Taming Rafe

Bancroft Brothers #2

by Suzanne Enoch

Only she can satisfy . . . When Rafe Bancroft wins Forton Hall in acard game, this rogue finds himself saddledwith responsibility he cannot wait to foist off.The sooner he can sell the blasted estate,the sooner he can be off on his next adventure.Yet he doesn't count on running into the veryalluring Felicity Harrington, who ignitesan all-consuming desire in him quitelike no other woman. His restless desire . . . Felicity is enraged to learn that Rafe is nowin charge of her ancestral home. Vowing torescue herself and her family from ruin at thehands of the handsome rake, Felicity mustdevise a plan. But she is distracted by thoughtsof what it would feel like to kiss her irresistible enemy—an enemy who can bring her thegreatest downfall . . . or themost exquisite passion.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Regency Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction

373 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Suzanne was born in Southern California sometime in the latter half of the 20th century. In the way that some people are born knowing they want to be astronauts or cellists, Suzanne always knew she wanted to be a writer. Early dreams of becoming a zoologist and writing true stories about her adventures in Africa were crushed, however, after she viewed a television special about the world’s most poisonous snakes; she did NOT want to write about how she’d been bitten and lost a limb to a cobra. Thankfully at the same time the movie “Star Wars” premiered, and she realized that she could make up adventures and write about them, and not be eaten by deadly predators while doing research.

She dabbled in romantic fantasy writing for a year or two after graduating with a degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, until her affection for traditional Regency romances led her to write one for fun. After several encouraging rejections from publishers, she snared the interest of the world’s best and most patient literary agent, who advised her to revise the manuscript. This ultimately led to the publication of her first book, The Black Duke’s Prize, from Avon Books in the Spring of 1995. A second Regency, Angel’s Devil, followed that Fall.

When Avon folded its traditional Regency line, Suzanne was encouraged to try her hand at historical romance. As she remained keenly interested in England’s Regency period, she decided to attempt another manuscript set in that time. Lady Rogue hit the shelves in March of 1997. She wrote a total of 29 books for Avon, including two anthologies and a five-part contemporary series which received a pair of starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. One of those books, Twice the Temptation, was named one of the five best romances of the year by PW in 2007.

In 2002 her well-known love of all things “Star Wars” led to an invitation to appear on the E! channel in the television special “Star Wars: The Force Is Back”, where she discussed the romance in the movie series and ended up with more air time than George Lucas.

In 2010 Suzanne left Avon Books for St. Martin’s Press, where she continues to pen historical romance novels. Her 31st book, Taming an Impossible Rogue, is set to arrive in March 2012.

Suzanne is known for her humorous characters, sexy bad boys, and whip-sharp, witty dialogue. She currently resides in Placentia, California with several hundred guppies and various other tropical fish, and handful of very loud, spinach-loving finches. And her collection of action figures and statues from “Star Wars”, “Lord of the Rings”, “X-Men”, and “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Everybody needs some inspiration, after all.

www.facebook.com/SuzanneEnoch

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this wonderful Historical Romance with a touch of mystery/suspense. I'm a new fan of Suzanne Enoch's work and I have to say I really like her style of writing. The romance is slow to ignite, but burns hot for both Rafe and Felicity and the tension of will he stay or will he go was wonderful to see unfold. I love May! Felicity's little eight-year-old sister was a real firecracker and really, really smart. She stole Rafe's heart and mine too.

Rafe Bancroft, second son of a Duke, is back in London from his military service. At twenty-eight he is at loose ends as to what to do with his life. Playing in a card game he wins the title to an estate, Forton Hall. Rafe figures he can inspect the property, sell it and be off to China and out from under his father is short order. Easy-Peasy. But we all know a little about best laid plans and at Forton Hall, Rafe has a real spammer thrown in his.

Felicity Harrington and her sister, May, have just had the roof fall down on them, literally. Now a stranger has broken into her home and claims he owns it, having won it in a card game from her brother. With no money and her near do well brother in the wind, Felicity and May are on their own. To compound her problems, she is attracted to the handsome rake and really wants him to stick around.

