A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare
This week I'm reviewing A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare. Spoiler alert- I loved it.
Here's the goodreads description:
When a devilish lord and a bluestocking set off on the road to ruin... time is not on their side. Minerva Highwood, one of Spindle Cove's confirmed spinsters, needs to be in Scotland.
Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, a rake of the first order, needs to be... anywhere but Spindle Cove.
These unlikely partners have one week to fake an elopement, convince family and friends they're in "love", outrun armed robbers, survive their worst nightmares, travel four hundred miles without killing each other
All while sharing a very small carriage by day and an even smaller bed by night.
What they don't have time for is their growing attraction. Much less wild passion. And heaven forbid they spend precious hours baring their hearts and souls.
Suddenly one week seems like exactly enough time to find a world of trouble. And maybe... just maybe... love.
This is a combination of 2 basic plot devices, the blue stocking finds a super hot lord and road trip romance. But this isn't just your routine nerdy, quiet wallflower and dashing rake. I mean it is, but Minerva and Colin are so much more. They are almost caricatures of the trope. Minerva is an paleontologist/geologist before "paleontology" is a thing and Colin is charming, dashing, misunderstood, and has a dark past.
To set the stage, it's 1815 and Colin is cooling his heels in the village of Spindle Cove, waiting to come into his inheritance. Bram, the hero from A Night to Surrender, Book One of the Spindle Cove series, is trustee of Colin's inheritance until his upcoming birthday, or until he marries. Since Bram is a military hero, and Colin is basically a scapegrace, Bram believes that forcing Colin to assist with the Spindle Cove militia will be just the thing.
In walks our heroine. Minerva is a bespectacled middle sister who is concerned that Colin might be in pursuit of her older *prettier* sister to gain his inheritance early. At the same time, Minerva is desperate to go to a geological symposium in Scotland to unveil her scientific findings. Confident that if she is able to get to the symposium her findings will reign supreme, Minerva attempts to persuade Colin into accompanying her to Scotland by promising the symposium's prize money of 500 pounds to Colin if he agrees. Everyone knows Colin is desperate for funds and the freedom they represent. Colin refuses Minerva over and over again but somehow off he goes up the Great North Road, if only to protect Minerva from herself.
So why is this book special? Well if you have the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, the narration is fantastic. Carolyn Morris does a fantastic job of keeping Minerva from sounding peevish and delivering her dry barbs with perfect timing. Colin sounds sexy....really sexy. His ridiculous and self deprecating retorts are spot-on.
In my opinion, this is Tessa Dare at her very best. The humor is cutting but very smartly done. Minerva's inquisitive discussions feel genuine and Colin's lines and pranks will have you laughing out loud. While it's true that their journey is filled with the pitfalls you might expect in a historical romance road trip, there are enough surprises to keep you going.
There were a couple of things that did get under my skin though. First- geology and paleontology are new during this time period. In fact- the word paleontology wasn't coined until 1822 according to Wikipedia. The idea that Minerva would discover a dinosaur fossil in a watery cave, and think- this is a dinosaur fossil- feels a bit far fetched, as does her knowledge of fossils. I also had a hard time understanding their route and the speed at which they travelled to Scotland. I've read a ton of books where couples rush off to the border to elope, but for some reason the 400 mile trek to Edinburgh in this book made me raise an eyebrow.
That said, there is just so much to love here. Great catch phrases, some soft touching bits, and the sexy time scenes are a delight. Colin and Minerva have this great chemistry. Colin is supportive of Minerva, and by Ms. Dare's pen, clever at finding ways to get Minerva and himself out of some tricky spots. He isn't portrayed as some giant hulking hero but more of the lovable scamp, with twinkling eyes. It's a bit refreshing to find a historical romance hero that isn't a tyrant and a heroine that isn't obsessed with her reputation, however unlikely both may be.
This is a good one folks. Do yourselves a favor and read it.
Here's the goodreads description:
When a devilish lord and a bluestocking set off on the road to ruin... time is not on their side. Minerva Highwood, one of Spindle Cove's confirmed spinsters, needs to be in Scotland.
Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, a rake of the first order, needs to be... anywhere but Spindle Cove.
These unlikely partners have one week to fake an elopement, convince family and friends they're in "love", outrun armed robbers, survive their worst nightmares, travel four hundred miles without killing each other
All while sharing a very small carriage by day and an even smaller bed by night.
What they don't have time for is their growing attraction. Much less wild passion. And heaven forbid they spend precious hours baring their hearts and souls.
Suddenly one week seems like exactly enough time to find a world of trouble. And maybe... just maybe... love.
This is a combination of 2 basic plot devices, the blue stocking finds a super hot lord and road trip romance. But this isn't just your routine nerdy, quiet wallflower and dashing rake. I mean it is, but Minerva and Colin are so much more. They are almost caricatures of the trope. Minerva is an paleontologist/geologist before "paleontology" is a thing and Colin is charming, dashing, misunderstood, and has a dark past.
To set the stage, it's 1815 and Colin is cooling his heels in the village of Spindle Cove, waiting to come into his inheritance. Bram, the hero from A Night to Surrender, Book One of the Spindle Cove series, is trustee of Colin's inheritance until his upcoming birthday, or until he marries. Since Bram is a military hero, and Colin is basically a scapegrace, Bram believes that forcing Colin to assist with the Spindle Cove militia will be just the thing.
In walks our heroine. Minerva is a bespectacled middle sister who is concerned that Colin might be in pursuit of her older *prettier* sister to gain his inheritance early. At the same time, Minerva is desperate to go to a geological symposium in Scotland to unveil her scientific findings. Confident that if she is able to get to the symposium her findings will reign supreme, Minerva attempts to persuade Colin into accompanying her to Scotland by promising the symposium's prize money of 500 pounds to Colin if he agrees. Everyone knows Colin is desperate for funds and the freedom they represent. Colin refuses Minerva over and over again but somehow off he goes up the Great North Road, if only to protect Minerva from herself.
So why is this book special? Well if you have the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, the narration is fantastic. Carolyn Morris does a fantastic job of keeping Minerva from sounding peevish and delivering her dry barbs with perfect timing. Colin sounds sexy....really sexy. His ridiculous and self deprecating retorts are spot-on.
In my opinion, this is Tessa Dare at her very best. The humor is cutting but very smartly done. Minerva's inquisitive discussions feel genuine and Colin's lines and pranks will have you laughing out loud. While it's true that their journey is filled with the pitfalls you might expect in a historical romance road trip, there are enough surprises to keep you going.
There were a couple of things that did get under my skin though. First- geology and paleontology are new during this time period. In fact- the word paleontology wasn't coined until 1822 according to Wikipedia. The idea that Minerva would discover a dinosaur fossil in a watery cave, and think- this is a dinosaur fossil- feels a bit far fetched, as does her knowledge of fossils. I also had a hard time understanding their route and the speed at which they travelled to Scotland. I've read a ton of books where couples rush off to the border to elope, but for some reason the 400 mile trek to Edinburgh in this book made me raise an eyebrow.
That said, there is just so much to love here. Great catch phrases, some soft touching bits, and the sexy time scenes are a delight. Colin and Minerva have this great chemistry. Colin is supportive of Minerva, and by Ms. Dare's pen, clever at finding ways to get Minerva and himself out of some tricky spots. He isn't portrayed as some giant hulking hero but more of the lovable scamp, with twinkling eyes. It's a bit refreshing to find a historical romance hero that isn't a tyrant and a heroine that isn't obsessed with her reputation, however unlikely both may be.
This is a good one folks. Do yourselves a favor and read it.
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