The protagonist of this book is ideal: he is powerful, wise, attractive, charming, kind, and honorable. The love interest of this story is also fantastic—shrewd, feisty, devoted, caring, bold, and strong. They make an attractive couple and are fantastic together. I adored how they interacted, had funny discussions, respected and believed in one another, and already cared about one another before they even met. The plot of the book is intriguing and captivating, if not entirely original: a youthful, independent dowager viscountess and an educated, dashing highwayman that fall in love right away. I will definitely be reading more of the authors books!

I really enjoyed this a lot, for the all the reasons, high stakes, some danger, but not really and I hope there is a series for all the Darewoods.

Cressida has put herself second and has finally got to have her chance. She finds it in the form of Deverell who has been up to no good for years. That changes with the meeting of the two who ultimately become a couple. Good writing and story. Enjoyed the romance.

Heat Factor: High high heat. He loves her quim and worships it accordingly.

Character Chemistry: Two lonely people take care of each other.

Plot: Cress hires a highwayman to break her idiot brother out of prison.

Overall: Propulsive adventure that needed another round of editing.

When I say this book needed another round of editing, I’m not talking about awkward or incorrect word choices but rather bigger-picture issues: continuity discrepancies, unclear shifts in scenes, uneven characterizations, and named characters who appear without context for a few pages and then disappear entirely. (Who the heck is Sir Jaspar?)

This shortcoming is really a shame, because it impeded my enjoyment of the book, especially at the beginning—and this book does have some great things going for it.

First, it is undeniably sexy. I would say it’s right on the edge of erotic romance levels of high heat, though the sex is more for fun than to move the relationship forward. I can’t say I’ve ever before read a sex scene where the hero ejaculates, takes a minute to collect himself, rallies, and continues to go to pound-town until his lady is satisfied, and I really appreciated seeing that here.

Second, the relationship between Cress and Dev is utterly charming once it gets going. Cress is constantly feeding Dev—they spend a lot of time in the kitchen, chatting (or plotting, as appropriate) and eating. Dev knows that Cress is out of his reach, not just because of class, but because she is so friggin’ competent, and all he wants to do is keep his promises to her (and make her feel good).

Third, the plot is twisty and fun. Spoilers ahead!

Ok, so the first few chapters kind of make no sense. Dev is a highwayman who robs Cress but intervenes when his compatriots want to rape her. Cress knows that the other dudes are going to kill him for spoiling their fun, so she goes after them and saves him. Like. What. Then they do some clandestine hanging out in London because Cress decides she deserves some fun, I guess. Anyway, the plot finally gets going when Cress’s idiot brother gets arrested for some nonsense and doesn’t give his real name or title (and therefore actually faces some consequences for getting arrested), so Cress hires Dev to help break her idiot brother out of prison. Only when they do, they end up breaking her *other* idiot brother out of prison—the one who has been presumed dead for the past ten years. So twisty! Of course, since Dev doesn’t want to disappoint Cress, he now has to plan another prison break with even higher stakes. The second half of the book was an excellent adventure with lots of derring-do, and it was really fun to read.

The final thing that’s great about this book is that Cress’ idiot brothers are held accountable for their actions. Cress and her sister don’t take one look at their brother who they thought dead and fall on his neck, weeping tears of joy. No. They are fucking pissed about him not stepping up and shouldering his responsibilities, and they are not shy about telling him how angry they are—or about promptly expecting him to start doing what his title requires. Cress has been taking care of the family for ten years, and now it’s his turn. Usually, in romance novels, thoughtless rakes who moonlight as privateers are swoonworthy, but not here, and I appreciated that subversion of the genre.

As you can see, there was a lot I liked about this book, especially in the second half, but I can’t honestly say that I recommend it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review also available at The Smut Report

Irretrievably Wicked by Constance Kersaint is a brand new book by an author I have never read before. It is not exactly historically accurate but overall a good read. This book was steamy and action-packed.

Thank You NetGalley for the ARC.

I thought that this was a strong story and an enjoyable read!

The characters were great and they had strong personalities too.

There were daring escapades and it was a romantic and sexy read

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and this is my freely given opinion.

This book proves to me that I really do stick things out for too long... but sometimes you reach a point of no return and feel you should just finish it.... or perhaps I live in perpetual hope that things must get better at some point. Books like Mary and the Duke should have proved to me that sometimes things don't get better... but then again, books like this one actually prove that while the beginning is rocky, and there are points where, if this were a physical book, I may have thrown it against a wall in disgust... things actually got better.

Cressida is a widow who married 10 years previously to help provide security for her siblings. She ended up being widowed young, and inheriting her husbands shipping business which she turned into a success. She and her sister were travelling one night when they were waylaid by highwaymen. Dev, one of the highwaymen, interceded when the others looked like they were going to take far more from the ladies than their money and jewels. Cress decided that she could not let the man die when the other members of the gang turned on him, and went after them, and managed to save his life and free him from them.

