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mood_reading_maya's review
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
A charming historical romance to end the year on. A Wicked Kind of Husband features:
- Witty banter between the main characters
- Marriage of convenience / marriage in name only
- Estranged couple
- Opposites attract
- Regency London
- Love after loss
- Miscommunication
- Lots and lots of yearning
- How gauche I'm in love with my own spouse!
- Politeness and smiles as a shield
- Boxed up emotions
- An MMC who is a touch absurd
The story primarily focuses on the couple, Cassandra and Joshua, as they are reunited by chance after two years apart. These two don't even recognize one another at first. I liked how Vincy took two charming and deeply lonely characters hiding behind emotional walls and outward facades and showed them falling in love. I was not, however, a fan of Joshua's infidelity prior to his reunion with Cassandra. That aspect felt a bit glossed over and inadequately addressed when it came to the couple's reconciliation. I have a strong preference for faithful, pining, yearning MCs that keep it in their pants while they're off being idiots independent of their spouse.
There is a miscarriage on page in the last 10% of the book. It is not especially graphic but may be triggering. This was another plot aspect that felt a touch glossed over and swept aside too quickly for my liking.
There is a miscarriage on page in the last 10% of the book. It is not especially graphic but may be triggering. This was another plot aspect that felt a touch glossed over and swept aside too quickly for my liking.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death and Death
cemthe4th's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved every single beat of this. Cassandra and Joshua are matched by Cassandra's father in a marriage of convenience (she gets to inherit her family's estate through the marriage, and he gets to have a wife without really "having" a wife, which suits him well because he doesn't want one, thanks). After a few hours in each other's company and two years of separation, these two know nothing about one another, and the immediate tension between them at their reunion is brilliantly done and genuinely hilarious. Vincy balances snappy banter and droll humor with significant character work, as both Cassandra and Joshua have substantial personal and familial trauma. While each of them protects a soft heart, they do so in very different ways - Joshua is acerbic, cavalier, outwardly unfeeling and deeply selfish, and Cassandra is polite, deferential, outwardly serene and deeply selfless. They fight one another off until they fall into bed together, and the weaving together of physical and emotional intimacy is carefully done at every step.
What started as a fun romp gained a depth I didn't anticipate (but should have!), and I ugly cried through the final 20%. The heartache and longing, the fear and hope - I was just an absolute wreck for these two. AND we have multiple explicit discussions (and declarations) of fidelity, which makes this a perfect five-star read for me. Highly recommend on audio, as it's narrated by the incomparable Kate Reading.
What started as a fun romp gained a depth I didn't anticipate (but should have!), and I ugly cried through the final 20%. The heartache and longing, the fear and hope - I was just an absolute wreck for these two. AND we have multiple explicit discussions (and declarations) of fidelity, which makes this a perfect five-star read for me. Highly recommend on audio, as it's narrated by the incomparable Kate Reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail