I found this novel hilarious in many parts and laughed out loud, but there is an underlying sorrow throughout, borne out of past mistakes. Given his family history, Rake refuses to allow himself to become embroiled with any young maiden. However, he finds it increasingly difficult to stay away from Lady Leonora Heart. Leonora, on the other hand, is determined to find enjoyment in every moment of every day, and if she can steal a kiss or two along the way, so much the better. She, too, has no intention of settling down, especially given the secret she is keeping. They both find out that those things done in secret can never be completely hidden and it is now being used against them. I sometimes find that when comedy is introduced into a plot that I can become irritated by it. In this instance, I laughed so hard that I found myself mopping my face. After her search for that one perfect moment, Leonora finally realizes that every moment with Rake is perfect, but persuading her family is another matter altogether. The novel comes to a happy conclusion as Leonora and Rake make their own choices. I received a copy of this enjoyable book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Leonora is a lively young lady who likes to flirt and banter with Rake, a gentleman who lives a sort of dull life. Their interactions make the story fun to read with many laughing moments. This author brings joy as well as some twists and turns to a well used plot giving it new life. Always a pleasure to read her work.

Just About a Rake is the fifth novel in the Ladies Who Dare series by Tanya Wild. The book can be read as a standalone though.

Our Heroine, Lady Leonora Heart, is trying to uncover an old family secret. She keeps flirting and bantering with Rake Sloane, the Earl of Dare, who's an infamous rake. The two strike up an unexpected friendship and enjoy teasing each other.

The encounter with the alligator was fun. All in all the overall story didn't work for me. It was pretty predictable and there wasn't a lot of meaningful character development.

This book wasn't for me. It's an OK, quick read though if you're looking for something light.

I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming friends to lovers historical romance novel that is very well written and full of witty banter, farcical situations, LOL moments, emotion, some twists and a bit of steam. It features two very likable protagonists: an unrepentant rake trying to avoid emotional entanglements and the sins of his father and a daring young lady with a scandalous secret whose life zest is about seizing every moment. I loved the chemistry between the two and their natural and easy interaction that brings a smile to your face.

Because of a dark family secret she stumbled upon years ago, Lady Leonora Heart is determined to savour every precious moment before her existence is destroyed. She delights in the thrill of flirting with rakes and her favorite is Rake Sloane, the Earl of Dare.
Rake also enjoys the innocent teasing and flirtatious remarks with the young lady, who brings joy and variety into his dull everyday life and who accepts him as he is, without trying to change him. However, the more time Rake spends with fun-loving Leonora, the more difficult it becomes for him to keep his life untangled…

All in all, an amusing and lighthearted romance with very likable characters that I am happy to recommend!

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

The teasing, flirting relationship between Lenora and Rake is a joy to read. I laughed many times. The dialogue between them simmers and shines. Underneath everything are two people who question whether they can ever be enough. This is a story you will love!

Just About a Rake is about Lady Leonora Heart and her unlikely friendship with Rake Sloane, the Earl of Dare. Their friendship turns into a scandalous affair that they must keep a secret so Leonora's virtue can remain intact. But with Leonora learning more about her parentage, complications arise that may doom the couple.

This book was such a sweet and spicy historical romance. I love how lightheartedly it tackled serious topics like being a bastard child. The slow burn of friends to lovers was so good and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the banter between Dare and Leonora. 4/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a delicious romp this is! I loved the banter between Dare and Leonora-it was fun, exciting and so whimsical!. It must have been hard to keep her secret for so long and to see Dare pick it up almost immediately showed how vested he really was, even if he couldn’t admit it to himself. It didn’t take long for me to figure out the secret, and it was interesting how long it took for her to tell her family. Heart’s reaction to Dare was rather fun- especially when he realized he had lost the battle. The cute animal scenes were hilariously funny, especially at the lake! This is one story that will get you out of a bad mood and unable to put down. All of the characters are well develped and my reactions to Drake would not have been so kind!
Loved it!


I received this story for free and these are my own views.

I enjoyed this book immensely! What a gutsy heroine this book has! Loved the way she always unapologetically stands up for herself without any hesitation. Both main characters are bold, strong, witty and have great banter, and both are affected by secrets. Some secrets are secrets the hero or heroine are keeping, but other secrets are kept from them, and you want to find out as my much as the main characters do. One secret you uncover quite early on in the book, but how does that relate to everything else? You just have to join the heroine in her search for answers while bit by bit she discovers more secrecy and suspicious things. Combine this with a very handsome and clever hero who is incredibly attractive, and you have a marvelous story with great pace, fun, mystery and suspense, but above all an amazing romance based on a beautiful friendship.
The secondary characters are also interesting, I really hope there will be books about Dare’s cousin Drake and his friend Knox. There are definitely stories to be told there.
The names of the characters were a bit odd, though: Drake Fury; Rake Sloan, the Earl of Dare; Heart… But they grown on you, you start see the writer’s meaning behind the names, the symbolism, if you want.
In summary; this is just a great lovestory, very well written with superb banter, amazing characters, a lot of fun and a touch of mystery. It’s on my all time favorites list, I can highly recommend this book and I will definitely read more books by Tanya Wilde!
Thank you Netgalley, Dragonblade Publishing and Tanya Wilde for providing an advanced copy of this book. I'm happy to leave my honest review; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A fun and flirtatious romance with witty dialogue and engaging characters then add in a scandalous secret and a little mystery and you have a fabulous story. Leonora and Rake are meant to be, and much better together than apart. An undeniable attraction and seizing their moments brings about the best happily ever after.

Wonderfully enjoyable book. Even though our main character is an innocent, she is flirty and fun. She is loves rakes as they give back what she is laying down. Enter Dare. He is handsome, flirty, fun, and like all the best rakes gives Lenora something to amuse herself at balls. I like when there is a little jealousy on the man’s part and we got that here cause Lenora is enjoying life. I didn’t love the third act break up but I kind of appreciated how both of them handled it. How dare people who made bad life choices think they know better than Dare and Lenora.

This is my second favorite book in this series since the first published.

Simply not engaging…a lot of the substantive relationship development happens before the book begins. I don’t understand why they’re interested in each other or what the basis of the connection is. DNF.

Rake the Earl of Dare is truly a rogue and a rake.
He strikes up a friendship with Lady Leonora whose wit and banter lightens his life.
She is an innocent and he will protect her even from himself.
Secrets abound and Leonora is determined to uncover them.
A fun romantic romp with strange animals intruding into their encounters.
Lighthearted and easy to read.

Just About a Rake is the fifth book in the Ladies Who Dare series. This can be a stand-alone read.

Lady Leonora Heart has learned a secret that could change her life forever, but does she dare reveal that she is aware. She has been growing closer to the Earl of Dare. He is a rake and everything she is supposed to stay away from. But she finds that she can be herself and is accepted without judgement. He guesses the secret Leonara holds close to her heart.

Rake Sloane, the Earl of Dare, refuses to change for anyone, but finds that he feels most complete with Leonara by his side. He knows that he should stay away, but the more he tries the more he desires Leonara. An innocent display in front of the ton threatens a scandal for Leonara.

This was a fun quick afternoon read. The characters were wonderful and entertaining.

Leonora enjoys flirting with rakes. Rake Sloane enjoys flirting with her. Although they are friends, they find themselves in all sorts of scandalous situations. Neither thinks they are good enough for each other. Rake swears he won't be tamed, but he starts to have second thoughts. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.