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The Masquerade Club #1
A Reputation for Notoriety
RAISING THE STAKES... As the unacknowledged son of the lecherous Lord Westleigh, John ‘Rhys' Rhysdale was forced to earn a crust gambling on the streets. Now he owns the most thrilling new gaming establishment in London. Witnessing polite society's debauchery and excess every night, Rhys prefers to live on its fringes, but a mysterious masked lady tempts him into the throng. Lady Celia Gale, known only as Madame Fortune, matches Rhys card for card and kiss for stolen kiss. But the stakes are raised when Rhys discovers she's from the very world he despises... The Masquerade Club Identities concealed, desires revealed...
368 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2013
12 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Diane Gaston
174 books126 followersDiane Gaston’s dream job had always been to write romance novels. One day she decided to pursue that dream and has never looked back; she is now writing full-time. Her books have won Romance’s highest honour—the RITA Award, the National Readers Choice Award and the Golden Heart. She lives in Virginia with her husband and three very ordinary house cats. Diane loves to hear from readers and friends.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 22, 2016
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A Reputation for Notoriety was an enjoyable, quick read that was tightly plotted and well written. The hero and heroine were both pleasantly less stereotypical than your usual gorgeous alpha-male and widow-fallen-on-hard-times, and I felt that the emotional connection between them seemed honest and more likely to last as a result. The story is immediately engaging and well-paced, although I did have a few quibbles with the direction that was taken in the later part of the book.
John Rhysdale (Rhys) is the bastard son of the Earl of Westleigh, who refused to acknowledge him or have anything to do with him, to the point of condemning him to penury after the death of Rhys’ mother when he was just fourteen.
Rhys was reduced to a life on the streets and managed to keep body and soul together when he discovered a talent not just for gambling, but for gambling and winning. Now a wealthy man, he is approached – completely unexpectedly – by his two half-brothers, William, Viscount Neddington (usually referred to as “Ned”), and Hugh, who have turned to him in desperation. Westleigh has brought his family to the brink of ruin, and they need money quickly if they are to have any hope of making a last-ditch effort to save the family from financial disaster. Ned and Hugh have figured out that a gaming club, run properly, could turn a profit quickly, and knowing of Rhys’ skill at the tables, approach him with a business proposition. They will use the last of their funds to purchase a suitable establishment and want Rhys to run it for them. Initially, Rhys wants nothing to do with it, but the prospect proves too tempting. Once he adds his own stipulation - that his father will acknowledge him publicly - he agrees to their proposal.
Lady Celia Gale is a widow who is left to support her adult stepdaughter and spiteful mother-in-law. The elder Lady Gale does nothing but complain about Celia’s penny-pinching ways and insult her at every opportunity, while Celia is doing her utmost to keep them solvent and to ensure that Adele has a Season and the chance to make a good match.
Celia’s father was a gambler whose love of gaming went far beyond mere liking and into addiction. Her late husband also frequented the tables and indulged himself in many other vices. Celia can see no other way to stave off penury for herself, Adele, and the dowager, than by utilizing her own skill with the cards. Even though she is continually worried that she may end up as her father did – addicted to cards, dice and any and all games of chance – she dons a cloak and mask and makes her way to The Masquerade Club.
She immediately attracts Rhys’ notice (and that of many of the other patrons), and it is not long before the acquaintance struck between them turns into friendship. Then one night, after Celia has had an uncharacteristically bad run of luck, Rhys impulsively offers her employment. Her presence at the club has generated a lot of interest and he believes she will be good for business, as the men who surround her are likely to gamble more, and that once word spreads, her presence and continued anonymity may encourage other women to attend. Before long, Celia becomes known as “Lady Fortune,” and many of the male members of the club are anxious to play with the intriguing, masked woman who, it is rumored, is the paramour of the club’s owner.
One of the things I really liked in the story was that Rhys was completely honest with Celia about his desire for her. He liked her as a person, enjoyed her company, and came to feel comfortable with her before asking her to share his bed. He also made it clear that the decision was hers and that if she turned him down he wasn’t going to renege on the business part of their relationship. Celia is most definitely tempted. She had been married at seventeen to a man chosen for her who turned out to be brutish and unpleasant, and since his death her life she has been weighed down by responsibility. I don’t normally like the “If I turn this guy down, I may never have the chance to experience hot-monkey-sex” trope, but it just about worked here. The heroine, while she hasn’t had particularly pleasant sexual experiences, isn’t a blushing virgin with a reputation to risk, but a widow who can thus be allowed more a little more lassitude in her intimate relationships. And she does think that yes, the hot monkey sex would be nice.
So Rhys and Celia embark upon a discreet affair. As they get to know each other better, it’s clear that they have an emotional affinity based on more than their involvement in gambling. At one point, Rhys tells Celia a little of his past, that he was on the streets at fourteen, and had no one and nothing – and she realizes how well she knows that feeling. Rhys had to be completely self-dependent when little more than a boy, and Celia when she was not much older – with the added necessity to always be the strong one, the one on whom everyone else is dependent and yet have nobody with whom to share her burdens.
In Celia’s other life as a respectable widow, she has been accompanying Adele to various society events. At one of these, Adele meets Viscount Neddington, and the pair are instantly attracted to each other. The dowager is not amused, however, having decided that Adele should marry her cousin, now the holder of the baronetcy.
Meanwhile, Rhys is now insistent that his father fulfill the last part of their bargain, which is that before he will release any of the funds generated by the Masquerade Club, Westfield should acknowledge him as his natural son.
Like the boulder rolling ever closer to Indiana Jones, you can see what’s coming a mile off – and this is one of my (fortunately few) complaints about the book. There were one or two coincidences too many in the storyline which meant that I could hear the anvils clanging a mile off. There was also one rather large inconsistency that had me scratching my head. Right at the beginning of the book, the author establishes that Rhys closely resembles his two half-brothers:
… if he [Rhys] stood side-by-side with these two men, who could ever deny they were brothers?
And yet Celia, despite having seen Neddington several times, both at the club and elsewhere, and having seen him talking with Rhys (which I take to mean they were standing “side-by-side”), never once remarks on the resemblance between them and never notices their resemblance to Westfield, with whom she is coming into regular (and repugnant) contact at the club.
Rhys and Celia eventually run into each other socially – at a ball held by the Westfield’s to “welcome” Rhys to the family – and are stunned to see each other there. It’s after this that things between them begin to go downhill, as Celia, learning of Rhys’ connection to the Westfield family, begins to draw away from him. Years earlier, the Earl of Westfield had called out her father over a gambling dispute and killed him, and she cannot bear the thought of being associated with him in any way.
While I felt that the romance in the book was a mature one, with both parties responsible for making decisions as to the nature of their relationship, this aspect – Celia’s willingness to give up the man she loves because of who his father is – struck a false note with me. While I can imagine that it would be a nasty shock to discover that your lover is the bastard son of the man who killed your father, it felt to me as though Celia was cutting off her nose to spite her face, which just didn’t sit right with her usual level-headedness.
The dowager Lady Gale is utterly poisonous and I have to say that at times I just wished Celia would boot the old cow out on her ear. All she ever did was moan and belittle Celia who was, after all, keeping her out of the poorhouse. I admit she did make rather a lip-smacking villainess, but I’m not sure she wasn’t just a little bit over the top. And while Adele was initially presented as being sweet, kind, and generous, she turned out to be not much better than the mother-in-law from hell. When Adele found out about Celia’s relationship with Rhys, she immediately believed the worst of the woman who had been her friend and champion against the dowager and who was paying for the roof over her head, the food on the table and all her new dresses. Adele accused Celia of ruining her chances in society because of her dreadfully improper behavior and then refused to speak to her. At that point, I could quite happily have booted her out on her judgmental arse, too!
Somewhere in the last third or so of the book, I thought the story became so much more focused on Westfield and his schemes and machinations that it detracted somewhat from the romance. The relationship that had been built up so beautifully earlier in the book was suddenly sidelined so that when Rhys and Celia were finally united, it felt rather anticlimactic. I will, however, allow extra points for the innovative way that Ms. Gaston found to avert the duel between Rhys and Westfield.
But despite those reservations, I found A Reputation for Notoriety to be well written and emotionally satisfying, and would definitely recommend it.
A Reputation for Notoriety was an enjoyable, quick read that was tightly plotted and well written. The hero and heroine were both pleasantly less stereotypical than your usual gorgeous alpha-male and widow-fallen-on-hard-times, and I felt that the emotional connection between them seemed honest and more likely to last as a result. The story is immediately engaging and well-paced, although I did have a few quibbles with the direction that was taken in the later part of the book.
John Rhysdale (Rhys) is the bastard son of the Earl of Westleigh, who refused to acknowledge him or have anything to do with him, to the point of condemning him to penury after the death of Rhys’ mother when he was just fourteen.
