Eva Leigh: My Fake Rake

In the first book in Eva Leigh’s new Union of the Rakes series, a bluestocking hires a faux suitor to help her land an ideal husband only to be blindsided by real desire…

Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to “build” the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace’s colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires.

In exchange for funding his passage on an expedition leaving London in a few months, Sebastian allows Grace to transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing—albeit fake—rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace’s feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn’t hired him to help her marry someone else…

Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he’s faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future—and his heart.

CW: social anxiety

I loved this book. I have never read Eva Leigh, so I have no comparison to her other work, but this book rang so many bells for me it was like she was writing it for me. That is to say, that I think this is going to be a book that really works for some readers and really doesn’t for others.

Sweet spot 1: MCs are academics. Grace is an Earl’s daughter who is hurtling towards the shelf after a disastrous first season where she was a little too open about her love of reptiles and amphibians. She spends a lot of time at a private library rubbing elbows with other scholars, and has been crushing on Mason Fredericks, who is also an academic. And despite friend zoning Sebastian, an anthropologist, Grace has some lady pants feelings for him that she keeps at bay.

Sweet spot 2: Seb is a Beta hero. Even after he is transformed into a Rake about Town and he has some alpha moments, at his core he is still a mild mannered nerd who’s main priority is making Grace happy. Even at his own expense.

Sweet spot 3: Its funny. There were some scenes in the first half that had me laughing out loud. The banter, the teasing, the scientist approach to dating or becoming a rake just had me happily giggling. Although a bit more drama came in the second half, eliminating this from being a rom com, it had delightful and surprising moments of humor that I adored.

Sweet spot 4: Fake courtship/relationship. This was done perfectly for the era, subtly, but still gave the MCs plenty of time together for feelings to grow. It also provided a great framework for character growth, which both MCs had.

Sweet spot 5: Sex positive. There are a couple of intimate scenes near the 60 and 95 percent marks and they were fun, maybe a little tropey, but filled with sex positive talk and moments that were a joy. Yep, some of you will feel this is modern values anachronistically projected onto people of the past, but I don’t buy it. Not every woman in the 19th century was clutching her bedclothes waiting for the lights to go out. Let’s stop telling ourselves that tired out, toxic story that you are either a virgin or a whore. It made perfect sense to me that an academic with knowledge of reproduction would feel more natural and accepting of her pants feelings. I suggest readers who yell “historical accuracy” about pants feelings, maybe turn the pointing finger inward and examine why they want to project their own attitudes about sex in the past onto the past.

Sweet spot 6: A great, romantic gesture ending and no forced reconciliation with Seb’s family as an epilogue. I had a few moments were I was expecting this book to verve off the deep end, but it stayed so perfectly heart strings tugging until the end.

Sweet spot 7: Gentle treatment of anxiety condition. When I say gentle, I think I mean normalizing. In any case, it was (from my experience) a truthful depiction of social anxiety that made it make sense why Seb, who is really the whole package, was still lurking around the corners of relative obscurity.

Sweet spot 8: Makeover! I love the Cinderella/Cinderfella/Pygmalion SO Much, and this was done well. Hotness under shy and retiring, holy heartthrob! A man learning to be a rake…it was just so perfect. I could’ve honestly spent more time on this, but I think it was nicely tempered by real moments that show Grace likes Seb for who he is…not just because of the transformation.

I also liked that there were no villains, a depiction of a very supportive family, and some great friends. The conflict is not so much misunderstandings as two smart people who are REALLY dumb about their emotions, which resonates with me and is probably another sweet spot. It will probably tire other people out reading about the MCs working through their own feelings and being brave enough to confess them, but it just felt so true for their story that I forgave maybe a little too much chest pounding towards the end (its this bit of sagginess that knocked it down half a star).

So in perusing the GoodReads, some readers will (and did) find some of my sweet spots oh-no-nos. Beta heroes aren’t for everyone, sex positivity rankles some, and nerds in love may be too much for those who want glittering balls, dashing Dukes, and fashionable flirts with their Reg Rom. I personally wish I could read more books like My Fake Rake. Absolute perfection.

Thanks to the one reviewer who inspired my next Representing Regency post on Lady Scientists. I just want to counter your assumptions, for the time being, with this post, this post, this post, this post and this post. (Edited to add: the review not only trashed the sex positivity but also suggested women in the sciences was not historically accurate. Sorry that I didn’t explain, I was po’d.)

I recommend highly this book for those who love a Beta hero, love nerds, and are interested in empowering and sex positive Regency.

5.5 out of 6 Academics try out fake courtship and end up falling in love