Julie Anne Long brings us two dueling protagonists who fall in love in I’M ONLY WICKED WITH YOU. This is the third in her Palace of Rogues series, and it's filled with Long’s signature wit and verve. Despite Long’s writing, however, which can enliven anything, this story falls a little flat for me. It’s my least favorite of the Palace of Rogues, series thus far.
The series is set at The Grand Palace boarding house, and so we get to enjoy the first two couples from books 1, LADY DERRING TAKES A LOVER and ANGEL IN A DEVIL’S ARMS along with the other recurring zany characters who are lodging there. Part of the great fun of this series is the snappy dialogue and the simple silliness of the secondary characters bouncing off each other.
Julie Anne Long’s writing always draws me in. The lively banter alternating with the emotion of the couples always keeps me highlighting favorite phrases right and left as I read, and I’M ONLY WICKED WITH YOU is no exception to this. There’s always great snark along with a smart romance to suck me into the tale.
Lady Lillias Vaughn is a protected bluestocking in Regency England. She meets her match in the brash self-made American businessman Hugh Cassidy. The two throw sparks with their first meeting, and this is an enemies-to-lovers style romance. Their initial antagonism is entertaining, but their slow slide into appreciation of each other’s virtues is dreamy while still very active and engaging. As I said, this is my least favorite of the series, because the romance feels a little contrived, and Lillias is a little too headstrong for my taste. Still, Long turns in a peppy and charming story of two antagonists who become embroiled and then enthralled with each other in I’M ONLY WICKED WITH YOU.
He’s the battle-hardened son of a bastard, raised in the wilds of New York. She’s the sheltered, blue-blooded darling of the London broadsheets, destined to marry a duke. Their worlds could only collide in a boardinghouse by the London docks...and when they do, the sparks would ignite all of England.
Nothing can stop Hugh Cassidy’s drive to build an American empire...unless it’s his new nemesis, the arrogant, beautiful, too-clever-by-half Lady Lillias Vaughn. The fascination is mutual. The temptation is merciless. And the inevitable indiscretion? Soul-searing—and the ruination of them both. Hugh’s proposal salvages Lillias’s honor but kills their dreams for their futures...until they arrive at a plan that could honorably set them free.
But unraveling their entanglement inadvertently uncovers enthralling truths: about Lillias’s wounded, tender heart and fierce spirit. About Hugh’s stunning gentleness, depth, and courage. Soon Hugh knows that as surely as he’d fight a thousand battles to win her...the best way to love Lillias means breaking his own heart.
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