Rhys was reduced to a life on the streets and managed to keep body and soul together when he discovered a talent not just for gambling, but for gambling and winning. Now a wealthy man, he is approached – completely unexpectedly – by his two half-brothers, William, Viscount Neddington (usually referred to as “Ned”), and Hugh, who have turned to him in desperation. Westleigh has brought his family to the brink of ruin, and they need money quickly if they are to have any hope of making a last-ditch effort to save the family from financial disaster. Ned and Hugh have figured out that a gaming club, run properly, could turn a profit quickly, and knowing of Rhys’ skill at the tables, approach him with a business proposition. They will use the last of their funds to purchase a suitable establishment and want Rhys to run it for them. Initially, Rhys wants nothing to do with it, but the prospect proves too tempting. Once he adds his own stipulation - that his father will acknowledge him publicly - he agrees to their proposal.
Lady Celia Gale is a widow who is left to support her adult stepdaughter and spiteful mother-in-law. The elder Lady Gale does nothing but complain about Celia’s penny-pinching ways and insult her at every opportunity, while Celia is doing her utmost to keep them solvent and to ensure that Adele has a Season and the chance to make a good match.
Celia’s father was a gambler whose love of gaming went far beyond mere liking and into addiction. Her late husband also frequented the tables and indulged himself in many other vices. Celia can see no other way to stave off penury for herself, Adele, and the dowager, than by utilizing her own skill with the cards. Even though she is continually worried that she may end up as her father did – addicted to cards, dice and any and all games of chance – she dons a cloak and mask and makes her way to The Masquerade Club.
She immediately attracts Rhys’ notice (and that of many of the other patrons), and it is not long before the acquaintance struck between them turns into friendship. Then one night, after Celia has had an uncharacteristically bad run of luck, Rhys impulsively offers her employment. Her presence at the club has generated a lot of interest and he believes she will be good for business, as the men who surround her are likely to gamble more, and that once word spreads, her presence and continued anonymity may encourage other women to attend. Before long, Celia becomes known as “Lady Fortune,” and many of the male members of the club are anxious to play with the intriguing, masked woman who, it is rumored, is the paramour of the club’s owner.
One of the things I really liked in the story was that Rhys was completely honest with Celia about his desire for her. He liked her as a person, enjoyed her company, and came to feel comfortable with her before asking her to share his bed. He also made it clear that the decision was hers and that if she turned him down he wasn’t going to renege on the business part of their relationship. Celia is most definitely tempted. She had been married at seventeen to a man chosen for her who turned out to be brutish and unpleasant, and since his death her life she has been weighed down by responsibility. I don’t normally like the “If I turn this guy down, I may never have the chance to experience hot-monkey-sex” trope, but it just about worked here. The heroine, while she hasn’t had particularly pleasant sexual experiences, isn’t a blushing virgin with a reputation to risk, but a widow who can thus be allowed more a little more lassitude in her intimate relationships. And she does think that yes, the hot monkey sex would be nice.
So Rhys and Celia embark upon a discreet affair. As they get to know each other better, it’s clear that they have an emotional affinity based on more than their involvement in gambling. At one point, Rhys tells Celia a little of his past, that he was on the streets at fourteen, and had no one and nothing – and she realizes how well she knows that feeling. Rhys had to be completely self-dependent when little more than a boy, and Celia when she was not much older – with the added necessity to always be the strong one, the one on whom everyone else is dependent and yet have nobody with whom to share her burdens.
In Celia’s other life as a respectable widow, she has been accompanying Adele to various society events. At one of these, Adele meets Viscount Neddington, and the pair are instantly attracted to each other. The dowager is not amused, however, having decided that Adele should marry her cousin, now the holder of the baronetcy.
Meanwhile, Rhys is now insistent that his father fulfill the last part of their bargain, which is that before he will release any of the funds generated by the Masquerade Club, Westfield should acknowledge him as his natural son.
Like the boulder rolling ever closer to Indiana Jones, you can see what’s coming a mile off – and this is one of my (fortunately few) complaints about the book. There were one or two coincidences too many in the storyline which meant that I could hear the anvils clanging a mile off. There was also one rather large inconsistency that had me scratching my head. Right at the beginning of the book, the author establishes that Rhys closely resembles his two half-brothers:
… if he [Rhys] stood side-by-side with these two men, who could ever deny they were brothers?
And yet Celia, despite having seen Neddington several times, both at the club and elsewhere, and having seen him talking with Rhys (which I take to mean they were standing “side-by-side”), never once remarks on the resemblance between them and never notices their resemblance to Westfield, with whom she is coming into regular (and repugnant) contact at the club.
Rhys and Celia eventually run into each other socially – at a ball held by the Westfield’s to “welcome” Rhys to the family – and are stunned to see each other there. It’s after this that things between them begin to go downhill, as Celia, learning of Rhys’ connection to the Westfield family, begins to draw away from him. Years earlier, the Earl of Westfield had called out her father over a gambling dispute and killed him, and she cannot bear the thought of being associated with him in any way.
While I felt that the romance in the book was a mature one, with both parties responsible for making decisions as to the nature of their relationship, this aspect – Celia’s willingness to give up the man she loves because of who his father is – struck a false note with me. While I can imagine that it would be a nasty shock to discover that your lover is the bastard son of the man who killed your father, it felt to me as though Celia was cutting off her nose to spite her face, which just didn’t sit right with her usual level-headedness.
The dowager Lady Gale is utterly poisonous and I have to say that at times I just wished Celia would boot the old cow out on her ear. All she ever did was moan and belittle Celia who was, after all, keeping her out of the poorhouse. I admit she did make rather a lip-smacking villainess, but I’m not sure she wasn’t just a little bit over the top. And while Adele was initially presented as being sweet, kind, and generous, she turned out to be not much better than the mother-in-law from hell. When Adele found out about Celia’s relationship with Rhys, she immediately believed the worst of the woman who had been her friend and champion against the dowager and who was paying for the roof over her head, the food on the table and all her new dresses. Adele accused Celia of ruining her chances in society because of her dreadfully improper behavior and then refused to speak to her. At that point, I could quite happily have booted her out on her judgmental arse, too!
Somewhere in the last third or so of the book, I thought the story became so much more focused on Westfield and his schemes and machinations that it detracted somewhat from the romance. The relationship that had been built up so beautifully earlier in the book was suddenly sidelined so that when Rhys and Celia were finally united, it felt rather anticlimactic. I will, however, allow extra points for the innovative way that Ms. Gaston found to avert the duel between Rhys and Westfield.
But despite those reservations, I found A Reputation for Notoriety to be well written and emotionally satisfying, and would definitely recommend it.
June 8, 2019
Entretenido
June 17, 2013
This novel is a delightful read that at once moves slowly and quickly. Its selling point is the hero, Rhys, who is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Westleigh and estabished a gaming club at the request of his legitimate brothers, intending to prove his success to the world. Rhys has a notorious reputation, yet unlike most other rakes and rogues found among Regency romances, he does not actively seek a scandalous reputation; he already had one from being born a bastard. That said, his determination and drive for success is rather admirable, as is his tenacity to live when he was abandoned by his father at the young age of fourteen, and forced to support himself through gambling, finally amassing enough skill to build his own wealth.
When Westleigh's gambling ran too deep, his sons came asking Rhys for help to establish a gaming club so they could recoup his losses. Rhys agreed, albeit reluctantly, and saw this opportunity to get a boon from his wastrel father, a boon asking to be recognized as a member of the family. Here, the central focus of the story lie, and it is filled with rapid character developments from the growing affection between Rhys and his legitimate brothers and a blatant revealing of Westleigh's horrible character.
The romance aspect of the story moves rather slowly, in my opinion. The heroine, Celia Gale, is a baron's widow who is near penniless due to her husband's gambling away their fortune, yet she possesses superb gambling skills and masquerades as Rhys's club to win enough money to support her stepdaughter and mother-in-law. Celia's stepdaughter, Adele, is a sweet and innocent girl who forms an attachment with one of Rhys's brother, Lord Neddington, and this relationship reveals to Rhys the true identity of Celia, whose person he admired and lusted after. Even as Rhys and Celia begin a romantic relationship, Westleigh continues to serve as an antagonist who, in the past, had caused the death of Celia's father. Halfway throughout the book, the romance aspect was developing nicely, but suddenly the bomb of Rhys being Westleigh's son becomes enough to threaten his and Celia's budding romance. The continuing story somewhat dragged, and the romance was rather thrown aside for the resolution of retribution for Westleigh's past and current sins. In a sense, it feels like Westleigh was given more spotlight he ought to have as a villain, his presence overwhelming the plot of the story.
Overall, this book is enjoyable and a very pleasant read for any hour of the day. I recommend historical romance lovers to read Diane Gaston's writing, as it is filled with historical tidbits and wonderful characterizations.
When Westleigh's gambling ran too deep, his sons came asking Rhys for help to establish a gaming club so they could recoup his losses. Rhys agreed, albeit reluctantly, and saw this opportunity to get a boon from his wastrel father, a boon asking to be recognized as a member of the family. Here, the central focus of the story lie, and it is filled with rapid character developments from the growing affection between Rhys and his legitimate brothers and a blatant revealing of Westleigh's horrible character.
The romance aspect of the story moves rather slowly, in my opinion. The heroine, Celia Gale, is a baron's widow who is near penniless due to her husband's gambling away their fortune, yet she possesses superb gambling skills and masquerades as Rhys's club to win enough money to support her stepdaughter and mother-in-law. Celia's stepdaughter, Adele, is a sweet and innocent girl who forms an attachment with one of Rhys's brother, Lord Neddington, and this relationship reveals to Rhys the true identity of Celia, whose person he admired and lusted after. Even as Rhys and Celia begin a romantic relationship, Westleigh continues to serve as an antagonist who, in the past, had caused the death of Celia's father. Halfway throughout the book, the romance aspect was developing nicely, but suddenly the bomb of Rhys being Westleigh's son becomes enough to threaten his and Celia's budding romance. The continuing story somewhat dragged, and the romance was rather thrown aside for the resolution of retribution for Westleigh's past and current sins. In a sense, it feels like Westleigh was given more spotlight he ought to have as a villain, his presence overwhelming the plot of the story.
Overall, this book is enjoyable and a very pleasant read for any hour of the day. I recommend historical romance lovers to read Diane Gaston's writing, as it is filled with historical tidbits and wonderful characterizations.
January 2, 2015
Good book. Rhys has been asked by his legitimate brothers to run a gaming hell in order for them to regain the money that their father has lost. He agrees on the condition that he has total control over the running of it. He has a scandalous reputation, mainly because of his birth. As a man he is honest and straightforward and determined to make a success of his life. When Celia appears at the hell, the masked woman draws Rhys's attention. He helps her get started playing the games and keeps an eye on her. As they spend time together on the nights she arrives their attraction grows and they begin an affair. There is a lot I liked about Rhys. He runs an honest establishment and doesn't tolerate bad behavior. He treats the women who work there and the ones who visit with respect. I also liked the way that he ended up building a better relationship with his brothers. His romance with Celia built slowly as they got to know each other. They had obstacles from their pasts that caused them some problems but I loved the fact that they were able to work through them in a believable way.
Celia had been married young to an older man who turned out to be a cruel man. He was also a gambler who ended up losing everything before he died. Now Celia is left to pick up the pieces and find a way to support them. Although she is very anti-gambler she is an excellent card player and decides to use that skill to get the money for them to live on. She is very nervous the first time she goes to the Masquerade Club but Rhys helps her get started. It doesn't take long before she earns a reputation for her skills. Her attraction to Rhys gives her the chance to experience passion in a way that had been missing in her marriage. Her feelings for him are growing when she discovers a connection to her past. This threatens to derail their romance.
There are some interesting connections between Rhys and Celia that have effects on the story. Rhys's father is the man who accused Celia's father of cheating and killed him in a duel. Celia's stepdaughter ends up falling in love with one of Rhys's brothers. Rhys's father's wife has information about the stepdaughter that changes her life. Rhys's best friend appears to have some kind of history with Rhys's half sister that may have bearing on the next book in the series.
Celia had been married young to an older man who turned out to be a cruel man. He was also a gambler who ended up losing everything before he died. Now Celia is left to pick up the pieces and find a way to support them. Although she is very anti-gambler she is an excellent card player and decides to use that skill to get the money for them to live on. She is very nervous the first time she goes to the Masquerade Club but Rhys helps her get started. It doesn't take long before she earns a reputation for her skills. Her attraction to Rhys gives her the chance to experience passion in a way that had been missing in her marriage. Her feelings for him are growing when she discovers a connection to her past. This threatens to derail their romance.
There are some interesting connections between Rhys and Celia that have effects on the story. Rhys's father is the man who accused Celia's father of cheating and killed him in a duel. Celia's stepdaughter ends up falling in love with one of Rhys's brothers. Rhys's father's wife has information about the stepdaughter that changes her life. Rhys's best friend appears to have some kind of history with Rhys's half sister that may have bearing on the next book in the series.
September 1, 2013
Love, money, and gambling – the PERFECT combination for a Regency romance conflict!
Rhys is the gambler and game club manager extraordinaire. His terrible family disowns him but then asks him to run a gaming house for them (to pay off their debts) and this appeals to him for three reasons: 1 – he’ll run the entire business, getting richer than he already is, 2 – he’ll humiliate said horrible relatives by forcing them to acknowledge he is related to them, 3 – he’ll find out the identity of the sexy masked lady from three years ago… GENIUS! And it will work because his gaming house (where clientele show up in masquerade) will be one of the first successful clubs to allow women to gamble.
Celia (the masked lady from 3 years ago) feels torn. She is an excellent gambler, and she does get a thrill from winning, but she feels that she also needs to gamble in order to pay off her horrible late-husband’s debt and to support her step-daughter and incorrigible mother-in-law. She has felt completely alone, but she has empathy and love that Rhys has seen lacking in the rest of the upper-class. It’s just her luck that Rhys opens a gaming club that would allow her to earn more and keep her identity a secret.
90% of the story involves gambling, and even supporting characters are pulled into the hero and heroine’s main conflict. Our hero and heroine have to learn not to hold their gambling as a reason not to follow after their Happily Ever After. Their dark histories have a connection, and suddenly their motives align. As the chips stack higher, the passion and intensity also heat up.
(I received a free copy past the publication date.)
Rhys is the gambler and game club manager extraordinaire. His terrible family disowns him but then asks him to run a gaming house for them (to pay off their debts) and this appeals to him for three reasons: 1 – he’ll run the entire business, getting richer than he already is, 2 – he’ll humiliate said horrible relatives by forcing them to acknowledge he is related to them, 3 – he’ll find out the identity of the sexy masked lady from three years ago… GENIUS! And it will work because his gaming house (where clientele show up in masquerade) will be one of the first successful clubs to allow women to gamble.
Celia (the masked lady from 3 years ago) feels torn. She is an excellent gambler, and she does get a thrill from winning, but she feels that she also needs to gamble in order to pay off her horrible late-husband’s debt and to support her step-daughter and incorrigible mother-in-law. She has felt completely alone, but she has empathy and love that Rhys has seen lacking in the rest of the upper-class. It’s just her luck that Rhys opens a gaming club that would allow her to earn more and keep her identity a secret.
90% of the story involves gambling, and even supporting characters are pulled into the hero and heroine’s main conflict. Our hero and heroine have to learn not to hold their gambling as a reason not to follow after their Happily Ever After. Their dark histories have a connection, and suddenly their motives align. As the chips stack higher, the passion and intensity also heat up.
(I received a free copy past the publication date.)
May 26, 2013
Loved this book! I loved the game hell setting. I loved the characters and their conflicts. Well written. Kept me turning the pages.
May 6, 2017
Rhys, jugador profesional, es el hijo no reconocido del Conde de Westleigh, un noble de vida disipada que prácticamente ha gastado la fortuna familiar. Los medio hermanos de Rhys, Hugh y Ned, quieren asociarse con él para fundar un club de juego para recomponer las finanzas. La novedad del club es que pueden asistir tanto hombres como mujeres, pero enmascarados.
Celia es la viuda del Barón de Gale y no tienen dinero. Como tiene que mantener a su suegra y su hijastra, que debe presentarse en sociedad, decide ir al club para conseguir dinero. Es muy buena jugadora.
Y bueno, pasa lo que tiene que pasar entre Rhys y Celia sin que ninguno sepa quién es el otro en realidad.
Me gustó. Ojo, no para tirar cohetes, pero el argumento y desarrollo son coherentes, los personajes sólidos con una historia personal interesante y creíble.
Me gustó el desenlace. Un par de buenas escenas sensuales.
Celia es la viuda del Barón de Gale y no tienen dinero. Como tiene que mantener a su suegra y su hijastra, que debe presentarse en sociedad, decide ir al club para conseguir dinero. Es muy buena jugadora.
Y bueno, pasa lo que tiene que pasar entre Rhys y Celia sin que ninguno sepa quién es el otro en realidad.
Me gustó. Ojo, no para tirar cohetes, pero el argumento y desarrollo son coherentes, los personajes sólidos con una historia personal interesante y creíble.
Me gustó el desenlace. Un par de buenas escenas sensuales.
April 28, 2019
Intriguing read with the side stories. Adele comes across as immature, while the grandmother is a bitter shrew, celia growd with confidence as her relationship with rhys continues. Will definite read the rest of the series
May 1, 2019
Not as strong a character are as in the third book of this series (which I read first), but another better-than-average romance. Gabon really has a knack for plotting and characters.
August 2, 2019
What a nice little book. It had some romance, some action and was all around a fun read. I really enjoyed this book.
December 31, 2015
Oooooh, a book with some of my favorite elements in Historical Romance ~ gambling hells and masquerades. Exciting! Titillating even!
Unfortunately, A Reputation for Notoriety fails to live up the title and the book blurb.
This isn’t to say that this isn’t a good, well written book. It is, it’s just not as edgy as you’d think.
