Well, for one, he's a Ravenel, a family that is described as follows: Like the usual LK hero, he's characterised as having a rather unsavoury personality. They were crass, uncouth, and immoral.īut they changed for the better because of love.Īnd that's what's wrong with Devon. These guys are on the top of my list of favourite heroes. The best example of that would probably be Derek Craven in Dreaming of You.

And what's beautiful about it is seeing these guys come into terms with their humanity to become a better man, someone worthy of the heroine's love. Look, I know that LK's heroes are usually very human there are always big flaws in their personalities that are glaringly obvious to the readers on the get-go. And he was really just that: a fucking asshole. I can't say that I hate him, since he never did anything that crossed the line like, say, bodily harming the heroine or cheating on her but, damn, 'dislike' is far too bland and tame a word to describe my feelings for this asshole. This is actually the main reason for this 1 star rating.įor one, I cannot respect Devon as a man, as a character, and definitely not as the hero of this story. However, the story's downfall was caused by its characters-especially the hero, Devon-and the poor execution of the plot.įirst, let's talk about the characterisation. I could not find a fault in the prose it was exactly the way I remembered an LK novel should be. Cold-Hearted Rake is, without a doubt, well-written. So anyway, I judge according to how well the story was written, how the characters were developed (and how likeable they are), and how the plot was executed. I don't want any fanatic commenting shit about my feelings about the story. So if you can't tolerate criticisms about this novel, feel free to ignore this review.

I'm judging this one-as with every book I judge-according to a set of parameters, which may or may not correspond with yours. Like in my usual reviews, I first make it clear that reviewing a book is a matter of opinions and preferences. The appropriate term would be ' devastated'.

I expected so much, only to be sorely disappointed. I was so freaking happy when I heard about Cold-Hearted Rake that it was all I could do not to dance around the house with my hands in the air, mimicking a lunatic on crack.Īnd this is the reason why my disappointment over this book cuts so deep. And we're talking about years, here, man. That was why I waited patiently for her comeback to historical romance. The latter, of course, changed once I broadened my horizons and got acquainted with the works of Amanda Quick, Elizabeth Hoyt and Monica McCarty, but LK is still definitely a legend in her own right.

She was the reason I got into the genre in the first place, and it was her books that became the standard by which I judged others. Lisa Kleypas is so important to me as a fan of historical romance.

Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas