Review: How to Ruin a Reputation
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 4, 2012
Ashe Bedevere, rake extraordinaire, has spent ten years traveling, gambling, drinking, seducing women, and avoiding his home and family. Those ten years have seen terrible things happen to the Bedevere estate in his absence. When his father's death demands he return home, he is shocked by what receives him. No longer does his home sing with beauty, but the servants are sparse, and the estate is in debt. The dead Earl was clever though; he knew what his son and home would need and he's decreed his wishes in his will. Genevra (Neva) Ralston is a young and beautiful American widow. She's as shocked as Ashe by the Earl's will, but she is uninterested in being Ashe's newest mistress and has no plans to remarry. Has the rake, capable of seducing any woman, finally met his match?This was a great read, well written, and well paced. There are a few editing issues, but nothing major enough to disrupt my enjoyment of the book. I liked Neva, I thought she was a perfect foil for Ashe. She has a very modern thinking process though, which at times caused me to pause, I don't know if historical romance readers will be bothered by it or not. I found her a spirited and interesting heroine.I feel like the book really belongs to Ashe, the hero, rather than Neva. I felt his POV deeper, I think he exhibited more emotional depth than Neva's POV did. I also felt that Ashe was the only character that grew as the story progressed. The antagonists in this were creepy, and well done. I felt having them on the back burner simmering was a good tactic, they were never far from my mind and had settled in ominously.The romance was great, I really enjoyed Ashe and Neva and was actually sad when this ended, which is always a sign of a good book, I would happily recommend this.