Customer Reviews

When He Was Wicked

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

To all those who gave this book a negative review because it wasn't all sweetness and light, I have to question your reading comprehension skills. If you knew from the other Bridgerton books that Frannie loved her husband very much, and you know (if you bothered to read the back of this one) that her beloved is now dead, how could you have not realized that this was going to be a darker novel? She is in mourning! She is not going to be boisterous and charming like her siblings. If she had been, you probably would have trashed Quinn for not making her somber enough. I haven't lost a spouse, but I imagine that falling in love again would be agonizing, and I think Quinn portrayed this brilliantly. As she did with Michael, who is struggling with his own guilt. But none of this should have been a surprise to anyone who took the time to figure out the plot ahead of time. If you were shocked by the more serious themes of this book, you have only yourselves to blame for not paying attention. Julia Quinn is an amazing writer, and I love that she used this book to show how broad her talent is. Not all of us want our authors pigeon-holed into writing the same book over and over again, only changing names and basic plot points. Brava, Ms. Quinn, and don't let a few folks who can't handle variety dampen your spirits.

Okay as you have probably already read this JQ book is a little different from Ms. Quinn's previous stories regardless of the series title. In this latest Bridgerton effort Ms. Quinn is short on humor and more focused on real emotion making this a much more emotional read then we are used to by this talented author. Does this make the read bad? Of course not. In fact it's nice to see Ms. Quinn stretch her talent by attempting to write a story that touches more on deep feelings regarding loss and confusion rather then wit and humor.

This story is actually suppose to take place simultaneously as "To Sir Phillip With Love" and "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton". Francesca Bridgerton is now a widow and is dealing with the death of her husband John. His cousin and good friend Michael has not known a time when he has not been in love with Francesca. For him it was love at first sight after their first meeting. His life is retched because he can't seem to find love anywhere except with the one that he can't have. After the death of John, Michael leaves for India and spends four years living away from Frannie with the hope that "out of sight, out of mind" will cure him of his love. This is not to be and when he returns he finds himself fighting his true desire once Francesca makes the announcement she wants a baby and is now willing to find another husband. Wish that it were him.

Francesca has mourned her sweet husband for four years and has decided she must join the ranks of the living. This means shedding her mourning and taking her place in society once again. While Michael has been abroad she has seen to his holdings and is happy to see his return. Of course she is unaware of the tender feelings he holds for her, so their reunion is not as happy or as sweet as Michael would have liked nor is it easy. Their seperation was set in motion by each other's pain and loss. Slowly they re-build their very strong relationship and feelings start to change for Francesca. She is starting to notice Michael as a man, a very handsome man, and seeing him less like a brother. How can this be? It's so wrong! Or is it? Will these two special people be able to see what is right in front of their faces and take a chance on love, or will Francesca loose Michael just when she realizes how much he means to her?

This was not a book filled with witty dialogue or funny jokes. Yes, there is some rather funny interaction between Francesca and her family and at times between Francesca and Michael. But these are few and far between. This story really takes a look at deeper emotions and as a result Michael and Francesca are not the normal kind of character's you find in Ms. Quinn's books. To me this was a nice change and I found this book to be more appealing then a few of the past Bridgerton books that have been release. I highly recommend this read if you care to find more then humor between the pages. This was a well developed story and one that I found a pleasure to read!

It seems to me that with each new novel Julia Quinn is trying to separate her stories more and more from the cookie cutter formula. In fact, she sets herself up for quite a big challenge with When He Was Wicked.

First of all Ms. Quinn defies convention by giving her heroine a husband with whom she is deeply in love--a husband who is not the hero of the story. Secondly, the hero of the story, Michael Stirling, is in love with our heroine before the story even begins.

Unlike many of Ms. Quinn's novels, this is no lighthearted read. The subjects of death and guilt play a major role in the lives of her characters. However, I disagree with the review. I do not believe the heavy subjects "weighed the book down," but rather fleshed it out instead. Had Ms. Quinn skimmed quickly through the grief, her characters would have lost much of their depth and a lot of my respect. Yes, there were moments when I felt a bit impatient. But the emotional build-up comes to such a splendid (and trust me, I mean splendid) climax when the hero and heroine come together, that I felt it was all worth the wait.

