Love with a Notorious Rake

Love with A Notorious Rake is book three in The Men of Wollstonecraft Hall series. I struggled through this book. Aidan Wollstonecraft starts off as a total jerk. He meets our heroine Cristyn Bevan while recovering from opium addiction in a sanatorium. Cristyn is his nurse and proves a life line through dark days. But once he recovers, Aidan leaves her behind without a backward glance. For most of the book I struggled to even like Aidan. He is completely self centered and debauched. That honestly doesn’t change much throughout the story. He does set a goal in front of him and he tries to achieve it. But he oversteps boundaries of respect over and over with Cristyn. And she allows it. I also wasn’t a fan of the bad language. The “F” word just isn’t necessary. I’m afraid I can’t give this book more than three stars.

Aidan Wollstonecraft is the heir to his family’s earldom but has sunk to his lowest eb. Luckily his family rescue him & place him at Dr Bevan’s clinic where over months he's nursed back to health by the doctor & his daughter Cristyn. The attraction between Aidan & Cristyn is strong but they also like each other & they quietly fall in love whilst he recovers. Aidan feels unworthy of Cristyn & leaves her behind. He is ready to put his prodigal ways in the past and prove himself worthy of his illustrious name so he goes undercover in a cotton factory to expose the wretched working conditions. Fate takes a hand as Cristyn is working with Dr Paris Middlemiss in the very village Aidan is also working. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the whole series & think this final book is the best of the three, it could easily be read on its own. A well written book with characters who are very well portrayed. Aidan was totally lost but had matured enough to realise he wanted to change & wanted to make people be proud of him. I loved Aidan but then I love a redeemed rake & he certainly redeemed himself. Cristyn is a strong independent woman who truly loved Aidan. The pace of the book is very good & I was engrossed. Carter & Lottie of course pulled at my heart strings. The author painted a very harrowing picture of life for mill workers all the more so as based on facts. There are misunderstandings that threaten to derail Aidan & Cristyn’s romance, the journey to their HEA wasn't easy. There was also the curse of the Wollstonecraft men in the background. I found the epilogue to be a lovely ‘round up' of the series & left me with a smile on my face My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Step into history and lose yourself in a story that will pull at your emotions. Lady Livia Shaw had secrets that nobody should know. But in a unexpected encounter when she was being attacked by street urchins, none other than Adrian, Duke of Preston comes to her aid. Yes, one of the infamous Shaw's that she knew from the past when he was at a low point. The worst part is she later discovers she has lost her brooch that linked her past that she had never gotten over. What to do? She has to find it! Of course Adrian found Livia very attractive and was set on helping her find her missing piece of jewelry. As they spend time with each other, the attraction is off the charts. There was so much to this story that I could hardly put it down. It touched on some subjects that, although very sad, were true for the times and even now. As the tale unfolded, we learn a lot about the past of Adrian and Livia pulled at the heart and I turned the pages hoping they could help each other. Even though part of a series, this can be read as a standalone. Don't miss this fast paced read with with humor at times as well as dark and shocking revelations that will have you sighing as you turn the last page.