Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean
The Bareknuckle Bastards, #1
Romance Contemporary
June 26, 2018
Avon

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “The darkness has always tempted her. The locks. The barriers. The Impossible.”

Felicity Faircloth fall from grace has left her and her family in a pickle. From her unfortunate discovery in a man’s bedchamber to her involvement with a married man, Felicity has lost her friends and her social standing, becoming yet another flower on the wall. When anger and pain has her telling a whopper of a lie, she finds herself a pawn in a dangerous game of revenge when she is forced to deal with the devil for her sins. But Felicity has plans of her own and soon decides tis better to rule in Hell than to serve Heaven. Now she just needs to convince her devil of that.

Once again Sarah MacLean crafts a delightful romance overflowing with laughter, adventure, intrigue and glorious sexual tension. Faithful readers will remember Felicity Faircloth from The Day of the Duchess (#3 in Scandals & Scoundrels series). Witty, intelligent, and quick on her feet, Felicity is a delight and I found myself utterly enchanted as she struggles to extract herself from yet another mess and is forced to deal with a man that not only understands her…but accepts her for who she is. She wants marriage and a family but only with love.

The Devil himself (the illegitimate son of a Duke and the King of London’s underground)  has a troubled past and it colors his perceptions of people and romance. His reputation is hard won and he wields it like a sword. His insults and slights towards Felicity are countermanded by his overwhelming need to protective her-especially from himself.

“Lock this door behind me. You wouldn’t want a nefarious character coming in while you are asleep.”

“Locks didn’t keep the first nefarious character out of my room tonight.”

Sparkling chemistry sets off a game of wit between this strong-willed couple. It slowly burns only to blaze up as their attraction catches fire. The more time they spend together, their attraction for one another intensifies but Felicity must use all her skills to convince Devil they have a chance if he is willing to let go of his need for revenge. Emotions run high and the sexual tension is delicious as MacLean leads us towards the conclusion.

A dynamic set of secondary characters help to elevate and push the romance. Devil’s backstory includes three other people whose stories will come in the future though MacLean does dole out clues, hinting at what is to come. Felicity’s relationship with her brother and mother is so much fun. You can feel their love for one another in their lively banter.

“Oh, please. I told a tiny lie. […] Plenty of people have done far more outrageous things. It’s not as though I took up work in a bordello.”

“A tiny lie? And you shouldn’t even know the world bordello.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I suppose you think that it isn’t proper, me knowing the world bordello.”

“I don’t think. And stop saying bordello.”

The ending is predictable though the hero’s grovel and the heroine’s insistence on saving herself and her man left me clapping my hands in excitement. A short sweet epilogue lets us know how our couple and other characters are doing. Another sure-fire winner for MacLean. I am looking forward to the second book in this series-Brazen and the Beast-set to release June 25, 2019

Grade: A

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