As to the characters, Michael Stirling ranks as my second favorite male right after Colin Bridgerton (who has a couple of lovely cameos in this one, by the way). He's the classic rake, only slightly altered by Ms. Quinn's lovely sense of character and honor. My biggest disappointment with this novel, however, was Francesca. She's much less quirky and a lot less interesting than her siblings, unfortunately. She troops through the novel like quite a martyr, which while I found admirable, it wasn't quite as endearing. However, the secondary characters are the typical Bridgerton fare, funny and entertaining as usual.

Also, the dialogue in this one does not disappoint and is just as snappy as Julia Quinn fans have come to expect. I was surprised to find that Ms. Quinn even wrote the tragic scenes with a very realistic, touching ability.

All in all, I was not disappointed by this book. I think it's refreshing to have an author in the genre not afraid to challenge herself with each new novel. And I love the fact that the conflict in Ms. Quinn's novels comes completely from the lives and troubles of her chracters--no cheesy evil villains or subpar mystery plotline here.

I don't recommend this one if you're looking for a lighthearted escape. It's a lot more involved than JQ's other novels, but just as quality. Personally, my only disappointment is that now it will be yet another long wait until the next one.

I love the stories of unrequited and impossible love. When I read the synopsis of this book, I though that possibly it was going to be my favorite Bridgerton book. After all what is more heartwrenchingly romantic than a hero who has secretly loved his cousin wife since the moment he met her, but knows that he could never have her? And there were really poignant moments that even managed to bring me to tears.

What went wrong then? In the first place, at times it was difficult to understand why Michael fell in love with Francesca so quickly, deeply and undonditionally. The book just says he did, but I guess I don't believe in "love" at first sight. Atraction? Yes, but a deeper attachement takes more time to develop.

The other thing I didn't like (and this is a criticism I had for "Romancing Mister Bridgerton" as well) is that their first kiss is described from Francesca's perspective instead of Michael's. I don't know why Julia Quinn always does that. One has been reading about how Michael loves her and desires her and longs to kiss her, but when the much awaited moment arrives when he, finally!, kisses her, we don't know how he felt, because the book shifts to Francesca's point of view. Isn't that frustrating? I think Julia Quinn could have gotten more feeling out of that important moment in the plot by simply narrating it from Michael's perspective. She can describe later what Francesca felt, but in that moment the most important thing is what Michael is feeling, not Francesca.

And lastly, I don't like that Francesca is never very convincing in her love for Michael. Almost until the end of the book there is not love mentioned on her part. She doesn't even admit it to herself. She just says that she feels desire for Michael but John is the only man she has ever trully loved. It's not until Michael gets ill and she believes he might die that she can bring herself to admit that she loves him. But since she spends the rest of the novel oblivious to this feeling, it doesn't sound convincing.

Other than that, the novel is not bad. Michael is a great character and the love story beautiful.

I loved this book. I've read the other reviews and can definitely understand if people were expecting a book that copied the other Bridgerton books, they might be disappointed.
Instead of the light-hearted banter, she has told a very moving story of what it's like to lose a loved one and find love again. Francesca and Michael were the closest people in her husband, John's life, and I thought Julia did a wonderful job of showing their grief and how they worked through their individual fears to find each other.

Francesca is not like the other Bridgertons, as she herself states in the book on occasion. What she IS is a grieving widow, who loved her husband, mourned him for four years, and is beginning to feel things for his cousin that scare her.

Michael Stirling was a wonderfully sweet, passionate man who lives with incredible guilt for all he gained at his cousin's death. And the one thing he loves above all is the one thing he feels he has no right to ever have - Francesca.

I was impressed by the manner Ms. Quinn did this story. She didn't skirt the issue of their grief and mourning. Instead, she embraced it in a way that makes you feel for both Francesca and Michael. She developed their relationship from the friendship it had been in a careful, understandably slow way...all in all, I felt it was a very rich, very fulfilling story.

