Book Review: 50 Ways to Ruin a Rake by Jade Lee

I didn’t like this book at all.  The cover was nice but the story left much to be desired.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

I didn’t like the main characters.  At first Melinda starts out as a strong woman taking control of her destiny. She won’t give her uncle her cosmetic formula because she wants the money for herself so she can go to London and find someone who will love her so she isn’t stuck marrying her cousin Ronnie. This sounds good but several times throughout the story she says that Ronnie will probably be the one she winds up marrying even though she doesn’t want to. If she is strong enough to stand up to her family, why would she later give in and marry Ronnie?

Also, I didn’t like how she later is willing to give the formula over to a man so he can make lots of money and she would be his mistress. What happened to wanting the money so she can control her own life?

I also don’t like how she gives herself to Trevor when he is drunk and leaves when he is asleep and then gets mad when he doesn’t act like she wants. She also complains a lot about the duel that Trevor and Ronnie fought in the beginning of the book but then later makes a spectacle of herself. I felt that for a woman who was strong enough to fight for what she wanted – a chance to go to London to find someone to love her – she is awfully quick to give up on the man she loves and accept someone who doesn’t love her and never will.

As for Trevor, he is selfish and continuously refers to Melinda as being “beneath him”. He also caves to Eleanor’s suggestion and abandons her once they get to England. He also says no kissing but then keeps kissing her and being intimate. Even after he decided he wants her, he never has a conversation with Melinda to if that is what she wants. He just assumes to know what she wants because of the deal they made – which he convinced her to make. He should have known then that she didn’t really want the deal.

As far as the secondary characters, they were irritating. Her father was a jerk who doesn’t know his own daughter. Ronnie is an idiot. Her uncle is a bully. Eleanor acts like she is jealous and wants Trevor for herself.

I also don’t like how there was no epilogue to tell us if Trevor ever makes it right with his family.

*I received a free book in exchange for my unbiased review.