To Wed a Wicked Earl

Usually when you read a book, you expect the plot to go somewhere. Instead, To Wed a Wicked Earl has a tendency to wander in circles, skip over parts, and jump into places it doesn’t belong.

Charlotte Greene is a well-known (but gorgeous) wallflower who is jilted in a bizarre and anachronistic Bachelor-like competition (complete with roses) to win the hand of the brother of a duke. Adam Faramond, Earl of Rothbury, rescues her from abject humiliation, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Charlotte thinks Adam is in love with someone else, so she offers to help “reform” his wicked ways in order to win her hand. In truth, Adam is in love with Charlotte – and has been for years.

However, Adam needs to find a wife, and quickly. His senile grandmother is demanding he marry, or she’ll leave him penniless. So he tricks Charlotte into coming to visit his French-speaking grandmother as his “fiancé,” but when an impromptu (and fake) wedding ceremony turns up binding, Adam and Charlotte must face these new circumstances and figure out what to do.

The basic set-up of the story is, if not particularly original, at least tried-and-true. However, it just makes so many missteps it was difficult to enjoy. We’re assured that Adam loves Charlotte, and has for years, but he’s still a “wicked” rogue. I couldn’t tell you how many times he was described as “wicked.” But we’re given no proof of either of these things. I didn’t believe he loved her. Lusted after, yes. Love? No. Nor did he seem to deserve the adjective “wicked,” when he was just a run-of-the-mill rake.

Charlotte had her moments of sheer stupidity, putting herself in incredibly compromising positions with someone she hardly knows. So much of what she does just felt so contrived, for no other reason than to push the plot along. The plot itself is jumpy, aimless, and disjointed. It doesn’t progress at a natural pace along a natural course. Instead, it wanders around for far too long, making no substantial progression. Then at the end, there’s a farcical plot twist and completely unnecessary, ill-executed attempt at suspense that instead comes off as half-hearted and tacked on for a convenient way to end the book.

I do have to say, though, that despite the aimless beginning and poor conclusion, the middle third of the book was more enjoyable. While it was an improvement, though, it didn’t nearly make up for the other parts of the book.

-- Jane Granville

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