The Ruin of a Rake

 

The Ruin of a Rake (The Turners #3)
By  Cat Sebastian

ISBN: 9780062642530
336 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audible, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Rogue. Libertine. Rake. Lord Courtenay has been called many things and has never much cared. But after the publication of a salacious novel supposedly based on his exploits, he finds himself shunned from society. Unable to see his nephew, he is willing to do anything to improve his reputation, even if that means spending time with the most proper man in London.

Julian Medlock has spent years becoming the epitome of correct behavior. As far as he cares, if Courtenay finds himself in hot water, it’s his own fault for behaving so badly—and being so blasted irresistible. But when Julian’s sister asks him to rehabilitate Courtenay’s image, Julian is forced to spend time with the man he loathes—and lusts after—most.

As Courtenay begins to yearn for a love he fears he doesn’t deserve, Julian starts to understand how desire can drive a man to abandon all sense of propriety. But he has secrets he’s determined to keep, because if the truth came out, it would ruin everyone he loves. Together, they must decide what they’re willing to risk for love.

My Thoughts:

The Ruin of a Rake, the third installment in The Turner's series, is your standard love/hate relationship. The lead characters start out with a severe dislike for each other and slowly fall in love despite every effort made not to. They eventually come around, after a good amount of "why do I like this person, it's so infuriating" moments.

The physically intimate scenes in The Ruin of a Rake are more scandalous and more frequent, similar to the style of A Soldier's Scoundrel. As a result of the seething dislike between the characters at the beginning, some of the intimate scenes are very one sided and have a strong sense of shame associated with them, but nothing happens that is against anyone's will.

While the first 2 books in the series are pretty much capable of being read as standalone stories, I feel like the reader needs to know what happened in The Lawrence Brown Affair to fully understand and appreciate the events of The Ruin of a Rake. A significant portion of Lord Courtenay's personality hinges on his relationship with the Earl of Radnor's son and a lot of groundwork into the two leads' interactions is set up in the previous book. You could read this one without reading the previous story and eventually get the main idea of what all has transpired, but for the full experience, I recommend reading The Lawrence Brown Affair first.

The side plot in The Ruin of a Rake is less memorable than that of it's predecessors, centering mostly on dealings with Lord Courtenay's finances and diminished reputation. The best part of it is the mysteriousness behind The Brigand Prince, the scandalous novel that is the primary source of Lord Courtenay's reputation woes. But even then, there is a degree of predictability. Overall, I felt like this book was the weakest of the trio, plot wise, but it was still a decent read.

Parent's Guide:

100% not for the kids! This book is adult in nature, with graphic sexual situations. Absolutely 18+