Jillian Hunter

Rated as 1 star because I couldn't find an option for negative stars. Why do I do this to myself? In this case it was because of the word "wicked". I knew he'd get reformed or something boring in the end, but I thought it could be fun in the meantime.

But it was not to be.

Look, when you see the words "wicked duke" in the title of a book (even a romance that has to obey certain conventions) doesn't it make you think that this duke must have done (at least in some far-distant past) something show more wicked, amoral, or at least perhaps not completely Done? Even if he doesn't eat virgins for breakfast or steal candy from babies, at least he must snap at his servants and lance cruelly witty rejoinders at Our Heroine.

The eponymous duke in this novel, however, has done nothing worse than be in the vicinity of his brother's accidental death and thus reaps the faintest of suspicion by some people who don't matter in any scheme of things that it was murder. Oh, and be shy of how every woman in the world jumps him at the first opportunity. Also he's a good uncle, a devoted nephew, and a perfect lover and gentleman.

Dear Author: I do not think this word means what you think it means. show less

Harriet Gardner was on a fast track to the gaol when a rich noblewoman took pity on her and brought her to her finishing school instead. Years of hard study later, Harriet has a genteel accent and accomplishments, and expects to spend the rest of her life as a school teacher. But after she snaps at Lady Powlis, she is unexpectedly offered the position of companion to her ladyship, who is bored and looking for amusement. From there Harriet becomes entangled in the Boscastle family show more shenanigans, from morbid young Edlyn to the stormy duke.

I quite liked this! The author has a better handle on the period than most, from Harriet's amazement at the waste of beeswax candles to the lurid cartoon broadsheets. Not all the scenes take place amidst the ton--London is portrayed not as a whirlwind of fancy balls, but as hierarchies of class that interlock but rarely meaningfully interact. I could see why both Harriet and Griffin were attracted to each other, and I liked the way their power imbalance colored their romance. Also, there's an actual plot! Ye gods, I didn't know regency romances were allowed to have actual excitement in them. show less

Lady Jane Welsham is left humiliated at the altar when her childhood friend, Sir Nigel Boscastle, fails to appear at their wedding. Though in a precarious social position, secretly Jane is elated that her plan has succeeded so brilliantly. Nigel marries the woman he secretly adores, and Jane is at liberty to seek a husband she loves.

There's only one problem: Grayson Boscastle, the notorious rake and wealthy Earl of Sedgecroft, takes it upon himself to squire her about in society to make up show more for his cousin's cruelty. Thus he manages to set an example of respectability for his wild brothers and sisters, and he gets to spend more time with a woman he finds more and more fascinating every time he sees her. But trouble begins to brew when he learns of Jane's deception...

The book was going along just fine at first. The characters were strong and likable. Hunter did a wonderful job of exposing the vulnerability and the playfulness of London's most notorious rake. But then he decided to get his revenge. Why exactly he feels that he needs revenge for Jane's deception of the ton, I'm not entirely sure. You'd think he would be pleased that she's not pining after his boring cousin when he's falling in love with her. Instead he plots to punish her when he's the one who foisted himself upon her as her escort in the first place.

Furthermore, why does a woman strong enough to deceive society and risk ruin for the sake of finding her true love become a weak-willed ninny for this man? Why would she not stand up to him in a brilliant blaze of fireworks instead of 'being unable to resist his cruelty'?

Sex as cruelty and sex as revenge have never sat well with me. I find it disturbing and not at all attractive when a man turns ruthless and cold over something stupid and the woman simply acquiesces out of 'love'. Unfortunately the second half of the book is taken up with this kind of ridiculous maneuvering and loses all of the easy charm of the first half. show less

This was just a super sweet love story!!! It had the right balance of drama, romance, steam, and humor mixed with believable characters. I will gladly read more by this author.