A review by michellesantiago
Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran
5.0
First, I let me just say how much I love the cover of this book! When I got it, I spent a moment just admiring its cover--the lush purple color of her gown is so pretty and they even got Gwen's red hair right (getting small details like that correct on covers is always a plus). But pretty cover aside, I absolutely loved Wicked Becomes You (WBY)! This is only the second book I've read by Ms. Duran (the first being her debut book Duke of Shadows which I also really enjoyed) and now I want to read her other books. She has a talent for penning romances set in exotic places with interesting, multidimensional leads who makes you root for their happy ending.
Our heroine is Gwen Maudsley, the nicest debutante and also the richest with a fortune of three million pounds--both of which almost makes everyone forget that her family is of the merchant class. After Gwen's second fiance jilts her at the altar (the first fiance having done the same), she decided she is done with being nice and wants to experience life without the silly rules and restrictions of the ton. And who better to guide her than her late brother's best friend Alex, a younger brother of an earl and a businessman with a wicked reputation. Both Gwen and Alex were really likable characters and as the story goes on you begin to see that beneath the surface there is more to them than being "the nice girl" and "the rake," which makes this book an engaging read. On the other hand, the secondary characters weren't as strong as the leads but I can forgive the book that because I love Gwen and Alex so much. Their adventures takes them from London to Paris and Nice and even to Monte Carlo. I appreciate the varied settings of the book as it's not often I read a historical romance not set in London.
WBY is one of the best historical romances I've read this year and I highly recommend this book. Whereas DoS is dark and emotional read, WBY is much lighter (there were a couple of laugh out loud moments in this book) yet it doesn't lack the emotion. If you're looking for a well-written, lighter historical romance with a great hero and heroine, this is your book.
Our heroine is Gwen Maudsley, the nicest debutante and also the richest with a fortune of three million pounds--both of which almost makes everyone forget that her family is of the merchant class. After Gwen's second fiance jilts her at the altar (the first fiance having done the same), she decided she is done with being nice and wants to experience life without the silly rules and restrictions of the ton. And who better to guide her than her late brother's best friend Alex, a younger brother of an earl and a businessman with a wicked reputation. Both Gwen and Alex were really likable characters and as the story goes on you begin to see that beneath the surface there is more to them than being "the nice girl" and "the rake," which makes this book an engaging read. On the other hand, the secondary characters weren't as strong as the leads but I can forgive the book that because I love Gwen and Alex so much. Their adventures takes them from London to Paris and Nice and even to Monte Carlo. I appreciate the varied settings of the book as it's not often I read a historical romance not set in London.
WBY is one of the best historical romances I've read this year and I highly recommend this book. Whereas DoS is dark and emotional read, WBY is much lighter (there were a couple of laugh out loud moments in this book) yet it doesn't lack the emotion. If you're looking for a well-written, lighter historical romance with a great hero and heroine, this is your book.