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Longhope Abbey #3
A Wicked Kind of Husband
It was the ideal marriage of convenience…until they met
Cassandra DeWitt has seen her husband only once—on their wedding day two years earlier—and this arrangement suits her perfectly. She has no interest in the rude, badly behaved man she married only to secure her inheritance. She certainly has no interest in his ban on her going to London. Why, he’ll never even know she is there.
Until he shows up in London too, and Cassandra finds herself sharing a house with the most infuriating man in England.
Joshua DeWitt has his life exactly how he wants it. He has no need of a wife disrupting everything, especially a wife intent on reforming his behavior. He certainly has no need of a wife who is intolerably amiable, insufferably reasonable … and irresistibly kissable.
As the unlikely couple team up to battle a malicious lawsuit and launch Cassandra’s wayward sister, passion flares between them. Soon the day must come for them to part … but what if one of them wants their marriage to become real?
Hilarious, heartrending, and hot, this standalone Regency romance tells the story of a marriage of convenience between opposites.
Cassandra DeWitt has seen her husband only once—on their wedding day two years earlier—and this arrangement suits her perfectly. She has no interest in the rude, badly behaved man she married only to secure her inheritance. She certainly has no interest in his ban on her going to London. Why, he’ll never even know she is there.
Until he shows up in London too, and Cassandra finds herself sharing a house with the most infuriating man in England.
Joshua DeWitt has his life exactly how he wants it. He has no need of a wife disrupting everything, especially a wife intent on reforming his behavior. He certainly has no need of a wife who is intolerably amiable, insufferably reasonable … and irresistibly kissable.
As the unlikely couple team up to battle a malicious lawsuit and launch Cassandra’s wayward sister, passion flares between them. Soon the day must come for them to part … but what if one of them wants their marriage to become real?
Hilarious, heartrending, and hot, this standalone Regency romance tells the story of a marriage of convenience between opposites.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 8, 2018
738 people are currently reading
6309 people want to read
About the author
Mia Vincy
6 books857 followersMia Vincy wandered the world for years, sometimes backpacking, sometimes working variously as a journalist, communications specialist, and copyeditor. She always carried a tattered book or three in her backpack, until the advent of the e-reader meant she could carry thousands of books at once.
Mia eventually settled in a country town in Victoria, Australia, to write historical romances, in between bike rides through the countryside and muttering at the walls.
Mia eventually settled in a country town in Victoria, Australia, to write historical romances, in between bike rides through the countryside and muttering at the walls.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,328 reviews
December 29, 2021
12/29/21
Reread and it was better the second time for sure. But he still was a cheater. I just skimmed over that part and put on Rose Colored glasses and a bottle of the captain and it was okay. I didn’t get as mad this time. Probably because I read it before. Lol.
10/22/18
I hated this book. Hero was not a hero and consummated his marriage quickly and painfully and then left her in the country. She came to town and he was getting ready to have an affair with another married woman as he had four or five during their engagement and marriage. Sex was painful that one time so the heroine couldn't believe anyone would want it. She came to town and found out about his affairs and she also found out her Father had taken a mistress too and it shattered her world. The stupid hero had been married before and he is thinking how good the sex was and he was faithful to her for six years until
she died. But he couldn't be faithful to his current wife. He was an ass to her too. Even after they had relations. It wasn't lovemaking at all. I cried at parts and at the end I skimmed because I hated the whole premise of it. She even went and met her Fathers mistress and she even liked her. No way hated everyone in this book but that is my personal opinion and cheating is a very big trigger for me so please don't persecute me. It was simply not my kind of book. Married means never having to say you cheated. Or something like that.
At the end the hero did come back because he loved her. She then had a miscarriage which was very sad, and he stayed with her and left his old life behind in Birmingham. And they confessed all and HEA. So I should forgive his cheating awful ways but I'm not. I hold grudges. I'm a grudge girl! But in al! Fairness, The ending made me cry too. So I guess I didn't hate it as much as I thought.
Reread and it was better the second time for sure. But he still was a cheater. I just skimmed over that part and put on Rose Colored glasses and a bottle of the captain and it was okay. I didn’t get as mad this time. Probably because I read it before. Lol.
10/22/18
I hated this book. Hero was not a hero and consummated his marriage quickly and painfully and then left her in the country. She came to town and he was getting ready to have an affair with another married woman as he had four or five during their engagement and marriage. Sex was painful that one time so the heroine couldn't believe anyone would want it. She came to town and found out about his affairs and she also found out her Father had taken a mistress too and it shattered her world. The stupid hero had been married before and he is thinking how good the sex was and he was faithful to her for six years until
she died. But he couldn't be faithful to his current wife. He was an ass to her too. Even after they had relations. It wasn't lovemaking at all. I cried at parts and at the end I skimmed because I hated the whole premise of it. She even went and met her Fathers mistress and she even liked her. No way hated everyone in this book but that is my personal opinion and cheating is a very big trigger for me so please don't persecute me. It was simply not my kind of book. Married means never having to say you cheated. Or something like that.
At the end the hero did come back because he loved her. She then had a miscarriage which was very sad, and he stayed with her and left his old life behind in Birmingham. And they confessed all and HEA. So I should forgive his cheating awful ways but I'm not. I hold grudges. I'm a grudge girl! But in al! Fairness, The ending made me cry too. So I guess I didn't hate it as much as I thought.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2019
This is how a good HR should be written! And to think that's a debut! WOW!!! Just WOW!!!
I liked everything here, even if the marriage of conveniece is an old trope! The MCs were really, really interesting!
She, Cassandra, iss the epitome of a gentile lady: she's polite, she's gracious, she's courteous!
He, Joshua, is the opposite: he's energentic, he's rude, he's direct!
They've been married for two years, but they don't recognize each other when they meet in the park. Still they're both attracated to each other without even knowing why and without even liking each other!
She, being the one to care about her disfunctional family, must launch her sister; he doens't want his life disrupted by a wife - one was enough for him! He's happy with his work and with keeping the hated, useless, gentlemen of the ton by their balls!
He thinks that she will obbey him and leave, but he didn't take into consideration her willfulness!
Obviously, she wins and they're forced to live together. And that's where things get very, very interesting!
The mastery of Ms. Vincy's writing is the dialogue - both internal and between all the characters in the book, even the secondary ones! It was sparkling and bubbling and it was so very, very good!
As you go on with the story you discover that the characters are also flawed and that what they show externally is not at all what they have inside them.
