Audiobook10 hours
A Beginner's Guide to Rakes
Written by Suzanne Enoch
Narrated by Anne Flosnik
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
All of London is abuzz with the return of the utterly alluring, recently
widowed Diane Benchley. Will she remarry? What will she do with her
late husband's fortune? Society is shocked by her announcement-at the
Grand Ball, of all places!-that she plans to open an exclusive
gentleman's gaming club in the family mansion. But no one is more
stunned than the Marquis of Haybury, Oliver Warren.Years
ago, Oliver and Diane shared a private indiscretion. Now Diane
threatens to reveal Oliver's most ungentlemanly secrets...unless he agrees
to help her. A notorious gambler-and rake-Oliver is overqualified to
educate Diane in the ways and means of running her establishment. But
striking a deal with Diane might just be the biggest risk Oliver has
ever taken. This time, the only thing he has to lose is his heart...
widowed Diane Benchley. Will she remarry? What will she do with her
late husband's fortune? Society is shocked by her announcement-at the
Grand Ball, of all places!-that she plans to open an exclusive
gentleman's gaming club in the family mansion. But no one is more
stunned than the Marquis of Haybury, Oliver Warren.Years
ago, Oliver and Diane shared a private indiscretion. Now Diane
threatens to reveal Oliver's most ungentlemanly secrets...unless he agrees
to help her. A notorious gambler-and rake-Oliver is overqualified to
educate Diane in the ways and means of running her establishment. But
striking a deal with Diane might just be the biggest risk Oliver has
ever taken. This time, the only thing he has to lose is his heart...
Author
Suzanne Enoch
A native and current resident of Southern California, Suzanne Enoch loves movies almost as much as she loves books. When she is not busily working on her next novel, Suzanne likes to contemplate interesting phenomena, like how the three guppies in her aquarium became 161 guppies in five months.
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Reviews for A Beginner's Guide to Rakes
Rating: 3.653225885483871 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
62 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In The Beginner's Guide to Rakes, we get one character not usually seen in the regency romance world and one which is a fresh take on an old standby. Lady Diane Benchley is widowed and through a bit of work moved herself from poverty to if not riches, at least a comfortableness that she hadn't enjoyed for most of her marriage. Her grand venture to take her late husband's family home in London and turn it into a Gentleman's club not only hits a snag, but sets the gossips' tongues to wagging. The one man who can help, the Marquis of Haybury, Oliver Warren, had loved, and ran away from, Diane two years ago, and he has his own demons to expel.This duo is fascinating in their depth of character and the ways in which they work to avoid, and yet be close to, each other. Sometimes the machinations got a little, well, old fashioned, and a times you wished the characters would just talk to each other, but in spite of that, the characters and their story held my interest and kept me turning the pages well past midnight.I loved the honestly these two brought to the tale, as well as the unique, and sequel-inducing, setting the author has created. Several of the secondary characters will get their own stories, no doubt, and I look forward to reading them as well.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Short ReviewIt has been quite some time since I have read Suzanne Enoch, and I bought this book about a year ago, and its been on my shelf collecting dust, so since there have been a few books come into this series, I thought I would try reading the first installment, before I got the others. In the past I have come to love Enoch's writing and her powerful ability of storytelling, but I am sad to say I was disappointed in A Beginner's Guide To Rakes. For some reason I had the hardest time getting into the story, and by the time I was halfway, I wanted to finish it just to find out what happens, but I ended up skimming a bit (which is the worst, just so I could get through it). I think the biggest issue I had was the heroine in this story. I didn't like her at any part of the book. Usually I don't have such a difficult time with heroines, but there was something so hard about her character. I felt like there was so much harshness in the way she treats Oliver. You see how they both make mistakes when they first have their affair before they see each other again in London. I also understand how hurt she could be, but at the same time I wanted to shake some good common sense into her. She frustrated me to no end, and I couldn't help but have some serious issues with her. Oliver I liked from the first page, and I loved how patient he was with her, and never took what she said to him to heart. Even though there was a good solid story outline, and it had the same characteristics that I have come to admire in this author, I never could get fully into the story, and trust me I did try quite a bit. I do plan on trying the second one in the series, hoping it will be much better, because I don't want to give up on this author that I have loved in the past.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I wish some of the plot points had been tightened up, with some further consideration there were surely alternatives to get to similar ends that would have been a bit more buyable. But I'm giving it four stars anyway because the page by page writing was good. The H & h both grew as people, and their relationship developed over time, and they each had a friend who was an interesting sidekick. This was my first book from Enoch, and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book was enjoyable. Diane is a young fiercely independent widow intent on stirring scandal. After her deceased past husband left her penniless from her gambling, she decides to open a gentleman's club so that others gambling will work in her favor. In the process, she ends up hiring a cast of girls with no where else to go. In order to fund the project, she needs help, and blackmails the man who broke her heart a few years ago - the Marquis of Haybury, Oliver Warren.
Oliver is also fiercely independent and not used to not being in control. When Diane re-enters his life, he's forced to confront old feelings. Diane keeps him on his toes with with outlandish behavior and demands, but it's the unexpectedness and her determination which draws him to her.
When Diane's brother-in-law threatens to ruin her club, Oliver and Diane find themselves no longer adversaries and instead teammates on a battle to save the club they have both invested heavily in.
Audiobooks note: I found the voice of "Jenny" to be quite annoying
Romance: 3
Heroine: 3/5
Hero: 3.5/5
Steaminess: 3.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Accessory Characters: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5 - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is only my second Suzanne Enoch book, and I realize she's writes witty, fun romances. This one, however, just didn't grab me. Who knows why? I liked it, but I'll probably not read it again.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In The Beginner's Guide to Rakes, we get one character not usually seen in the regency romance world and one which is a fresh take on an old standby. Lady Diane Benchley is widowed and through a bit of work moved herself from poverty to if not riches, at least a comfortableness that she hadn't enjoyed for most of her marriage. Her grand venture to take her late husband's family home in London and turn it into a Gentleman's club not only hits a snag, but sets the gossips' tongues to wagging. The one man who can help, the Marquis of Haybury, Oliver Warren, had loved, and ran away from, Diane two years ago, and he has his own demons to expel.This duo is fascinating in their depth of character and the ways in which they work to avoid, and yet be close to, each other. Sometimes the machinations got a little, well, old fashioned, and a times you wished the characters would just talk to each other, but in spite of that, the characters and their story held my interest and kept me turning the pages well past midnight.I loved the honestly these two brought to the tale, as well as the unique, and sequel-inducing, setting the author has created. Several of the secondary characters will get their own stories, no doubt, and I look forward to reading them as well.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Somewhat disappointing. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't as good as her other books that I've read. I'm interested enough to read the next one in the series, though--but perhaps not on audiobook, if it's the same narrator. I wasn't crazy about her reading style--it was more difficult to differentiate male voices from female voices than I'd like.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not the best by Suzanne Enoch. I found it very difficult to get into this storyline for the heroine was constantly irritable and cranky. Penniless widow who was suddenly dropped by her lover (our hero) two years earlier comes to London to open a gentleman's club. He's funding it because she's blackmailing him. Much happens, they can't resist each other, but she needs convincing he's changed. Not bad, but not great either, and can't understand the title, has nothing to do with the story! Still, I will read the novella that tells their story two years earlier while lovers in Austria and what went wrong.