The Wicked One [Mass Market Paperback]

Eve has encountered two of Lucien's brothers before when she attempted to steal an aphrodisiac which Andrew, Lucien's inventor brother, has invented. Unbeknown to Eve Lucien has switched said aphrodisiac with a fake one, which, when utilized by the King gives him a bad case of diarrhea. Eve encounters Lucien when she attempts to steal the real aphrodisiac and she escapes. Lucien, not to be topped, goes to France and seeks out Eve who with cunning ties him, feeds him the drug and has rousing sex with Lucien; however, Lucien escapes taking the drug with him. Eve is exiled from France and takes refuge at Andrew's home.

While visiting at Andrew's home, Eve discovers she is pregnant, discloses this to Andrew's wife, and the fun begins. Lucien, who has controlled all of his siblings lives, becomes prey to his siblings for revenge. Lucien's manipulations has also caused his sister's almost bethroted to be captured by the French while on his way to claim an inheritence in Spain. Neesa, Lucien's sister, finds out about Lucien's manipulations and is devastated and refuses to speak with Lucien.

Eve, a widow, who has been manipulated by men all of her life, does not trust men at all. Her emotions are raised each time she encounters Lucien, but she is afraid to trust him. Eve and Lucien finally wed, have a great wedding night (oh boy)but everything falls apart when Lucien informs her that he has seen his solicitor and decreed that should something happen to Lucien she cannot take the expected baby out of England. This infuriates Eve and she leaves by coach in a snow/sleet storm. There is an accident and the plot thickens.

A very good sensuous read.

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.

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