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How to Build the Perfect Rake
Lucien St James has a problem... he is far too nice a man to attract the attentions of the girl that he loves, the Season's Beauty, Carisse Houghton. So when his best friend Olympia suggests he transforms himself into some thing a little more interesting, he decides to follow her advice. He commissions lessons from a well known libertine, Lord Howe who undertakes his education. Suddenly, Luc is the most popular man in London, a devilish rake setting the girl's pulses racing, Olympia's included...
Can Olympia convince her best friend that she made a mistake and that he was delightful, just as he was? Or will she herself fall for his charms and ruin their friendship forever? One thing is certain... she has helped to create the perfect rake and now she must deal with the consequences...
Can Olympia convince her best friend that she made a mistake and that he was delightful, just as he was? Or will she herself fall for his charms and ruin their friendship forever? One thing is certain... she has helped to create the perfect rake and now she must deal with the consequences...
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 22, 2012
16 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Kate Harper
115 books50 followersLike most writers I've always read and I've always got something going on in my head, story-wise. Mostly dialogue - at least, I hope that's dialogue and not something more serious - which inevitably makes demands on me.
I can recall lying under my bed when I was nine with a candle, a piece of scrap paper and a pencil, rewriting a disappointing ending to a book that had been pretty good up until those final pages. I'd 'borrowed' a highly unsuitable romance from an elderly lady and had gobbled it down in a day. I took away three things from that first sojourn into making up my own, far more satisfactory world. 1/ the hero really needs to end up with the heroine, no matter how irritating she is cause that is what romance is all about. Happy endings, even if they're unexpected. 2/ I liked storytelling so much that maybe it was something I could do on a regular basis. My people could behave as they were supposed to. And... 3/ burning a candle under a pile of highly combustible bedding is a really stupid thing to do. Or so my mother pointed out. I'm lucky I'm not toast.
Writing is a wonderful escape and nothing says run away with me better than romance. So that's what I pursue... historical (particularly Regency... oh man, Regency. Where the men wore breeches and the women appreciated the fact), suspense and contemporary. You can always check them out on Amazon or at www.kate-harper.com. On a more personal note, I live with my partner (no breeches), my kids and a hoard of animals that shed fur into my coffee on a regular basis. We live in a particularly beautiful part of Victoria, in Australia and feel pretty lucky to do so.
I can recall lying under my bed when I was nine with a candle, a piece of scrap paper and a pencil, rewriting a disappointing ending to a book that had been pretty good up until those final pages. I'd 'borrowed' a highly unsuitable romance from an elderly lady and had gobbled it down in a day. I took away three things from that first sojourn into making up my own, far more satisfactory world. 1/ the hero really needs to end up with the heroine, no matter how irritating she is cause that is what romance is all about. Happy endings, even if they're unexpected. 2/ I liked storytelling so much that maybe it was something I could do on a regular basis. My people could behave as they were supposed to. And... 3/ burning a candle under a pile of highly combustible bedding is a really stupid thing to do. Or so my mother pointed out. I'm lucky I'm not toast.
Writing is a wonderful escape and nothing says run away with me better than romance. So that's what I pursue... historical (particularly Regency... oh man, Regency. Where the men wore breeches and the women appreciated the fact), suspense and contemporary. You can always check them out on Amazon or at www.kate-harper.com. On a more personal note, I live with my partner (no breeches), my kids and a hoard of animals that shed fur into my coffee on a regular basis. We live in a particularly beautiful part of Victoria, in Australia and feel pretty lucky to do so.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 14, 2021
3.5
Don't let the cover fool you, this is a delightfully clean read.
