Wicked [Mass Market Paperback]

Jill Barnett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

Nobody writes a love story as unique and magical as "New York Times" bestselling author Jill Barnett. Now she sweeps us away to the pageantry of medieval England, where a strong-willed knight must fight the battle of his life to win a stubborn lady.

Lady Soria Beatrice Rosalynde Anne Therese Howard has had as many suitors as she has names. But she's spurned every last one of them, to the dismay of her guardian, King Edward I. Now, even increasing her dower prize will not lure offers for the defiant, but lonely, Sofia, whose young heart was once broken by a too-arrogant knight.

Sir Tobin de Clare is the man who broke her heart, and he must make amends for a careless act from the past. Nothing will stop this ruthless warrior from winning her hand. Nothing, that is, except Sofia's tattered pride and her demand that he also surrender his heart.

In a rousing battle of will and wit that makes war seem peaceful, one powerfully determined knight and his spirited lady find that love at first sight is never, ever easy.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Medieval England
Sensuality: 7

Lady Sofia Howard is richly dowered and the ward of her powerful cousin, King Edward of England. Willful, independent, and full of mischief, she foils every attempt the king makes to betroth her to an acceptable nobleman. But at age 12, Sofia falls head over heels in love when she looks across a sea of people at a fair and into the eyes of a handsome knight, Sir Tobin de Clare. Over the next several years, Sofia and Tobin are thrown together on occasion; given Sofia's stubborn nature and Tobin's arrogance, it's not surprising that their acquaintance is stormy.

But no one could have predicted the fireworks that erupt when King Edward betroths Sofia to Tobin without her knowledge or consent. While there is no denying the passion that blazes between them, Sofia wonders if she'll ever really know the hard-edged knight. At the same time, Tobin struggles to come to terms with the depth of his feelings for his impossible wife. Each has emotional scars from their childhood and Sofia needs to know that she is loved by Tobin for herself alone and not for just her rich dower. And when fate intervenes with war, hostages, and duty to his king, the arrogant Tobin may make one wrong decision too many and lose Sofia forever.

Set against the backdrop of medieval England with all its pageantry, pomp, danger, and strife, Wicked is the story of two passionate, prideful people as they struggle to find a way to live and love together. Following Sofia and Tobin as they evolve from youthful sweethearts, embark on the heart-wrenching seas of matrimony as newlyweds, and at last reap the rewards of a deep and abiding love is a wonderful journey. Don't miss this third tale in Barnett's medieval trilogy that began with Wonderful and Wild.--Lois Faye Dyer

Review

Susan Elizabeth Philips Wicked and wonderful! -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067103412X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671034122
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a native Californian, a baby boomer who grew up in a very idyllic place at a very idyllic time--on the coast of Southern California in the 60's, although I spent many childhood summers before that on my grandparents' farm in Texas.

So I'm a West Coast girl raised by Southern parents, who grew up in a place where you spent your free time playing volleyball on the beach and weekends dancing to local bands like Beach Boys, Dion, and the Righteous Brothers.

My husband and I met in high school, and I never knew I wanted to be a writer until I was in my thirties and back in college again. I had been an art major the first time around--it was the 60's--quit to make some kind of mark in the world, but I got married instead.

My love of history and reading and art all came together for me when I quit school again, after working toward my history degree and then becoming a mother--something we were told couldn't happen. (The child not the degree.) So with the miracle gift of my daughter, came a new career for me.

I knew then I wanted to write a book, had an idea and more importantly a vision of the kind of stories I wanted to tell. I told myself I could always go back to school.

Funny thing the way life works. Almost two years to the day I quit school, I sold my first book on 50 pages to Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. That was over eighteen years ago and many books later.

So the road I traveled to become an author had many twists and turns, joys and disappointments. Yet I'm doing something I really love. In so many ways I'm a very lucky woman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sophia and Tobin will make you smile, December 10, 1999

By 

Bonnie Gilbert - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wicked (Mass Market Paperback)

Lady Sophia Howard, ward of King Edward I, has vowed never to marry. She has spurned every man who has offered for her hand, even after the King has increased her dowry.

When Lady Sophia was twelve years old, she meets Sir Tobin de Clare and she bets him three kisses. She loses, but never pays her bet. Three years later Lady Sophia and Tobin meet again, this time Sophia does not realize who he is. She is immediately drawn to him. He is the only man that she has ever felt an attraction to. He reminds her of the bet and she finally agrees to give him his kisses. After making arrangements to meet, he jilts her in the garden, making a laughingstock of her. Two more years go by and Lady Sophia still is not wed. The King of England has secretly bethrothed her to Sir Tobin and she finds out on her bethrothal ceremony. She is very angry, to say the least. She vows not to go through with the wedding. Running away from the castle Sophia cuts her hair and leaves for London. Eventually Tobin finds her and Sophia is sent to live with nuns while Tobin is sent to run errands for King Edward.

Finally one year later Tobin comes back for Sophia and they marry, although a bad childhood and poor feelings for his father causes Tobin not to declare his love for Sophia.

I found this book to be wonderful, quite possibly one of the best medeival romances I have ever read. Lady Sophia was wonderful and made me laugh (especially when she was forced to learn to belch and fart to make people think she was a boy!) and Tobin made me smile, with his secret love for Sophia. I highly recommend this medeival romance, but warn of a late night of reading.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Did we read the same book?, December 9, 1999

By 

Angela Fernandez (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wicked (Mass Market Paperback)

I can't believe someone didn't like this book! It was one of the best medieval love stories I have read in a long time and it is certainly Jill Barnett's best book ever, even better than Bewitching. Sophia and Tobin were funny and loving and perfect for each other, even if it took him a long time to see it. Sophia was like the women in most of Ms. Barnett's books, truly likable and written with laughter and joy and tears. I laughed so hard in one scene I woke up my husband. I loved what someone called the feminist part of the book in the convent. How could anyone not love Sophia's interaction with the nuns? But I also cried a few times, especially when she couldn't remember her mother's face. This book was poignant and loving and fun, everything I want in a love story. It felt different for reasons I can't really pinpoint. The characters are real and seem so human. The story went back and forth in time, something I hadn't read before but that I found I liked. We meet first Sophia when she is older and wiser, then go back to see how she met Sir Tobin, and back farther and come forward. Perhaps that was what confused one reader. But that doesn't matter because no one should miss this love story. It will stay with you for a long, long time. Jill Barnett is certainly one of my favorite authors, but with this book she is now at the top of my must read list, along with greats Julie Garwood and Judith McNaught.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece!, October 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wicked (Mass Market Paperback)

I adored this book and have recommended it to every woman I know. Sofia and Tobin are some of the most sympathetic and wonderfully real characters I've ever read in a romance novel. Tobin is a hero you can see grow and change as he falls in love, unwillingly, with the spirited and head-strong Sophia. You laugh and cry with them every step of the way through a wonderfully fresh romance. The prose is finely-crafted, luminous and rich. I know a gifted and complex writer when I read one. Ms. Barnett uses language the way a master painter uses color, shading and light. The plot spanned time, yet never once did it drag the way epic novels sometimes do. The author covered so many facets of Tobin and Sophia's lives and love in a concrete way that made me feel as if I were living along with these characters. Love, grief, joy, passion--this book has it all! Jill Barnett has written some very funny, heart-felt, and memorable books in the past, but now she has transcended the ordinary, even the unusual(Bewitching) and created the extraordinary. Do not miss this love story; it is simply, a true classic.