Customer Reviews

A Little Bit Wild

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm so pleased that I ended up loving this book so much. The first two chapters showed a very unattractive side of the heroine, Marissa, and I actually stopped reading to go clean something! I was so nervous that this book would be the one that broke my lucky streak with this author. I have enjoyed every book that I have read by this author, and I believe I've read them all barring the novellas, and I live in fear of breaking that pattern. But I got some reassurance that the book didn't disappoint, so I picked it back up and quickly found myself sucked in.

Marissa begins the story at a disadvantage with the reader. She comes off as extremely spoiled, thoughtless, and selfish. I also originally thought she was rather stupid, but I can excuse that because of the liquor involved in the scene. But she comes off as whiny and immature. She wants her way and doesn't understand why everything has to change. Well, she does understand, but she would rather just ignore it.

I was afraid that I would dislike her for a while, but she actually grew on me pretty quickly. She quickly realizes that there are more people impacted by her actions than just herself and decides to suck it up and deal. Unfortunately for her, she has to deal with Jude, who is not at all her type. Marissa is attracted to the pretty boys. She likes the pretty, thin, graceful, rather effeminate men who dress well and look nice on her arm. Jude is large, and muscular, and not pretty at all. She has to learn to see past all her preconceptions and learn where the true value of a person lies and the difference between lust and love.

The author made a bold choice starting the book out where she did. I really appreciated getting to see a character make a genuine mistake and have to deal with the consequences. Marissa was vain and way too caught up in appearances, but she was still a nice person. She slowly learned to value Jude for his true self. Her lust was much more easily engaged than her heart. Speaking of lust; I am so pleased to actually see a female character lusting after men. She didn't let her hormones rule her, but she appreciated a pretty man and a nice show of leg. She knew there was pleasure to be had, and she wanted to embrace it. It was nice to see a female finding many men attractive and not only being blind to it all until the hero came along.

Jude was such an excellent hero. He was self confident, and he knew who he was. He was also an excellent judge of character. He had Marissa pegged shortly after meeting her. He didn't want to change her though; he wanted to revel in her enjoyment of pleasure and please them both. He was extremely hard to insult. Most of the time he just shrugged off irritating comments thrown his way, but when a comment from Marissa found its mark, it had impeccable aim. I loved watching Jude discover more about himself, but I was so sorry for him too. It's hard caring about someone who's quick to lash out because she won't admit, or doesn't recognize, her true feelings.

Their relationship was a lot of fun to watch develop. They actually seemed like they became quite good friends. I value that quite highly in my romances. This book had some pretty hot moments. Jude had quite a way with foreplay, and he could sure draw out the tension between them.

I liked getting to see Marissa's friends and family. I wonder if this will turn into a loosely connected series like her other historicals did. I see potential between her friend and another character after that awkward moment toward the end. I'd also really like to learn more about Aidan and see him overcome his crankiness. I hope we get to see more about them!

A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl

Historical Romance -Aug. 3, 2010

4 1/2 stars

Marissa York let curiosity and a little too much wine go to her head, and she disgraced herself with a fashionable young man in her family's sewing room. Now she has to marry! But Marissa has refused the offer of the young man who `helped' her get into this catastrophe. (Unfortunately, his fumbling about was so disappointing she did not want a repeat performance!) So her brother is determined to find her a replacement.

Fortunately, her brother's good friend, Jude Bertrand, (the bastard son of a Duke), steps into the breech and offers to `save' her. For years, Jude has recognized Marissa's adventurous nature but he felt her youth forbade his pursuit. But now that she's older and in a fix Jude feels this is just the time to play the hero.

I really enjoyed this book, because it explored the question of a young woman's burgeoning sensuality in a historical context when sensuality was hardly acknowledged. She has these feelings that she can't discuss with anyone, but they won't go away. Though the story is largely about sensuality, it isn't erotica, and descriptions of sex are not the point of the story. The book does a nice job of capturing that confused time in young adulthood when many conflicting ideas scramble for a toehold in a person's consciousness: looks versus character, words versus action, family versus society. Both characters are interesting and have real depth. I immediately liked them and became invested in their growing realtionship.

This was a charming and absorbing read that I highly recommend!

Reviewed by Adrienne from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

I love this authors writing style and her publisher's font (font can ruin the reading experience)! This is a historical romance that is bases around the York family. Marissa has been experimenting with men and gets caught. Her family attempt through the book to save her reputation and she become fake-engaged to Jude Bertrand. Jude has always like Marissa's spirit from a far and when the opportunity to become her fiancé he jumps at it. This book was excellent - I smiled the whole time I was reading it.

