Scoundrels series. If this book is any indication of the rest of the series, we are definitely in for a wild, hot, sexy ride! It's always exciting to start a new series, particularly when it's by such a talented author as Ms. Leigh.

Kieran Ransome is a notorious rake, but his latest antic is a step too far; his father informs him that if he doesn't find and marry a respectable woman within a year, he will inherit absolutely nothing! The problem is, he doesn't know any respectable women! Or perhaps he does... Celeste Kilburn, the sister of Kieran's best friend Dom, is one of society's darlings, and she is well liked and respected by members of the ton. She s trying her best to keep a perfect reputation, which doesn't leave her much time for adventure, especially since she has a pending engagement to an earl her father chooses for her, not one she wants. So when Kiernan approaches her for help in getting into the right social circles, she agrees on one condition - that he shows her the seedier side of London. Soon Kiernan is escorting Celeste, dressed up as "Salome", to gaming hells and wild parties. Their attraction grows the more time they spend together; however, eventually someone discovers what Celeste is up to in the night. Can Kieran save the reputation of the woman he has come to love?

I can honestly say this is one of the steamiest books I've read in a long time! Kieran and Celeste were just perfect for each other. To be honest, I didn't care much for Kieran at first. He came across as a dissolute rake with no redeeming qualities. However, the more I got to know him and his background with his parents, the easier he was to understand and I fell in love with him, potty mouth, eyeliner and all. Celeste I adored from the start. She and her family came from the docks and moved on up, and her father was basically pinning all of the family's aspirations on her. He wanted her to go shopping twice a week and have the best of everything; that's why her Da wanted her to marry an earl. But Celeste didn't want the best of everything; her biggest dream was to return to the place of her birth and set up a charity to help the poor people read and make something of themselves. She also wanted to have adventures since soon the would be married to a man she didn't particularly like and knew she'd never have a chance later for those adventures. What better man to show her the wild side but a rake! Celeste, or "Salome", threw herself wholeheartedly into London's scandalous side with Kieran as her guide. They were very much attracted to each other and when their relationship became physical, the heat was off the charts! If intimate foul language offends you, you may not like those portions of the book; but their chemistry made it all the sexier. There was plenty of humor here too, and also some tears. I couldn't force myself to put this book down! I believe Kieran's brother Finn will star in the next book, and then Celeste's brother Dom. I can't wait!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is the start of a new series and it’s a solid beginning.
In historical romances, I’m a big fan of the heroine/hero making a bargain. It just provides a ton of opportunities for fun ( and possibly steamy) moments while building intimacy. The dynamic between the heroine and hero here certainly lived up to this. Both Celeste and Kieran were great on their own but were fantastic together. I loved reading their interactions!
I liked that we understood Kieran and Celeste’s motivations. It gave them more depth.
This was a steamy book so be prepared!
Can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

This book was everything I love about historical romances and then some. I'm ashamed to admit that this is my first Eva Leigh book, but I can assure you it will not be my last after the hot factor she brought in this book. This brought me out of my book slump and left me so excited for the next installment in her Last Chance Scoundrels series.

I thoroughly loved both the hero and the heroine in this book. Kieran Ransome is every single thing I've ever wanted in a hero. He is quick-witted and boy oh boy does he have a dirty mouth. I enjoyed the banter between him, Dom, and Finn.
Watching our heroine, Celeste, fully develop into the woman she has locked away deep inside is so satisfying. The chemistry between Celeste and Kieran is intense and I could not get enough of it. They support and bring out the best in each other, not just in the bedroom of course.

I will admit when I was 80% done with the book and I knew there had to be some plot twist, I didn't think the author could pull it off. How many times have we all read a historical romance where the plot twist just fell flat in the last fourth of the book and just ruined everything? Eva Leigh works her magic and delivers just when you need it though! This plot twist was everything you've ever wanted in a plot twist but is very rarely executed well.

I am eagerly anticipating Finn's story in the next installment, The Wallflower Wins.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. All of the above opinions are of my own.

