Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake

Author: Laurie Brown
Published: September 2007 (Sourcebooks)
Category:Paranormal/Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10

Oftentimes, heroines in historical romances are actually historical women acting like modern women. In Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake, I finally got to see what it would be like to see a real modern woman stuck in the Regency period. I was a bit wary at first, as I used to think time travel in romances was a horribly cheesy gimmick, due to an unfortunate read of a 90s Timeswept romance.

Josie Drummond, a paranormal investigator, has been working at Waite Castle at the owner's request, trying to certify the existence of the ghost of Lord Deverell Thornton, previously of the Regency period, and noted rake. Amelia Thornton, the last of her line, doesn't have the funds to maintain the castle, and hopes to open the castle to the public, but needs an official ghost certification to draw them in, even though she knows that there really is a ghost. In fact, she takes tea with him every day. As Josie prepares to tell Amelia that there is no evidence of a castle ghost, Deverell appears. He offers her a deal: Go back in time to the Regency period to defraud a charlatan of a medium and he'll answer all her questions about being a ghost.

It is hugely amusing to see Josie go through a crash course in Regency etiquette, dancing, and customs. Amelia, as a former history professor specializing in the period, reveals fascinating details about the period, including the intricacies of dining. Did you know they kept a chamber pot in the corner of the dining room for guests to use? Or that female guests followed their hostess's lead for turning to speak to their left or right neighbor? There was so much to the logistics of the dinner table that I was totally sucked in and it made me rethink previous Regency romances I've read. And I learned more about dancing, and how one dance can last an hour if it has many couples in the line.

Deverell transports Josie back in time, just before his untimely death by duel, so a love triangle begins between Deverell the ghost, Josie, and Dev before death. Of course, Dev doesn't know he's in a triangle. He's just attracted to this American woman who is so unlike any woman he's ever known. However, he's a notorious rake, so he figures the only way to handle this strange new feeling he's experiencing, is to get rid of it by ravishing Josie. Surely after satisfying his desire, the feeling will disappear, as that bizarre male logic dictates. But he keeps imagining a future with Josie, something he's never done before with any other woman. Deverell the ghost finds himself jealous of his former self, and protective of Josie, yet frustrated because he can't do much to help her. And Josie finds herself wanting to be with Dev and missing Deverell when he isn't around. Is she falling in love with the ghost or the man or both?

The mystery of the medium was well developed and the combination of the romance and mystery was balanced perfectly. Too often, the mystery/obstacle portion of a romance novel can be awfully flimsy to the point where you wonder why the author even bothered, but I found myself sucked into reading about the scheme Josie exposed. Supporting characters and minor villains were vivid without hogging the spotlight, and some were pretty funny too.

The ending was surprising, one of those last chapters where you're not quite sure what happened at first and then it clicks after you've read a page. Is Deverell still a ghost? Is it Dev or Deverell? But it was a lovely ending and rather fitting for the book.

I couldn't put it down; this was a great read from start to finish and was extremely well written for a first novel. I have never read a romance like this and I hope to read more by Laurie Brown in the future.