Rafe is gob smacked when he gets to Forton Hall. Finding himself with a wreck of an estate with two females in residence is sooo not what he expected. His quick exit from England may not happen as soon as he wanted, especially with the very lovely Felicity in need. Rafe never saw himself as the Knight in Shining Armor type, but he just can't kick them out and he doesn't exactly want to.

Felicity has few option open to her. She can find a position as a governess or marry the Earl who has been pursuing her for quite a while. One will take a while to arrange and one she doesn't really want to do. Luckly Rafe is on board with a little renovation and repair work which will give Felicity some time. Unfortunately, someone is not happy with the budding romance between Rafe and Felicity or what is going on at Forton Hall.

[Vintage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely done but empty Regency, the sequel to By Love Undone, a slightly more worthy book.

Rafe is the quintessential younger brother who lives and loves to disappoint his domineering Duke of a father. Domineering but still loving so we're talking typical rebellious second son not broken bad boy. Rafe wants to travel, primarily to get away from his father and older brother's expectations. While trying to win enough money to get to China, Africa or wherever he wins a broken down estate instead.

Broken down estate comes with two problems: the idiot who lost the estate's two sisters. Romance ensues between Rafe and the land loving Felicity (a British Scarlet O'Hara who loves her home) much to the dismay of the H and the h. A run-in with a neighboring suitor with questionable motives adds a bit of suspense and danger.

The couple had very little chemistry for me. By far the most entertaining character is May, Felicity's eight-year old sister, who relishes Rafe's travel tales and enumerations of all the ways to kill a man.

I want a story where Rafe's Duchess mother takes the adorable and blood-thirsty May to the Ton for her season.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taming Rafe is one of Suzanne Enoch's older novels, and one I was unsure whether to read because of the premise. For the entire story, the hero and the heroine are living under the same roof, unchaperoned except for the presence of the heroine's 8-year old sister. If this set-up bothers you, consider yourself informed.

I accepted this set-up and jumped in, mostly because I love Enoch stories and I'm running out of them. I was unsure how to rate this one. I think ultimately, it falls between a 3 and a 4.

The hero, Rafe, is a carefree goofball who has been overly protected and smothered by his powerful father and cool-headed brother, so much so that he is adrift, unsure what will make him happy and constantly searching the world for a place to fit in. The heroine, Felicity, is firmly rooted in England, so much so that she is living in a house whose roof has caved in and because it is her home. When Rafe wins said home in a card game from Felicity's feckless brother, he thinks he has won a gold mine and some easy money to finance his next journey abroad. Instead, he finds the rundown place and two tough females--Felicity and her little sister May. They first mistake Rafe for an insane intruder and the first first meeting is quite hilarious.

As Rafe uncovers bits and pieces about the home he has won, he begins to take ownership and make repairs. At first, he does this convincing himself it will help with the sale, but as a reader, it was clear to me that he was staying because he finally felt like he belonged somewhere. Rafe is attracted to Felicity physically, while also being invigorated by the way she is willing to go toe-to-toe with him and take on whatever burdens were needed for others. Felicity is also attracted to Rafe and he flusters her but also makes her realize that she doesn't have to do everything herself. The two have some hilarious banter, mostly due to Rafe. He really was quite funny. Some of my favorite scenes were with him and 8-year-old May. I usually don't like how children are depicted in novels, but in this one, it was fun and showed a unique side of Rafe and I loved him for it.

Here was one of my favorite quotes where Rafe was teasing Felicity:

"His smile deepened. "So you do think about kissing me."
These days, she barely thought of anything else. "Among other things," she hedged.
"I think of other things too, Would you like to hear them?"
"Will they be socially acceptable?"
Rafe chuckled. "No."

Most of the humor is like that--a little bit suggestive, very clever, and never mean. These two didn't snipe at each other, and Rafe stayed his affable self through the whole book. The only time the veneer rubbed off was when someone threatened May or Felicity--then the old soldier in him came out and it was gripping to see how intense he could be.

