Miss Maryann Fitzwilliam is too witty and bookish for her own good. No gentleman of the ton will marry her, so her parents arrange for her to wed a man old enough to be her father. But Maryann is ready to use those wits to turn herself into a sinful wallflower.When the scandal sheet reports a sighting of Nicolas St. Ives, the Marquess of Rothbury, climbing out the chamber windows of a house … windows of a house party, Maryann does the unthinkable. She anonymously claims that the bedchamber belonged to none other than Miss Fitzwilliam, tarnishing her own reputation—and chances of the dastardly union her family secured for her. Now she just needs to convince the marquess to keep his silence.
Turns out Nicolas allows for the scandal to perpetuate for his own reasons… But when Maryann’s parents hold fast to their arranged marriage plan, it’ll take a scandal of epic proportions for these two to get out of this together.
Each book in the Sinful Wallflowers series is STANDALONE:
* My Darling Duke
* Her Wicked Marquess
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Loved this book. The hero was written differently- there was a quiet need the author cleverly wove into his character that you could miss. I loved how he fell for the heroine, the slow, gentle incriminates his love grew. He never wanted to cage her – only see her blossom. Even his rougher ways of ensuring that happened worked so well and were perfect for his character. Without a doubt, one of my favorite heros ever. Loved every word.
The bookish Miss Maryann Fitzwilliam is being set up for an arranged marriage and she is bound to outwit this union between her and a much older man. She creates a scandal to ruin her reputation but somehow it backfires. Nicolas St. Ives, the Marquess of Rothbury plays along with a plan of his own.
Oh my goodness this was so fun and had me laughing and cheering for Maryann and her cunning ways to escape an arranged marriage! The chemistry between Maryann and Nicolas was undeniable. Stacy Reid wrote a fantastic historical romcom that I absolutely enjoyed. I could not keep my fingers from turning the pages fast enough to see this amazing HEA. A perfect read for #flirtyfebruary.
I hope you get a chance to check this one out!
In an effort to right a wrong, Lady Maryann Fitzwilliam has enlisted her brother Crispin to help her carry out her plan to embarrass her former friend and the reigning belle of the ton, Lady Sophie Wembley. Her plan is simple, she will wait until Sophie comes close to a window in the ballroom and then will have Crispin dump a bucket of grass snakes on her and watch her humiliate herself. But it isn’t Crispin who comes to her aid, a fact she doesn’t learn until after the deed is done. She is horrified and runs away – but soon discovers who her “helper” was – none other than the notorious libertine, Nicolas St. Ives, the Marquess of Rothbury.
Nicolas had his own reasons for being at the ball and for intercepting Crispin. Maryann was never part of his plan, but after meeting her, he is intrigued by her and can’t seem to stop thinking about her. Especially once he learns she plans to use him to ruin her – or at least imply that he ruined her to get out of an arranged marriage. When he overhears her spreading a rumor that he snuck into her room and stole a kiss – he can’t let that slide and proceeds to do just what she accused him of.
But at much as he is captivated by her, he can’t afford to get tangled up with her – at least not until he carries out his plans for revenge on those who hurt someone he loved and cause her to kill herself. He has been setting up his revenge for years and tracking down all the men who were involved in Arianna’s downfall and ultimately her death. He is not positive, but thinks that Maryann’s brother was involved, so that is even more reason for him to stay away – but he just can’t. And as he spends time with her, and begins to fall for her, he knows he will have to make a choice – love or honoring his vow to Arianna’s memory.
This was not a light read and based on the blurb, I was not prepared for a book that was in essence a revenge story – which is not a trope I enjoy. I felt like the book had the potential to be fabulous, but the revenge, inconsistencies, the title errors, and the odd raccoon references (I totally agree with another reviewer who noted this – there were no raccoons in England, so why use them??) – however, the twist at the end of the book was outstanding and the love scenes were smokin’ hot – so the book was not a total miss for me. Overall, the book was not my favorite by this author and it did drag a bit in the middle – but the ending did go a long way into making up for that and as this was an uncorrected arc, I am going to assume inconsistencies and title errors will be corrected before publication (hopefully), so would recommend that you judge for this book for yourself. This is the second book in this series, but they are very loosely connected and are definitely able to be read as stand-alone titles.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher. *
Plot Twist!
Nicholas and Maryann’s road to happiness is not a straight line, it’s fraught and frantic and absolutely perfect. Nicholas is an avenging eagle in dogged pursuit of the men who ruined his childhood best friend. Maryann is desperate to escape the clutches of the evil man her father sold her to. When Nicholas and Maryann’s paths cross, they become very unlikely friends and co-conspirators. Maryann is no ordinary wallflower, she’s brave and bold, always speaking her truth. Nicholas is a protector and nurturer, despite his wicked reputation. Together they soar!