**Warning, though I don't reveal exact plot points, there are some very minor spoilerish stuff in here**
Rhys is a good character and a good man. His straightforward, shoot from the hip dialogue is welcome and his take charge attitude is one of the reasons I read romance in the first place – I love a man who knows what he’s doing. He treats women with respect and has worked hard to pull himself from near starvation. I’m not sure where his notorious reputation comes to play though, and there’s the rub with the blurb and the title. My expectations were not met, hence a loss of a star.
Celia is a widow with a problem. She’s penniless and has to support these two yahoos, her step-daughter, Adele and her mother-in-law, the Dowager Lady Gale. The most brilliant thing I can say about Celia is that she is a match for Rhys in terms of personality, and some of the best moments in the book were when they were arguing. They lay it all out there, which is nice. How many times in a romance do you think to yourself, “Why don’t you just say what needs to be said already!!”.
Some of my biggest problems with this book where the lesser characters. Namely Ned and Adele. Their side romance was blooming into something that was truly lovely and encouraging. Until those characters turned 180 degrees after the books plot twist. Adele turns into a whiny, simpering child and Ned wholly approves and encourages this behavior…worse, he finds it endearing. Yuck. And there are truly atrocious beings like Lord Westleigh and Dowager Gale in the mix. Even the presumed hero of the next book, Xavier, doesn’t occur to me as someone I particularly care reading about again.
Rhys and Celia are a lite version of the star-crossed lover theme. Fans of books where characters overcome cross-class issues and their own circumstances and past will like this book.
Unfortunately, A Reputation for Notoriety fails to live up the title and the book blurb.
This isn’t to say that this isn’t a good, well written book. It is, it’s just not as edgy as you’d think.
**Warning, though I don't reveal exact plot points, there are some very minor spoilerish stuff in here**
Rhys is a good character and a good man. His straightforward, shoot from the hip dialogue is welcome and his take charge attitude is one of the reasons I read romance in the first place – I love a man who knows what he’s doing. He treats women with respect and has worked hard to pull himself from near starvation. I’m not sure where his notorious reputation comes to play though, and there’s the rub with the blurb and the title. My expectations were not met, hence a loss of a star.
Celia is a widow with a problem. She’s penniless and has to support these two yahoos, her step-daughter, Adele and her mother-in-law, the Dowager Lady Gale. The most brilliant thing I can say about Celia is that she is a match for Rhys in terms of personality, and some of the best moments in the book were when they were arguing. They lay it all out there, which is nice. How many times in a romance do you think to yourself, “Why don’t you just say what needs to be said already!!”.
Some of my biggest problems with this book where the lesser characters. Namely Ned and Adele. Their side romance was blooming into something that was truly lovely and encouraging. Until those characters turned 180 degrees after the books plot twist. Adele turns into a whiny, simpering child and Ned wholly approves and encourages this behavior…worse, he finds it endearing. Yuck. And there are truly atrocious beings like Lord Westleigh and Dowager Gale in the mix. Even the presumed hero of the next book, Xavier, doesn’t occur to me as someone I particularly care reading about again.
Rhys and Celia are a lite version of the star-crossed lover theme. Fans of books where characters overcome cross-class issues and their own circumstances and past will like this book.
May 18, 2020
excellent
first book by this author might have found her best after rifling through other titles of her backlog
two h/h accidental meet, instant heat, and a wonderful love story
many complications surrounding gambling and the Masquerade Club, Rhys and bastard, Wesleigh the evil earl, and the outrageous want to sock you dowager gage, mother in law hell to heroine
who married her wastrel son and deservedly dies. What a mouth of hurt. Claims Celia is barren did not produce the heir, but tight interaction plot has Lady Wesleigh who knew the wife, informing Dowager Gage that her grandaughter was not fathered by her sterile son. Shut my mouth. And Celia can crack the whip to put Dowager Gage and her foul mouth, her back in her cage, or here, out of the room. A cross romance with her stepdaughter and Ned, eldest son of Weshleigh who it turns out killed Celia's father in a duel over cheating at card. Good wrap up where Westleigh the earl who has been crowding Celia for favors, is accused of cheating after he set up Celia to take the fall. Celia and Rhys, lovers, along with his two sons and partner, shake down father, find loaded dice. a duel is arranged, with an unusual and spectacularly successful end. After finishing a JAL angel in devils arms, this was a total relief. recommended without reservation, am now rifling through her backlog to see what the library has but have a feeling found the gem at the start.
