Leigh's Good Girl's Guide to Rakes

The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes (Last Chance Scoundrels Book 1)

Eva Leigh

Stars:  Excellent ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (strong woman; hot hero; neither of them is exactly what they seem to be; gaming hells; good friends who stick together)

Heat rating:   🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (see the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section)

Cover rating:  This is a nice cover that can pull a solid B. The colors are beautiful. The model portraying Celeste looks very much like I pictured (yay, they got the chestnut hair right). The contrast of the chaise is pleasing, but the background portrait is what makes the cover. We know our hero is a third son (and we know how third sons are treated!!!), so the portrait of some titled and proper ancestor looming over them is a good visual.

Pretty sure y’all know how much MAR loves Eva Leigh. Her books are auto-reads for me. Check out my previous recap of Forever Your Earl from the Wicked Quills of London series. I’ve read everything she’s written and am always coming back for more. Anyway, as soon as I could apply for an advance reader copy of this book, I almost broke my thumbs to get to NetGalley. Unfortunately, I got the big negatory (boo hiss), so I had to wait until it was published (99% of the time, I purchase the book even after ARC approval because I like to have a finished copy, so I just had to leash the Squirrel and wait until it was published).

I had been anticipating this book for a long time, so . . . of course, I stopped everything and read it in a night. That being said, I always try to wait a month or so before I whip out the full Squirrel treatment, though, because my recaps do provide a level of detail that might be construed as spoilers. All I’m trying to do is get you as hot and bothered about books as I am. But, alas, not everybody understands the Squirrel. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, right, even if it’s a crown of acorns!

Eva Leigh is a master story teller, and you never skim or skip ahead in her books. You will love how she words things. It just makes for an interesting read from start to finish. She’s also good about introducing “unconventional” characters, but not in a jarring/gratuitous way. You’ll find people of color, and gay and lesbian characters. She’s great at fleshing out secondary characters, and making you care about even the most peripheral folks in the background.

Anyway, this book starts out with brothers Kieran and Finn Ransome preparing for their sister’s wedding to their best friend Dominic Kilburn. The thing is, neither their sister, Willa, nor Dom seems totally sold on getting married right then, even though the church is packed with their family and friends. She is as white as a sheet and looks as if she’s going to cast up her accounts any second (and her mother and father totally don’t seem to notice, which tells me a lot about them). He’s hiding in a back room of the church, tearing things to bits and bemoaning the fact that she’s too good for him and marriage to him will ruin her. We learn this from the very first sentence in the book: “The wedding hadn’t happened yet, and already the marriage was a disaster” (page 1). These three guys are besties and actually live together in a bachelor apartment. They’re also wild as hell. I’m talking Worldstar level wild. Kieran is out screwing anything with a pulse; Finn is gambling, and I mean high roller level; and Dom is getting drunk and fighting anyone and everyone. Kieran and Finn have an older brother, Simon, who is the heir to the Earldom of Wingrave, and he is a married, boring, cookie cutter of their father. Their parents have been married for many years and apparently were a love match that has gone sour. REALLY sour. The Earl and Countess of Wingrave really do not like each other and it has had a marked effect on the family. The boys have seen what it’s like to have a marriage without love, and don’t want that for themselves or for their sister. Dom and his sister, Celeste, have been friends with the Ransomes for many years. Dom and Celeste’s father is a self-made man, a commoner, but rich as Croesus. The plan is to marry Dom to Willa, which will help the Kilburns in society. The thing is: Dom and Willa really do care about each other, but it’s a tumultuous love and the two of them bicker as much as they love each other.

