The Importance of Being Wicked

The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville

Lady Caroline Townsend shocked society, and her very uptight family, when she eloped with the notorious Robert Townsend. Their marriage was full of adventure and laughter and friends, but was marred by Robert's addiction to gambling and booze and his passion for expensive art- even when they could ill afford it. Caro is now barely scraping by, trying to pay off Robert's debts, and still finding a way to feed and house various starving artists and friends at fabulous parties. Thomas, the Duke of Castleton, is stuffy and pretentious; the complete opposite of the carefree Caro, nonetheless the two are smitten with each other at first sight. He originally plans to court her cousin, the very wealthy Anne, because it is a family tradition and his own parents love match ended poorly. But he cannot contemplate marrying anyone else when the only thing he can think about is Caro. Caro wants to get underneath "Lord Stuffy's" stuffy exterior, but he is far too noble to engage in the affair that she desires. When he proposes she is initially reluctant, but agrees because she does like him and because she imagines a life where she no longer has to worry about money.

Their marriage is founded on lies as Thomas is actually having money problems of his own because of some poor investments his father made. Caro is hiding a very valuable Titian painting that Robert bought and continues to go around with her wild friends, whom Thomas disapproves of, and who relentlessly make fun of her new husband. Thomas is remarkably good natured about everything because he quickly finds himself in love with the vibrant woman he has married. Caro is more reserved, because she cannot trust anyone after her marriage even while refusing to admit how truly awful her marriage was. She takes Thomas in hand, helping him learn how to please a lady in bed, but refuses to give up her wild lifestyle. A tragic accident has Thomas taking Caro to his estate to recooperates and in the glow of family and love they find a way to make their relationship with as Caro realizes she truly loves the amazing man she has married and lets go of her past.

Caro was a heroine who brought up a lot of contradictory feelings from me. I admired her carefree and lively spirit, her independence, and her refusal to conform to society's norms or her husbands orders. However, I feel like so much of what she did was just beyond stupid, was rude to the man who pledged his love and life to her, and was done purely to cause a stir. She continued to flirt and support people who were rude to her husband and who openly tried to seduce her. She refused to admit to herself for the longest time that her marriage to Robert had been unhappy and focused on the things about him she had liked and the reasons she had run away with him in the first place. She was drowning in debt and continued supporting random people and held onto a valuable painting that could have solved her problems. Her inability to admit her feelings for Thomas were bewildering because she simultaneously didn't want to make herself vulnerable to hurt like she had with Robert, but she also refused to admit that Robert had ever really hurt her (even though he SO obviously had).

I liked Thomas, pretty much except for his relationship with Caro because he was such a wet blanket. He just nodded and took her to bed when her friends mocked him and she laughed. He had a modicum of anger when he found out she'd gone horseback riding without him (she wasn't good and it was dangerous) and with a notorious rake who hid in their closet and listened to them have sex. I feel like they were so mismatched that there was no way their relationship could ever survive. There were a few sex scenes between them, mostly just kisses and then fade to next scene. I liked that Caro was the more experienced of the two and had to help him learn, but unfortunately she didn't shy away from talking about her deceased husband while with Thomas. How did he not just walk out? And why did she harbor this mythical love for the horrible Robert? I feel like so much of what she did was to get back at her overly controlling parents, which makes sense for a teenage, but when you're a grown woman still pulling that gimmic it's just ridiculous.

Rating: I could not stand Caro and thought that Thomas was a fool for imagining himself in love with her and I can't believe two such mismatched people could ever be happy.

Duke of Midnight

Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt

Maximus Batten, the Duke of Wakefield, is but a child when he witnesses his parents being murdered in St. Giles. Now he rules Parliament and is a model of propriety in society, but in his secret life he is one of the Ghosts of St. Giles, protecting the people and secretly hunting for the person who murdered his parents. Artemis Greaves is a ladies companion for her spoiled, but naively sympathetic, cousin Penelope, because of a tragedy that left her brother wrongly accused of murder and locked up in Bedlam. One evening she is forced into St. Giles because of her cousin and when the two are accosted they are rescued by the Ghost and in the struggle, Artemis pulls Maximus' family ring off his finger. Maximus is trying to court the equally proper Lady Penelope, but once Artemis puts together all of the clues she recognizes Maximus as the ghost and decides to use this knowledge to help her brother, Apollo. She threatens to go to the police if Maximus doesn't help her brother escape.

