I was a little wary of Gwen at first. Nice girl turning wicked can go so bad so quickly after all. However I shouldn't have worried quite honestly, Gwen's idea of becoming wicked was only rough-hewn at best. Without Alex there to challenge her, I suspect she wouldn't have followed through at all honestly.

Duran paints a truly miserable picture for Gwen. There was no Earthly reason for both of her grooms to cry off; indeed a lot of their appeal for Gwen was the surefire bet they were--they were in desperate need of funds and she is a very rich lady (3 million pounds--I don't think I've ever seen quite so much saddled on one girl in a historical novel before!). We only hear about what happened with the first guy, Trent, but we see what happens with the second guy, Pennington. And the moment Gwen realizes that it would all happen again she cracks. I don't blame her. She is a picture perfect candidate for wife, yet she couldn't give herself away in marriage!

Gwen hysterical and planning her new life was absolutely hilarious. She takes such delight in something as small as insulting a man's kissing habits that it was hard not to smile and root for her. Indeed throughout the novel she is a marvelous delight with each new experience--innocent isn't quite the right word, but after a decade of living in self-imposed obliviousness she's like a butterfly. She knows the world, but is seeing it through brand new eyes. Her interactions with Alex were priceless--especially in the beginning as she sought to convince him of her plan to be independently rich (and 'wicked') and he tried to both show her that her efforts were minimal and self-defeating at best...and at worst encouraged her to deeper thrills. If he wasn't a fictional character I truly think that Gwen would have him tearing his hair out and strangling her.

There are a couple of subplots running through, to give the story a deeper meaning (and explain some of the circumstances), outside of the personal growth both characters exhibit. Alex's brother making a bad land sale, and Gwen's second ex-fiancee running off with her late brother's ring mostly, though the latter is quickly resolved and the former is a very tangled mess that confused me moreso then anything else. Gwen's growth from "nice" girl who smiled through everything and Alex's acceptance of what happened to her brother is touching. I felt bad for Alex, even if he was using it partially as an excuse.

Two things bothered me about this novel however--the first is that Gwen receives two (or three) secret admirer love letters near the beginning of the novel. She accepts this as ordinary, so I'm assuming she had received some prior. They're never explained as to who had sent them, they were just...tossed aside. The second is more of a pet peeve. I'm never in favor of the trope where the hero (or heroine) suddenly realizes that all these years of knowing the other, they were secretly in love with them but didn't realize it until that very moment. No thank you, I'd have preferred if they cared for one and other all those years and then it became a deeper love.

This was my first time reading Duran, but I definitely will be checking out her other books! ( )

Oh, Meredith Duran.

I started reading this this morning, thinking no big deal, just spend a couple hours here and there. Er, no. That's never quite the way that works.

This book is a lighter Duran, though her humor always sparkles. I loved watching Gwen coming into her own and being challenged by Alex, and they were so so lovely together. It was part adventure/road trip--which I really enjoyed. When Duran sets a scene, they can sure sparkle. I just overall enjoyed this ride. ( )

Super adorable sweet adventure. I'm a sucker for a heroine finding herself and shedding the society standards so this was perfect for me. A really quick read if you aren't drowning in other tasks too! ( )

All in all it's a good book, but somehow I found it hard to read. It took a lot longer than usual and each time I picked it up again, it took a while to get into it. Therefore a bit lower than it perhaps should merit. ( )

The first few pages of [b:Wicked Becomes You|6597344|Wicked Becomes You|Meredith Duran|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1263749842s/6597344.jpg|6791117] dispelled the disappointment of [b:Written on Your Skin|5841535|Written on Your Skin|Meredith Duran|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1304382832s/5841535.jpg|6013675], Ms Duran’s previous book. Likeable, original characters, witty dialogue, and a fast-moving narrative signalled a return to the form of [b:The Duke of Shadows|3112394|The Duke of Shadows|Meredith Duran|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267785052s/3112394.jpg|3143676] and, to a lesser extent, [b:Bound by Your Touch|5841513|Bound by Your Touch|Meredith Duran|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267857244s/5841513.jpg|6013653].

My relief was premature. As the story of Gwen and Alex develops, Ms Duran slips into the same bad habits that marred [b:Written on Your Skin|5841535|Written on Your Skin|Meredith Duran|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1304382832s/5841535.jpg|6013675]. Two of the most annoying were tediously long internal monologues at the most inappropriate times, and an almost mechanical placement of narrative obstacles.

For example, towards the end of the book Alex breaks into someone’s study to look for incriminating documents. As he scans the bookshelves for clues, he suddenly pauses to ponder on his relationship to Gwen, and continues to ponder for over a page of text before suddenly remembering where he is and continuing his search. Likewise, when Gwen and Alex are spotted by two English ladies at a French railway station (one of many instances of a mechanically placed obstacle), and attempt to extricate themselves from the embarrassing situation, the action stops for yet another one-page internal monologue. After several such breaks in continuity, I began to skip the boring self-searching, self-questioning inner monologues and jump to the next line of action.

Heroes and heroines who have difficulty understanding their feelings and motivations, or those of others, are a mainstay of romance novels, but there’s a limit to the number of yes-no-maybe-perhaps or yes-I-will-no-I-won’t cycles that a reader can endure without feeling irritation.

I once spent time with a Nobel Laureate who would stop in the middle of conversations and sink into profound internal debate. Cute and eccentric behaviour for a mathematical genius, but hardly the stuff of which romantic heroes (or heroines) are made. ( )