Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: A Duke’s Wager
SERIES: Rent a Rake #1
AUTHOR: Renee Dahlia
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 104 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2026
BLURB:
Maurice Everett, the Duke of Edenwick, would do anything for his stable master, Sebastian Wildgoose. Rather than acknowledge his depth of feelings for Wildgoose, or how attractive his stable master is, Maurice decides that the next best thing is to buy Wildgoose the horse that he desires. Except the Prince Regent refuses to sell, offering Maurice a bet instead.
The Wager: Train four zebras to pull a four-in-hand carriage.
The Prize: Derby winning colt Smolensk.
When Sebastian Wildgoose hears about the wager, he shakes his head at the toffs and their nonsense. If only adding a Derby winner to the Duke’s farm wasn’t so appealing… Almost as appealing as kissing the Duke, or making him smile. It was beyond foolish to think that a Duke would lower himself to show any interest in a mere stable master, and yet, it happens.
It can’t happen again. Can it?
REVIEW:
Sebastian is “A lowly orphan of possibly Indian or mixed heritage plucked from the Duke Street Orphanage…” to help work on the Duke of Edinwick’s estate. He is a master horseman and was promoted to stable master at 19. He loves his job and does not want to do anything to put it in jeopardy. This is historical, where even being suspected of being a sodomite can get you killed. The Duke himself, Maurice, is in love with Sebastian, though they don’t announce it. What he wants is to gift Sebastian with a Derby winner, Smolensk. However, Prinny, the Prince Regent, won’t see the horse. Instead, he proposes a wager. If Maurice can train four zebras to become a four-in-hand team and drive them with a carriage at the race, he will give Smolensk to Maurice. Ironic that to win the wager for Sebastian, Sebastian himself has to train the zebras. Let’s mention that the names of the zebras made me smile. Stripes, Wibble, Dungeon and…Bob.
So Sebastian begins the training. I think because of the length of the book (it’s only 104 pages), things move quickly. Sebastian and Maurice have sex and this brings the difference in their status forward. Maurice tends to not understand what regular life is like. As evidenced when he finds out Sebastian’s cottage has no bath. Or when one of the horses Sebastian has trained wins and Maurice doesn’t realize that “Only members and trainers are allowed in there.” He never thought about it. “Could a commoner become a member?”
The fight is basically Maurice trying to figure out how to be with Sebastian and Sebastian fighting it because it is impossible. Maurice has so much protection from his title, and Sebastian does not. “He didn’t need the reminder of their class difference and if he wasn’t so tired, he might have rolled his eyes.”
I liked how Sebastian does not kowtow to Maurice. He treats him like a person, not like THE DUKE. I loved the idea behind Rent a Rake, and I’ve read so many historicals that really need that help. One thing I found odd was when Sir Ernest came to visit. All through this are reminders that they have to be careful about any relationship, yet when Ernest is talking about it in front of the staff, Maurice says, “We can speak freely in front of my servants. They know to hold their tongues outside the estate.” Well, then what is the problem?
I liked Sebastian and Maurice a lot, and loved Ernest. The historical aspect was a little brushed over, perhaps because of the book’s length. Ernest is the next in the series, and I can’t wait to see what he does.
RATING: 
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