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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Book Review-The Art Of Taming A Rake by Nicole Jordan

by | Feb 28, 2016 | Book Reviews | 8 comments

Book Review-The Art Of Taming A Rake by Nicole Jordan

Book Review-The Art Of Taming A Rake by Nicole JordanThe Art of Taming a Rake by Nicole Jordan
Also in this series: Secrets of Seduction, My Fair Lover
Series: Legendary Lovers #4
Published by Ballantine Books on January 26th 2016
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era, Mystery
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
ISBN: 0553392557
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four-stars

Sparks abound in this sizzling new Legendary Lovers tale from New York Times bestselling author Nicole Jordan, in which a seductive rakehell must woo his spirited but love-shy bride while unmasking a mysterious assailant.
Despite his notorious reputation, Quinn Wilde, Earl of Traherne, has mostly honorable intentions. So when beautiful Venetia Stratham boldly enters a gentlemen’s club, demanding that Quinn stop courting her sister, he does what any bachelor would do: He kisses her. With her sharp wit, intoxicating passion, and surprising vulnerability, Venetia is irresistible—except for all this nonsense about threatening to shoot Quinn. But when clandestine enemies make an actual attempt on the earl’s life, Venetia is implicated. To save her good name, Quinn does what any true gentleman must do: He proposes.
Thus Venetia finds herself wed to arrogant, wickedly sensual Quinn, whose devilish ways are as legendary as his rumored skills as a lover. Yet vexingly, her body rebels against her vow to remain immune to his many charms. If only she could reform the infuriating nobleman—without diminishing his undeniable allure. As Venetia discovers that a true rake is hard to tame, Quinn faces an even greater challenge: winning his wife’s fragile trust . . . while defending both their lives.

My Review

Summary 

Quinn Wilde, the Earl of Traherne is not what he appears to be. To many he is known as a disreputable rake, and to Venetia he is everything that rumors claims him to be. But for Venetia Stratham, she has reason to distrust Quinn. They have a history. Venetia previous betrothed, she learned on their wedding day, that he had a mistress even though he claimed to love her. Venetia ended their betrothal and a scandal erupted and Venetia had to deal with the fall out. She doesn’t trust any man, especially since Quinn was once friends with the one man she gave her heart to and broke her trust in men. But when she learns that Quinn has been rumored to have taken a sincere interest in her sister, Venetia is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen. She will do anything for her sister. But when Quinn and Venetia are caught in a horrible scandal, Venetia and Quinn will need to marry or the fallout will effect her sister in the worst ways. Neither Quinn or Venetia are looking for a love match, but when the unexpected happens will they embrace it or scorn it?

The Hero 

Our hero, Quinn Wilde is such a delicious character. Boy did I have a blast reading him. Quinn is one of the Wilde’s, very protective of his family, intelligent, a bit of a scientist and has been known to gamble, drink and enjoy the pleasures of the fairer sex. Quinn is quite well rounded, at first I would never have expected to see the depths of his character come forth as the story unravels. When we learns of his history especially considering his parents. He is driven to succeed and a bit of a mystery sleuth. But he isn’t all seriousness…in fact he can be quite mischievous and devil may care at times. We see various facets to his character and this made him all the more charming and engaging. We also see that even though he doesn’t believe in love, he has honor and integrity.

The Heroine 

Venetia Stratham, is quite a match for our hero. Although I feel like her character isn’t revealed bit by bit…we see her in her full glory from the beginning which was different. Venetia hasn’t had the best luck when it comes to men. She is bold, daring and says what’s on her mind when the situation warrants it. She understands the culture that she wa raised in, and the strict code of honor and scandal she has to live by. She can be rash at times, but this aspect of her character is what makes her seem so vibrant in the story. She has this spirit that I loved, and on some level I connected with her. She was once betrayed, but she still believes in love and wants to have it for herself one day. Venetia has a quiet inner strength that I admired greatly.

She only knew that she intended to fight for his love with every ounce of strength and determination she possessed.

Her parents set her aside to live in France, when the scandal erupted. They refused contact with her younger sister, with whom she was very close to. We see how devoted she is to her sister, and what lengths she will go to protect her….even if that means threatening Quinn with a pistol. She was quite a unique character.

Plot and Story Line 

The Art of Taming a Rake was simply fantastic and I honestly couldn’t get enough of these two!! I did have a bit of a headache while reading it, which I think contributed to not being able to enjoy it as much. However despite that…I found a very charming and likable romance and I adored getting more of a Legendary Lovers theme. Now this series is based on famous lovers. This book resembles “Taming of the Shrew”. It’s not a play I am super familiar with however. But I still enjoyed seeing these two fall in love. I can’t help but admire the Wilde family…they are a very engaging and fun family. I love their sense of closeness, and I love the set up of each of them finding a love match for life.

In this story, we have a book that is very engaging. What I have always admired by this author is the way that she pulls the reader into her story. Nicole Jordan is quite unique and her writing style is one I can never get enough of. Both characters are simply wonderful for each other. In many ways they understand each other’s needs. I really loved seeing the way these two work through mistrust and find a common ground. This book was such a quick read, and I couldn’t believe it when it was over. I was thinking…wow did I just read all that??!!! But yes I did. What we see at first is a great chemistry between these two.

Her lips trembled under his. Encouraged, he changed the slant of his head and took her mouth more thoroughly, coaxing her to participate in her own seduction. When finally she opened completely to him, Quinn felt the unexpected impact like a jolt of lighting: heat, pleasure, excitement, sheer satisfaction

They could set a match to a forest fire with the heat that passes between them. I loved seeing the sexual chemistry grow into something more tangible with emotion.

Another great aspect to the story that was one of my favorites…was the mystery and a bit of “cloak and Dagger” themes. We have a mystery that Quinn is trying to solve about his parent’s deaths. He suspects that it was no accident. But when he has multiple attempts on his life, he knows the killer is after him because Quinn is getting too close to the truth. This adds a unique element to the story that raises the bar. I found that this portion of the story is very much-needed because this is what brings Quinn and Venetia together and makes them realize what they mean to each other and admit their feelings at the right time.

If you put your heart in my hands, I swear to cherish it and keep it safe always

The ending was simply perfect and I got a bit teary-eyed while reading it. I loved how it leaves us fully satisfied with the romance, while giving us a teaser for the next book. *eek….I can’t wait!!*

The Cover 

What a beautiful cover….pure love!! The pose is so sensual and romantic. I love the mix of colors that really pop with the bright yellow and pink. Seriously….this cover is one you want to jump right into.

Overall View 

The Art of Taming a Rake is a stimulating romance that takes us into another Legendary Lovers romance, we see passion, hidden depths of emotion and a thrilling tale to keep you excited from beginning to end.

Series Order

About The Author

About Nicole Jordan

New York Times bestselling author Nicole Jordan spins delightful tales that simmer with passion and sensuality. In her former life, Nicole grew up as an Army brat, moving frequently and attending high school in Germany. She later earned a civil engineering degree from Georgia Tech and spent eight years as a manufacturing manager making disposable diapers and toilet tissue! Currently Nicole lives in the Rocky Mountains of Utah with her real-life hero (her husband) and beloved kids (her horses).

With over two-dozen historical romances to her credit and four million books in print, set in numerous eras and locales, Nicole now enjoys chronicling the sparks that fly when Regency lovers play the matrimonial mating game.

One of her novels had the dubious honor of being humorously spotlighted by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show." On a more serious note, Nicole's romances regularly appear on numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today, and have earned such honors as RITA finalist, RWA's Favorite Book of the Year, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Historical Romance, and the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence, presented by a group of over one hundred romance reviewers.

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8 Comments

  1. Blodeuedd

    I have not tried any of her books yet

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh you should try this series out!! Its fun to see them based on plays of shakespeare!! Only guaranteed HEA!!

      Reply
  2. Lekeisha

    I enjoyed this one, so I’ve been thinking of going back to read the others in the series. Great review!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      Oh you should….I loved all the other books. I like that they are based on plays of shakespeare!! Definitely a unique set up for a series.

      Reply
  3. Alyssa Susanna

    Oooo, I like the sound of Quinn! I have not read one of Jordan’s books in quite some time. I didn’t like Lover Be Mine at all, but I think I might enjoy this one more. Lovely review! <3

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh yes…he is a great hero, you would love him. I think you might enjoy this one. I liked Lover Be Mine, but I think I enjoyed this one more.

      Reply
  4. Sophia Rose

    Haha! She marched into a club and had it out. Well after the scandal of leaving a guy at the altar, guess it wasn’t going to make it worse for her. They sound like a great pair.

    Reply
  5. Anna@herding cats&burning soup

    Oh I need to get myself caught up. This is one that got held up because of an ice storm here and by the time it finally arrived I was needing to read other stuff. I so need a happy ending like this one sounds 😀 Will have to try and get it in for March 🙂

    Reply

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