Nine Rules

When I first starting listening to BookRiot, Rebecca Schinsky talked about exploring a new genre that she had long resisted: romance. I, too, have been loathe to read any romance (unless you count the Ann Rinaldi books I read when I was 10). However, the combination of hearing about Rebecca's not-really-traumatizing experience, the ReadHarder challenge, and plain curiosity impelled me to read my first romance novel. Luckily, since I have a subscription to Scribd, I could read it without anyone noticing that I was reading what my dad calls "smut."

I scrolled through Scribd's romance catalog and saw a recommendation for Just One Night by Kyra Davis, touting it as a contemporary romance with a smart, funny, independent woman as the lead. I started reading it and was confounded... notes to myself included "really, you're telling me that happened just thinking about him?," or "how many times can you call it that?" I finished the book and overall was unimpressed. Well, I was impressed by some things that happened in the book, but not by reading the book itself. But I hadn't read Sarah MacLean, the author Rebecca had repeatedly recommended (and who will be at BookRiotLive), so I knew I wasn't done with the genre yet. 

In looking for new books to read in Scribd, I typed in MacClean's name again, and this time, it generated results. Scribd had added her books to their library, so I picked the first in The Love by Numbers series, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. This is my review:

Title: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

Author:  Sarah MacLean

Year: 2010

Genre: Historical/Regency Romance

Setting: England, early-19th century [see Regency Romances]

Characters: Lady Calpurnia (aka Callie; 28-yr-old 'spinster' and heroine), Gabriel, Marquess of Ralston (the notorious rake), Lord Nicholas St. John (Gabriel's twin brother), Juliana Fiori (the twins' Italian half-sister), Mariana (Callie's sister), Benedick (Callie's brother)

Plot:  When Callie, 28 and the picture of propriety, escapes her sister's engagement party and finds her brother in his study, she complains that she wishes she were a man because he can do as he wishes in society. He asks her what she would do, and the nine rules to break emerge. The first rule to break brings her to Gabriel's house late at night--Gabriel, the notoriously handsome and rakish Marquess---and the price is agreeing to bring Gabriel and Nick's newfound Italian sister into society. After encountering Callie breaking other rules that could ruin her reputation, Gabriel becomes more and more intrigued by this woman who is unlike any he's ever been with before.

Verdict: The premise of the novel was fun--what sheltered woman doesn't want to defiantly drink whiskey and smoke cheroot? (Don't answer that.) Maybe it was the Regency era that made me like it more than Just One Night; maybe it was the considerable tastefulness with which MacLean addresses the sexy times. (I didn't find myself saying, "Really?!" like I did with Davis.) I also liked the small details that let us know Callie had a realistic body, rather than being a lithe slip of a girl. I'm definitely going to finish the series, but for now, I see romance as reading candy: best if enjoyed in between other books rather than binged on all at once. Thanks for the recommendation, BookRiot. 8/10