The Ton's Most Notorious Rake
Grade : B

Sarah Mallory is someone whose work I enjoy, so I was pleased to pick up The Ton’s Most Notorious Rake, a charming, standalone historical romance that warns about the unfairness of judging people based on their reputations rather than by their actions. Our hero may be the most notorious rake, but notoriety and actuality are very different things, and it’s a distinction that our heroine initially fails or refuses to recognise as she jumps to conclusions based on hearsay and her own fears and prejudice.

Mrs. Molly Morgan is only twenty-four years of age, but has been a widow for a number of years.  Since the death of her husband, she has made her home with her brother, Edwin Frayne, who is the vicar of Compton Parva, and has used some of her widow’s jointure to set up Prospect House, a place of refuge for young women in difficult situations.  The place now houses ten inhabitants, some of them women who were ruined by unscrupulous men, some, women who ran away from unwanted marriages, some who were unfairly dismissed from their employment – whatever the reason, the women run the house and the farm, supporting themselves by growing their own produce and selling the excess at market, along with other sundry items produced by members of the household.

Prospect House is Molly’s pride and joy, and she is perturbed when Edwin tells her that Sir Gerald Kilburn has come to stay at the neighbouring property of Newlands with a large party of friends.  Molly is immediately on the defensive and worried for the virtue of the ladies of Prospect House; Sir Gerald is reputed to run with a fast set and he and his friends have reputations that indicate they are everything Molly despises.  Edwin assures her that everything is most proper; Sir Gerald’s sister is one of the party, there is an older lady who acts as her chaperone and there are a number of other, respectable ladies there, too, suggesting it is “not a party of rakish bucks intent upon setting the neighbourhood about by the ears.” Molly is unconvinced however, especially given that Sir Gerald’s oldest friend, Mr. Charles Russington, is also at Newlands, a man reputed to be so incredibly attractive that “no lady in town is safe.”

Edwin’s laughing suggestion that perhaps, if he is so irresistible, Mr. Russington has fled to the country to escape the ladies isn’t so far from the truth.  A second son with an independent fortune of his own, Russ has become rather bored with the usual round of pleasures available to him.  High-stakes gaming and heavy drinking have never been his style, and almost all the women setting their caps at him are more interested in his money than in him. Watching his father marry a new young wife who bled him dry and then ran off with her Italian lover has made Russ determined to avoid a similar fate – yet he can’t deny that the idea of finding someone with whom to share his life is one that has been occurring to him more and more often of late.

When he first meets Molly Morgan, he is taken with her sweet smile and laughing eyes – until, that is, she realises who he is and her regard changes to one of open dislike and disdain. Russ can’t understand it – he’s not personally vain, but he knows that those aren’t the normal reactions his attentions provoke in women, and he at first wonders if her attitude is a ruse to pique his interest.  But then his sense of humour kicks in, and he allows that some of her not-so-veiled insults were amusing – as well as quite cutting.

Molly is certainly guilty of making hasty judgements about their new neighbours, as her brother points out more than once.  It’s clear early on that while she is concerned for the reputation and safety of the residents of Prospect House – which can exist within their small community only as long as its respectability is unquestionable – she is also motivated by her own experiences and has formed very strong prejudices as a result.  But as time passes and she sees more of Russ, the harder it is for Molly to continue to believe him to be the man rumour paints him.  He’s kind, honourable and genuine and they develop a friendship based on mutual interest and affinity; Molly enjoys conversing with Russ, and likes his quick mind and sense of humour, while Russ admires Molly’s quiet efficiency and her dedication to protecting the women at Prospect House.

There’s a strong undercurrent of attraction running between these two, and Ms. Mallory takes her time developing their relationship and bringing them together.  This is a romance which concentrates fully on the love story with little extraneous action or filler (although there are actually a couple of secondary romances in the book, one of which has a part to play in the main storyline) and the conflict arises almost exclusively from Molly’s prejudices and insecurities.  There are a couple of times she veers dangerously close to being unlikeable, but fortunately, the author manages to pull her back from the brink, even when she makes a grave error that almost destroys her friendship with Russ.  He’s furious, but when he calms down, he realises there is more to Molly’s distrust of men than mere hearsay, and his concern for her - even though she’s hurt him - is wonderful to see.

The Ton’s Most Notorious Rake is, to put it simply, a lovely read.  Russ is a gorgeous hero; handsome and charming of course, but more than that, he’s a decent, caring man who realises that he wants something else from life – and when he finds it, isn’t about to let it slip away.  Molly is generous and warm, but experience has taught her distrust and wariness, and the way Russ gradually breaks down her barriers and gets beneath her skin is extremely well done.  Their romance develops over time, and there’s a real sense of their discovering something new about one another with each subsequent meeting.  The ending is just a tad contrived, with Russ jumping to unfortunate conclusions of his own, but that’s a minor criticism of what is essentially a tender, emotionally satisfying love story that deserves a recommendation.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

Reviewed by Caz Owens
Grade : B

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : March 1, 2018

Publication Date: 02/2018

Review Tags: Harlequin Historical

Recent Comments …

Caz Owens

I’m a musician, teacher and mother of two gorgeous young women who are without doubt, my finest achievement :)I’ve gravitated away from my first love – historical romance – over the last few years and now read mostly m/m romances in a variety of sub-genres. I’ve found many fantastic new authors to enjoy courtesy of audiobooks - I probably listen to as many books as I read these days – mostly through glomming favourite narrators and following them into different genres.And when I find books I LOVE, I want to shout about them from the (metaphorical) rooftops to help other readers and listeners to discover them, too.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

4 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
4
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x