3.5-4.0 stars

Confirmed bachelors for the win! I love a good lurve story especially when it involves a rake of all rakes taming himself when he meets the right person. The Vicar and the Rake is a strong debut from Annabelle Greene.

Gabriel Winters left his life of status as a gentleman and become a man of the cloth. He took a vow that if he could continue to be himself but took a vow of celibacy he would be a man of God. Now, the hardworking vicar has worked himself to the bone and has fallen ill at the abandoned estate of his childhood friend (and first love) that he’s never forgotten. The Duke of Caddonfell, Edward, has been chased from his life of ill repute and rakishness in London to his ancestral home on the heels of his most recent and catastrophic scandal. When Edward finds Gabriel on his estate, burning with fever, he cannot leave him to die despite his need to hide from the assassins hired to kill him. As the men reconnect from their childhood memories and learn of the men they have become soon returns the spark of friendship and maybe a lot of something else.

The Vicar and the Rake has murder, intrigue, budding love, old hurts and torments, and quite a bit of steam. The interaction and chemistry Edward and Gabriel was strong and I like how they worked to get past their past hurts before they developed into more. You could absolutely see a connection between the two. The Society of Beasts was a new and interesting facet of the story. I look forward to not only reading more about the founders but how the club works. I loved the mystery and old wrongs being righted aspect of the story.

The book has a lot of different plotlines and aspects working in tandem which was really nice. They all layered together into a fun and intriguing story and not just a romance. I look forward to more by the author.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I wolfed down this absolute gem of a romance. Give me all your vicar/rake romances because I was here for them. This is from the school of Cat Sebastian in the best possible way and the author will be going straight on my autobuy list.

The Vicar and the Rake is a beautiful LGBTQIA romance. Gabriel lives as a country vicar in the parish in which he grew up with Edward, the infamous London rake. They have had a secret, even from themselves, love for each other since childhood but have grown in separate ways in their lives.
The plot is full of intrigue and blackmail. Truly a thriller. The love scenes are sensuous and luscious. The main characters are multifaceted as we see the story unfold. Gabriel is at times dreamy at times sensual; Edward, sybaritic yet vulnerable. Even the secondary characters are interesting and appealing.
I would highly recommend this book.

Much more enjoyable than I'll admit I was expecting from the title. It's a very typical romance novel title (and premise of course) but there's much more to it than I was expecting. The characters are well developed and interesting and there were a few twists I didn't see coming!

This debut novel is off to a promising series start, and brings to mind KJ Charles “Society of Gentlemen” series in style.

It follows Edward, a rake on the run from a Duke who is the father of a man he was found in a compromising position with, and despite his blackmailing brother’s best efforts, the Duke is not backing down. Edward could hang, or the Duke might just skip the courts, so he hides out in the family estate he hasn’t visited in a decade due to childhood trauma. With only a single well-trusted servant along to help him, they discover the local vicar, Gabriel, who was also a childhood friend of Edward’s, lying feverish in the flowerbed of the estate. Edward takes on Gabriel’s care, so there’s a bit of hurt/comfort right from the start.

Gabriel has his own trauma, in the form of realizing he preferred men as a young man, and was pining after Edward even then. When Edward leaves, Gabriel makes a deal with God that he could continue to be himself as long as he didn’t act on it, and in turn he’d give himself to service to his community. He’s working himself too hard, as a way of punishing himself for his nature, until he collapses from an illness while checking in on Edward’s estate while on the way home.

There are a few rough patches storywise, but I think it may be because there’s so much going on establishing not just our main leads, but all the secondary ones as well. I think this will smooth out in future books. There’s was some head hopping from chapter to chapter, and especially early on it made the chapters seem very short and threw off the pacing a bit. Despite the head hopping, I didn’t quite get into Edward and Gabriel’s heads as much I would have liked, but again, I think that may have been overshadowed by everything else. There’s was the usual “will they/won’t they” followed by “they did, now they won’t” and admit I kind of lost the thread of where they stood and why at times.

Still, it’s a good m/m historical, with an interesting cast of characters that I’m assuming will be followed in future books. I really liked Edward’s always plotting brother not plotting against him, and Gabriel’s sister possessing the only brain cells in the room most of the time. They’re both aware of their brother’s love of men (and eventually, each other) and it’s not an issue. That’s nice to see in a historical, even if it might not be all that historically accurate.

This is the first book in the “Society of Beasts” series, so I know we’ll see at least some of the characters again. I do hope it turns into a “found family” situation, where we can revisit various characters in later books. Seems like it’s on the way to that, and I’ll definitely check out the second book too see where it goes.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Edward Stanhope, Duke of Caddonfell, is a gay man in a society and a time that doesn't accept gay men. He manages, somehow, to form a secret society where men who like men can be accepted and a bit more open. However, he gets caught in a compromising position with the son of another duke, and ends up having to go on the run because the Duke of Sussex is bound and determined to hang him for the humiliation. Edward's brother, Maurice, arranges that he stay hidden in their childhood home while he tries to figure it out. Meanwhile the vicar, Gabriel Winters, Edward's boyhood best friend, hears that he's coming back via his sister, and has an explosion of feelings because he's always been in love with Edward and is angry that Edward abandoned him. He faints (from illness) in Edward's flowerbed and the four of them--Edward, Gabriel, Maurice, and Gabriel's sister, Caroline--end up staying in the manor house to help save Edward's life and romance blooms from there.

This is Annabelle Greene's debut novel and honestly, it is a very good one. It is very much a light, dramatic, fluffy romance between Edward and Gabriel and includes the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers trope, as well as unrequited feelings, and to some extent "found family." There's also a kitten named Buttons who makes this novel even more enjoyable.

It was a quick and pleasant read that, overall, I have no complaints with. I am looking forward to reading the continuation of the series! I appreciated that the secondary characters had a lot of personality and development as well, and that the overall storyline of the series got some setup.

There were two elements that collectively resulted in my removing a star from my rating. The first is that is that I felt like, at a few steps in the story, there was *too much* setup for future novels and not quite enough backstory on the main characters that were supposed to be the focus here. The other thing was that this reads very much like a woman's fantasy on what a male/male relationship is like and that's a hard criticism to quanitfy here. On the one hand, I am very aware that romance novels, especially from Harlequin, are marketed toward women and are largely read and enjoyed by women--and that reality is not exactly what anyone looks for when they pick up a romance novel. On the other hand, I would be curious to see what an ownvoices review of this novel would say. It didn't exactly take away from my enjoyment of the novel as a whole but I did find it worth mentioning.

Trigger warnings for past mentions of child abuse, classism, period-typical homophobia.

Overall, very enjoyable, and I'll definitely pick up the second book to see what I think. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Vicar and the Rake is a very steamy historical, gay romance. Gabriel gave up his life of luxury and his very illicit desires to become a Reverend. He's dedicated to his work and has undertaken a personal vow of celibacy. He can live with the fact that he desires men... or one man in particular... if he can just not act upon it.

When Edward, Duke of Caddonfell returns to his unhappy childhood home, he discovers Gabriel lying in his garden overcome by illness. Thrust back into each other's lives, these two men must both deal with the desire they have for each other and the fact that the society they live in doesn't allow for them to be together. Things are further complicated by the fact that Edward is in a rather large heap of trouble.

Primarily, this story is about Gabriel and Edward and the fact that both of them have past issues that need to be resolved. Edward had a terrible childhood that was full of pain and he has survived that by making certain that he doesn't fall into relationships with people. He doesn't want to be emotionally connected to anyone, nor does he want to be vulnerable.

Gabriel loved Edward when they were young... and Edward left. Gabriel had thought he had lost his opportunity to be with the man who he was so enamored with when they were young. He's intelligent enough to know that there are things in Edward's past that he doesn't understand and he sees that Edward is trying to push him away.

The intrigue in this story revolves around Edward's battle with the Duke of Sussex. The Duke wants Edward's life because he was caught unawares while entangled with the Duke's son. Of course, there's much more to the story than that! The mystery is set up well and unravels at a pleasant pace. There are more than enough clues dropped to keep the reader interested.

Edward was a lovely character. I thought the author did a wonderful job of conveying the way that his painful childhood had affected his life as an adult. He was guarded but honest with himself which is a refreshing combination.

This book is the beginning of a series based on the Society of Beasts. This is the secret social group of Edward and his friends. All of the men who attend the club are hiding their proclivities as the social norms of the time demand. The friendships between these men are well-written, after all, it seems that they are only able to be completely honest with one another. That would create a remarkable bond between people.

This is a solid romance, heavy on the steamy side with a great ending!

This is a fairly angsty historical romance novel, and has a lot going on -- past abuse, political intrigue, death threats, secret societies...so much going on that it eclipses the main romance.

3 stars for this debut novel

For the last month and half , I have been reading all the historical romance , I can get my hands on. And that's how I found Annabelle Greene debut novel The Vicar and the Rake.

I had a good time reading this soapy, emotional , melodramatic , very steamy sexy story.

Even though , I should not compare some of the similarity , of this story to KJ Charles outstanding Society of Gentlemen series it is near impossible not to do. And of course, the results are this tale falls short in comparison.

Also, there are few glaring plot-holes and timeline inconsistencies that render the mystery big secret chronologically impossible.