Overall, I enjoyed this book because of Rafe and May. They were hilarious and had a joie-de- vivre that is addictive. So why only an average rating? Two things: the heroine and the over-the-top villain. Felicity has many likeable characteristics and I appreciated her strength. However, her independence was also her downfall. She was inflexible and stubborn and refused to ever look at things from Rafe's point of view. She expected him to do all the bending for their relationship while she kept everything exactly as she liked it. This bugged me to no end because relationships are all about give and take....and that is what Rafe deserved. Onto the villain...oh the villain. You get little snippets of his thoughts throughout the novel so it comes as no surprise once he makes his move. What did surprise me was just how villainous he was. It got really dramatic at the end and seemed pretty far-fetched to me.

So, reasons to read this book include a hilarious, witty hero who is on the sweeter side (for those who've read "Taming an Impossible Rogue," I'd say Rafe is close to Keating on the one-line zingers, but he has less of an edge), a really fun little sister, and a simple setting away from busy London. Reasons to be wary should you have pet peeves include a complete disregard for propriety (I'm not sure that even in the countryside the villagers would have be okay with the heroine and heroine living together unmarried), a lot of last minute drama, and a stubborn and sometimes stupid heroine.

If you're obsessed with Enoch (like me), give it a try. If you're new to her, there are others that are better.

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Bancroft Brothers sequel - wandering rake meets responsible down-on-her-luck country girl and falls in love

Taming Rafe is the second of Suzanne Enoch's Bancroft Brothers books, the sequel to By Love Undone. I really enjoyed it, but I would also highly recommend reading the prequel - it's the better of the two and one of Enoch's best IMO.

SUMMARY:
Rafael Bancroft (28), the younger brother of Quin Bancroft (hero in By Love Undone) and the son of the Duke of Highbarrow is the "bad boy" of his family. They despair of him ever settling down or taking on any responsibilities (though this isn't really accurate, since he spent 7 years in the military). Rafe, wanting to cut his dependency on his family and find his own funding for his latest adventure - which he'll start in either China or India - is ecstatic when he unexpectedly wins an estate in a card game, figuring he'll quickly sell it and use the money to finance his travels. Unfortunately, upon his arrival he doesn't find what he expected, but instead ... a rundown estate with a house that is falling apart (and a west wing that has literally caved in), along with the two sisters of the man who gambled away Forton Hall who are completely unaware that their home is no longer theirs.

To his great surprise, Rafe is inexplicably drawn to Forton Hall - and it's lovely residents, Felicity (22-23) and May (8) Harrington. Before he knows what he's about, he's making plans to tear down the stable and then building a new one, designing a new west wing and trying very hard to get rid of Felicity's far-too-friendly neighbor and would-be-suitor. A delightful hero and heroine with pretty good chemistry (isn't Enoch's best), interesting relationship development with obstacles to overcome that are realistic and well portrayed, *utterly charming* younger sister, and a bad-guy subplot involving a secret loan combine to make Taming Rafe an enjoyable read.

CHARACTERS:
Felicity is strong and independent; she's only 22 but has a great deal of responsibility, in charge of Forton Hall and raising her younger sister, Meg (one of the *best* characters of the book!). Her twin brother, Nigel, is basically good-for-nothing and only does harm to the family's finances and situation. When the book starts, part of the house has collapsed, they're buying everything on credit in the local village, and Felicity and Meg take care of all of the cooking, cleaning, etc. because they've had to let go of all of the servants.

Rafe is a great "soon-to-be-reformed rake" hero (scar and all); he's intelligent, charming, friendly, and can be deliciously possessive and jealous. As Felicity points out at one point in the book, his problem isn't so much that he's not interested in anything or never has goals, but rather he is never allowed by his family to get fully involved with anything, because they're always dragging him back home, making him feel that everything he does is insignificant (his father didn't want him in the military). His relationship with Meg is absolutely adorable and one of the highlights of the book; she's so entertaining - especially when she's using slang and later starts imitating Rafe and using curse words.

COMPLAINT:
The living arrangement of the hero and heroine throughout the book is *completely* unrealistic - it's bad enough when Rafe, a complete stranger, sleeps in the stable (while the unmarried and unchaperoned Felicity and her younger sister are living alone right next door in the house), but when he then moves into the house with them ... Yes, there is some (very little!) gossip/eyebrows raised, but not really, which doesn't fit at all with the times. It's not even like Felicity is "firmly on the shelf" - she's only 22! However, I think slightly unbelievable plot aspects can be overlooked if the book is good enough and Taming Rafe is on the whole a great read.

[kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rafe Bancroft has served in the army, traveled to Africa, and been injured at Waterloo before his family recalls him to England. When he wins Forton Hall in a card game, he thinks he's found his get-out-of-Britain card: sell the hall and flee to the Orient. Except the hall is full of girls: Felicity Harrington and her younger sister, May. Soon Rafe's boners are putting down roots all over the place.

1. This was acceptable. It wasn't precisely my cup of tea, but it didn't make me rage quit like a few other books have lately, so it gets 'acceptable'.

2. I did like how Rafe's responsibility and attachment to Forton Hall grew over time, for the most part.

3. I did not like how Rafe's interest and attachment to Felicity grew over time, however: it felt particularly myopic and selfish in a way that undercut the romance in a pretty significant way. Instead of Rafe having any sort of emotional intelligence, he convinces himself that things with Felicity are "temporary" and that he's just happy she's okay with an affair and his jealousy is totally fine. But then the text also happily throws in that he's "never felt like this before"—so he's halfway towards realizing that it's not just a temporary affair but the discovery it's Real Adult Feelings Time won't come until much, much later in the book.

And, sure, romances can and do tell competent stories about emotionally constipated people reflecting on their wants and needs and drivers and frustrations regularly, having those characters evolve and grow and become more robust, engaged partners and lovers and what not. Which is lovely!

That's not what Taming Rafe wants to do with Rafe, though. He doesn't reflect. He doesn't think about why he's so attached to Felicity. He notes it as "different" or "new" or "intense" and then goes about being the same charming rakehell that he's always been. No growth. No change.

4. There was also a bit in the later "estranged" chapters that boiled my beets:

He loved Felicity, and whatever happened, he would continue to love her. Falling in love wouldn’t have been such a disaster if she’d been curious or even willing to travel. But no, he’d fallen for a woman with roots so deep into an estate that she was willing to stay on even when she no longer had any claim to it.

This is a thing Rafe thinks to himself at 69% of the way through the book. And the thing that annoyed the ever-loving shit out of me was the fact that at this point in the book, Rafe has not fucking talked to Felicity about what she wants. He has spent several weeks with this family, opining about his travels and answering May's questions about travel and discovering that Felicity had been 18 when her father died, leaving her at the mercies of her irresponsible twin brother who had gambled away the crumbling family house in a game of cards. He's watched her refuse to accept help from her community (even when it could save her house) and been witness to her frustrations and fears of being abandoned and left behind by her brother.

If Rafe used an inch of sense he might realize that Felicity's attachment to Forton Hall might be less about the house than it is an attachment to the only place of security and stability she has ever known. He might realize that Felicity had likely grown up with the knowledge that Forton Hall was always going to her brother and that she might have desired other things, like a family of her own (which would imply a home of her own). He might have actually asked Felicity about what she wanted, instead of assuming.

And of course the book goes on to completely nullify Rafe's statement as well by having Felicity agree to marry Rafe, tell him to sell the house, and offer to travel with him—because she's actually a woman who values her family (which includes Rafe) more than a house.

It does really show that Rafe is an obtuse hero (like: "falling in love wouldn’t have been such a disaster" romance hero says WHAT NOW) with no understanding of his heroine ("if she’d been curious or even willing to travel" like HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW THIS YOU SWINE) and I had to go outside and look at some trees for a little while.

5. But "acceptable" I guess what is even wrong with me.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE RAFE AND FELICITY.

There, I said it.

I had my heart up in my throat most of the time, when Rafe and Felicity are together. This is a extremely cute story of a second son of a duke and a damsel in distress, aka the twin sister of a idiotic young who lost his inheritance to said second son. Rafe is a good-natured rake. He lacks nothing except a sense of belonging. A rather first world problem he has, I would say. His problem is never measuring up to his older brother and his father's expections. Popular among the ladies, he uses traveling to disguise the emptiness of his life (ok this is my interpretation). He needs money for his next grand trip to the orient and Felicity's idiotic twin brother lost his inheritance to Rafe. Rafe thought he hit the jackpot and went to the country holding, hoping to sell it to finance his trip.

