Her brother’s best friend might be a rake, but she’s about to be his ruin… Claire is the dutiful, proper Cleveland sister, and the only one who’s not embroiled in a scandal. Until now. With her sister’s marriage to an earl, the weight of responsibility to save her family has been lifted from her shoulders, and for the first time in her life Claire is free. A rebelliousness she’s long denied has … rebelliousness she’s long denied has her acting out in ways she would never have imagined. Like chasing her brother through the dark streets of London… and kissing her brother’s best friend and notorious rake, Lord Nicholas.
Nicholas thought he knew everything there was to know about his friend’s proper and boring younger sister. Beautiful though she might be, Claire holds no allure for the worldly rogue. At least, not until he holds her in his arms. Could this passionate, daring, feisty woman be the same Claire Cleveland with the simpering smiles? Even more alarming, has the woman of his heart been right in front of his eyes this whole time? He may be late to realize that there is more to Claire than meets the eye, but now that he’s seen her true nature, he’ll do anything to keep her by his side. Even if that means marrying her.
Please Note: This book was formerly titled A Rake’s Ruin.
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This is a beautifully written clean HEA for all romance lovers. We first meet Claire in Earl of Davenport (The Wicked Earl ) series. She is the eldest sister of a family full of scandal who has been raised to be the perfect, prime and proper young lady with the responsibility to save the family. But deep inside is a wiid and passionate young women who only wants to be free. After her sister Ann marries the Earl of Davenport, she realises she can now be who she wants to be, but after a life time of keeping every thing inside she struggles with letting go. Along comes Galwin who sees Clarire for who she really is.
This book keeps you turning the page as Claire struggles with the changes she is feeling and the love that Galwin is offering. You could really feel the struggles and I enjoyed the way Ms Dallen wrote it. It really gets to the heart of how our past influences our futures.
We also meet Rhys, Galwins brother who needs someone to show him how he too can enjoy life and find love. I hope to see him in future books.
I loved Claire and Nicholas! A beautifully written story that I could not put down. Amazing characters, filled with emotion, leaves me anxious for more of this series.
Cozy and delightful. Nicholas is so sweet and understanding. Even though he is a “rake”, his first thoughts and feelings are for Claire who has some family baggage to take care of before the can live happily after.
This is the first book I read by author Maggie Dallen and I plan to read more. This is a quick and fun read. The characters are well developed and likable. The book is sweet and clean – overall an excellent Regency romance read. For fans of regencies, I highly recommend!
The Cleveland family was in serious financial distress thanks to Jed’s, the eldest son, gambling addiction.
Claire, the eldest among daughters, had been destined to be the one who would save them all.
From an early age she was poised to be the Belle of the Season. Her manner polite, nice and discreet, and her blond beauty, attracted attention. But the fact of having such a small dowry only made her attract the old and fat gentlemen.
But then, the youngest daughter, Anne, the one who was considered one of the illegitimate children, saved them all when she regenerated the Devil of Davenport, in other words, Frederick the Earl of Davenport.
Davenport paid all the debts of the family and put them under his protection. But his marriage to Anne was clearly a union for love.
This made Claire not feel the need to marry fast, as Georgie, the other daughter.
But there was something else about Claire that she would now have the chance to have: freedom.
Throughout her life, Claire has undergone scrutiny from family and society. Marriage for love? This did not exist for her, after following the suffering of her own mother, so often cheated on by her husband that one day she loved.
When she makes a rash decision and becomes the theme of a gossip, Claire finds herself obliged to marry Lord Nicholas Galwin, Duke of Roxborough’s second son and the Earl of Callan’s brother.
Nicholas was one of Jed’s best friends, and had the fame not only of being an accomplished player, but also a rake. But his days as a single man were about to end.
Having the opportunity to see Claire Cleveland in a situation where she dropped the mask and showed her wild side, he could no longer forget the fire he saw in her eyes, and decided he would have her for him. As his wife.
Nicholas took advantage of the gossip to formalize their engagement, but far from having a facade marriage, he wanted Claire to fall in love with him, just as he was for her.
But how could he persuade her that he was no longer a rake and that the only woman interesting to him was her?
4,5 stars
Clean romance
Loved this book! Great characters, sweet story. Excited for the next one!
The romance in this book made my heart swoon. I had to reread a couple parts because I liked them so much. If you love Regency romance, this is definitely the book for you. You will be drawn in by Lord Galwin, and the innocent, beautiful debutante Claire Cleveland.
The book immediately grabbed my attention when Claire ran off to stop her brother Jed from getting into trouble with gambling again. During this act, she runs into Lord Galwin and from there I was sent into a world of passion, love and uncertainty as that one night affects both Claire and Lord Galwin in different ways.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Regency Romance. It includes the setting of the genre with beautiful homes and the societal norms, with plenty of scandal and rebellion along with it.
