A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

TOO WICKED TO LOVE

Author: Debra Mullins ISBN: 9780061882500 6/2011 HISTORICAL Publisher: AVON
Time Period: Victorian Era, 1876

Too Wicked to Love by Debra Mullins
Too wicked to love . . . but too tempting to resist!

Having already been deceived by a heartless fiancé, Genevieve Wallington-Willis knows better than to trust any man—which is why her attraction to John Ready is so very disturbing. Though devilishly handsome, he is far too mysterious—and a humble coachman, no less! But one inadvertent kiss and Genevieve is lost.

John dares not reveal his true identity to anyone or it's the gallows for certain! He must concentrate on clearing his name—and prevent the fiend who sullied it, the notorious Raventhorpe, from working his evil on another innocent victim. But being this close to the clever, courageous, and exquisite Miss Wallington-Willis is driving him to distraction. And surrendering to his desire—not to mention to love—may prove the most dangerous risk of all.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: 4 Rose Read

This story opens with our hero and heroine heading off to a house party in the country, while Captain Samuel Breedlove and Priscilla, his new bride, are off on their honeymoon. Before they depart, Samuel asks John to watch over Annabelle Bailey, who was apparently kidnapped by the villain, Lord Raventhorpe, and might still be in danger. Priscilla, on the other hand, is worried about her sister Genny, so she asks him to watch over her as well.

While he’d happily accommodate his best friend, Priscilla’s wish bothers John as he thinks Genny’s a big flirt, and he thought he’d be glad to see the last of her at the wedding. You can imagine his surprise when he finds out that for the foreseeable future, they’ll be in the country for the same party.

As for our heroine, she thinks John's too forward in his manner and ways for the coachman, but naturally, John’s not who everyone thinks him to be.

This is a well written and well executed romance. There is plenty to recommend it. All the characters were three-dimensional; intrigues and villainy abounds; and I must admit to some interesting, yet predictable, twists and turns that were quite entertaining. Still, I felt the author didn’t quite do such a great job in developing the relationship between the hero and the heroine. I liked them separately. Their characters were fully developed, but their back and forth sort of left me a bit cold. For some reason, their relationship didn’t click for me.

As the novel picks up where TEMPTING A PROPER LADY left off, for the most part of this read, I was lost. Without reading the previous novel, most of this story’s plot made no sense to me, and it took me awhile to decipher who’s who and what’s what. Eventually it all fell into place, but alas, too late for me to enjoy it fully.

From the prologue of this tale, I had a feeling that I should have read the first book of this trilogy. If you’ve read the previous book, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this story more than I have. It has everything a historical romance should—a very likeable hero with a secret identity, a flirtatious but untrusting heroine, and a bloodcurdling villain who’ll do anything to destroy them all.

Melanie Friedman

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