This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎.5
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥.5
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒.5
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧.5
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes is the first book in the latest of her books that she is working on, and when I saw the second book being raved about on Instagram, I realized how much

First Line
The wedding hadn't happened yet, and already the marriage was a disaster.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Kieran Ransome
A scandalous Rake, loves his women, and feels restricted when his parents are forcing him to get married while blackmailing him and his brother.

The Heroine: Celeste Killburn
Daughter of a self made man. She is being put in the position to save her family and get them recognized by the ton by encouraging a match with a Lord she despises.

Summary
In the The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes is a story of mutual longing and relatable circumstances to find a way to live life before both of our main protagonists are forced into unloveable marriages set forth by their parents. Both Kieran and Celeste have known each other for years. Celeste is the sister of Kieran's best friend. When it becomes apparent that they mutual interests, they both enter a daring arrangement. Where Celeste will show Kieran around at certain "Ton" themed events to make him seem respectable so that he can gain a match among the Ton as he has a history of being a rake and not appealing to certain levels of the marriage mart in higher society. And where Celeste can experience a sense of freedom while he shows her the true daring nights in London in the gardens and the gambling hells. What neither of them expected was that they would form a stronger attachment than just their sexual chemistry. Even though they know what they have is forbidden, they can resist the temptation...but will they find a way to their happily ever after or have to sacrifice each other for those they love?

What I Loved
This book was truly so wonderful and there is something about Eva Leigh that just pulls me into her stories and most especially the narrations she has for her audiobooks is what is worth listening to over physically reading her books. I absolutely adored everything about this one and its a story that will really dig deep into the heart and tangle with your emotions but while delivering some endearing fun sexy scenes to keep you fascinating and itching for more. Even though Eva Leigh tends to write more modern themes in her historical romances, they just click for me. She really balances them out so well that they don't overwhelm the reader with the modern scenes if you are looking for more authenticity in your historicals., I can tell you, you can trust this author to deliver what you seek.

I appreciated the dynamic that we see happen between this couple. The way in which they have common ground, and goals to move forward with and the way in which they learn to appreciate each other in the small moments not just the larger more impactful ways. And the sense of forbidden fruit really drew me in. There is something that gravitates me to a couple when there is a forbidden feel to their relationship. And that they are keeping it a secret is so wonderful. The author really balances it out so well so that its not super intense and has a sense of fun to their interactions. And the reveal at the end was perfectly executed by the author, honestly, the ending gets a five-star rating for me. What happens with the brother makes sense and even though I struggled with his naivety with what was happening with his sister, what he does when he does learn the truth had him becoming redeemed for me.

What I Struggled With
There wasn't anything super noticeable about what I struggled with, it didn't quite make it to a five star rating but is a solid enjoyable read that I had a blast with.

Narration
Zara Hampton is such a "dream" to listen to, she really makes historical regencies and victorian era romances come alive in just her voice alone. The way that she narrates this one, she tackles relatability of the characters just right.

Overall View
The Good Girl's Guide to Rake is a sexy scandalous romance that will curl your toes in the adventures, passions and challenges this pair comes across and works together to triumph in!

Favorite Quote(s)

“Ever since my father made his fortune,” she said softly, “I’ve been forced into a box. Celeste the Keeper of the Kilburns’ Honor. Celeste the Respectable. It’s so exhausting, being in that box. No one asking who I am, who I want to be. No one truly seeing me. But,” she went on in a low, urgent voice, “I see that you’re a kind and generous man. For whatever my opinion’s worth, I see that in you."

That’s the trouble with hearts. They involve themselves, whether we want them to or not.

“We’re not always who the world believes us to be.”

“So long as no one’s harmed in its getting,” he said, his voice low, “we ought to be free to find our joy where we can. God knows that in this life, none of it’s guaranteed.”

“I’m . . . a little afraid.” She pressed her forehead to his chest as she shivered. “Not of the pain, but what it might mean if I truly did set myself free.” “I swear to you that if you fall, I’ll catch you. But I know that you aren’t going to fall. You’ll soar.”

