ARC Review: The Earl of Excess (The Rakes of Mayhem #1) by Anna St. Claire
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Series: The Rakes of Mayhem #1
Author: Anna St. Claire
Published August 5th 2021 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Goodreads Synopsis
A British officer’s life is saved when a young woman and her dog risk their lives and rescue him from beneath dead bodies, while trying to escape the New Orleans battlefield before shooting begins.
Welcome to book 1 in the new Rakes of Mayhem series from bestselling author Anna St. Claire!
Colonel Matthew Romney, a favored son with the British military, is gravely wounded during the Battle of New Orleans. With most available British forces dead and his weak pleas for help muffled beneath the dead soldier he lies below, the British report him missing in the aftermath.
Bethany Phillips and her dog visit the Villeré Plantation’s gardens searching for herbs and food and unexpectedly become caught in the crossfire of grapeshot and cannon fire and forced to take cover until the battle ends. When the smoke clears, Bethany follows the sound of a man’s moans and pulls him from beneath a pile of dead soldiers being readied for a mass grave. Bethany saves Matthew’s life but, in doing so, threatens her heart and her own life.
Against all odds, sparks fly between Matthew and Bethany. A hired investigator for his father finds Matthew and encourages him to journey home. Matthew and Bethany leave the safety of her home and travel a dangerous path through the wilderness of America and across a ravaged, war-torn ocean to reach his family.
Can their romance survive the dangers and uncertainty that follow them?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Colonel Matthew Romney, Lord Longueville, is serving as an officer in the British Army during the American Revolution. Injured gravely during the Battle of New Orleans, he is left for dead when Bethany Phillips (and her beloved dog, Dandie) find him struggling to survive, and save's his life. Bethany knows it would be a death sentence if she was discovered sheltering a British officer in her home, but she can't abandon him, and the more time she cares for Matthew, the harder she falls. When an investigator finds Matthew, and encourages the couple to head for England, Bethany and Matthew set off on a perilous journey, fraught with danger, but with their romance holding them together.
I'm English, okay, so honestly, don't know much about the American Revolution, other than the main bits. I've never really read much around that period - not least set in America - so this was new for me, but really enjoyable. Bethany is a healer, who unexpectedly found herself amidst a battlefield while foraging for herbs. As a healer, she can't abandon those who need her help, even if they are the 'enemy', so Matthew's plight plays strongly on her mind. She takes so many risks to help him, even travelling to a leper colony - which she is known to - in order to hide, and then travel across a country at war to find peace and passage to London. Matthew I couldn't quite grasp at first, but the trauma of his injuries was a large part of that. Considering he's supposed to be a rake (per the series title) he acted very much the gentleman, and seemed at odds with his characterisation at times. All in all, though, it was a nice romance, and a series I plan on continuing.
Dates Read:
December 21-23, 2021
Rating
3 Stars
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