Tropes: forbidden love, best friends sister, marriage mart, Titled hero, virgin heroine, ton society, rake hero, childhood crush, forbidden love, beauty and the beast, quid pro quo, rages-to-riches

The Plot : I thought the plot was clever and had such depth. As it started, I assumed it would be a simple friends to lovers tale, but the way the characters completely morphed and revealed themselves when around each other was so amazing and sincere. Celeste and Keiran are the first to see each other as who they really are and want to be. It definitely pulled at my heart strings; doesn’t everyone want someone to truly SEE them as they really are and not just what they present to the world?!?! Eva Leigh did a great job of making their discovery of each other sincere and not rushed or even surface level.

The Heroine : Celeste was born in poverty but her family has since moved up the social ladder. She lives a very nice, comfortable albeit boring life that she compares to be being trapped in a cage. She is almost-engaged to a handsome, boorish man, but he doesn’t make her heart flutter like Keiran does. She feels (and reinforced by her father and brother) that it is her duty to be a perfect, respectable lady so they don’t loose their social standing, including marry well, specifically Lord Montford. I really liked Celeste’s character. She knows what she must do, but she vows to live for herself and experience things before she can’t.

The Hero : Kieran’s family has put him in the box of rake, trouble maker, spare to the heir, but he is so much more. He acts the way he does because his family believes him to be that person and nothing more. They tease him about his poetry and even burn his notebooks. His mother barely notices him. Watching Celeste morph into her real self, he realizes who he really is as well. He is completely deserving of having major angst as a character, but Eva conveys just enough of his inner turmoil that I wasn’t annoyed or felt sorry for him. It made me love him all the more!

The Sex : Yes. Yes. Yes. Eva Leigh is a master at describing not only the physical, but the emotional as well. Again with the sincere and believable, at times I felt I should look away because it just felt so intimate…but of course I hung on every word!

Stand Out Moment : Goodness, their were several! When he tells her in great detail what he would do to her if he were to seduce her, her reciting, from memory, scenes from a scandalous book, the entire evening at the theater when he reveals himself a poet…

Who Would Like This : Those who desire a very steamy read but with characters that have real depth. You don’t always get both with romance books!

Final Thoughts : The storyline was amazing, the love genuine, the sex descriptive, the characters deep…I can’t wait to read it again!

Thanks to the author for the complimentary physical copy and Netgalley for the free ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
Eva Leigh’s Waiting for a Scot Like You was one of my fave reads last year so when I say I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes PLEASE BELIEVE ME.

This romance features a rule follower named Celeste who starts chasing her dreams—if by dreams you mean being naughty & free & going to a gambling hell & parties that turn burlesque etc etc.

Accompanying her is Kieran, her brother’s best friend & the aforementioned Rake in the title, a dashing man who sometimes wears kohl around his eyes &—as he says—will do everything he can to help Celeste take the agency over her life she is due.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes has woah sex scenes, a heroine who flabbergasts the seemingly unshockable hero by being exactly who she is—more than a little bold & mischievous & fun-loving—& a hero who sees the heroine & really understands her.

This pairing is fun & adventurous & I can only imagine the excitement they’ll cause jaunting across London after their Epilogue.
4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 02/22.


CWs: Blackmail; masculine manipulation

[ID: Jess, a white woman, holds up a copy of the book in front of an arch at Big South Fork. Trees are in the background.]

***ARC Provided by the Publisher via NetGalley***

I put this book down almost a week ago, thinking that if I gave it a break, I would come back to it and be a little more interested in the characters and the story... and forgot I was even reading it until I saw it on Goodreads as my current read.

I guess that made the decision for me.

DNF at 12%

I really enjoyed this historical romance, with a brother’s best friend style trope. The chemistry was spot on and it was such a fun read, visiting all of the establishments on their nightly agenda. Highly recommend this read and can’t wait for more!

Well that is another brilliant read from Eva Leigh. Honestly though… I just… I fell hard and fast for these three disillusioned rakes (holy moly - all definitely rough around the edges and can’t wait for more!) and their ridiculous families’ ultimatum. But what sold me on it was

Brilliant historic context markers (specifically around sugar and tea!)
Amazing Queer side characters who are just living their best life. /
Conversations around ambition versus happiness and the cost that it leaves you.
A brilliant poet of a hero who suffers from the enforced toxic masculinity of society and isn’t super tall! (And sometimes wears eye liner!)
A heroine with a real body that changes and she loves it and lives in it and owns her sexuality and curiosity and lives her values.

Anyways… read this book.

