Do you like plants, winged fae, and simmering sexual tension boiling over? Then A Rake of His Own by A J Lancaster will be your poison of choice.
I was privileged enough to read an ARC of this book, which is currently up for preorder, with a release date of 28 October 2022.
I’ve been dying to read this book for ages. That cover! That title! Lancaster did not disappoint — I enjoyed every moment of this book. Marius was my favourite character in the main Stariel Quartet, and I am very partial to botany, so I suppose it was a given, but even so: this book met all of my expectations.
A Rake of His Own is a different sort of book than the other Stariel books. It’s a murder mystery. It has different pacing, different stakes. Also, its heat level is different. That is to say, it is steamier (which I was very much in favour of). All of these differences make sense for these characters, who they are, and how they react to one another.
A Rake of His Own can be read as a standalone, but it has the most impact if you have read the other Stariel books and you have seen the history of these characters up to this point (because they do have a history).
Top tier book, I highly recommend!
Marius Valstar doesn’t know which is worse: the dead body in his greenhouse or the naked fae prince on his desk.
The only rakes of interest to Marius are garden tools. Not fae princes. Certainly not the arrogant, selfish fae prince he has the misfortune to have a history with.
But when Prince Rakken turns up naked and bleeding in Marius’s college the same day a body appears in his greenhouse, scruples must take second place to solving a murder that could unravel the delicate balance between humans and fae.
Marius’s own developing magical powers are more hindrance than help – as is Rakken’s bloodied past. Forced to work together, they must forge an uneasy alliance if they are to track down the killer. But how can Marius trust the man who represents everything he’s trying to avoid?
A Rake of His Own is a steamy m/m gaslamp fantasy featuring a melodramatic fae prince, a beleaguered botanist, and a second-chance enemies-to-lovers romance. It occurs chronologically after the events of The Stariel Quartet, but can be read as a standalone.
