Wild, Wild Rake (The Cavensham Heiresses, #6)

by Janna MacGregor

[chymerra]

Wild, Wild Rake is Devan and Avalon’s love story and what a story it is!! Lady Avalon was forced into a loveless marriage against her will. No one knew how cruel and selfish her husband was. When her husband died, Avalon was relieved. Now, she would be able to help ex-prostitutes learn how to earn an honest living. That and raising her son has become her primary focus in life. So, she was surprised when the vicar of her church was suddenly replaced. Her surprise turned to anger when she realized that it was Devan.

Devan wasn’t a happy man. Being uprooted from another parish is one thing, but being asked to spy on his late friend’s wife is another. When he gets to the village where she has made a life, Devan realizes that what he thought he knew about Avalon was wrong. He is falling in love with Lady Warlock, and she seems to be returning the feelings. But, there are outside forces at work that threaten to tear them apart. Will they be able to weather the storm and come out on the other side?

I couldn’t read Wild, Wild Rake fast enough. The plotline went quickly, but there were not dropped storylines or characters. The flow of the plotline was terrific. Even though it is a two-person POV book, there was no hesitation when the chapters went between Avalon and Devan. It was smooth. There was also no lag in the plotline.

Avalon and Devan’s romance was slow and sweet. I loved it. What made it poignant was their shared history and the fact that he was there when Richard threw her out. That is when I got a glimpse of a Devan that would worship Avalon in this book.

The sex scenes were not graphic. The author was able to convey what was being done without getting explicit. I liked it. What I liked is that the roles were reversed when Devan and Avalon had sex. Devan had no experience while Avalon only had sex once (and got pregnant with Thane!!). That first time was sweet.

The main storyline where Avalon was helping the ex-prostitutes was interesting. I wasn’t aware that this was common during that time. The author’s note cleared up any questions I had about why people were getting irritated with the prostitutes settling in town.

The secondary storyline with Devan getting as much information as possible on Avalon was sad. The result was that her son was going to be taken from her and sent to a school where he wasn’t mentally ready to go to (Eton). I did think that the plotline was going to go sideways. I felt that way because women were not treated equally, and their children could be taken away from them. I was glad when Devan realized that Thane wasn’t ready for Eton or to leave Avalon.

The secondary storylines that involved one of the girls from the parish were interesting. I thought the storyline was going to go in another direction and was not prepared for what happened. I was left shaking my head and going, “No way.”

The end of Wild, Wild Rake was action-filled. I was not expecting what happened to happen. I also was not prepared for what Avalon did. I am wondering if Sophie’s story will be next and, if so, who she will fall in love with.