Does anyone, even those closest to us, truly know who we are, in our hearts and minds? What we really want and desire?
In Eva Leigh’s latest romance, THE GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO RAKES, outward appearances form the basis of Celeste Kilburn and Kieran Ransome’s lives.

She’s a society darling waiting to marry well. He’s a third son, a confirmed rake, and makes no bones about it. When Kieran convinces Celeste’s brother, Dom, to jilt his fiancé at the author, Dom’s and Kieran’s parents deliver an ultimatum: find a respectful girl to wed by year’s end, or be cu off financially.
Neither man can afford this, nor can Kieran’s brother, Finn, who is also in the rake-mix.

Celeste is the most respectable young woman Keiran knows so he elicits her help in helping the world to think he’s reformed his rakish ways. She’ll help him, but for a price. Before she’s forced into a loveless marriage, she wants to experience what it’s like to be a woman, free, and do what she wants without any repercussions.

Reluctantly, Kieran helps her.

What each discovers about the other’s true self along the way forms a basis for the love that will inevitably grow between them.

This is classic Eva Leigh. This book is filled with much internal introspection about the roles we are cast to play in life, and how deviating from them could spell disaster for the future.

I love Eva Leigh’s books, and this one is a sexy, steamy, naughty romp into the Regency world of manners, obligations, and gender roles.

5 stars to a very good book. Thanks, Netgalley and Avon for a sneak peek.

Themes
* Female main character is known as a proper good girl.
* Male main character is known as a playboy.
* Forbidden relationship with best friend’s sister.
* Dual perspectives
* These two characters make a deal with each other.

Feelings
Summary: Kieran Ransome is in a predicament where he needs to find a proper woman to marry, ASAP. The problem is that no one takes him seriously due to his late night activities and roughish behavior. He then strikes a deal with his best friend’s sister, Celeste Kilburn, known as someone who is invited to all events. Kieran is surprised that Celeste has terms in exchange for her help. Celeste wants to be shown around to the most fun, dangerous places that he continues to visit during the night. Celeste wants to break out of her shell and explore more in life than just tea times and ballrooms. They continue their deal, even as their attraction and chemistry for each other bloom as Celeste helps him find a bride and she has another suitor for herself.

Overall: I have only read a few historical romances and I usually pick one up if a synopsis really intrigues me. I am so happy that I did. This book was so funny and delicious. This is my first time reading from this author and I think the writing is so good. It flows so nicely that you can easily finish this book in one sitting.

Angst/Spice: I was so surprised by all of the incredibly steamy scenes and the freaking tension was palpable. Some of the quotes in this book were so yummy. I was screaming. Also this gave the same feeling as reading the fake dating trope. Where they are helping set you up for someone else, but you are falling for them instead. I loved it!

This book is full of great chemistry between characters, laugh out loud moments, and characters that are memorable.

Ratings
Overall: 4/5
Shock: N/A
Angst: 3/5
Tears: N/A
Spice: 3/5

Thank you so much NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for sending me this ARC!

What a great start to a new series!!

Eva Leigh brings us three disastrous rakes who have to get their lives in order and marry before their families cut them off.

Don’t you just LOVE historical romance? Premises like this always suck me in and make me giddy. Rake forced to reform, a debutante who is itching to be free of societies expectations, deals and trades and feelings and scandal.

These are a few of my favorite things!

You seriously can’t go wrong with these tropes and Eva Leigh delivers a lot of heart and heat with this one. And so many little hints about book two and three I just cannot WAIT to get my hands on what’s next!!

Thank you Net Galley and Avon for the ARC, review is my own

Thanks to NetGalley & Avon/Harper Voyager, for the ARC!

Kieran is a third son of an earl who enjoys his rakish lifestyle, which includes his many nights spent at some of London's least reputable establishments. But, after a family wedding takes a disastrous turn, Kieran's parents give him and his older brother Finn an ultimatum - repair their less-than-honorable reputations and marry suitable wives or be cut-off. When Kieran seeks out his best friend's younger sister to aid in his reputation rehab, he thinks the prim and proper Celeste will be his guide into the world of reputable society. However, Celeste has her own designs. As a young woman with a spotless reputation, Celeste is always doing what her family or society wants her to do and she wants to live life on her own terms. So, the pair strike a deal: Celeste will help Kieran make his entrance into polite society during the day, while Kieran will take Celeste on various adventures to less-than-polite society at night. However, the pair get more than they bargained for as the time on their scheme dwindles down and the fear that they may need to walk away from one another becomes real.

