I love rake and wallflower/spinster romances! I really like the premise here. This is one of those dramatic regency romances, full of passionate dialogue and flowery prose. The hero is an unrepentant, insatiable rake, and the heroine is a bit of a Mary Sue who is martyring herself for the sake of her sister. We all know where these two were going to end up, but the journey includes some steamy interludes, and one sharp turn I didn’t see coming: OMG the ledger of sex acts Edwina compiles to document paying off her family’s debt! I barked out a laugh in the middle of a coffee shop! This made for a quick read for me and I’ll check out more of the author’s work if it includes my favorite tropes (i.e. heroines who are plain/chubby/abused/disabled, etc)

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review of her work.

Her Wicked Libertine, by Lisa Torquay, is available at booksellers on October 2, 2019. The second book in the Imperious Lords series, we pick up with the story of our last heroines best friend. Ms. Edwina Whitman is an over-the-hill, plain Jane, broke, barely accepted member of society. Her unlucky father died and left her with a debt owed to Harris Darroch's company. Everything but the house is gone & Edwina is trying to salvage the situtation to protect her younger sister. I understand the protectiveness but how could she hide the extent of the problem from the rest of the family? She has a trade & can pay her own way but not this debt. How much is the debt? We never find out. She's off to see Mr. Darroch to work out a compromise.

Harris Darroch works hard and plays hard. He's not really good ton but I guess money speaks so he's invited to some events, belongs to a club, and has titled friends. He's just 36 but jaded, his lifestyle has become a little stale, as it should. He's taken with the plain spinster, his little shrew, & makes her a naughty offer. Why she takes him up on the mistress plan is the belief that she's 26 and never going to marry anyway. She's in an awful bind and he's hot, so what the heck. I found it hard to believe that she moved in with him and no one noticed. She leaves the house by the front door! Neither character is shy, both are witty, and find they enjoy being together even outside of the bedroom. I liked that they were both old enough to know what they were getting into.
All in all I enjoyed the story and the characters but was left with unanswered questions.

#HerWickedLibertine #Imperious Lords #LisaTorquay ( )