Rowena’s review of Too Wicked to Love (Brides of Nevarton Chase, Book 2) by Debra Mullins.
Hero: John St. Giles
Heroine: Genevieve Wallington-Willis
Too wicked to love . . . but too tempting to resist!
Having already been deceived by a heartless fiancÉ, Genevieve Wallington-Willis knows better than to trust any man—which is why her attraction to John Ready is so very disturbing. Though devilishly handsome, he is far too mysterious—and a humble coachman, no less! But one inadvertent kiss and Genevieve is lost.
John dares not reveal his true identity to anyone or it’s the gallows for certain! He must concentrate on clearing his name—and prevent the fiend who sullied it, the notorious Raventhorpe, from working his evil on another innocent victim. But being this close to the clever, courageous, and exquisite Miss Wallington-Willis is driving him to distraction. And surrendering to his desire—not to mention to love—may prove the most dangerous risk of all.
This book is the second book in the Brides of Nevarton Chase series and for the most part, I enjoyed it. This book follows Samuel Breedlove’s best friend John Ready find his happily ever after. John’s got a mysterious past and is determined to do his duty assigned to him by his friend, Samuel Breedlove and then return to America so that he can live out the rest of his life in peace. It’s not the life he always dreamed he would have because he won’t be living in his beloved homeland of England but the rotten Raventhorpe has made it impossible for him to come home so he spends his life in hiding.
When we first meet Genny, the heroine, I wanted to punch her in her freaking face. She is the most annoying girl. She’s jumps to conclusions, she assumes and she, well she just annoyed me. I’m glad that I continued reading because over the course of the book, she did get better. While John had his secrets, Lady Genny had her own secrets as well.
Mullins does a great job of drawing the romance between John and Genny out. When I first started the book and John was so wanting to jump Genny’s bones, I kept thinking that she must have been real pretty to look at because her personality was crap. She always assumes the worst in John even though he saves her from being accosted in the library, she assumes that he’s trying to bag himself a rich heiress wife when she jealously catches him and Annabelle going off on their own. Those weren’t the only times when she assumed the worst in John and John had done nothing to deserve her assumptions. The first book is about Genny’s older sister who gets disowned by her family and Genny is angry at her for leaving, in this book we get the inside scoop on why she was so mad at Cilla. The more you read the book, the more you realize just why Genny is the way that she is.
She hasn’t had an easy time of it where men are concerned and as the book continues, she gets better and better that by the end of the book, you almost forget what a shit she was in the beginning of the book and start to like her.
John was framed for the murder of his wife and he hasn’t found the proof that will set him free so he lives in the shadows, trying to stay out of the limelight so that he doesn’t get sent to the gallows. John is one of those solid heroes that you just want to hold close to your heart and make him all better, any way that you can. He’s one of those stand up heroes that you come to adore. I enjoyed getting to know him and I enjoyed reading his story.
There were times when I wanted to beat him over the head with a club because of the decisions he made but overall, he was a great addition to this story. His martyr act at times got to be a bit much, especially since his plans were to give up the hunt and move to America to live out the rest of his life. The way that he was so hellbent on protecting Genny from himself got to be a bit much but in the end, the book ends the way it’s supposed to end and the overall journey was a good one.
If you enjoyed the first book then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one too. The ending is pure cheese but still, it’s an enjoyable read that fans of Debra Mullins will enjoy as well as fans of the historical genre.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5
This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
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