TL/DR Review
Stars: Five Stars (bit odd on the pacing but the pining rounded it up for me)
Series: Last Chance Scoundrels - Book 1 (and I cannot wait for book two and three!)
POV: dual third person
Steam: WOAH. Slower burn but it melts when it happens.
Tropes: Best Friend’s Little Sister, Rake/ Wallflower, opposites attract, make a bargain
For Fans Of: Nicola Davidson
Theme Song: Challengers by the New Pornographers
Subgenre: historic romance
CW/ TW: toxic family, manipulations by family, references to death of parent, language

Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

this was fun! the hero has very much hook from once upon a time vibes, i feel like. but i found myself much more interested in the set ups for the hero's brother and best friend, and not really into the one between the hero and the heroine. just not quite what i was in the mood for, i think.

This is a really cute, fun historical romance! I adore the premise of a good girl wanting to explore the more sordid side of society and along the way discovering her own inner strength and power. I also loved the mutual pining between Celeste and Kieran and the development of their relationship as they grow closer. This is truly a delightful romance and I had a lot of fun reading it~

The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes
Book 1 in the Last Chance Scoundrels series
Rating: 4.5 stars (rounded to 5)
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

The Good Girl's Guide to Rake starts off the series in which to brothers and a best friend have to find a proper wife within a year and reform their ways or they will lose all financial support from their parents. This comes about when the sister of the two brothers is to marry the best friend, but at the last minute this best friend gets cold feet. He feels he is not worthy of her. Hence they convince the groom to be to take off before he is to be married. Kieran and Finn believe that their sister is better off without Dom. They don't want for her to have the type of marriage their parents have.
So then this is Kieran and Celeste's love story. This follows best friend's sister trope. Celeste is Dom's proper and polite sister. Kieran asks for her help in being re-introduced to polite society to find a proper wife. She in exchange sees this as her chance to finally experience things that have not been available to her.
In this journey in which they help each other by being part of many society events, but at the same time visiting London's most wicked spots it is when they begin to fall for each other.
Why the 4.5 star rating?
It was a great story and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. (Though it does lose half a star because the ending seemed to be dragged out a little too long after the conflict was resolved.)
Kieran and Celeste had an amazing and intense chemistry. I loved how they are both taken by surprise by each other. As he discovers this new side of her, he is immediately attracted to her. And she learns that beneath all his rakish ways he is a gentleman with a soul of a poet
I loved how he becomes her champion and helps her accomplish her desires and what takes her more by surprise is his help in establishing her long dreamed charity. In turn she helps him be accepted into society, but most important break those walls that he had built around his heart.
I look forwards to the rest of the series!!

I’m here for anything Eva writes and I always love the start to a new series.

I loved Celeste and Kieran. They’re both such good people operating under family expectations and it was delightful reading them figure out how to navigate something for themselves. Together, these two have honesty, loyalty, and a gentle sort of chemistry that had me eager to continue reading.

Plot wise is was really good. I enjoyed the mix and match of the respectable society events to the secret parties. I could have done with a few more scenes with Finn and Dom because the three of them together is hilarious, but I’m really excited at these two getting their own books.

Overall, this was a fun and quick read with a twist in play at the end that I didn’t see coming. I can’t wait for book 2.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

Will they let others take their choices from themselves…

I checked, my last (and first) read by the author somewhat dates from the first book of her previous series. I missed the next two books, but I remember I loved the beta hero.
Here, the hero is too no alpha being, he won’t shout Tarzan and throw Jane over his shoulder, yet Kieran does his own rules and follows his own code, but he is domineering fellow, he chose a path to spite his parents, kins who should have praised him for his talent but only mocked him for being different, emotional.
« “Why is it that the people we share blood with are the ones who understand us the least?” “Because the universe thrives on irony.” »
So he turned to idle pursuits to hide his true self and only feed his soul in secret.

Celeste is crushed by the weight of her duty, she is asked to be perfect, always standing straight to dig her family’s foray into the ton, she must show she even more prim and proper than any society’s debutante to make them forget she comes from the slums of the city. But this brunt burdens her more and more as sacrifice is now expected from her with a smile. A title will get, whatever the cost to her soul.
Like any woman from these high spheres, she is to be sold, when she only wants to breath, to be herself without the maddening sense of being always judged.

While they began their relationship with their own personal agenda, they quickly come to trust the other, sharing then their real dreams and true hopes. Celeste soon realizes there is a deepness in Kieran she did not expect, he is not the scoundrel she thought, behind his idle facade, there is a man who feels things tenth times stronger, who breaths an intricate poignant prose.
When Kieran sees the Salome in Celeste, the woman full of fire, who just wants to shake her shackles to be her own being. So even if their time together has a set end date, for the time being, he gives her back her right to decide. To make her own choices.

