Customer Reviews

If He's Wild (Zebra Historical Romance)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hannah Howell has created wonderful protagonists in her latest novel If He's Wild and not only that, she has given the reader many memorable secondary characters too.

Lady Alethea Vaughn Channing is a member of the Wherlocke/Vaughn clan, a strong family whose members have special supernatural powers. For Alethea, her gift is the ability to have visions of past, present and future events and since she was five, Alethea has had yearly visions about a handsome man. When her vision foretells his death, she rushes to London to warn him.

Lord Hartley Greville is a government operative and a man of logic, so when beautiful Alethea speaks of her visions he is, of course, skeptical. That all changes when he peruses her sketchbook (over the years she has drawn her visions) and seen his past illustrated on the pages. He and his friends accept not only Alethea's gift but her uncle's too (he sees ghosts) to help them catch a vile woman who is involved with theft, murder and treason.

Hartley and Alethea are a delight; they are strong, bold characters who have a guiding sense of justice and honor. They are not boring in the least as they speak their minds and their thoughts are well written too. Hartley is a little rakish but his biggest hurdle is catching a villainess and believing in love. Alethea knows her heart's desire earlier than Hartley recognizes his emotions. She is patient and loyal and brave. I liked her instantly.

There are many secondary characters in this novel and they never took over the main story, in fact they added to it. Hartley has a niece and nephew he is diligently searching for in France and fortunately, Alethea's family has some extraordinary gifts to help in this search. Also the Wherlockes and Vaughns are charming and witty, making them very likeable.

This novel ends well, both touching and tension filled. The epilogue is sweet and amusing and I can hardly wait until the next Wherlocke, Vaughn story.

Just to sum it up, this was the best of the three books by far. I had hesitated in getting this one because the first two books were good but a bit of a let down. I am so glad that I finally got it and read it. I am looking forward to the next story with Argus. I still prefer Howell's Highlander series about the Murray Clan but her story writing is great where ever she takes you on the journey. Happy Reading!

Like most of the Wherlocke brood, Lady Alethea Vaughn Channing possesses a special paranormal gift; hers happens to be visions of the future. For fifteen years since she was five years old, Alethea has dreamed of small glimpses of the same man, but recently she has seen him in deep trouble. Alethea vows to try to save him; so she heads to London to get Uncle Iago to assist her.

Lord Hartley Greville has been the person Alethea has dreamed about. He overhears the niece and uncle talking and takes a chance on them. He introduces himself and tells him what he knows although he is skeptical about the danger he faces which he dreams about. That is until she shows him her drawings. As they fall in love and marry, Hartley seeks a spy. When he vanishes, Alethea and her family search for him because she knows the man she loves is trapped in a life threatening situation.

The latest Wherlocke If He's ... (Sinful and Wicked) is a charmer from the start to the finish due to a strong fully developed cast. Loaded with action and the right touch of the paranormal, fans will enjoy the escapades of the Wherlocke clan led this time by Lady Alethea as they set off to rescue her beloved. This is historical fantasy romance at its fun best.

Harriet Klausner

A widow and a rake are brought together by a horrifying premonition that takes them both on a journey into peril and adventure and left this reader breathless.

I don't usually read historical romances. Something has to grab me and reel me in with an intriguing hook and Ms. Howell succeeded with flying colors. It was the paranormal aspect and the thought of taking a man of logic and making him a believer of all things unseen and the reality of love. The story had great suspense and excitement and a lot of interesting characters to flavor the environment. There was tragedy and sadness, hope and horror. The deviousness and viciousness of the villains was perfectly portrayed and the scope of their perfidy is unraveled like a ball of yarn. Each layer discovered moved the plot along and pitted the hero and heroine against was seemed like insurmountable odds. And through it all, the heroine was a peach and I adored her character.

Lady Alethea, a name I wish I knew how exactly to pronounce, is the heroine with a bit of extra specialness that starts the whole ball rolling. She has a prosaic attitude about whom fate has in store for her future mate. She didn't start off thinking the hero was going to be more than just someone she had to warn about potential harm, but she soon learned differently the first time they looked into each other's eyes. The romance started right then. It was pivotal and I loved how the hero was ensnared right from the get go. Not that they realized it was a budding relationship. That process was fun, you know, that slow stumbling along as things accidentally get revealed and they take on a life of their own. Lady Alethea isn't one to observe life but jumps right in because she feels it's her duty and her obligation - at first. Soon she discovers feelings for the reluctant hero and I enjoyed her deviations into sensual wonderings. The reasons for her doing everything become very personal indeed. Also, there are many humorous moments throughout the story. One of my favorites is when she was caught red handed with a certain kind of book and the resulting scene was quite...let's just say I re-read that scene more than once. It was fun!

