Review & Giveaway - - It Takes a Rake

It Takes a Rake

by Anna Bennett

Rogues to Lovers - Book 3

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Release Date: January 23, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

She’s about to face her biggest challenge yet…

Since she was a girl, Miss Kitty Beckett has been adept at finding trouble: sneaking brandy, running away, and getting under the skin of the boy who, like her, was an apprentice to an architect. Now Kitty’s a talented heiress who can take a dry building plan and breathe life into it with her pencils and paints. Also? She can spot a rake at a hundred yards—and she won’t be tricked or charmed into marriage. Certainly not by a man who might interfere with her dreams. When Bellehaven Bay announces its first ever architectural design contest, she vows to win—with a little help from her childhood rival.

Turning her buttoned-up nemesis into a certified rake.

Leo Lockland, a hardworking architect with a gift for numbers, has returned home after a few years in London, and he has secrets. The biggest? He’s been in love with Kitty since they were both apprentices. She refuses to give her heart to any man, but Leo’s determined to beat the odds—even if it means learning how to be a rake. Fortunately, Kitty’s willing to tutor him in the nuances of fashion, flirtation, and seduction in exchange for his help with the contest. But the whole plan would fall apart if she knew how he felt, so he’ll have to be very convincing.

Let the lessons begin…

Leo proves to be a surprisingly quick study in the ballroom, on the beach, and in the bedchamber. Before long, he’s softening Kitty’s hard edges with his wicked words and kissing his way past all her defenses. Perhaps she’s a bit too skilled at teaching, because her lessons are threatening to backfire, putting her closely guarded heart in grave danger…

PJ's Thoughts:

I loved the first two books in this series, setting the bar high for this third installment. It was fun returning to Bellehaven Bay, the seaside setting of all three books in the trilogy. I enjoyed catching up with meddling town locals as well as the main couples from books one and two. It feels good to catch a glimpse of the post-HEA lives of couples whose journeys I've enjoyed.  

I really like the strength, independence, and ambition of the three heroines in this series. Kitty is a talented architect pursuing a career in a male-dominated field. I was cheering her on to success the entire way. It was in her personal relationships, specifically her inflexibility and her hot and cold treatment of Leo, primarily in the second half of the book, where I found myself having a hard time supporting her. It all works out in the end but, to be honest, there were more than a few times where I wanted to tell Leo to run and not look back. 

Not that Leo is perfect. Who is, right? Still, I was in his corner from start to finish. And he is in Kitty's. He fell hard for her years ago and shows no signs of getting over it. Even four years away in London hasn't lessened the feelings he has for her. I could feel his yearning for her, the unrequited love he's hidden so well. I appreciate the respect he has for her and the unwavering support for her ambitions. I also cheered loudly when he finally stands up for himself and what he deserves...what they both deserve. It needed to be said. 

In the end, I was happy and confident in this couple's ability to have a happy life together. I didn't love their book but I did like it and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Have you read any books by Anna Bennett?

What are your favorite romance settings outside London?

One randomly chosen person posting a comment before 11:00 PM, January 28 will receive a print copy of It Takes a Rake. 

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

Review - - One Duke Down

One Duke Down

by Anna Bennett

Rogues to Lovers - Book 2

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Release Date: January 24, 2023

Reviewed by PJ

 

 

A FISHERMAN’S DAUGHTER
Miss Poppy Summers is determined to keep her family’s fishing business afloat. Her poor widowed father has fallen ill, and her foolhardy brother has moved to London, leaving her precious little time to read or pursue her own dreams. But she’ll do anything for her family, so she cheerfully spends mornings in her rowboat, casting her nets. The very last thing Poppy expects or wants to find tangled in them is a dangerously attractive man. Especially one with a head wound—who’s convinced he’s a duke.

AND A DUKE OUT OF WATER
Andrew Keane is the Duke of Hawking, but he’s having the devil of a time convincing his fiery-haired rescuer of that fact. The truth is he came to the seaside resort of Bellehaven Bay to escape his life in London. Unfortunately, someone in Bellehaven wants to kill him—and he intends to find out who. He implores Poppy to tend to his injuries and hide him on her beach, reasoning it will be easier to find his attacker if that man assumes Keane is already dead. She wants no part of the scheme but can’t refuse the generous sum he offers in exchange for food and shelter while he recovers. It’s a mutually beneficial business arrangement…nothing more.

ARE ABOUT TO MAKE WAVES
Under Poppy’s care, Keane regains his strength—and a sense of purpose. As they work together to solve the puzzle of his would-be murderer, he’s dazzled by her rapier wit and adventurous spirit; she’s intrigued by his mysterious air and protective streak. Though Poppy’s past gives her every reason to mistrust someone like Keane, the seawalls around her heart crumble in the storm of their passion. But when clues hint at the prime suspect in Keane’s attempted murder, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie. Torn between the world she’s always known and the one she’s always dreamed of, she’ll need true love for a shot at her fairytale ending.     

PJ's Thoughts:

Buy it for the cover; enjoy it for the story within. This one had me in its net from start to finish. You may think a romance between a duke and a fisherwoman sounds impossible (it does) but Bennett makes it work. These two balance each other so well. They're meant to be and I was right there cheering them on the entire way.

I like that Bennett takes her time with Poppy and Keane, creating a circumstance where they are secluded from the outside world, giving them the time away from prying eyes to slowly transition from paid partners to friends, to much, much more. I love that Keane falls hard, and quickly, making his heart the more vulnerable of the two. It's fun to watch Poppy slowly discover that there is much more to this duke than his scandalous reputation. 

Their excursions away from Poppy's small village in pursuit of the truth of the attack on Keane add another layer to their growing relationship, opening Poppy's eyes to the world in which Keane lives and highlighting the many sides of this hardworking young woman. I love them together. There is nothing "surface" about their relationship. The love and trust they build - the confidence that each will always be there for the other, under all circumstances - had me celebrating their happily ever after as if they were dear friends, not characters in a book. 

The mystery of who wants Keane dead is a central thread that runs through the book. I figured it out quickly (a hazard of reading too many books?) but still enjoyed the process of watching it all play out on the pages. Knowing the identity of a villain doesn't always mean knowing what will happen and, happily, there were a few unexpected twists along the way that caught me by surprise. 

One Duke Down is the second book in Anna Bennett's Rogues to Lovers series, featuring three good friends (Hazel, Poppy, and Kitty) who all live and work in the seaside town of Bellehaven Bay. It stands well on it's own, however meeting Poppy's two friends has me eager to read their stories as well. I've already downloaded book one, Girls Before Earls and am eager to discover what Bennett has in store for Kitty in book three.