That said, I think this author has a lot of potential and have written an entertaining story. Looking forward reading the upcoming books .

I just reviewed The Vicar and the Rake by Annabelle Greene. #TheVicarandtheRake #NetGalley

On the run from his latest scandalous actions, Edward Stanhope flees in secret to his family home only to discover his childhood friend, now the local vicar, passed out in the flower bed. Gabriel and Edward had been inseparable, right up to the death of Edward's father when he'd headed off to London apparently without a backward glance and proceeded to bed a wide variety of men with apparent impunity. All of this is helped by his brother, who has been blackmailing most of society to help keep his brother out of trouble (and away from the noose, since what he's been doing is also wildly illegal) but now finds himself faced with an opponent he has no leverage on.

After Gabriel makes a speedy recovery from being ill, he's persuaded to stick around and help figure out how to resolve this issue, with the added appearance of his sister, who seems to have more sense than all three men rolled together. Gabriel has been in love with Edward since they were boys together and is struggling (and not particularly effectively) with his feelings and desires, while Edward has been working his way through a succession of men and is determined that he'll get his own way with Gabriel before too long.

There's an interesting enough plot underpinning this, if a little convoluted - missing diamonds, an unexpected child born on the wrong side of the blanket, an abandoned kitten and a bunch of rakes who turn out to be quite good chaps after all. It's a bit overloaded in places, as if the author loved all these elements too much to cut any of them out, and I think it could have been pared down a little without losing anything of the overall story.

What made me drop this book from 5 stars to 4? Well, two things - one to do with the whole set up around Gabriel's current employment which seems mostly a device to enable him to hang around his love interest's former home and pine. Why doesn't he have any money, he's a baronet for crying out loud! Where he and his sister lived is never actually mentioned as far as I can recall. His style of being a vicar is a bit odd, to be honest, a real example of what has been called 'muscular Christianity', with an emphasis on fixing the local workmen's roofs rather than actually running the local church and its services.

Secondly the love scenes - a bit too hot and heavy early on given the main characters internal views on what should and shouldn't be happening. I like a little more anticipation and anxiety than I was provided in this book. Then there's the denouement: straight to anal sex (twice!) with what seemed like very minimal preparation for two characters who clearly state they're new to this. It goes swimmingly, of course and both characters must have very impressive refractory periods too.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

𝐴 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑙𝑦, ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑏𝑎𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑠, 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠, 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑝𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚.

Gabriel Winters is a respectable Vicar who lives a simple and honest life.
When he receives a letter from his sister, Caroline telling him that his closest boyhood friend, a man who abandoned him years ago has returned to the countryside, all his buried feelings resurface. He loathes the man for abandoning him but he can't help desire the man that he has become, despite knowing his rakish reputation that precedes him.

𝐴 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑜, 𝑖𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡, 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝐸𝑑𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑. 𝐴 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑦 ℎ𝑒’𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑑, 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘.

Edward Stanhope has always hated the countryside. When he turned eighteen, he got a chance to escape it along with Hardcote House, and all the horror within it.
Now there is a price on his head and he he is forced to seek refuge in a place he vowed he would never come back to. He also has to face the last remaining piece of his past, the man he abandoned years ago without so much as a word.

When Edward finds his long lost friend burning up with fever on his estate, he has no option but to take him in and care for him. Edward wasn't sure what Reverend Winter's
reaction would be after he left him and spent all their years apart,
but it certainly wasn't to be kissed like his life depended on it as soon as the man laid eyes on him.

Between escaping death threats, reuniting with a long lost love, rescuing an adorable kitten and uncovering a secret society, will two men bound together by their past and their love for eachother find a happily ever after in a time where loving another man was shunned?

This was a sweet historical romance set in the early 1800's.
I loved how despite being suave and a renowned master of seduction, Edward was anything but when it came to Gabriel!
The plot was intriguing and captivated my attention throughout.
Not to mention, a certain adorable little kitten who added an extra charm to the storyline.

If you like a sweet Regency Romance with likeable characters, served with a dash of mystery and intrigue, this might appeal to you.

I have received an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Carina Press and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. This book it will be out on October 12. I adore this kind of stories and was extremely happy to read it in an advance.
It is Annebelle Greene’s debut novel and I cannot start without saying that I want to read more of what she has to write. This book made me want to know more about of what is coming to all the characters here in the universe she created.
I do not have negative things to say about it. I felt that was something missing in the story, yes, but I do not know how to explain exactly what – maybe I wasn’t ready for so much feelings on the beginning? But to me that is no problem, I am a sucker for dramas and feelings.
Loved to see that the heroes had true feelings and were human too. In many books the heroes don’t cry and express feelings openly – cuz pride and stuff – and here they did, and I liked very much because it makes them more real and sincere. We all make mistakes and some of them have bad consequences, but we can learn with them and with love, trust, and honesty – and this is one of the messages of this story.
I sincerely hope some loose ends will be explained on the next books, because I really need to know what will happen to Hartley (poor beast), Maurice ( I loved him so much, the rude bastard ) and Caroline and Ginger.
A keeper in my shelf for sure.

