this was a very good book. I liked both leads tremendously and hope the author writes more books to enjoy

Thank you NetGalley. Sophy has tried to keep everything going since her twin was kidnapped and for four years he had to work for the Navy but now the war is over, he should come home. Since he hasn't shown up she went to London in hope of finding him.
She meets Owen when she goes to see the Duke of Woodhal. He tries to help her and the Dowager Marchioness Faye who has all is willing to help her. He brother must to be in London. This story has many sides to the story. Sophy and Owen fall in love. Sherry, her brother is trying to protect the girl who went on the same ship as he did, dressed as a man, her uncle being the captain and also protecting her. As I've said the many things going on in the story makes there a lot to follow.

‘A gentleman’s daughter she might be, but that mattered little now she was orphaned and unwed at the age of six and twenty, with little of her own but the charity of her missing brother, whose farm had not yielded a decent income for the last three years.’

Charlotte Anne’s debut, The Unworthy Duke was such a fun read with a warning for purists that it was very much contemporary and not your classic regency tale. She has followed it up with Her Worthy Rake and it follows in very much the same vein.

The premise was promising, however, it does not quite gel together in execution for me. Charlotte brings mystery and emotion to this particular historical romance yet the pacing was somewhat off and the story seemed to lose its way a bit at times. I am all for reimaginings but this one upped the ante in terms of contemporary regency adaptation to the extent that it left me undecided.

Regency fans need to investigate. This is the type of read - perfect for those in between, lighter literary needs - filled with mystery, steam and requisite angst to come together in creating an engaging tale for modernists.

‘There’s an important reason why Sherry doesn’t want to be found, even by his sister.’






This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

This is a first time read for me by this author so I didn't know what to expect. It's always fun reading new authors and styles, because more times than not I end up with another author to follow. Such is the case with this delightful story. Sophy is desperately in search for her twin brother who was forced illegally to fight in the war. The war ended a good two years ago, but her brother has not returned and she is determined to find him, no matter where or to what conditions her search takes her. She comes to the Duke of Woodhal for assistance and there meets Owen. Owen is a distant relation of the Duke's and also the adopted son of the Dowager Marchioness of Faye, to whom Sophy becomes a companion to. This brings her yet closer into Owen's orbit. Both are strongly attracted to each other. Meeting Sophy has brought Owen to life after constantly trying to hold back his memories of war. He helps her in her search for her brother and they face many challenges. Each clue they find seems to uncover a new mystery. Along the way, they are also uncovering a growing passion and blossoming romance.
I enjoyed the characters and getting to know them. They were well-developed and endearing and I admired the determination of Sophy. The story was interesting and entertaining and kept my interest till the end. After reading this, I would very much like to go back and read the previous book as well.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

There’s lots to like about Her Worthy Rake, Charlotte Anne’s second novel. The characters are likeable and easy to cae about. The story flows well and makes for an entertaining read and there are plenty of humorous moments. I did think the reason for Sherry’s disappearance was pretty weak, but forgiving that meant I could enjoy the story. What did upset me, and this could be simply because I received an uncorrected advanced reader copy, was the lack of attention to detail in terms of editing. I got the distinct impression that the author relied entirely on the computer’s spell checking and did not check the book herself, which is a great shame. I cringed when people were led to dine on their “super”, watched the “horse and food guards” on parade, and enjoyed the company of “another gown woman”. All of this detracted from my reading pleasure, which was unfortunate.

An original story idea which didn't quite live up to expectations. It was a new author to me and i found the writing style too modern for the ear they are supposed to be writing in and it was a bit convoluted and could do with an editor going through it and stream lining it as things were included that did nothing for the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I did enjoy this story and I liked the characters of Sophy and Owen. I hadn’t read the previous book so, at first, I was a little confused about the relationships but all became clearer as I read through the book. I liked the way that Sophy became more confident as the story progressed and this was in some part due to Owen. There is the mystery of where Sophy’s brother is and how others are able to help her in this task. Also a romance between Owen and Sophy. There was just one thing I couldn’t understand and that is why Sheridan (the brother) didn’t try to contact Sophy. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fair warning – the last paragraph of this review might be spoilerish – please don’t continue if you don’t want to know.
Sophy Calder has been waiting for her twin brother Sherborne “Sherry” to return from the war. Her brother had been press-ganged into the Navy four years ago, but the war ended, and his ship returned to England over six months ago, and yet she hasn’t seen or heard from him. And now that she has gone through her own inheritance trying to keep the family estate from ruin, she can no longer wait for her brother to return and take over – a feat she was unable to do as all the estate accounts and funds are in his name and she is living in genteel poverty. When she gets no answers from the Navy by writing letters, she heads to London. But getting answers is no easier in person, even with the backing of the Duke of Woodhal and when she finally has some information in her grasp, it is almost lost by an unfortunate dip in the Thames.

