About the Book

Book: Redeeming the Rake

Author: Lorri Dudley

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: August 20, 2024

He’s bent on destroying everything she values, stealing her heart in the process.

As a vicar’s daughter, Emily Thompson has always put her family’s reputation first, even when it meant setting aside her aspirations of joining the Royal Art Academy. But when a notorious London rake is accosted in her sleepy Costwold village and her quick thinking saves the libertine’s blackened soul, that reputation she’s so carefully guarded is left vulnerable to vicious gossip.

Agent Lord Jacob Edward Warren’s silver tongue can’t save him when he’s staring down the barrel of a vengeful husband’s gun. but an enchanting damsel’s skill with a bow and arrow offers him the hope of tomorrow. Intrigued by Miss Thompson’s quiet charm, he commissions the budding artist to paint his portrait, but his intensions change when he discovers this beguiling beauty holds not only his chance at redemption but also the intelligence he’s been assigned to gather.

The time spent in Lord Warren’s company has Emily wondering if he’s hiding more than charm and wit behind his reputation as a rake. But when she’s drawn into Jacob’s noble cause, the web of danger proves more perilous than either of them are prepared to face.

My Review:

Home Office agent, Lord Jacob Warren, has been tasked with stopping a band of highway robbers who are terrorizing the Cotswolds. Where they are operating is perfect for Jacob since it is in the vicinity of his aunt’s house and the son he has been trying to find for years. When Jacob first goes to the village to help his aunt with her home his reputation of being a rake has preceded him. His banter and comments do not impress Vicar Thompson’s adopted daughter, Emily. How does a man leave the past behind and move forward?

Emily’s world has been rocked when she learns the identity of her parents, and she has a difficult time in knowing that she is not like them in regards to their behavior. There is a bit of a twist when Jacob has to remind her (and himself) that things of the past do not define who you are and who you can become.

I loved how the story progresses. Jacob truly repents from his rakish ways, but he must prove to Emily that he is no longer the man he had been. Author Lorri Dudley did an excellent job in showing Jacob’s past, present, and future when all four women whom were a part of his life are all together at a social event. I would not have wanted to be him at that gathering!

Read for:

Near death rescue

Painting

Danger

Christian

Strong faith element

Second chances

Redemption

Plot twist

“Love is about relationship, knowing each other deeply, our hopes, dreams, fears, and mistakes.”

While this is the third book in the Agents of Espionage, it can be read as a standalone. I recommend reading this if you like an inspirational story filled with faith, danger, and romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through the author and Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in Psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household.

More from Lorri

Before I started writing books, I used to teach art at a local Christian school for first through fifth grade. Having a main character as an artist was a delight. I wrote Emily’s view of vibrant colors, light and shadows, shapes, and perspective from my personal experience and enjoyed putting an artist’s visual viewpoint into words.

A clash of characters—the Neoclassic vs. Romantic method

The early 1800s ushered in a change from the Neoclassical to the Romantic movement. (They had me at romantic.) Neoclassical art focused on traditional subject matter, often contemporary Lord and Ladies, political figures, or Roman mythological characters. The style used prominent horizontal and vertical renderings in a shallow space with sober colors, and brush strokes weren’t to be seen. Romanticism, on the other hand, focused on imagination, an awe of nature, emotion, and individualism. Romanticists painted with a broader brush—literally and figuratively.

Emily and Jacob’s relationship becomes the merging of the two art movements. Although Emily is artistic, she’s traditional and holds herself in check, afraid to make mistakes or act freely due to a fear of people’s perceptions and being a vicar’s daughter. She sees the world in bright colors and displays a touch of Romanticism in her artwork. When not painting, Emily sees herself and her future in plain and sobering colors. She keeps her world small and shallow to protect her family’s reputation, especially her beloved and impressionable younger brother.

Lord Jacob Warren is the born-to-be-wild, laugh in the face of danger, third-born son, who doesn’t care a wit what others think as long as he accomplishes his mission as a spy. However, his individualistic, romantic side is intrigued by the vicar’s daughter who saves his life, and he’s curious about the woman who’d pound on his chest and scream, “You will live, in Jesus’s name!” His emotions stir when Emily notices details about him that others never bothered to learn and becomes charmed by her natural beauty.

Jacob and Emily may paint with different brushstrokes, but their love, when blended, demonstrates a powerful masterpiece, the kind of love that only God could orchestrate.

Enjoy!