In our imaginary world of Regency romance novels, there appears to be a rake and a duke on every street corner.
Our affection for dukes seems obvious, but why do we love rakes so?
Below, I’ve listed a few possible reasons and then added a quote from George, the hero of my latest release, TO CATCH A RAKE.
Our affection for dukes seems obvious, but why do we love rakes so?
Below, I’ve listed a few possible reasons and then added a quote from George, the hero of my latest release, TO CATCH A RAKE.
- Rakes are usually handsome and arrogant. Needless to say, that arrogance will be brought to heel by the love of a good woman.
“Forgive me, Mrs. Russell, but you are obviously not acquainted with all of womankind. Most ladies are not affronted in the least.”
“Do you mean to tell me that you have taken a survey of all of womankind about their feelings in regard to your field guide?”
The wicked smile beamed from his handsome, lean face. “Indeed, I have made some effort to…survey all of womankind.”
- Rakes instinctively know how to charm a lady and sweep her off her feet.
“You see, the secret to pleasuring a woman requires many traits unique to engineers.” His wholly wicked smile appeared on a pleased countenance. “There are steps to consider for maximum satisfaction. It’s like building a bridge: first you must find the right site. In this case”—he locked the door—“the site needs to be secured.”
- A rake is usually the bad boy in a novel—dangerous, aloof, or forbidden.
In her dreams, she saw him in many different forms. George as the proverbial knight in shining armor slaying the dragon, George as a steely Viking at the prow of his longboat, or George as a red-coated general leading his men into battle. But those were just silly dreams. Dreams paled in comparison to reality. In real life, he was George, the man building modern Britain, a far more significant accomplishment than a typical hero in a novel.
- Rakes are exciting and seldom boring.
“If I penned a field guide, I’d include you under the category of bear. Bear because you’re big and black.”
“And bite.”
“Yes, I’m sure you bite.”
He leaned close enough to whisper in her ear. “Bears do not bite ladies, madam, they nibble.”
- Rakes possess command of the room and their confidence makes them hard to ignore.
“You wish to be considered a Happy Goer?”
She held her breath. His question was followed by the wickedest smile Meta had ever seen given by a gentleman. Wicked because it revealed an intimate knowledge of Happy Goers. Wicked because it contained a veiled challenge for her to retaliate in kind. And wicked because, regardless of her response, he possessed complete confidence in his ultimate victory.
- But the most important reason is that we can forgive a young rake, because there is always the possibility of reform. And when a rake falls in love—they fall hard.
I won’t provide George's moment here, because it would contain spoilers. ;)
To find out if George’s rakish ways are ever reformed, check out TO CATCH A RAKE!
Me? I think I'd prefer a Regency nerd. I wonder who that would be?
Love this, Sally. I also loved the book!
ReplyDeleteThanks Shana. Best to you and your family. :)
DeleteSally, this book looks so good. I love bad boy heroes. In fact, they're my favorite thing to write because they come with built in conflict galore. George sounds so wicked and charming! I'd love to meet a man like this. What fun. It certainly wouldn't be boring. No sir! Wishing you lots of success.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. Best wishes to you too!
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