Important things you need to know about the book:
Pace: The pace of It Takes a Rake is medium.
POV: It Takes a Rake is told from the 3rd person POV of Leo and Kitty.
Series: It Takes a Rake is the 3rd book in the Rogues to Lovers series. You can read it as a standalone, but I suggest reading books 1 and 2 to understand Kitty’s backstory.
Trigger/Content Warning: It Takes a Rake has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:
- Death of a parent
- Infidelity
- Sexism & Misogyny
- Bullying
- Grief & Loss Depiction
- Near Drowning
- Bigamy
Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in It Takes a Rake.
Language: There is no swearing in It Takes a Rake. There is also language used, while correct for the period, that could be considered offensive to some people.
Setting: It Takes a Rake is set in the fictional coastal town of Bellehaven Bay, England. There are a couple of later chapters that are set in London.
Age Range: I recommend It Takes a Rake to anyone over 21.
Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):
After being away for four years and living in London, Leo Lockland has returned to Bellehaven Bay. Leo is an architect taking over his grandfather’s business and settling his recently deceased father’s affairs. He wasn’t expecting his feelings for Miss Kitty Beckett to be as strong as they were four years earlier.
In the four years that Leo had been gone, Kitty has become a talented architect in her own right. She is also looking for a husband. She refuses to marry for love, seeing what that did to her parents, and has set her sights on marrying a reformed rake. With her and Leo’s rivalry not as heated as it once was, Kitty decides to teach straight-laced Leo how to become a rake. And Leo, hopelessly in love with Kitty, agrees.
With an architectural contest that Kitty is determined to win looming soon, can Leo help Kitty win it? Will he also be able to convince Kitty that taking a chance on love is the right thing for her? Will Kitty realize what she feels for Leo? Or will she let the one person who makes her happy slip through her fingers?
Characters:
The main characters in It Takes a Rake are Leo and Kitty. There are several secondary characters, including characters from past books, but the focus is mainly on Leo, Kitty, and their relationship.
I will be in the minority here, but Kitty was a little intense. For more than half the book, she annoyed the living crap out of me. I wasn’t a fan of how Kitty immediately decided to take up her and Leo’s rivalry when she saw him again. But, when she started interacting more with Leo (for the contest and his lessons), her true self shone through. Her battle not to love Leo saddened me, but I got it. She saw what her parents went through and didn’t want that.
On the other hand, I loved Leo. I adored that the author was upfront with his emotions for Kitty. It was refreshing to see a male character that was in touch with and acknowledged his feelings. I did like that he tried so hard to be a rake for her. Those scenes did make me laugh because it went against everything that he was. But he did it because he loved her. When the author finally explained why he was so angry at his father, I thought my heart would break.
As always, the secondary characters added more depth to the storyline. I liked that the author brought back characters from the previous two books, and I saw what was happening with them. She also introduced new characters, good and bad.
My review:
It Takes a Rake’s storyline centers around Kitty and Leo, their romance, and the contest. The storyline was well-written. It grabbed me initially, and I couldn’t put this book down. I loved that the author was upfront about Leo’s feelings for Kitty and Kitty’s desire to marry without love. Add in the contest Leo’s issues, which made for an exciting read.
The romance angle was wonderfully written. As stated above, I loved (and found it refreshing) that the author was upfront with Leo’s feelings for Kitty. At first, I was a little “eh” when Kitty decided to give Leo lessons on being a rake. But how the author set that up and panned out was terrific, and I got over that “eh” feeling reasonably early in the book. I liked seeing Kitty fight her feelings for Leo. At one point, I thought she was a lost cause, and I gave Leo many props for standing his ground.
The sexual tension between Leo and Kitty was off the charts. So, I wasn’t too surprised when the storyline took that turn. The author kept the tension between them between their lessons.
I liked that the author did something different with Kitty and made her work in a predominantly male-dominated field. Before anyone says anything, remember that this is a historical romance, and female architects were few and far between. So, it was refreshing to see a woman in that field during that era. The author did keep true to the Regency era of sexism and misogyny. While Kitty was allowed to enter, it was revealed that she wasn’t going to win because of her sex (no matter how talented she was). Of course, how the author wrapped that storyline up was terrific.
The end of It Takes a Rake was your typical HEA. I was concerned that Leo and Kitty weren’t going to get theirs. The author did cut it a little close to wrap it up. But, all well, that ends well. I also loved the epilogue!!!
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, NetGalley, and Anna Bennett for allowing me to read and review this ARC of It Takes a Rake. All opinions stated in this review are mine.