Book Review and Giveaway, Three Copies, To Tempt a Rake by Cara Elliott

Independent female with a past meets rakehell rogue with a past. Can they find a future together?

To Tempt A Rake (Circle of Sin) by Cara Elliott

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forever (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446541303
• ISBN-13: 978-0446541305

Price:  Print and Kindle $7.99
Genre:  Historical Romance
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Description:
Kate Woodbridge has spent most of her life sailing to exotic ports around the globe, acquiring an expertise in botany, along with a few less ladylike skills. So when a deathbed promise to her parents brings her to London to seek reconciliation with her grandfather, the imperious Duke of Cluyne, she feels like a fish out of water. Her outspoken views and fiery temper tend to set off sparks in Society-especially with the rakish Conte of Como.

A devil-may-care rogue, Marco finds the alluring and mysterious Kate a tempting target for his flirtations. But when murder strikes at the duke's country house party he begins to suspect that she's hiding a dark secret. He has his own clandestine reasons for offering to help her prove her innocence . . . And so begins a journey of dangerous deception that leads from England to the glittering ballrooms of Vienna, where Marco and Kate must duel with a deadly villain . . . and their own explosive attraction.

Review:  There was a lot of sensual circling before this story got to the real intrigue. I liked Kate from the beginning but Marco had to grow on me.

Kate wasn’t just raised sailing, she was a ship’s monkey and a brazen cutpurse as the daughter of a Captain pirate.  Kate has seen the seedier side of life and is having trouble being a quiet, demur English Lady as her grandfather the Duke of Cluyne would like her to be. She is decidedly independent and has declared that she has no interest in love and marriage. Yet there is a soft vulnerability that is hidden beneath her cool mask of assurance.

Marco is a rogue, known for his drinking and debauchery.  He lives a wild life and rarely lets anyone see that there is a soft side filled with pain and remorse.  His rakish lifestyle allows him to play the dissolute even while he secretly spies as a government agent.  Although he has no business pursuing an innocent lady, he is drawn to Kate like a moth to a flame.

I really enjoyed the pirate/sea analogies like: “She felt as if she had fallen overboard into a raging sea...” p257.  I liked the characters although the arrogant Marco was harder to like.  I thought the beginning  was a bit slow as the murder doesn’t occur until after page 200. The intrigue and interaction is wonderful through the rest of the book.  The Circle of Sins books definitely make a satisfying series to enjoy.

Thank you to Hachette for this book to read and for providing three copies for giveaway.

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