Lady Elizabeth Reynolds is perfectly happy living as a nun.
Secure within the walls of St. Albans, Elizabeth is determined to take her vows and never return to London. Life in society holds no appeal and she has no desire to wed.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s long absent mother has plans for her daughter. Taken from St. Albans against her will, Elizabeth has been promised in marriage to the Duke … been promised in marriage to the Duke of Langford, a man with a penchant for cruelty and young wives. In return, Langford has promised her mother support in regaining her place in society.
Desperate to cling to her freedom, Elizabeth has only one option… run.
Henry Spencer Hammond, Lord Kelso has only just arrived back in England after serving the Crown abroad. Retirement for a man of his skills would be more assured… if he married. Any woman will do. As luck would have it, fate intercedes when a beautiful young nun hides in his coach and begs his help.
When Spence proposes a marriage of convenience to solve his problem and hers, Elizabeth accepts. She’ll receive the protection of his name. Spence will have his freedom. Their arrangement is practical and uncomplicated. Logical.
Until Spence falls in love with his wife.
Still Wicked is a steamy historical romance set in post-regency London with a guaranteed happily ever after. Book 6 of the Wickeds
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Still Wicked is the sixth book in the wild and fun Wicked series. The books get better and better! It was fast-paced, easy to read, and full of intrigue, action, drama, and adventure. I couldn’t put it down until I had finished it. I loved seeing the characters from the previous books interacting and helping Elizabeth and Spencer.
Lady Elizabeth Reynolds was traumatized as a child and her brother sent her to St. Albans, a convent in Scotland, to keep her safe. Her family wanted her to return to London, but Elizabeth hated large crowds and panicked when she went out. Elizabeth thought Jeanette, her mother, was being cared for and would not be a threat until Jeanette turns up at the convent and kidnaps her. In her madness, Jeanette has planned to marry Elizabeth to the Duke of Langford so she can reclaim her place in society. The only course of action for Elizabeth was to escape and get to London.
Spencer Hammond, Lord Kelso, was ready to retire from serving his country as an assassin. The only way he can retire is to marry. While he was out on an errand, he discovers Elizabeth hiding in his carriage. They agree to marry each other for convenience. Elizabeth would be safe from her mother and Spencer would be able to retire. Unfortunately, Jeanette doesn’t give up and Elizabeth is still in danger.
This was a wonderful ending to the series. It was so easy to fall in love with the characters and the author’s style of writing grabs your attention from the beginning. The story was so easy to get lost in. I can’t wait to see what comes next from the author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I had been looking to read an historical romance for a while so was excited to read Still Wicked. Kelso and Elizabeth checked all my boxes in what I like about a couple. Kelso is mysterious, strong, sexy. He becomes protective of Elizabeth immediately and she needs the safety he offers her. Elizabeth is seemingly quiet and reserved at first but we soon see her quick wit and smarts. I loved their banter. They had a lot chemistry! I’m interested in reading the other books in the series. Definitely recommend this one
ONE DELIGHTFUL ADVENTURE!!!
Ah snap! Kathleen adds fuel to the flames with this beautifully composed piece of perfection, imparting such a rollercoaster ride with all the thrills, spills and tantalizing frills, wrapping this baby up sleek, shiny and tight. Delivering satisfaction with every sentiment and nuance, growth and new understanding as you witness the intimidating trials and challenging tribulations, noting the compelling twists and wicked turns, putting our characters through their paces. Anarchy, escapades and havoc run amuck, kicking this bad boy into a raging tempest, blasting it into a tailspin with a mind-blowing culmination. Exhilaration rocks this jewel, bringing it home with such intensity and precision, riding roughshod and imparting one block busting masterpiece. Braided, bound and entangled, exposing the explosive ups and agonizing downs, grounding in it’s strength and awe inspiring in it’s depth. The attraction and chemistry builds as each layer is peeled back exposing an undeniable bond, launching this gem to a whole new level. The characters, banter, interactions and charged atmosphere along with relatable qualities and individual traits, blend and flow, transforming into genuinely approachable personalities. The scenes are written with such realism, impressive passion, imagination and unique insight, blasts this sparkling jewel wide open, making the storyline explode. Amazing job Ella, thanks for sharing this treasure with us.
Suspenseful, dramatic and romantic Still Wicked keeps the reader’s interest from the opening page through to the closing chapter. Lady Elizabeth is quite happy being a novice at a remote convent, even though the sisters are not so sure about her suitability. Nevertheless, Elizabeth is determined to stay hidden from society and in particular her evil mother. When said mother appears in the convent gardens together with her henchman and abducts Elizabeth, she only has one thought in her mind and that is how to get away from them as quickly as possible. Her determined escape leads her to the unsuspecting Lord Kelso’s carriage, which ultimately results in a marriage of convenience. Spence can handle thugs, being chased under fire and climbing out of windows. The little nun sitting opposite him in his carriage, however, takes him completely out of his depth. I loved the main characters and despite their difficulties, they make an interesting pairing as they flounder in unknown waters. The plot sensitively deals with an evil that has plagued the lives of both men and women for centuries and the resulting fall-out. Elizabeth’s response to the trauma she experienced as a child is as relevant today as it was in the Regency and Victorian eras, including the fact that despite her “affliction”, she became a resourceful and capable person. The story is well written and although part of a series, it is nevertheless a standalone and comes to a good conclusion. I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.
