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A review by katyanaish
Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran
5.0
***4.95*** (ha!)
I really liked this one. It is hard to compare with Duke of Shadows, because the textures of the two books are SO completely different, but I may even like it more than I like that one.
This would be largely due to Gwen. The running tone of voice that we get in Gwen's narrative is... perfect. It manages to be so many things at once: witty, confused, bumbling, naive, earnest, affectionate, bored, yearning, lost, hopeful... and in the end it creates this hilarious and utterly charming woman, who is just so terrified of ... well, I don't want to get too spoilery, so I'll just leave with this: Gwen is terrified of a lot of things. Of being herself, of being alone, of being someone who doesn't live up to her family's hopes for her, of not being their legacy, and that's just the start of the list.
You would think that makes her a hard character to read, but there is nothing about her that is unenjoyable. The author did a magnificent job with her. Without being too cheesy, Gwen is one of those people who, when she laughs, the world laughs with her. When she weeps, it practically clouds over and rains. She's radiant. And she has no idea.
But Alex does - he sees her, even if he won't admit it to himself. And I think that's why a character like Gwen, would could easily be eye-rollingly cheesy, works so well in this book. Neither of them really have any idea. Not about themselves, at any rate.
And watching them both learn makes for a really fantastic read.
Let's also give a nod to the smut-tastic scenes. I haven't been reading HR for very long, so I don't have a whole vast library to compare to, but let me just say that Duran's sexy scenes are just blisteringly hot. Phew!
(***The teeeeeeeeeeny mark-down of .05* is because I am still not sure I understand WTF was up with Barrington. But I don't care. So that's why it is a teeny mark-down.***)
I really liked this one. It is hard to compare with Duke of Shadows, because the textures of the two books are SO completely different, but I may even like it more than I like that one.
This would be largely due to Gwen. The running tone of voice that we get in Gwen's narrative is... perfect. It manages to be so many things at once: witty, confused, bumbling, naive, earnest, affectionate, bored, yearning, lost, hopeful... and in the end it creates this hilarious and utterly charming woman, who is just so terrified of ... well, I don't want to get too spoilery, so I'll just leave with this: Gwen is terrified of a lot of things. Of being herself, of being alone, of being someone who doesn't live up to her family's hopes for her, of not being their legacy, and that's just the start of the list.
You would think that makes her a hard character to read, but there is nothing about her that is unenjoyable. The author did a magnificent job with her. Without being too cheesy, Gwen is one of those people who, when she laughs, the world laughs with her. When she weeps, it practically clouds over and rains. She's radiant. And she has no idea.
But Alex does - he sees her, even if he won't admit it to himself. And I think that's why a character like Gwen, would could easily be eye-rollingly cheesy, works so well in this book. Neither of them really have any idea. Not about themselves, at any rate.
And watching them both learn makes for a really fantastic read.
Let's also give a nod to the smut-tastic scenes. I haven't been reading HR for very long, so I don't have a whole vast library to compare to, but let me just say that Duran's sexy scenes are just blisteringly hot. Phew!
(***The teeeeeeeeeeny mark-down of .05* is because I am still not sure I understand WTF was up with Barrington. But I don't care. So that's why it is a teeny mark-down.***)