Major miscalculation. The holding is a dump.

Felicity and her sister May are left behind. They stay on in the family holding, having no clue that their brother has lost the property to Rafe. That is how Rafe met Felicity.

This story is light-hearted. There is no brooding hero, no whining heroine. Rafe is joyful. He is a playboy, a lady's man, who enjoys the joy of life, who seeks pleasure and is great fun. Felicity is reasonable, strong but vulnerable. She cries, but never is hysterical. She never blamed Rafe for his claim on her family property. He won it fair and square. Thank you Ms Enoch for that. I imagine another writer would exploit that piece of emotion and turn Felicity into a "loyal" heroine who fights to save her home. Falicity loves her home, but she knows it is not Rafe's fault and shows such grace in accepting that, knowing the blame lies with her own brother.

My favorite favorite thing about this story, has to be Rafe and Felicity. The way they are together makes you heart warm. You feel their hesitation, their fears of not being loved, fears of being each other's burden, fears of taking away each other's dream. Their struggles come from love. They want what's best for each other and would rather sacrifice themselves so that the other person could be happy. No past ugly history. No abuse. Just 2 people falling in love, having conflicting goals and trying to come to terms with the fact that there may be something more important than what they initially thought they could not part with.

What I also really liked about the story, may not be everybody's cup of tea. Rafe and Felicity have no qualms (well they did but not enough to prevent them from admitting that they love each other). They hold back because of course they both fear rejection, fear not being good enough for the other person to leave their "dreams" behind: Rafe's traveling and Felicity's love for her famile home. But they both braved it. They fell in love, in spite of knowing that there may be no future for them. They are kind and loving to each other, they are open about their hurts, jealousy and disapopintment. Most important of all, they own up to those emotions. They know they had no reason to expect commitment from each other and they do not blame the other person when they are let down. They know their relationship is at odds with their original goals. They realize that they are disappointed not because the other person is a major ass and did not care. They accept that the other person has other objectives and it is not a reflection of their feelings towards each other. I think it shows both characters are mature and able to deal with their, however unwarranted, feelings of inferiority while being compared to the other person's "dreams". The characters and the relationship get 5 stars from me without a doubt.

I love the book myself but the book has some major holes. The plots are sometimes too simple, too transparent, and too convenient. The last 20% of the book was abrupt and under-developed. How "uninhibited" Felicity is about becoming intimate with Rafe is a little shocking though depicted with class.

In all honesty I cannot give the book 5 stars. The plots have much potentials and could have been so great. But the story is already almost 400 pages long and any further development is unlikely. It is a story that warmed my heart. I could have finished the book in one sitting. But I was "procrastinating" with this book, just so that I could stay with Rafe and Felicity a little longer.

[Elodie’s Reading Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

How I do enjoy Mrs Suzanne Enoch’s work, they are all witty and so full of actions, with no idle time.
After reading Quinlan’s story, here is his brother’s-Rafael-story.
It has a complete change of scenery with all the action taking place in the country in a falling down estate.
Miss Felicity Harrington is an heroine as I love them, no badass but able to make things do, not bending down even when up against the wall. She fights for those she loves, she makes mistakes but does not compromise.
She has not an easy life even for a young woman in the gentry, despite living in a crumbling house, she still helps those around her and is never mean even to those whom do not deserve it.
Rafael Bancroft is on the run, he does not really know from Hat he is running away but he can’t stay in one place for too long, he needs frequent change of places, at least it is what he thinks he is looking for. He never felt at home anywhere, he thinks traveling the world is his ultimate goal when he just needs to find a place to put his luggages for good. So when he stumbled in a dilapidated house, he never thought he would be put down by an eight years old girl and a tea kettle and fall for her older sister.
It was so entertaining to see them arguing, making peace then fighting again to realize how much they count for another and that maybe dreams can be reached even in one place or with one person on whom you can rely on.
I enjoyed to see interact, how quickly Rafe fell for Felicity and her so funny younger sister May. May was a delightful little girl, a bit agitated but perfectly crafted as was Beeks, the loaned butler.
It was in all a very great read with its lot of vilains and good guys and a lovely romance.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked both Rafael (Rafe) and Felicity (Lis). I think it was interesting to see a man who has always been restless find comfort. He didn't realize what was happening and neither did she. It is a story of a man over-managed and constantly criticized by his father and older brother. Luckily he has the love and acceptance of his mother to balance him.

