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sydapel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
all in all, one of my favorite Sarah MacLean books I've read, but there's a pretty profound betrayal between Devil and Felicity that I found it hard to forgive as easily. I do adore their dynamic (banter 8/10 best I've read since Book Lovers), and Felicity is a force to be reckoned with, but I wish more time was spent on the reconciliation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.75 stars for "Wicked and the Wallflower", the first book in "The Bareknuckle Bastards" series by Sarah MacLean!
We follow one Felicity Faircloth as she ends up tangled with Devil, one of the Bareknuckle Bastards of the Covent Garden, when she tries to escape for a moment the pressure of landing a duke. She luckly gets an one-in-a-lifetime offer by Devil, but things aren't as they seem to be!
It has been some time since I listened to the audiobook narrated by Justine Eyre, but I clearly remember the great time I had! Both Felicity and Devil where alive and feisty under her care..so no complaint there!..in fact, I highly recommend this book as audio!
In the beginning I truly believed this novel would end up as a 5 star read...alas, after the initial part, where both Felicity and Devil are witty and feisty and other such adjectives....they fall into a typical romance...nothing wrong with that, but I felt cheated given the fact that I was promised something else...
While I didn't get my cake with this story, I want to stress the fact that most characters are really likable and fleshed out. Felicity is naive where it's normal to be (for a lady of her class and upbringing) but headstrong and clever when the time comes - thank God!; Devil is often misterious, strict with himself and others when it comes to his interest and ambitions while fair and calm under pressure; Beast is the silent type, the Duke of Marwick-Ewan- is very much distant, cold and with a bussiness-like attitude (I grew to like him even more than Devil, despite even the end of the book) and Grace seems to be the actual boss of this whole operation..>..>.
Our heroine has an interesting hobby (I will let you discover it by yourself :) ) and our hero & co lets us see a little what the underworld of London looked like back then! I very much appreciate MacLean's work in this department!
As tropes we have: enemies to lovers, help me make someone else fall in love with me but we both know the outcome to that, and miscomunication when things get reveiled.
Triggers: attempted rape on page, attempted murder.
We have:
+great dialogue between MCs;
+chemistry;
+nice worldbuilding with quite a chilly atmosphere;
+some family drama on both sides:))));
+a little possessiveness;
+past full of betrayals;
+a thrilling ending with you holding your breath the entire time!
+PTSD from childhood trauma..not sure if the coping mechanism here is healthy or even accurate to real life, but it's there...
Some not so great things:
-never understood how Ewan acted so late in the book and why he didn't do more;
-of course Felicity will be there at the end....we need that appy ending filled with drama!!!
- I don't feel Devil apologized enough to deserve forgiveness;
and on that note.....FELICITY'S FAMILY SUCKS!!! >..>
I'm not sure I want to read the rest of the series in order, but I want to know what happens with Ewan....>..>
In the end, this book is about "brave" people finding in each other strength to face themselves and their demons, mixed up with some smuggling bussiness and some family drama!
I recommend this one to people liking morally grey heroes- although Devil is not that grey...>.> - and to those of you already fans of Sarah's works!
Enjoy
We follow one Felicity Faircloth as she ends up tangled with Devil, one of the Bareknuckle Bastards of the Covent Garden, when she tries to escape for a moment the pressure of landing a duke. She luckly gets an one-in-a-lifetime offer by Devil, but things aren't as they seem to be!
It has been some time since I listened to the audiobook narrated by Justine Eyre, but I clearly remember the great time I had! Both Felicity and Devil where alive and feisty under her care..so no complaint there!..in fact, I highly recommend this book as audio!
In the beginning I truly believed this novel would end up as a 5 star read...alas, after the initial part, where both Felicity and Devil are witty and feisty and other such adjectives....they fall into a typical romance...nothing wrong with that, but I felt cheated given the fact that I was promised something else...
While I didn't get my cake with this story, I want to stress the fact that most characters are really likable and fleshed out. Felicity is naive where it's normal to be (for a lady of her class and upbringing) but headstrong and clever when the time comes - thank God!; Devil is often misterious, strict with himself and others when it comes to his interest and ambitions while fair and calm under pressure; Beast is the silent type, the Duke of Marwick-Ewan- is very much distant, cold and with a bussiness-like attitude (I grew to like him even more than Devil, despite even the end of the book) and Grace seems to be the actual boss of this whole operation..>..>.
Our heroine has an interesting hobby (I will let you discover it by yourself :) ) and our hero & co lets us see a little what the underworld of London looked like back then! I very much appreciate MacLean's work in this department!
As tropes we have: enemies to lovers, help me make someone else fall in love with me but we both know the outcome to that, and miscomunication when things get reveiled.
Triggers: attempted rape on page, attempted murder.
We have:
+great dialogue between MCs;
+chemistry;
+nice worldbuilding with quite a chilly atmosphere;
+some family drama on both sides:))));
+a little possessiveness;
+past full of betrayals;
+a thrilling ending with you holding your breath the entire time!
+PTSD from childhood trauma..not sure if the coping mechanism here is healthy or even accurate to real life, but it's there...
Some not so great things:
-never understood how Ewan acted so late in the book and why he didn't do more;
-of course Felicity will be there at the end....we need that appy ending filled with drama!!!
- I don't feel Devil apologized enough to deserve forgiveness;
and on that note.....FELICITY'S FAMILY SUCKS!!! >..>
I'm not sure I want to read the rest of the series in order, but I want to know what happens with Ewan....>..>
In the end, this book is about "brave" people finding in each other strength to face themselves and their demons, mixed up with some smuggling bussiness and some family drama!
I recommend this one to people liking morally grey heroes- although Devil is not that grey...>.> - and to those of you already fans of Sarah's works!
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Physical abuse, Violence, and Rape
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