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Historical Romance
Time Eera: Victorian Era in England
Character Types: Rake, Cinnamon Roll, Bluestocking heroine
Themes: Dirty Talking, Gambling Hells, Wager
Tropes: Forbidden Love, Fake Relationship, Best Friend's Sister

Book Perspective
3rd POV

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can do either, they are written that you can read as standalones if needed.

Steam/Spice Explanations

Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes. --these are some fun sexy scenes with some dirty talking and some neck fetish that is delightful but not crazy amount of steam. But higher level than what you normally see in historical's
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.

Narrators:
Zara Hampton-Brown ( )

Synopsis
Brothers, Finn and Kieran, help their best friend, Dom, flee his wedding….to their sister! As punishment, their parents tell them they have to settle down and get married to respectable women within a year or loose all money! Kieran asks Dom’s sister, Celeste, for help mending his reputation. She agrees but in exchange she wants him to take her to some disreputable places so she can live before her pending wedding announcement to Lord Montford. Through their adventures, both respectable daytime events and late night parties, they discover that both of them are not what they seem and start to fall for each other.

Tropes
forbidden love, best friends sister, marriage mart, Titled hero, virgin heroine, ton society, rake hero, childhood crush, forbidden love, beauty and the beast, quid pro quo, rages-to-riches

The Plot
I thought the plot was clever and had such depth. As it started, I assumed it would be a simple friends to lovers tale, but the way the characters completely morphed and revealed themselves when around each other was so amazing and sincere. Celeste and Keiran are the first to see each other as who they really are and want to be. It definitely pulled at my heart strings; doesn’t everyone want someone to truly SEE them as they really are and not just what they present to the world?!?! Eva Leigh did a great job of making their discovery of each other sincere and not rushed or even surface level.

The Heroine
Celeste was born in poverty but her family has since moved up the social ladder. She lives a very nice, comfortable albeit boring life that she compares to be being trapped in a cage. She is almost-engaged to a handsome, boorish man, but he doesn’t make her heart flutter like Keiran does. She feels (and reinforced by her father and brother) that it is her duty to be a perfect, respectable lady so they don’t loose their social standing, including marry well, specifically Lord Montford. I really liked Celeste’s character. She knows what she must do, but she vows to live for herself and experience things before she can’t.

The Hero
Kieran’s family has put him in the box of rake, trouble maker, spare to the heir, but he is so much more. He acts the way he does because his family believes him to be that person and nothing more. They tease him about his poetry and even burn his notebooks. His mother barely notices him. Watching Celeste morph into her real self, he realizes who he really is as well. He is completely deserving of having major angst as a character, but Eva conveys just enough of his inner turmoil that I wasn’t annoyed or felt sorry for him. It made me love him all the more!

The Sex
Yes. Yes. Yes. Eva Leigh is a master at describing not only the physical, but the emotional as well. Again with the sincere and believable, at times I felt I should look away because it just felt so intimate…but of course I hung on every word!

Stand Out Moment
Goodness, their were several! When he tells her in great detail what he would do to her if he were to seduce her, her reciting, from memory, scenes from a scandalous book, the entire evening at the theater when he reveals himself a poet…

Who Would Like This
Those who desire a very steamy read but with characters that have real depth. You don’t always get both with romance books!

Final Thoughts
The storyline was amazing, the love genuine, the sex descriptive, the characters deep…I can’t wait to read it again! ( )

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. This was largely a miss for me. I just struggled to 'buy in'. It felt kinda plodding and cliched, but everything always feels worse when I don't care all that much about the happenings, and am not connecting well with the characters. There wasn't anything that really bothered me about it. There were some sweet parts near the end, and I feel like the author committed to the steam, so I'm okay rounding up, and will still try the next in the series. ( )

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4). I can’t put my finger on what I wasn’t crazy about in this book but I found it a bit of a slog. Will probably read the next in the series though. ( )

I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy (ARC).

At first glance the plot is a much used rake being cut off if he doesn't reform. Kieran is a typical London playboy, enjoying wine, women, and song. What makes this book stand out is the female characters request. Celeste is out of her mind asking to roll around London's underbelly, even in a disguise. How no one noticed who she was is a miracle. These experiences are the fun part, how these 2 go about reforming and tasting life outside the Ton. ( )