first book by this author might have found her best after rifling through other titles of her backlog
two h/h accidental meet, instant heat, and a wonderful love story
many complications surrounding gambling and the Masquerade Club, Rhys and bastard, Wesleigh the evil earl, and the outrageous want to sock you dowager gage, mother in law hell to heroine
who married her wastrel son and deservedly dies. What a mouth of hurt. Claims Celia is barren did not produce the heir, but tight interaction plot has Lady Wesleigh who knew the wife, informing Dowager Gage that her grandaughter was not fathered by her sterile son. Shut my mouth. And Celia can crack the whip to put Dowager Gage and her foul mouth, her back in her cage, or here, out of the room. A cross romance with her stepdaughter and Ned, eldest son of Weshleigh who it turns out killed Celia's father in a duel over cheating at card. Good wrap up where Westleigh the earl who has been crowding Celia for favors, is accused of cheating after he set up Celia to take the fall. Celia and Rhys, lovers, along with his two sons and partner, shake down father, find loaded dice. a duel is arranged, with an unusual and spectacularly successful end. After finishing a JAL angel in devils arms, this was a total relief. recommended without reservation, am now rifling through her backlog to see what the library has but have a feeling found the gem at the start.
September 10, 2013
John Rhysdale does not gamble for the typical reasons. As the unacknowledged bastard son of the Earl of Westleigh, he either won at cards or went hungry. Now he is the proprietor of one of the most intriguing new gaming establishments in London. Lady Celia Gale only knows of one way to restore her family’s lost fortune. Wearing a mask and using the name Madame Fortune, Celia sets about winning every penny she can. The trick will be to walk away when she has what she needs, from the tables and the man who runs them. Rhysdale cannot understand why the masked woman so intrigues him. She can match him wit for wit and card for card, but it is more than that. As the two circle each other in the oldest game of all, their pasts will set them on a collision course for love and heartache. This unique tale of risk and love will be a treat for lovers of historical romance. Though Celia and Rhys seem almost mismatched, their relationship does not follow the usual pattern. I look forward to seeing more of the intriguing Masquerade Club and the development of the lively set of secondary characters. Kaitlin Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More - See more at: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Book...
November 10, 2014
(sex, gambling shown as something that can be controlled) I thought this had a good plot, but I never bought that these characters were from the stated time period. It felt like they were modern day people put on a stage of the 1820's. Also, it was very predictable and it didn't have to be. For example, Foreshadowing is good when it isn't overdone, but here it was way overdone. I am, however, planning to read the next book in this series because it set the characters for it up well, and the story was interesting.
December 18, 2016
Wow this book just swept me of my feet and made me swoon. Romance in 1800s London that takes place on a secret gamehall where the guests wears masquerade masks to hide their identity. Can it be better?
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December 29, 2014"This is the first of two books in Gaston's Masquerade Club series, in which "identities are concealed and desires revealed." It's passionate, intense and seductive. The characters are lively with pulsing sexual tension and there are enough secrets, scandals and complications to make a lady swoon with glee!" RT Book Reviews, rated 4 stars
Miniseries: The Masquerade Club
Category: Historical Romance
Miniseries: The Masquerade Club
Category: Historical Romance
November 10, 2024
This was my second read by the author. What I liked about both of these books is that there isn't any animosity between the main characters, which is a huge plus for me as enemies to lovers is probably my least favorite trope. They genuinely enjoy each other's company and you can't help but root for them. Recommended!
March 17, 2016
This was a pretty good book until about the last part. Then both the stepdaughter and the heroine got on my nerves and caused a 1-star decrease in my enjoyment of the book. The ending of the book was good though.
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May 2, 2013Miniseries: The Masquerade Club
Category: Historical Romance
Category: Historical Romance
February 18, 2015
Well, good to know that I wasted my time reading drivel. I wouldn't wipe my butt with the pages of this story...
April 10, 2015
Great evil characters, but otherwise, meh.
February 26, 2016
I loved this book. I even found the cover captivating...
March 30, 2017
This has just the right amount of intrigue and suspense, to keep you going. Lady Celia is a gambler's daughter, she comes to Rhy's den to gamble and win. Mainly to win, but she'a card sharp and plays only those games where she can use her skill. With Rhys watching her he asks her to work for him luring and winning money for him. It all works to plan except that Rhys and Celia both have pasts, Celia's more destructive than his and she wants to leave the world of gambling behind.
I like hos Celia keeps checking herself not to become addicted. Card fever and the other attributes have been brought out very well. Rhys is a very capable hero, but its Celia who is no wilting flower that steals the show in this book. She may be a widow, but she's no doormat.
I like hos Celia keeps checking herself not to become addicted. Card fever and the other attributes have been brought out very well. Rhys is a very capable hero, but its Celia who is no wilting flower that steals the show in this book. She may be a widow, but she's no doormat.
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