The Spinster and the Rake was a quick and light read, basically what you would expect from a Regency Romance written in the early 80's. When I read this book I did not realize that it was a reissue to ebook format from an earlier book. This totally explains why there was no point in the book when Ronan considered killing Gillian. Ronan is a good old fashion rake. A romance and leave 'em hanging type of rake and not really a probable sociopath like most of the love interests in Stuart's later books. To be honest, I kind of missed the edge of a dangerous and unpredictably violent hero. But I still enjoyed the book. I liked Gillian (even though she was a bit of a victim in the beginning). She does start pushing back at her family's insistence on controlling her and her life and I appreciated this bit of character development. I also liked Ronan (even through he wasn't exactly evil). I liked that he was honestly interested in Gillian as a person and did want to protect her from his own past mistakes. The Spinster and the Rake was an entertaining book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes lighter romantic stories. I received an ARC for an honest review.