Wicked Wager (Author Spotlight) [Mass Market Paperback]

Julia Justiss (Author)

Book Description

Series: Author Spotlight | Publication Date: November 1, 2003

She was the one woman who could reform his wicked ways . . .

Lord Anthony Nelthorpe had committed many sins -- not the least of which was his hare-brained attempt to seduce the well-bred Jenna Montague Fairchild into marrying him. But that was three years past, before the war magnified life's conceit; after Waterloo, he who scoffed at honor, was nursed back to health by the very woman he'd wronged, while her husband, a man of honor, Jenna could not save.

Back in London, Tony seized the chance to shake the wealthy young widow out of her frightening apathy -- even if he was the last man on earth she wanted to see. He hit upon a challenge: since Jenna was the instrument of saving his rascal skin, did she not owe it to all those heroes to make a better man of him?

She would train him until Christmas -- the season of miracles. Now Tony just had to figure out how to win this wager without wanting her all over again . . .

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373835914
• ISBN-13: 978-0373835911
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up near Annapolis, MD, a gem of colonial American architecture which from an early age inspired in me a fascination with history. After majoring in French and History in college, I worked as a business journalist before marrying a naval officer I met (where else?) at a Navy football game. That began a vagabond period of 12 moves in 15 years which included 2 year postings in Tunis, Tunisia and Oslo, Norway. After my husband left the service, we returned to his home in the Piney Woods of Northeast Texas where we built a reproduction Georgian house and began raising our three children and assorted dogs. We live there still on 24 beautiful acres of pine forest overlooking a small lake. Along with gardening, reading, and keeping up with children's activities, I teach French at a local high school.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing, February 6, 2004

By 

Susan Smith (A small rural village in the English Midlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wicked Wager (Author Spotlight) (Mass Market Paperback)

I gave a rave review to Scandalous Proposal by this author but was very, very disappointed with Wicked Wager. I'm not sure I should not give it two stars having initially decided on three.

The problem for me was that this book was just simply sloppy and at times I struggled to keep my attention on it.

For a start, the names of the main characters were completely inappropriate for the time and place setting. Men named Madison, Lane, Bayard ???? Females named Hetty and Jenna? At times I had the feeling of being in a time and space warp and that they were escapees from something set in the ante bellum South when Jenna insists on calling her late husband's brothers "Cousin Lane" and "Cousin Bayard".

There were time-line inaccuraces that, unfortunately, annoyed me and thus devalued the story. For example, the author on the last page speaks of 25 June being the anniversary of Waterloo. Well, it's 18 June for Waterloo! Our heroine, Jenna, talks of nursing her husband for two weeks after the battle before he sadly dies yet before Christmas she is dancing at balls. Really? Surely not! And, at one point she talks about her difficulties in the 8 months since Waterloo and it's not even December yet! What???

Then, in an effort to make the story have some interest, the author turns it into a murder mystery. Someone takes a pot shot at our heroine. The author lets our hero, Viscount Nelthorpe find a "bullet casing" from the "rifle bullet" in a nearby tree. By this time, I was getting really irritated. Bullets with casings were really a mid 19th century development. All pistols, muskets and rifles of the time were loaded with ball, patch and powder.

What we have here is a shallow, ill-developed story of a rake-ish nobleman who became a soldier who returns to London and chases Jenna - a lady he tried to seduce years before. Before this story ends, she has seduced him pretty comprehensively in a scene without a frisson of sexual magic so perfunctorily is it written. (Don't forget Jenna is a widow of about 3 months and only several weeks post-miscarriage - it just doesn't add up, does it?)

Jenna is not particularly likeable and I didn't find Tony, Viscount Nelthorpe exciting either. Both were two dimensional and caught up in a boring story where no one stood out. Indeed, at first I thought Col Madison Vernier would be interesting but then he turns into a cad in the course of a short conversation. Sorry, but the quality of the author's prose does not sparkle (it veers from stilted to silly - using 'twas to indicate this is an historical novel!!).

I can't rcommend this and have changed my mind and am going gack to give it two stars. I also think I must re-read Scandalous Proposal to see what went wrong for this author.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hero I could love!, January 18, 2005

By 

C. Jager (Northern Pacific USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wicked Wager (Author Spotlight) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was delighted by Julia Justiss's WICKED WAGER. Or, rather, I was delighted by Tony. He was a bad boy after my own heart, a hero who knew he'd done some dreadful things in his life, and he was prepared to atone for them. He had every intention of protecting Jenna--from himself, if need be! What heroine could withstand such selflessness?

And thank goodness Jenna wasn't a faint-hearted, missish heroine. She was a woman who'd lived and loved and knew that life wasn't always easy, but for every heartbreak, there is redemption. Jenna gave Tony his--and found love in the process.

The very classic story of a rogue turned hero by the love of his life is my very favorite, and thanks to Julia Justsiss's style and grace, you can find that in WICKED WAGER.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wicked....but fun!, November 13, 2003

By 

Mary Lynn Ostrum (Altoona, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wicked Wager (Author Spotlight) (Mass Market Paperback)

Julia Justiss has a winner on her hands; or rather, her readers do! Tony is anything but an honorable man, and Jenna knows it. She, however, is very honorable, and in spite of past feelings does everything she can to nurse him back to health.Once this is completed, she wants nothing more to do with him. But, as I had hoped, things happened rapidly after that. The ways that her characters assist Ms Justiss in writing their story make for a totally engrossing read, one that I didn't want to put down until I was finished. Then, I was looking for more! Ms Justiss has written a wonderful tale, one that shows us strong characters who think they know what they want, and what life has in store for them. They, and the reader, however, are in for some surprises along the way.I highly recommend this one; I've already loaned out my copy!