She Brought Him to His Knees
Absolutely wonderful story! Haven’t read one of her books in a little while, and wow, have I missed her! You don’t want to miss Maryann and Nicolas!
Beautiful, marvelous, thrilling, amazing and so much goodness what else can I say about “Her wicked Marquess”:)! I loved it so much and Stacy Reid is such a wonderful author who captures the reader’s attention and imagination right away:)! She has quickly become one of my favorite historical authors and deserve so much recognition for her beautiful writing.
I read this book as an arc six month ago but unfortunately never got to writing a review, so now I heard it as an audiobook to fulfill the request. The audiobook was wonderful too and the narrator deserves a lot of praise for her performance. It was for me exactly the right voice, both posh (but not too much) and young (but in a wiser way).
I loved Maryann and Nicolas very much and their meet cute was so funny and dangerous at the same time. She doesn’t shy away from anything and when someone hurts other people in the ton she retaliates and if she feels threatened she quickly finds something to protect herself with like a rake, a shovel or a sword. She is not afraid to speak her mind and that is also what makes her a wallflower in the ton.
Nicolas on the other hand is very closed of and keeps his cards close to his heart. But Maryann intrigues him from their first meeting and he opens up more and more and they become close friends and slowly it turns into more. But he keeps a secret from her that might hurt or ruin their relationship.
He is a very honorable man but also very vengeful when it comes to people who hurt the ones he loves. So that doesn’t suit well for five members of the ton who raped his best friend and let her commit suicide after. And when the story starts he has started his vengeance so this is not a spoiler;)!
I can definitely recommend this book if you enjoy friends to lovers romance, heartwarming romance, thrilling romance with a great plot and the best and most wonderful main characters you could wish for.
This was the most romantic book I’ve read so far this year. Stacy Reid’s alpha hero and kick ass heroine left me feeling warm and fuzzy throughout their story and with a smile on my face once done. *happy sigh*
Did someone say Historical Romance? Oh, They did? YES MA’AM I am here for it.
Stacey is a go-to author for me and this novel was perfection. I was so excited to get it as a surprise in the mail. This was the second novel in this series but can be read as a standalone.
This is a semi slow burn and I was here for it. The couple was fantastic and the slow swoon was on point. This novel had the secrets you didn’t see coming and a little to keep you twisted up, but in the end it was a perfect HR with characters that you grow to absolutely love.
Dark, edgy, and passionate!
Her Wicked Marquess is an engaging, rousing tale featuring the intelligent, fiery, MaryAnn Fitzwilliam who will do whatever it takes to escape a loveless marriage to the elderly Lord Stamford to whom she is betrothed, and the handsome, rakish Nicolas St. Ives who is determined to identify and seek revenge on all those who violated his childhood friend five years prior.
The prose is enticing and fluid. The characters are troubled, protective, and witty. And the plot is an alluring, mysterious mix of societal expectations, family, friendship, secrets, scandal, tender moments, retribution, and unconditional love.
Overall, Her Wicked Marquess is a sultry, adventurous, entertaining tale by Reid that is a pleasant surprise with its exceptional character development, unexpected ending, and twisty, surprising storyline that is quite atypical and somewhat grittier than you usually find in this genre.
I adored this book with its swoon-worthy hero and determined heroine. Highly recommended.
4.5 Read!
This is the second book in The Sinful Wallflowers series and my first time reading Stacy Reid. I went into the book blindly and I was pleasantly surprised by the way the author crafted her characters: from a witty wallflower to someone who fully takes charge of her own future happiness, from a vengeful marquess to someone who willingly sacrifices his vow to be with her… The story is well developed with many twists and turns and surprising events.
Lady Maryann Fitzwilliam is forced to marry a man her father’s age. So she comes up with a plan to ruin herself through gossip papers (Hello Lady Whistledown !) And the man whose name she plans to use for her purpose is none other than the Marquess of Rothbury, Nicholas St. Ives, a notorious libertine and infamous rake. She only means it to be false rumors, but he makes sure they become real …
His path of vengeance for a girl he once loved leads Nicholas to Maryann’s house, and his encounter with her in her dark garden leaves him with intrigue. He realizes she’s not the quiet and boring wallflower that everyone thinks she is; rather, she’s witty, passionate, and brave (she almost attacks him with a shovel .) She is the light to his dark and empty world, and once he opens up his secrets, his long-lived grief and guilt, they have formed an inseparable bond…
I like how the author created a complex world with entwined characters and lots of secrets and mysteries. Maryann and Nicholas have good chemistry together. I just had a little issue with the pacing, as I feel it’s dragging a bit in the beginning. But then toward the end, when everything comes together, it’s exciting and hard to put down. Overall I really enjoyed the story and would like to read more from Ms Reid.
