UUUGGGHHHHHHHH! Such an amazing beginning - painfully shy, insecure, ostensibly plain wallflower is wooed by rake. I wasn’t sure about him from the start because he comes off as a villain, literally actually seducing debutants and abandoning them after he gets what he wants. Not just widows or unhappy wives, but virgins whose lives are theoretically ruined by him. Not appealing to me at all, but I was willing to give him a shot. Which is a huge mistake because he seduced Leticia and never planned to marry her! Like full-on snuck into her bedroom without an invitation with the goal of bedding her, and never once considering matrimony. And then he goes on to be a disgusting cad, pursuing other women right in front of the heroine! It would have made for some delicious angst if it had been a Misunderstanding, but no, he is 100% actually trying to “win” Miss Lymington, the bastard. And then he even says to Leticia “I never said I loved you and we were never engaged.” And not because he is, like, pushing her away in some sort of misguided noble sacrifice because he is not good enough for her, no, nothing like that. He is genuinely surprised she thought he might marry her after taking her virginity. At this point, I’m wondering if this is some weird book where the hero is introduced 80% of the way into the story, cuz he is obviously not The Guy. But, the real thing that made me almost DNF this was when the supposedly insecure heroine, AFTER being told by multiple friends and family members that he is a rake who lies and seduces, AFTER being told by HIM that he does not love her and never intended to marry her when he took her virginity, AFTER seeing him openly pursue another woman, this fucking idiot heroine spends like 30 seconds talking to the sister of the “hero,” WHO DOES NOT SAY A SINGLE THING THAT IS ACTUALLY REASSURING, and asks, “do you think he is in love with me?” and “should I go to him?” BITCH PLEASE. No one falls in love just because someone is a bit of a challenge!!!!!!!! They might feel interested in pursuing someone because the person is a bit different from the rest who fell at their feet, but on what planet does that mean love?!?! Of course they end up together with basically no groveling or anything making that annoying trek through idiocy and villainy worthwhile. I am so mad at both the main characters in this book, ugh. (1.5 stars) ( )

Sparkling eyes captivate!

Wallflower from solid ton background meets rake of first order. Her best friend is his adopted sister. Not that that makes much difference as they barely speak to each other (there's a mystery here!)
Lady Letitia Cavendish is painfully shy in large gatherings. She doesn't dance. Well that's not right. It's just that no-one ever asks her. So she's perfected the hanging out amongst the curtains, loosing herself in a crowd, fading into the background as a way of coping.
Only Edward Wynn, the Viscount of Stulsemere, practiced seducer and rake really notices her when they're forced to dance. He is shocked when he pushes Letitia beyond her painful silence and she leaves him standing in the middle of the ballroom. Rejection is something Wynn's unused to. He's fascinated, and then he's taken by the fact that the shy Letitia is downright gorgeous when she lifts her head and stares him down.
But is that fascination strong enough for a confirmed rake to pay attention to the stirring of his heart and is Letitia brave enough to take what she wants?
I've got to say I cooled off from Wynn. I was rather startled by Letitia's willingness to cosy up with him, in the family home two bedrooms away from her parents! What!! Oh hi, yes here I am, the man of your dreams, standing in your bedroom having just bribed the footman. Yikes!
I warmed to him even less when he reverted to type and sets about playing seductive games in the middle of a ballroom with an attractive heiress, as Letitia looks on! What a cad! Sure he gives an excuse. The sort of, 'Sorry honey I can't seem to go against my base nature--the lure of the chase you know.' A craven meaningless apology.
But back to Wynn's so called adopted sister Mariah, Letitia's best friend, who reads books at social occasions. I am puzzled by her persistence with the reading of A New Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary which she finds riveting and keeps trying to persuade Letitia into reading. A rather strange reoccurrence leading where? Will we find out?
Despite all these strange little threads, this tried and true trope of wallflower and rake is a tad different, and although in my mind I felt it was never quite grounded. I do however look forward to Mariah's story.

A Dragonblade ARC via NetGalley ( )