Reformed Rakes

The Warm Hands of Ghosts Feb 18, 2025

The Warm Hands of Ghosts opens on Laura receiving her brother’s clothes in the mail in January 1918. Her brother Freddie fights for the Canadian army in Belgium. Something doesn’t add up about his supposed death so Laura, a discharged combat nurse, decides to go to Belgium herself to find Freddie. From there, the book alternates point of view chapters between the Iven siblings and timelines. Laura is the present timeline and Freddie’s timeline follows a few months behind. Freddie wakes in an overturned German pillbox with a wounded German soldier. In this hellish landscape both siblings find love. Freddie with the wounded German soldier Hans Winter, and Laura with the surgeon Stephen Jones. Arden creates a dark landscape with this novel’s explorations of, “Did you see a new hell too?”

Bayley’s tiktok

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The Countess Conspiracy Feb 04, 2025

We would characterize Milan’s works as the best possible combination of historical research and alternative realities that serve her characters’ stories. She doesn’t fudge history out of laziness or received wisdom, but in order to tell a better romance and backs up her creative license with research into aspects of history that might go underdeveloped in a weaker author’s books. She says of her settings: “I try to write books that I say are historically possible, but not historically average.” The Countess Conspiracy is the third book in the Brothers Sinister series, which is linked together by two brothers, one the heir and one illegitimate and their best friend, who is their cousin, from school. This book’s hero is the best friend from school and the heroine is his childhood best friend, with whom he shares a deep secret about his career as England’s leading researcher on genetics in botany.

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An Extraordinary Union Nov 12, 2024

In An Extraordinary Union, published in 2017, is the first in Cole’s The Loyal League series, both main characters are attempting to shape the politics of their time through espionage. Elle Burns is a freedwoman who has been living in New England with her parents after their enslaver died and his son freed them. She has an eidetic memory that has been treated somewhat as a party trick for most of her life, including by well-meaning, but thoughtless white abolitionists in the North. Elle joins the Loyal League, a network of spies aiming to aid the Union in the Civil War, to try and use her gift to help the cause. While Elle is working she meets Malcolm McCall, who has been sent by the Pinkertons to collaborate with Elle. He is also undercover—though he lives as a Rebel soldier, using his easy charm and good looks to ingratiate himself into Southern society. Cole takes a setting that has a history in romance, but one that ignores the people most subjugated by it and gives us a story that is part espionage thriller, part slow burn enemies to lovers.

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Fabio: Part Two Oct 29, 2024

Last episode, we covered Fabio’s not-so-humble upbringing, his journey to America, his early romance career, and his rise to fame. In this episode, we’ll start at the height of Fabio Mania in 1994 and end in present day, thirty years later. We’ll be taking you through viking battles, chivalry lessons, an A-list celebrity beef, and, unfortunately, a right wing rabbit hole. As a spokesman, Fabio billed himself as “a gentleman,” but what did he become instead?

This episode is dedicated to THE GOOSE. 1999-1999, RIP.
Some of the Fabio media from this episode will be on our Instagram! Check it out.

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Fabio: Part One Oct 14, 2024

In the 90s the face of romance was the Italian cover model Fabio Lanzoni, who broke out of the insular romance fandom into mainstream superstardom. Known briefly as “The Fabulous Fabio,” he and his managers parlayed his success in romance modeling into an internationally recognized brand. Fabio was no longer just a model, but a spokesman for romantic, courtly love.

But what some people might not know is that even during the height of his fame, he was a lightning rod amongst romance fans and authors. Some embraced him for increasing book sales, and others felt like they were being made a fool of.

This is going to be a two-part episode, and in part one we are covering Fabio’s rise to fame, the romance authors who loathed him, and how a conservative man uncomfortable with overt sexuality became synonymous with salacious book covers.

This episode is dedicated to Lizzy's Angelfire fansite of John DeSalvo. Thank you for your service, Lizzy.
Some of the Fabio media from this episode will be on our Instagram! Check it out.

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Hold Fast Oct 01, 2024

Hold Fast is a medieval Scottish romance and MacArthur invites and garners a lot of comparisons to perhaps the most famous romance novelist who wrote this subgenre: Julie Garwood. Hold Fast is the story of a woman who was handfasted to an abusive laird and once free of that arrangement, assumes she will never be in a relationship with a man again. Her love interest Ewan is laird of a nearby, rival clan whose lost members of his family in ways that made him anxious to fall in love, so he similarly assumes that he will never marry. Both assumptions get complicated when they meet each other and are immediately drawn together. Reni from @reniesan joined us for this episode and chose this book for us.

Reni’s tiktok, instagram, and twitter.

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Rake Recommends 2 Sep 17, 2024

Maybe a yearly tradition? Where we recommend books to each other. Chels recommended the first in the Psy-Changeling series to Beth because of their shared love of Heather Guerre. Emma recommended a Carla Kelly because she’s quickly becoming a pod favorite. Keeping with last episode, Beth recommended two contemporaries. Emma and Chels did like an uno reverse to each other and recommended two kind of heavy-hitter political histroms. A good time was had by all.

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Keeper of the Dream Sep 03, 2024

Keeper of the Dream, published in 1992, has this real threat of danger throughout the book. Arianna is the daughter of the Welsh prince and Raine pledges his fealty to Henry II, who is currently invading Wales. In the first scene, Raine kills one of Arianna’s brothers in a skirmish and the book doesn’t really let up from there. Arianna is a seer and has visions, which include insight into the past and future. Raine is the unloved, illegitimate son of an earl and he is seeking power and status by trying to secure his own lands. Williamson writes an incredibly romantic and funny love story on top of this violent war. That opening scene doesn’t sound like it could be the beginning of what I could describe as a cute, miscommunication romance. Or I could describe it as a bodice ripper. Or one of the saddest romances I’ve ever read. This book is a lot of things as once, but Williamson pulls it off.

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Fingersmith Aug 20, 2024

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters is a Victorian crime novel centered around two young women: Susan Trinder, who grew up in a house of thieves, and Maud Lilly, a lady who is trapped by her uncle in a macabre house called Briar, and compelled to work for him as a secretary. When it was initially published in 2002, Fingersmith made waves for its central lesbian relationship, as well as its shocking twist in the second act. The book was critically lauded: shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize, launching Sarah Waters into literary stardom. Through popular adaptations like 2005’s BBC miniseries directed by Aisling Walsh, and 2016’s The Handmaiden, directed by Park Chan Wook, the story of Fingersmith has found a broader audience, and is widely beloved to this day.

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Waterloo Aug 06, 2024

In this episode, we’re specifically focused on Waterloo, Napoleon’s last stand and a favorite backdrop of historical romance. Waterloo took place June 18, 1815, when Napoleon’s Army of the North was met by the Seventh Coalition, an army composed of Wellington’s English troops, and various German and Dutch units at a small village just outside of Brussels. Around 50,000 soldiers died in the conflict. The battle led to the voluntary surrender of Napoleon to the British a month later, after a series of increasingly desperate military and political moves on his part, and his eventual final exile on St. Helena, a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. The battle happens right in the middle of the Georgian and Regency periods, a favorite setting for historical romance. This, of course, means Waterloo has a huge presence in the genre, as a setting, as a disabling event for characters, as a fulcrum pushing England over the cliff into the modern age. We’re going to talk about the history and impact of the battle on real life and in fiction.

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A Caribbean Heiress in Paris Jul 23, 2024

Published in 2022, A Caribbean Heiress in Paris is the first full-length historical romance from Adriana Herrera. We follow Luz Alana Heith-Benzan, who travels to the Exposition Universelle in Paris to expand her family’s rum trade throughout Europe. It’s there that she meets James Evanstan Sinclair, the Earl of Darnick, a Scottish man who works in whisky and goes from being her rival, to her friend, to her husband. The book is a really fun twist on marriage of convenience: a business partnership where the partners are so in love they can’t think straight. Join us and Graciella @grapiedeltaco as we have a little too much fun.

