Sarah MacLean

When Lady Calpurnia Hartwell vows to break the rules of society and live a life of pleasure, she finds a willing partner in Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston, but her plan falls apart when she falls in love with him.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

Hanna Rybchynska

This was my first historical romance and it was so much fun! It still has a lot from contemporary, but I found this one quite interesting. 
Will definetly read more!

Molly Morgan

This was a surprisingly fun read! The FMC decided she wanted to experience life and she went for it. I loved her spirit. Their banter was good and the chemistry was STEAMY.

Lover of Romance 

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell has lived a life of always living by the rule book, never breaking any rules especially that in society, and yet she is still unmarried. So deciding that she wants some changes in her life, she writes a list of nine things that she wants to do, that she has always wanted to that she feels she has missed out on now that she feels that she is on the shelf; but because she is a woman, she is restricted to respectable activities. But as she starts crossing items off of her list, she starts to see that she has a partner in her list of daring things, who is none other than Gabriel St John, the Marquess of Ralston, who is too charming and wicked for his own good. But as the risks of her adventures escalates so does the passion that ignites between them, that starts to blossom into a love that will come up behind them and surprise them in ways that they never expected.

Nine Rules To Break When Romancing A Rake by Sarah Maclean, was purely wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it and had it read in just under a few hours, I found it to be such a enthralling romance that had me resisting to ever putting it down despite the bruised elbows (since my favorite position is to read on my stomach) And I think one of my favorite things about their relationship is the witty interchange between the two and had me amused till the very end of the book. Also the plot was truly entertaining. We have Callie, who has always obeyed the society rules, which have brought her only loneliness and a yearning for dreams and desires and that fear that they will never be fulfilled. So she starts writing a list of things that no respectable lady would ever do, and would cause a scandal. Such as Fence, Attending a Duel, Gambling at a Gentlemans Club (where women are never allowed), but she somehow adopts a companion that protects her reputation yet steals sensual embraces that would cause anyone sensible to blush the roots of a carrot. Yet there is a strong connection between these two characters that are so enjoyable to see progess throughout this story that leaves the reader breathless with anticipation with every page turned. I truly have enjoyed reading this story and am looking forward to reading the next one in the series, I can hardly wait!!!! Sarah MacLean is such a remarkable writer into historical romance, that no one would want to miss out on!!!

Natalie

For the most part, I enjoyed this book--I liked the heroine tremendously and felt that everything hung together pretty well. 

I did not like the fact that she was described as plump/fat when it seems that her only flaws were that she had breasts and hips in an era that preferred a more sylph-like silhouette. However, that's one of my gripes with the genre in general, so I can't hold it against this book specifically.

I also wish the villain hadn't been so cartoonishly villainous and that the conflict between the Callie and her mother had been explored more in depth. I was also hoping that the hero's mother would appear on the scene--that would have provided some really interesting conflict. Ralston's decision that he did, indeed, love Callie seemed a bit abrupt considering his past. 

But really, a generally very entertaining and well-done debut novel. MacLean has definitely made my short list of romance novelists whose work I'll seek out in the future.

Connor 

I honestly was worried I would perish in the attempt to get through this because I WAS SO WORRIED that she would get CAUGHT doing the MOST RIDICULOUS THINGS on that list. GOOD GRIEF. (Still, delightful! A bit wild, but definitely a fun, spirited read.)

Ari Gold

Jaclyn

SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS BOOK!!! You all have to pick this one up!!! I’m in love with Ralston and Callie is beyond relatable! I can’t wait to read more from Sarah MacLean!
Review to come!

Imane

I'm pretty sure this book gave me brain damage from how silly it was but at least it was entertaining.

Amanda J 

Not bad. Good storyline and likable MC. Reminded me of The Duke of Daring. Wouldn't mind reading again.

_Rd in PVD

Kayla Smith

I absolutely ADORED the first 3/4 of this story, but the last 1/4 began to drag. I think this could've been shorter. However, I will definitely need to read more from Sarah MacLean because overall, I had a great time with this book.