After a disheartening meeting with his good friend and tailor, George “Owen” Tattershall’s day goes from bad to worse in the blink of an eye, when a collision with a winsome red-head ends with a swim in the Thames followed by stolen boots and a hackney ride to evade the men chasing said red-head – who turns out to be the woman who begged his cousin’s help the night of his engagement ball. Owen remembers Sophy well and offers his help, taking her to his adopted mother’s house, who hires Sophy as her companion, so she can stay in London and find her brother. Owen is surprised by his attraction to Sophy and the more time they spend together, the more he wants – but Owen has secrets that he assumes will prevent their HEA, but perhaps he shouldn’t make assumptions…

{This is where it might get spoilerish}
This book was not what I expected based on the blurb, it was a lot more complex – or more accurately - more convoluted than a simple romance/mystery. First of all, there are A LOT of characters, making the story hard to follow at times, which is not helped by the fact that the story tends to ramble, then there is a side-plot of Owen trying to secure funding for a printing project with his friend, oh and the fact that Owen is bisexual – which would be fine if it was actually pertinent to the story, rather than seeming like a gratuitous “inclusion” move and I wasn’t thrilled with his revelation of this to Sophy – where it is completely downplayed and he tells her that he loves her and only wants her now – which raises the question is he now “straight” or is he just going to ignore that part of himself? Either way, that needed to be addressed, as did other things – like why her brother let her go broke instead of making arrangements for her to send estate bills to his solicitor, and why did he risk so much for someone whom he didn’t seem to want a future with, and how did Owen come to be adopted? I finished this book with more questions than answers and felt unsatisfied even though it ended with a HEA. I really did like Owen and Sophy and rooted for their HEA, but without addressing how they move forward in respect to his sexuality, I am not sure how they can have a true HEA. This is the second book in the series – but it is billed as a standalone title. And to be fair, I didn’t read the first book, so I don’t know if the questions I had in this book would have been moot if I had read the first book. Anyway, that is just my two cents – do what you will with it. Overall, it was an original story with likable characters and fascinating author notes (which in my opinion were the best part of the book) and I am not sorry I read it, but it is not a story I would go out of my way to read again.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

really hope this book will be formatted for its upcoming release, else it will be a struggle to read as it was for me.
Reading this book was such a challenge, it sucked any joy from the pages.
Which is sad as this book had everything in the blurb to attract. Instead from the first page, I felt like I missed something.
First we see the heroine determined to do something then end of the chapter, when we see her again, it is a month later while she awaits answers about her twin brother’s disappearance.
Then there is the hero, a bit of a rake, a Jack of all trades in term of lovers. An illegitimate son, sort of adopted as adoption in the strict term was not possible at this time, only wardening or fostering were the norm.
In all, this was not a book for me, too difficult to read.

An incredible woman, courageous enough to go in search of her missing twin on her own until she collided with the man who would provide all the support she needs. She gets assistance from his family as well. Meanwhile the two are falling in love and discovering their part in the world. Enjoyable read, specially the scenes where she stands up to bullies.

I received and ARC of this book from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

Sophy is desperate to find her brother, who never returned from his last Naval voyage. Acquaintance Owen and his mother offer to help. Every clue uncovers a new mystery. Will she and Owen discover the truth—and maybe fall in love along the way?

I enjoyed the characters, story, and writing style in this novel. Sophy and Owen are both fun characters. I also appreciated the bisexual representation. This is part of a series that's best read in order. Characters from the previous book appear in this one, and the relationships are difficult to untangle without reading the previous book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I have struggled to stay involved with this romance due to some confusing aspects. Bi-sexual, the books written by Owen, the missing brother for so long - why not let his sister know he is alive? Why not help her with the family funds? Not my cup of tea. Not sure I am going to finish reading it. Maybe this would have been better as a novella.

I have been looking forward to this one since I read Charlotte Anne’s debut The Unworthy Duke, I met Georg Owen Tattershall known as Owen in that book and I thought he was a very good candidate for hero material and I am glad he got his story, although a little twist in this one that had me thinking, I loved his chosen heroine Sophy Calder, a very strong determined red-head and together they make a formidable pair.

