I like wealthy, titled, possessive men. I like proud, smart, strong women. I like deep, yearning, unfulfilled desires. I like heated looks across crowded streets. I like forbidden touches followed by reckless abandonment. I like sacrifice in the name of love. I like drama in my historical romance. So, I liked Wicked Little Game.
The Marquis of Vane has felt a serious attraction for the married Lady Sarah since he met her many years ago, but she has always been off limits despite having an irresponsible lout for a husband. When the irresponsible lout offers up his wife in exchange for ten thousand pounds Vane is disgusted at the behavior, concerned for Sarah’s welfare and, shame aside, desperate enough to consider the offer. When Sarah learns of the proposition, and the various threats that surround it which may make an already hard life even more difficult, she confronts Vane. Though the attraction is mutual and her married life is a disappointment, Sarah has always held fast to her moral ground based on events she discovered in the life of her parents, and though she has been brought low by circumstance, she has also held fast to her sense of worth. So the details to this bargain are an insult on many levels. Despite this, once they are alone together, reckless abandonment ensues.
When Sarah goes to confront Vane, I truly did not know whether they would succumb to their emotions. Usually, when the heroine is upset and runs over to a bachelor’s house in the middle of the night, you get to realize some things – one, you’re dealing with someone silly and two, the author sacrificed her heroine’s intelligence to orchestrate a heated meeting in close proximity to a bedroom. I didn’t get that premonition while reading Wicked Little Game though Sarah does meet Vane at night, at his house, and unchaperoned. I thank the attention to character detail and the luxurious style to the prose for that. From what I learned about Sarah to that point, I knew she wasn’t silly; and because of Wells’s writing, the story itself had me enthralled.
Now, though I like possessive men, I don’t like boors. Vane loves Sarah with such intensity that at times he crosses the line. At one point he thinks, ”By God, he would have her, whether she wanted him or not.” which was not cool. But while his thoughts and words sometimes veer into stalker-rapist territory, his actions never follow. So as a reader (who likes possessive males), it’s easier to forget all the missteps when he says, (beside himself with happiness that Sarah has unwound enough to let him touch her), “You are mine....You were always mine.
And on the point of a stubborn Sarah, I’ll say that though I like proud women, I don’t like when they’re selfish. Despite loving Vane as much as he loves her, most of their deep, yearning, unfulfilled desires come from her reluctance to admit that she feels anything beyond lust. I understand her reason for doing so as she’s been burned once and badly by emotions that she had believed were true and lasting, but Vane is so forthright in his behavior with her, that I wondered why she didn’t act accordingly. Sarah skates close to the “Big Misunderstanding” rink and dips her toes into the “Mean Girl” pool.
Wicked Little Game also featured sacrifice on the part of both characters in the name of love – both to each other and for their respective families. It added a dimension to them that I appreciated, and Wells wrote some poignant family scenes with Vane and his brothers. Sarah’s family scenes were also well written but frustrating for me because though I like sacrifice, I also like to see justice. Sarah’s parents really treated her poorly, and her ready acquiescence to their pathetic apologies did not give me that sense of justice I craved.
I really, really enjoyed this book. Wells knows how write a full-bodied story, one where the focus on the romantic dynamics between the two main characters is supported by a carefully created surrounding world. So, why no A? Well, I like drama but not melodrama and when, at one point, Vane thinks ”...his body burned for her like the fire from a thousand hells.” I wanted him to dial down on the agony. Everything else was pitch perfect, and I hope you enjoy Wicked Little Game as much as I did.
-- Abi Bishop
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