Pink Heart Reviews
Hundreds Of Years To Reform A Rake
Laurie Brown
ISBN-10: 1-4022-1013-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-1013-6
Sourcebooks Casablanca, November 2007, 391 pages
England present day/1815
$6.99 U.S. $8.99 CAN £3.99 U.K.
Reviewed by Teresa
December 2007
Josie Drummond is a paranormal researcher, whose investigation of Castle Waite has resulted with no evidence of a haunting. Or so she thinks. Imagine her surprise when she comes face to face with a clever (and devastatingly handsome) ghost.
Deverell Thornton, the ninth Earl of Waite, has been waiting for a woman like Josie to help him right a wrong done to his family. All he has to do is convince her to travel back in time with him, to the year 1815.
Josie reluctantly agrees to help Deverell, and plays along as she learns how to behave in the Regency era. She never once believes that she will time travel to 1815, but she is lured by Deverell as she has never been to a living man.
She is soon thrust into a world that she never thought to see, and almost immediately meets the Earl of Waite, in the flesh. The two are inexplicably drawn to each other, and feel a strong connection that neither can explain.
As Josie begins to probe into the events that forever changed Deverell's fate she also has to deal with her growing attraction to him. As a spirit, he is irresistible, as a man even more so.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hundreds Of Years To Reform A Rake. It had everything a great story needs; quirky characters, plenty of drama, and two very appealing protagonists. The tension between Deverell and Josie was delicious, and the sex was very sensual, yet held emotional impact. You just knew that once these two had a taste of how it could be, they would never want to let the other go.
The mystery that Josie was sent to unravel was very well done, and had a satisfactory conclusion. I could relate to being torn between the ghostly Deverell and the corporeal one. I also received a lesson in Regency behavior that I enjoyed, and applauded Josie at how well she carried herself. Whenever I read a book with a ghost/time travel plot, I am always curious as to how the characters will end up together. I was very pleased with the way this story ended, it just felt right for it to end that way.
If you are in the mood for an original and immensely entertaining novel, I highly recommend this book.