Olympia and Lucien grew up together and are the closest of friends. When Olympia comes to London for her first season she is looking forward to spending time with Lucien and enjoying all the fun the season has to offer. Her plans are thrown to the side when the seasons Beauty catches Luciens eye and he determines that she is the one for him. The only problem is Lucien is a nice guy and we all know the nice guy never wins the girl! At least that's what he thinks (I actually prefer the nice guys), anyway after his best friend Olympia makes a joke about if he were more of a rake he could win the Beauty of the season, he takes this to heart and decides to hire a real rake to teach him how to be one. Ha ha. I thought this was a fun idea for a story, I liked Lucien's character, but enjoyed seeing him turn on his "rakish" persona. Olympia is a true friend and decides to become friends with the Beauty, only to confirm her suspicions that Lucien would never be happy with her.
I love a friends turned to lovers troupe, especially how its done here. Neither one had this long standing unrequited love thing going on, they really were just friends for the longest time. It was fun to see both realize that they were in love, but is it too late? I liked that they didn't just get to declare their love and ride off into the sunset, they actually have a couple obstacles to get through before they can be together. I also loved her brother Jasper, it'd be fun to have him get his own book.
Overall, this was an entertaining read, very likable characters and a fun plot. It was a bit wordy and repeditive in parts, but if you're looking for a light regency this one is fun.
Content: Clean romance, Mild language, very mild violence
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Don't let the cover fool you, this is a delightfully clean read.
Olympia and Lucien grew up together and are the closest of friends. When Olympia comes to London for her first season she is looking forward to spending time with Lucien and enjoying all the fun the season has to offer. Her plans are thrown to the side when the seasons Beauty catches Luciens eye and he determines that she is the one for him. The only problem is Lucien is a nice guy and we all know the nice guy never wins the girl! At least that's what he thinks (I actually prefer the nice guys), anyway after his best friend Olympia makes a joke about if he were more of a rake he could win the Beauty of the season, he takes this to heart and decides to hire a real rake to teach him how to be one. Ha ha. I thought this was a fun idea for a story, I liked Lucien's character, but enjoyed seeing him turn on his "rakish" persona. Olympia is a true friend and decides to become friends with the Beauty, only to confirm her suspicions that Lucien would never be happy with her.
I love a friends turned to lovers troupe, especially how its done here. Neither one had this long standing unrequited love thing going on, they really were just friends for the longest time. It was fun to see both realize that they were in love, but is it too late? I liked that they didn't just get to declare their love and ride off into the sunset, they actually have a couple obstacles to get through before they can be together. I also loved her brother Jasper, it'd be fun to have him get his own book.
Overall, this was an entertaining read, very likable characters and a fun plot. It was a bit wordy and repeditive in parts, but if you're looking for a light regency this one is fun.
Content: Clean romance, Mild language, very mild violence
Similar Books You May Enjoy...
February 7, 2016
I hate the cover, it should be a girl in a pride and prejudice dress of white, with a ribbon around her waist turning away. The cover is deceiving. This is a clean, FUN regency romance I thoroughly enjoyed! The main characters were so fun and well developed. The story line was new and light. The kisses were sweet and steamy but completely appropriate. I want to read more of her books because this one was so fun:}
September 23, 2022
reread 09/2022
Sweet friends to lovers hr. 4 stars.
Very bad editing (many spelling and grammar errors).
The cover is misleading in my opinion, the MC kiss a few times but not more.
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03/2020:
I loved this book.. a sweet friends to lovers - historical romance.
Sweet friends to lovers hr. 4 stars.
Very bad editing (many spelling and grammar errors).
The cover is misleading in my opinion, the MC kiss a few times but not more.
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03/2020:
I loved this book.. a sweet friends to lovers - historical romance.
May 18, 2013
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book and the story was so cute. However, it was way too wordy. I truly skimmed pages upon pages and I still don't think I missed anything. With that being said however I think there are a lot of readers who would LOVE this book. It was clean, witty, sweet, and of course predictable(which a lot of people enjoy). I can think of a few friends that would really enjoy this book. I'm really glad I picked it up.
I thought Ollie and Luc were adorable. I loved the idea(especially in regency times) that a Man and Woman could actually be best friends. I also loved ***Spoiler alert*** when Luc says at the end that he is so glad he married his best friend. That was so touching to me because that is how I feel everyday and I feel like that is lost a lot of times in romances. It's a lot of lust and not a lot of friendship, love and respect.
