Giveaway and Review: "To Tempt a Rake"

As part of the "To Tempt a Rake" blog tour, I have my review and a giveaway of 3 copies of the book, sponsored by Hachette!

"To Tempt a Rake"
 by Cara Elliott

Publisher: Forever
Release Date: Mar 3, 2011

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
 

Summary from Goodreads.com:

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.

My Review:

I really liked the first two books in this series, but this installment fell a little short for me. I felt like the mystery and intrigue outweighed the romance and character development too much for my liking. I wanted to see more interaction between the two leads. As it was, I didn't feel like their relationship was developed enough to be anything more than lust.

I thought Kate's character was intriguing but I didn't care for Marco. Everyone loves a rake, but Marco was almost sleazy and I didn't buy his reformation. Kate was more complex than Marco and I understood why she tried to remain so tough on the outside. She wanted to be able to let down her guard and let someone help her with her burdens but she just wasn't able to let go.


The author wove a very complex mystery with lots of players, but much more time was spent unraveling the clues than getting to know the characters and why the leads loved each other.


Another aspect of the first two books that I missed was the comedy. I think for someone who enjoys a mystery to be a large part of their historical romance, this book might be a good fit.



Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: I'm still looking forward to more from this author, even though this one fell a little short of her other books for me.

GIVEAWAY RULES:

Hachette books has generously provided three copies of this historical romance for readers of my blog!


All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address!
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• Books will be mailed out by Hachette
• Ends Thurs Feb 17

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