Review

Barnes latest release, the second book in the At the Kingsborough Ball series, is all about reforming the rake.

Daniel Neville, future Marquess of Wolvington, is going to be cut off if he can’t get a wife before the end of the Season. With matchmaking mamas and debutantes evading him like he has the plague, Daniel has little to no success until he spots a dark haired beauty at the Kingsborough Ball.

Lady Rebecca is bound for a match she doesn’t want unless she can secure another man to marry. Daniel intrigues her and promises her the ability to explore new things and have adventures, if she’ll give him a chance. Before chances can be had, everything goes completely wrong.

I enjoyed the characters. Both Rebecca and Daniel sparkle separately and when they are together. They are the perfect match: one who likes to be wicked and adventurous and one who’s willing to be. Though I will say Rebecca appeared to be a Mary Sue. She really had no flaws besides a lack of confidence in herself and while I loved her wit, ability to problem solve, and her multiple talents at times she seemed too perfect.

The balance of conflict between Daniel and Rebecca coupled with an equal dose of external conflict outside of their relationship worked well. The problem was found where certain pieces of the external conflict were never resolved, in fact after a certain part in the book those earlier conflicts were never even mentioned. I don’t know if they play a role in the future series book or not, but it did hurt my reading experience.

 Also, I found myself skipping paragraphs. This could be a ‘me’ thing, but the book and the plot didn’t keep my interest. Not to say the story was bad, but I’m pretty picky about my reforming rake stories and this particular did not appeal. Overall, if you’re a Barnes fan I would encourage you to try this book out, especially if you enjoy a little bit of suspense. 

Reviewed by Landra