This is the first Quinn book in a long time that I could not put down! Compelling characters wrestling with significant personal issues - no mystery sub-plot or stereotype villains to get in the way of a wonderful romance!

Michael Stirling and John, Earl of Kilmartin are first cousins - their fathers were twins. They have been raised almost as brothers because Michael's father dies when he was very young. They were not only raised - as brothers - they have a very strong and deep bond of friendship. Michael has never envied his younger cousin, even though (given the inheritance laws of the period) John has a title and fabulous wealth and Michael is son to a younger son and is destined for a career in the army. That is, Michael has never envied John anything until he meets Francesca Bridgerton and falls instantly in love with her - because she is John's fiancee and will be his wife in a day and a half!

The book begins by giving us a glimpse of John and Francesca's extremely happy married life and their mutual friendship with Michael; we also get some insight into his strategy for keeping John and Francesca in ignorance of his feelings (his Merry Rake persona). Quinn makes us really care about John so that when he dies very suddenly we can feel the depth of Francesca's grief and Michael's difficulty in offering her comfort. Far more effective than just reporting something that happens about 4 years before the main part of the book begins. Overwhelmed by grief and guilt Michael takes himself off to India for four years, allowing Francesca to run the estate.

Finally Michael returns from India - still very much in love with Francesca, and still convinced that there is something basically "wrong" or "immoral" in courting her himself when she announces that she wants to remarry; it would be a betrayal of his regard for John. These feelings of guilt on both Michael's and Francesca's part are what keeps them from a happy future together and the main body of the book is a tour-de-force of character development as we watch both of them work through their grief to acceptance and peace. All I can say is WOW!

The Publisher's Weekly review states that the book is "weighed down" by the grief of the two protagonists. I do not agree! Without the need to work through the grieving process there wouldn't be any tension or barriers to overcome - this is the whole meat of the book!

You don't have to be a fan of Quinn's Bridgerton series to love this book, in fact maybe it's better if you are not, then you won't have all these high expectations of what Francesca's character is supposed to be like.

In 1818, the first time ever Michael "The Merry Rake" Stirling saw Francesca Bridgerton he knows he is in love although he never experienced that feeling before. However, he can not act on his emotion because Francesca is to wed his best friend, his cousin John in less than two days. Michael ironically thinks that he now has two new feelings: love and for the first time envy. Ironically, he never coveted the earldom or the wealth of the man he considers his "brother".

Two years later, Michael hides his love for Francesca from her and his cousin. John complains of headache and soon afterward he, not quite thirty and in seemingly perfect health, is dead. At twenty-two, Francesca is a widow and Michael is the earl. He still hides his feelings while they mourn their loss until one innocent night he offers simple solace that turns into heated lovemaking. The aftermath is that both feel guilty as if they let down John. As they evade one another so as not to explore their feelings, Francesca begins to wonder if John arranged the whole thing as a heavenly matchmaker.

Title aside as no one is "wicked" in a nasty sense; fans will appreciate this wonderful Regency romance starring a loving relationship triangle between three wonderful protagonists. John was a nice respected person loved by his wife and his cousin so that his memory serves as a ghostly barrier to Michael and Francesca following up on their feelings. The two illnesses that John and Michael respectfully suffered from provide a feel for the era as Julia Quinn uses that to anchor her sixth fabulous Bridgerton book.

Harriet Klausner

I have to preface this review by stating that having read Julia Quinn, I never thought I would become this engrossed by any of her books. I read "An Offer from a Gentleman" and "The Duke and I" and while I enjoyed them both, I would have categorized her writing style as light and funny. I didn't expect the angst, depth of character or how much this story resonated with me.

Michael and Francesca are well-developed and complex characters. I have read romances since I was 14, but could never relate to those perfect, cookie-cutter hero and heroine types even when I liked the book. I particularly dislike those hero/ines who seem to bypass serious obstacles with super-human strength, yet were completely inept at dealing something as basic as love. This isn't the case with "When He was Wicked". Michael's frustration with his forbidden, unrequited love is palpable. It's clear he doesn't know how to deal with his feelings for Francesca and expects to feel this way forever.

