Could have been a 4 but the romantic conflict continued much too long. Also, the real facts of the conflict were glossed over too easily without sufficient consequence. ( )

This book is a free download when you sign up for the author's newsletter. Ok so this is a solid 3 stars for me - revenge plots aren't really my thing but this book was very horny and I'm looking forward to the next! I've actually read the 7th book in this series - which was sweet, horny and funny. The side characters in these books are what makes me yearn for more! I'm so glad I was encouraged by a bookish friend to start reading Elisa Braden. ( )

The Heroine
Victoria was the perfect sister to a duke. She was well behaved, her reputation was spotless and she was doing her duty to marry well. But she was not happy. Not excited about her future. When she sees Lucien, a handsome stranger at a ball, she is immediately infatuated with him and, it comes as no surprise, that when he approaches her on the balcony she allows herself to get swept up in the passion with Lucien. But that momentary lapse will cost her dearly and put her entire future in jeopardy. When she agrees to marry Lucien, she is hopeful they can weather the gossip and eventually come to have a solid marriage. A few days of blissful marriage end abruptly when Lucien tells her she can not see her brothers or communicate with them ever again. She reluctantly agrees hoping that he will eventually see reason and allow her to have a relationship with her brother. He also leads her to believe that her brother is avoiding her and the scandal by intercepting her letters to him and his to her. Also not allowing him in the house when he comes to call. I feel so horrible for her while she is battling listening to her husband's wishes but also desperately wanting to see her brother as well. On one hand, her husband is a doting, passionate lover, and so sweet to her. But on the other, he is keeping her away from her family and in the dark about parts of his life.

The Hero
Lucien, oh Lucien. He has been through so much, so much loss. First his parents die leaving his older brother, little sister and himself behind. But, when his sister kills herself and his older brother dies in a duel for her honor, he loses himself to his misery. The only that brings him out of his misery and despair is the idea of revenge upon the man who is responsible for both deaths, Victoria's brother. His plan is to seduce Victoria, ruin her reputation, marry her and keep her from her beloved brothers. His plan works perfectly until he meets Victoria and the chemistry is too much for him to resist. He struggles with being the devoted, besotted husband and the man determined to get revenge. I really felt for Lucien. He is blinded by pain, loss and the need for revenge. It breaks my heart that he finds Victoria, but even she is not enough to help him through the struggles until it is almost too late.

The Steam
I could feel the passion between Lucien and Victoria dripping from the page. It was so good!

Final Thoughts
This was a great book that I devoured in a day! It had a great romance, an fascinating revenge plot and great secondary characters that I hope will be in future books!

Tropes
Historical Romance, Regency Era, Season/Marriage Mart, Ton Society, Alpha Hero, Soldier/War Hero, Artist Heroine, Compromised Heroine, Virgin Heroine, Carriage Steam, Angst Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Revenge Trope
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This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne is the first book in the "Rescued From Ruin" and I immediately jumped into this one. I was very curious about this series after reading Colin's book last week. I did get quickly pulled into this one and I decided to go after this one in audio as it was available through my Hoopla. I found this story so much darker than Colin's book, its definitely a bit more edgier than I was expecting. The alpha is a bad boy alpha male and he is not someone to mess with he. He is controlling, possessive and demanding and out for revenge, so you put all that together and you just know the story is going to be wildin' However, this is the type of dark that I like to read in a historical romance. Its not a dark romance, but in comparison to the other books that I have read by this author previously, it definitely was edgier for sure. So don't expect a beta male in this one.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Viscount Atherbourne, Lucien Wyatt
-Alpha
-Rake/Rogue
-Revenge
-Dominating in the bedroom

The Heroine: Victoria Lacey
-Family's jewel
-Well Educated
-Independent
-Willful

Summary
When Victoria and Lucien first meet, they end up at a ballroom and when there is a scandalous kiss caught by the Ton, they are both forced into a marriage of convenience. However, there is some truths that Lucien hasn't been honest about including his vendetta against her brother who killed his brother in a duel. He has been out for revenge and he is determined to take something away from the Lacey family and that is now his wife. Victoria knows with the scandal, she has little choice but to marry Lucien. Even though their beginning is super rocky due to the circusmtances. But as Lucien and Victoria try to make their marriage work and come up with some common ground, there are secrets that Lucien is keeping from Victoria, and when all is revealed, it will throw the Lacey family a curveball they won't be expecting.

My Outlook
I found this story to be so delightful, I am actually enjoying the narration for these so I think I will continue with them or do a combo. If you are worried about engagement, I recommend listening to them for the first 35-40% and then switching back to the ebook and then it will really work out for you better as I know for quite a few readers her writing can be hard to get into. But I promise once you are into it, you can't put these down, and I am saying this as someone that struggles getting into historical's lately.

I really am enjoying the writing style that Elisa Braden is implementing into her books! They are just so delightful. I really have been so fascinated in seeing this story come to the truth and there were so many aspects to the story that I truly loved seeing come into place.

The first that I want to discuss is the steam type in this book. This author delivers on the STEAM, so if you feel like historical's lack in steam, you can do no wrong with Elisa Braden, she definitely knows how to incorporate it just right. I had little issues with the steam at all. And if you are wanting more alpha action in your historical's, look no further than this installment, because yeah he is definitely an alpha male. I absolutely adored how much this is played on in the story and whew he definitely has a powerful charisma to his character. I absolutely adore revenge books when it comes to the hero doing the revenge, the author handled this aspect so well. The heroine was his match though. I loved her character and how she works with the hero. Yay for non toxic historical heroines and she was definitely not modern (celebration)!!

And what we see happens in the end when everything gets revealed, yeah it definitely added more understanding to Colin's character and I am curious to see what else he does in book 2 and 3 haha

Overall View
The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne is a superb installment that had me sucked into the story so completely. Its a story that is true to the time, a heroine that is honest and true, and a scandalous hero to adore!

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 4
World Building: 4
Cover: 3
Hero: 4.5
Heroine: 4.5
Steam: 4
Heart & Feels: 4
Ending: 5
Overall View: 4 ( )

Revenge plots can be kind of hard to pull off, especially when the betrayal happens first thing, before we have anything else decent to weigh it against. But I thought it was pretty successfully done here. From the very first, the readers at least, can see that the hero is more taken by the heroine than he really wanted to be, and that helps some. Pretty much the entire story the hero is trying to seduce the heroine into something, (an indiscretion, marriage, forgiveness, love), and it felt both like he held the upper hand, and also that he was forever having to work for it. Which I liked. It kept a fair amount of tension throughout the story. Overall I found both characters likable, and felt they were a good match for each other. It easily kept my interest and was enjoyable. ( )