Monday, March 4, 2013

Unwrapping: Review of IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY by Shana Galen

Did you read WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND by Shana Galen as I recommended back in August? You did? Fabulous - then you're going to want to continue the mystery in IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY with Fallon and Warrick Fitzhugh. If you haven't read the first book in the Jewels of the Ton series featuring the stories of three fabulous courtesans of London known as the Diamonds, then you most certainly should.

***eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY:

Her Mysterious Past Is The Best Revenge . . .

Fallon, the Marchioness of Mystery, is a celebrated courtesan with her finger on the pulse of high society. She’s adored by men, hated by their wives. No one knows anything about her past, and she plans to keep it that way.

Only He Can Offer Her A Dazzling Future . . .

Warrick Fitzhugh will do anything to protect his compatriots in the Foreign Office, including seduce Fallon, who he thinks can lead him to the deadliest crime lord in London. He knows he’s putting his life on the line . . .

To Warrick’s shock, Fallon is not who he thinks she is, and the secrets she’s keeping are exactly what make her his heart’s desire . . .


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Fallon, the Marchioness of Mystery has managed to keep her past, her true identity, and her greatest secret to herself, with the exception of the Countess Sinclair, until she enters her bedchamber to find a man lounging on her bed. Now, the question isn't how to preserve her secrets, but how to keep from succumbing to this man of mystery. A man who claims to know who she truly is and who plans to use the information as blackmail if she refuses to assist him in a most dangerous endeavor.

Warrick Fitzhugh has a price on his head, just as do the remaining Diamonds in the Rough - a group of men who have sworn their lives and their duty to their country as spies. Having promised his queen that he will find the person or persons who are selling the names of these honorable men so that they may be killed off one by one, Warrick has discovered that the courtesan, Fallon, is in reality the daughter of the man who wants him dead - Maggie Bayley. His information correct, he drags Fallon back into a world she had managed to escape once - barely.  But once her interest is sparked with the knowledge that her father still lives, Warrick is confronted with not the task of how to get her to work with him but how to protect her from danger, and himself.

The mystery of who wants the Diamonds in the Rough dead, which began in WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND, continues full force in IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY.  Shana Galen takes us into the darkest recesses of London, into a world of depravity that shocks and intrigues, and into danger that nearly costs our hero and his heroine their lives. Action driven from the very beginning, IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY by Shana Galen is a historical romance at its best. It's intriguing, exciting, mysterious, sexy, and carries us to a romantic happily ever after, while leaving us primed and ready for the next installment.

I highly recommend IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY by Shana Galen to anyone who loves an action-packed historical romance that takes you from the ballrooms to dangerous carriage chases, nerve-wracking hints of danger to near death battles, steamy tête-à-têtes in dark places that will have you fanning yourself, and a declaration of love and family acceptance that will leave you sighing. All of this while being led in the direction of the final installment which will hopefully resolve the mystery once and for all. If you haven't read WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND, I do recommend reading it before IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY, as it is a continuous mystery that will be better understood if these books are read in order.

Happy Reading Everyone!

IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY, a Jewels of the Ton novel by Shana Galen, Sourcebooks Casablanca, release date March 5, 2013 in print, ebook and audiobook formats. 

                                                                                           

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