30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Wicked Night, December 28, 1999
This review is from: One Wicked Night (Zebra Splendor Historical Romances) (Paperback)
One Wicked Night is the type of book I normally shie away from. I read the backblurb and see the word adultery and stop right there. I am glad in this case that I delved deeper into the book. Shelley Bradley has laid out a tangled web here, where the single act of adultery has far reaching consequences.
The heroine, Serena Boyce is married to an older man who is impotent. Her husband, Lord Warrington, has a nephew who is truly evil and his only heir. He begs Serena to take a lover in order to defeat the nephew by having a child they will pass off as the heir. Serena has no intention of agreeing to her husband's request, but allows him to believe that she will.
Lucien Clayborne, Marquess of Daneridge, has divorced his faithless wife and is grieving over the death of his daughter. He blames himself for her death and is deeply mired in guilt and grief when he and Serena meet in a very dramatic way. Lucien rescues her from an attack and in the aftermath these two very lonely and unhappy people come together in a single act of passion.
When Serena realizes what she has done she flees and hopes never to see Lucien again. She is terrified that she is like her mother, who was a publicly loose woman. Lucien is horrified to realize she was a virgin and thinking he has seduced someone's innocent daughter, strives to find the lovely Lady. He is shocked and furious to discover she is very much married and that he had been used to cuckold another husband.
With the murder of Serena's husband the skeins of this story become very tangled. Each of them is mired in their own fears and guilts, afraid to trust and definitely afraid to love. This book deals with adultery and it's consequences in a deep and serious way. It is not a night of unpunished pleasure to be forgotten. The hero is afraid to trust a woman who has already cheated on one husband. The heroine is terrified that her one slip, was evidence of a base part of her nature. Yet, this couple keeps you truly involved in their story. There is definite emotional growth on both of their parts. They painfully work through the anger and hurt as Lucien tries to keep Serena safe from the evil nephew and his new co-hort, who happens to be Lucien's ex-wife.
One Wicked Night, kept me turning the pages and I genuinely liked this couple. Their emotional growth from the pain of their first passionate meeting, makes the ending satsifying and believable. This book is a delight from the beautiful front cover to end. Bradley has written a book that deals with adultery in the serious manner it deserves and I hope other readers will look past the backblurb to an emotionally satisfying read.
Linda Hurst
Reviewer
Under the Covers
Pandora's Box/AAR
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A WELL WRITTEN PAGE TURNER!, March 22, 2000
This review is from: One Wicked Night (Zebra Splendor Historical Romances) (Paperback)
I read A LOT of romance. I've been reading it for years. Every so often you find a book that's special. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS! Lucien and Serena are so complex and their love relationship so beautifully crafted. Little by little, you see them come to understand and accept one another. I cried when I discovered how much Lucien had loved his daughter. And did I mention the sex is steamy too? Throw in a bit of danger and a flair for the Regency period and you have a great book. This one is worth reading again. So glad I listened to a friend and bought One Wicked Night. I'm hoping to see more books from Shelley Bradley soon!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your Mama's Historical! Wow!, June 20, 2011
I am not a big reader of historical romances. But knowing this was written by Shayla Black in her Shelley Bradley days and being re-released after being out of print for a long time, made me decide to give it a try.
It was great! It was lusty and sensual and there was great intrigue! I loved the period of the story and Shayla Black is so good at making me feel like i am right there seeing entire environment.
Lucien was a lot more Alpha male than I remember historical romance hero's being and while that surprised me, I think it is what made me really enjoy the story even more. Having read Ms. Black's other series, I was almost expecting him to spank Serena at one point!
It was a lovely love story with some really ridiculously hot love scenes, also unexpected for me, considering my past experience with historicals.
I guess it just proves that when an author can write good love stories (and hot men & hot sex)- they can really write any time period!
I will certainly look forward to any other re-releases from this author regardless of the era presented!
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