This is more of a 3.5 for me. I honestly just got so tired of Olivia's insistence on 'misbehaving' and Prue's negativity.



Right off the bat, I liked Phinn better then Olivia for the most part. Olivia spent so much time dancing around communication with him that it got to be tiresome. Her attempts at "wild behavior" to deter him got more ludicrous and quite frankly horribly reckless as the book went on. And I'm not entirely sure why. He did not, despite her belief to the contrary, act in a threatening manner. Oh he didn't bother denying the murder charges, but he believed he was the one who caused the murders, even if it wasn't directly.

And while I appreciate the fact Prue was trying to look out for Olivia, she was doing more harm then good.

Really what it boiled down to was that I was finding it hard to see what Phinn saw in Olivia and vice versa. Olivia spends the better part of the book convinced that he's going to kill her and rarely seems to soften towards him. Phinn, who seemed much more cerebral and in his head (which I appreciate in a hero), seemed awfully determined to remain aloof from Olivia. Even with his reputation I would have thought he'd be able to find some plain miss or merchant's daughter to marry if all he wanted was a quiet, proper wife. His insistence at courting Olivia as her behavior grew more reckless didn't speak well of his intellect...

At times the book was thoroughly entertaining; I found Phinn and Olivia to be at their best when discussing his projects. Though she was less then knowledgeable Olivia's interest in what he was doing was enthusiastic (when she let herself just be). It was good to see Emma again, I do think she wanted what was best for Olivia and she did counsel wisely (where as Prue was just...well in hindsight it made sense but at the time it was just awful).

As a Rodale fan this won't be as light-hearted or humorous as her previous books. Olivia is just too frustrating and the circles Rodale has them go in before they wind up together get annoying. ( )

Entertaining if not truly historical. I liked, but I think some writers should probably still stick to contemporary novels. The writing is good, the characters too, I just really have issues with the historical parts. ( )

'Wallflower Gone Wild', a second in the Bad Boys and Wallflower series, was fun but not as much as the first story in this series. It was almost as entertaining and charming but the heroine left me wanting.

The hero was fine, yet he did and said a few things that made me question his love for the heroine.

All in all, not bad and I do recommend it to all of you that have read the first story in this series. The author continues with the lighthearted and entertaining bent to this series.

Melanie for bb

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher
( )