So when they’re at the church for the wedding and neither Dom nor Willa seems like they are actually down with it, Kieran and Finn aren’t THAT concerned initially — that is, until they talk to their friend, who really is extremely agitated. And he’s doing what he always does when he’s agitated, which is tearing shit apart. When Kieran and Finn see that, they know it’s serious. So the boys decide to do something to help. It’s an idiotic idea. Basically they tell Dom  to jet and they will go to their sister . . . on her wedding day . . . in the friggin church . . . and tell her that her intended has run off and she needs to say it was her idea to stop the wedding (so she can save face, of course). These two legit think this is a good idea. I mean who in the hell would think this was any KIND OF SOLUTION? Sure, they believe that they are doing it in the best interest of their best friend and their sister. But there were other ways they could’ve accomplished this, and what they did has only devastated their sister and pissed off their parents. Think, basically, someone who burns down their whole house to kill a spider. Except worse. This is on the same level as when that major league baseball team did 10 cent beer night at the ball park (that really happened, by the way. Cracked did an article on it).

All this works with the story, though, because the more you learn about the younger Ransomes, the more you recognize that because they are spares, their parents really let them grow up wild as fuck. So to them, this actually makes sense. Had their parents ever even paid attention to them in the past, the Ransome brothers probably would’ve recognized that there are adult and intelligent ways for Dominic and Willa to pump the brakes, and there’s not need for this Wile E. Coyote-level bullshit that they seem to think it’s a good idea.

So yeah, no spoiler here, that shit didn’t work. Well, it works to the fact that their sister is no longer getting married, but they have screwed up everybody’s lives . . . including their own. The next time we see them, it’s two weeks later and they have been staking out their apartment looking for Dom, who has gone missing. Remember, Dom is a not a gentleman like the Ransome brothers, as evidenced by the fact that his cockney accent resurrects itself from time to time, and therefore, he is able to hide out in places that the boys would really rather not. Well the boys might like some of the aspects of the places, specifically the drinking and the whoring and the gambling, but they know that they will probably get their asses beat by folks who know how to legit street fight. So, finally, Dom shows up at the apartment they share. And they jump him and force him to their parents’ house, where they think their part of this whole thing is done. Not so. Because all three parents have decided they are going to cut them all off unless Finn, Kieran, and Dom all find appropriate wives within a year. Now I understand this for Kieran and Finn, but seriously, the fact that they want Dom to marry someone while he was just engaged to Willa, and  they had been together for a while, is weird. But it’s fiction so I’m rolling with it (plus the Earl and Countess are horrible people).  

So the thing is, Kieran is not a bad guy, but he’s a legit man whore. And he likes being one, so he’s never even imagined getting married—he’s the third son, so there’s honestly no reason. Yeah, he has pissed off everyone in town and dallied with anything in skirts, so he is not accepted anywhere. One thing about Kieran is this—he is very distrustful of love. He saw it ruin his parents, and the situation with Dom and Willa just reinforced it. He doesn’t understand love, because in his experience, there’s always a new person or a new experience to move on to, so why would one consign oneself to just a single person?

Anyway (if you’re a new Squirrel cult acolyte, you’ll soon learn that I say that a lot), to find a proper wife, he’s going to have to reinvent himself. And there’s only one person who he thinks can help him, and that’s Dom’s sister, Celeste, who is the perfect lady. Even though she grew up in working class Ratliff, you’d never know it, because her father has invested a lot of effort and money into making her the society ideal. Kieran has known Celeste for years, but since she’s come back from finishing school, he’s started seeing her in a different way—and he knows nothing good can come of that, so he’s been avoiding her. But now he needs her help.

And because he is Kieran, he doesn’t go about asking her for help in any normal way. He basically pays off a modiste and Celeste’s maid so he can catch her alone in the dressing room of the dress shop and plead his case for her help. Of course, she wants to say no: “she contemplated how to tell him to piss off in her most ladylike manner” (47). First of all, she’s always had feelings for him, so working to find him a wife is, well, heartbreaking. But she says she needs to think on it, which usually means, yeah, nah player, but that changes pretty quickly once she gets home. See, Celeste is essentially promised to the Earl of Montford, who just seems like a huge dick. Sometimes I get vibes about characters and decide I hate them. And he’s definitely on that list. He’s THAT GUY. He knows everything. He feels the need to tell her what to do and think and be. And her father wants her engaged by the end of the Season. And father knows best . . . or at least he thinks he does.

