A Rake’s Guide to Seduction is the first book I have read by Caroline Linden and it won’t be the last. This one happens to be book three in a series and while I didn’t have all the background I would assume I would have gotten by reading the other books, I didn’t have a problem jumping right into this book.

Celia Reece and Anthony Hamilton are the main characters and while they seem to be drawn to each other, they come from very different backgrounds. Celia is the sister of a duke and Anthony is the most scandalous man in London. Because Anthony is a good friend of Celia’s brother, she has been in his presence off and on while growing up and while everyone in London thinks the worst of him and his actions, Celia looks at him differently.

Anthony is at a disadvantage as he doesn’t have anything other than a reputation and when Celia catches his eye at a ball he takes a leap and goes to her brother to ask if he can court her. Unfortunately for both of them, he is too late and this is the beginning of the turn in both of their fortunes because while Anthony continues to change his standing, Celia gets married to a man she thinks she loves.

Celia’s story is unfortunate. It is clear that she and her husband moved too quickly and didn’t really know how to live with each other outside of London where they have others around them. Add to that, her husband tends to take off without her and their relationship truly suffers. When an accident takes her husband’s life, Celia finds herself back with her family and it is pretty jarring to her to be surrounded by a lot of people after spending years in the countryside with only her father-in-law to keep her company.

When Celia goes back to her family, her mother decides to put together a party to get her back into the fold. Since her brother is good friends with Anthony, he invites him to the extended event and he turns out to be the only good thing Celia sees in the whole thing.

Eventually these two are able to recognize that they are what the other needs. Not only to heal but to be happy and although they have various challenges in their way, they do ultimately get their happy ending. I did enjoy this book and like any historical romance, found this to be a fairly quick and engaging read. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.