My Wicked Earl (Avon Romantic Treasure) [Mass Market Paperback]

Linda Needham (Author)

Book Description

Series: Avon Romantic Treasure | Publication Date: July 31, 2001

A Dangerous LordForced to live with her enemy! Hollie Finch is horrified when the forbidding Earl of Everingham Lord Charles Stirling, places her under house arrest in his manor. Well, he may suspect her of sedition, but to her it's just freedom of the press -- and she's determined to carry on her work right under his arrogant nose! Yet that turns out to be unexpectedly difficult, with his all-too-disturbing presence disrupting her days...and memories of his passion-dark eyes troubling her nights.An Impossible LoveLord Charles Stirling merely planned to keep a close eye on the lovely rabble-rouser -- and he's appalled when her intoxicating scent and lithe curves make him burn to have her in his bed. Even worse, her generous heart and her joyous laughter start him thinking about keeping her with him forever. But the powerful earl has a secret that could destroy him, so he dares not let Hollie into his life. Can the pride and deception separating them ever be overcome...by the miracle of love?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

I've leaned heavily toward the dramatic from my earliest childhood, when I forced my neighborhood friends to act out every movie I saw. Of course, I insisted on being director, costumer, star, and all-around bossy person. At the ripe old age of six. I organized my first parade and led a straggling band of eight equally young victim up one side of our block and down the other, carrying a proudly crayoned banner that read "The Parade of California." I'm still bossy, but now I direct it toward my characters, who accept my brilliant dramatic guidance -- most of the time.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (July 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380815230
• ISBN-13: 978-0380815234
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,171,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Enjoyable!, April 19, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Wicked Earl (Avon Romantic Treasure) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read to be entertained. This story held me, I couldn't put it down. Sure it wasn't realistic for the times, but who cares, it was well written. You couldn't help but really like and care about Hollie and Charles. The sexual tension between them was so well depicted and when they finally made love, WOW! Ms. Needham writes for a mature reader (not a teenager), and I thank her for that. The communication between Hollie and Charles, the side characters, the side issues (such as he can't read and he has an illigetimate son that he learns to love) all show what a talented author Needham is. This is the 4th book I have read of hers and I give them all 5 stars. I love the sensuality in her stories. I am a college graduate, career woman, and in my late fifties. You can trust me when I recommend an author. Needham is excellent!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done., August 30, 2001

By 

Affaire de Coeur - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Wicked Earl (Avon Romantic Treasure) (Mass Market Paperback)

Charles Stirling, the Earl of Everingham, is elated. Captain Spindleshanks, the man guilty of the spread of seditious material, is his prisoner at last. Or so he thinks... until he sees the prisoner, and finds he's a she....
Hollie Finch lost her father in what is beings called
the Peterloo Massacre. Innocent women and children were wounded by the soldiers, and Hollie cannot rest until she exposes the Earl and his investigation as being shoddy and not interested in the facts. No one knows that Captain Spindleshanks is actually a woman. So she invents a husband and says that he is the guilty party. Charles does not release her but instead keeps her as bait to lure the criminal. Her printing press is also under his watchful eye. With great caution, Hollie prints out another flyer, but little does she know that she could have printed anything right under Charles' nose. He can't read....
Other than Hollie seeming a bit too modern in her thinking, this is a thoroughly delightful novel, set in a time of political unrest in England. Both lead characters do an interesting job in shielding their secrets. Charles' dilemma is particularly moving, especially because he has a six-year-old son whom Hollie is teaching to read.... Vibrant and well done!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Middle Class Lass Clashes With An Arristocratic Earl, August 13, 2001

By 

Carol Carter "Carol C in GA" (Thomaston, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Wicked Earl (Avon Romantic Treasure) (Mass Market Paperback)

MY WICKED EARL By Linda Needham Historical - Regency Period

Charles Stirling, the Earl of Everingham, is being hampered in his investigation of the Bloody Massacre at Peterloo by seditious and incendiary broadsides and speeches made by his nemesis, Captain Spindleshanks. He's finally located this troublemaker and sent his men to spring the trap and capture this captain. Expecting the tall, dark man often described, he's astonished when his doors are thrown open with a bang and the prisoner thrown in is a magnificent woman. Barefooted, wearing nothing more than a sheer nightgown and shackles on her wrists and ankles, Hollie Finch boldly faces the man most fear. She's captured and her broadsides and printing press are confiscated, but the quick thinking rebel fabricates a tale of an elusive husband who is the captain they are searching for. It's a lie that keeps her safe, but one that will come back to haunt her later.

Charles holds the lady as hostage, believing her husband will quickly come to her rescue. After all, how could he possibly stay away from such passion and beauty for long? Hollie quickly turns the tables, and it's more like Charles is the hostage. He can't stay away from her, using the excuse that he must watch her day and night so he doesn't miss the opportunity to catch her husband when he arrives. She has him so besotted he even installs her printing press for her. She continually spies, gathering information for the scathing broadsides she secretly produces right under his nose. Hollie's father was brutally murdered at Peterloo and she is determined to tell the world the truth of that blood bath.

MY WICKED EARL is a regency historical featuring a unique heroine. Unlike most women of her time, Holly is educated and clever, and has a forceful personality. She's a rebel in her own time, unwilling to bend before the upper classes of society. Linda Needham further introduces conflict as she develops a romance between a commoner of the middle class and an earl of high political standing. She finds a way for these two worlds to meet and learn about love, and does it with humor and sizzling sensuality. She adds secondary characters to build a bridge between the unlikely couple, and tells her story in such a way to make it believable. MY WICKED EARL is a book you will enjoy reading and one I recommend you add to your shopping list.

Carol Carter, Reviewer - As written for Romance Reviews Today