Review: Stunning Historical Romance, a MUST-READ!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 25, 2011
In The Rake and the Recluse, Francine is somehow transported from present day to the late 1800's where she finds herself injured at the home of a reclusive Duke.  Not understanding what happened to her, Francine rails against her "captors" and acts quite strange, making those around her fear for her sanity.  As time passes, the Duke (Gideon) and his household realize that Francine is not crazy, but she is very odd and has no memories of her previous life.  Gideon and Francine are strangely and powerfully drawn together and the Duke must find out who she is before he can claim her for himself.  Gideon and Francine's relationship is threatened by Francine's vulgar former fiancé, who claims to "own" her.  Gideon must find a solution for Francine, without permanently ruining their reputations.The Rake and the Recluse is an all-together beautiful book filled not only with an engaging time-travel historical romance story, but also with stunning photographs illustrating the story.When you hear that a book is different or unique, sometimes that is just words, and there really is not too much unique.  With The Rake and the Recluse, historical romance fiction is completely re-vamped, illustrated with stunning photography throughout the novel.  The story is very well developed and written, and both unexpected and captivating.  I loved the characters, their development and their personalities.  The Rake and the Recluse is not a one-track story.  Gideon's brother plays a prominent role in the story as well as the reform-in-progress rake, and there is a side story romance between side characters giving the story more depth.What I really likes about The Rake and the Recluse is that after what could have been the climax of the book, the story did not just wrap up and end.  There was not an instant "happy ever after" (the characters did not just get home and everything was alright again).  The story continued, creating an extremely well rounded book.  This is not to say that everything in the book was answered.  I would still love to know what comes next for several of the characters, including the Duke's brother.  That is a story line left open that I hope to learn more about in the future.The Rake and the Recluse is brilliant and beautiful, a historical romance novel that should not be missed.  Historical Romance readers, I very highly recommend reading The Rake and the Recluse!