Customer Reviews

Too Wicked To Love

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

All her twenty-six years Miss Jane Mayhew has been in love with Ethan Sinclair, the Earl of Chasebourne. Unfortunately, the rakish Ethan saw her only as a sour old spinster. Everything changes when a baby is dropped off on Jane's doorstep with Ethan's pin attached to the baby. Immediately Jane knows that the baby is Ethans. Angry, she confronts the earl in his bedchamber, where he is entertaining one of his many "ladies". Determined to find the mother (and protect Marianne from Ethan's wild ways), Jane goes to London with Ethan and his beautiful mother, Lady Rosalind. Together Jane and Ethan search for the mother, amont a long list of women.

Under Lady Rosalind's care, Jane blossoms into a beautiful young woman, eventually catching Ethan's eye. One thing leads to another and the two are caught together in a very compromising position and the two are forced to marry. Angry for being forced into marriage, Ethan and Jane's marriage does not start out on a good note. Eventually after many fights, lots of making up, the baby being kidnapped and the parentage eventually being revealed, Ethan finally realizes his love for Jane.

I liked this book. I found it to be very entertaining, although Jane could be a little annoying at times!

I have a confession to make: I picked this book not out of interest of the blurb, but the divine packaging. The cover is so beautiful, and the naked guy in the stepback art... pass me the iced lemonade please.

The back blurb screams "Big Misunderstanding Galore" and I'm prepared for a bumpy ride, but I am pleasantly surprised at this book. It's funny, witty, very readable, and is probably one of the best historicals (for me) this year.

I particularly enjoy the transformation of the heroine from ahy wallflower to glorious beauty. What I appreciate is how the hero Ethan slowly changes his perception her from shrill annoying shrew to a passionate lovable woman. And the dear girl, she is level-headed, intelligent, and fun to read. The hero may be a rake, but I never could resist a poet with glasses. Not if he looks like the guy in the stepback art. But really, Ethan is a guy who grows on yo, that loveable scoundrel.

Even better, there's no "I hate you, you cheating scum" bickering even when there's a lot of opportunity for a Big Misunderstanding to arise. These two lovely people really do communicate, and it is a pleasure to see them fall in love.

And the love scenes are incredible. Pass me the iced lemonade please.

I close this book with a big smile on my face. It's been a pleasure to read this book. Yes, sometimes the book can be judged by the cover! :)

I really did not like this book. The plot has been described well already but my problem with this story is...Jane, our prissy, spinster heroine. Why oh why do so many historical authors feel that in order to redeem the hero rake he must fall in love with the plainest gal around? Make Jane plain if you must, but not so plain that it is ridiculous to really imagine Ethan not recognizing her at the ball. Hello - I don't believe plastic surgery was around back then to really allow such a transformation in Jane. Yes, good clothes can improve but not to recognize her? Really pretty ridiculous. Jane was so judgemental and nosy. Again, she barges into a man's bedroom, in his own home, and is surprised to find him with a woman? And why is it her business anyway?...Ethan deserved better than Jane, one of the most annoying female characters written in a along while.

...but don't read this for mystery. The final "surprise" twist was ridiculously easy for me to figure out, especially once all the named candidates for Marianne's mother were eliminated. If you knew it had to be a character Ethan and Jane knew, and if you knew that Ethan wasn't going to be the father, then there was just no mystery about it. I figured it out before I was halfway through the book, and I'm usually not very good at solving mysteries. Barbara Dawson Smith could learn a lot from Marsha Canham when it comes to plotting surprise twists.

That said, I did enjoy the romance between Ethan and Jane. They were an extremely interesting couple. I especially liked Jane. Some might see her behavior as obsessive; I saw it as the logical results of an unrequited crush. At first she wanted to keep Ethan out of any other woman's arms. Later, to salve her wounded spirit after he married, she projected onto him a life of unchecked hedonism, imagining that he was irredeemable. Then she found out how wrong she really was.

If you're looking for a good, solid romance, and don't mind being unsurprised by "surprise plot twists," then give TOO WICKED TO LOVE a try. It's a lovely, uncomplicated novel, perfect for curling up with by the fire.

I agree with some of the other people about this book. I felt that at sometimes Jane was a bit to obsessive about the Earl's behavior. But on the other hand I couldn't put it down because I never knew what she was going to insist on doing with him next. I was very surprised about who the mother of the child actually turns out to be and would recommend this book just based off of that twist. I think this is truly a well written book, even if I don't like the way the heroine acts sometimes. But it does go to show that true love does win out in the end, even if it does take a LONG TIME. A good book to read!!!

It has been a long time since a book has captured my attention--but this one definitely did! The plot is wonderful. The characters are wonderful. Buy this book!!!!!

I have tried on 3 differenct occasions to finish this book but have given up. It goes on the trading block on my next visit to my used book store. I don't usually rate a book less than 4 stars but this is only worth 1 star in my opinion. I have read so many of her great books and just finished the best "Silver Splendor". This prissy, stiff upper lipped, holier-than-thou, judgemental, demanding, intrusive blue stocking is beyond me. All the while looking down her prudish, priggish little nose at anyone who dares to have different values from her outlook on life, yet having erotic fantasies about the hero in the story... ... Sorry Ms. Smith but I am so glad I have read your earlier books with much better stories and with all those great characters. I agree...that the step-back in this book is fantastic and worth the price before I trade it, as well as the step-back in "Seduced By A Scoundrel" which I gave a much higher rating for a better book

Yes, I guessed who the mother was about halfway through, but I had so much fun getting to the end of this book that I really didn't care. Intelligent heroines are always a delight to read about, and this one sparked fire against her hero. Interesting darker characters balanced the book very well without being the outrageous villains that I've run into so much lately. The plot kept me turning pages to see what was going to happen next, and the atmosphere was rich with history, silks and prim young women who dare to risk the unthinkable. And the dashing rogue of a hero wears spectacles when he writes! Wonderful dichotomies at work here.

How can I describe this book? Actually with mixed feelings. When I ordered this book and it finally arrived I could'nt wait to get my hands on it and to start reading it because of the reviews from Amazon, Romantic Times, All About Romance and The Romance Reader. And much to my surprise it did'nt live up to my expectations.

Don't get me wrong, the story was quite well written, fast paced and started well enough, but unfortunately I was'nt so enthralled with Jane. A nice enough heroine but very presumptious and too nosy for her own good. Always thinking bad about Ethan (a wonderful hero) and always blaming him for everything while never realizing (only once in the story) that her own actions were not so great either. I know, I know, Jane being a country spinster and all that but I really admired the way Ethan put up with all her accusations. This guy deserved an Oscar for being so patient with her!

OK, having said that ..... this book was a nice read. A NICE READ. That's all. It did not make me "feel" like some other romances I've read and that's a pity because like I said, it was well written and well told. It just lacked something and that's why I gave it only 3 stars.

I don't usually write my reviews like a whining hyena, I guess I was just a tad disappointed, but hey.... different books, different tastes for different people.

For those who loved this book I'm glad they enjoyed it. It did give me a pleasant Saturday. And the stepback art of the cover.... hmmm.... wonderful!

I would have loved this book, just like the rest of B.D.S's, if it weren't for the heroine, Jane. She is so pious and prideful. I generally love the prim spinster, bad rake romances but not this time. Jane is too extreme for me. And I lost any respect for her whatsoever when she traps Ethan, the hero, into marriage, just like his horrible first wife did. Ick! I just felt she was a big jerk throughout most of the book and almost couldn't bear to read it through. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who must read a book all the way through, even if my fists are clenched and my teeth gritted.