Review: Vivienne Lorret’s HOW TO STEAL A SCOUNDREL’S HEART.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I had never read Vivienne Lorret before but I took the leap after a trusted friend’s recommendation. How to Steal a Scoundrel’s Heart has a lot to offer with a former rake hero who’s all **this is just temporary, of course it’s not love** energy, a heroine who really tries to wrangle control over her “ruin” fallout, & a sweet & sensual love story that delights.

In the eyes of (most of) Society Prudence Thorogood has been ruined. She approaches known rake, Leo, Marquess of Savage, & asks him to shortlist her as a possible mistress option. They’ve met before though, & unbeknownst to Prudence Leo is so smitten (I mean it’s only lust, nothing more 🤣) with her that he agrees immediately.

She moves in with him & basically the rest of the book is them navigating that arrangement & their unexpected emotions toward the other.

The basic interactions between Prudence & Leo give me everything I’m looking for. I stan a resourceful, determined heroine who’s willing to do what it takes to survive in a society that wants her to crumple, to stay down.

& I’m all heart eyes for a hero who is gone from the word go but fights it every step of the way.

The friendship rep in here made me happy & intrigued (looking at you, Sterling), the hero’s protective streak is 👏🏻, & I love some heisting.

What doesn’t work for me so much is how a weightier topic is handled, specifically Prudence’s lingering trauma over her first sexual experience, which was painful physically & emotionally. Honestly I even felt unsettled about Prudence & Leo’s basic arrangement given that fact & Prudence’s feelings about having sex with someone again. I think it’s a matter of how it’s executed for me.

Setting aside that aspect of the plot, as well as the random dog on the cover which @angelareadsromance mentioned in earlier Stories 🤣, overall this romance is a lot of fun & I’ll definitely think about picking up another Lorret book in the future.

4 ⭐️. Release date: 05/24


CWs: Past traumatic sexual experience, including bruises & pain. “Ruined” woman. Abandoned by father & stepmother & shamed family. Previous death of mother.


[ID: a white woman wearing a blue polka dotted dress holds an ereader outside, surrounded by grass, some logs, & trees.]