Regency – Lit World Interviews

A Rake’s Reward

Merry Men Quartet Book Two

By: Meredith Bond

Published by Anessa Books

Published October 2, 2015

Genre: Historical, Regency, and Romance

Back Copy:

A treasure lost…

American Sara Whately came to England with a single goal: recover a long-lost family treasure. Her father had long ago renounced his title and abandoned his country, but desperate financial straits call for desperate measures. Gaining access won’t be easy. The jewels are hidden on an estate Sara’s grandfather lost long go in an unlucky turn of the cards. And then there’s the vexing, villainous, valiant Viscount Reath…

A jewel of a woman…

Sinclair Stratton, Lord Reath has always gotten everything he wants—money, privilege, and women. But after ten years in India, he’s returned to England, ready to make amends for his youthful follies. He plans to return his ill-gotten estate to its rightful owner but the man is impossible to find. And despite still being one of the most sought after rake’s in town, the bold American beauty he keeps encountering seems to be immune to his charms and dashing good looks.

While Sara has promised to not just search for her grandfather’s jewels, but make an attempt at fitting into society, it might just be that Viscount Reath is the treasure she actually needs.

Review:

Meredith Bond has created a meeting of strength, sass, sweetness, and smarts that somehow combine into a female lead that captures the reader almost immediately. When paired with an aristocratic male lead that is the epitome of reformed, stubborn, and chivalrous and friends that are well rounded and fun, readers can’t help but enjoy the play between characters.

While the story is easy to read and sweet, I found that the feel of the story was just perfect when combined with the plotline. Sarah reminds me of my own friends and the Viscount…I wish I had one of him! Honestly, when I started reading this book I was afraid it would be another book in which the romance took center stage while rest of the promised story took a back seat. However, that was not the case at all! I got a full plotline with sweet bits of caring thrown in like adding marshmallows to hot chocolate to round out the flavor.

While I did enjoy this book immensely, there were a few things that brought the rating down for me. First, there are several areas in which words began to feel a little repetitive. When the same words are repeated too closely to each other, reader eyes tend to skip lines unintentionally and I noticed myself doing that at least seven times. The words are great words but repetition becomes boring for the brain.

Secondly, there are a very few typos and phrase repeats (i.e. he did he did not…) that caused my reading to stutter momentarily.

Lastly, the final three chapters seemed a little rushed to me. The story suddenly moved more quickly, rolled up nicely, and suddenly came to a halt with a pretty little bow wrapped around it. I do love the way the book ended; however, I felt that a few extra pages might have added to my overall enjoyment of the ending.

Ratings:

Character Believability: 4

Flow and Pace: 4

Reader Engagement: 4

Reader Enrichment: 3

Reader Enjoyment: 4.5

Overall Rating: (3.9) 4 out of 5 Stars

If you enjoy sassy characters, snappy actions, and great dialogue along with your romance novel, I highly suggest that you check this book out!

*I received this book in return for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.*

To learn more about Meredith Bond, connect with her on social media, or purchase her books, please go to:

Website: http://www.meredithbond.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meredithbondauthor