Review: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
I have stayed up entirely too late in order to finish this book.
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake is Sarah MacLean's first adult romance novel. It follows Callie, a wallflower spinster, and the Marquess of Ralston, an absolute rake. The title is apt. When Callie's much younger sister gets engaged, she overhears that people think she is passive. She is deeply hurt to be thought of as passive, and with that paired with her unhappiness about her life, she writes a list of items she has never done but has always wanted. She begins with one of the bigger items; she wants to be kissed. So she heads to the home of the rake she has had a long time crush on and requests a kiss. Ralston, the rake in question, has recently been made aware of the sister, Juliana, his mother had after she left his dad. Juliana needs allies before she is introduced to society, and meek well-respected wallflowers are excellent for that; the pair enter a tentative arrangement to cross items off her list in exchange for her helping Juliana.
I absolutely adored this book, but there are a few small flaws to mention. This book is quite long; there is a moment where the book pretty much feels done, only to have one last (absolutely delightfully bananas) piece of drama to address. The book is probably too long, but I can forgive this both because I love a too-long book and because this book is such a fun time. I also think some of the social commentary, especially about women's restrictions based on their class, is a bit clumsy at times. It isn't offensive or dismissive; it is just a bit 2010's in the analysis. Which makes sense that is when the book was published.
The best thing I can say about this, or any, book is that I was absolutely glued to the book from the moment I began it. I was driving to the bookstore to get a different book (my apologies to the Bridgerton's, I shall experience you soon) and listening to Sarah MacLean's podcast Fated Mates; the episode was about the repackaging of this book. By the end of the episode, I had been convinced to finally read this book, and then it ended with the audiobook of just the prologue, and I went straight for this book. I was fully in the middle of another book, and I just dove into this one and ended up staying up until 3 am because I needed to finish this book before I could sleep.
This book is a wild ride. The drama and romance are absolutely top-tier. It is over-the-top in the good way. I was so invested in watching these two wonderful dummies realize that they loved each other. I cried twice, I was so invested I could not sleep, I laughed. It was wonderful. MacLean is so excellent at devastating her reader and then walking them to an equally excellent makeup. I love having my feelings hurt by this woman.
In addition to the wonderful romance, this book also builds an excellent community outside the central relationship. I loved all the sibling relationships as well as the new friendship. I am so excited to read the next two books in this series and get to see these people again!
I gave this book five stars
