The rake has a proposition…
Will she accept?
Part of The Sinful Sinclairs: When globe-trotting Charles Sinclair arrives at Huxley Manor to sort out his late cousin’s affairs, he meets practical Eleanor Walsh. He can’t shake the feeling that behind her responsibility to clear her family’s debt, Eleanor longs to escape her staid life. Chase can offer her an exciting adventure in Egypt… But that all depends on her response to his shocking proposal!
Available on Amazon.
There’s something about a Harlequin historical romance that gets me every time. They provide the perfect dose of escapist reading when I need to detach from reality and get lost a strange but oddly familiar world.
I reviewed the first book in this series earlier this year as part of a blog tour and kept meaning to follow up on any subsequent releases. I missed the release of this one but then got a blog tour invite for the third in the series. Of course, I had to catch up with book two before I started of number three!
Although it’s part of a series, The Rake’s Enticing Proposal works just fine as a stand-alone. New readers won’t be lost at all as the story is quite self-contained.
Ellie and Chase make such a sweet and delectable pairing. Ellie’s family has fallen into disrepute thanks to her father’s less than honourable gambling debts and wayward behaviour. His death leaves her responsible for her younger siblings and the financial management of their estate, which is due to be reclaimed by the bank. Responsibility for her family and fondness for her friend, Henry, have her accepting a crazy plan to pose as his betrothed. The character evolution as the closed-off, micro-managing, straight as a pin Ellie, unravels around Chase is fun to read. It’s even more fun to read how she learns to embrace her feelings and her own ambitions and comes to terms with the role she should play in determining her own destiny.
You’ve heard the saying, ‘an heir and spare’. Chase is the classic carefree spare. His roguish antics and devil may care attitude provide an excellent cover to society, but mask a man dealing with demons of his past, family responsibility and fears of inadequacy. He’s a most delightful historical romance hero and I enjoyed every word of his page space.
Little bit of mystery: Chase’s uncle left him an enigmatic note before he died and he and Ellie take it upon themselves to solve the mystery and search out the truth behind the popular Desert Boy stories. The resolution of that mystery brings deeper understanding of his mother and sets the scene for the next book in the series too.
The setting: From a country manor to the Egyptian pyramids and a trip down the Nile, I loved the atmosphere created in this story for sure!
The writing is clear, a little flowery at times but never excessive in the descriptions. The romance is written just right and the love scenes are more on the racy side rather than graphic, perfectly suited to the genre. There are a few typos occurring but not too much to be annoying.
Overall I give The Rake’s Enticing Proposal 4/5 enticed espresso shots.
The Cozy Pages 
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