Totally cute. I might have to read more from Ms. Harper!
I really enjoyed this book and the story was so cute. However, it was way too wordy. I truly skimmed pages upon pages and I still don't think I missed anything. With that being said however I think there are a lot of readers who would LOVE this book. It was clean, witty, sweet, and of course predictable(which a lot of people enjoy). I can think of a few friends that would really enjoy this book. I'm really glad I picked it up.
I thought Ollie and Luc were adorable. I loved the idea(especially in regency times) that a Man and Woman could actually be best friends. I also loved ***Spoiler alert*** when Luc says at the end that he is so glad he married his best friend. That was so touching to me because that is how I feel everyday and I feel like that is lost a lot of times in romances. It's a lot of lust and not a lot of friendship, love and respect.
Totally cute. I might have to read more from Ms. Harper!
May 18, 2016
Cute fun read. I liked Luc and Olympia; I loved that they were best friends long before they ever realized they liked each other!
Content: Clean, mild swearing throughout
Source: Amazon.com
Content: Clean, mild swearing throughout
Source: Amazon.com
April 18, 2025
I enjoyed this book. I was hoping for a little more than Kisses and Glimpses but I enjoyed the friends to lovers storyline - still my favourite matching. I enjoyed as they progressively became aware of the feelings they have for each other with little glimpses of the jealousy they have for other potential matches and not thinking anyone was right for the other. Instead of one pining after the other for the majority of the book, they only really realize how they feel for each other closer to the end but the chemistry is there throughout the book.
September 16, 2021
Great fun. Predictable as this genre can be, this was a charming example.
May 26, 2025
Cute story about childhood friends seeing each other as adults, man and woman. Their relationship was all neighbor next door , in and out each home,until she goes to London to find a husband and he goes to get town bronze.
September 2, 2016
How To Build The Perfect Rake follows Lucien St James as he discovers that his nice-boy persona won’t be enough to catch his dream woman – the beauty of the season and the woman that every man in London is trying to snag as his bride. He decides that he needs to be a bit more daring in his approach to the lovely Carisse if he’s going to stand out from the crowd and so seeks guidance from the most disreputable rake of them all. His best friend Olympia doesn’t understand why Lucien thinks this would be a good idea; she can see that he’s fine just the way he is and that he and Carisse would be very ill-suited for each other. Nonetheless, she wants to see her friend happy so she goes about promoting his cause while he’s out of town learning to become the perfect rake. When he returns to town, armed with an arsenal of charm and quick-wit, she discovers that there might be more to him that just being her best friend. The question is has she discovered this too late? Will she be able to make him realise what’s right in front of him or has she already lost him forever?
Both of the main characters were well enough written to hold my interest throughout the story. Olympia was a fairly strong-willed woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and make it known that she wasn’t interested in finding a husband at any cost. This independence opened up a slightly more creative outlet in terms of the character’s scope. Lucien played his part well and came across as a very charming and likeable, however I would have liked to see more of the nice side of Lucien. It was constantly mentioned that he was a nice guy, too nice to tempt Carisse, but most of the story focused on how he had become the talk to the town and built a reputation as a bit of a cad.
The relationship between the two was well built in general. The friendship that they had shared since before the start of the story meant that the reader was privy to an immediate sense of familiarity that leant itself to wanting the couple to succeed. However, I did find element of their relationship slightly irritating. The reader was led to believe that the couple discovered that they had been in love with each other for years, but those feelings only showed themselves after Lucien changed his personality and became more of a cad. I was left with a sense of disappointment that we weren’t given more of a reason for the feelings that had developed.
The story in itself was entertaining enough and the book was a nice easy read, but the poor editing was at times a huge distraction. There were several spelling errors, grammatical errors and sentences that just didn’t read write; there was even one instance where a characters name was spelt two different ways on the same page. These mistakes were easy enough to spot as the reader so I’m surprised that the author or the editor didn’t pick up on them after a few read-throughs of the story. I was disappointed that they had made it into the final edit, they deterred from the story and left me feeling slightly mixed about the book as a whole.
