Customer Reviews

Wicked

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Lady Sofia Beatrice Rosalynde Anne Therese Howard is a ward of King Edward and Queen Eleanor, having lived with them since the death of her parents when she was four. Sofia is, to put it mildly, a rather spirited young lady and tries the patience of the royal pair at every turn. Not only is she spirited but beautiful and nearly every eligible bachelor in the land has tried to win her hand. However Sofia won't settle for anything other than true love. Then she sees him - the man of her dreams. A knight - tall, dark, and handsome. Quickly grabbing her best friend, she is off in pursuit.

Sir Tobin de Clare is that tall, dark, and handsome knight. Brave in battle, dutiful to his king, he is attracted to the lovely and spirited Sofia. However his prideful and stubborn nature prevent him from letting her know his true feelings and she believes he is paying her attention simply out of lust and desire for her dowry - just like the other suitors she's had in the past.

A more stubborn pair than these two would be hard to find. Tobin breaks Sofia's heart more than once in the name of pride, but soon the two are betrothed. But when Sofia defies the King and flirts with danger, he forces the young lovers to remain apart. But still, the two continue in their headstrong ways.

Wonderfully drawn secondary characters add to the enjoyment of this marvelous love story. Sofia's two mother figures, Queen Eleanor and Sister Judith, are particularly well-done. Readers of Barnett's previous books in this series will welcome the appearance of the hero and heroine from WONDERFUL. Readers will readily identify with Sofia's broken heart, her longing for true love, and her playful antics of retaliation. Jill Barnett has written her best book to date with WICKED - a title which belies its powerful, exquisite love story. I wasn't prepared for the intensity, the beauty, the depth of emotion. Sofia and Tobin's story should go down as one of the classic love stories of all time -- right up there with Romeo and Juliet (only not as tragic <g>). WICKED is the best historical romance I've read this year. Keep the hankies handy for this real keeper which is complete with all the fun, wit, and poignancy which readers have come to expect of a Jill Barnett novel.

This was the first Jill Barnett book I read. I was either smiling or laughing through the first half. This was more comedy than romance. It was hard for me to like Tobin after the wager he made at the beginning and I'm not sure if I ever got over it. It actually made me wonder why Sophia thought she loved him. He hadn't really done anything to deserve it. Arrogance is not a good reason to love someone. Even with the lack of romance I will definitely read more of Barnett's books.

This book is fantastic. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I read it in less than one day. This book is so full of emotion, there were chapters that I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair. Then there were chapters that I sat and cried until my eyes were raw. Jill Barnett is an exquisite writer with superb talent in telling a story. I can't wait to read her next book.

This is an incredible book! It kept me up all night because I just had to finish Sophia and Tobin's story. I laughed and I cried, even down to the very last line, which had me sobbing and smiling at the same time. I read a review recently and it says it all! Jill Barnett explores the stages of love: young love, passionate love and love that grows into a mature meeting of minds and souls. And I agree. The beauty and power of this book is not only in Ms. Barnett's delicious prose, her hallmark humor--some places I laughed out loud again and again at her wonderful characters and funny, funny dialogue--at the moments where tragedy strikes and her characters survive with a strength that makes you truly admire them, but the power is there in the stunning theme of this book: that love changes everything. Kathe Robin said 'that for those of us who fell in love young and still have that love later in life, this book is truly a tribute.' I agree wholeheartedly!

I have read all of Jill Barnett's books and was eagerly awaiting this one but was disappointed in it, coming away feeling as if these characters were not fully developed. The humor was not up to par either for Ms. Barnett. Sofia and Tobin were great looking but that seems to be all that was important about these two. Tobin never understood what really made Sofia tick-her fear of abandonment, her dread of waiting for the men she loved-at least this was never brought out in dialogue. The two of them were flat and lacking in compassion most of the time. I wouldn't tell someone not to read Wicked, but think Ms. Barnett has done better developing her "inner" characters in past reads.

I adored this book! I can't make up my mind which I like the best of this trilogy....they were all fabulous - Wonderful - Wild - and Wicked - What a fabulous trilogy and wonderful love stories - each and every one.
Lady Sofia Howard was introduced to us in the first novel - Wonderful and I just knew that this was going to be an unforgettable story. Ms. Barnett did not fail to capture the strong will of this heroine. She was the ward and cousin of the King Edward. She was exceptionally beautiful and very richly dowered and it wasn't until she was a teenager that she had a glimpse of the man she would lose her heart to and have it broken all at the same time.
Sir Tobin de Clare was introduced to us in Wonderful as well and not a likeable character as the then squire to Lord Merrick. Handsome, rich and arrogant as all get out, and harboring a hurt that does not get explained until this novel.
The battle lines are drawn and these two main characters are in for the time of their lives as they both grow and mature and finally find the most wonderful love of all.
A definite keeper to savour and read again and again.

I liked this story's premise. It took many interesting turns, but it continually left me with a big but..... Sophia bested Tobin in the forest in disguise and he never knew it was her. The story never again mentioned the encounter. I wanted him to know that it was Sophia, and maybe see a little respect given her. The story trailed off too many times and never quite came full circle. Ms. Barnett's descriptions and comparisons of things left me with the feeling that she just couldn't think of a better way to put it. Example: "it was as if a butterfly were right there inside of her heart." How silly. I also found so many typos and poor sentences I lost count. Example: "Since they had come to Camrose, since the day they had wed, she found.....", too much since not enough sense. The characters were likeable, but you just couldn't quite completely respect their plights. Sophia started out as a spoiled brat, with an attitude of "Oh poor me, I live in a palace with the Queen of England treating me as her very own, but I do not have my own parents." Somehow I just could not feel too sorry for her. Tobin came from a womanizing father. Not the best of circumstances, but still it could have been worse, he could have been beaten or abandoned. He grew up very wealthy and was fostered by a very loving man. I think the story tried to make you feel sorry for the characters and it just didn't happen for me. Sorry Ms. Barnett nothing against you. I have enjoyed other stories of yours in the past. Maybe after just having read Christina Dodd's "Outrageous" I got a little spoiled.