I really liked Ambrose and Alex as characters and I really enjoyed them together, but I couldn't get over that fact that Ambrose planned to sleep with Alex to "save" her. In the end, she was ruined just by being caught in bed with him, so there was no point in taking it so far. I wish that Ambrose had told Alex about the bet, so that she knew about it and that it wouldn't have seemed like he only got close to her to win the bet... the rest of the story could have been the same.

I love historical romance and this one was great. Lovely characters, nice plot. Totally recommended.

Loved this story of a gorgeous rake brought to his knees by a woman who knows how to lead him on a merry chase. Lauren smith is always an auto read for me, she does great banter and sensual love sciences.

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

When Lady Alexandra's name is entered into the betting books of White on a bet to ruin her and win five thousand pounds, Mr. Ambrose Worthing decides to intervene. He decides that he will ruin Alex to save her from other men's evil intentions. As much as I like the attraction in between Ambrose and Alex, I didn't like the fact that Ambrose was initially hell bent on ruining Alex and let her face the consequences. But after he meets her, he starts falling in love with her and starts wanting Alex for herself and not just to satisfy the bet. It is a cute story with interestingly written characters.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Ambrose was an utter dickhead and just an overall unlikable troll. Add the the insta-romance which made me cringe so much, and I DNFed by 40%.

Definitely a buy buy buy book!
What a good read this was. I was impressed by the story line and could not wait to see the plot unfold. The only down side to this one was of course why the hero decided to be the seducer instead of being honest about what was happening. ( Male logic?) However, with that said,,,,,, the characters are great, the story moves and entertains. There were some surprising twists and witty moments. The heroines is a little naive at times but all in all I was really impressed by the writing. This is definitely one of those type of books that you will sink inside of and not see air until your done. A truly talented author. I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna

THE RAKEHELLS SEDUCTION is the 2nd book in Lauren Smith's SEDUCTION series. I loved this book on sooo many levels. Her writing is superb as usual. I fell in love with the characters immediately. They are so well written and seem so real. The story flows like a movie. And I loved the mention of The League of Rogues! My curiosity is definitely piqued as to who Lady Society is!

I received this a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for my unbiased review.

When a bet is placed and money is on the line, "gentlemen" will do anything to win, even ruin a young woman. Alexandra lives in the country to avoid an old flame who passed her over for an heiress but a wage has been placed for five thousand pounds to the man who publicly ruins her. Ambrose is the son of the one of Alex's father's closest friends. Ambrose has taken the duty upon himself to ruin Alex to stop others and less honorable men from having the chance. Ambrose and Alex may get on each other's nerves but they also challenge each other. They connect easily. When everything is out in the open, ruination falls on Alex but Ambrose does everything he can to save her and bring justice to her ruination. Their "courtship" was filled with deceit from the beginning but Alex and Ambrose also have honesty between them, a strong emotional connection and come to understand each other. This book was so romantic and sweet and fun to read with a good dose of drama and intrigue to keep my on my toes. I truly love these two characters. I was so into their story to see how they fall for each other and explore new things and to see their happy ever after. I am curious about Lord Darlington, Ambrose's estranged friend and Perdita, Alex's closest friend. Is there a future romance to be read? I cannot wait to find out.

In other news, I finally know who Lady Society is and I am ecstatic about it! For those who don't know, Lady Society is the head of gossip in the ton. She has all of the ears and eyes of the ton. She helps saves the day for Alex and Ambrose's relationship. I was so beyond curious to know who she is because she plays a part in of my favorite series the League of Rogue books that is also written by Lauren Smith. I didn't even realize how connected she was to the League and I already met and love her character from Smith's other series which I highly recommend. I am even more excited for the next book in the series. She does seem like the perfect fit and I love the connections between these two series.

Lauren Smith has brought another amazing book to my romance repertoire and I am so very excited to see what comes next!

Ambrose Worthing is a notorious London Rake. His only purpose of life is to bed as many beautiful women as he can. When he hears of a wage on ruining his father’s best friend daughter, he signs himself on the wage, aiming to protect the woman by winning the wage himself.

Lady Alexandra Rockford prefers lining in the country with her father, rather than going from one London ball to another as her mother does the whole season. She got her heart broken once and she intends not to suffer again. Looking for a husband in London is not what entertainment means to her.

“The Rakehell’s Seduction” is the second book in the Seduction series, however it can be read as stand alone. The story of the first book is covered briefly, through memories, thoughts or revelations of the heroes and there is no blank space left.

The story evolves on a past time England, where each high society Lady would attend balls and festivities over a whole season in her pursue to find the right husband. The author gives us a picture of that time, while in parallel describes how this was not always a girl’s dream. This is a very romantic story, with a savior hero and a proud heroine that eventually find love!