So yeah, now, Celeste plans to help Kieran rehabilitate himself, but he’s gotta scratch her back too, and to do that, he’s gonna have to help her live a little. She has been locked in a gilded cage since her father got big time [“Daughters of the nouveau riche were held to a higher standard, lest they accidentally reveal their humble origins” (41)] and it’s killing her. She’s sick of being a good girl and she wants some fun.

Kieran agrees, but lmfao, we all know he’s lying like a rug, and Celeste wasn’t born yesterday, so she explains that he’s got to take her out to have fun before she will help him. He seems to forget that she grew up in the straight hood and is a lot cannier than he thinks. Oh, but he wants to test her, which is code for, I wanna scare her into deciding not to do this. But like I said before, she’s not easy to intimidate. So she passes his test with flying colors (it’s a fun scene that I will not spoil, plus we get to see some folks from previous EL books) and we learn she’s got moxie. But he’s legit shook at the end of it.

“My God,” he breathed, delighted to his marrow, “no one has any idea, do they? About who you truly are.”

“No idea at all,” she agreed placidly. (72)

Hells yeah. She’s gonna do this, because she’s about to get sold to the Earl and her life will essentially be over. Celeste will become a Countess and eventually a Marchioness. Her father will achieve that social standing that he seems to think she wants and, basically, she will just fade away. But our girl wants to live before she fades away. It’s really sad, actually.

Kieran is all in now, and tells her to meet him at midnight. Her maid, Dolly, assists her with a wig and makeup that Celeste uses to change her appearance by, well, basically, contouring. Shout out to TikTok and Facebook reels because had I not seen some of the most dramatic transformations ever with my own two eyes, this could have felt far-fetched. But there are some videos that I would bet you real money weren’t the same people except that I watched them apply the cosmetics. Note, Squirrel has natural chipmunk cheeks, so I have always wanted to try out some of the contouring magic that I’ve seen online to maybe somehow fabricate some cheekbones. And, whoa, y’all let me dash off onto a tangent, didn’t you?

Anyway (told ya), the scene with Dolly helping her disguise herself and sneak out is a great one, because it shows just how she’s caught between two worlds. They’re rich and respectable now, but she’s still Celeste from round the way, and she and Dolly can banter back and forth and joke, even though they’re now many class levels apart. It also shows me that she is going to have a tough time keeping that veneer in place, particularly once she’s titled.

Anyway (shhhh, just roll with it), she’s finally out of the house and “about to embark on her first real wicked adventure, and she was spending far too much time mooning over Kieran Ransome” (79). Lol, you think it’s bad now—just wait. So here she is, with her made up face and black wig and a scandalous dress that her father forbade her from wearing, and Kieran legit doesn’t know who she is. Winning! Oh, he’s interested alright, and looking at her in a way she’s never had a man look at her—like she’s something good to eat. She slips back into her old street accent, and he’s bandying back and forth—seriously considering an assignation with this bold beauty, admitting to her that he writes poetry, suggesting what is basically a game of strip versing, moving closer . . . when it finally hits him who she is. He looks her over in the most sexual way possible, but instead of seeming aroused . . . he seems pissed.

He reached out to flip back the front of her cloak, and, once she was revealed, his gaze ran down the length of her. It was the least gentlemanly perusal she had yet experienced in the whole of her life. Everywhere his regard touched, she went hot and sensitized.

Yet . . . his expression verged on angry.

“It doesn’t please you?” she asked.

“Not a bit.” (82)

Ahhhh, Constant Reader, WE know what time it is. He’s not angry. He’s shook. Because this girl is FIRE. (That dress is hugging her curves like “emerald water,” sigh.) Fine, whatever, they’re going to a gaming hell (MAR-ites know that gaming hells are my thang. Let’s gooooo). I’m excited, but clearly Kieran is NOT. He’s grumpy AF. He’s having some real issues with this new Celeste. And tries to get out of their agreement—wtf dude? Luckily, she ain’t playing that game. Anyway, her name is Salome for the night (because she is undercover AND she hates her name), and Salome is about to go to  . . . hell.