*Special thanks to Entangled Publishing for sending me this physical copy in exchange for my honest review.*
A wickedly good read! Nicolas and Maryann were a perfect match. I enjoyed their story, it kept me captivated and entertained. Well done again to Stacy Reid for a beautifully crafted regency romance with all the right heat levels, angst and passion.
Revenge and romance is a dangerous combination. Nicolas St. Ives, Marquess Rothbury, has spent a decade ruining the men who ruined his friend and drove her to suicide. Nicolas has seen his obsession with revenge for Arianna through but for two men. He doesn’t want romance, and he uses his reputation to avoid it. That is until Miss Maryann Fitzwilliam decided that the best way to avoid the marriage her parents have arranged is to be ruined, by Nicolas. These two are perfect together. You keep hoping things work out so that they have a chance. Will Nicolas save Maryann from a horrible marriage? Will she be able to help him heal from the guilt and pain of his past and his obsession with revenge?
This is an interesting story. When Nicolas sets out to serve comeuppance, he is not kidding around. There is danger and drama, but there are also some lighter moments, and romance, or at least some wild courting. Maryann is an independent (as much as she can be) bluestocking who had no desire to settle down, until she got to know Nicolas. It seems Crispin, Maryann’s brother feels as guilty about what happened to Arianna as Nicolas; and Crispin has a secret he has kept for ten years. He…no, you’ll have to find out for yourself. A good read with compelling characters and an engaging plot, I recommend it. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook version narrated by Mary Sarah.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.
***** ‘Tis Pity She’s Adored (A Revenger Romance)
Oh my, Stacy Reid has done it again – Nicholas and Maryann have an AMAZING story! The independent wallflower who refuses to be patronised or bullied, and the man in the shadows disguised as a rakehell whilst seeking revenge for his childhood friend.
Meeting by chance in the garden (with a bucket of snakes, as you do) neither of their lives is ever the same again, as the adventure unrolls via sneaking around houses and into bedrooms, with scandalous and ruinous intentions as well as scandalous and ruinous behaviours.
Maryann is adorable – inventive, shrewd and intelligent, ostracised by her peers because she won’t fall in line with the reigning belle, and determined to avoid her arranged marriage. Nicholas is aloof, angry and remorseful, set on his investigations and revenge, and equally determined to avoid any form of relationship. Despite this, and possibly due to their unconventional natures and dislike of society’s hypocrisy and cover ups, they are attracted and drawn to each other almost instantly.
This is a wonderful, dramatic and absorbing read, for the mystery at the heart of it as well as the romance and love affair. Both characters are clear from the start, yet their development and their growing relationship is a joy to follow throughout the book, as we see Maryann’s confidence, audacity and courage and Nicolas’ sense of honour, humour, strength and loyalty emerge. Their brilliant repartee and scenes chock-full of sexual tension and sensuous, steamy release (merciful heavens!) twine skillfully around the twin plots, with twist and turns that culminate in a spectacular ballroom showdown.
Spend the last of your pin money or trade your vouchers for Almacks to get a copy – this book is truly one of the best things about 2020!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a marvelous Regency historical love story with humor, betrayal, deception, mystery and love all rolled into one! Yes, the book is a little bit darker due to the hero having lots of issues and his strong longing for revenge. Still the humorous moments help balance the deeper things going on. Ms. Stacy Reid writes superbly with such depth and wonderfully developed characters whether they be major or minor. The story is just fantastic but there is a romance between two of the minor characters that really should be made into another book. Maryann the reserved witty clever wallflower heroine is just a delight! She is a lot of fun and would make a great friend especially since she is not scared of bugs so will be able to scare any mean girls. Nicolas the tortured tormented vengeance filled hero seems at first seems callous manages to break form and show his true feelings especially for Maryann. He is kind of hard to like but as the story unfolds he becomes swoon-worthy. This is one story that is an exceptional tale that will not only stay with you but is definitely a keeper!
Rating: 3.5 stars
Her Wicked Marquess features one calculating, determined, 0bsessed with payback, vengeance for an entire decade hero. That’s right. Nicholas has spent ten years trying to solve the pieces to a puzzle that leads him to the culprits that ultimately claimed the life of his childhood sweetheart. Though we are spared specific details, it is made crystal clear what disturbing deeds were done to her. One by one the evil do start to fall into Nicholas’ carefully laid traps of retribution.
Maryann was the first woman to make Nicholas see life and love can help him move on from the guilt of not being there to stop the unforgivable crime and the aftermath that followed. This leading lady has woes of her own, as she has to dodge and weave being tied down in an unwanted arranged, loveless marriage that will surely end in her own demise.