Owen is kind of related to the Duke of Woodhal and although he is not wealthy he is the adopted son of the Dowager Marchioness of Faye, which gives him some sway in the ton and he is also the best wearer of slick and fancy waistcoats and he has a couple of secrets. When Sophy Calder comes into his life Owen comes alive with passion and a want and need for Sophy and adventure has begun.

Sophy has come to London to search for her twin brother Sherry who was pressed into navel service illegally to fight Napoleon’s forces but the war ended two years ago and he has not returned and Sophy is determined to find him. She arrives at the Duke of Woodhal’s home the day before his engagement and is given a letter to take to the navy and is given so help, but Lady Faye needs a new companion and hires Sophy and this brings her closer to Owen and together they search for Sherry, with lots of ups and downs.

This is such a fabulous story, witty, sensual and with such wonderful characters, a mystery to uncover and getting to know Owen more was so good and fiery Sophy she is the best and together they really do make a great couple who will not let anything stand in their way of happiness. Of course catching up with Lady Faye, Calum and Ellen added to the story. This is one that I would highly recommend, I do love a good historical romance and I do look forward to more stories from Charlotte Anne I love her way with words.

My thanks to Netgalley and Escape Publishing for my copy to read and review

If you want a story of romance, wit, mystery, then look no further than Her Worthy Rake. I really enjoyed this book, you will fall in love with both characters and root for their love story.
This is my honest review for I received an advanced copy from NetGalley.

Thank you, NetGalley and Escape Publishing, for the chance to read and review the ARC for Her Worthy Rake by Charlotte Anne.

Her Worthy Rake comes out on the 1st of January. The book will be published by Escape Publishing which is a part of Harlequin Books, which in turn is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Australia.

On the surface, the elements in this book were good and should have worked. A woman is looking for her twin brother, who goes missing after being forced to fight for his country after committing a crime without having the chance to say goodbye. As she looks for him, entering a life of genteel poverty, she comes across a family willing to help her and falls in love with the man who (accidentally) pushed her into the Thames. We also have a queer character and a subplot regarding publishing a pattern book.

All of this should have worked, but it didn't. For a book that is under 300 pages, it kept going on and on. It was so utterly boring that it'll be a while before I read another regency romance. I hated the twin brother they worked so hard to save; he didn't get enough trouble for what he did. Like he gets a hug and gets to go away. Not one note to his sister? No attempt to use the money he has that could help his sister and everyone else? I also don't enjoy how quickly they got the publisher to give up E.E., given how long he seems to have held out. I liked the dog, though. He had more personality than all the other characters.

On that note, armpit licking and boots staying on are things I will never understand. That was also incredibly specific, and I didn't need to know that!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

This is a Regency romance about country spinster Sophy Calder who left the family farm to travel to London, when she is at the end of her tether and her funds. Her only family, twin brother Sheridan, was pressganged into the Navy years before, but the war has ended, and he should have returned. But he is still missing, and she can no longer manage the farm herself, so she goes to London in a desperate bid to find answers or him.

Owen Tattershall is the untitled relation by marriage to the Duke of Woodhal, and the adopted son of the Duke's grandmother, the Marchioness of Faye. He does not have a fortune himself, and not entitled to any of the family fortune, and must make his own way about in the world. He does this by writing salacious novels anonymously and trying to engage in other endeavours, including helping a friend publish a book of patterns. He seems to be a bit of an odd man out, and not comfortable in his own skin; considers himself a bit of rake. He and Sophy literally collide and he ends up being drawn into her investigation, especially when it turns out the Duke had been trying to help her endavours before he left on his honeymoon. The Marchioness decides to lend her aid, by hiring Sophy as her companion, to give her entree into Society which would give her access to the ladies of the Ton, who may have access to information through gossip about Sophy's missing brother.

This was a bit of a convoluted tale that was rather difficult to read at times. This was an ARC copy and there were some issues with spacing and formatting which made it physically difficult to read, and I am hoping those would be resolved by publication. But there is some bouncing back and forth between the main story of Sophy and Owen, and bits from Sheridan's perspective, and there was not separation either visually or other distinctive breaks so that made it difficult to transition. But also there are points where there is too much detail and information given that do not really seem to add to the story except in the most tangential way. For example, it turns out that Owen is bisexual and is conflicted by his attraction to both men and women. But while it takes up his thoughts, it is not actually in play during the development of his and Sophy's attraction - other than perhaps his admiration of his married friend. But a lot of time is spent on this internal conflict. Then there is a lack of information in other things, such as his true relationship in the Duke of Woodhal's and the Marchioness of Faye's family - sure, he is adopted by her - HOW and what is his true relationship? Maybe I missed it? Sherry was able to write to his sister over the years, why did he not write to their man of business to help her manage the farm or give her funds??? What about Eveline and Sheridan - from the way things were written, I thought there was a romantic connection there, hence his desire to protect her... but then at the end, not??? There were a lot of loose threads that left me wanting.

