A Lady's Guide to Rakes

August 1, 2005
In Caskie's breezy Regency romance, Meredith Merriweather is determined to warn other innocents by penning A Lady's Guide to Rakes
. Her current object of study, Lord Lansing, has cut a swath through the hearts of young misses, lonely wives and merry widows. He claims he's reformed, and common wisdom is that reformed rakes make the best husbands, but Meredith intends to reveal there's no such thing. When her spying lands her literally on top of him, a connection is made that neither one expects nor wants but proves impossible to resist. Caskie's decision to make Lansing a frequent and unapologetic adulterer, have Meredith hire a courtesan to seduce single and married men for her rake research, and allow Meredith's elderly aunts to try to force the couple into marriage by drugging them and putting them in the same bed—all without much introspection on the morality of such actions—may strike some readers as daring, others as discomforting. While there's little character depth, this meringue of a romance should satisfy most looking for a fast poolside read. Agent, Jenny Bent at Trident Media
.

Starred review from September 15, 2005
A rake cruelly shattered Meredith Merriweather's dreams of romance. To ensure that no woman will ever be forced to suffer a similar fate, Meredith has been conducting "scientific experiments" on the ton's most notorious rakes with the intention of publishing a guidebook for young ladies. Meredith has one subject left before her work will be complete: Alexander Lamont, Lord Lansing. While rumor has it that the infamous charmer is now the picture of decorum, Meredith simply refuses to believe that Alexander, whose romantic past includes liaisons with ladies from every level of society, truly is the gentleman he pretends to be. So she sets about fashioning a trap, with herself as the bait, to prove once and for all that a real rake never reforms. The plot of Caskie's latest deliciously clever historical Regency, the third to feature the adorable matchmaking Featherton sisters, gracefully unfolds with plenty of sparkling humor and sizzling sensuality in a tale that will delight readers who relish bright, breezy, and witty romances. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)