Still Wicked
The Wickeds Series #6
Kathleen Ayers
https://www.facebook.com/kayersauthor/
Release date 04/28/2020
Blurb :
Lady Elizabeth Reynolds is perfectly happy living as a nun.
Secure within the walls of St. Albans, Elizabeth is determined to take her vows and never return to London. Life in society holds no appeal and she has no desire to wed.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s long absent mother has plans for her daughter. Taken from St. Albans against her will, Elizabeth has been promised in marriage to the Duke of Langford, a man with a penchant for cruelty and young wives. In return, Langford has promised her mother support in regaining her place in society.
Desperate to cling to her freedom, Elizabeth has only one option… run.
Henry Spencer Hammond, Lord Kelso has only just arrived back in England after serving the Crown abroad. Retirement for a man of his skills would be more assured… if he married. Any woman will do. As luck would have it, fate intercedes when a beautiful young nun hides in his coach and begs his help.
When Spence proposes a marriage of convenience to solve his problem and hers, Elizabeth accepts. She’ll receive the protection of his name. Spence will have his freedom. Their arrangement is practical and uncomplicated. Logical.
Until Spence falls in love with his wife.
Still Wicked is a steamy historical romance set in post-regency London with a guaranteed happily ever after. Book 6 of the Wickeds
My review :
Will their marriage of convenience becomes one of inconvenience…
What a rollercoaster ride this book was, not a dull moment, each chapter bringing its lot of events. I laughed, swooned, smiled, cheered with Elizabeth and Spence. Their romance was pure pleasure to read.
I confess I feared at the very beginning to follow the steps of a weak creature with Elizabeth but hopefully it was a very wrong apprehension, as she very early demonstrated her strength of character. Despite her past, her guilt and her youth, she overcomes her own nightmares to fight for herself.
And Spence, oh my, Spence! While he appears jaded to everyone’s eyes, with her, a spark ignites his blood, she stirs something new from his heart. He, the rake, is moved by this slip of a woman who holds her head high and faces her own issues.
Their spearing, throwing quips and barbs at each other, was one of the delight of this story.
Plus watching Elizabeth coming out of her shell was so gratifying. While she has to rise above her own fear, Spence works like a magic charm for her, their unusual first encounter dimmed her worries, and with him, she feels at ease, not afraid in his presence and even more intrigued by him.
Sure Spence is full of contradictions, where Elizabeth opens her heart, he runs away, scared to lose his heart and even worse to lose her. Still he can’t shake her from his thoughts. And while he fights his own sentiments, she takes matter in hands, refusing to be the idle wife. Both are in for a surprise as none expected anything at first from the other, while feelings bloom, threats increase.
This book was so full of everything, flesh and blood characters, a scheming maddening monster, witty banters, sweet and sensual moments and plenty of actions.
5 stars for this enchanting and fresh read.
I was granted an advance copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.
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Lovely Story!
A really crazy mother who continuously tries to kidnap her daughter to sell her off as an innocent to a man who already had been through two wives. Goodness me! What a concept!
And then we have the meeting of two people who probably wouldn’t have met under normal circumstances, but thank goodness they do meet and slowly fall in love.
I loved that Elizabeth and Kelso always had each others wellbeing in hand regardless of the situation. These two characters were really well suited and made this story well worth the read and I am happy to recommend it.
I read an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of the ebook and my voluntary and unbiased review is recorded above.
Bad nun walking.
When we first meet Elizabeth she wants to be a nun to escape from the world, but other than gardening she can’t heal the sick or other nun things. Once she meets the grumpy hero her nun options diminish even further as she takes to drinking, cursing and is a dead eye with a gun. She takes her mandatory marital consummation very well too.
The hero to the heroine…
“Drinking brandy while in the bath. Cursing. One wonders how much more terrible you would be if you hadn’t spent the last few years in a convent.’
The hero rescues Elizabeth as she is on the run from her evil mother Jeanette. Elizabeth was the young daughter that was sent away to a nunnery because of the trauma of possible sexual assault as a child and away from her evil mother. The story is introduced in the Wickeds Scandal, the first in the series. Apparently the evil mother’s lover and cousin liked to play so …GROSS. He needed to die which he does in the first book. By the way, Jeanette the evil, evil mother is a sister of the heart to Lady St. John in Salt Bride if you have read that book.
It’s been about a decade and Elizabeth is kidnapped by her mother and her new minion. In escaping, she lands herself with the H, an ex-assassin to the Crown. Luckily he has a friend of the family which they find out right before their hasty marriage in Gretna Green. It’s a MOC as she needs protection from her crazy mother who wants to sell her to a Duke to get her social power back, and he needs a wife to give him a reason to leave assassin work.
He’s a better assassin than a hero, but he’s an unknowing besotted hunk (even I who am pretty incapable of reading between lines could see this) so we have to forgive him his trespasses which are many.
I find myself repeating myself so will just say another very good addition to the series. The hero is an intermittent Big Fat Jerk so honors go to the heroine on this one.