THE WICKED DUKE by Madeline Hunter is book 3 in the Wicked trilogy. I have read the first two books in the trilogy, His Wicked Reputation (#1) and Tall, Dark and Wicked (#2) and found myself lukewarm regarding them. However, Hunter has been a perennial favorite of mine, so I soldiered on to book 3 in the series. Alas, this book was very much not my cup of tea at all.

Lance Hemingford, Duke of Aylesbury, has been rusticating in the country because he is widely suspected of killing his older brother, the previous duke, less than a year ago. Plagued by an indecisive coroner and an ambitious and morally corrupt magistrate (Marianne's uncle), Aylesbury has not been able to put his brother's death behind him and move on to take his proper place in society. Aylesbury has been known as a rake and a truly bad boy (quite the thing when set against the backdrop of his licentious and frivolous peers of the ton!), but he's been having to keep a low profile and try to be good until he is pardoned of the crime he did not commit. Personally, I find Aylesbury to be rather an ass. Selfish and uncommunicative, he did not float my boat in any manner.

Marianne and her widowed mother are living under the roof of her reluctant and jerky uncle, and that douchcanoe manipulates Marianne into becoming engaged to Aylesbury for the uncle's social benefit. What drives me nuts here, though, is even before the uncle exploits them into an engagement, Marianne is canoodling with Aylesbury. She allows him to kiss her and fondle her. ALL THE WHILE BELIEVING THAT HE IS THE MAN WHO CRUELLY AND VIOLENTLY RAPED HER COUSIN. Does that make any sense at all?! All it did was squick me out. Even if I were enjoying the rest of the book, which I didn't, I can't respect a heroine who invites the rapist of her closest friend and relative to become intimate with her.

Now, Hunter gives away who the rapist is about 1/3 of the way into the book (although they are not explicitly outed in the story until much later). So that helps me as the reader. But Marianne doesn't realize this, so this doesn't excuse the heroine's poor choice. There's insta- lust on the part of Aylesbury, which is not very believable to me. As well, we're told Marianne falls in love with Aylesbury, but I don't think it's fully or convincingly demonstrated. We're just supposed to believe it not because we see it, but because we're told it's so. THE WICKED DUKE did not work for me on many levels, but given Hunter's strong writing in the past, I will definitely give her next book a chance because I have enjoyed so many of her previous stories.