Just when things are starting to go right for the Cleveland family, Claire observes he brother Jed being led astray once again by his nemesis. For the first time Claire realises that since her sister has married a wealthy earl, the onus no longer lies with her to save the family fortunes, and she therefore doesn’t have to pretend and longer. She wades in like a prize fighter to confront both Jed and Lord Nicholas only to find both of them disregarding her. Not to be deterred, Claire follows them to their destination, and what unfolds is every Regency miss’s fear. Before she knows it, Claire is engaged to Nicholas, but she doubts his motives and reasons for marriage. She is horrified to find that she is falling in love with the rake, not realising that he in fact has found the one woman who makes him want to become a better person. Nicholas also sees in Claire the hidden persona she has masked so cleverly for all the years, and he wants more of that woman. There was some adventure, plenty of humour and heartfelt romance and a true hero who brings out the best in the heroine – or is that the worst? I received a copy of this well written and clean romance as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.
When a beyond reproach daughter finds out she does not have to save her family anymore by marriage, what do you think she does? Well Maggie Dallen leads us through a delightful story that shows what trouble Claire Cleveland can get up to! Claire was all set to marry for money but her sister Ann had just wed the Earl of Davenport. So she no longer needs to sacrifice herself for the good of the family. But that left Claire at loose ends. She was so use to being the calm, somewhat boring debutante to prevent any hint of scandal. Attending her sister Ann’s first ball, she sees her brother and his friend Nicholas sneaking out. She follows them to a gaming hell and is apprehended by Nicholas before she can get into the building. Nicholas was shocked to see Claire because she was acting so unlike herself and he tried to get her back to the ball quickly. Will he act the rake and compromise Claire or be better than what everyone thinks of him? You will have to read to find out what happens next and you will really enjoy the story. I hope this author continues writing historical romances because she has captured my interest!
Claire is the dutiful, proper Cleveland sister, and the only one who’s not embroiled in a scandal.With her sister’s marriage to the Devil of Davenport, the weight of responsibility to save her family has been lifted from her shoulders, and for the first time in her life Claire is free. A rebelliousness she’s long denied has her acting out in ways she would never have imagined. Like chasing her brother through the dark streets of London and kissing her brother’s best friend and notorious rake, Lord Nicholas Galwin who thought he knew everything there was to know about his friend’s proper and boring younger sister. Beautiful though she might be, Claire holds no allure for the worldly rogue. At least, not until he holds her in his arms.
I read this long novella in an afternoon & was captivated by Galwin, oh when a rake falls he falls hard! There was no mystery or intrigue just a man wooing a woman & I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The author isn’t known for her Regency novels but this follows on from the Earl of Davenport in the Wicked Earls series & I look forward to Georgie’s story. I felt a couple of things were unresolved I wish Galwin & Jed had made friends again & that a certain rumour spreading baron had have had his comeuppance
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I first met Claire Cleveland in the Earl of Davenport (Wicked Earl’s series) and I just knew those still waters must run deep – and they surely do. This is Dallen’s second Regency novel and she’s coming along nicely in the genre. There were still some timeline issues, but other than that I think she pretty much nailed it. It is a sweet and very short read that is well written and well plotted. There is little if any conflict in this book and that is perfectly fine with me.
Claire was raised to be the savior of her family. She was the pretty one, the one who was going to marry well and save her family from financial ruin and give them a connection to the aristocracy. She is the one who got the pretty dresses, the latest hairstyles, and the most attention while her siblings got her hand-me-downs. You might think that would make her self-centered, arrogant and condescending, but it didn’t. What it made her was – numb. She shut down all feelings and desires to become the perfect simpering, biddable ton miss. Nothing ever rattled her at an event – she always acted with complete decorum – almost as if she felt nothing.
When Claire’s sister Anne married the Earl of Davenport, the family was saved. Now, Claire isn’t sure what her role is or even who she is. Anne keeps telling Claire that she is now free to marry when and where she wants or not marry at all, but the message hadn’t really sunk in – until the night of Anne’s first ball. Then, it suddenly hits her – she’s free and she is giddy with that realization. She can actually be something other than perfect – and she giggles and she smiles… She even considers saying something impolite. Then, she sees her brother Jed and heads toward him only to overhear him talking with his best friend about leaving the ball. She asks where he’s going, but he won’t tell her. The old Claire would have docilely stayed where she was and just worried about what he was going to do. However, the new and improved Claire had to know where he was going – so she does what any other young lady would do – she follows him, right to a gaming hell in a seedy part of London.
Lord Nicholas Galwin, the best friend of Jed, notices that a coach has followed them to the gaming hell. While Jed goes inside, Galwin goes to confront whoever followed them. Shock, amazement, and awe await him as the coach door opens and Claire steps out. What! Demure and biddable Claire has followed them, unaccompanied, to a gaming hell. He’d always sort of suspected that there was more to Claire than she let the world see, but the spitfire who greeted him was awesome. They had themselves quite a row and a mind-blowing kiss – and the story is off and running.
One thing that would have made it better for me would have been mending the rift between Jed and Galwin. They had been best friends since childhood and to leave them in a strained relationship just wasn’t right. It would have been an easy fix and the book had plenty of room to add that to the story. The perfect time would have been the afternoon before the wedding, just after she had spoken with her sisters.
This was a lovely read and I’ll definitely be looking forward to Georgie’s story.
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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”