Maximus is trapped, but he can't help but find himself drawn to the withdrawing young lady who hides in the back ground but has no problems blackmailing a Duke. He agrees to help her and she becomes companion to his sister so she can be closer to Apollo, but also means that she is much closer to him. Artemis wants to figure out why Maximus continues to go out, putting his life at risk and wonders what has happened to turn him into a cold and seemingly heartless man. But Artemis begins to melt Maximus and he finds himself thinking about more than just revenge and his parents' fate. Kisses and caresses turn into far more, but while Maximus knows he cannot live without her, Artemis knows she cannot live with him as his mistress, especially if he still plans to marry her cousin. Maximus is closer than ever to finding out who murdered his parents, and a clue reveals that Artemis' brother might know more than he is letting on. Even when confronting a murder, Maximus knows that what really matters is Artemis and finding a way to convince her that he is the one who needs to become worthy enough to earn her love.

Hoyt's ability to write likable, realistic, and three dimensional heroines remains unparalleled in my opinion. Artemis is a living, breathing woman with faults and hopes and love and fears and Hoyt does a fabulous job of drawing the reader in to Artemi' life and enabling the reader to truly feel like Artemis is a real person. Her love for her brother, her sense of duty to her cousin, her terror of her uncertain future with Maximus, her resilience in the face of a family tragedy, and her pride that carries her through some not so pleasant scenes with Maximus. Maximus' childhood has created a man who seems to have no emotions and he is quite chilly and unlikable for much of the book. His dedication to finding the person who killed his parents overshadows everything else in his life and it is only when he realizes he might lose Artemis, and thus any chance at happiness in his future, that he truly starts to change. He continues to remain stuck-up until very near the end.

Together Artemis and Maximus make a seemingly mismatched pair because she is so vibrant and alive and he is stuck inside a very chilly shell. I liked that with Artemis' help, Maximus began to change as he loosened up his necktie and moved beyond his prejudices and lost his stuffiness. He helped her find her brother and protected her from gossip mongers. It was an interesting relationship because I felt like throughout it, both of them realized Artemis was too good for Maximus, and he was trying to make it up to her. However, it wasn't until the very end that he finally made it up to her for good by proposing. There was lots of sex and as usual, Hoyt is one of the best historical romance writers out there for writing super hot sex scenes full of passion and love. The plot involving his parents death was engrossing and kept a great bit of mystery going throughout the whole book. While it took up a large portion of the book, I never felt like it took away from the romance of the story.

Rating: One of the best romance I've read in a very long time. A wonderful heroine and a tortured hero in a loving relationship,with an engrossing mystery.

The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie

The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Daniel Mackenzie is one of the infamous Mackenzie's and has all the charm of his uncles and father and a lightness of spirit that escaped them. He enjoys creating inventions, and is especially fond of crafting a brand new car that would beat any of the German models. He knows immediately that Ms. Bastien, a renowned medium's assistance, is a fraud but instead of exposing her he is more interested in the contraptions she uses to make all the "spirit" sounds she uses to fool everyone. Violet is terrified that Daniel will expose her secrets, but even more scared when he kisses her and it brings back haunting memories of her childhood. In terror, she bashes him over the head and, believing him dead, she abandons him at a hospital. Daniel is, of course, not dead and while he is upset he is eve more intrigued by the beautiful young woman who hit him over the head and has a remarkable ability to make useful inventions. He follows her to Paris where Violet is shocked to find the man she believed she had killed, alive and well. Daniel takes an interest in Violet and her mother, especially when he learns that Violet is basically her mother's caregiver and believes her mother is taking advantage of her.

When one of her mother's clients attempts to assault Violet and she escapes, he decides to press charges and she is arrested. Daniel and his well connected family manage to get her out of prison but he decides that since he has such a vested interest in her welfare that she will accompany him in England. Her mother moves into the Mackenzie mansion and Violet finds herself far too close to the handsome Daniel. But even Daniel is not prepared when Violet confides in him details of her abusive and violent childhood and while she expects him to turn away in disgust, he instead appoints himself her protector and her avenger and dedicates himself to proving her capable of having a real relationship based on respect and love. When a villain from Violet's past resurfaces to cause trouble, the entire Mackenzie clan is there to defend their newest family member and Violet realizes that she truly wants nothing more than to find her happily ever after with Daniel.

I like that this story switched around the roles of the stereotypical roles of heroines and heroes as Violet was the one who was more broody about her past and Daniel had come to accept his own past and had made peace with his relationship with his father. I did like Violet because she was incredibly brave and I liked that she was a conundrum as she was fearless and independent but also cared so much about her mother that she sacrificed herself. Reading about a survivor of rape is always wrenching and Ashley does a deft job of adequately portraying the hurt, the betrayal, the hope, and spirit that accompanies such a violent act and the feelings that come later in the future. I liked that Daniel cared so much for Violet, but I felt like I was supposed to have lots of lingering feelings for Daniel as a holdover from his appearances in other books in the series, and indeed it often seems like the Mackenzie love builds on itself instead of being really expressed in the book.