Where Joshua is shown as a strong, irascible man, inside he's hurting very much: because of his father's treachery, because of the loss of his son, his wife who died and his brothers who left him for a life of their own. He's actally angry as wants to punish everybody.
Where Cassandra is shown as sweet and accomondating, inside she screams to be allowed to be herself, to be seen for herself. She's the less attactive of her sisters and was always painfully aware of it. She's also hurting because she was left to look at her mother, who became a drug addict after the death of her son and husband, and her two sisters who are on the road to became one a drunk and the other a nerd.
Their attraction to each other is also masterfully done! As they say: opposites attract and here it's so true!
Cassandra will teach Joshua to calm himself and he will teach her to react and not just be passive.
They argue, they snap at each other, but they're also attracted to each other like moths to flame.
And when that happens it's also wonderful! It's not just sex. It doesn't have the usual romantic undertone: it's angry and hot and it hurts. But it's just plain pleasure to read!
There're a lot of revelations too: how her father really died? How was his previous marriage?
There's also the cliché: he doesn't love me - she doesn't love me, but it was well solved and was a reasonable doubt they both had when you look into their inner thought and their past.
All in all a really fantastic debut! I'll be looking forward to other book by this author!
I liked everything here, even if the marriage of conveniece is an old trope! The MCs were really, really interesting!
She, Cassandra, iss the epitome of a gentile lady: she's polite, she's gracious, she's courteous!
He, Joshua, is the opposite: he's energentic, he's rude, he's direct!
They've been married for two years, but they don't recognize each other when they meet in the park. Still they're both attracated to each other without even knowing why and without even liking each other!
She, being the one to care about her disfunctional family, must launch her sister; he doens't want his life disrupted by a wife - one was enough for him! He's happy with his work and with keeping the hated, useless, gentlemen of the ton by their balls!
He thinks that she will obbey him and leave, but he didn't take into consideration her willfulness!
Obviously, she wins and they're forced to live together. And that's where things get very, very interesting!
The mastery of Ms. Vincy's writing is the dialogue - both internal and between all the characters in the book, even the secondary ones! It was sparkling and bubbling and it was so very, very good!
As you go on with the story you discover that the characters are also flawed and that what they show externally is not at all what they have inside them.
Where Joshua is shown as a strong, irascible man, inside he's hurting very much: because of his father's treachery, because of the loss of his son, his wife who died and his brothers who left him for a life of their own. He's actally angry as wants to punish everybody.
Where Cassandra is shown as sweet and accomondating, inside she screams to be allowed to be herself, to be seen for herself. She's the less attactive of her sisters and was always painfully aware of it. She's also hurting because she was left to look at her mother, who became a drug addict after the death of her son and husband, and her two sisters who are on the road to became one a drunk and the other a nerd.
Their attraction to each other is also masterfully done! As they say: opposites attract and here it's so true!
Cassandra will teach Joshua to calm himself and he will teach her to react and not just be passive.
They argue, they snap at each other, but they're also attracted to each other like moths to flame.
And when that happens it's also wonderful! It's not just sex. It doesn't have the usual romantic undertone: it's angry and hot and it hurts. But it's just plain pleasure to read!
There're a lot of revelations too: how her father really died? How was his previous marriage?
There's also the cliché: he doesn't love me - she doesn't love me, but it was well solved and was a reasonable doubt they both had when you look into their inner thought and their past.
All in all a really fantastic debut! I'll be looking forward to other book by this author!
January 25, 2019
“You’re not my wife,” he said. “We just happen to be married to each other.”While two years of estrangement have passed during which impersonal letters delivered through a secretary have been their only form of exchange, Cassandra and Joshua now find themselves face to face for the first time again after the hasty wedding neither of them wanted was celebrated to secure her inheritance. Forced to live under the same London roof until Cassandra can sponsor her younger sister’s debut, having to come to terms with their renewed husband and wife status is not going to be an easy journey, but maybe the growing desire and affection could prove to be too strong to ignore before they both go back to their respective previous lives...
Emotional rewarding thanks to the constant communication between the leads and the slow-burning and believable building up of the romance, A Wicked Kind of Husband is a novel that deftly combines many faceted feelings and moods, from amusing and highly humorous interactions to much more intense, introspective and touching scenes, though without ever neglecting for long the predominant playful tone.
Balancing engaging and sparkly dialogues with a smooth and polished prose, quite impressive for a debut, the author effortlessly portrays the hero and heroine’s growth, making them discover each other step by step on the bumpy road to mutual recognition. Joshua and Cassandra come from very different paths, but they share burdens of loss and insecurity, and it is heart-warming to see them find in the other just the right kind of strength they need to overcome them while the hot, but soft, sensuality first binding them is the “springboard” leading to that deeper connection.
The only drawback was the too generic Regency setting, lacking enough details and atmosphere to be regarded as truly satisfying or outstanding and in contrast to the instead careful and well fleshed out characters and plot building, which were though so engrossing to amply make up.
Marriage of convenience, or its closest “relation” marriage in name only, is a true and tried trope of the romance genre, so due to this overrepresentation especially among historical titles, it’s always a nice surprise to encounter a book that can spin an original and enjoyable rendition, and Ms. Vincy’s character-driven story is indeed brimful of fresh wit and liveliness. Definitely a new voice to look forward to.
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February 2, 2019Glorious fun. There's quite a serious plot here about damaged people dealing with hurt and loss, and a very strong theme of how we can't fix things for other people and love does not paper over all cracks. But alongside that is some of the most glorious funny dialogue I have read in forever, as the married-stranger MCs are spectacularly rude to each other. Rude heroes are normally a turn off for me because they tend to smirk and come across as bullies, but Julius's rudeness doesn't arise from self satisfaction, and mostly he absolutely loves having a suitable sparring partner in Cassandra. They are both having gigantic fun as they argue, and so does the reader.
The pairing of serious issues with romcom can be uneasy, but it really works here. A joy, and I am dying for more.
The pairing of serious issues with romcom can be uneasy, but it really works here. A joy, and I am dying for more.
January 28, 2019
(4.5 stars) I believe every author I follow has at least one "Marriage of Convenience" romance in their body of work, and I've always enjoyed that trope. The usual inequality of the pairing--whether of social classes or economic stability or both--makes for a difficult road to the HEA and, when the difficulties are done right, this makes for a good read. Mary Balogh has a zillion MOC stories but she takes the difficulties to the limits of my patience and beyond in the way both parties willfully misunderstand each other and never communicate. The same goes for other older and no-longer-published HR authors such as Patricia Oliver, Diana Brown, Barbara Hazard, Laura Matthews, etc.
So yay for Mia Vincy and this debut novel of hers. All the difficulties and roadblocks for the H and h are here, but their relationship and their dialogue is so full of humor and spark that I didn't want to scream at them the way I would at a Balogh H and h.
Vincy's characters, both main and secondary, are complex, very flawed, personable, and interesting. They aren't the usual stock cast to be found in most HRs I read. And Vincy's writing flows and entertains and delights. It's as good as most of my favorite HR authors and much, much better than 95% (or more) of what I read nowadays. There was a bit of what felt to me like anachronistic dialogue and behavior from time to time, but the sparkling writing and unpredictable (within its predictability as an HR) plot made for one of the best romances I've read in quite some time.
This MOC has the H a former member of the peerage until it was discovered when he was a teen that his father was a bigamist, making the H and his three siblings illegitimate and his mother merely his father's mistress. The horrid father disowned them all and they all went off separately into the world to survive as best they could. Our H landed on his feet and now is a very successful, rich businessman, allowed to interact with the upper classes because he can make money for them. But he has a lot of issues because of all the tragic happenings in his past, including a former marriage.
The h has her own problematic past and present with regard to issues in her family. After the death of her brother and later that of her father, with the subsequent emotional unraveling of her mother, she is the one keeping the family (two younger sisters and her mother) together as best she can.
Before his death, her father had arranged this marriage between her and the H, to make sure that, in case of his death, his estate could be handed down to a married daughter. (Don't ask me how this works. I'm just assuming it could be done.) The H agreed to this because he owed the father a favor, not because he was expecting any benefits from the union.
So h has been married to H for two years now, but they only saw each other briefly during the wedding ceremony and in the dark for a brief, obligatory, cursory consummation of the marriage. After that he was off to London and Birmingham to carry on with his businesses and she was expected to remain at her father's estate in Warwickshire. He supplies money to keep things running smoothly there. Win-win situation, he thinks. She's out of sight but he fulfills his obligation to her father.
Except that she feels the desperate need to give her sister Lucy a come-out in London. Lucy's not in great emotional shape and our heroine thinks this may help. So, thinking H is out of London on business, our h, Cassandra, comes to stay at the H's (Joshua's) townhouse for the duration. As she says to her good friend Arabella, "Mr. DeWitt is everything a husband ought to be...conveniently rich, extremely generous and always somewhere else."
So that's basically the set-up. You kinda know what's going to happen but you don't know the clever hows of this story. For example, how the first time they meet again in a London park, they do not recognize each other and a mutual friend has to remind them, "But do you realize you are married to each other?" Oops.
"You're meant to be in Warwickshire," he says. "You're meant to be in Liverpool," she replies. "I did not give you permission to come to London," says he. "I did not ask permission." "I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me." "And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me." And on it goes. I loved the fact that Cassandra is not your typical mousy, put-upon MOC wife. "It's almost as though you have a mind of your own," he says. "Please don't vex yourself. I'll try not to use it too often."
This is a very complete love story. It's humorous but it's also poignant and angsty at turns and touches the heart frequently. It's also romantic and sexy. I'm not fond of excessively detailed accounts of sexual encounters. This couple's intimacies are hot but tastefully done at the same time.
He's blunt, tactless, has no patience, is full of energy and used to getting his own way. She's no pushover around him most of the time but around others she is diplomatic, smiles through her unhappiness, and lives for the happiness of her family, especially her sisters, even though they appear to resent her much of the time. She's "the center of [the] family" and "its heart". She teaches him to have more heart and he teaches her to "stop giving up [her] space" and to "fight for what is [hers]".
There are no fairy-tale characters here. They all feel very real and they all have flaws but their story is told so well by the author that she made me appreciate every one of them. I'm looking forward to Vincy's next novel, hoping it's as good as this one.
So yay for Mia Vincy and this debut novel of hers. All the difficulties and roadblocks for the H and h are here, but their relationship and their dialogue is so full of humor and spark that I didn't want to scream at them the way I would at a Balogh H and h.
Vincy's characters, both main and secondary, are complex, very flawed, personable, and interesting. They aren't the usual stock cast to be found in most HRs I read. And Vincy's writing flows and entertains and delights. It's as good as most of my favorite HR authors and much, much better than 95% (or more) of what I read nowadays. There was a bit of what felt to me like anachronistic dialogue and behavior from time to time, but the sparkling writing and unpredictable (within its predictability as an HR) plot made for one of the best romances I've read in quite some time.
This MOC has the H a former member of the peerage until it was discovered when he was a teen that his father was a bigamist, making the H and his three siblings illegitimate and his mother merely his father's mistress. The horrid father disowned them all and they all went off separately into the world to survive as best they could. Our H landed on his feet and now is a very successful, rich businessman, allowed to interact with the upper classes because he can make money for them. But he has a lot of issues because of all the tragic happenings in his past, including a former marriage.
The h has her own problematic past and present with regard to issues in her family. After the death of her brother and later that of her father, with the subsequent emotional unraveling of her mother, she is the one keeping the family (two younger sisters and her mother) together as best she can.
Before his death, her father had arranged this marriage between her and the H, to make sure that, in case of his death, his estate could be handed down to a married daughter. (Don't ask me how this works. I'm just assuming it could be done.) The H agreed to this because he owed the father a favor, not because he was expecting any benefits from the union.
So h has been married to H for two years now, but they only saw each other briefly during the wedding ceremony and in the dark for a brief, obligatory, cursory consummation of the marriage. After that he was off to London and Birmingham to carry on with his businesses and she was expected to remain at her father's estate in Warwickshire. He supplies money to keep things running smoothly there. Win-win situation, he thinks. She's out of sight but he fulfills his obligation to her father.
Except that she feels the desperate need to give her sister Lucy a come-out in London. Lucy's not in great emotional shape and our heroine thinks this may help. So, thinking H is out of London on business, our h, Cassandra, comes to stay at the H's (Joshua's) townhouse for the duration. As she says to her good friend Arabella, "Mr. DeWitt is everything a husband ought to be...conveniently rich, extremely generous and always somewhere else."
So that's basically the set-up. You kinda know what's going to happen but you don't know the clever hows of this story. For example, how the first time they meet again in a London park, they do not recognize each other and a mutual friend has to remind them, "But do you realize you are married to each other?" Oops.
