Review: Passions of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath.

Posted November 26, 2010 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins


Rowena’s review of Passions of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath.

Hero: Morgan Lyons, Earl of Westcliffe
Heroine: Lady Claire Matthews

Known throughout for his prowess in the bedroom, Morgan Lyons, the eighth Earl of Westcliffe, cannot forgive an unpardonable affront to his honor. Discovering his young bride in the arms of his brother was a staggering blow—so he banished the beautiful deceiver to the country and devoted himself to the pursuit of carnal pleasure.

Claire Lyons was an innocent, frightened girl on her wedding day, seeking chaste comfort from a childhood friend. Now, years later, she has blossomed magnificently and has returned to London with one goal in mind: the seduction of her notorious husband. Unskilled in the sensual arts, she burns nonetheless for the kisses too long denied her. And she has but one Season to win back the heart of the rogue she betrayed.

They are masters of seduction, London’s greatest lovers. Living for pleasure, they will give their hearts to no one . . . until love takes them by surprise.

This is the first book by Lorraine Heath that I’ve ever read in my life and it won’t be my last. This book had me gripped right from the jump and Heath did a fantabulous job of pulling at my heart strings. I absolutely loved this book. This book is a shining example of why I read romance novels in the first place. I’m a sucker for a happy ending and the journey it takes to get there and Heath wove the perfect romance to make me one happy reader.

This book follows an already married couple who have to overcome the obstacles of their wedding night to move forward with their lives. The heroine, Lady Claire was a silly young girl who trusted her good friend (who just so happened to be the hero’s brother) to help her postpone her wedding night and their foolish plan worked a little too good for her comfort. The hero, Morgan Lyons mostly known throughout the book as Westcliffe was rightly pissed off at finding his brother in bed with his wife on his WEDDING NIGHT and cast them both of his life.

Three years later, Claire pops back into Westcliffe’s life and he is not happy about it. He’s found pleasure in the company of his paramour and he’s not happy about his wife coming in and complicating his life. Everything in Westcliffe’s life takes a turn because he now has to acknowledge his wife that he wants to keep right on forgetting. Claire isn’t all that happy to be in Westcliffe’s life any more than he is but family has her going to him and for family, she’d do anything.

Time hasn’t healed the wound of being rejected by his young wife but it has treated his wife good. She’s even lovelier than he remembers and before he knows what’s what, he’s spending more and more time getting to know his wife and his sister in law. For someone who’s always longed for a family of his own to grace his house with laughter and warmth, he tries everything in his power to keep himself separated from Claire but the romance between the two of them was too strong for either of them to ignore.

I loved this book. Flat out loved it. I thought it was extremely well written and Heath did such a wonderful job of fleshing out both Westcliffe and Claire’s characters. I felt for the both of them, I connected with both of their characters and wanted the best for the both of them. I absolutely adored Claire’s character and I loved Westcliffe, even when he was being a stubborn ass.

Even more, I enjoyed getting to know the other characters in the book. Beth, Ainsley, Westcliffe’s mother and Leo, hell I even loved Stephen. I’m more than a little anxious for Stephen’s story but more so, I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for Ainsley’s story. I’m greedy for it, will do anything for it.

This was a wonderfully written historical romance that I would recommend to anyone who is in the mood for a sweet romance with great characters and a hot stud of a hero, Westcliffe was the bomb and Claire was perfect for him. Loved them both. Read this book, you won’t regret it.

Grade: 5 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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4 responses to “Review: Passions of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath.

  1. LuCi75

    This book should be on the way to me! I am really glad you loved it. I haven’t read all Lorrain eHeath books but the series i did read – The Scoundrels of St James one – was very well-written IMO.

  2. Lorraine Heath is a great writer. TEXAS DESTINY, one of her older titles & currently OOP, is one of my Top 10 romances of all time.

    Thanks for the review. I will be picking this one up.

  3. Rowena

    LuCi75,

    This was the first LH book that I’ve read ever and I absolutely adored it. I can’t wait for more! =)

    Scorpio M.,

    You should definitely pick this up, it’s a good one.

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