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Written on Your Skin Jul 09, 2024

Meredith Duran has an unlikely publishing story: at her sister’s encouragement, she submitted her first manuscript, Duke of Shadows, to the Gather.com first chapters contest, and won first prize: Duke of Shadows would be published by Pocket Books. Duran followed up with Bound by Your Touch and Written on Your Skin, two late Victorian novels starring friends: Viscount Sanburne, the happy-go-lucky rake who uses his dissipation to conceal something much darker, and Phineas Granville, a spy-turned-earl who is drawn back into the game by a beautiful woman he’s indebted to. Duran’s one of Chels's favorite historical romance authors, and she’s also the author Reformed Rakes listeners have most requested get a standalone episode. We're very pleased that we can make that happen today.

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Private Arrangements Jun 25, 2024

A Sherry Thomas story is built around one central conflict and then mining as much story from that conflict as possible. In her debut novel Private Arrangements, we follow Gigi and Camden who have the ideal marriage. They live separately and now after ten years Gigi wants a divorce. Camden says he’ll give her one after she gives him an heir. Their separation, sparked by an act of fraud of Gigi’s part, propels Camden into a cycle of anger against her. He refuses to forgive Gigi. Here is where Thomas shines with a couple’s attempted reconciliation and the subsequent heartache and triumphs that follow.

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Janet Dailey: Part Two Jun 11, 2024

Last episode, we covered the rise of Janet Dailey, one of romance’s biggest stars in the 1970s and 80s. A secretary turned millionaire, Dailey was one of the genre’s biggest success stories, but her husband’s work as her manager, and his interest in making her the #1 author in the world fueled “Svengali” rumors. If you haven’t already, go back and listen to Janet Dailey: Part One for the full story, as this is information you’ll need for what’s to come in this episode. This week we’re picking up where we left off: we’ll be talking about Janet Dailey’s plagiarism scandal in 1997, an event that rocked the romance world and tarnished Dailey’s reputation.

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Janet Dailey: Part One May 28, 2024

In 1997, a scandal rocked the world of romance: Janet Dailey, one of the most successful and prolific romance authors of all time, got caught plagiarizing the work of Nora Roberts, one of the other most successful and prolific romance authors of all time. Before the scandal, Janet Dailey was the queen of American romance. Born in small-town Iowa, married in Omaha, and settled in Ozarks, she was a down-to-earth, blue-jeaned rebuttal to the only romance author that outsold her in the 70s and 80s: Barbara Cartland. In 1997 the Internet was in its infancy, so public memory of this scandal is fragmented. This is going to be a two-part episode, and in part one we are covering Dailey’s life before she fell from grace for plagiarism. Make no mistake, this is not just boring backstory: this episode is about fame, country music, violence, and one very controversial husband. Step into your boots and get out your fiddle, we’re going to Branson.

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The Windflower May 14, 2024

Tom and Sharon Curtis’ most famous work is 1984’s The Windflower published under the pen name Laura London. The Windflower is about a young sheltered woman named Merry who is kidnapped by the pirates on a ship called The Black Joke, and falls in love with her captor, the excruciatingly handsome second-in-command, Devon Crandall. Largely considered a classic of the genre, The Windflower is heartwarming, surprising, and very, very funny. Haley joined us on our discussion! You can find her on TikTok under the username @haleystewfart.

