Too Wicked to Wed by Cara Elliott (Lords of Midnight #1)
Historical Romance
October 25, 2011

Reviewed by May

Favorite Quote: “Connor Linsley may have experience on his side, but I wager that in this particular game of hearts, the two of you are very much equals.”

“Hearts?” sighed Alexa. “He claims he doesn’t have one.”

“That, my dear, is what they all say.”

Lady Alexa Hendrie has grown up in the country, managed her family estate (quite well!) and has all sorts of interests (including many academic pursuits) that are not deemed lady-like. She is immediately attracted to Connor Linsley, the Earl of Killingworth also known as “the Wolfhound”. The earl secretly runs an establishment that features gaming and prostitutes for hire known as the Wolf’s Lair.

They share an immediate physical attraction and it seems amorous embraces are just going to happen any time they meet up right from the start. When they meet a second time at a social event during the London season a meeting outside quickly becomes heated.

     Don’t. She stared at the sinuous curl of his smirk. Don’t think about the hot, brandy-spiced taste of his lustful lips. Don’t think about the hard, steel-chisled press of his sculpted muscles.
     “Don’t…” she stammered.
     Too late.

Quickly this story gets moving – our heroine proves to be crafty and fearless and after a night dressed up as a young Swedish man out playing cards with her cousin she walks away with a good amount of money – and a note worth ½ the value of the Wolf’s Lair thanks to sloppy gambling on the part of one of the hero’s friends. Then the hero is not only robbed but then over the next few chapters is attacked and shot!

There is mystery, intrigue, unusual circumstances, and characters who clearly are attracted to each other. But problems with the story are there, and they will only grow. To start with a great deal of people seem to know he (the Earl) owns this gaming establishment and yet it’s supposed to be a great secret. Not to mention how obvious it was when he is handing over the note to half his business and his friend is begging him not to – telling him that he’s sure to lose it or gamble it away. Also, the hero shouts out our heroine’s name while being attacked so now his attackers know her name and she is in danger. This was all done in a way that felt like bad acting – and something a man of his position wouldn’t have done. “Run!” yes. “Run Lady Alexa of 124 Mayberry Street!” (ok, I’m exaggerating) just seemed fake. Never the less, the decision is made for the two of them to travel alone to his ancestral home to hide and let him heal. That is, the home which he’s not returned to since childhood because he has bad memories of it.

I liked the elements and characters in this book. The hero with some dark past who clearly has a heart of gold as he makes sure to care for those in his employ and help them better their situations. I also liked the idea of our heroine. That she is a lady but also knows so much about animals, running a household or business, and generally seems like a smart, independent, and fun woman. Their conversations were never dull.

“Because I am a female? What utter fustian!” Sensing she had struck a sensitive nerve, she plunged on. “We are just as capable of decisive thought and action – despite the quirk of plumbing.”

“At times like these, I wish I might turn off the spigot.”

Fantastic as these two strong characters could have been, neither became more interesting than they were by page 20. I felt unsatisfied by their lack of depth and I wanted to see more from them both, get inside their heads a bit more and truly get to know Alexa and Connor.

The story lines went past enjoyable fiction into straight unbelievable. That this virgin lady would not give a thought to her reputation or her family honor by running off with this man, then happily offered up herr virginity to a falling down drunk at the moment Connor was too much. Also I had a problem with the fact that it was assumed her family wouldn’t notice that she’d disappeared and there would be no repercussions from that, followed by the huge issue that the couple could marry quickly at great expense – when the hero is very strapped for cash at the moment. Well it kept adding up.

While Alexa’s brother is mentioned often, he never makes an appearance nor do we see her family react to her sudden secret wedding. Another thread left unresolved is that Connor doesn’t ever explain what was so horrible that has made him ignore his home. Why did he abandon it? Also, if he was so horrified by his father’s excess and gambling that caused their family to be financially ruined, why run a gaming hall and drink heavily himself? For a character that was allegedly ‘unfit’ for marriage and all dark and dangerous – he had a surprising lack of bite.

Here is my final problem, I picked this book up to finished reading it only to realize whoops – I already finished. This is because the finale was so lackluster that I didn’t recall finishing – obviously this is not a good thing.

While the premise is made of awesome this book fails to see it through, or better develop the story. The "bad guy" of this story was very disappointing in every way, so much so that I won’t bother to get into it. Even the title is never given enough credit – why is he too wicked to wed? Had I seen more emotion, some legit conflict, growth and depth to the characters, or more of an ending aside from the very clichéd heroine kidnapping final show down, this story would have greatly benefitted.

Grade: C-

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Minding Spot
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