Both of the main characters were well enough written to hold my interest throughout the story. Olympia was a fairly strong-willed woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and make it known that she wasn’t interested in finding a husband at any cost. This independence opened up a slightly more creative outlet in terms of the character’s scope. Lucien played his part well and came across as a very charming and likeable, however I would have liked to see more of the nice side of Lucien. It was constantly mentioned that he was a nice guy, too nice to tempt Carisse, but most of the story focused on how he had become the talk to the town and built a reputation as a bit of a cad.
The relationship between the two was well built in general. The friendship that they had shared since before the start of the story meant that the reader was privy to an immediate sense of familiarity that leant itself to wanting the couple to succeed. However, I did find element of their relationship slightly irritating. The reader was led to believe that the couple discovered that they had been in love with each other for years, but those feelings only showed themselves after Lucien changed his personality and became more of a cad. I was left with a sense of disappointment that we weren’t given more of a reason for the feelings that had developed.
The story in itself was entertaining enough and the book was a nice easy read, but the poor editing was at times a huge distraction. There were several spelling errors, grammatical errors and sentences that just didn’t read write; there was even one instance where a characters name was spelt two different ways on the same page. These mistakes were easy enough to spot as the reader so I’m surprised that the author or the editor didn’t pick up on them after a few read-throughs of the story. I was disappointed that they had made it into the final edit, they deterred from the story and left me feeling slightly mixed about the book as a whole.
May 8, 2017
What a delight! While they grew up as best friends, now it's time for marriage. So of course they help each other look around during the season and advise each other of how to approach people. So she helps him work up his courage and his approach to the seasons beauty, while she's looking over the men. Suddenly it occurs to her that her best friend has become more than a friend. As she realizes she's fallen in love with him, he's been working his way into the Beauty's good graces. What's a best friend to do? She plans on returning home, but throws the dice one last time on her brothers advice...a kiss between friends!? What will she learn? What will he learn!?
May 17, 2013
As many people have mentioned the grammar is a mess and sometimes it is hard to follow what exactly occurred because of this. For me the book was 2.5 stars. I liked Ollie but Mr. St James lost some credibility for me that he could go for the most vain and beautiful girl of them all. I think the book had potential of being even better. I personally wanted to see Ollie start flirting with Freddy and other boys and having Mr. St James come to the conclusions Ollie did before her and then try to win her by being the rake. I think I would have liked that better.
May 20, 2016
Classic
The reserved English and their proper behavior with a touch of "knowing" is the essence of this story's style draped over an awakening deeper friendship. And that sentence is kind of what reading this felt like.
The reserved English and their proper behavior with a touch of "knowing" is the essence of this story's style draped over an awakening deeper friendship. And that sentence is kind of what reading this felt like.
November 16, 2018
Badly needs proofreading
I nearly deducted another star because I think an author should be responsible for the quality of her work product, but it is an enjoyable traditional Regency.
I nearly deducted another star because I think an author should be responsible for the quality of her work product, but it is an enjoyable traditional Regency.
April 29, 2020
2.5 Stars. Started off well enough, but got predicable/boring toward the end. I skimmed/rushed through the denouement. The couple were sweet, and when they finally got together it was adorable. But! It wasn't enough to redeem the pacing.
October 18, 2012
This was an engaging Regency romance with interesting characters and a pleasing plot. I enjoyedbit.
May 23, 2013
I liked this book. Didn't love it. It was a cute story but very predictable.
October 5, 2018
This is cute one. True the happy ending is a bit too easily come by, but it's a nice story.
December 14, 2016
Great
Loved it!!!! Different story, usual outcome, happy ever after. Always enjoyed Kate Harper's stories, and find I'm not disappointed by them
Loved it!!!! Different story, usual outcome, happy ever after. Always enjoyed Kate Harper's stories, and find I'm not disappointed by them
April 7, 2016
The cover is awful. It was a clean, cute regency.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews