Customer Reviews

To Wed a Wicked Earl

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having read and loved, Olivia Parker's debut book, At the Bride Hunt Ball, I was eagerly awaiting her latest offering and I was not disappointed. I loved, loved, loved Lord Rothbury. He was humourous and sweet and romantic and arrogant and vulnerable and kind despite having a bad reputation. Having read the whole book, I understood why he acted as he had and why he felt that Charlotte would never marry him.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it was funny and entertaining. The romance felt genuine and the relationship between Rothbury and Charlotte wasn't rushed, but grew as the book went on. I finished the book feeling happy and cannot wait for the next book by the author, Lady Rosalind's story, perhaps?

I was eagerly awaiting this book after the author's first work, Bride Hunt Ball. Even the premise of the story sounded intriguing, and the day I got it I couldn't wait to pick it up. Unfortunately, I really had a hard time actually getting all the way through the story. While the concept was good, the execution was poor and the characters hard to like. The plot was weak, but what I really struggled with were all the jumps the author made in the story's time line. The first chapter was great, but then the second chapter jumped to a year later, and the third to a few months after that. Then the fourth to a week or so after that. It honestly felt as if the author wrote four starts to the book and then mashed them together. The characters seemed to change, especially the heroine. She seemed sweet and shy at the beggining, but then quickly had the nerve to break into the hero's house. She only knew of the hero's horrible reputation, but pushed all that aside pretty quickly to be his friend. However, we were never given the chance to see how their friendship developed. The author just does a time jump in between chapters and throws in a sentences describing a few meetings between them. The chapters that are actually consistent in a time sequence are pretty good, I just wish that their changing relationship had been more focued throughout the book so that we could really discover and see its development between the two charachters more fully.

I was really disappointed after waiting so long for this book. It had the potential to be really great, and I found it fairly mediocre. I wanted so much to like the characters, but I think I ended up liking the idea of the author's story rather than what the author actually wrote. The book was to disjointed for me to see a clear progression of their romance.

The plot was good. Writing...not so good. I was disappointed with how little the author shows growth in the relationship between main characters. Like another reviewer said, the story kept jumping over months at a time. I HATED the fact that we never get to see how they first met and why the hero ever fell in love with the heroine. All we know is that from the get go he's loved her for years...why? How did they meet? When did he know he loved her? We never find this out. I kept thinking every time I turned the page that she would explain SOMETHING, but it never happened. I think the thing that makes me the most angry with this book was that it was such a waste. It really could have been a great book--really great.

After reading At the Bride Hunt Ball, I knew I just had to get my hands on this novel. Olivia Parker made a great debut with that novel, thus my high expectation of this one. To Wed a Wicked Earl wasn't really what I was expecting. Charlotte Greene was just a dull character from beginning to end. I expected her to put a bit more effort towards her relationship with Adam Faramond. Everything seemed to be handed to her on a nice silver platter. Adam was pretty much the same. At first his character was the congenial/wicked kind. Towards the middle/end of the novel, Parker gives Adam Faramond greater depth but doesn't really pull through with developing his feelings or show how he healed from his emotional pain. I feel like this novel was written half-heartedly. The characters were underdeveloped and everything seemed rushed even though the novel was almost 400 pages long. I hope her next novel turns out better. I still have high hopes for this author.

I loved, loved,loved this book. I couldn't finish it fast enough. I had not realized this was a sequel to another, but I didn't need to have read it to enjoy this one. Charlotte is so...Charlotte. I have rarely read of a heroine so unsure of herself before. She is funny also and forgiving, probably when she shouldn't be. Adam, or Rothbury, is yummy. That is really all you can say about him. He's one of those heroes you can picture in your head, striding about all long legged like Brad Pitt from the old days. And he is hilarious. I loved the scene where he got conked on the head and so many others besides. This book is full of hilarity and heart-warming moments. Charlotte's mother is a great side character and the villians are just sorry souls. Charlotte & Roth's story is sweet and hilarious, &, at times, frustrating. You want to whack Charlotte at times for being so dense, but she is very naive. Rothbury is the same in some ways. Why doesn't he just tell her his feelings from the beginning? But that would've taken away from everything, probably. His grandmother is great. I knew she was conniving from the beginning. I'm looking forward to more books from Parker and hope they are as entertaining as this one!

