Violet is smart, driven and interesting, and Daniel's obsession with her makes perfect sense. She's been surviving on her wits without much support and then finds love and a large, loving family. It's great. ( )

Skimmed about75% of this book. Extremely sad about that. Really liked Violet though, I just didn't feel the romance. There were too many things going on and nothing really resolved. And, as per usual, someone gets shot. ( )

There wasn't any particular thing that made this one horrid or anything, I just didn't care what happened and had to fight to not roll my eyes repeatedly throughout the book. I've really enjoyed some of the previous books in this series, this one was just a dud for me. It didn't seem as grounded to reality as I would have liked, things seemed to happen simply because they were convenient for the story, not because they were realistic or likely. And I didn't really feel the chemistry or connection between these two characters. I don't know, it just felt wonky. I felt similarly about the 5th book in the series, but really enjoyed the novellas right before and after it, so I don't know. I will continue on with the series. ( )

Listened to audio narrated by Angela Dawe. Daniel comes across Victoria after her services as a medium were offered to him to settle a gambling debt. He sees through her and her mother's claim to be a spiritualist and that they can speak to the dead. At first Daniel has no interest in her shenanigans until he uncovers the mechanisms she uses to create effects. After he kisses her, she has a flashback from an attack and she attacks him with a vase. Believing she's killed him, she drops him off outside a physician's and packs up her mother and maid and make a run for it. Daniel tracks her down outsmarting her at every turn, he's fascinated by her mechanical inventions and finds himself falling for her. Violet wants nothing to do with him, her inner dialogue, rabbiting and crying get old, until her full story is revealed, and her mother is awful. A good chunk of the story came across very flat to me, the highlights were Ian and his family's scene stealers. I finally started warming up to Violet the last third of the book. These two at first glance are an unlikely pair, an eccentric, Scot who likes to build things and a poor medium/con artist, who likes to run and has had a traumatic past, but in the end they work perfect together. I liked the way Daniel handle's Violet's PTSD, it was well handled. Not my favorite in this series but still a decent read.
( )

The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie
3 Stars

Daniel, scion of the wealthy and scandalous Mackenzie family, is no stranger to beautiful women intent on snaring him for his looks and his money. But when he encounters, Violet Bastien, he knows he has met the one woman who understands him completely. Violet makes her living as a spiritualist but there are dark secrets in her past that threaten to destroy her newfound relationship with Daniel.

Jennifer Ashley’s Highland Pleasures series is truly wonderful, so it is with a heavy heart that I must give this latest installment a less that stellar rating, mainly due to the fact that Violet’s struggles with her traumatic past undermines her chemistry with Daniel to such an extent that it is virtually non-existent.

Violet is an intelligent, determined and endearing heroine, and Ashley succeeds in making her sympathetic despite the morally questionable aspects of her profession. Nevertheless, as the story progresses and more is revealed about Violet’s past, her reticence and inhibitions put a damper on her passion for Daniel. While Ashley is to be commended for dealing with darker issues in this series (particularly in Ian’s book), it fails with Violet as she is too damaged for her romance with Daniel to be believable.

Daniel’s characterization is also problematic. At the outset, he is established as an all round upstanding guy - an intelligent inventor, a loving son and brother, a gentle and caring lover. However, toward the end of the book, he undergoes a dramatic shift when he allows his heretofore unmentioned anger and instability to overcome his common sense, and he goes into an uncontrollable rage - huh?! Perhaps the transformation is an attempt to explain the title?

The suspense plot has potential but takes a back seat to Violet’s angst. The villain makes a late appearance and is so underdeveloped that he never poses any true threat. This results in a climax and resolution that feel tacked on and superfluous.

In sum, despite my love of the Mackenzies as a whole and my appreciation for the parts of the book that include their shenanigans, Daniel’s book just does not live up to expectations. The next installment shifts once again to the McBride family and I look forward to reading Sinclair’s book. ( )