Anyways, this was OK, but difficult to read at times. I would give this a 3 out of 5 stars.

I did not read a previously published book by the author, the Unworthy Duke, which sounds like it is the story of the Duke of Woodhal, and there was a lot about family relationships in this novel that may be answered in that book, though this looks like it could be read independently.

This book was very long and involved. Anyone who read Regency Romances of the 80's combined with Historical Romances of the 90's. This was a long story with very sensual subjects. Contains spoilers.
The heroine was a twin. Her brother had been pressed into service on a British war ship during the war. They were 22 years old when he was kidnapped, and the estate was staring to get run down because she could not access any funds until he returned. Now, what I do not understand was why he did not immediately send a letter to his solicitor stating that the heroine should be able to use the funds to take care of the estate and herself. I say this because he was sending letters to her. And why couldn't she take the letters to the solicitor's office and see if she could appeal for guardianship of his estate while he was away? But I am sure there were good reason why these actions did not happen. The heroine had contacted a duke to assist her and write her a letter of introduction to the Naval Office and see about locating her brother. We do not know what happend except that it did. So this must have taken place in a previous book of the series and we would have to read that book to know what was said when. So, the heroine visits the Naval Office and the officer is not very forthcoming. He accidentally flips the report in her direction and it lands on the floor in front of her. Well, in my opinion, he gave it to her. So,being the intelligent person she is, she picks it up and runs as fast as she can. The officer was very corpulent and had to call for reinforcements to chase her. She is able to run for a few blocks, until she slows and turns her head back to see if she is being chased. She is near a bridge and accidentally runs into someone, bounces off him and trips over the short wall into the river. She is able.to swim to shore, but a gentleman has jumped in after her and he ends up saving her papers. The commotion draws the attention of the soldier chasing her and the gentleman tosses her into a taxi and jumps in after her and heads to his mother's house. The heroine recognizes her hero. He is a man about town, part of a rich aristocrat family. He thinks he is known for his splendidly colored and embroidered waistcoat. But he is known as a rake that any young lady would want as a husband. The hero's mother hires the heroine as her companion and the heroine is able to sleep and eat safely for the first time in 4 years. They offer to help her look for her brother.
Spoiler. This story contains a lot of conversations, that really do not say a lot. One such thing is that the hero, a supposed rake, has had affairs with men and women. Throughout the book it is mentioned that he is scared to be pointed out for his male lovers, but he tries to talk to the heroine and he doesn't say alot except he doesn't know what he is. Well, I would like to know more than that if he was my husband. How do I know he isn't going to start having affairs with men again? This book was long and a little difficult to read, with too many characters to keep track of. It was not a easy, relaxing story. I would give this 3.5 stars and give it a guarded recommendation to read. This story tended to raise more questions than answers. Even at the end, her brother doesn't seem to miss the fellow sailor that he had been protecting for the past 4 years. 3.5 stars.

Hello! I had had high hopes for this book, and I think the cover was very well-designed - quite reflective of all that sums up Regency. However, I think the book was average - basically, good. I sort of got lost in the tale, and I could not really decide whether I liked Owen or not. What I mean by that is that, early on, I really liked him; then, I wanted to like him but was on the fence. I will say that, toward the end of the book, in the last 10-20 pages or so, is where I really started to see chemistry between Owen and Sophy emerge. It just seemed like too long of a wait for a Regency romance to see evidence of development of a romance. That said, I think the writing style and choice of words in the book were good, and I am interested to read more from this author. I was able to read this book in one sitting, so recommend this for anyone wanting to escape a bit from the everyday into another time, and a new story. I appreciate that NetGalley granted this ARC to me, and this is my honest opinion. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC. This was a delightful tale of love and intrigue…although there were places where not a lot happened or quite a lot happened in a very short space of time. It was a feel good, fluffy romance that I recommend for a cozy, rainy day read.

This book was a hot mess and I was not into it. The beginning was slow and frankly didn’t make much sense. Perhaps it would make more sense if I read the first In the series, but it felt like I was joining the story already in progress. The banter btn Sophy and Owen was good but not quite enough to save the book.