Eileen Dreyer

This continues to be a very exciting series. Ian and the rest of the Rakes are still trying to figure out who is behind the attempts on Wellington's life. This time he has been caught in the middle, and in attempting to stop an assassin has been shot and is now on the run, accused of the deed himself. He ends up at Sarah's farm, feverish and in danger of being captured.

Sarah takes him in, hides him and cares for his injuries, for the sake of his sisters. She was friends with them at school show more and while she disapproves of his neglect of them, for their sake she will do her best to save him. She doesn't expect the intense attraction to him, an attraction that can't go anywhere. Sarah is illegitimate and shunned by many because of it. I loved her strength of will as she cared for her land and her husband's relatives as best she can.

As Sarah cares for Ian, their attraction to each other grows. Sarah starts out mistrustful of Ian and anxious to get him healed and gone. She soon realizes that he is innocent of the charges, and begins to see the man that his sisters described. He is kind and protective, loyal and honorable, and she soon finds herself falling for him. Ian is conflicted because he is falling for her too, but he has no way of making her part of his life. There are things that conspire to keep them apart and seem impossible to overcome. I loved the way their relationship developed. Sarah wasn't a pushover by any means, and has no trouble standing up to him about what she intends to do and what she expects from him. She does admit to herself that her attraction to him can make it difficult to stay focused. I loved Ian's protectiveness and how he saw her vulnerabilities. He also discovered that she was everything he always wanted, even though he didn't know it until he met her. All he has to do is figure out a way to make it possible.

This was an intense story from the beginning. Ian's attempt to save Wellington, then his need to save himself, started the story with a rush. Then there is Sarah's need to hide Ian and nurse him back to health. Sarah is also in danger of losing her home. Her husband went off to war and hasn't returned, leaving her to fend off her cousin's attempts to claim her land. He is involved in some less savory activities himself, including participating in the continuing manhunt for Ian. Ian, once he has started to heal, knows he has to get to the other Rakes for their help in saving Wellington and clearing his own name. There are betrayals and dangers that nearly cost them their lives before they are able to resolve the immediate problem. The final confrontation kept me riveted until I was sure everyone would be safe. Then all that had to happen was for Ian to find a way for he and Sarah to be together and I thought that he did a marvelous job with that.

The secondary characters were all wonderfully done. Sarah's mother-in-law, with her overly dramatic attitudes, was both frustrating and funny, and had some scenes that had me laughing and shaking my head. There was enough information about and exposure to the cousin who was trying to take Sarah's land that I was quite happy to see what happened to him. I loved seeing her half brother have to face some consequences of his own, and loved what that ended up meaning for Sarah. I also loved seeing more of Chuffy and am looking forward to more of him. But my favorite of all the secondary characters had to be Willoughby the pig. He was wonderful.

While part of the mystery that has been present in all of the books has been resolved, it is still not over. The assassin is still at large, and there is someone very highly placed who is still pulling the strings. Ian's sisters are also missing, and someone is going to have to find them. I expect that the next book will be another nail-biter and I can't wait to read it. show less

Wow. This was intense. I don't even know where to start. So much happened. It was just blow after blow after blow. The author has a lot of talent. Her characters felt so utterly real that I was heartbroken by this book.

Grace was amazing. She reminded me a lot of Jane Eyre. I just wish she had been in a different book, with a man that actually deserved her. Because Diccan, most definitely did not. It started out forgivable - but by the end it had turned into unforgivable. So unforgivable. show more She did have some moments of self respect - like the bit where she shoots his hat off - I loved that bit. But his reasons for what he does are just not good enough. At all. And I don't feel that he tries to redeem himself either. He only had to be distant. He didn't have to cut her down the way he does. He could've told her the truth even. But he doesn't and it is appalling the way he treats her. I wanted to kill all the men in this Drake's Rakes club because they're all total assholes. I did like that all the household staff back Grace rather than Diccan.

But even though the author has a lot of talent - I can't bring myself to read any more of this series. It's just too much for me. show less

"Grace Fairchild is aptly nicknamed Little Colonel. Raised on the battlefield with her soldier father, she is selfless and continuously puts others needs before her own. Content to spend her life as a childless spinster until she wakes up in bed with Diccan Hilliard. It is apparent both Grace and Diccan were drugged, but in order to protect both of their names they decide to marry. Grace is upset to give up the dreams of a simple life on the land she inherited from her aunt. Diccan isn’t show more thrilled to be stuck with a wife when he prefers the life of a bachelor. They move to London where Grace with her bum leg and plain appearance faces ridicule and teasing. Diccan is wrapped up in political intrigue, and forced to shun his wife and take a mistress to protect her. Neither planned to have genuine feelings for each other, but find it happening regardless.

I have such mixed feelings when it comes to Never a Gentleman. This was a very hard one to rate and review. I absolutely adore Eileen Dreyer’s style of writing. It is so descriptive and thoroughly captivating. She also creates such well developed characters. With that said, the plot took so many turns that I truly didn’t anticipate. I loved the political side and the tender moments witnessed between Grace and Diccan, but the situations he found himself in for his mission left a bad taste in my mouth. There was one scene in particular that made me especially uncomfortable. The author gave justifiable reasons for his mistreatment of Grace, but this wasn’t what I usually look for in a historical romance.

I also discovered while reading that I don’t like to spend most of my time feeling pity for the main characters. Poor Grace was continuously made to feel ugly and worthless. She didn’t emanate the strength I’d expected from the “Little Colonel”. I even felt (a little) sorry for Diccan. He seemed sincerely remorseful for his behavior and I think he did an OK job of redeeming himself at least partially, but I really need more sigh worthy moments and warm fuzzies with my romance novels.

Even though the romantic elements weren’t what I had hoped for, there is still top-notch story telling in Never a Gentleman. The ending was also what I’d consider angsty perfection. I’ll definitely pick up the next book in the series which features my most favorite character, Kate. show less

This book started off a bit slow but once I got twenty or thirty pages in it really held my interest. The writing was nicely done and the author did a good job of making me believe these were persons living in the regency era rather than people with modern sensibilities dropped into an historical setting.

One of the strong points for me was that there was sufficient conflict to carry the book. They were falling in love but there was plenty to keep them apart until the end of the book. Lately show more I've been reading regencies that were rather dull because of lack of conflict. Here we had two sorts of conflict. There was danger to all if she was found harboring the hero who was accused of treason and also he was engaged to someone else when they met. In this period in history breaking an engagement could lead to serious legal action. Plus it really could ruin reputations. Also she was illegitimate which could present a problem. So all this conflict led to some lovely angst when it seemed that the hero and heroine could not be together.

The characterizations were good. The heroine especially was well developed. The hero was a lovely man but he was written as believably male. And the romantic tension between them was intense and believable. I liked the earthiness of their relationship.

All in all I recommend this one to regency lovers.

I received this book for review from GR First Reads and thank you very much. show less