Adam Faramond, Earl of Rothbury, learned long ago never to let people see what he's truly feeling. That's why society would never guess that Adam, who comes from a family whose name is synonymous with scandal, has been in love with Miss Charlotte Greene, wallflower extraordinaire, for years. After Adam saves Charlotte from potential embarrassment at a ball, the object of his affections decides that they should be friends. To Adam, being friends with Charlotte is better than nothing at all, even if every moment spent with her makes him long for more. Then Adam's grandmother threatens to ruin him financially unless he weds and Adam concocts a plan to convince his grandmother that Charlotte is fiancée. But when his plan goes awry, it's up to Adam to take a risk and reveal his true feelings to Charlotte for the chance at the kind of marriage he's only dreamed about.

Olivia Parker turns up the humor and the charm in her lively second novel. To Wed a Wicked Earl takes readers on the romantic journey of two characters no one would ever expect to fall in love. Adam, though an incredibly sexy hero, is unfairly painted with the same brush as his ancestors who were all wicked to the core. I very much wanted to see Adam judged on his own merits, which is why I so adored Charlotte. She saw the man behind the name, much in the same way he saw her intelligence, wit, and beauty in a way no one else did. Together, they made a wonderful pair and it was easy to become invested in their love story.

Ms. Parker has a fresh, light-hearted style of storytelling I greatly enjoy. Her characters are easy to fall in love with, and Charlotte and Adam are no exception. I was intrigued by them in Ms. Parker's debut novel, At the Bride Hunt Ball, and their story lived up to what I had been hoping for. While To Wed a Wicked Earl is the sequel to At the Bride Hunt Ball, Ms. Parker provides all the necessary information for Charlotte and Adam's romance in their book. However, be forewarned that there are major spoilers for the first book in To Wed a Wicked Earl.

I absolutely adored To Wed a Wicked Earl. I was up late in the night reading, unable to put the book down, which is, of course, the mark of a greatly entertaining read. I finished Charlotte and Adam's story with a smile on my face, eager to read the next book in this series, that of the endearing Lady Rosalind Devine.

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This story starts sort-of where At the Bride Hunt Ball (Avon Romance) ends. Miss Charlotte Greene has been at house party where the Duke's brother has been on a bride hunt. When she is not chosen Adam Faramond, Earl of Rothbury dances with her because he is left alone at the ball without a partner. The twist of this story which I loved is that the Adam a rake and womanizer but has always been secretly in love with Charlotte. Charlotte is clueless and decides that they should be friends and she slowly falls for him. Lots of twists - great book - 2nd of the series - looking forward to Lady Rosalind Devine story ....

If you enjoy this genre I would also suggest; When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton Family Series),Blackthorne's Bride and The Infamous Rogue.

I really loved this story. I am not sure why it received such bad reviews. I could not put this book down. I did notice the jumping around in time, but to be honest I liked it. The story did not drag on and on with day to day going ons. Instead it focused on how the two of them interacted in different situations that occurred. The author filled these gaps by telling the reader what the characters had been up to, such as meeting covertly in a park pretending not to be together.

Each chapter was something new and exciting. I loved how Lord Rothbury's character was portrayed by his own chapters in the story. I hate when the story centers soley on one character and you never know what the hero is thinking. Lord Rothbury's thoughts I felt were natural. It was obvious that he was ashamed of himself and felt he was not good enough for Charlotte. Charlotte's feelings regarding Lord Rothbury did not suprise me. She had little faith in her looks and she was convinced that he was unattainable.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It was wonderfully written and I cannot wait to see where the author goes next.

My only critism is that the author kept referring to things that happened at Wolverest, when in actuality they occurred in a different location.

Like others, I looked forward to reading Charlotte's story. Unfortunately, it is as others say - the transitions are perplexing and disjointed, Charlotte has many faces (not consistent), the plot line is not well-paced, and the romance progressed very slowly, with it not even being clear when Charlotte would actually like Rothbury. I liked maybe the 2-3 chapters where the romance/attraction began to develop, as the story seemed to flow and had some character development. Unfortunately, I had too far to go in the book to get to that part!

I loved this book! I don't know why it go bad reviews... It is so sweet and sexy! Loved it, loved it, loved it!