I was so hoping to like this one more!
The cover is gorgeous and the premise sounded promising. I was expecting brother's best friend romance while unmasking men's horrible actions. This is not really what I got.
I was disappointed by the plot's resolution. It didn't feel earned.
Also, I thought the characters could have been fleshed out more, perhaps some exposition of their backstories. It seemed a lot of past trauma was haunting these characters but the past is not fully explained to the reader which left me confused in some parts. I also would have liked more build-up to the romance,
The previous books in the series are good but perhaps maybe skip this one.

Of the books in the series up to this point this is my least favorite. Although I liked both Rose and Alexander and following their relationship grow, I found that I didn't really like the plot as a whole. Alexander keeps getting upset that Rose and Harry believe the worst of him even though he has never done anything to show that he's not as bad as he may seem. Alexander thinks that he has shown Rose so many times that there is more to him but really all he has done is thrown money at people he sees a needing his help. On top of that, he proves that he frequents places in which the behaviors they think he is guilty of often occur. I really hated the resolution at the end that all these men should be forgiven for their behaviors because they are hurting in their own ways - it's as if Rose has forgotten everything about how these men hurt their wives and their families as a whole by throwing their money away with gambling and mistresses as well as how cruel the system is to the women who work as courtesans. Another big problem with the novel is that it is never really made clear what exactly her father had done - did he suffer from a mental health disorder or was it something like syphilis that drove him mad?

Honestly The Rake and the Rose would have been so much better if Alexander and Rose hadn't constantly gotten in their own way when it came to wanting/being with each other. Overall the story was cute, but I wanted more

Alexander has loved Rose forever. She has wanted him also but so much stands between the two of them that they cannot admit it to each other much less themselves. Past family mistakes that Alexander has tried to make up for but feels he has failed himself. Rose is always trying to save others without even realizing that she needs saving herself.
Struggled with the story as it seemed the characters were always getting in their own way. So,happy with the conclusion and the resolution of their conflicting emotions could lead to peace and happiness for them.

Super cute story but wish there was a little more revealed about characters past with more buildup to the love story. Would read more in this series for sure.