Once I saw the cover of this romance, I had to read it. It’s an interesting m/m historical romance (though there are definitely seeds planted about the vicar’s sister getting a romance at some point). The vicar, Sir Gabriel, has pined for his old friend Edward, despite Edward leaving without a word years before.

I am having trouble coming up with words for all the quirks in this book. There is danger and a bit of a mystery. There are sexy scenes in a library (and one in a hallway). There is some angst and childhood trauma, but not so much that it made it any less fun to read overall. There is even a kitten and a plot moppet (a trope I enjoy).

If you are looking for sexual chemistry with a hint of danger, this could be a good choice for you. It reminded me of the books I love by Cat Sebastian.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley in return for a fair review

Unexpectedly good for many different reasons. A vicar and a rake was a pairing I didn’t know I needed.
Mystery and intrigue is mixed in with the romance and that coupled with the UST kept me flipping the pages. I smiled. I cried. Edward and Gabriel are so sweet together. And Maurice is a fun, shadowy, blackmailing character.

The story is similar to what Cat Sebastian and KJ Charles write but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. If you’re fans of either, you might like this book and vice versa.

There is a content warning but I find it to be too brief and vague. Edward’s father was pretty much the worst person ever, including but not limited to physical abuse and owning slaves. There’s a brief discussion how Edward and his brother didn’t perpetuate this and supported abolitionist causes. Whether that helps or matters, I don’t think I can judge. Edward acknowledges this as well, that whatever small actions he takes will never bring absolution.

Thank you Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

3.25 "very promising debut author" stars, despite some weaknesses. The author seemed to be trying too hard to channel Cat Sebastian (the kitten could have wandered out of The Ruin of a Rake) and K.J. Charles (manservant who doesn't put up with his lordship's shit a la Lucien and Merrick in The Magpie Lord, group of queer men banding together for friendship and protection just like the Ricardians in A Fashionable Indulgence et al). There was also a lot of emotional whiplash in the book's first half as the two MCs vacillated between hating/loving and pushing/pulling numerous times within a given scene. And finally, the two MCs were frequently upstaged by their respective siblings, who apparently inherited all the brains in the family.

But Greene is a talented writer, and overall I enjoyed the book. Although Edward's devious brother and Gabriel's unflappable sister did devise the plot to save the day, Edward's struggle to develop some agency over his life was poignant and the small steps he took laudable. The love scenes between the two men sparkled with energy, and after the first half the relationship between the two men settled into a more realistic arc, with Edward believing he was too damaged by childhood trauma to be worthy of love,and Gabriel realizing that his love can't heal a broken man. The last chapter was a charming callback to an earlier scene, and I had no doubt that the two MCs would sustain their HEA.

Despite the "average" rating I'm giving this book, I will definitely check out the next one in the series. I have a feeling Annabelle Greene will grow into a stronger, more consistent author.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for honest review

The Vicar and the Rake was an entertaining read from start to finish. The period setting was well portrayed, and both Gabriel and Edward were engaging and well-drawn characters. The plot was full of fun and excitement, and the pacing was nicely handled, moving at a good speed that helped hold my interest throughout. The romantic moments and sex scenes were well balanced against the action and drama, so it never felt as if they took over the plot. So, overall, I would recommend this book to fans of historical MM fiction. A rating of 4.5 stars from me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this M/M historical novel featuring both romance and a mystery. The two heroes are both engaging and appealing with plenty of angst thrown in, and the supporting cast of characters show great promise for future entries. I will be looking forward to the continuation of this series, as I enjoyed everything about this book, including characterization, plot, and setting.

This was delightful! I'm a sucker for m/m regency romances, and The Vicar and the Rake did an excellent job of upholding the genre. The characters were interesting, there were multiple relationships that intrigued me, and my goodness--the kitten! I'll admit, I was immediately sold when I read the description that includes the phrase "and a kitten named Buttons." I had to find out just how a kitten affected the story of an m/m romance. It was certainly worth it.
I look forward to the other books in this series, and rather hope we find out more about a certain couple that is hinted at...

I loved this book so much! I could not put it down. I found myself genuinely rooting for both main characters and I loved every twist and turn this book had to offer. I loved the mystery element ad thought it was plotted beautifully. I would heartily recommend this book!