Some Like it Wicked (Zebra Historical Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Deborah Raleigh's "Some Like It Wicked" was a truly disappointing read for me. I cannot say whether it was because the plot was executed in a rather lackluster manner, or whether it was because it was full of cliches, or whether it was because every chapter started out with a "Dear Diary" entry which I found irritating (how many Regency-era diaries really started with a "Dear Diary" entry for goodness sake?)

The daughter of a cit and an aristocrat (and herself a businesswoman), twenty-three year old Jane Middleton has decided that it is time she married; and so (without any introductions, connections or chaperone) Jane makes for London, sure that her immense wealth will allow her entree to the ton, and where she thinks she will be able to find a sensible husband who will be willing to overlook her lack of good looks and her background for her wealth. To her chagrin, Jane finds herself being quite overlooked by the young blades and soon finds herself consigned to being a wallflower. And then one night, while at a ball, she overhears a conversation that gives her an audacious idea. "Hellion" Cauldfield, a dashing rogue much sought after by the London drawing room hostesses, is in need of funds: he was his uncle's heir; but the old man has married a young wife in hopes of fathering a son, and the Hellion's creditors have been dogging his footsteps ever since. Hellion needs to get some money soon or else he will end up in prison. Jane's proposition to Hellion is that he help her become fashionable (by conducting a flirtation with her) for money to pay off his creditors. And while Hellion is leery about accepting Jane's proposal, he finds himself agreeing to this plan. What Jane hadn't counted on, however, was her unexpected susceptibility to the handsome rogue's seductive ways. Very quickly she realises that she will have to protect her vulnerable heart all else end up as another of Hellion's casualties...

The plot of "Some Like It Wicked" is one that many romance readers would be familiar with. And while there is nothing wrong with an author using an oft rendered storyline, most authors usually add a little twist here and there, or else give us characters that are memorable, likable and engaging. This really didn't happen here. Which was a shame because Deborah Raleigh had provided both Jane and Hellion with backgrounds (both led lonely childhoods because of who their parents were) that would have made this book a much deeper and more complex read. As it stands, the book follows along the very predictable lines of Hellion trying to seduce Jane into compliance and her, resisting him every inch if the way, until a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING develops between them. Fortunately, Ms Raleigh works around this plot gambit quickly so that the two talk things through and work things out. The thing that really grated though was how the author could have allowed for her heroine to think that she could just turn up in London sans chaperone, connections and introductions and actually partake in the festivities that constitute the Season? Did Jane grow up in a vacuum perhaps? And even if Jane's mother had died before imparting any knowledge about the ways of the ton to her daughter, shouldn't the fact that Jane had grown up neither being excepted by her father's friends nor her mother's relatives have given Jane a hint that it would not be so easy to crash the ton?

Were there any pluses then to "Some Like It Wicked?" Well, I rather liked Jane in spite of the dire diary entries. In spite of being a very sensible and capable young woman, Jane had a very vulnerable side. And the author did a first rate job of showing this in Jane's confused reactions and feelings for Hellion. (Hellion as a character was pretty much the stock rogue/rake-with-the-heart-of-gold hero). It was just a shame that the book was really worthy of a heroine like Jane.

Ms. Raleigh's latest effort "Some Like It Wicked" was not the strongest read in the world but it did have it's moments where it entertained. The problem that I found with this read was the fact that modern day thoughts and ideas kept popping up. This was derailing for the reader.

Jane Middleton has gone to London for the season with the hopes of finding a husband. This unremarkable girl knows her short comings and won't let them stand in her way. So when the perfect chance to finally be noticed presents itself, Jane is smart enough to act on it. The fact that she has to make Hellion Caufield the Ton's biggest rake help her is little to no big deal. She has something he needs, he has something she wants...what could be easier?

Hellion is now in dun territory and his prospects are looking rather dim. He has no desire to enter the marriage mart and he finds the young marriageble misses less than...inspiring. So when plain Jane comes to him with a shocking business deal his first answer is no way...but Jane is fresh, and unafraid to admit to her faults and the jade finds himself being drawn to the very thing he doesn't want. A romance. But will helping Jane help him or will he find himself in more trouble than he thought possible?

Jane and Hellion had the potential of being wonderful characters but Ms. Raleigh just didn't cash in all of the potential that was there. Add to this the concept of a regency miss traveling to London sans chaperone, attending balls and other society functions sans chaperone, and having a head for business (okay not that big of a deal but still) and you get the picture of modern day thoughts going into this historical read. In the end this is not a read I'd avoid as Ms. Raleigh is a fine storyteller but this effort was lackluster in attempt and execution.

Official Reviewer for Romance Design

Normally, I'd begin a review with a brief character and plot summary and analysis. Not this time; the plot, such as it is, is tedious, and the characters leave me completely unmoved. Nothing about this book has so far caught my attention in any way - other than to ask 'what was the author THINKING?' - and so to even attempt any kind of summary would be a charade.

What's wrong with the book, you may ask? Well, first of all, I keep getting jerked out of the story with 'this would NOT happen!' reactions. Jane, a debutante, is a wallflower, with no man showing even the remotest of interest in her. Nothing too unusual there for Regency romances. But then it's revealed that Jane is an heiress. Not even an ordinary heiress, but an heiress to the tune of one hundred thousand pounds... a YEAR. Now, even today that would make her well-off. In the early 1800s, it makes her comparable to the likes of Bill Gates. And *not a single man is interested in her*? In what universe? Every fortune-hunter in the country and beyond would have been queuing up to court her. Even men who didn't think of themselves as fortune-hunters would have been after her. Simply beyond credulity.

Jane also runs her own businesses. Really? In the early 1800s? Not likely - not barely credible. She comes to London without a chaperone... again, not remotely likely. She would never be invited anywhere without a chaperone - not even to the less high-class entertainments that she says is all she is invited to, thanks to her father having been a merchant. Again, I was jerked out of the story too many times by references to her lifestyle.

The hero, going by the unlikely and extremely irritating name of Hellion, failed to attract my interest either. I also failed to understand why he is considered to be any kind of a leader of Society. Perhaps if we had been *shown* him in the best circles, his word hung on by others, his deeds and even his dress copied, I could have accepted that description of him, but as it was we only ever saw him with his friend the spy.

The hero and his friend also seem to wander in and out of Jane's house with impunity. Calling on her, he doesn't wait to be shown in by the butler. He just walks in on her. Ah... no. Maybe in this century, but not then. The hero's friend searches her desk, and is caught in the act by Jane's friend... who does not, apparently, tell anyone, let alone consider calling the police.

And that's before I even mention the irritating, and again anachronistic, 'Dear Diary' entries.

I'm about 100 pages in, and I'm giving up. What point is there in reading on when I can't take the characters and the premise seriously, when I'm being jerked out of the story every couple of pages, and when the plot and characters bore me rigid?

Definitely a dud for Ms Raleigh; a shame, since I've enjoyed some of her other work.