I liked Felicity because although she experienced real disappointment, she took only the time necessary to dwell on it. She met obstructions head on without extra drama. Thank you for that Suzanne.

Rafael was attracted to that strength of character in Felicity. He gradually relaxed into the lifestyle of a landowner rather than the adventurer he'd been.

Wonderful story, enjoyed every minute.

[Lucimar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma das leituras perfeitas. Há um sincronismo entre os personagens que me cativaram. Rafe, um aventureiro que herda uma propriedade que já tem dono, Felicity vive com sua irmã pequena, May ( personagem cativante que fez aumentar ainda mais o encanto deste romance)numa casa semi destruída e luta com todas as forças para não perder o único abrigo seguro que conhece. Os dois, então, se veem envolvidos em estranhos acontecimentos e então, a paixão que nasce entre eles vão fazê-lo repensar sobre sua vida de liberdade e prazer... Um prazerosa leitura

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Downgraded from 5 to 3

[Surekha R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Rafe!! He was made out to be a cad and wanderer but the story revolves around how he falls for Felicity, is absolutely adorable with her 8 yr old sister May and finally how he rebuilds the Fornton House itself.
I thought it would be a fluffy romance novel.. but this book really amazed me. It had emotion and humor involved.

This was a scene which made me all gooey inside and I re-read it just to visualize the whole thing again and again.

She looked down at him again, heat rushing through her at the mere sight of him. He consulted with one
of his workers, measured something on his drawing, and made a notation on the paper. Sighing, she closed her eyes.

It didn’t make any difference. Even blind, she could see him smiling as he worked, enjoying himself more than he would probably ever realize, until it was much too late. For a moment this morning she thought she’d lost him. And she wasn’t certain she could go through that again. If only, just for a moment, he
could be practical, and she could be absurd.

“I love you, Rafe Bancroft,” she said, just to hear the words aloud, and opened her eyes again.

He was looking up at her, his face white and a half smile frozen on his lips. His eyes, emerald-green in the
sunlight, locked with hers. He’d seen it. She knew instantly.

He’d seen what she’d said, and he’d read the words on her lips.

[Cruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author: Suzanne Enoch
First published: 1999
Length: 373 pages
Setting: Cheshire, England. Regency-era.
Sex: not significant. Infrequent.
Hero: Second son wanting to make his way in the world with adventures.
Heroine: Left by twin brother to care for their broken down estate. No money. No future.
Almost Cheating: H is with another woman when book opens. h meets his previous paramours.

A solid story but... The unwillingness of the MCs to commit to the relationship wore at my patience. And our climatic finale was initiated by h's TSTL beliefs and actions.

I find her lack of trust... disturbing.

It's a good read with a little pain.

Bancroft Brothers:
By Love Undone - Madeleine Willits and Quinlan Bancroft, Marquis of Warfield
Taming Rafe - Rafe Bancroft and Felicity Harrington

References:
Author's website: http://www.suzanneenoch.com/books_tam...

(ISBN 978-0-380-79886-5)

