Review: The Wicked Wyckerly by Patricia Rice
THE REBELLIOUS SONS BOOK 1: THE WICKED WYCKERLY
Patricia Rice
ISBN: 978-0451230713
July 2010
Penguin Putnam/Signet Eclipse
Historical Romance/Regency
Mass Market Paperback
Inheriting an earldom, along with a crumbling estate and massive debts that would take him a lifetime to pay back, John Fitzhugh Wyckerly the new seventh Earl of Danecroft considered his options; one of which was running away to America and letting his wealthy cousin inherit both title and the debts! But Fitz was not a quitter, and decided he should do the right thing, so he set out to reclaim his illegitimate daughter Penelope and travel to London in search of a very wealthy wife! Abigail Merriweather has been devastatingly quiet since she lost custody of her four half-siblings. Without warning, a roguish gentleman (Fitz) and his uncontrollable terror of a daughter descended upon her farm when they were unceremoniously booted off of the post chaise taking them to London. Abigail took note of how his parenting skills were quite appalling but his good looks and flirting were very heady. Abigail needs a lawyer, or husband, to help her regain her siblings, so why does Fitz keep looking like the best candidate, even though both know it could never work?
*** When thinking about Patricia Rice I tend to think of the magic and mystical worlds she has so delightfully charmed her readers with over these past few years. In THE WICKED WYCKERLY she has left the magic behind and relies solely on the magic of true love and an enchanting romance set in the lively Regency world where social standing and money are of prime importance in the beau monde and glittering ballrooms of the ton.
Fitz as the new Earl of Danecroft, despite his rakish life style before inheriting the title as a second son, never prepared or trained to become an Earl. He’d lived by his wits and remarkable mathematical abilities surviving solely on his expertise in gambling to modestly support himself in his bachelor rooms. However, after the loss of father and brother so close together, he found he wasn’t able to brush off the responsibilities so lightly. So Fitz decided to try and do better than his forbears and show that not all of his line deserved the “Wicked Wyckerly” title.
Rice developed Fitz by giving him a conscience beginning with taking charge of his six year old illegitimate daughter Penelope even while he didn’t have a clue as to what fatherhood entailed. The author showed a correlation between Fitz’s upbringing and Penelope’s when he realized his uncaring attitude was much like what he himself had experienced.
Abigail was fleshed out perfectly and was a complete joy. For Fitz, who had never been shown love or caring, meeting up with Abigail whose abundance of love and plain common sense was captivated by her beauty and her character. Rice couldn’t have created a better match up than Fitz and Abigail. Their attraction and what each brought to the table in terms of natural talents to enhance one another was perfection. Fitz needed to marry money and Abigail needed someone with a stellar reputation in order to regain custody of her half-siblings.
Rice added a plethora of secondary characters that kept the action going, from a ‘fairy godmother type’ in the guise of the Abigail’s dowager marchioness cousin who decided to play matchmaker; to Fitz’s cousin and heir as well as the few friends who actually were mourning his rumored demise as well as Fitz’s faithful butler. Add to that the lovely humorous and sensual romance; several attempts made to Fitz’s life; and the delight of Fitz learning to deal with his six year old daughter and you have one perfectly enchanting read that I can HIGHLY recommend. As always when Patricia Rice pens a novel it turns into total fun!