« Salome, I see now, is you. She’s part of you. Bold. Daring. A touch naughty, and completely in command of herself. I can even hear you in her voice, »

A moving slow burn low angst tale with a couple who understands the other’s plight and only believe both deserve to be themselves, truly themselves.
4.5 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 three foreplays and lovemaking scenes

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

Kieran Ransom and his brother, Finn, think that they're doing the right thing when they ruin their sister's wedding. Their best friend (and her fiance) is struck by a bout of self-loathing minutes from hitting the altar, and they'd rather she just avoided getting married compared to getting married to someone who doesn't feel worthy of her. Right! Right? Riiii--

The issue is that both families have now been plunged into scandal, and as punishment for their misdeeds, Kieran, Finn, and Dom have all been charged with finding respectable wives in short order by their parents. For Kieran, this is particularly tricky as he is a known lothario who is prone to hitting the orgies (while wearing eyeliner, which is, in a word, delightful).

Enter Dom's sister, the genteel and well-respected Celeste. A member of a rich family who comes from poverty, Celeste is set to marry a total bore, and would rather experience some kind of a life before she's bound in holy matrimony. So she offers Kieran a deal: he takes her to all those fun parties (perhaps an orgy or two) and she'll help him find a proper wife.

This set up seems to be pretty en vogue at the moment (I did read a similar premise in Megan Frampton's Gentleman Seeks A Bride) but I'm honestly not mad at it. Celeste is a super likable heroine--sweet but not a pushover, at home in high society but not without a bit of roughness about the edges. She's from a self-made family; she may be refined now, but she remembers sleeping on the floor and going hungry for nights on end.

And Kieran... does some quality pining. I think my favorite parts of the book were honestly when Kieran would be giving Celeste Longing Looks while his brother cursed in the background because it's really obvious that you fucked her when you're giving the The Long Looks (TM). He's also like, a delightfully emotional and borderline foppish hero. His Secret Talent (not the sexual one) was something I should have seen coming, but I was happy when it did come up. Like, I wont lie--am I somewhat more excited to read about the inevitable heroes of the next two books (snarky Finn and GIANT ANGSTY MAN WHO CAN'T TALK GOOD Dom)? Yes. I wouldn't necessarily say that Kieran is my perfect hero. But I don't need them to be perfect to enjoy them, and he was just... incredibly likable. And again, eyeliner goes a very long way.

There is one scene in this book that reminded me so much of the bit in Titanic where they go down to the third class party and get drunk and sweat and Feel Their Desire, and honestly? I'm all for it. Leigh does a good job of peppering in enough representation to remind us that like, not everyone in nineteenth century London was white and straight, and not everyone had an issue with that. I wouldn't mind if she made one of the featured players at those parties a hero in the future, but we'll see. He sounded hot, is all I'm saying.

Also--I both want to ding and endorse this book for sex. There should have been more of it, for my liking... But I don't know, maybe that's just me, because there honestly is a good amount in this one, and it's done super well. Love that Eva Leigh isn't afraid of saying "cunt". Love that Kieran is very, very good with them. Love that we have a heroine who just wants to get off.

It does read a bit like a series starter. There are some series starters where you can sense the author had an idea they loved for a book and then spun the series out sequels, and there are series where you can tell that the author had an idea for a series and then organized which stories came when on a practical level. For me, I did get the vibe that Leigh is looking forward to Finn and Dom's stories a little bit more than Kieran and Celeste's. But it's still great, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a fun, not-too-heavy, hot read. And she has me penciling in the other books on my calendar, so mission accomplished.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

This was a DNF for me- just dull. I don't know, the characters just didn't grab me. I like the premise, and I wanted to enjoy it, but I just couldn't get through the first few chapters. I think it's probably because I didn't feel the chemistry between the leads, and I didn't buy the female lead's motivation.

Kieran Ransome has always been a bit of a scoundrel, but when his latest escapade results in a scandal that could damage his sister’s reputation, his parents give him, his brother and their best friend an ultimatum: they must marry respectable wives or be disinherited. Kieran has no idea how to gain entry into the society he has shunned and knows only one lady who might be able to help him.

Celeste Kilburn is much loved amongst the most influential members of high society. She’s spent so much time maintaining her flawless reputation that she is barred from any of the adventure she secretly longs for and she’s desperate for a little freedom from the pedestal she’s been placed upon. When her older brother’s best friend, Kieran, asks for her help rehabbing his reputation, Celeste agrees to help him get the right invitations if he introduces her to the darker side of London.

Kieran and Celeste attend proper musicales and soirees by day while he escorts her, disguised as “Salome,” to variously inappropriate parties and venues by night. But the more time they spend together, the more the thread of attraction between them grows into something more, an inescapable longing to be together. Unfortunately, their midnight romps have not gone unnoticed and their discovery endangers both Celeste’s freedom and any hope she has of establishing a future with Kieran, unless he can find a way to save the woman he’s come to love.

I can honestly say this is the first book in some time that I have truly loved. I adored both Kieran and Celeste as individuals and they were perfect for each other as a couple.

Lately in historical romance it seems like every single book harps on about the struggle of women and how few rights they had compared to men. Of course, this is terrible, but we all know this and it's something we still experience now, just to a lesser extent. For that reason, I don’t always want to be constantly reminded of that when I’m reading a romance story and I get weary of heroines who are ‘independent’ but really just sound like shrewish harpies on the page and wind up standing in their own way and creating their own problems because they don’t want to ask for help. All this to say that Celeste is not like this at all. We still get the same message about women’s lack of choices in this time, but from a different angle, with a heroine who is just as boxed in by her family as she is by society. She is well liked by all and seems happy and well-adjusted, so her family doesn’t think to question whether she truly is happy, and she finally decides to make that happen for herself. I found that to be utterly relatable and I think everyone, regardless of gender or circumstance will be able to resonate with that idea of feeling pressure to please one’s family or fit oneself into a certain mold, even if that mold doesn’t really fit.

Celeste has spent her life, since her family’s move up to wealth and higher-class social circles, ensuring their respectability. All responsibility for the family’s reputation has fallen on her shoulders because of her father and brother, though they didn’t really mean to, they’re merely clueless. Kieran has spent his life seeking pleasure, sensation, and experience from life because he gets almost no notice at all from his family other than when they deride him for his poetry or seeming aimlessness. Beneath his dirty-talking playboy persona there lies a man of deep emotion and depth of feeling, hiding his tender heart behind the rakish façade. Though Kieran and Celeste started their association seeking mutual benefit for themselves, each winds up charmed by the other and seeking things that will bring the other joy. It is as if Kieran and Celeste are the first people to see one another for who they truly are, beneath any societal façade or propriety. Kieran challenged Celeste with new, scandalous experiences that had been forbidden to her and she gave him a place of acceptance in which he could show her every side of himself without fear of judgment or rejection. I also think it was also very interesting that we had a different spin on class differences here. Celeste was the one with a low-class background, having grown up poor in a London rookery, while Kieran was the youngest son of a marquess and grew up with wealth and privilege and yet it is Celeste who is the respectable one trying to help Kieran rehab his reputation and gain society’s acceptance. I also adored the fact that, though Celeste gains her freedom and learns more about how to be both her true self and the lady she shows to society, Kieran is still the one who gets to sweep in at the end and rescue her from the threat against her. If things had played out any other way, it just wouldn't have worked with the same magic. Kieran trying to give Celeste the freedom she craved only to have her actively choose him, when he’d experienced a lifetime of being overlooked by those who were supposed to love him unconditionally…I swoon.

I just can’t see enough about how much I enjoyed the way this story was handled. We do have a villainous element and a big roadblock to the couple’s happiness, but this was dealt with brilliantly, in a way that allowed Kieran to shine, and which kept the angst level low enough that, while I didn’t want to put the book down, I wasn’t too stressed about it, and it never felt like Celeste and Kieran were anything less than inevitable. I hadn’t expected this to be such a slow burn, but the way the tension continuously ramped up between Celeste and Kieran was just delicious and when they did come together, the steamy scenes between them were absolutely fire. I think it’s important to note that not only were they hot, but the care and tenderness between these characters was so clear and well done, with such romantic dialogue. It was just perfect. I loved seeing Kieran’s parents, and to a lesser extent Celeste’s father and even her brother, be put in their places and I hope we get more of that in the next books as well. I loved Finn and Dom as side characters too and I’m so looking forward to their stories.

Anyone who’s been following my reviews at all lately will know I haven’t written anything so long in quite a while and definitely nothing so gushing as this, so this book was really special to me. I can’t say enough good things about it, but it made me very happy to read and that is truly saying something right about now. This is definitely one I would recommend.

