She has no money, but do I see her doing anything about it? Nope, she just mope around bemoaning her lack of employment to her buddy. First off, why would a woman who had a bad encounter with a lecherous pig work for a well-known lecher (Lucien)? Then there’s Alexandra’s annoying behavior of not doing anything. If Lucien is one darned good-looking rake who makes me go all aflutter, Alexandra makes me go Huh?. Charm, a razor sharp wit, and dark, broody Byron-esque looks – how nice. No, indeed, he just cranks up the seduction factor. He may be bad, he may had a naughty past, but he never whines and indulges in overblown and melodramatic I’m not worthy, so I’ll make you hate me nonsense. I’m still fanning myself from the aftermath of being scorched by this man’s devilish and infectious good humor and bad, bad, bad boy charm. And Lucien has naughty plans for this governess, heh heh. (Not that I know, I’m just presuming, because Lex has a nice, kind, and wealthy noblewoman buddy who is there to be her safety net.) She gets herself hired as a chaperon/tutor to Lucien’s ward, his cousin Rose who has the manners of a greedy pig.

After being fired from her last post when a lecherous nobleman tried to force his attentions on her, she is desperate and in need of a job. Virtuous governess Alexandra Gallant is down in her luck. When the heroine comes off as just plain fickle and sometimes emotionally immature, it only magnifies my disappointment tenfold because Lucien Balfour is so, so hot that surely angels must be tempted to sin in his presence.

Reforming a Rake is ultimately a frustrating story because it pairs a man who must be temptation incarnate with a heroine who isn’t just, well, worthy.

The rake by suzanne enoch