Yeah, they’re now at Jenkins’ Gaming Hell. So, I got super excited when we meet the proprietor, a black woman named Beverly Jenkins, who is based on a real person, author Beverly Jenkins! That was a nice inclusion! Kudos! Back to our couple, who are really having a time tonight—the sexual tension is thick and they’re both feeling it. For instance, when Kieran offers Celeste his arm, she’s jolted by how firm it is—and actually admits that to him. I legit laughed out loud, especially since it’s killing Kieran not to retort with a comment about firmness. But to the business at hand (which could also work with the firmness joke, particularly since he knows he’s going to have a hard night—pun intended—not seducing his buddy’s sister). Gaming hell, right . . . The thing is, Celeste knows jack about gaming hells; she figured it was a den of iniquity because she’s heard her father yelling at Dom about going there. To Celeste, it’s just kind of a loud, raucous environment and she’s not really getting the appeal.

“It’s as though someone has amplified the volume of more respectable gatherings,” she said. “Granted, no one is drawing blood over a feud or copulating on the floor.”

He chuckled, though it was wiser not to tell her that he’d been to many a gathering where both of those things had happened, and he’d been the one doing them. (94)

My, my my, Kieran is a naughty boy.

Anyway, time to drink and gamble. Well Kieran doesn’t gamble, because he spies a young man who has lost all his money trying to impress his date and who is about to get in a world of trouble, and Kieran gives him all the blunt in his pocket with the sage advice to quit gambling above his means. Kieran sees himself in the young man and wants to prevent the lad from following a similar path. (If you weren’t in love with our hero already, that just changed, amirite?)

One point that is probably foreshadowing the next book—just as she’s learning that Kieran is not the dissolute rake that the world sees him as, Finn is also not what he appears. He comes off as sort of a dummy who did terribly in school, but it’s a persona he hasn’t contradicted, which has actually worked in his favor because he’s actually smart AF and nobody knows it. This is definitely a plus at the gaming tables, because his opponents underestimate him. Kieran knows this, and is momentarily concerned that Celeste won’t believe it, but she comes back with “we’re not always what the world believes us to be” (100).  

So yeah, they’re still at Jenkins’s and getting in their feelings about each other. Kieran’s biggest obstacle, the fact that she’s Dom’s sister, is crumbling away inch by inch because he’s learned that she’s far more than just the dutiful daughter and virginal sister—Celeste is her own woman, and she’s pretty phenomenal. And just then, while the heavens part and the angels sing . . . Lord-Freaking-Montford shows up. Now, he’s the last person who needs to find her out. Will her disguise hold up? Add her old common accent and . . . apparently, it works, though she’s sweating bullets throughout the encounter. Montford could screw up a wet dream, so the night is over.

It's time for her to uphold her part of the bargain, which is a society event—the Regent’s Park Horticultural Exposition, which just sounds boring. But Kieran is on point throughout and is the perfect gentleman, though many people look askance and basically ignore his presence. He does have to clap back at Celeste, who clearly thinks he can’t be trusted anywhere—she tells him not to spit on the floor or proposition anyone, to which he replies “I’m not utterly feral” (125). Which made me laugh. Anyway, Kieran is perfect here, which surprises everyone he meets, including Celeste, and she angles him an invitation to a society musicale where he will rub shoulders with the proper folk AND can meet appropriate young ladies.

So everything is great, right? Yeah no, cuz here comes Lord Montford on the scene, busting in to stake his claim on Celeste. So, Lord Montford reminds me of Homelander from The Boys. If you’ve watched The Boys or read the comic, you’ll know what I mean. If you haven’t done either, GO DO THAT NOW (warning, lots of sex and violence, as well as some “WTAF just happened??” scenes, so be prepared). So yeah, now Kieran knows that there is zero chance he and Celeste can be together. Kieran cannot be too hurt or mad though, because it’s clear that she’s offering herself as the sacrificial lamb for the Kilburn family, and knows that her marriage to the Earl is the beginning of a slow death for her. And it’s worse now that she’s really gotten to know Kieran: “a lifetime of marriage to one man while simultaneously pining for another was a tragic circumstance” (141).