Violet and Daniel worked incredibly well together and I really enjoyed that they had so many interests in common and that they each encouraged the other's pursuits and helped each other improve and work on their inventions. I liked that they enjoyed spending time together and that a majority of the book was spent with them in the company of each other and in a wide array of activities. There was some sex between them, but given her history, it was more about the emotional aspect of the sex and helping Violet overcome her fears. It was still better than a lot of romances I have been reading and I liked that they did not make her completely sexless just because she had been raped. Daniel and Violet's relationships with their families played an incredibly important part, but while I was interested in Violet's codependence with her mother it was dropped from the book far too quickly. The Mackenzies, who I have enjoyed in the past, and continued to be well done side characters who don't take over the story.

Rating: An interesting book, but despite everything, it still managed to be a little bland with nothing super exciting to keep more interested.

The Trouble with Being a Duke

The Trouble with Being a Duke by Sophie Barnes L

Anthony Hurst, the Duke of Kingsborough, knows it is time for him to marry and produce an heir, and believes enough time has passed since his sainted father's death for the family to come out of mourning and host the Kingsborough Ball. Isabella Chilcott has dreamed of sneaking away to the Kingsborough Ball sine she was a child, but her mother is completely set against the aristocracy. She sneaks out, wearing an old gown she finds hidden in the attic, and once there she catches the attention of the Duke himself. Anthony knows she is lying about her identity, but finds himself unable to get the beautiful woman out of his mind, even after she abandons him at the ball. He visits everywhere in the village to determine who she is and is horrified to discover she is practically engaged to another man, and can't help but wonder how her mother had the fancy ball gown hidden in her house, especially when it comes to life that an heiress who went missing 20 years ago was wearing that dress. He knows that he is the right man for Isabella, but does not know how to go about convincing her parents. A mystery from long ago, parents who harbor grudges, and a couple who will do anything to be together culminate in a romantic ending.

My biggest problem with this story was Isabella's inability to stand up to her parents no matter how wrong they are proven to be, and no matter how miserable following their directives will make her. Seriously, I wanted to slap her and wondered why Anthony would be so adamant in hitching himself to a woman with no spine and in-laws who didn't seem to care about their own daughters happiness, no matter how hard the author worked to make their actions seemed justified. Aside from having no spine, Isabella was a pretty fun heroine who's desire to please just became a little over done. Anthony was pretty under-developed character and many times it seemed like the only thing that drove him was his desire for Isabella, even when I could not understand exactly why he was so keen on her. Considering that was his defining characteristic, it was at least done well and he certainly fought for what he wanted and I could tell he really cared about Isabella.

Rating: A very fast book, underdeveloped characters with annoying quirks and habits, and a rather confusing romance.

My Notorious Gentleman

My Notorious Gentleman by Gaelen Foley

Lord Trevor Montgomery is back from his duties for the Inferno Club but after being missing for so long, his fiance has jilted him. His entire family is after him to wed and after a chance encounter with a vicar he finds himself to drawn to the vicar's daughter. He decides to buy a house in the community so that he can be closer to Grace Kenwood and so that he will have something to do by fixing up the dilapidated house. Grace can't help but like the handsome and kind former spy, especially once he begins to use his wealth and influence in the community to help out those who are still suffering from the after affects of the war. Unfortunately Grace is not the only one in the community who has her sights set on Lord Trevor and Grace has to maneuver the problems of living in a small town where gossip spreads like wildfire. And Grace's dedication to helping others, including a former prostitute whose pimp is not too happy she has left, lands her in a world of trouble. Trevor has to call on all of his friends from the Inferno Club to help him rescue the woman he loves so that they can marry and continue to set to rights their new community.

Grace is incredibly good; she is always thinking of others and completely unselfish, always helping people, always working, basically just being so perfect that it was impossible to like her or think of her as a real person. My favorite part about her was when she let go of her morals and had sex with Trevor, even if by that time she realized they were going to get married. And the consequences of that action were so over the top and frustrating it was almost like a lecture on the evils of pre-marital sex. Trevor was a typical former spy romance hero, but I did like how open he was to the idea of marriage and didn't try to hide or fight his feelings for Grace. Lots of side characters really made this story far more interesting than it would have been otherwise; her understanding father, the former prostitute, the spoiled rich girl, the equally spoiled young man the spoiled rich girl was in love with, and the gossipy community members.

Rating: A quick read, with really nothing special to recommend it, but it was fun enough even while it could have used a more interesting heroine.