Cecília Amaral

A coisa que eu mais amo sobre esse romance de época é a protagonista, QUE MULHER INCRÍVEL! Sinceramente, não tenho outra palavra a não ser essa para descrevê-la, ela é uma das minhas personagens favoritas do gênero e uma das que mais me identifico. Não tenho muito o que falar do protagonista masculino, em várias partes do livro não gostei da sua atitude mas não é um personagem que eu desgoste realmente, gosto de ver a mudança gradativa dele em relação a ela e a sua percepção do amor a ela. Não tenho o que reclamar sobre o romance, o livro é extremamente bem escrito e não tem nenhuma falha, o romance é cativante e me deixou acordada a noite toda sem conseguir não me solidarizar com as emoções dos personagens.

Lucy

I loved the original love story. The concept of Callie’s list was so cute and lovely. I really enjoyed how the heroine was older, considered a spinster and wasn’t a raving beauty. The romance between Gabriel and Callie was so beautifully written. Was truly heart warming. The banter between each and every character was amazing and sets this book apart from others. This was my first MacLean novel and it really did not disappoint. I am excited to pick another one of hers up.

b.andherbooks

Callie is entering spinsterhood, and decides she might as well start living it up, reputation be damned. She makes a list of things she wants to do - smoke a cheroot, fence, have a drink at a bar, kiss someone - and knows she'll start with the kissing. She sneaks into the home of the renowned rake Gabriel St. John, a man she has been dreaming about since accidentally seeing him seduce a woman ten years ago.
Gabriel is bamboozled by this lass, who keeps challenging both is honor and his desire.

This was super fun. I loved that Callie breaks the mold of this time and that Gabriel doesn't immediately fall for her but can't help himself as he is time and again impressed by her plucky charm. I adored MacLean's other series, but am finding this one to be a bit more light hearted, which is perfect for the mood I'm in.

I listened to the audio book for my second go through of this classic and I think I enjoyed it even more! I did have to set the narration speed to 1.5x as the otherwise lovely narrator was very. slow. There are some great sexy times scenes in this novel that had me blushing while driving (see Gentlemen's Club scene and 'checking off' riding astride), and Ralston is such a great hero. I loved how you can see MacLean's obviously influence of Lisa Kleypas's Dreaming of You, but takes all of the elements I detested in that book and turns them on their head in her work. Especially nice to see Ralston's former mistress treated sympathetically, and not as a crazy villainess.

Partially re-read for the #SummerofSarahMacLean read-a-long in 2020

A wonderfully talented new author joins the Avon Romance family—Sarah MacLean, who fans of Eloisa James and Julia Quinn will immediately take into their hearts! Sarah’s delectable debut, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, is the Regency Era romp readers have been waiting for—fresh, fun, and wonderfully romantic—placing her solidly in the company of Elizabeth Hoyt, Sophie Jordan, and others of the new generation of exciting up-and-comers.

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
.

Books like this are why I love reading historical romance so much! It was witty, romantic, sexy as could be and held me basically hostage until I finished it. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake was my first Sarah MacLean book and it was responsible for kicking off a binge-read of not one, but TWO of her series. I lost an entire week's worth of reading to her books and I won't apologize for it.

Lady Calpurina Hartwell stole my heart during this book. A spinster with body and self-esteem issues? How could I not find some common ground on which to connect with her? I loved her spunk and sass. Watching her break all the rules and begin living life – even if it wasn't a life considered traditional for a lady back in those times – made me happy. Her banter with Gabriel was perfection. They had epic chemistry and a first kiss I was certain was going to set my iPad on fire. And the steamier scenes later on? Whew. *wipes sweat from brow* Gabriel was a notorious rake and has tons of issues from his past. But despite all of this, or maybe because of it, I absolutely adored him. He might not've been the pairing you'd think of first for a woman like Callie, but it worked. Oh, did it ever work.

If you're a historical romance fan and you've not read Sarah MacLean's books, do yourself a favor and start now, with this one. It was everything I love about historical romance wrapped up into one book.

Anna // read.all.night 

3.5 enjoyable & good writing style but the characters themselves drove me a bit crazy

Ann-Loy

It was good. Another romance I think would do well as a TV show or movie.

Sans

I've written this review three times now, and none of the drafts have worked for me. Every time I try to describe the characters, the plot, the conflicts, when I try to explain the way this book made me feel, I can't seem to get it out correctly. So I'll simply say that this was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It was funny and bittersweet, painful sometimes and sexy at other times. A lovely read and, while I'm looking forward to the next two books, I don't think I'll read them right away.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

Reviews