Btw, back to brother Finn, who everyone thinks is a dolt. First thing he says when he sees Kieran is, “What were you doing with Celeste Kilburn at Jenkins’s?” (144). Holy fear, Batman. Was it that obvious? Nah, Finn just got skills and recognized her. Oh, while Kieran is still reeling from that, Dom kicks the door in and gets up in his face (“like some East End Colossus of Rhodes”) with “What the fuck are you doing with my sister?” (145). Ohhhhh, now that is a question with myriad possible answers, most of them not good. But nah, it’s about the flower show. They get into it, as they should, because remember y’all, Dom just jilted Kieran’s sister, so he needs to back off throwing stones from his glass house. But one good thing does come out of it—Kieran gives Dom the straight 411 that Celeste isn’t marrying Montford because she wants to—she’s being forced to do it to save the family.

Anyway, next outing, and it’s a biggie. Grab your popcorn and strap in. They’re going to a private party given by Oliver Longbridge. Celeste be like, “This is our grand adventure? I’ve been to his parties before and they ain’t naughty at all” (I’m paraphrasing, if you didn’t notice).  Hol’ up, Kieran says, it ain’t that kind of party. And whoo boy, it sure isn’t. She should have caught a clue because Kieran’s wearing eye liner. (Okay, let’s have a moment of silence for the amazing Prince, who rocked eye liner like nobody’s business. I love Prince, which you already know if you’re a fan of my blog. My mother spent the night outside to get tickets for the Purple Rain tour. My mom was a badass.)

So yeah, this party is a little more hedonistic than the last time she was in Longbridge’s presence, and Salome is up to the task. They drink, they dance (together, and she dances with another person but he’s not giving her the feeling Kieran gives), they banter back and forth comfortably, and then . . . Celeste blossoms. They move to the dining room, where a mixed group is reading a naughty novel out loud and Eva Leigh fans all sat up when we saw it’s Midnight with the Bandit, from the Lady of Dubious Quality. LDQ is a mainstay of the Wicked Quills of London series, and you’ll learn more about her in the third book in the series, Temptations of a Wallflower. When the book gets to her, Celeste doesn’t read from it. Oh no, she RECITES. By the time she’s done with her performance, everyone in the room is looking at her like she’s water in the desert. Hell, she’s already seduced everyone in the dining room—it’s time for her to ask a favor of Kieran—she’d like him to seduce her. Does he? Well, MAR readers know to check the S-and-S section.

Later, he shyly asks her if she would consider meeting him during the day for something that is unrelated to either showing her adventure or making him respectable. Of course she agrees. She has limited time to be with him before she has to marry Homelander in a few months. She does try to approach her father regarding possibly not marrying the Earl, and maybe a third son (dude, how does her dad NOT know exactly to whom she is referring? She couldn’t have been more obvious if she’d rented the Goodyear blimp to fly over with a sign saying “the third Ransome son!”), but oh hell no, he says, you’ll marry the Earl and one day be a Marchioness and it’s the best thing for the whole family—especially since Dom screwed up with Willa. “It all rests on me” she says, and you’re lying if you tell me your heart didn’t break right then!

Yeah, that outing. Kieran is supporting her in her desire to remember where she came from by helping the folks who still live in Ratcliff. She wants to start an aid organization, and he’s going to help. He’s friends with the Earl of Ashford—that’s my man Daniel from Forever Your Earl, who is another hero who is far more complex than he seems—check out the blog if you want to know more about why I love him, and make sure you grab that book. All of the books in that series (Wicked Quills) are amazing.

Anyway, it’s soon time for Kieran to have his “come out” at the musicale. He legit ain’t feeling it—he doesn’t want to meet any new women; he wants Celeste. But that ain’t in the cards. Oh, and Finn reminds him of this, which just pisses him off more. So he is in a mood when he heads to the event, but that changes when he meets up with Celeste. She just makes things better. Which is good, because Kieran’s mother and brother Simon are at the musicale. Lord, I do not like his family (except Finn, of course). They are just horrible people. They are acting so shocked that he might be invited to this event, and Celeste cannot deal with it, and leaps to his defense. Man, if he thought she was amazing before, that’s trebled, because he’s never had a defender before. See, she understands it because her family isn’t that different (though the Kilburns are suffocatingly overprotective and believe they’re doing things in her best interest): “Why is it that the people we share blood with are the ones who understand us the least?” (207).