-CR-

[Jultri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Charming characters in a tale told with sweet humour and tenderness.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Rafe in Quin and Maddie's book and I was hoping his book was going to be just as great; it was. He wins an estate in a card game and when he shows up to the house it's a mess. He hears noises and thinks it's thieves; it's not, it's the sisters of the man he won the house from. They attack him with a tea kettle because they think he's trespassing; it's hysterical. Once he wakes up he shows them the deed, but they don't believe him. Felicity writes to her brother asking him to come here and straighten this all out. But they let him stay in the stables. Then there's a big storm and the stables threaten to fall apart, like the house, so he and his horse move inside. May, the 8 year old, follows him everywhere and they are two peas in a pod. Felicity, is very interested in him but fights it for a long time. He is just as interested in Felicity. He gets the tenants to help with some of the repairs in exchange for him helping with their needs. Meanwhile, James, her neighbor and an earl, keeps showing up and proposing. Rafe and May don't like him but Felicity says he's nice. He's not. He keeps trying to sabotage the repairs, hoping to kill Rafe so she will have to marry him. They finally get their act together and tell each other they love each other, after Quin agreed to loan him money to make a go at fixing the place because for once in his life he wants to stay put. James gets tired of the near misses and when Rafe shows up at his house, after one of James's guys tried to burn down his house, James shoots him in the back as he rides away. He hits him in the shoulder, but he doesn't know that. May tried to follow Rafe and got captured by James's servant. Felicity shows up looking for May. James tells her she's upstairs and is fine and to eat dinner; then the finally shows her his true colors. Rafe returns home, gets patched up, and goes back to James's to save the day. He and May take out all of the servants, save Felicity, and subdue James. They find out that he wanted to get married because Rafe also owns his estate and James was trying to get it back. James ends up in prison. The Duke shows up and says they can't get married until his mother and Maddie get there. And that's where it ends. I loved this. There was action, romance, miscommunication which I hate but it wasn't intentional they were just confused and bad at expressing themselves. There was no short changing Rafe with this book. Wonderful.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, this was my favorite Suzanne Enoch book. Rafe Bancroft was made to seem like a scoundrel, but he was anything but. He had won the heroine, Felicity's, home in a card game and had planned to sell it for money to travel on another of his grand adventures. What Rafe finds instead are 2 damsels in need of saving; Felicity and her precocious 8 year old sister, May.

At first, Felicity annoyed me with her stubbornness. However, I grew to liking her (at least until the end when I wanted to shake her silly for not believing Rafe that her neighbor was a ruthless villain). I especially enjoyed Rafe's character, who went from wanting to go off to a foreign land in order to find adventure to wanting to build his new home, Forton Hall, and make it (and Felicity) his own.

The villain, James, was really quite awful in the end. But, Rafe saved the day. At first, I wasn't sure how well I would enjoy this book, but as Rafe developed into a mature and stable Hero and Felicity mellowed out, though maintained her independent feistiness, I really got into reading this book. I especially liked May, who was a little ball of fire. I found myself wishing she would have her own book once she was an adult. My only complaint (besides Felicity being so dense about James being the bad guy) was you never once heard from the wastrel brother, Nigel, who lost the deed to Forton Hall to Rafe. It would have been nice for him to show up in the end. What a toad!

Otherwise, a solid 4 star read. Definitely recommend!

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite cute. It was a lot gentler than I expected; Rafe was a lot sweeter than I expected, especially when it came to Felicity’s younger sister, May, and it was a delight to see him getting drawn into their world and starting to care about it. The chemistry between him and Felicity was nice, and they had some lovely scenes together.

But, I personally found it a bit too gentle for me – even though there was conflict between them I didn’t personally get what was keeping them apart after a certain point. The ending was very bland, too; what was happening wasn’t bland at all but I felt like the writing lost some of its oomph.

Ultimately whilst it was a nice read, it just wasn’t really for me.

Content Notes: Reformed rake, forced proximity, bargains/deals/wagers, single parent.

Warnings: Death of a parent (in past), violence, colonialism, imperialism, racial stereotypes, racist language, blood, war, past serious injuries, kidnap, imprisonment, threat of rape, attempted rape, threat of violence towards a child.

Other: On-page sex, virgin FMC, unprotected sex, OM drama The FMC has a childhood friend who wants to marry her. He makes attempts to court the FMC. She isn’t really intersted in him but she does seriously consider marrying him out of convenience., OW drama An ex-lover of the MMC is in the book. She kisses him on the cheek and they flirt with each other, but he’s not really interested..

[Fae · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first half was more entertaining than the second half as i felt the second half focused more on the renovation of the house & the thing with Deerhurst which bored the heck out of me while the first half focused more on Rafe and Felicity. i liked Rafe and Felicity immediately and how Rafe was being his usually flirty self with Felicity.