Haley’s TikTok

Haley’s Instagram

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For the Earl’s Pleasure Apr 30, 2024

Currently on hiatus from writing historical romance, Mallory has written eleven histroms. Her books often are genre hybrids, with a mystery plot as an undercurrent with the romance. The books are Regencies and edge toward the wallpaper line, with a few historical inaccuracies, almost dollhouse like settings and sometimes some incomprehensible world building. For the Earl’s Pleasure is a mystery-romance hybrid as we try to uncover what led to Valerien Lord Rainewood attempted murder, which now has him unconscious in an undisclosed location. But luckily for Valerian, the object of his longtime teasing and bullying, Abigail Smart has a gift: she can see ghosts and while Valerian is unconscious, he appears to Abigail.

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Pregnancy Apr 16, 2024

Today we’re going to talk about a sometimes polarizing topic—pregnancy in romance. We think pregnancy poses some interesting narrative questions and conflicts. For historical romance novels, babies and pregnancy bring up questions that aren’t really as much of a contemporary concern like legitimate heirs and who will inherit what estate. What does a person do if they have a child outside of wedlock? More universally, how does this pregnancy affect the relationship? Sanjana (@baskinsuns) join us today to give us some of her thoughts as well!

Sanjana’s Twitter and Instagram

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Starchy Hero Gets Unstarched Apr 02, 2024

Today is a very special episode voted on by our Patreon subscribers. A starchy hero is uptight, obsessed with morals and propriety, and often a bit awkward in company. He’s often an aristocrat who puts too much value in his social standing, and doesn’t take enough time to smell the roses. With the help of a love interest, his entire world will be shaken up, until Whites is no longer his favorite club and suddenly, maybe frolicking through the trees seems like a good idea. The rakes categorize some of our top starchy heroes, men who are about to finally meet their match.

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Think of England Mar 19, 2024

Today, the Reformed Rakes discuss Think of England by K.J. Charles along with special guest Mel. Set in the early 20th century, the story follows Captain Archie Curtis as he arrives at Sir Hubert’s estate. This isn’t merely a social call, as Archie suspects Sir Hubert of purposely sabotaging weapons sent to British troops during the Boer War. Once there, Archie meets Daniel, a man who also has a purpose beyond the social. Archie takes an immediate dislike to Daniel, a man so outwardly and obviously queer, yet, as they realize their aligned objectives, Archie begins to evaluate his own thoughts and feelings.

Mel’s TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Midsummer Moon Mar 05, 2024

Midsummer Moon features what Kinsale calls the “hedgehog humor” of some of her lighter novels and is the origin of that label. Midsummer Moon is goofy! It does in fact feature a hedgehog, along with an aphrodisiac salt, a pre-Alexander Graham Bell invention of a telephone-like device, an inventor heroine named Merlin and a Duke with so many names that Merlin lands on calling him “Mister Duke” most of the time. Midsummer Moon might sound kooky, and it is, but it still comes with typical Kinsale character driven gut emotional punches that we love so much here. Kinsale’s strength comes from complex characters who, in a genre full of tropes and iterations and reiterations, are singular.

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Bow Street Runners Feb 20, 2024

The Bow Street Runners, like Newgate Prison, are one of those setting markers that tells historical romance readers “oh we’re in a historical romance in London, probably in pre-Victorian.” A few different authors have written whole series centered on Runners as heroes—Lisa Kleypas, Kate Bateman, Jillian Eaton, and they pop up in quite a few different standalone books as well. But like how we investigated in our Newgate Prison episode, we’re interested in the why and the how of Bow Street becoming a part of the historical romance canon of setting markers. The proto-police force existed for a little less than a century, initially differed greatly in their mission than police forces of today, and would be nearly obsolete by the time Queen Victoria was crowned.

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The Silver Devil Feb 06, 2024

The Silver Devil was published by Jacqui Bianchi, under the pen name of Teresa Denys, in 1978. We’ve talked before about bodice rippers with a cult reputation, and The Silver Devil, set in the “opulence and intrigue” of Renaissance Italy, is perhaps the moodiest, bloodiest, most devilish bodice ripper of them all. Denys only published two books: 1978’s The Silver Devil, and 1980’s The Flesh and the Devil, before her death in the late 1980s. While most out of print books fade into obscurity, both Denys’s books remain cult classics to this day.