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

DNF at 35%

I have loved Eva Leigh's books in the past, but for whatever reason this one just isn't doing it for me. There's nothing really wrong with it, I'm just well into the book and completely uninvested in the characters and whether they get together. The premise seems fun- a good girl wants to explore the wild side before getting married for status, a rake needs to find a wife in good standing. She offers to introduce him to polite society if he will take her in disguise to the London underground. Sounds great! Unfortunately I'm finding the characters to be really flat and struggling to get through what should be a breezy book to read. Sad this didn't work out for me, but your experience may vary. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

When Kieran Ransome’s latest antics result in a massive scandal, his father tells him that he needs to find a respectable wife or inherit nothing. But as one of London’s most notorious rakes, Kieran only knows one proper lady. Celeste Kilburn has always been reputable and upright. But her spotless reputation leaves little room for fun and she longs to have an adventure. When Kieran, her older brother’s best friend, begs for her help, Celeste makes a bargain with him. She’ll introduce him to the social elite if he’ll show her the scandalous side of London. In between proper teas and garden parties, Kieran escorts Celeste, who disguises herself, to rowdy gaming establishments, wild fêtes, and sensual art salons. As they spend more time together, their initial attraction grows to a desire that neither can ignore. But when someone discovers their midnight exploits, Celeste’s freedom and reputation are endangered, and Kieran must save the woman he loves.
This novel was a breath of fresh air. Its characters are unique and unconventional, yet they seem very real. The plot was very sensual and romantic, with a suspenseful ending that was very gratifying. The only thing that I didn’t like about it is that it started out a bit slow. I would love to read the next installment in the series and see the latest about the characters. I received an advanced reader’s copy from NetGalley, and this review is my own opinion.

This is my second foray into Historical romance, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is told in 3rd person POV and normally that isn’t my favorite writing style, but Eva really knows how to pull you in. It was a little slow in the beginning but that’s to be expected as she is building the back story for this and the next two books in this series.

I simply adored Celeste she had the weight of her whole family on her shoulders. And she was suffocating under the stress and demands of it all. She had to maintain a persona at all times, unable to break free and be who she really wants to be. She had given up any hope of being able to be someone different until Kieran gave her something that no one else could. He gave her freedom to be herself unencumbered by society and the restrictions of her family. It was beautiful to watch as she fully came into the woman, she was always destined to be but never thought she would.

And Kieran lived very much the same way. Since he wasn’t the eldest son his parents really had no use for him and you could see their disdain for him whenever they were together. I felt for this man who became something solely because that’s who his parents made him out to be. He never thought he could be more or do more until Celeste. These two created something between themselves that no one could touch. They were allowed to be wholly themselves in each other’s company which gave them the courage to want more for their lives.

Although gradual in the beginning this book was a joy to read. I’m invested in these characters, and I can’t wait to see where Eva takes the other two stories in this series. If you’re looking for a historical romance that has just the right amount of steam and brilliantly written characters than this book is for you.

Voluntarily Reviewed an Advanced Complimentary Copy

Any time a man makes a decision for a woman without consulting her, you know there is going to be trouble. Kieran starts this book off doing so, and it leads to two people discovering themselves and each other after spending their lives being placed in positions where they didn’t fit. Although this book seemed to move more slowly than I like, it was fun to watch the relationship between Kieran and Celeste develop in a most unconventional way.

Loved this book! I love the respect and chemistry Kieran and Celeste share. Celeste has so much pressure from her father to keep a spotless reputation but Kieran encourages her to soar and enjoy life outside of propriety. It was exciting and fun to see where he would take her next. The conflict and resolution were great. Really loved the overall story from beginning to end. Can’t wait for Finn’s book!

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Kiernan is a rake in need of reformation, or he'll lose all the financial support of his noble family. Celeste is Kiernan's best friend's little sister who is perfectly proper in every way and desperately desires a little wildness. They strike a bargain - she'll reform his reputation and he'll show her the improper parts of London.

It's a bit of a slow start as the first couple chapters set up the trilogy, but it picks up once Celeste enters the scene. Kiernan and Celeste have great chemistry and the spicy scenes are *spicy.* It's a good read, really enjoyable, but I suspect I'm going to be more excited to read the next couple of books in this series, based on the characters Leigh has introduced.

If you like England Times, good girl/bad boy, woman exploring the forbidden with a rake who sometimes wears eyeliner, this is for you.

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

*I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review*
Another excellent historical from Eva Leigh! I really enjoyed seeing Kieran and Celeste bring out new sides in each other. Together they are able to be the true selves they hide in society. I loved that the conflict stemmed from the societal rules of the time instead of miscommunication, which is overused.