Besides his asshole family, the musicale goes well. He plays the perfect gentleman again, and she introduces him to potential brides (though he has no real interest and it’s killing her to facilitate a relationship for him with someone else because she can’t have him). Scratch that, cuz here comes Montford. And he’s in full asshole mode, because he doesn’t like that she’s with Kieran. OMG, I hate that guy.

Oh, their next night out is at the Imperial Theatre (another Wicked Quills reference—make sure you check out the second book, Scandal Takes the Stage, which is one of my very favorite Eva Leigh books. I am remiss for not having done a recap of that book yet. I need to rectify that terrible wrong ASAP). She visits with her friend Rosalind (oh, I hope we get a FF novella or something with Rosalind. She seems like an amazing person), who is legit cool with being the alibi, because after the burletta is over, it’s time for Celeste and Kieran to embark on their next adventure. If you’ve read Scandal Takes the Stage, you’ll know how the Imperial folks are (fun as hell), and it’s time for their monthly party. Stage performers, plus poets and artists meet for drinking, erotic dancing, smoking something out of a pipe, even poetry duels. She meets a performer named Lottie, who looks a whole lot like Salome—when Lottie kisses Celeste on the cheek, she quips, “Blimey, I’ve never kissed myself before” (233). By the way, during Kieran’s poetry slam, he mentions “my guide is a constellation of you,” and the woman with the name that means celestial doesn’t even figure out it’s about her (bring that Goodyear blimp back, stat!).

And Celeste has made a choice. She knows her future is planned, but she is still in charge of her own body. And she wants to share it with Kieran. He’s wary and even though he’s never wanted to be with anyone as much as he wants to be with her, he feels like things have to be said.

Was he actually going to do this? Apparently, he was. “We need to talk first.”

“Talk?” She blinked. “In the books by the Lady of Dubious Quality, they almost never talk before.”

“This is the real word, and in the real world no one can simply make assumptions about what the other person wants. Not without a conversation.” (247)

Holy crap, this dude is a keeper! Anyway, Squirrel fans, y’all know what to do, so head down to the sex-and-spoilers. I’ll wait. (Jeopardy music.). So yeah, it’s straight fire but seriously, why did y’all do this because you know it’s damned near impossible for you two to be together, but there’s no way anyone else will EVER measure up to the freaking MAGIC that just happened. Hell, he’s already written a poem about it.

So yeah, there’s a lot more that goes on in the last quarter of the book and most of it is legit spoiler territory, but there’s one thing that y’all must know before I leave you. See, Montford ain’t as stupid as we thought, and he knows she’s Salome. And he plans to use that to force her to marry him (he apparently believes it’s in her best interest if he marries her so he can protect her from urges like this—oh, that marriage is gonna be a snooze fest). So you have to understand what a position she’s in. There’s no way she’s going to be able to get out of this marriage without ruining herself, her family, and possibly Kieran, Finn, and Dom (who will be implicated because of Kieran’s involvement if the truth comes out). She’s completely screwed and there’s zero chance that she and Kieran will have their HEA . . . or is there?

Now, it’s time for the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section.

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Reminder, don’t continue if you don’t want to hear about sex and/or you don’t want to hear things that may spoil the ending. Second reminder: these are primarily HEAs, which means H (Hero) and h (heroine) are getting together before the last page. So you know it’s coming (yeah, I know, I’m beating that one to death).

Eva Leigh’s sex scenes are MASTERFUL. Warning: if you’re used to euphemisms for body parts and actions, you’re not going to find them here. EL uses the words and it’s gratifying. Y’all know I have giggled over some of the descriptions I’ve read in other books. Sometimes you’re in the middle of a hot and heavy scene and you’ll read something like “her pulsing lotus” or his “meat sword” and you end up snickering and lose the mood (I’m exaggerating with those examples, of course). You’re not going to have that problem with EL, believe me. The only problem with her scenes is whether or not my Kindle will overheat from the 🔥.

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Okay, so these two want each other BAD but there are so many obstacles—him looking for a wife, her being his bestie’s sister, her pristine reputation, her implied betrothal to Montford (yuck). But after reciting from the Lady of Dubious Quality in front of a room of horny strangers, Celeste is ready to take a step. So she asks Kieran to seduce her. Of course, he says he won’t, but he will paint her a picture of what he would do to her if he could. And it starts with her neck, which he’s been fantasizing about biting and holding (consensual choking will gain you a 🔥; as long as everyone agrees, that’s hot AF). The whole time he’s going through a detailed description of what he would do to her, he’s got his hands on the wall so he won’t touch her. This is making Celeste crazy (same, girl, same), because she wants to touch and taste him. And finally, our girl, who we know will come right out and say what she wants, asks him to kiss her. And it’s all over. In a second, their lips touch and, he’s got one hand on her throat and one on the ladyparts and . . . I need a minute. As much as they both want her to return the favor, Kieran knows that would be the end: “Because. . . if you touch my cock, that’s all I’ll ever want, and I have to make it through the rest of my life without it” (185). Sigh.

The second situation is at the Imperial Theatre, where they’ve bared their souls to each other (his poetry, her desire to throw off the shackles of the perfect lady). As I mentioned above, he wants to talk before, to make sure she really wants to do this. Oh, she does, which culminates in Celeste saying the line that made me yell out loud and scare the cat (he’s used to it by now, so don’t call the ASPCA): “We’ve conversed enough. Do you want to fuck me or not?” (249). And you wonder why Eva Leigh is an auto-buy . . .

This is the first full sex scene, and Celeste’s first time. She thinks she prepared: “I’ve read so much about this.” “Reading and doing are different.” He wants it to be good for her and lemme tell you; it was good for ALL of us. I wish I could share everything that happened but I want you to head to the store and grab this book for yourself. Because it’s worth it. Let me just say, his throat attention is some of the most erotic dialogue/description I’ve read in a book that’s not specifically marketed as erotica. This scene is a 5 flame scene and you will read it more than once, I promise you.

There’s a third scene that is also as spicy. Celeste learns some new things, they both try out several positions, and everything is perfection!

Spoilers?

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Eva Leigh’s writing is amazing. It’s so realistic. For instance, after Kieran and Celeste make love, they’re in public, talking about the weather, yet “inwardly, she grimaced at their banal conversation. For God’s sake, he’d been inside her less than two days ago” (280). You’re lying if you haven’t had that same thought at least once.

We do meet the heroine of the next book, a brainy bluestocking by the name of Tabitha Seaton, who Finn believes will be perfect for Dom . . . but looks like fate will intercede in that book, because Dom’s not getting his HEA until book 3. Since the second book has been announced, we know that Finn and Tabitha will end up together, so it’s delightful to see Finn talking about how he’s not interested in her, but Dom might be. Little does he know . . .

When Kieran does his little monologue about playing on the dark side of the street, I legit clapped. You know which one I mean (if you don’t, GO READ THE BOOK NOW).

I feel bad for Celeste’s father. He really thinks that money and a title will make things perfect, but as Celeste pointed out, they were rich when her mother died and that didn’t do anything to save her. He really does love his daughter. Kieran’s parents, though? Yeah, I have already voted them off the island. They’re horrible parents and people.

Now, I’m not telling you anything more, LOL. I want you to read this book.

The next books

Yep, this is a trilogy. I’ve already preordered the next book (How the Wallflower was Won) and am also waiting to be denied that ARC I requested (LOL, it’s fine, I’m only slightly salty about being denied this one—it’s how it goes—y’all will just have to wait a little longer for Squirrel to recap Finn’s story). I kinda hope Dom and Willa get back together in the third—they do seem to love each other a lot but they both need to grow the hell up. But they’d better hurry up, cuz there’s only a few months before the parents snatch away everyone’s allowance/inheritance.