Anne Barton has written a stunning and heart melting debut in When She Was Wicked that I highly recommend!
Annabelle Honeycote works hard as a seamstress in order to support her sick mother and her younger sister. Despite the long hours that she puts in it isn’t enough money to pay the rent and the expenses of her mother’s medical care. Driven to desperate measures, Annabelle has taken to extorting money from the dress shops clientele. That is until she attempts to extort money from the Duke of Hunford, Owen Sherbourne.
Owen Sherbourne cares deeply for his two sister’s and when he receives a letter threatening to sell gossip about one of them unless he is willing to pay for the silence of the black mailer he is incensed. He decides to set a trap to catch the offender. When Annabelle is caught red handed in his trap, the duke demands retribution and he comes to an agreement with Annabelle that she will work for him as a personal seamstress to his two sisters.
It isn’t long before the two are infatuated with one another, but by societies standards a relationship between a duke and a servant is frowned upon. Will these two allow the strictures of society to rule their world or will the unrelenting love that they feel for one another prevail in the end?
When She Was Wicked is a beautifully written Regency Romance that I fell deeply in love with! Anne Barton has succeeded in writing the perfect debut. Her characters come alive on the pages, they are flawed but deeplyloveable. The story flows nicely and moves quickly. The plot will hold your interest from beginning to end. And of course the most important part of all, the happy ending will leave you sighing with pleasure.
This is a must read that you do not want to miss! The next book in the series, Once She Was Tempted is due out in the fall of 2013 and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy! 😉
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Book Info: Release date: January 29, 2013 | Forever Romance | Series: A Honeycote NovelA dressmaker in London’s busiest shop, Miss Anabelle Honeycote overhears the ton’s steamiest secrets-and (occasionally) uses them to her advantage. It isn’t something she’s proud of, but the reluctant blackmailer needs the money to care for her gravely ill mother. To make up for her misdeeds, Anabelle keeps to a firm set of rules:Never request payment from someone who cannot afford it.
Never reveal the secrets of a paying client.
Never enter into any form of social interaction with a client.
Her list keeps her (somewhat) honest-until she encounters Owen Sherbourne, the Duke of Huntford.
Not only does Owen nip Anabelle’s extortion plans in the bud, the devilishly handsome Duke soon has the sexy seamstress dreaming of more than silks and satins. With Owen Anabelle enjoys pleasures she never imagined. . . until a scandal from the past resurfaces. Now her rules could mean his family’s ruin. Owen’s searing kisses carry the promise of passion, but how will he react when Anabelle’s most devastating secret is finally revealed?