Bitten by Books
Learning to be a peer of the realm is something John Fitzhugh Barrett was certain he would never have to do, being fostered out as an orphaned child that no one wanted in his early years. He is stunned when the Somerset family tracks him down, discovering that he is actually Lord Hartley and a legitimate heir to the family fortunes.
John accepts the money that comes with his new station in life, and flees to London, spending what he has on questionable friends and dubious pursuits. Attending a fight club one evening with several of his friends, John is sickened to see that a young woman is brought in and tied to a post, to be offered up as a prize to the best fighter. Determined to save the young woman from certain ruin, John offers to fight. Knocking his opponent senseless, John accepts the prize money and the young woman, and safely sees the young woman home.
Rebecca Kearsey never imagined that there was such a place as this fight club, and she had been terrified ever since her abduction from the market earlier that day. She is relieved when she is freed by the young man who had been so forward at the museum, feeling as though she has known him before this, and she is grateful he is a gentleman. Surprised when she is summoned to John’s family home, Rebecca learns from the dowager countess that she is to convince John to leave London and attend the large family party at their ancestral home. Rebecca manages to get John to agree to attend, but he first extracts both a promise that she will attend, as well, and a kiss.
John is a stranger in his own skin sincehe was found to be a legitimate heir and not the orphaned bastard he had always believed himself to be. Rebecca accepts him for who he is, something that no one else in John’s life is able to do. The Barretts want him to immediately step up and marry well in order to produce an heir to the title, and John only has eyes for Rebecca.
I appreciated John’s strength in learning who and what he was, and in forgiving the family for their past transgresses. Rebecca is a loyal and determined woman who tries to save her father from his gambling debts until the night he lost everything, and turning to John for help, she is saved once again from certain ruin. Never Resist a Rake was an interesting story with large helpings of drama and intrigue, and is one I enjoyed reading.
Book Stats:
- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (June 2, 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 149260271X
- ISBN-13: 978-1492602712
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Books in the Somerfield Park series in the order they should be read:
A Rake by Any Other Name
Never Resist a Rake
Review Overview
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Summary : I appreciated John’s strength in learning who and what he was, and in forgiving the family for their past transgresses. Rebecca is a loyal and determined woman who tries to save her father from his gambling debts until the night he lost everything, and turning to John for help, she is saved once again from certain ruin. Never Resist a Rake was an interesting story with large helpings of drama and intrigue, and is one I enjoyed reading.