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Forever & Ever Dec 19, 2023

We’re finishing our journey through Patricia Gaffney’s Wyckerley trilogy. Published in 1996, the final installment in the trilogy, Forever & Ever, is an enemies-to-lovers class difference romance between Connor Pendarvis, a man who goes undercover in copper and tin mines to expose shoddy working conditions, and Sophie Deene, the young and beautiful owner of Wyckerley’s copper mine. What do you do when the woman of your dreams is also the source of your suffering? Is this a gap that can, or should, be bridged? Forever & Ever takes on the difficult questions but doesn't provide easy answers – there’s no refined neatness to life and love, and labor is at the center of everything.

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To Have & to Hold Dec 05, 2023

This is our second episode in our trilogy on Patricia Gaffney’s Wyckerley series. Published in September 1995, To Have & to Hold is the story of Sebastian Verlaine, the new Viscount D’Aubrey and Rachel Wade, an outsider to Wyckerley. Rachel, until very recently, had been incarcerated for ten years for killing her abusive husband. Sebastian and Rachel meet in strange circumstances for a romance novel: she is being arraigned for vagrancy, having no place to live after her release from prison, and Sebastian, in his new role as viscount is one of the magistrates overlooking this procedure. Sebastian is immediately struck by Rachel’s story and appearance and rather than have her sent back to prison, he offers to employ her as his housekeeper. But do not mistake this act as one of beneficence—he makes it clear that he has less honorable intentions toward Rachel. Join us on a fraught journey as we discuss prison, justice, and redemption.

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To Love & to Cherish Nov 21, 2023

The first of the Wyckerley trilogy, To Love & To Cherish came out on January 1, 1995. To borrow the subtitle from Middlemarch, it’s a study in provincial life. Set in 1854 in the fictional village of Wyckerley is alive with Dickensian characters and glimpses of heroes yet to star in their own books. Patricia Gaffney has said the favorite among her historical romances is To Love & To Cherish and it’s easy to see why. The romance centers on the vicar Christian Morrell and the wife of his childhood best friend Anne Verlaine. Anne’s husband Geoffrey, a man struggling with illness, doesn’t care for his wife and wishes to return to the adventure of soldiering. Anne piques Christy’s interest. Anne finds him equally fascinating and doesn’t think her marriage should be any impediment to a relationship between them. Join us for the first installment of the Reformed Rakes reading the Wyckerley trilogy.

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Barbara Cartland Nov 07, 2023

If you were to ask someone in the 20th century what a romance novelist looked like, they’d likely have visions of pink chiffon, bright blue eyeshadow, false eyelashes, and excessive costume jewelry thanks to one woman: Barbara Cartland, who was dubbed by the Romantic Times as the “Queen of Romance.” Cartland was larger than life, but like most outsized figures, the “self-publicizing juggernaut’ was also very controversial. From the 1920s until her death in the year 2000 she wrote over 700 novels, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Strap in as our resident himbo takes Emma and Beth through the highs and lows of Cartland’s life.

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The Earl I Ruined Oct 24, 2023

What is an 'unforgivable act'? This week, the rakes explore one heroine's egregious behavior, and the lengths she'll go to to make things right. Peckham's The Earl I Ruined is a Georgian historical romance that's full of surprises: kisses in a wig closet, devastating reveals, and the fresh scent of a pining hero. Join us, sinners! It's bound to be a wild time.

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Indigo Oct 10, 2023

Indigo by Beverly Jenkins follows Hester Wyatt, a conductor on the Michigan Underground Railroad. Hester’s hands are marked by indigo, a remnant from her days as an enslaved person on an indigo plantation. When she hides the notorious Black Daniel as he recovers from injuries, he challenges her. Hester finds the man aggravating and attractive in equal measure. As he pushes for a relationship, Hester’s not sure she can make the jump. Her father sold himself into slavery to be with her mother, so to Hester, love is a dangerous thing. Beverly Jenkins famously leans on the historical part of historical romances. She’s written 18th and 19th century stories set in various cities and states in America.

