Lady Sabrina had a horrific marriage, physically and emotionally abused by her husband. Harry Stillman makes a mess of his life through his gambling addiction. The pair become unlikely friends and help to heal the pain of their respective pasts. I really like the theme of forgiveness, personal growth and redemption in this book.

Of all the three books in this series, this is my favorite so far.

At the beginning of the story, we find Harry deep in gambling and drink. After he loses his winnings, he's desperate to get a chance to win some more. He owes a great deal of money to a ruthless lender.
When his friend tells him of a different kind of lender, Lord Damion, Harry's not so sure. But, out of options, he realizes it's his only chance.

Lord Damion is not a man. It's Lady Sabrina, whom we meet in the prologue. She has a terrible husband and is afraid of him but, when he dies suddenly, she becomes a free woman of large means.

When Sabrina takes on Harry's debts, she doesn't plan to have any kind of interaction with him, but that all changes when she finds him in an alley after being severely beaten. She takes him in to care of him and this is when their interactions begin.

Harry is at his lowest ever and things only get worse when Sabrina's housekeeper starts weaning him from alcohol.

The dynamic between Harry and Sabrina is all backwards for the typical historical novel of this time period: she's older than him (by five years) and she's got the money, not to mention he's lodged i her home and dependent on her for his care. Their relationship is wildly unbalanced and hard to believe it'll come to a point when it's not so.

This is a story of redemption above all else. Sabrina's growth has already happened, even though she does go through a transformation as well. But it's Harry who turns his life around completely. Through the kindness of Sabrina and her staff, he changes himself and comes to realize he doesn't want to be the alcoholic gambler he's been for so long.

With this setup, the relationship between them moved slowly, as it should be, and the ending was perfect.

One more thing: as pretty as the cover is, it doesn't go with the others in the series. I don't understand the reason for this.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This is a first time read by author Josi S. Kilpack. Rakes and Roses started off a bit slow in the beginning but picked up tempo further along in the book. As this is an ARC, I thought the plot and written intent was well done. I thought the main characters Sabrina and Harry have had their fair share of disappointments and truely strived to make good of the mishaps that have come their way.

When Harry is injured and ends up in his benefactor's house to heal, made for an interesting coup of how Sabrina would try to work around not leading him to believe that she is his true saviour. Each on opposites ends of attraction, I loved how they came together to find true love in a Society that shuns illegitimates and financially ruined rakes. I also loved Sabrina's independent spirit and standing on her own as a business woman.

A delightful story that ends in a very nice HEA.

Thank you to the author and Shadow Mountain Publishing for this ARC and my fair and honest review. All opinions in the review are my own.

4-Stars