Review - One Good Earl Deserves a Lover (The Rules of Scoundrels #2) by Sarah MacLean

Title: One Good Earl Deserves a Lover

Author: Sarah MacLean

Series: 2nd (A Rogue by Any Other Name)

Pages: 373 

Published:January 29th 2013 by Avon 

ISBN: 9780062068538

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

 

Description: Lady Philippa Marbury is odd. The bespectacled, brilliant fourth daughter of the Marquess of Needham and Dolby cares more for books than balls, flora than fashion and science than the season. Nearly engaged to Lord Castleton, Pippa wants to explore the scandalous parts of London she's never seen before marriage. And she knows just who to ask: the tall, charming, quick-witted bookkeeper of The Fallen Angel, London's most notorious and coveted gaming hell, known only as Cross. Like any good scientist, Pippa's done her research and Cross's reputation makes him perfect for her scheme. She wants science without emotion—the experience of ruination without the repercussions of ruination. And who better to provide her with the experience than this legendary man? But when this odd, unexpected female propositions Cross, it's more than tempting . . . and it will take everything he has to resist following his instincts—and giving the lady precisely what she wants. 

I Give This ...

  

I was so excited to learn that this second book was about Lady Philippa.  There was something about her in this first book that just really grabbed me.  I love stories that let the blue stocking girl fall in love.

I love that Pippa tries to made everything about love and marriage a scientific thing.  She doesn't understand things that you can't explain.  Since she hasn't experienced any of it, she doesn't feel like she can undertake her vows without fully understanding what it means.  I love that she's though this whole thing through to the point that she knows who to ask.  And it never crosses her mind to be afraid of what she is considering doing.  In her mind it's nothing more than research.  

I think Cross might be one of my favorite male romance characters.  When we learn the full extent of his past and how he's been punishing himself, I was amazed that he had any willpower at all.  I think Pippa was just the women he needed to forgive himself for his past sins.

The more I learn about this gaming hell, the more intrigues me.  While obviously not a business of well repute, it has an interesting reputation.  It has some interesting secrets as do its owners.  I'm happy to learn a few more of them in the next book in the series.