Michael is a flawed character, which is probably why I liked him so much; his imperfections made him seem all the more real. He doesn't always do the right thing. He falls in love and lusts after his cousin's wife. When Francesca needs him most, he flees the continent. Then he resorts to seducing her to bind her to him. Francesca is incredibly competent, yet she's incapable of realizing this amazing love within her grasp. The sexual tension is deliciously and torturously credible. You can't wait for these two to get together and when they do.... gasp!

I related to Francesca and Michael even though their story takes place in a completely foreign era and setting. The complexitites in their relationship are rendered convincingly and left me yearning for a love like theirs. Ms. Quinn imbued these two with such emotional depth, their characters seemed to jump right off the pages. The energy between them is so palpable, it was hard to believe I was reading a work of fiction and not the diary of a real person. Authors take note: this is what a great romance story is supposed to evoke.

I've read this book twice now and I'm struck anew at how much I'm affected by Michael and Francesca's story. I would have given this book a sixth star if I could have. If you like light and fluffy, this is not the book for you. But if you like a book that will resonate with you for days after reading it, do yourselves a favor, ignore the bad reviews and read this book.

Julia Quinn is an exceptional author. In each of her romances, she also deals with an underlying issue, which is something I enjoy. It keeps the story from becoming so trite and predictable. WHEN HE WAS WICKED has received a lot of poor reviews from other readers, and I must admit I hesitated when ordering it for that reason. But I couldn't believe such a fine writer would "fall off her horse" so to speak, in this novel. In fact, I found just the opposite. This story shows Francesca and Michael struggling with both grief and the social stigma of marrying someone whom society dictates taboo; for Francesca that is a man she always thought of as a brother. For Michael, it is his best friend's wife. Deep commitments are not that easy to overcome, nor is the grief of losing someone you love deeply. While other readers complained that the two main characters should "just get on with their lives", I found that Ms. Quinn's portrayal of the difficulties they faced while trying to do this was much more realistic. It is intriguing that this is one of the most commonly expressed beliefs by someone who has never suffered a profound loss, "just get over it."

Ms. Quinn has dealt with other background issues in her other novels including stuttering and bitterness toward childhood abusive/neglectful parents (The Duke & I), crossing lines of social class (Offer From a Gentleman), and anaphylaxis and phobias (The Viscount Who Loved Me). I enjoy the depth her characters possess because they struggle with their emotions, and they are capable of deeper attachments.

I couldn't diagree more with the negative reviews. Don't be put off and miss out on a really good book. I'm glad I wasn't. Julia Quinn is an undeniably gifted author. Some of her readers of the Bridgerton Series didn't like this book because it didn't follow the witty, chatty and funny formula of her previous books in the Series. This is an emotionally well-drawn story of three people who love each other; Francesa, husband John, and John's close cousin Michael. When John dies so unexpectantly, Francesa is devastated. The only thing she knew is that her young husband went to nap with a headache and never woke up. Of course, she's confused, grief stricken and a little bitter, who wouldn't be!

Although Michael is in love with Francesa, he has accepted he can never express those feelings. Instead he enjoys a loving friendship with her and John. When John dies, their relationship can't be the same ever again. The "barrier" to Michael expressing his love for Francesa is gone. It scares the hell out of him and he leaves the country.

In the meantime, Francesa has lost both John and Michael and make no mistake about it she loved them both.

By the time Michael returns, he and Francesa have gotten over their raw grief. Their story unfolds as they realize they not only love each other but are in love with each other-and it's okay. Francesa wasn't just concerned about betraying John's memory, she had real concerns about Michael's previous reputation with the ladies. No, I didn't have one laugh out loud moment while reading this book, and that's okay. This was not some thrown together book. It is a very well written and thoughtful novel. The story comes alive on paper and it's flows beautifully. I finished it in one sitting. Couldn't put it down.

I'm a new reader to Julia Quinn. Since reading this one, I've read other books in the Bridgerton Series. I hope she isn't put off from writing emotionally drawn books. If some of her readers don't like them, she has new readers that will embrace her work, I'm one of them.