Too Wicked to Love by Debra Mullins

We first met the mysterious John Ready in Tempting a Proper Lady and you could just tell that this well spoken coachman had been brought up proper and must have a good reason to be serving as his best friends coachman. We also met our heroine, Genevieve Wallington-Willis and saw her spiteful reaction to her sisters homecoming so I did not have the warmest feelings to her but the first meeting of these two in this book had the sparks flying and I just kept flipping the pages to see how these two would finally end up together.

The main plot of the story revolves around John Readys sorrowful secret and what he has had to sacrifice to stay alive and hidden from London society. You think you know what the secret is going to be but then there is another slight twist to have you thinking another way until the truth is finally revealed, thankfully about halfway through the book so it is not dragged out forever. When circumstances force him to finally confess his secrets to his friends, that includes Genny and he cruelly ends their budding flirtation in order to protect her.

Genny is hiding her own secret but as she grows to develop feelings for John, she decides to trust him and tell him the truth. Her secret has led to her spiteful attitude towards her sister and others around her and it was nice to see her grow from that one fateful mistake into a lovely, caring, strong young woman. But after she tells John her secret she is beyond hurt when his actions towards her lead her to believe she has fallen for a heartless man again and she goes into a heartbroken depression. John sees this and finally tells her why he keeps pushing her away and she refuses to leave him to face his uncertain future alone. The conclusion that these two finally agree upon was very sigh worthy! Once again, the horrible Earl of Raventhorpe is ever present as a vile villain who will stop at nothing to get revenge on those who have stolen from him and he is out to get John, who had a previous altercation with him.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a wonderful story of deceit, love and forgiveness but it all moved along quickly. Even though I thought Genny was a bit immature in the beginning (she is only eighteen) she does blossom into a strong little warrior, as John nicknames her. And John secret was sort of what I thought, but not really at all what I thought which was great. I was very happy with the way it all played out and it showed a wonderful, strong, sexy man who is not afraid to put others happiness in front of his own. I would recommend reading Tempting a Proper Lady first as it is a continuation of that one and I am really hoping there is one more story featuring Annabelle and the mysterious highwayman Black Bill (who I believe I know who it is and there were a few hints dropped). A solid 4 heart warming stars

I received this ebook via netgalley.com