I really enjoyed this book! Celeste's background was fascinating. Unlike Kieran, she was not a member of the peerage, but rather was born into a family that became wealthy over time. Because of this, she has the ability to adapt to the various experiences she has with Kieran. Kieran appears to not have a care in the world and thrives on his rakish personality, but as the story unfolds, you see that he is capable of thinking and feeling deeply and this ability was not always appreciated in the people around him. This was my first Eva Leigh novel and I am excited to read more by this author! This book was the perfect balance of some romance, spicy scenes and a few comedic bits.

If you read the synopsis for The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes, you'll see that it is a fairly conventional romance plot: libertine needs to clean up his act and marry a respectable woman; he asks his BFF's sister, a respectable woman, to help him rehabilitate his reputation; feelings ensue. And that really is what happens here. Kieran asks Celeste to introduce him to debutantes that might meet his "respectable" requirements, and she agrees - as long as he takes her to some DISreputable venues so she can live a little before her inevitable engagement and marriage.

Although the book might not break any new ground, it superlatively executes the plot. Celeste's desire to experience more of the world is completely understandable, and the fact that she's always had a bit of a crush on Kieran helps it along. Where the book really shines is in Leigh's exploration of Kieran's character. So many times historical romance provides readers with "rakish" heroes with zero explanation of why they choose to be rakes. And of course, they reform once they meet their sweet, virginal one-and-only heroine. Instead, Kieran has reasons for his actions (this is HR so they might be slightly angsty reasons, but they make lots of sense) and choices that he explains to Celeste as she enters his world. (Also, this is a sex book. There, we said it.)

The Good Girls Guide to Rakes is a great feminist romp through the Regency! Kieran is a rake trying to reform and enlisting the help of his friends virtuous sister to help him. Celeste is trying to break free of the expectations her nouveau riche family has placing on her and wants Kieran to help her. They fall in love and it’s great but she discovers her true self in the process and it’s just as much fun. This is as much a book about loving oneself as it is a romance.

I haven’t felt lately like reading the books I’ve been reading or starting anything new, so when Eva Leigh posted on Twitter that Good Girl’s Guide was available for ARC request, I sent that request in immediately and I’m so glad I did instead of waiting for a February (😭) release. It seems like every time I get my hands on a new Eva Leigh, it’s always right when I need it most.

I’ve had too much time on my own to do some deep soul-searching and it’s made me a bit melancholic and then to start working from home as an introvert turned out to not be maybe the best thing for me, personally. So to read Celeste’s journey from being the lonely, perfect daughter to loved and cherished for who she really was just hit me right there.

Oh if only I knew a handsome rake with kohl-lined eyes who would take me to gaming hells in exchange for my help in improving his standing with society…
Or maybe I just need to get out more 🤔

I lasted two whole days after my NetGalley request was approved before starting this one because I was so excited to have it and it did not disappoint. There are only one or two of Eva’s books that I haven’t read so I knew it as going to be goo. The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes is the first in a new series and brilliantly sets up the next two books as well (which I am now dying to read).

Kieran finds himself in need of restoring his reputation in order to find a wife and who better to help him on his journey than his friends sister, Celeste. Celeste agrees to the scheme in exchange for Kieran taking her to places like gaming hells and parties that proper young ladies do not have access to. Of course over the course of their adventures the two fall in love. It’s a set up that makes me happy every time I read it.

I loved both Celeste and Kieran. Celeste was such a complex character and I loved how deftly she was written. She was raised poor and her family has since become exceedingly wealthy and is under immense pressure from her family to marry into a title. I loved that from the beginning it was obvious from her thoughts that the coarseness of her youth was still inside her despite her proper exterior. I loved watching transform from who her family wanted her to be into who she wanted to be. Kieran was an absolute delight. He’s a rake who wears eyeliner and writes poetry. I loved seeing love transform him into the best version of himself. The pair had sparks from the start and I highly enjoyed seeing them interact with and long for one another.

Like I said at the beginning, I absolutely can’t wait to read the next two book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

Eva Leigh does it again with a super steamy novel, The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes. I was completely hooked by the first page.

Brothers Kieran and Finn, along with best friend Dom, are about to be cut off from their families financially if they don't all settle down with a "respectable" wife within 12 months. The friends are in trouble for causing a scandal between the two families. Kieran only knows one respectable woman (Dom's sister) Celeste and asks her to help reintroduce him into respectable society. Celeste has a request in return: to be shown the less respectable side of London before her betrothal announced to Lord Montford occurs at the end of the season. Celeste and Kieran romp about town with Celeste under the disguise of Salome.

The chemistry between Kieran and Celeste is undeniable. You can really see the evolution of Kieran falling for her through the course of the book. Celeste undergoes her own transformation becoming more confident and less the savior of her family's propriety. I cannot wait until the next books in the series!

Thank you so much to Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.