The man who has Alethea's rapt attention is Lord Hartley. There is a lot to like about his character. I enjoyed his taste in friends. I was quite happy with how Ms. Howell had Hartley interact with his peers because it helped bring him more alive and made him more interesting. I loved the byplay between him, Aldus and Gifford, and the way they had each others' backs. Not only that but I like the fact that they were employed in a very exciting profession. Little did they know that it was going to get even more exciting as the story unfolded and I enjoyed every minute of it. Hartley's gradual acceptance of Alethea's gifts was well done and sweet with quite a few moments of humor thrown in. I loved his strength, his vulnerability and his caring personality, once it was free to be expressed. Once he embraced the reality of the changes in his life, it was amazing. I really liked how Ms. Howell had him express his devotion and sincerity towards Alethea and eventually extending it to her whole family and relations. I also giggled over his marriage proposal. That was cute. The dastardly things done to him in the course of the story truly were effective and dramatic. I appreciated Ms. Howell letting me get into his thoughts during that time of stress. His inner dialogue was so interesting.

The villains in the story were really vile. The author did a great job of making me believe that there was no hope for redemption nor need for sympathy for these characters. They truly earned their comeuppance when it finally gets them. How it finally happens is a great bit of storytelling which kept me on the edge of my seat.

The happily ever after is awesome on so many levels. Not only do the hero and heroine finally get the peace they deserve and a bigger and stronger family unit because of it, but the ending is huggable. That's the only thing I can think of to say. As far as a romance storybook ending it was perfect but there's something else that happens that brought a huge smile to my face and a giggle too. I forgot to mention the cast of secondary characters. There were so many but they didn't dilute the story or focus from the hero and heroine at all. It just made the story so much more fascinating for me and adventurous. Each one contributed something valuable to the tale.

If He's Wild is a book that grabbed me and entertained me all the way through. I had such a fun time watching Alethea and Hartley fall in love despite all the plots against them and those they love. The author presented a well balanced story filled with intrigue, love, laughter and hope. I am so glad I read If He's Wild and I think fans of historical romances and those of paranormal flair will flock to this book in droves. How can they not? This book rocks! I enthusiastically give this a five book rating.

Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

Hannah Howell is one of my favorite authors and I always enjoy her stories. This is another of her wonderful books.

I enjoyed the romance and the suspense of If He's Wild. The special talents of the Wherlock and Vaughn family are intriguing. I also enjoyed watching the relationship between Hartley and Alethea develop. I look forward to the next in the series, and I hope one is in the works about Mordred!!

I love this series. I wish Ms. Howell would dedicate more of her writing to the Wherlockes. I've read all three books more than once, okay maybe three or four times. I love the characters. I can see in the future a book for Bened, Olympia, an older Artemis, Leopold, Mordred, and of course, Argus. I'd buy every one of them.

Love these books!

I read the sample on Kindle and was intrigued enough to buy the book, given the positive customer reviews. I quickly lost interest a few chapters in, and by Chapter 11, I had given up reading. The story and the characters are promising, but the romance is awkward and proceeds too quickly, unrealistically, and unromantically to the physical. The romantic story is amateurish and sounds as if it was written by a clueless male schmuck. Take for instance, the narrative of the male character upon disrobing at their first tryst: "the way [her eyes] darkened with desire made him want to strut around the room. Need overpowered that strange urge . . ." Strut, indeed! Who wants a male character who thinks like a teenage boy! I haven't read any of the author's other books and am hoping they are a little more sophisticated.

I have read & reread all Hannah Howell's books, I wish they came on audio books. She has several series, this is book 3 of the latest of her new series. I hope she writes more. This series is about a family that
has secrets, many have gifts that can help. Members of this family help in any way that they can. This series
are about stories in England. Some of her earlier ones were of Scotland. But with them it was usually the women that had the gifts. This book is about Lady Alethea Vaughn Channing who see's things, when she was 5 years old she started seeing visions of Lord Hartley Greville. A flash here or there. Now she see's one
where he gets murdered. And wants to stop it, so she contacts her family to help her find the man & prevent
his murder. If you have not read them try If he's Wicked & If he's Sinful