The Wicked One

Rating:
Summary: Harmon saves the best for last
Review: "You are making a mess of my heart." So says Lucien, Duke of Blackheath, to the woman who is his equal in more ways than one, Eva de la Mouriére. It could also be a line in a message from me to the author, as Ms. Harmon brings the de Monteforte series to an extraordinary close in THE WICKED ONE. Lucien is certainly wicked, all right, and in one of the most sizzling love scenes I've ever read, I discover not only the sexy side to the duke's wickedness, but find myself privy to events that will shape the lives of all involved forever.

Don't look for humor because this tale takes a deeper look into Lucien's psyche and the events that stole his childhood and shaped him into a formidable force to be reckoned with. The author has gotten into his head perfectly, into the whys and wherefores behind what he's done as head of the family, the burden he's had, how he honestly thought he did the right thing. While I found that I did not agree with his methods of seeing to the welfare of this siblings and Eva, after reading his story I now understand the motives. However, good intentions have a way of coming back to haunt us and in Lucien's last machinations, he finds this out the hard way, for underneath his cool facade is man who can't bear to think his little sister or his wife may hate him forever. In one particular scene, his sister, Nerissa, takes out her full fury on him and while I felt she had every reason to say the things she did, reading his inner reaction to her statements brought me to tears.

The only thing I felt the story needed was for Luciens' siblings to understand fully the whys of his actions. So they, like the reader, would have a clear understanding of the man behind the dukedom. My hope is that Eva will gather the clan, sit them down and tell them The Real Story behind the THE WICKED ONE.

I waited a long time for Lucien's story and Ms. Harmon did not disappoint me. Lucien has always been my favorite de Montforte. Despite his autocratic and dictatorial nature, he still has feelings and in THE WICKED ONE his feelings are exposed, mangled and restored. While I hated to see this series end, end it did. Not with a whimper, but with a bang.

Rating:
Summary: Wickedly Compelling
Review: A wickedly provacative read. An absolute "can't put down" story. In the beginning, I couldn't tell who was the "wicked one", and after reading it I'm still not sure. INCREDIBLE STORY OF LOVE AND INTRIGUE.

Rating:
Summary: Wickedly Compelling
Review: A wickedly provacative read. An absolute "can't put down" story. In the beginning, I couldn't tell who was the "wicked one", and after reading it I'm still not sure. INCREDIBLE STORY OF LOVE AND INTRIGUE.

Rating:
Summary: Like fast food: it is only momentarily satisfying.
Review: Harmon is to be given credit for creating a series in which each book and its characters are distinctly different. Unlike Stephanie Laurens' Bar Cynster series (which is generally wonderful, but unfortunately each hero is nearly identical), each couple in this series is unique and there is a theme holding the series together: the machinations of the eldest brother Lulcien. On its own this book, would rate 4 stars, but as the culminating book in this series on the de Monteforte brothers, it is a disappointment and therefore I gave it only 3 stars. All through this series, I had been eagerly anticipating the story of the seemingly-Machiavellian Lord Lucien and his comeuppance. The set up in The Defiant One (my favorite of the series) was well done and led me to think that The Wicked One would employ both a devious and worthy heroine and lush love scenes (after all, Lucien and Eva were stealing an aphrodisiac from each other). Instead, the heroine is foiled with little effort, becomes a shadow of her former self and the 2 first love/sex scenes between Lucien and Eva are unsatisfying and cut short. It would be one thing if those scenes served as a teaser to a wonderful and revealing physical and emotional encounter, but unfortunately they do not. The scene in which Eva leaves Lucien and the two end up in dire physical straits due to an avoidable accident, seems forced. In addition, the series-long relationship between Lucien's sister Nerissa and her beau Perry has never been fully explicated and although that relationship played a pivotal role in this book, it was unsatisfying. I thought the author missed the boat on this book: the aphrodisiac was not well employed as a deus ex machina, the sex scenes did not live up to the possibilities, and the characters' spy work was not employed to its full potential.

Rating:
Summary: Like fast food: it is only momentarily satisfying.
Review: Harmon is to be given credit for creating a series in which each book and its characters are distinctly different. Unlike Stephanie Laurens' Bar Cynster series (which is generally wonderful, but unfortunately each hero is nearly identical), each couple in this series is unique and there is a theme holding the series together: the machinations of the eldest brother Lulcien. On its own this book, would rate 4 stars, but as the culminating book in this series on the de Monteforte brothers, it is a disappointment and therefore I gave it only 3 stars. All through this series, I had been eagerly anticipating the story of the seemingly-Machiavellian Lord Lucien and his comeuppance. The set up in The Defiant One (my favorite of the series) was well done and led me to think that The Wicked One would employ both a devious and worthy heroine and lush love scenes (after all, Lucien and Eva were stealing an aphrodisiac from each other). Instead, the heroine is foiled with little effort, becomes a shadow of her former self and the 2 first love/sex scenes between Lucien and Eva are unsatisfying and cut short. It would be one thing if those scenes served as a teaser to a wonderful and revealing physical and emotional encounter, but unfortunately they do not. The scene in which Eva leaves Lucien and the two end up in dire physical straits due to an avoidable accident, seems forced. In addition, the series-long relationship between Lucien's sister Nerissa and her beau Perry has never been fully explicated and although that relationship played a pivotal role in this book, it was unsatisfying. I thought the author missed the boat on this book: the aphrodisiac was not well employed as a deus ex machina, the sex scenes did not live up to the possibilities, and the characters' spy work was not employed to its full potential.

Rating:
Summary: A Mildly Interesting Read!!!
Review: I've read all four books in this series about the de Monteforte brothers, and I have to say that I was mildly pleased with the out come of this final installment. I waited with abated breath for this novel to debut, but alas, the book was not all it was cracked up to be. While the story sheds much light on the type of man Lucien was, it failed to hold my interest. I think that more of an intriguing story could've been established between Lucien and Eva. While it's nice to know that Lucien and Eva had a great attraction for each other, I felt that the author spent way too much time beating this particular subject to death. It would've been more enlightening to see the story about the aphrodisiac and the relationship between the queen and king developed more. Ms. Harmon's other novels in the series are far more entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: A Mildly Interesting Read!!!
Review: I've read all four books in this series about the de Monteforte brothers, and I have to say that I was mildly pleased with the out come of this final installment. I waited with abated breath for this novel to debut, but alas, the book was not all it was cracked up to be. While the story sheds much light on the type of man Lucien was, it failed to hold my interest. I think that more of an intriguing story could've been established between Lucien and Eva. While it's nice to know that Lucien and Eva had a great attraction for each other, I felt that the author spent way too much time beating this particular subject to death. It would've been more enlightening to see the story about the aphrodisiac and the relationship between the queen and king developed more. Ms. Harmon's other novels in the series are far more entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing historical
Review: In 1777 England, Duke Lucien Blackheath has played a Machiavellian matchmaker, manipulating family members by assuring the right marriages for his siblings (see THE WILD ONE and THE DEFIANT ONE). However, Lucien may have met his match when Eva Noring de Mouriere enters his boudoir with a gun in hand. Eva accuses Lucien of giving his siblings, bottles containing a fake aphrodisiac that she stole from them and almost killed the French king with it. She forces him to use the vial and tests it with heated lovemaking.

As they keep "rendezvousing", their sexual tension reaches stratospheric proportions without the help of an elixir. When she becomes pregnant, his brothers turn the tables on Lucien forcing the confirmed bachelor into marriage even if he and Eva love one another.

The third and final Blackheath tale, THE WICKED ONE, is wickedly delightful as the Duke meets his match in the fiery independent Eva. The story line is a jocular historical romance that uses humor to diffuse the serious undertone of the importance of family in an individual's life. The lead couple screams passion to the reader while the return of heroes from the previous books adds to the fervor of Danelle Harmon's enticing tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A good read, but sadly not what I had hoped for..
Review: Oh how I was looking forward to this book. I loved Lucien throughout this series and I was so impatient to get to his story. Well, I hate to say it, my heart breaks to admit it, but I was disappointed in this book. Thats not to say it was a bad book, its just that it wasnt what I wanted it to be. First of all..I had one hell of a time liking the character of Eva..she was OK, but nothing special. Lucien was sweet and I adored him, but I felt like the only way to truly appreciate him was to know him from the previous books. I think readers who dont know him from the earlier stories may not like him . My main complaint with this book, however, was the fact that a lot of its plot clung to the rescue of Perry and Nerissas relationship. I think that Nerissa should have gotten her own book...and I definitely think that this subplot took the spot light off of Lucien and Eva. All in all..this WAS a great book, but to fully appreciate it, I highly recommend reading it as part of the series..(In order they are The Wild One, The Beloved One, The Defiant One, and The Wicked One)

Rating:
Summary: Wickedly Compelling
Review: The Wicked One is very provocative read, an absolute "can't put down" story. Reading this wonderfully romantic, sensual tale of love and intrigue, I couldn't tell who was the wicked one, Eva or Lucien. I am still not sure. WHAT A READ!