Lovely chemistry but final grovel insufficient.
And, for all there was too much George in prior novel, he was missing from this one- revenge quotient lacking. ( )

THE REVIEW
Ever since Prudence Thorogood's mother died when she was a young girl, her father and step-mother have basically ignored her or criticized her relentlessly! She was forced to watch her father become distant to her but be a family with his new wife and children. Then to steal a kiss in a garden and be sent away and disowned, she was sure she was inadequate in every way. But to make matters worse, the scoundrel from the garden pursued her, savagely took her virginity and then fled. She was left thinking she was not passionate, not desirable and that intimacies were painful and left bruises!

Leo Ramsgate, Lord Savage is a renowned rake, with a rotating door of mistresses. He keeps them for four months and contracts are drawn up for each relationship. He was abandoned by his mother as a young boy and left to be raised by his father. His father was a devilish man who took what he wanted and left chaos and pain in his wake. He was also badly betrayed by his fiancé and his best friend, so he is quite jaded and holds everyone at arms length.

When Leo stumbles upon Prudence trudging through the rain along a country road, he is intrigued by her and actually offers for her to become his mistress. She doesn't take him up on the offer, but they have a memorable carriage ride to London and can't stop thinking of each other after they part ways. As luck would have it, or lack there of, Prue is forced to seek out Leo and see if his offer still stands. They negotiate a contract and begin an arrangement of sorts with nerves, jealousy and romantic emotions coming to the surface!

I loved Prue's determination and resilience; even with the poor self image that was drilled into her by everyone, she still set a course for her future and pursued it! Her naivety was a little irritating at times, but I suppose that contributed to the developing relationship with Leo. Speaking of Leo, he was the sweetest! He was so patient with her and found himself really caring about her and not upset when she didn’t behave like a typical mistress should. Overall, this was another great book for the series…I was excited to finally get Prudence’s story!

TROPES
Historical Romance, Regency Era, Ton Society, Damaged/Tortured Hero, Gamma Hero, Rake Hero, Titled Hero, Wealthy Hero, Compromised Heroine, Damaged/tortured Heroine, Mistress Heroine, Virgin Heroine, Cinderella Trope, Courtesan Romance, Fling to Love, Pretty Woman Trope, Five Star, Three Flame
( )

This was a Reddit recommendation, and I'm glad I picked it up. The writing is stellar, something that is erratic in historical romances. It's a fresh take on an old trope: the hero has no heart as his first love burned him, and the naive heroine has been dismissed from her family and society because she was caught kissing another man. Prue decides to take Leo up on his offer to become his mistress for four months (he keeps a time limit on his affairs, and clocks become a big part of his time with Prue) since she's already ruined, and he promises to help her get back her inheritance. Then they plan to each go on their own ways, with no love involved.
Prue is adorable, determined, and practical. Leo is almost too much with his contracts and limits, but Prue is different for him right from the start, and it manifests in different ways (see previous reference to clocks). The secondary characters are fine though I haven't read the previous books in the series; I want to give a special shoutout to Leo's butler - loved him. I've already grabbed the next book in the series because I want to read Meg's story. Great to find a new (to me) author. ( )

Due to a rake, the heroine's reputation was ruined, and she was left with nothing after polite society kicked her out. Trying to get back the possessions that she lost, the heroine ends up meeting the hero during this endeavor. Intrigued, the hero offers the heroine a scandalous proposition to help her regain them. The two embark on a relationship that had strict rules but in which they both end up falling in love with each other.

This is a solid Vivienne Lorret book that introduces a rakish hero and a ruined heroine. Though not my favorite heroic type, this hero wasn't so bad at all. The heroine faced a lot of adversity and made a decision that was right for herself in her views. There was also a nice batch of secondary characters, though a couple of them needed a bit more details about them. It has a great beginning and ending, but the middle part definitely felt lagging from the others. In my eyes, it would have been nice to have some more details in certain parts of the story but overall, it's a good romantic read.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.** ( )

Prue and Leo are the first characters, in a very long time, to reach out, grab me, and pull me right into their world. Their chemistry in this steamy book just sparks right off the page. You have to admire and like both of them because they had so much to overcome. The walls each of them had built around themselves were high-and-tight, so it was heartwarming to see those walls begin to crumble. The pacing is near perfect, and the writing is so well done you actually begin to believe the bad guys could succeed. Of course, there is just the right amount of humor interspersed with the tensions of the villains and the steaminess of the romance.

Prudence Wilhelmina Thorogood is ruined – completely and totally. Her self-esteem is non-existent because her straitlaced, puritanical, judgmental, unforgiving, fault-finding father and stepmother have been pointing out her flaws for years. Now, after her ruination, they packed her off to the country to live with an aunt and uncle who were even worse – they had all of the same character traits as her father and step-mother – but they were stingy old skinflints who used her as a drudge. When she’d had enough, she set out for London – even if she had to walk all the way. Being toyed with and admired by a huge sheepdog in the middle of a rainstorm didn’t make her journey any easier – and then, of course, was the humiliation of being seen in that situation by a gorgeously handsome man (and his mistress).

Leopold Edmund Truman Ramsgate, Marquess of Savage, lives only for himself. He trusts no one, cares for no one, values no one, and will definitely never marry and fall in love. With a mother who walked out and left him when he was a babe, enduring a brutal life with a debauched self-serving father, and being betrayed by someone he should have been able to trust, he had every right to feel that way. Now, he is in control – and I do mean complete control. He leaves nothing to chance. He always keeps a mistress, but even that relationship is regulated; he has written contracts for the relationship spelling out the minutest details, especially the detail that the relationship will end in four months. That is how he came to enjoy watching a huge sheepdog toy with a young woman walking along the roadway – he was conveying his current (ex) mistress to where she wanted to be left.

Leo admired the young lady’s looks – even though she was covered in mud. They finally persuaded the young lady to accept a ride in their carriage so she wouldn’t get any wetter before she reached the coaching station. That same young woman kept turning up in the oddest places – there she was again walking along the road toward London – and then on the street dressed as a maid – and in attendance at an all-male party. What in the world is she up to? Her answer was – Larceny!

Along the way, Leo offers her the position as his mistress – more than once – but she declines, or doesn’t answer at all. Until she shows up at his home one evening and accepts. And then, the fun begins!

These two were so very right for each other and I loved seeing them bring each other’s strengths out. The attraction was there from the beginning and it was lovely to watch the love grow between them. For me, the story was good enough that I didn’t even deduct any stars for the author constantly referring to a Marquess as Mr., etc. Another thing I loved – and got a smile from – was some of the names – the beast of a Marquess was The Marquess of SAVAGE and wrongly ruined debutante was Prudence THOROGOOD. Those and a few others amused me.

I hope you will read this book and enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )