Book Review: Reforming Lord Ragsdale

I know, I know, I'm reviewing another historical this week.  I'm just on a historical kick these days and Carla Kelly is my author of choice these last two weeks.  She really weaves history in with deep characters and I enjoy her writing style.  Reforming Lord Ragsdale was no exception.

We are introduced to Lord Ragsdale, a second son who is nursing both physical and emotional wounds from a war that made him hate the Irish.  When his American cousins arrive with an Irish indentured servant, he loses his temper and lets his hatred be known.

Emma is bewildered by Lord Ragsdale's behavior, but is an indentured servant, so she tries not to let it bother her.  When her "employer" puts her up as collateral in a card game, she is stunned when Lord Ragsdale comes to her rescue.  Although she wonders if she's gone from the frying pan into the fire when she realizes she is now indentured to Lord Ragsdale.

The story goes from there with these two emotionally damaged people trying to heal from past events as well as deal with the present.  I loved how Emma was written, so down-to-earth and with real feelings about what has happened to her.  Lord Ragsdale also has his good qualities and it was definitely a page-turner to see how things were all going to turn out for the two of them.  The book had a slow build with a satisfying ending, and yet, I hope we see more of these two characters in another book someday.

Here is the back copy:


The infamous Lord Ragsdale is as rich as sin, as sinful as he is rich, and as heartless as he is handsome. But after he saves Emma from a life of indentured servitude and shame, she decides that it is her personal duty to save him from his wicked ways.

Step one: stop his drinking, his gaming, and his wild revelry.

Step two: make him break up with his mistress, the superbly sensual Fae Moullé, and transform him into a suitable suitor for the ideal wife that prim and proper Lady Clarissa Partridge would be.

Step three: don’t fall in love with him.

In this book, bestselling author Carla Kelly has woven a beautiful story of love, transformation, and living life to the fullest.