Wicked’s Scandal

Satan and the Badger.
Murders, attempted murder, greed, manipulations… it doesn’t seem to stop in this book. A Marquess returns from his travels in Eastern Asia. Several attempts are made on his life. Nothing would please his stepmother and her cousin more than to hear of his death. Caught in the middle is Alexandra Dunforth, an heiress who’s being manipulated by her uncle, Odious Oliver. Only the man called “Satan” can save her, even though she thinks she can save herself. A fast paced emotional rollercoaster, nail biting romance.

Love this series

I hated to finish the book and leave the family. Loved the characters and the story. Keep up the great work.

The Peacock & The Badger were well matched. There was so much I loved about this book. The hero was a typical man of the Regency period. Cocky, a man who loved women, even as he doesn’t have much respect for them. Until he meets the heroine. She wasn’t the typical woman of society and she intrigued him. I have to admit I got a bit irritated with him a couple of times because he was a strong man as a result of living outside of society, but he didn’t hold his own with his evil step-mother. I had expected more from him. They’re both manipulated by some really evil people.

His interaction with the heroine is steamy. I love that they are so different but both can relate to their struggles to fit into a society neither of them want. Their names for each other, the peacock and the badger, was a fun way to show their impressions of each other, names that became pet names. They were well matched!

Read all night to finish, just couldn’t put it down.

Strong female character combined with a handsome, kind but damaged male always makes for a great story for me. Nice twist when Sutton leaves his wife but I think you made Alex stronger that way. Good read. Even had to “borrow “ the second one!

Love Between a Badger and a Peacock

Scandal has clung to Sutton “Satan” Reynolds, the Marquess of Cambourne like wet on a dog. Which is why he has built a impenetrable wall around himself. Since life doesn’t respect walls, he is about to be blindsided by a feisty innocent. She will unwittingly slip under his defenses and into his heart.

No one wants to become a victim, which is what seems to be Miss Alexandra Dunforth’s impending fate. True she is intelligent, strong and resourceful, but how she is going to avoid the disaster that looms ahead and threatens her future. Now that is the question that continues to plague her, especially after her unexpected encounter with Satan Reynolds.

I truly love a well matched romantic face off between two intriguing characters, which is the essence of the novel, Wicked’s Scandal. I also love it when the book cover is a match for the lead characters, and this cover embraces the fictional Alexandra and Sutton. Their personalities are truly well matched and their chemistry is steamy. They both embody all that is strong, intelligent and opinionated, and their dialogue is precise with a witty edge. Now lest they be thought to be too perfect, they each have suffered from personal abuse that has left scars and internal demons. Still, they function and fight for the life they see themselves living, but it feels like an uphill pull. This character-driven tale is surprisingly rich in secondary characters as well as some evilly dangerous villains. Even though I believed they would find their happy ending, there were moments I wasn’t sure how Kathleen Ayers was going to achieve it. Thankfully the epilogue ending was totally sigh-worthy.

Content alert: In addition to both mild swearing and a few vulgarities, there are a few explicit sexually intimate scenes and some sexually centered thoughts.

Such a disappointment this one turned out to be. I was enthralled with H/h until ****** s p o i l e r a l e r t s c o m i n g ******* a little laudanum in her tea to make her “biddable” becomes an addiction; couldn’t the evil uncle and despicable sadomasochist she is to marry have simply drugged and dragged her to the altar? Why all the angst over waiting for her birthday and inheritance? Why the drama around letters intercepted from her to her solicitors when apparently auntie’s will leaving it all to her never made it to them? I was very frustrated with the marriage of the evil stepmother to some distant cousin late in the story to ensure she will remain countess. The chase and brutal rending of clothing, leaving a woman in full blown labor not even half-dressed in the forest can only make your skin crawl. When H called her a whore, more than once, I don’t see how any apology could suffice.

I enjoyed reading it and it led it to the rest of the “Wicked” series