Here are few more great book by this author; Talk Me Down, To Tempt A Scotsman (Zebra Debut),The Wicked West and Crazy for Love (Hqn).

Looking forward to Midnight Kiss: Midnight Confessions\Midnight Surrender\Midnight Assignment Due out-Oct 26, 2010 This author's 1stcontemporary novella in a special Harlequin New Years' anthology called Midnight Kiss. Her story is "Midnight Assignment."

The plot behind A Little Bit Wild is well constructed, but unfortunately, the novel as a whole is poorly executed.

As much as I wanted to like Marissa, I found her shallow, selfish, and even a bit childish. My view of her did not improve over the course of the novel. There just wasn't enough character development or enough depth to the characters to really make you understand why Marissa felt or acted the way she did. I think if there had been more character development or some form of a saving grace, she would have been easier to come to like. As it was, I disliked her character from beginning to end and could not find myself satisfied with even the intended to be feel good ending.

Jude, in my opinion, is not much better than Marissa. He criticizes her for being shallow while he, himself, knows very little about her and desires her simply based upon appearances. In time, he does grow to genuinely care for her based on who she is as a person, but he does have doubts about her feelings for him which are not resolved completely, or at least not satisfactorily, at the end of the novel.

I also found the beauty and the beast scenario that this novel is sort of modeled around a bit of a turn off. Jude is described as truly being ugly, not one who has some hidden or different sort of beauty, but really just ugly. Call it shallow, but I like to imagine the men in these books as handsome men so the constant reference to Jude being ugly was really a turn off for me.

There also was a lot of interaction between characters that seemed a bit out of character. Actions and conversations that did not seem true to the characters at all. This might be because of the lack of character development though as you never get a good sense of who the characters really are.

All in all, I think 3 stars are generous. Okay sex scenes, but the plot is not executed well at all. I would not recommend.

I loved the fact that the author addressed that young women have curiosity and even drive for their own sexuality! It was very fun to read about how the heroine of the story discovered herself along with her heart. Well done.

Vivacious & flirty heroine can't wait to end her faux engagement to non-handsome bastard son of a duke. He offers to marry her to her family's relief & surprise to hide the scandal of heroine caught in the act with another gentleman who she refuses to marry. Their wedding may not be necessary if heroine can confirm that she's not pregnant in the next 2 weeks. Hero is determined to follow through with marrying her but knows it'll take some effort to convince her to do so. Their time spent together opens her eyes to Hero's unique attractiveness especially as he's the only one who sees through her prim & proper facade & like her naughtiness. When her non-pregnancy is confirmed she is actually disappointed at ending their engagement especially when Hero seems in a rush to leave their home. What can she do to convince him to marry her after all?

There's a lot that I like about this unique Dahl book. It's unique in that young heroine is sexually curious & ogles the legs of gentlemen she encounters in balls & other social events. She explores her sexual curiosity in as restrained a way as a debutante miss in high society setting can. She acts the proper debutante but discreetly experiments with her burgeoning sexuality. She's shallow, spoiled, & snotty but she's likeable. Heroine's change of perspective & attitude towards Hero was gradual & believable as she got to know him more. She was still a bit shallow at the end but Hero was ok with that & was a more of realistic change of character. I liked that Hero wasn't conventionally attractive & viewed heroine's shallowness, snobbery, & flirtatiousness with indulgent humor. I also liked his dogged attraction & pursuit of marrying heroine even though she's resisted their engagement of convenience b/c of her sex scandal.

Very enjoyable read.

I'm not a big Historical Romance fan. No...that's not true. I don't read Historical Romance at all. At least not until I read A Little Bit Wild. I can't say that I'll go buy every HR book on the shelf, because - well, yeah- I'm still not sure that I like the genre in general. However, I do love Dahl's writing regardless of genre. As I've said before, not many authors can write cross genre and me like every book. She can and does.

I love that the women in Dahl's books don't back down, and if they do there's usually a benefit for them (fine by me!) A LITTLE BIT WILD holds true to that. Marissa outwardly comes across as a very refined, proper lady. But inside, she's different. She has a desire to know about being wild. She wants to have fun, so she does. Even though it goes against society. I loved that she did what she wanted to and she owned up to the mistakes she made. Not once did she lay blame on someone else for her indiscretion.

Jude. Well, let's see where do I start with Jude. He's the opposite of Marissa. On the outside he comes across burly and insignificant. His reputation is that of a lesser male, one that society doesn't necessarily frown upon, but they don't regard him highly either. Unlike Marissa, his outwardly appearance is wild and free spirited. Inside though, he's a gentleman. He cares about women and how they are treated. Jude knows how to love. My favorite thing about Jude is that he understands Marissa and respects her wants/needs to explore the scandalous nature of sex.