Mr Worthing is rake, he has no intention of changing, When he sees the daughter of his father's friend become the "victim" of a bet at a gaming hell, he knows he must step in. The winner of the bet gets 5000 pounds to publicly ruin Lady Alexandra Rockford. He knows if he's the one to do it, he will at least make sure she enjoys the seduction....
Lady Alexandra knows that Mr Worthing is a rake and when her father invites him to stay with therm at their estate she decides to make his stay miserable so he wants to leave. She finds that the more time she spends with him the more he is not exactly as heartless as his reputation seems.

You cant help but immediately be drawn into this story. The author's descriptive detail easily brings these characters to life, you can picture the characters and locations. I found myself laughing at their banter, feeling angry and even heartbroken... right along with the characters. I look forward to reading the 1st book in this duology.

I read Smiths other series, so am familiar with her writing and some of her characters. This book is not unlike those books in sexual content , though it doesn't contain the same story line. The men in her books are highly sexual and promiscuous, don't believe in love or marriage for themselves and have lots of sex. The women are innocents who are quickly sexually awakened and willing participants , which is a little unusual for the time period. The story is well written, though it's apparent the story would be more complete if the prior book was read. I think I know what I'm going to get if I read one of Smith's books. Not a traditional regency romance, but a hotbed of passion.

This was an interesting book to read. Not that it was bad, but it wasn’t one of my favorites either. There were a couple of times that I did pause just to double check that I was reading a book from this author. This is my second book from Ms. Smith. The first one was “Wicked Rivals” and a pretty good read. There was something about “The Rakehell’s Seduction” that gave me pause.

The story line is pretty unusual. Here we find our hero Mr. Ambrose Worthing on his way to the country to seduce the daughter of a good friend, Lord Rockford. A bet has been recently placed at White’s offering $5000 pounds to whoever can seduce and publicly ruin Lady Alex Rockford. Ambrose just thinks it’s his duty to ruin the lady himself. Better him, a close friend of her father, than any other man. That’s a pretty interesting argument to make and I would say that made me keep reading on just to see how he was going to explain this logic.

The first encounter between Ambrose and Alex was pretty quick into the story. I usually like to see the story line developed a bit more before we find our main characters jump into the main chase.

I was pretty surprised to see how fast these two started their “chase”. Our hero kept being referred as a “rake”, but to me he came across more as a sweet kind of a rake. His character certainly did not burn up the pages. Alex was a sharp, feisty heroine. She certainly was pretty ambitious and carefree. I almost felt that she needed a stronger hero.

All in all, it was a quick read. A book to finish up on a rainy afternoon.

I'm a big fan of historical romances and this was one of the best that I've read this year. When you mix mystery, romance and laughter, you'll capture my attention every time.
Ambrose was a rakehell- pure and simple, but he had a conscience and really was sweet in his own way. I loved that he was determined to protect Alex's honor. About the only thing I didn't like was the "insta-love" between Ambrose and Alex. At only 195 pages, I guess there wasn't a lot of room to let the love grow.

This is the second book to the seduction series. A steamy Historical Romance. There are wrong intentions for the right reasons but they backfire on our Hero even tho they still must be done. The reason behind it was a surprise. Well written.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ambrose Worthing is no hero. He has never felt that particular urge until his father’s oldest friend’s daughter becomes the object of a wager in the infamous betting book at White’s. Ambrose has never met Lady Alexandria Rockford, but for some reason he knows he needs to protect her from the others who would harm her to win the wager themselves. The bet, to seduce Alex and ruin her for reasons unknown.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Lauren Smith, because I obviously must’ve been living under a rock. Out of her numerous titles, I’m ecstatic that I got to read Ambrose and Alex’s story first. I’ve read stories of a rake with a heart of gold before, but never in the way Smith portrays them. From the first moment Ambrose bumps into Alex, his rakish way comes to the surface. The things he said even made me blush. I was a little shocked, but so excited that Smith would bring Ambrose into Alex’s life and scandalize her with his wicked words from the onset.

As the story progressed, I fell in love with Smith’s writing style and the picture she depicted of the era. Her character development throughout the story had me craving more when I got to the final page. Through the most interesting trials, Smith brought forth and interesting and seductive love story the likes I have never read before.

I need more of this series, so it is off to read book one of the Seduction series, The Duelist’s Seduction!

