The Taming of the Rake – Kasey Michaels

 Charming, wealthy and wickedly handsome, Oliver “Beau” Blackthorn has it all…except revenge on the enemy he can’t forget. Now the opportunity for retribution has fallen into his hands. But his success hinges on Lady Chelsea

This book had the best dialogue between characters that I have read in a long time.  It was witty, fresh and at times, laugh out loud funny. 

Seven years ago, Beau Blackthorn thought, despite the eldest bastard son of the Marquess of Blackthorn, he was finally being accepted into society.  While waiting for the woman he loved, he met Chelsea Mills-Beckman a then 14 year old girl poking fun at him while he courted her sister.  He soon discovered that he hasn’t been accepted at all, not by his love, not by her brother (the future Earl of Brean) and most certainly not by society.

When we finally meet up with Beau, he and his youngest brother, Puck (who full name is Robin Goodfellow Blackthorn) attempting to wake from a night of celebration with one too many bottles of wine.  They’re interrupted by Chelsea Mills-Beckman, who has come with a proposal for Beau…run away with her to Gretna Green and obtain the ultimate revenge on his enemy…the Earl of Brean.

Chelsea has a head on her shoulders and she doesn’t allow anyone to push her around.  It was quite refreshing.  When her brother threatened to marry her off to a man she could not stand, she did do something rash, but she had a plan and she stuck to her guns.  She stood up to Beau, Puck Beau’s mother, Beau’s middle brother Jack and several others all in the name of her conscious and what she believed to be right.  What she didn’t plan on was liking Beau or falling for him.

Beau on the other hand saw Chelsea as a means to an end.  Sure, he’d get saddled with a wife, but he’d finally be able to put the preverbal name in his nemesis’ coffin by marrying his baby sister.   He certainly didn’t see himself losing control of the situation and find himself doing whatever it took to make sure Chelsea was happy.  And although he always thought being in love with someone meant being a coward and losing onself, he soon learned he was nothing without her.

I enjoyed this first book in the Blackthorn Brothers series and can’t wait for the remaining two.

4 Cocktails