My Fake Rake: The Union of the Rakes

Eva Leigh

Nov 2019 · The Union of the Rakes Book 1 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

"[A] feast of female empowerment, positive friendships, feel-good moments, and social satire." — NPR

“A jolt of electricity, a blast of fresh air—everything delightful and exciting you could want it to be.” — The New York Times Book Review

Meet the Union of the Rakes—a new Regency romance series inspired by the Breakfast Club and other classic 80s films! In the first book, a bluestocking enlists a faux suitor to help her land an ideal husband only to be blindsided by real desire…

Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to “build” the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace’s colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires.

To further his own research on English society, Sebastian agrees to let Grace transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing—albeit fake—rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace’s feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn’t asked him to help her marry someone else...

Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he’s faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future—and his heart.

*One of Oprah Magazine's Best Historical Romances to Read*

Ratings and reviews

Sebastian is shy, retiring and mostly comfortable only in his studies. An anthropologist, he’s not far removed from the boy he was at 15 in Eton when he and his four friends started their “union”. He’s familiar with Grace, and the wallflower who was content to continue her studies in herpetology is now interested in a famed naturist returned from an expedition. But, as a penniless scholar, more comfortable with books and libraries, she’d never give him a second glance. Until lightning strikes, and they make a deal – she will secretly transform him into a man that others notice, and find her own shine in his reflected light. Now – these two aren’t poorly matched, and intellectually they both have a wonderful connection. Sebastian’s shyness and awkwardness is the first hurdle Grace will tackle, and she has to admit that his transformation intrigues her. For his part, he’s falling harder for Grace than their ‘agreement’ allows, in fact, he just may have to take some dramatic steps to prove his love to her. I love an Eva Leigh novel, and the set-up for this one allowed us to see the groups in which they both functioned and gave us a real sense of both Grace and Sebastian as people, with interior monologues and questions, their obvious reliance on the friendship, and the few sparks that flew between them. While the “Union of Rakes” was brushed over a bit, the others in the group actually like Sebastian, allow for his shyness, and don’t seem to be all that ‘rakish’ at all. A lovely start to a new series with plenty of characters to get to know in coming books – I can’t wait to peek into this world again to see what time brings this couple and others. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

About the author

Eva Leigh is a USA Today bestselling romance author who has always loved historical romance. She writes novels chock-full of determined women and men who are here for it. She enjoys baking, spending too much time on the Internet, and listening to music from the '80s. Eva and her husband live in Central California.Eva also writes in multiple romance genres as Zoë Archer and Alexis Stanton.Visit her on the web at http://evaleighauthor.com