I'm always on the lookout for new authors. To me, one of the great pleasures of reading is discovering a new author - I would be so bored if I only read the same old favorites! (Not to mention, I have to keep finding new authors, as my previous favorites stop writing the books that I enjoy the most.) And so, even if a debut book has flaws, it's still an enjoyable experience.
A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore
(2009, Regency Historical) 1/3/2010
Grade: 3.5
After seven years mourning her husband Garrett, who died at Waterloo, Sophie is finally happily married to his cousin and best friend, Tristan. But when Garrett returns alive, Sophie is pulled in two directions. Garrett was her first love, but he seems so different. And is there something strange about his reappearance, with the mysterious Mr. Fisk at his side?
This book had a lot of promise, and even though it had some flaws as well, I have high hopes for the author in the future. She does a great job showing how the heroine is torn between these two men, and how she loves them both. I wish she’d spent more time describing how Sophie had changed over the years, and come into her own as an adult woman since Garrett left - it’s mentioned a few times but it could have been explored in more detail. Because of that, I felt that Sophie’s ultimate choice wasn’t given enough support. She says all the right things at the end about why she made the choice she did, but there’s a long section in the middle where she barely thinks about the other guy, so I was a little skeptical when she declares that it was “always him” at the end. (I’m being vague so not to be too spoilery.) But it’s a nice change from the usual romance triangle, where the “other man” has to either turn out to be evil, or die tragically. Kudos to the author for avoiding both of those cliches.
The other flaw here is a couple of sex scenes that seem out of place - one at the beginning that involves bondage for no apparent reason (it’s never mentioned again) and another one that involves a fantasy about a threesome. They just didn’t seem to go with the rest of the book, and it almost felt like they were thrown in to make the book “hotter”. It was just an unnecessary distraction from the real substance of the book.
On the other hand, the plot about Garrett’s disappearance and the mysterious Mr. Fisk kept building and building throughout the book, until I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what was going to happen. I debated on how to rate this one - I had to grade it down just a bit because the romance didn’t quite work, but it had so much going for it - I’ve already added the author’s next book to my wish list.
I have to comment on the cover. I know that authors don't choose their covers. But I've been laughing at this cover ever since I first saw it last spring! What is she doing with that flower?? Tucking it in her butt cleavage? Scratching an itch? I know some people thought this cover was pretty, but it just looks uncomfortable to me, not sexy.
