I wouldn't consider Sally Orr's To Catch a Rake a romance, though I did stop at the 50% mark so maybe things drastically changed in the second half of this book. I was very disappointed that I didn't like this book because I had been looking forward to trying Sally Orr out. I tried to read the first two books in the series to better prepare myself for what I thought would be amazing. I had no justification for my hopes except the premise of the Rake's Handbook and some lovely covers.
Back to what I was saying earlier, I never felt any spark of romance. When Meta began to have anything close to feelings for George, she would quickly shove them out of her mind to "examine later" (which never seemed to happen) or just get confused about them. This frustrated me to no end. George also never displayed any romantic feelings. Honestly he was mostly rude to her. Don't be confused however, there was some lusty kisses shared. This also frustrated me though because she didn't seem to bat an eye about the kissing, but she was appalled at some of his lesser actions.
I will warn you that unless you are into civil or structural engineering, a lot of conversation will bore you to pieces. Heck! I am a civil engineer and this bored me. The tunnel that George is working on is a huge part of everything, and he uses this as an excuse to treat people poorly. He apologizes afterward or is a perfect charming gentleman if he sees some benefit towards his career goals. Both leads seemed a little self-centered.
I hate to be a downer, but there wasn't a thing I liked about this book. The characters weren't consistent or interesting, the plot was confusing, the conflict wasn't enticing. It took me way too long to get to the 50% mark, and I've begun developing a rule/guideline of why finish something you just are not into. Maybe the plot and romance pick up in the last half, and it could be phenomenal. But I think Sally Orr needs to trap her readers a little earlier in the game.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
Sally Orr worked for 30 years in academic research, then one day a friend challenged her to write a novel. Since she is a hopeless Anglophile, her books are naturally Regency-era romances. She lives with her husband in San Diego surrounded by too many books and not enough old English cars.
Sally Orr worked for thirty years in medical research, specializing in the discovery of gene function. After joining an English history message board, she posted many, many examples of absolute tomfoolery. As a result, a cyber-friend challenged her to write a novel. Since she is a hopeless Anglophile, it’s not surprising that her first book is a Regency-era romance. Sally lives with her husband in San Diego, surrounded by too many nonfiction books and not enough old English cars. 