When Marissa needs someone to help her and save her family's reputation Jude steps in to help. Then he doesn't back down even though Marissa pushes. More than once while reading about these two I forgot this was a historical novel. The writing isn't stuffy and neither are the characters. Even Marissa's brother, Baron York, isn't as stuffy as he could be. The care and love he has for his sister comes through very well.

A couple of times the book slows down and drags while the family goes back and forth trying to keep Marissa's reputation from being ruined. But all in all this is a great read. As usual, Dahl's writing jumps off the page and makes you fall in love with characters.

So even if you aren't a fan of Historical Romance I still recommend this book. You'll love it anyway (I hope)!

I could not put this book down. What an interesting story. It is close to what we experience in our daily lives that sets apart fantasy from reality.

I bought this just because I've read a couple of Victoria Dahl's contemporary books and liked them. I wasn't a huge fan, though, and didn't actually read it for months.

Which turned out to be a good thing, since now I have less time to wait for the sequel. I really loved this book. The hero was not some chiseled beefcake, but a real guy; the heroine was selfish but 3D, with a comically believable sexual appetite that made the book very hot.

This one reminded me of Julia Quinn--just as funny, fast-paced, and light--though with more emotional impact. I love beauty-and-the-beast stories, and this one had a great twist.

I only wish it had a better cover. It isn't as good as the book inside.

Last night I was reading A Little Bit Wild, a historical romance/erotic novel by one of my favorite authors, Victoria Dahl. In reading Dahl's book, I was struck how unlikely a character Jude Bertram was as a hero and how much I liked him the way that Dahl had cast him. I didn't see A Little Bit Wild as a Beauty and Beast re-telling, but rather a challenge to the historical romance stereotype of hero and heroine.

In my quest for the unlikely gentleman, the one that lives and breathes outside the stereotype that authors fall prey too, A Little Bit Wild holds a secret place in my heart. Its plot in a way parallels the dilemma that I had been musing on earlier. It got me to thinking, do we as readers set the template for our hero and heroine? Do we demand it? Are our desires dictating that authors conjure up the most improbable of fantasies?

In A Little Bit Wild, Dahl's male lead Jude Bertram is very much an outside-of-the-box hero, and better yet, his character knows it. It's what makes him so endearing to readers. As the acknowledged illegitimate son of a Duke, Jude is a self-made man who has carved his life and his body by sheer mind-numbing work. He is not a fop and he's definitely not pretty. He has none of the soft features that society favors but one that is full of character and sharp edges. He doesn't cavort around with a holier-than-thou attitude a `la Fitzwilliam Darcy, but is rather the anti-stereotype.

Dahl has infused Jude's character with a vulnerable side that is directly linked to his self-perception. Jude knows that he does not fit in with the model template of society. He more resembles a groundskeeper than a polite gentleman. But there is a sense of self-acceptance and earthy sensuality to him that I find rather appealing. He knows exactly who he is and who he wants. His vulnerability to his looks is brought to the fore when he desires the one thing he thinks he cannot have: Marissa York.

For Marissa, being a "bit wild" or that that innate curiosity into the affairs between men and women has been a mystery that she has been desperate to solve. It also challenges the stereotype of feminine "purity" so common in historical romance heroines. Her past minor dalliances have left her mostly unscathed and relegated to youthful fumblings. That is, until her latest fiasco with Peter White which has left her compromised and at the mercy of her family and society.

Jude offers to court Marissa to stave off any impending scandal and protect her and her family. But all the wiles he possesses will not dispel the fact that Marissa has an "ideal" in mind, and painfully Jude knows that he does not fit into it. Marissa has always been attracted to fops, to the tons "pretty" boys- fair-of-face and body. But can Jude convince her? Possess her? Can he woo her into seeing who he really is?

A Little Bit Wild is a great romance, a grand romance. Its unlikely love affair wound itself delicately into my heart and did not let go. Readers will be rooting for Jude all the way, as he demands nothing more than the truest, deepest form of love from Marissa-one that transcends looks and class status. It touched on the most vulnerable facets of love...our self-perceptions and worthiness to love and allowed to be loved. It was absolutely refreshing to have a character aware of their shortcomings and it dually provided a challenge to the author to craft them in a way that is appealing and went beyond superficial artifice.

I cannot recommend A Little Bit Wild highly enough as well as any of Dahl's numerous accomplished novels all of which I adore.

A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat)