Series: Rogues to Lovers, Book 3
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Publisher
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She’s about to face her biggest challenge yet…
Since she was a girl, Miss Kitty Beckett has been adept at finding trouble: sneaking brandy, running away, and getting under the skin of the boy who, like her, was an apprentice to an architect. Now Kitty’s a talented heiress who can take a dry building plan and breathe life into it with her pencils and paints. Also? She can spot a rake at a hundred yards—and she won’t be tricked or charmed into marriage. Certainly not by a man who might interfere with her dreams. When Bellehaven Bay announces its first ever architectural design contest, she vows to win—with a little help from her childhood rival.
Turning her buttoned-up nemesis into a certified rake.
Leo Lockland, a hardworking architect with a gift for numbers, has returned home after a few years in London, and he has secrets. The biggest? He’s been in love with Kitty since they were both apprentices. She refuses to give her heart to any man, but Leo’s determined to beat the odds—even if it means learning how to be a rake. Fortunately, Kitty’s willing to tutor him in the nuances of fashion, flirtation, and seduction in exchange for his help with the contest. But the whole plan would fall apart if she knew how he felt, so he’ll have to be very convincing.
Let the lessons begin…
Leo proves to be a surprisingly quick study in the ballroom, on the beach, and in the bedchamber. Before long, he’s softening Kitty’s hard edges with his wicked words and kissing his way past all her defenses. Perhaps she’s a bit too skilled at teaching, because her lessons are threatening to backfire, putting her closely guarded heart in grave danger…
Anna Bennett brings her Rogue to Lovers trilogy to a close with It Takes a Rake. The youngest of the Bellehaven Belles takes center stage in this friends/rivals-to-lovers romance.
Kitty Beckett wants two things: to become a successful architect and to find a partner who she will never be in danger of falling in love with. Kitty has severe abandonment issues and with her closest friends seeming to be moving along in life without her, she is determined to put her career first and never be hurt by a husband who could leave her. Then her old nemesis comes back into town and threatens to make Kitty examine what she truly wants out of life.
Leo Lockland has been away from Bellehaven Bay for four years but one thing that hasn’t changed is how much he yearns for Kitty. Now he’s back and the two of them are teamed up for an architectural design competition. He'll help Kitty with her calculations and in exchange, she will help him win the “mystery woman” who has his heart. Leo knows it’s a risk that may backfire when Kitty learns it is she he’s in love with, but it’s a risk he has to take. He’ll let him turn her into a rake if that’s what’s necessary to win her over.
Leo is an absolutely endearing hero. He’s so sweet and kind and I loved that he wasn’t a dashing rogue at heart. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to change him and worried Kitty’s attempts to alter a perfectly delightful man into a rake would take away from what made him such an appealing hero. What happens I’ll leave readers to discover but suffice it to say that Kitty’s lessons make her look at her old friend and competitor in a way she rarely allowed herself to do in the past.
Kitty was a bit harder for me to connect to, mostly because she was intent on keeping her walls up high. I liked watching her lower them, however, but Leo has his work cut out in order to get her to trust him. Their romance is slow to start because both of them are holding something back, but Bennett makes things work out in an organic manner, resulting in a satisfying happily ever after.
Though It Takes a Rake is the third book in the Rogues to Lovers series, it can easily be read as a standalone. I liked seeing where Poppy, Keane, Hazel, and Blade are now, and how they come together to support Kitty, but it wasn’t necessary to enjoy Leo and Kitty’s story. All in all, this was a sweet romance that had some bumps in the road to an ending that was quite lovely.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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