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Mistress of Mellyn Sep 26, 2023

In Mistress of Mellyn, widower Connan TreMellyn hires Martha Leigh on as the governess to his eight-year-old daughter Alvean. Like many a governess before her, Martha finds mystery and murder at the Mount Mellyn estate. As she comes to know Connan she develops feelings for him but as the governess occupies the space where she’s not a servant but she’s not his social equal either. In this episode, the Reformed Rakes team up with Andrea Martucci from Shelf Love to discuss gothics of the 1960s, Eleanor Hibbert and her pen names, twin estates, and many references to Jane Eyre and Daphne du Maurier. (Spoilers for Wuthering Heights.)

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Gaywyck Sep 12, 2023

Gaywyck was published by Avon in 1980. Set on the Long Island estate of the wealthy Gaylord family in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Gaywyck charts an inter-generational terror born of abuse, madness, and unrequited love. We follow the protagonist Robbie as he arrives at the estate as the librarian. Like most gothic romances of the era, Gaywyck is a book that takes a microscope to cruelty. Please join the Rakes as we discuss people’s obsession with “good representation”, the Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde aspect of twins, cyclical violence, war profiteering, and Virga’s many movie references.

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The Jade Temptress Aug 29, 2023

The Rakes read the second book in the Lotus Palace series, The Jade Temptress by Jeannie Lin. Set during the Tang Dynasty in China in Chang’an, the capital, the series touches back to the Lotus Palace, a school and home for courtesans. Mingyu is one of the most sought-after courtesans, and she crosses paths with the constable Wu Kaifeng after her protector General Deng has been found murdered. It’s hard to convey through a plot summary how well Jeannie Lin builds sexual tension, but like Emma says in the episode, every scene between Mingyu and Kaifeng is charged.

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Rake Recommends Aug 15, 2023

What exactly do the Reformed Rakes read when they don’t read historical romance? Okay, so half these books are historicals, BUT we recommended to each other what we want the other rake to read. Chels and Beth finally got Emma to read contemporary romance. Emma wanted Beth to try Mary Balogh again and Camille from Someone to Hold is important to both of them now. Emma and Beth recommended historicals to Chels lmao because they wanted Chels’ opinion on those books okay. It’s a good time.

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Interview: Sharon Spiak & Shirley Green Aug 01, 2023

A clinch, if you’re unfamiliar, is the type of romance novel cover where the couple is embracing, seemingly in flagrante delicto. Gowns are hiked up, cravats are discarded, and hair billows from some unseen force. For this special episode, I got to interview Sharon Spiak, a former romance cover illustrator who currently costumes and styles photoshoots, and Shirley Green, a photographer who has shot many of your favorite book covers over the past few decades. Join us to find out what, exactly, goes into the making of a clinch cover.

You can find excerpts from this interview, with accompanying imagery, on The Loose Cravat.

Sharon Spiak has prints of her oil paintings for sale, and they’re stunning. You can find them here.

You can find Shirley Green on her website, and follow her Pomeranian Rocky on Instagram.

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Cheating Jul 17, 2023

Cheating is often regarded as the worst thing that a character in romance can do. Here at Reformed Rakes we love the meanies, so we try to get to the bottom of the knee-jerk disdain for cheating in books by dissecting historical romances that contain infidelity. We're joined this week by our first guest, Bayley, who you can find @bayleyreadsbooks on TikTok, and @bayleyreads on Twitter.