Review to appear at Smexy Books https://smexybooks.com/:
This book felt like it took a lot of time to get going. It starts with a bride being jilted at the altar and the groom, Dom, being aided in his departure by the two groomsmen, Kieran and Finn Ransome. As a result, all three men, or rather rakes, are saddled with getting married or being cut off by the Ransome patriarch. Dom’s sister, the eminently respectable Celeste Kilburn, is also stuck in a marriage trap: wed the stifling Lord Montford and bring respectability to her nouveau-riche father and brother or turn him down and bring the whole family down. Naturally then, Kieran Ransome trades giving Celeste some freedom to experience life before her betrothal for her assistance in making him respectable and eligible for society marriage.

Guess what happens? She experiences the more risqué side of adult London, and he experiences an uptick in his gentlemanly value. But also, no surprise, they fall in love.

My biggest beef with this book is not that it begins so slowly, but that there is so little tension overall. Sure, there are the tensions of circumstance – the bad fathers exerting pressure all around, Lord Montford with his creepy controlling ways, and the usual regency society frowning upon anything errant. But Kieran and Celeste are completely compatible from almost the get-go. Kieran, I might add, has an awfully sincere second wave feminist sensibility for a man apparently raised by 18th-century parents. His attention to Celeste’s agency and choice was endearing but seemed a little over-stressed in the novel. I liked both characters, but I feel like I would have gotten more into their relationship if they hadn’t been quite so idealized.

Kieran and Celeste’s arrangement puts them in a near impossible situation by the end of the novel. The solution to their problem is clever and maybe a bit conveniently buried earlier in the novel. I did want to know how they’d get out of it, but I wasn’t completely satisfied by the ending.

Rules are made for challenge – not obedience.

Celeste has been listening to their silent commands her entire life. She has let them confine her to a view of the world from a single window. But it’s no longer enough to docilely assume the role and the path that have been chosen for her. Before she sacrifices herself to her family’s ambition, she wants something just for herself. A chance to gaze out other windows. A chance to sip champagne in the moonlight and dance under the stars. A chance for a stolen kiss.

I loved this fiercely feminine historical romance about a woman coming into her own. Celeste’s epiphany about what she wants and who she can be was liberating and inspiring. I loved this story about two people who don’t comfortably fit into the roles that have been assigned to them. Two people who feel the most at ease with themselves when they are with each other.

This was my first Eva Leigh novel, and I wasn't disappointed! Leigh did a great job of depicting Kieran and Celeste getting to know each other and falling in love. It was very believable and I loved that they truly understood each other and trusted each other in a way they didn't feel with anyone else. I wasn't a huge fan of the way the novel started. Kieran and his brother Finn help their friend Dom jilt their sister on her wedding day, I was confused by their decision making and as a catalyst for the entire plot of the novel, it fell a little short for me.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable historical romance.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I’ve been trying to sort out my feelings on The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes for about a month. On the one hand, I enjoyed reading it and liked the story, but I also found it not all that memorable in the long run. I feel like it was missing that special something to make it stand out. All that to say is I did enjoy it, but I don’t think I loved it.

When Kieran Ransome helps his best friend abandon his sister at the altar, there are consequences. His parents issue an ultimatum: find a respectable wife within a year or inherit nothing. As a notorious rake, finding someone who can help reshape his reputation is a must. Celeste Kilburn is society’s darling with a sterling reputation. However, she wishes to escape her gilded cage and the pressures her father and society put on her. When Kieran, her older brother’s best friend, comes to her to help reform his reputation, she makes a deal with him: she’ll introduce him to the right social circles if he shows her London’s scandalous side. Disguised as “Salome,” Kieran escorts her to gambling hells, rowdy parties and sensual art salons while their attraction to each other grows. But when someone discovers the midnight escapees, Celeste’s freedom and reputation are on the line.

I enjoyed the romance between Kieran and Celeste, but I also found I wasn’t as super invested as I thought I would be. One of the novel’s central themes is finding yourself and the one person who accepts you for who you are, without judgment, and the romance is central to that. That ended up making this romance lean more sweet than sexy. Yes, there are still some love scenes and some great scenes featuring A+ dirty talk, but at its heart, the romance that bloomed between Kieran and Celeste was sweet. They both see the other for who they are and accept them for it. Everyone else wants to change them into someone else, but they can be honest and free with each other.

For Kieran, he presents to the world as a scoundrel and thrives on stirring up attention as a means of pissing off his parents. Deep down, all this man wants to do is write his poems and feel his feelings. He’s a lovable rogue with a heart of gold who loves to rock some guyliner. His parents truly tried to force some toxic masculinity down his throat by forcing him to give up his poetry as emotions are a sign of weakness in a man. He becomes a scoundrel to rebel against them, but he just wants them to accept him and love him for who he is instead of having their scorn.

For Celeste, she feels trapped because of her father’s heavy expectations. They grew up in poverty, and her father was able to work his way up and amass a fortune as a result. Now, he wants his daughter to marry into nobility as he thinks a title and wealth will be all she needs to be happy. Meanwhile, that’s the exact opposite of what she wants for Celeste. She doesn’t want to be the one family member with a pristine reputation. She wants to indulge a little and let loose. Dressing up as Salome allows her to be who she is – it frees her in so many ways. I also admired that she wanted to help the people from her old neighborhood, but her father was so obsessed with status and looking forward that he bars Celeste from doing anything related to their past.

In addition to the theme of finding yourself and the one person who accepts you for who you are, this book is incredibly feminist. It might feel a bit modern for some readers, but I love it. Celeste takes control of her life through her sexuality. She has control over her own body and choices, and deciding to sleep with Kieran is a choice she makes for herself because she wants to. That’s celebrated in this novel, and I loved it as historical romance at its core is inherently feminist.

In terms of the plot, I enjoyed reforming the rake and walking on the wild side of the story. However, I did find the conflict with Montfort and him discovering Salome’s real identity to be introduced and resolved way too quickly. It’s the only real conflict in the book, and I would have liked it to be a little more drawn out. It was wrapped up very quickly with too neat of a bow for my tastes.

Overall, I liked this, but it didn’t wow me. Something was missing that made me fully invested in the romance and the story. However, I still think many people will like this book, and I still think it’s worth picking up. I’m also very excited for book two, focusing on Kieran’s brother Finn. I enjoyed the Ransome brother’s relationship and cannot wait to see Finn, who keeps his emotions close to his chest, get bowled over by love.

Thank you to Avon/Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts, ideas and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Love love LOVE this first book in Eva Leigh's new series.

Kieran and Finn Ransome (the younger sons of an earl) screwed up when they helped their best friend, Dom Kilburn, flee from his wedding to their sister. Now, all three are faced with an ultimatum from their parents: all must marry respectable ladies, or all will be cut off forever. Kieran doesn't care for the idea of marriage, but not one to let his brother and friend down, he approaches the most--and perhaps only--respectable lady he knows: Celeste Kilburn, Dom's sister. Only, while she's entirely respectable on the surface, she has ambitions to lead a fuller, richer life...not exactly the boring life of a lady she currently leads. She and Keiran make a deal wherein she will help introduce him to respectable potential brides if he will introduce her to the wilder side of life.

This trope (a rake pairing up with a respectable lady for adventures) is catnip to me, so I was primed to like this. Then Eva Leigh had to go and include two of the best characters I've read in a long time, and here I am, absolutely head over heels for this pairing. They were both so multi-dimensional, and scene by scene, you could see them uncovering and falling in love with a new facet of the other. I loved the conversations about consent--not just in relation to sex (although that does come up), but about the freedom to make choices for yourself in families and a society that would constrain you. Although they both feel superficial attraction for the other at the beginning, it's not insta-love; their love is earned and carefully built over the course of the story. Their adventures are fun to watch, but their discussions are equally delightful. And the sexy times in this book? Whew. My glasses fogged up.

Also, the next two books are hinted at here and I've already added them to my TBR list. (Finn met his future partner in this book, very briefly, and I'm betting that Dom--who agonized over walking out on Kieran's sister in the first chapter of this book--will find his way back to her by the series' end.)

Well-plotted, rich characters with excellent chemistry, compelling story. A must read for historical romance fans.