May was also a very lovable character and i loved how she and Rafe got along marvelously. it was amusing to see May picking up on Rafe's bad words and Felicity just scolding May for it. the chemistry between Rafe and Felicity is there but somewhat not there. it's there, but not enough. i think it would have been better if Suzanne focused on building their relationship more in the second half. i was a little skeptical of how they fell in love as they did not interact enough for me. but all in all, an entertaining read but could be improved.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe wins Forton hall in a card game and assumes he can just sell it and move on to his next adventure in China or the America's, but when he arrives it's to find half the building caved in the former owner's sister's still living there.
Felicity and May are trying to salvage what they can from the collapse of the west wing when Felicity is tackled by a strange man and they knock him out with a teapot. When he comes to tied up on the kitchen floor they begin to sort out the who, what, when, where and why of everything. Felicity believes him to be a bit mad because no way is he a gentleman never mind a Duke's son, he has to many useful skills for that.
This was a lot more entertaining than I initially thought it would be, the sister's were fun and May's relationship with Rafe was adorable, while he and Felicity had a lot of tension flowing between them for a few entertaining reasons.

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

It was fine but nothing special, I had the same issues with this as I did with the first one and the fmc was even more passive in this.

I don’t know if it was just the direction she wanted to go in or maybe because they were written in the 90’s but the fmcs do NOT have a spine. They’re so passive that they just forgive and forget when the mmc looks at them and basically seduces them into forgetting they even had an issue in the first place.

Again ive heard her newer stuff is a lot better so I’ll still check it out because the writing is great it’s just the pacing and structure at times that are all over the place

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the hero Rafe. He was witty and funny and I like the heroine. She was strong and her sister May was likeable as well. However I did think it strange the hero and heroine were intimate without any thought of the future which seemed strange for the historical time. It took Rafe a long time to commit and it made him seem selfish. I did like the story but was ready to finish the story and get to the happy ending. At times both the hero and heroine were too stubborn and got on my nerves. Just an ok read.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a cute read! I loved the premise of rebuilding the family home and falling in love with country life. However, the chemistry between the couple feels false and forced but in the end I thought it was pretty enjoyable. My favorite character has to be May for constantly being a comedic break and adding simple joy to the story. I do wish we got some closure with Nigel, I feel like that part of the plot was abandoned after the initial introductory premise of the story.

[Michaela C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing story however the reason for only 3 stars is that Rafe has been so amazing in the previous book and I was really looking forward to his own story but in the beginning (maybe even during the first half) he did not feel as the same person, also I really didn't like the Deerhurst character and I think it was not too necessary to have him be so gross. It was all saved by the bond of Rafe and May really, loved it. But again, these books could really benefit from an epilogue!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

In which the hero wins an estate at cards and the heroine spends the majority of the novel in denial that her brother is the utter tosspot who made the wager and displacing her anger at the wrong party.

(Yes, yes, I know there's a murderous Earl in here, too, but let's be real: the brother is the real villain of this story. And there's not nearly enough comeuppance.)

[Lise Nanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number 28!!!!

I loved this second of the Bancroft Brothers stories! I have such a thing for feisty but practical heroines, and sexy dashing heroes! This book has both and a marvelous plot to boot! So very glad I found it!

[Lisa Brumley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe...le sigh. Lis, out there doing it for the ladies. And Miss May will grow up to be a formidable young lady. Thought this was a great story that lightly involved the characters from the first book in the series. I've already purchased another Suzanne Enoch book.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good! This was as cute but predictable read. The little sister was the best character. I loved Rafe from the 1st book. The first book was so good I was a little disappointed.

Expectations aside, it was a pretty good read.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't love Felicity and I think a better heroine would have been great for Rafe but I did love May! I think we see these guys again in a later Enoch book.

[Miriamgreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining

[Andréa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Melhor que livro 1, mas mesmo assim fraquinho.

[Robin M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another absolutely delightful book!! Loved the witty conversations between the characters! Reread some of the conversations, because they were so enjoyable.