With a huge twist at the end I didn’t see coming followed by an all cards on the table, emotional grand gesture declaration, things get wrapped up and this reformed rogue finally gets to start living a real, meaningful life with the woman fate really intended for him.
Title: Her Wicked Marquess, Series: Sinful Wallflowers (Book 2), Author: Stacy Reid, Pages: 400, stand-alone but part of a series, big surprise twist, pushing away, relationship angst, perilous situation, celibate awhile hero, virgin heroine, hurtful at times to deceive others, disturbing implied references to a past gang rape of OW.
Book 1 – My Darling Duke
Book 2 – Her Wicked Marquess
(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review. There is no affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author, publisher, or any PR firm.)
This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Reid and what an introduction to her utterly enthralling writing. Nicolas St. Ives is a man haunted by what happened to his childhood friend, Arianna. He’s made it his mission to punish those men who were responsibility for what happened to her. He’s playing a long game–10 years of plotting and angling himself to be the architect of their ruin. He’s almost done with the revenge game, but he is distracted by the utterly fascinating Lady Maryann Fitzwilliam, a feisty wallflower that he can no longer overlook. He longs to make her his, but his enemies are watching and if they know she is important to him, he fears they will strike against her. Can he give up his revenge for the woman he loves?
Wow, what a riveting story this is! Ms. Reid is a master storyteller revealing bit by bit what makes Nicolas tick. Her descriptions bring scenes to life and I was hooked from the beginning. I loved Maryann. She was so brave and strong and the interactions between her and Nicolas were intriguing. A word of warning–there are numerous graphic sex scenes in this book for those readers who do not care for this in their stories. I will definitely look for other books by Ms. Reid.
I voluntarily read the advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.
Revenge as spoken by Hamlet.”To die, to sleep – To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub, For in this sleep of death what dreams may come. God has given you one face, and you make yourself another. No place indeed should murder sanctuarize; Revenge should have no bounds. One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.” William Shakespeare
A suspenseful, nail-biting, methodical chase for years to avenge the death of a loved one. Lord Nicolas Charles St. Ives, Marquess of Rothbury had wronged a childhood friend and it ended in her death. Filled with guilt and now obligation to bring to justice those who wronged his dear friend took him years to orchestrate. He took each guilty party down one at a time. She left him a note with a description of the men. He had to uncover who they were. He was close so very close to closing this chapter of his life. But it was interrupted when Lady Maryann Fitzwilliam imposed herself into his life.
Maryann is a witty, intellectual, rapier wielding, always learning wallflower who was betrothed to a handsome but heinous man who could never understand nor respect her. She used Nicolas’s reputation to create a scandal to break the betrothal but it did not work. Nicholas paid close attention to Maryann and found her intriguing and he found himself drawn to her.
This is such a good story. There are so many unpredictable twists and turns that I could not put the book down. This held my attention from the very beginning to the end. Maryann is an amazing character. Unmarred by the ugliness of life she was a person she wanted to be. It was not based on societies expectations but based on her own. She is a loyal friend, mischievous, daring, refreshingly unbiased in her honesty and opinions. Everything about her was good and kind. However, she and Nicolas shared something in common the guilty party must pay one way or another. Of course, Maryann’s ideas of revenge were more of child play compared to Nicolas. He was playing in the big leagues involving humiliation and financial ruin.
I enjoyed reading about the times they spent together and got to know each other to fall in love. But the moment came when they came to an impasse when it came to his objectives. He acquiesced to her wishes above his own and told her to never see him again. He walked right out of her life.
Then like a wish come true a miracle happened that would change the trajectory of his and her life. It was not the way she would have wished it to turn out but she put him and his needs above her own as he did for her.
This is a must read. You will be swept up in the danger, suspense of the exciting conclusion to Nicholas’s journey and the beginning of Maryann’s new hɛʟʟ or heaven?
I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
You won’t put it down!!! A MUST READ!!
Her Wicked Marquess is the 2nd book in the Sinful Wallflower series. I absolutely loved Book 1 My Darling Duke and couldn’t wait to read book 2. Well I was not disappointed. This story had me hooked from beginning to end. I loved the characters. Lady Maryann and her Marquess were absolutely perfect together. From their first encounter, I loved watching them circle each other and I enjoyed seeing the progression of their relationship. They had great chemistry and excellent banter. I love that these two saw each other for who they really are and not the personna they put on for others.
Apart from the romance, there was a sight mystery playing out in the background as Nicolas was on a quest for revenge. With lots of drama, some angst and suspense this romance was an enjoyable read and I would highly recommend it to all lovers of Historical romance.