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Stormfire Jul 04, 2023

Stormfire by Christine Monson is a bodice ripper with a reputation for violence. Set during the Irish rebellion of 1798, Sean Culhane kidnaps his political enemy’s daughter, Catherine Enderly, out of revenge. Here at Reformed Rakes, we don’t believe romance books are instructional manuals or need to portray relationships to aspire to. With that disclaimer, today we’ll talk about Monson’s powerful story about cyclical violence, grounded in political strife between two enemies.

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A Taxonomy of Rakes Jun 19, 2023

In the spirit of excess and self-indulgence, the rakes inspect our own characters. What is a historical romance rake, and can they be categorized by type? Join us as we discuss Byronic rakes, malevolent seducers, charming rakes, loquacious weirdos, and so much more. This is a fun one with lots of recommendations, so ignore your gambling debts and hop in your curricle, we're on our way to the Hellfire Club!
For further reading, check out A Taxonomy of Rakes on Chels’ Subastack.

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A Bride for the Prizefighter Jun 06, 2023

Come with us to Cornwall as we discuss A Bride for the Prizefighter by Alice Coldbreath, a working class romance between a former schoolteacher and a prizefighting publican. This episode includes discussion of the gothic POV, stargazy pie, and a desperate plea to for historical romance authors to write more non-aristocratic main characters.

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Unmasked by the Marquess May 23, 2023

The first in the regency imposter series by Cat Sebastian, the book centers on a romance between Alistair de Lacey and Mr. Robert Selby. As their relationship progresses, we learn Mr. Robert Selby was born Charity Church. For her own reasons she’s put on the Robert Selby persona but she’s not a woman dressing as a man, only. In this episode, the rakes discuss historical accuracy, the importance of names, the most romantic crime (property fraud obviously), acknowledging family, and why we love starchy characters becoming unstarched.

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Newgate Prison May 09, 2023

Newgate prison served as the main punitive facility in London for six centuries until it closed in 1902. If you expect this genre to be limited to country houses and The Ton, you might be surprised at how often authors invoke Newgate in their stories. Newgate as a recurring thematic space becomes shorthand for terror, grime, and pain. What’s the effect then when it’s invoked in a romance novel? In this episode, the rakes cover Newgate itself and several books that fictionalize Newgate. Much of what we talk about stems from Emma’s current research on Newgate.

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The Ruin of Evangeline Jones Apr 24, 2023

The rakes discuss The Ruin of Evangeline Jones by Julia Bennet, a Victorian romance between the Duke of Harcastle and a medium. The Duke, Alex, occupies himself by exposing mediums. His latest target, Evie, challenges his reasons for doing so and, they fall for each other. The rakes talk about mediums in Victorian England, the choices characters have to make when there really isn’t a choice, the history of photography, and garbage fathers.

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Miscommunication Apr 11, 2023

Why can't we just talk to each other? The Reformed Rakes have an honest conversation about why miscommunication is so reviled in romance, and argue that miscommunication is necessary for a genre that is so character driven. In this episode, we go over miscommunication vs miscommunication trope, outline different types of miscommunication, and talk about some of our favorite historical romance books where signals are missed, words are misinterpreted, and assumptions are made.

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Romance BookTok Apr 04, 2023

The Reformed Rakes tackle booktok. Often touted as the savior of Barnes & Noble (questionable), and a driver of romance book sales (unclear). We review several articles making those claims, including from NPR and The Guardian, and make our Citation Needed loud and clear. These articles often reference authors who say romance readers feel less shame about sex and that happily ever after has “come back in fashion.” What stats these articles do offer mostly comes from NPD BookScan: a subscription service accessible only to publishers.

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Cecilia Grant Mar 21, 2023

The Reformed Rakes talk about Cecilia Grant’s Blackshear series. Cecilia Grant published the first Blackshear, A Lady Awakened, on January 1, 2011. She published a book a year until 2014. The Blackshears series deals with themes of family reconciliation, labor, and the economics of sex. The Rakes heartily recommend all three books as singular examples of the high angst, high reward relationships in historical romance.

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