"You're meant to be in Warwickshire," he says. "You're meant to be in Liverpool," she replies. "I did not give you permission to come to London," says he. "I did not ask permission." "I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me." "And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me." And on it goes. I loved the fact that Cassandra is not your typical mousy, put-upon MOC wife. "It's almost as though you have a mind of your own," he says. "Please don't vex yourself. I'll try not to use it too often."
This is a very complete love story. It's humorous but it's also poignant and angsty at turns and touches the heart frequently. It's also romantic and sexy. I'm not fond of excessively detailed accounts of sexual encounters. This couple's intimacies are hot but tastefully done at the same time.
He's blunt, tactless, has no patience, is full of energy and used to getting his own way. She's no pushover around him most of the time but around others she is diplomatic, smiles through her unhappiness, and lives for the happiness of her family, especially her sisters, even though they appear to resent her much of the time. She's "the center of [the] family" and "its heart". She teaches him to have more heart and he teaches her to "stop giving up [her] space" and to "fight for what is [hers]".
There are no fairy-tale characters here. They all feel very real and they all have flaws but their story is told so well by the author that she made me appreciate every one of them. I'm looking forward to Vincy's next novel, hoping it's as good as this one.
August 29, 2020
I have not read an excellent Historical Romance book in a long time. This was the perfect book to escape with (I chose to listen to the audio) in these uncertain times. I love how Goodreads and my friends never let me down! A great big THANK-YOU to HOLLY B who recommended this one to me! I loved everything about this novel. It is the classic marriage of convenience trope set mostly in London. The banter and chemistry is electrifying! I understand this was a debut novel by Mia Vincy. Wow, I'm blown-away by that fact! I will most certainly be reading (or listening) to more of her books. I can't wait to read #2!!
February 14, 2019
This had an interesting setup. And I liked Cassandra. Mostly. And it had enough humor, along with decent banter, to keep me going to the end. But it also had a lot of awful people bogging it down and Joshua is a deeply flawed character, so it wasn't a great read.
Cassandra's selfish idiot father, who everyone else tells us is great, managed to get her married to a selfish rich guy before he died so things could have been worse. Still, the management of an estate and of her dreadful, spiteful sisters and of her dissolute mother have all fallen on her shoulders and she has literally no support from anyone except the secretary her absent husband has hired to keep an eye on things. So when her oldest sister is old enough for a come out, she hatches a plot to lobby her grandmother, a duchess, to bring her sister out. Lucy is a raging drunk, sings bawdy songs because they're naughty and, oh yeah, says dreadful and spiteful things to Cassandra every chance she gets. Still, family amiright?
I liked Cassandra but that's almost a problem with this story because it makes me hate the people who abuse her and top of that list is the ungrateful little brat she's doing literally everything for. Joshua was interesting, at least. For a while. He's self-made because his father abandoned him and his two brothers and sister when it turned out … bah, I'm getting bored just remembering that stuff. His father is a huge snotweasel and abandoned them to their fates when Joshua (the oldest) was just 14. Anyway, he's rich now and married Cassandra because why not? and is a bit bowled over when she shows up in London. Sparks fly and that was lots of fun. Seeing them work out a tactical friendship and coming to care about each other was loads of fun and the bulk of what made this story work at all.
Unfortunately, Vincy squanders all that goodness by making Joshua a self-loathing jerk who knows that love doesn't last and that people die and it's best not to get attached and other nonsense that amounts to a lot of poor-me whinging because bad stuff sometimes happens. So the negative motivation* drags the plot down into the mire and it never really recovers. It doesn't help that Cassandra gets all cowardly emotionally withholding as well just to drag out the drama.
Add some truly loathsome antagonists and extended "family" who are petty and self-serving and public behavior that hurtled past gauche to land in what-did-I-just-read?!? you have a story that just managed to eke three stars out of the dross bogging things down. I carried on hoping for more of that lovely banter and because when Joshua forgot to be a brooding jackwagon I really liked him and Cassandra together. Oh, and the humor was pretty steady throughout, even during Joshua's idiocy.
A note about Steamy: Cassandra finds the joy of sex! Yay! There are three or four explicit sex scenes and they're one of the stronger features of the story. So it's the middle of my steam tolerance. And yeah, they're as ridiculous as romance sex ever is, but they also serve the emotional intimacy arc between the characters in delightful ways and I liked how that worked out.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
Cassandra's selfish idiot father, who everyone else tells us is great, managed to get her married to a selfish rich guy before he died so things could have been worse. Still, the management of an estate and of her dreadful, spiteful sisters and of her dissolute mother have all fallen on her shoulders and she has literally no support from anyone except the secretary her absent husband has hired to keep an eye on things. So when her oldest sister is old enough for a come out, she hatches a plot to lobby her grandmother, a duchess, to bring her sister out. Lucy is a raging drunk, sings bawdy songs because they're naughty and, oh yeah, says dreadful and spiteful things to Cassandra every chance she gets. Still, family amiright?
I liked Cassandra but that's almost a problem with this story because it makes me hate the people who abuse her and top of that list is the ungrateful little brat she's doing literally everything for. Joshua was interesting, at least. For a while. He's self-made because his father abandoned him and his two brothers and sister when it turned out … bah, I'm getting bored just remembering that stuff. His father is a huge snotweasel and abandoned them to their fates when Joshua (the oldest) was just 14. Anyway, he's rich now and married Cassandra because why not? and is a bit bowled over when she shows up in London. Sparks fly and that was lots of fun. Seeing them work out a tactical friendship and coming to care about each other was loads of fun and the bulk of what made this story work at all.
Unfortunately, Vincy squanders all that goodness by making Joshua a self-loathing jerk who knows that love doesn't last and that people die and it's best not to get attached and other nonsense that amounts to a lot of poor-me whinging because bad stuff sometimes happens. So the negative motivation* drags the plot down into the mire and it never really recovers. It doesn't help that Cassandra gets all cowardly emotionally withholding as well just to drag out the drama.
Add some truly loathsome antagonists and extended "family" who are petty and self-serving and public behavior that hurtled past gauche to land in what-did-I-just-read?!? you have a story that just managed to eke three stars out of the dross bogging things down. I carried on hoping for more of that lovely banter and because when Joshua forgot to be a brooding jackwagon I really liked him and Cassandra together. Oh, and the humor was pretty steady throughout, even during Joshua's idiocy.
A note about Steamy: Cassandra finds the joy of sex! Yay! There are three or four explicit sex scenes and they're one of the stronger features of the story. So it's the middle of my steam tolerance. And yeah, they're as ridiculous as romance sex ever is, but they also serve the emotional intimacy arc between the characters in delightful ways and I liked how that worked out.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
July 16, 2023
Recommended to readers who like the arranged-marriage trope, jerky-brooding heroes and steamy scenes.
“Mrs. DeWitt,” he said. “You will leave here tomorrow.” “I am willing to do whatever you ask, Mr. DeWitt.” “Good.” “So long as you do not ask anything that I am not willing to do.”
This could have easily been a 5 star read, it had such potential and I am so sorry that some of that was wasted on silly things (like forced misunderstanding and not talking to each other).
As it is, I'm settling for 3,5 stars because this book is still waaaaay better & entertaining than most poor attempts at a regency romance.
The writing is really good and there is a sound story to go with all the steam (even though that got too much and too lengthy for me in the end and I was super bored by it all, but that's just a personal issue) and big chunks of the story were downright hilarious, when the author concentrated on the setting and the banter or the camaraderie between the heroine and hero, but it went downhill as soon as they started to develop deeper romantic feelings for each other.
The heroine, Cassandra,was so sensible and witty and likable. She strongly reminded me of Georgette Heyer's Venetia and Frederica. She would not stand for her husband's bullying (though that begs the question of why she lets her spoiled brats of sisters trample all over her) and gave him as good as she got. The scenes where they "drew swords" were easily the best and funniest parts of the book.
"I am more than happy that we lead separate lives. I only ask that you do not obstruct me or engage in behavior that will adversely affect her [C's sister] social position. Once this is done, I shall return to Sunne Park and you can go back to doing what you do best. Which, as I understand it, involves making money, offending people, and cuckolding lords.”
Unfortunately the hero, Joshua was an absolute jerk and while there were moments when I started liking him (when he was really supportive and acted like a true friend/husband for Cassandra), his obtuse insistence on misinterpreting Cassandra all the time and then Cassandra doing the same in return, just so that the story could go on for another 100 pages, made me first exasperated and then somewhat bored.
With his background, it made sense that Joshua turned out the way he did, but there was just too much of his 1-step-forward-5-steps-back dance. Basically after every time he was nice to Cassandra, which happened more and more often, he had to "balance" it with being even a bigger jerk than before and as this was repeated ALL... THE... TIME, it simply lost the dramatic edge.
In the end I finished with a sigh of relief, not so much because of the happy ending, but because there were no more stupid misunderstanding-scenes to struggle through.
“Mrs. DeWitt,” he said. “You will leave here tomorrow.” “I am willing to do whatever you ask, Mr. DeWitt.” “Good.” “So long as you do not ask anything that I am not willing to do.”
This could have easily been a 5 star read, it had such potential and I am so sorry that some of that was wasted on silly things (like forced misunderstanding and not talking to each other).
As it is, I'm settling for 3,5 stars because this book is still waaaaay better & entertaining than most poor attempts at a regency romance.
The writing is really good and there is a sound story to go with all the steam (even though that got too much and too lengthy for me in the end and I was super bored by it all, but that's just a personal issue) and big chunks of the story were downright hilarious, when the author concentrated on the setting and the banter or the camaraderie between the heroine and hero, but it went downhill as soon as they started to develop deeper romantic feelings for each other.
The heroine, Cassandra,was so sensible and witty and likable. She strongly reminded me of Georgette Heyer's Venetia and Frederica. She would not stand for her husband's bullying (though that begs the question of why she lets her spoiled brats of sisters trample all over her) and gave him as good as she got. The scenes where they "drew swords" were easily the best and funniest parts of the book.
"I am more than happy that we lead separate lives. I only ask that you do not obstruct me or engage in behavior that will adversely affect her [C's sister] social position. Once this is done, I shall return to Sunne Park and you can go back to doing what you do best. Which, as I understand it, involves making money, offending people, and cuckolding lords.”
Unfortunately the hero, Joshua was an absolute jerk and while there were moments when I started liking him (when he was really supportive and acted like a true friend/husband for Cassandra), his obtuse insistence on misinterpreting Cassandra all the time and then Cassandra doing the same in return, just so that the story could go on for another 100 pages, made me first exasperated and then somewhat bored.
With his background, it made sense that Joshua turned out the way he did, but there was just too much of his 1-step-forward-5-steps-back dance. Basically after every time he was nice to Cassandra, which happened more and more often, he had to "balance" it with being even a bigger jerk than before and as this was repeated ALL... THE... TIME, it simply lost the dramatic edge.
In the end I finished with a sigh of relief, not so much because of the happy ending, but because there were no more stupid misunderstanding-scenes to struggle through.
February 27, 2019
3.5 Stars
Overall Opinion: This was an enjoyable read. I really liked the banter and the overall dynamic of this couple. The characters were very likable, and I found myself rooting for them right away. I am, however, disappointed in the ending and this epi-ho is really upset that there wasn't even an epilogue! I felt like there wasn't nearly enough time after they finally got their feelings straight, and I was left with some big unanswered questions. The big conflict was presented way too late too (91% in kindle app). It felt like it wasn't nearly enough time to process their solution tbh. I think a jump ahead glimpse into their future would've gone a long way....but those that follow my reviews know that I just simply love my epilogues and closure 😜
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Cassandra and Joshua's story. Cassandra is finally fed up of her sisters' complaints and heads to London to try to convince her grandmother to help her present her sister to society. What she doesn't expect is to run into her husband, whom she hadn't seen since their arranged wedding night two years prior. They bump heads because Joshua's isn't a fan of his wife "in name only" making a mess of his routines and he doesn't hold back in letting her know it. Cassandra is trying to help prevent her family from breaking more than she can fix, but there are some big obstacles in her way. There is some personal baggage for both of them to work though, a couple out to get them, some big secrets revealed, and a few sexy times...and they get a HEA ending.
POV: This alternated between focusing mainly on Cassandra and Joshua in 3rd person narrative.
Overall Pace of Story: Good until the abrupt ending (see closure section below). Otherwise, I felt like it flowed well and I never skimmed.
Instalove: No, more like a hate-to-love type relationship.
H rating: 4 stars. Joshua. I liked him. He was a mess, but he also cracked me up at times.
h rating: 4.5 stars. Cassandra. I really liked her. She was a great combo of strong, loyal, and sassy.
Sadness level: Low/moderate. I shed a few tears but never needed any tissues.
Push/Pull:Yes
Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW/OM drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: Yes
Separation: Yes
Possible Triggers: Yes
Closure: This ended abruptly with not enough time for me between their big conflict resolution (and first ILYs) and the end. No epilogue! I would still reluctantly call this a HEA, but I definitely wanted more!!
Safety: This one is probably either Safe with exception or Not Safe for most safety gang readers depending on personal preferences.
Overall Opinion: This was an enjoyable read. I really liked the banter and the overall dynamic of this couple. The characters were very likable, and I found myself rooting for them right away. I am, however, disappointed in the ending and this epi-ho is really upset that there wasn't even an epilogue! I felt like there wasn't nearly enough time after they finally got their feelings straight, and I was left with some big unanswered questions. The big conflict was presented way too late too (91% in kindle app). It felt like it wasn't nearly enough time to process their solution tbh. I think a jump ahead glimpse into their future would've gone a long way....but those that follow my reviews know that I just simply love my epilogues and closure 😜
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Cassandra and Joshua's story. Cassandra is finally fed up of her sisters' complaints and heads to London to try to convince her grandmother to help her present her sister to society. What she doesn't expect is to run into her husband, whom she hadn't seen since their arranged wedding night two years prior. They bump heads because Joshua's isn't a fan of his wife "in name only" making a mess of his routines and he doesn't hold back in letting her know it. Cassandra is trying to help prevent her family from breaking more than she can fix, but there are some big obstacles in her way. There is some personal baggage for both of them to work though, a couple out to get them, some big secrets revealed, and a few sexy times...and they get a HEA ending.
POV: This alternated between focusing mainly on Cassandra and Joshua in 3rd person narrative.
Overall Pace of Story: Good until the abrupt ending (see closure section below). Otherwise, I felt like it flowed well and I never skimmed.
Instalove: No, more like a hate-to-love type relationship.
H rating: 4 stars. Joshua. I liked him. He was a mess, but he also cracked me up at times.
h rating: 4.5 stars. Cassandra. I really liked her. She was a great combo of strong, loyal, and sassy.
Sadness level: Low/moderate. I shed a few tears but never needed any tissues.
Push/Pull:Yes
Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW/OM drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: Yes
Separation: Yes
Possible Triggers: Yes
Closure: This ended abruptly with not enough time for me between their big conflict resolution (and first ILYs) and the end. No epilogue! I would still reluctantly call this a HEA, but I definitely wanted more!!
Safety: This one is probably either Safe with exception or Not Safe for most safety gang readers depending on personal preferences.
February 24, 2019
I've given this an A- at AAR, so that's 4.5 stars rounded up.
I love it when I pick up a book by a début or new-to-me author and find myself quickly engrossed by it – which is exactly what happened with Mia Vincy’s A Wicked Kind of Husband. I’m a sucker for a good marriage-of-convenience story, and this IS a good one; well defined, complex characters, strong writing and excellent dialogue, all combine to make this an entertaining and emotionally satisfying read, and one I’d urge fans of the genre to check out.
The second eldest of four sisters, Cassandra DeWitt has been the linchpin holding her family together since her father’s unexpected death a couple of years earlier. Her mother exists in her own, laudanum-fuelled world and her eldest sister is married and lives elsewhere with her husband, so it’s fallen to Cassandra to manage the household, estate and her two younger sisters… who have no concept of all that Cassandra does for them and certainly no appreciation for it. For some months, the behaviour of nineteen-year-old Lucy has been becoming increasingly outrageous; Cassandra realises that being cooped up away from society is the likely cause, and that it’s time to find her sister a husband. In order to do that, however, Lucy will need to make her society début, which means going to London… something Cassandra hasn’t done in the two years since her marriage to wealthy industrialist Joshua DeWitt – whom she hasn’t seen since their wedding night.
Cassandra’s father arranged her marriage in order to enable her to continue to reside at of Sunne Park after his death, and she didn’t question it, because at the time, she was still reeling from the fact that the man she loved had eloped with someone else. She recalls very little about her bridegroom other than that he was rude and abrupt, and is content to have nothing whatsoever to do with him. For the past two years, it’s suited her to remain in Warwickshire – in accordance with Mr. DeWitt’s preference (read – insistence) that she stay there – but she can do so no longer; she determines to approach her grandmother, the Duchess of Sherbourne, to ask her to sponsor Lucy’s season, and in order to do that, Cassandra will have to go to London. As luck would have it, Mr. DeWitt is due to travel to Liverpool, so as long as Cassandra times her visit to take place whilst he is away, he won’t even know she’s in London. You know what they say about the best laid plans…
I’m sure there’s no need for me to elaborate more on the plot, but the journey on which Ms. Vincy takes her characters – and her readers – is an exceptionally entertaining and insightful one, as Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt match wits (!) cross (metaphorical) swords and slowly find that their arranged marriage has become far more than the mutually convenient union it was initially supposed to be.
Joshua DeWitt grew up as heir to the Earl of Treyford and was, until the age of fourteen, as pampered and privileged as any other scion of the peerage. But his life, and that of his siblings, changed drastically when the earl was discovered to have married their mother bigamously, and the former countess disappeared, along with her daughter, and Joshua and his two brothers were cast out and left to their own devices. Joshua went to work in Birmingham and thanks to the unlooked for kindness and aid from a stranger – Cassandra’s father – settled his brothers in their chosen professions, built himself a trading empire and now owns “four factories, three estates and a growing fleet”. He may no longer have the social standing he once did, but money talks:
Joshua is blunt, devoid of tact, lacks patience, doesn’t suffer fools at ALL, let alone gladly, and full of energy and ideas. He likes his life as it is and is used to being obeyed without question by everyone around him, so the sudden appearance of the woman he married in order to repay his obligation to her father is unwelcome and irritating. He wants to pack her off back to Warwickshire; she has no intention of leaving until she has secured her grandmother’s agreement to sponsor Lucy.
But even as he is adamant that Cassandra must leave London, Joshua is reluctantly impressed by his wife’s determination and her ability to give as good as she gets:
And worse… she might even be likeable. Which would be disastrous.
Cassandra is an admirable heroine, one who operates within the conventions of society but still manages to be anything but the meek, obedient spouse those conventions suggest she should be. She’s quick witted and easily able to hold her own against her irascible husband, but there’s a hidden vulnerability to her, too, a vulnerability that Joshua soon recognises lying behind her suddenly fixed smiles and diplomatic manner which speaks to his protective nature and makes him want to fix all her problems and encourage her to “stop giving up your space. Fight for what is yours.”
Both principals are compelling, likeable but flawed characters who leap off the page, and the secondary cast is also superbly drawn and rounded out. Neither Joshua nor Cassandra is your usual, stock-in-trade historical romance character, the chemistry between them is terrific, and their frequent verbal sparring is a complete delight.
The author has managed to put her own spin on a very well-worn plot device, bringing a degree of unpredictability to her story that enables it to transcend the trope. Her writing is intelligent and energetic, and the story is by turns funny, poignant, sexy, angsty and, most importantly, romantic.
With that said, the book does have a few flaws; Lucy’s antics are a bit over the top and there’s some anachronistic dialogue and behaviour in places, but otherwise, A Wicked Kind of Husband is one of the best historical romances I’ve read all year; a sparkling début that’s landed Mia Vincy very firmly on my list of authors to watch.
I love it when I pick up a book by a début or new-to-me author and find myself quickly engrossed by it – which is exactly what happened with Mia Vincy’s A Wicked Kind of Husband. I’m a sucker for a good marriage-of-convenience story, and this IS a good one; well defined, complex characters, strong writing and excellent dialogue, all combine to make this an entertaining and emotionally satisfying read, and one I’d urge fans of the genre to check out.
The second eldest of four sisters, Cassandra DeWitt has been the linchpin holding her family together since her father’s unexpected death a couple of years earlier. Her mother exists in her own, laudanum-fuelled world and her eldest sister is married and lives elsewhere with her husband, so it’s fallen to Cassandra to manage the household, estate and her two younger sisters… who have no concept of all that Cassandra does for them and certainly no appreciation for it. For some months, the behaviour of nineteen-year-old Lucy has been becoming increasingly outrageous; Cassandra realises that being cooped up away from society is the likely cause, and that it’s time to find her sister a husband. In order to do that, however, Lucy will need to make her society début, which means going to London… something Cassandra hasn’t done in the two years since her marriage to wealthy industrialist Joshua DeWitt – whom she hasn’t seen since their wedding night.
Cassandra’s father arranged her marriage in order to enable her to continue to reside at of Sunne Park after his death, and she didn’t question it, because at the time, she was still reeling from the fact that the man she loved had eloped with someone else. She recalls very little about her bridegroom other than that he was rude and abrupt, and is content to have nothing whatsoever to do with him. For the past two years, it’s suited her to remain in Warwickshire – in accordance with Mr. DeWitt’s preference (read – insistence) that she stay there – but she can do so no longer; she determines to approach her grandmother, the Duchess of Sherbourne, to ask her to sponsor Lucy’s season, and in order to do that, Cassandra will have to go to London. As luck would have it, Mr. DeWitt is due to travel to Liverpool, so as long as Cassandra times her visit to take place whilst he is away, he won’t even know she’s in London. You know what they say about the best laid plans…
I’m sure there’s no need for me to elaborate more on the plot, but the journey on which Ms. Vincy takes her characters – and her readers – is an exceptionally entertaining and insightful one, as Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt match wits (!) cross (metaphorical) swords and slowly find that their arranged marriage has become far more than the mutually convenient union it was initially supposed to be.
Joshua DeWitt grew up as heir to the Earl of Treyford and was, until the age of fourteen, as pampered and privileged as any other scion of the peerage. But his life, and that of his siblings, changed drastically when the earl was discovered to have married their mother bigamously, and the former countess disappeared, along with her daughter, and Joshua and his two brothers were cast out and left to their own devices. Joshua went to work in Birmingham and thanks to the unlooked for kindness and aid from a stranger – Cassandra’s father – settled his brothers in their chosen professions, built himself a trading empire and now owns “four factories, three estates and a growing fleet”. He may no longer have the social standing he once did, but money talks:
“They recoil because he is an industrialist, but receive him because his investments make them rich… meanwhile he goes where he pleases, says what he pleases and no one dares get in his way.”
Joshua is blunt, devoid of tact, lacks patience, doesn’t suffer fools at ALL, let alone gladly, and full of energy and ideas. He likes his life as it is and is used to being obeyed without question by everyone around him, so the sudden appearance of the woman he married in order to repay his obligation to her father is unwelcome and irritating. He wants to pack her off back to Warwickshire; she has no intention of leaving until she has secured her grandmother’s agreement to sponsor Lucy.
But even as he is adamant that Cassandra must leave London, Joshua is reluctantly impressed by his wife’s determination and her ability to give as good as she gets:
“You’re meant to be in Warwickshire,” he said.
“You’re meant to be in Liverpool.”
“I did not give you permission to come to London.”
“I did not ask your permission.”
“You should… Let me explain, Mrs. DeWitt, how marriage works.”
“Oh, please do, Mr. DeWitt, I’m all agog.”
“I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me.”
“And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me.”
And worse… she might even be likeable. Which would be disastrous.
“You seem puzzled,” said his disruptive wife, as they reached the gate. “Have I said something to puzzle you?”
“Most of what you say puzzles me. It’s almost as though you have a mind of your own.”
“Please don’t vex yourself. I’ll try not to use it too often.”
Cassandra is an admirable heroine, one who operates within the conventions of society but still manages to be anything but the meek, obedient spouse those conventions suggest she should be. She’s quick witted and easily able to hold her own against her irascible husband, but there’s a hidden vulnerability to her, too, a vulnerability that Joshua soon recognises lying behind her suddenly fixed smiles and diplomatic manner which speaks to his protective nature and makes him want to fix all her problems and encourage her to “stop giving up your space. Fight for what is yours.”
Both principals are compelling, likeable but flawed characters who leap off the page, and the secondary cast is also superbly drawn and rounded out. Neither Joshua nor Cassandra is your usual, stock-in-trade historical romance character, the chemistry between them is terrific, and their frequent verbal sparring is a complete delight.
“What happened to you last night?” she said. “It looks like someone punched you in the face.”
“Someone did.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Not very.”
“Oh.”
She took a knife and quartered her pear.
“Is that it?” he said
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“That’s all you have to say? ‘Oh.’” She looked at him blankly. “Where’s the love and sympathy, wife? You aren’t wondering what happened? You aren’t wondering if I’m in pain? You aren’t wondering if your dear husband will be all right?”
“Mainly I’m wondering why you don’t get punched in the face more often.”
The author has managed to put her own spin on a very well-worn plot device, bringing a degree of unpredictability to her story that enables it to transcend the trope. Her writing is intelligent and energetic, and the story is by turns funny, poignant, sexy, angsty and, most importantly, romantic.
