Wicked All Day

Miss Zoë Armstrong is beautiful, charming, rich -- and utterly unmarriageable. So, while she may be the ton's most sparkling diamond, her choice of husbands looks more like a list of London's most unsavory fortune hunters. Since a true-love marriage seems impossible, Zoë has accepted -- no, embraced -- her role as society's most incomparable flirt and mischiefmaker...until in one reckless, vulnerable moment, her future is shattered.

Stuart Rowland, the brooding Marquess of Mercer, has been part of Zoë's extended family since she was a child. As dark and cynical as Zoë is lively, Mercer has always known they would be the worst possible match...until his scapegrace brother Robert does the unthinkable, and winds up betrothed to Zoë. Now, secluded on Mercer's vast estate to escape a looming scandal and the ton's prying eyes, Zoë and Mercer may find that a dark obsession has become a tempestuous passion that can no longer be denied....

I've been waiting for Zoe's story (for years), she's a great character, full spirit and confidence...but in this book she isn't the Zoe of previous books. She and her cousin (and best friend) Robin are caught in a compromising position. You can figure out what has to happen, right?!

Anyway, they leave for the country where they're supposed to be planning the blessed event. But there we encounter three very confused and angry characters. Mercer, the Marquis, he needs to be in charge of everything, he needs to control, but the cannot control his feelings for his brother's fiancée; and he doesn't like that one bit. Robin, feels sorry for himself, he has to marry Zoe but he loves another woman. He has no problem showing his anger and lack of respect to Zoe (in my opinion he needed a swift kick in the behind). And there's Zoe who is having conflicting feelings for the wrong brother, but doesn't want to bring any more shame or scandal to her family. What a jumble!

And then the story just went on and on and on...I truly believe that the triangle could have been resolved sooner, there was a lot of filler in this book.

With all that being said...I still enjoyed it, but not as much as I thought I would have.

Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle (3/5) Historical Romance; Published: Pocket Books (10/2009); Series: # 2, Tempted All Night; 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (125);