Niki (mustreadalltheromance)'s Reviews > Wild, Wild Rake

3.5 stars rounded up.

Mr. Devan Farris is a vicar with a very rakish reputation, but what most don't know is that his wild ways are a carefully fabricated ruse to keep his meddling brother, the Earl of Larkton, at bay. Devan knows his brother means well with his constant attempts to set him up with lovely heiresses, but Devan longs for a loving match like their parents had and won't settle for less. Despite his frustrations with him, when the Earl asks Devan to transfer to a new parish to check up on his ward, the young Marquess of Warwyck and his mother, Lady Avalon, to ensure she is not spending her son's inheritance, Devan reluctantly agrees; Devan doesn't want to interfere, but he's always found himself unwittingly intrigued by Avalon and takes the opportunity to spend some time with her.

Lady Avalon Warwyck has thoroughly enjoyed independence in her widowhood after a terrible marriage forced on her by her parents. She may be lonely, but she's got her ten year old son and her charity work helping women who've fallen into unsavory professions establish themselves in business. She's never wanted a man's company, but that all begins to change with the arrival of the new vicar. At first, Avalon tries her best to get rid of the loathsome Devan, but soon enough he becomes an integral part of the community. Now it's up to Devan to show Avalon the good-hearted man he truly is beneath his reputation, and help her regain her own confidence.

Devan was adorable in his utter cluelessness about women. Avalon would take several steps forward, only to take great leaps back and while this did grow rather tiresome, especially with her consistent regression to doubting Devan, it was also understandable given her past experiences and how shattered her confidence was. This element also gave sweet Devan more opportunities to shine as he reassured her. However, Avalon was very eager to take on everyone else's problems as her own and at times it was almost like she looked for things to come between her and Devan, even after she supposedly loved him. I kept forgiving her and understanding her motivations, but she just kept on and on. Even with Devan doing everything perfectly and treating her so well, she kept finding reasons to doubt him anyway and seemed not to care if that would hurt him. She'd say hurtful things and fling accusations at him and then retract it and say she didn't mean it, which I can understand to an extent, but the number of times this happened got to be rather tedious. Devan carried this book and though I liked it, it didn't hold up to how much I loved its predecessor.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book and will look forward to more in this series and from this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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