The Rakeshell’s Seduction by Lauren Smith is book 2 in her ,”Seduction” series, but can be read as a stand alone. An exciting Regency Romance.
Once again, Smith has brought readers a most enjoyable and mesmerizing story of a dangerous wager, deception, danger, and romance. While, mostly romance there is some awesome suspense, mystery and romanticism.
Lady Alexandra Rockford and Ambrose Worthing are captivating and mesmerizing characters. One proud, arrogant and brooding, the other, a fiery, beautiful Lady who has sworn off men.
While, a quick read, only 195 pages, Ms. Smith manages to brings readers a story that will keep you captivated. I thoroughly enjoyed “The Rakehell’s Seduction” with engaging and interesting characters. The storyline is captivating and seductive. A must read for fans of Regency Romance, complicated characters and a great, quick read, will enjoy this title. An enjoyable and satisfying Regency Romance read!
Rating: 4.5
Heat rating: Mild
Reviewed by: AprilR

a wonderfully written historical romance by Ms. Smith. Good plot. Wonderful romance

Ambrose never wanted to settle down with one woman feeling staying with one woman was room for disaster. A shackle. When he signs his name on a wager to help ruin a woman he’s never met he knows what he’s doing is wrong, but he wants to save her. The wager is to ruin Alexandra Rockford’s reputation. He thought it would be easy, a girl who has never been with a man should be easy pickings for a man like him. Too bad for him Alexandra isn’t what he expected at all. She’s feisty, brilliant and beautiful, a perfect match for him in every way and his downfall. Alex doesn’t want anything to do with Ambrose or his reputation as a Rake. She wants to live a quiet life after her first love broke her heart by marrying another woman for money. Alexandra never expected Ambrose to be kind and funny but he is and he challenges her in every way.

The Rakehell’s Seduction is a cute quick read that will leave you swooning until the very end. Alexandra and Ambrose have such a cute romance. I hope to see where their romance takes them in the next book, but if not I’m just going to imagine they live happily ever after. Grab if you’re looking for a cute read with amazing characters and even better writing.

I always enjoy Lauren Smith’s books as she quickly establishes her characters, so that you have a feel for them and their story very early in the book. The “Rakehell’s Seduction”, the second book in the “Seduction” series, is no different. Ambrose Worthing and Lady Alexandra Rockford, are two very enjoyable characters, with Ambrose known widespread as a rake whilst Alexandra (Alex) is an innocent young woman living in the country. Ambrose is initially portrayed as selfish in trying to ruin Alex in order to win a bet and he justifies this as being the one to do this, in an honourable way (not sure how that works) as he is a friend of the family. However, this is quickly dispelled as Ambrose becomes infatuated with Alex and realises that this is more than just a bet at White’s. What transpires is an interesting turn of events when another man arrives, to ruin Alex but knows that Ambrose is not as honest as Alex thinks he is! The only problem with this story was that it was just not long enough!
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Word Origin and History for rakehell
n.
1540s, possibly an alteration (by association with rake (n.1) and Hell) of Middle English rakel (adj.) "hasty, rash, headstrong," probably from raken "to go, proceed," from Old English racian "to go forward, move, hasten," of unknown origin. Cf. rakeshame (n.) "one who lives shamefully" (1590s).

Ambrose is one of those men you absolutely hate until he does something so beyond anything you believe he is capable of, and then, you wonder why you didn't like him in the first place. And yes, I am guilty of just that. Ambrose is a "Rake" and just being seen with him could sully a woman's reputation. (Boy have times changed...LOL) When he sees a wager in the betting books over the seduction and ruination of the daughter of his father’s best friend, he knows he must intervene so he signs his name as the one who will do it. I'm not sure how he had planned for it to play out but I can guarantee that the way it did play out wasn't at all in his thoughts.

Alex has no idea that someone has placed a wager on her public ruination, all she knows is that her heart had been broken years earlier and she has no plans of ever falling for a man again. When Alex met Ambrose she had no idea what his true intentions were.

Alex has no idea that someone has placed a wager on her public ruination, all she knows is that her heart had been broken years earlier and she has no plans of ever falling for a man again. When Alex met Ambrose she had no idea what his true intentions were.

“Stay with me,” Alex begged, stroking the arm around her waist. He was holding on to her from behind as they lay on their sides, bodies pressed together perfectly like a pair of spoons nestled in a drawer. Ambrose nuzzled her ear, placing a soft kiss there. “There’s no place I wish to be but here.”

I really liked the chemistry between Alex and Ambrose, I also enjoyed the way Alex was true to herself. She knew what she wanted and she knew the outcome of what would happen but she didn't let that sway her at all, the girl was gutsy that's for sure.

The Rakehell's Seduction is the second book in the Seduction series but you can read it as a standalone if you wish, you will not be lost at all, but you may want to know more about the secondary characters, if that is the case you should read "The Duelist's Seduction" first which is Helen and Gareth's story.