She gives him a horse to get away, a book to read, and her address, should he decide to return the horse. He does. They are from two different spheres of society as he is a highwayman and ex-pirate, and she is a widowed viscountess. However, she is tied down by family when she obviously yearns for adventure, and decides that he will be her source of adventure. Later, when her brother runs into trouble and ends up jailed, she turns to Dev to help him get free.

Is this a great book? No. Is this one I likely will re-read? Sincerely doubt it.

There is a serious lack of continuity and editing issues... for example - the horse knickers. Last I heard, horses nicker, but people wear knickers. Then there is the brother who is charged with barratry/smuggling/piracy and got imprisoned and about to be transported - but who was supposed to be working for the government - but has no one to get him out? Let's not forget how the other brother got the title that belonged to her husband, but no explanation was given for that until more than half into the book. Then there are the stays that are not there, then are there during a seduction scene. So many little things, but ends up being such an avalanche of little things it completely detracts from the story.

Good things though? I rather liked Dev as a character - imperfect rough male, but with heroic tendencies and a congenial and likeable warmth, and book lover. There was some humour to it, with the various episodes of humorous coitus interruptus. The eventual sex was hot.

Some redemption, but needs some serious proofing and editing. This bun was taken out of the oven far too soon.

2.5 stars out of 5.

A new author to me. This is a steamy and action packed book but does use current language so not historically accurate from that point of view but not a problem for me. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Irretrievably Wicked drew me in with its blurb, as I do enjoy a story featuring highwaymen. I requested this book knowing from the cover design it would be of the 'bodice-ripper' variety of historical romance, so I was ready to suspend disbelief a little over the characters' actions; however, I had to do so more often than I would have liked, and it became hard to accept anything going on. This was unfortunately not helped by the constant inclusion of anachronistic language, including words that were not first used until more than 100 years after the time in which the story was set, and issues with the correct use of titles etc. Finally, there were several glaring inconsistencies. For example, in one scene Dev pulls down Cressida's stays. This would be fine, except we had been told, only five lines earlier, that she wasn't wearing her stays on that occasion. On the plus side, the premise of the book was interesting and the pacing was fine. If you are not worried about historical accuracy in this steamier type of historical romance, you'll probably find something to like in Irretrievably Wicked, but for me, the problems sadly outweighed any enjoyment I could derive from the tale. Therefore, I can only give it two stars.

This was a fast paced story that well showcased the clarity that the author is able to write developing her characters and story setting. Everything came to life quickly for me and I was fully engaged from page one. Well done!

Cress thinks she is a wicked widowed viscountess.
Dev thinks he is illegitimate. Neither is right.
Cressida Darewood Lindquist has spent ten years putting her family before herself, and now, finally, she is able to indulge in life as a widowed viscountess. That is, until a highwayman interrupts her plans, accosting her in the dark of the night.
Deverell Havelock is done with his life of crime, ready to sail to America. He only needs one more robbery, then he can quit England forever. But he cannot forget the stubborn lady who saves his life on a midnight road to London.
When Cress’s brother is arrested, she turns to Dev, the only man who can break her brother out of prison and save the Darewood family from ruination. But does she want him to rescue her or run away with her?
This is a very good debut book. Constance Kersaint has created a truly good story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

*3.5 stars*

A young widowed viscountess is accosted by a polite, well-mannered highwayman who she befriends. In the book's beginning, the highwayman, Dev, intends to sail away to America for a fresh start after one last robbery while the young widow, Cress, detests her life as one of the ton but she must take care of her orphaned younger siblings-a fierce sister who us yet to have her debut and an idiot of a brother who is also the heir.

When her brother gets arrested on one of his idiotic escapades and lands the family in a dreadful situation, Cress turns to her highwayman for help. As the two concoct and eventually carry out a mad evil genius plan to break her brother out of prison, they inevitably fall in love while scandalising the peerage and defying gravity.

I must say, this was much better than I expected and I apologise for having low expectations. My pessimism is showing again. Case in point, this was a spectacular read. Sadly, a little forgettable since I've been reading a hoard of historical romances lately. The plot was probably the best thing about the book. I loved how straightforward it was and the hilarity of a Viscountess and a highwayman coming together to break someone out of prison. The plot twists made me laugh out loud and I was surprised at how many times I caught myself smiling or chuckling throughout the story.
The heroine, Cressida was a pretty great, interesting character. Her interactions with Dev, (especially before they fall in love) are highly entertaining. Dev, the hero was funny and such a sweetheart. I liked him almost immediately.
Regrettably, I'll probably forget all about them in a day or two.
I must admit though, I was hooked from beginning to the end. The irony of the highwayman business caught my attention and held it. It was a smooth ride and a great time. Worth the read.