With that said, the book does have a few flaws; Lucy’s antics are a bit over the top and there’s some anachronistic dialogue and behaviour in places, but otherwise, A Wicked Kind of Husband is one of the best historical romances I’ve read all year; a sparkling début that’s landed Mia Vincy very firmly on my list of authors to watch.
February 5, 2021
This one wasn't half bad. Well written characters, some fun banter and smut. Overall, I enjoyed it.
But as I keep reading more of these romances, I am learning that there is stuff I want in the formula, and stuff I don't.
1) Don't bring any babies into this. Yes, this is a regency romance, so there is understandably issues vis-a-vis contraception, but still, let your character experience a honeymoon period longer than 3 weeks without a pregnancy. I am only interested in the couple falling in love. All the domesticity is a turn-off for me.
2) Of course, people are supposed to have back stories, but apparently I only want a tiny bit of drama and conflict. This one got too heavy at times.
3) Make it short. 300 pages max is where I stand. Make your characters meet, do some fun things and sexy things. The end. Simple.
But as I keep reading more of these romances, I am learning that there is stuff I want in the formula, and stuff I don't.
1) Don't bring any babies into this. Yes, this is a regency romance, so there is understandably issues vis-a-vis contraception, but still, let your character experience a honeymoon period longer than 3 weeks without a pregnancy. I am only interested in the couple falling in love. All the domesticity is a turn-off for me.
2) Of course, people are supposed to have back stories, but apparently I only want a tiny bit of drama and conflict. This one got too heavy at times.
3) Make it short. 300 pages max is where I stand. Make your characters meet, do some fun things and sexy things. The end. Simple.
March 23, 2024
Re-read March 23, 2024
This is still one of my favorite HR’s ever! I just love everything about it!
Re-reading November 5, 2020
I love this book so much! Still one of my favorite Historical Romances ever!
Original review- February 25, 2019
LOVED IT!!! One of the best Historical Romances I’ve read. The banter and chemistry between Joshua and Cassandra is off the charts. I had so much fun reading this book. The writing is outstanding, I can’t believe this is a debut novel. This book is going straight to my favorites.
This is still one of my favorite HR’s ever! I just love everything about it!
Re-reading November 5, 2020
I love this book so much! Still one of my favorite Historical Romances ever!
Original review- February 25, 2019
LOVED IT!!! One of the best Historical Romances I’ve read. The banter and chemistry between Joshua and Cassandra is off the charts. I had so much fun reading this book. The writing is outstanding, I can’t believe this is a debut novel. This book is going straight to my favorites.
May 26, 2020
I loved this endearing, romantic, fun, witty, book. It had characters that were believable, real, with insecurities and passion. Married yet strangers Mr. and Mrs. McDermott agreed to have a marriage of conveyance only.
Mrs. Mcdemott lives in the country at her family estate, trying to keep her family together, after loosing her father. Her sister Lucy is driving her crazy, her little sister says she hates her and her mother is in her own little world.
Mr. McDermott lives in Belmont, is the bastard son of a Duke, has suffered much loss, and hides his heart behind his work, and being rude. He can get away with being rude because he’s filthy rich. He’s handsome yet scruffy.
The couple unexpectedly run into each other in London, this puts everything into motion.
Superb book, once I started reading it I didn’t stop until it was finished. I loved the banter, the realness of the story, how witty it was. It had happy times, sad times and everything in between.
Mrs. Mcdemott lives in the country at her family estate, trying to keep her family together, after loosing her father. Her sister Lucy is driving her crazy, her little sister says she hates her and her mother is in her own little world.
Mr. McDermott lives in Belmont, is the bastard son of a Duke, has suffered much loss, and hides his heart behind his work, and being rude. He can get away with being rude because he’s filthy rich. He’s handsome yet scruffy.
The couple unexpectedly run into each other in London, this puts everything into motion.
Superb book, once I started reading it I didn’t stop until it was finished. I loved the banter, the realness of the story, how witty it was. It had happy times, sad times and everything in between.
November 27, 2019
Audio – 5+++ Stars
Story – 5+++ Stars
Mia Vincy is in trouble, and it’s her own fault! She set the bar so high with her debut book, I have no idea how she will be able to top it!
To say that the author has impressed me is an understatement. The author managed a perfect mixture of humor, steam, grit and rawness. There’s laughter, tears, and heartbreak.
Yes, it’s another marriage of convenience, but the h and H are truly complete strangers. They get married, it's consummated, and they go their separate ways for two years. It’s only by chance that they meet up again, and they initially don’t recognize each other. Yes!! That’s how truly separated they lived their lives. The reunion is HILARIOUS!! The banter is OUTSTANDING!! The development of their relationship is done so well because it’s packed with feels.
The author has me won over with just her first book, and I’ve already preordered book 2.
BRAVO Mia Vincy!!!
Story – 5+++ Stars
Mia Vincy is in trouble, and it’s her own fault! She set the bar so high with her debut book, I have no idea how she will be able to top it!
To say that the author has impressed me is an understatement. The author managed a perfect mixture of humor, steam, grit and rawness. There’s laughter, tears, and heartbreak.
Yes, it’s another marriage of convenience, but the h and H are truly complete strangers. They get married, it's consummated, and they go their separate ways for two years. It’s only by chance that they meet up again, and they initially don’t recognize each other. Yes!! That’s how truly separated they lived their lives. The reunion is HILARIOUS!! The banter is OUTSTANDING!! The development of their relationship is done so well because it’s packed with feels.
The author has me won over with just her first book, and I’ve already preordered book 2.
BRAVO Mia Vincy!!!
July 23, 2023
re-listen July 2023
Still one of the fiercest, most stubborn and most entertaining couples in historical romance in my opinion. This was a blast once again. (And I guess, even better on audio. Kate Reading for the win.)
I hope someday we’ll get the story of said unruly sister Lucy (down below in my original review) and who that Scottish beau was who caught the glass and to whom she promised marriage in her drunken state. What a debut she’d delivered that night!! *lol
4.75***** wicked stars
THIS might be the most entertaining historical I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, or better listening to. It was so well written, witty and funny. Simply great.
And Kate Reading did a terrific job narrating it. I think I could not have done these characters justice with reading it for myself as well as she did for me - even if I tried.
Their banter was highly amusing and at the same time so very regency in the way they spoke. They were both smart, levelheaded and (most of the time) very mature. I was enjoying myself immensely while listening to this and them.
One of the funniest things at the beginning of the book was that they kept calling each other wrong first names as to pretend to not know each others' correct ones. It was hilarious.
I adored Cassandra & Joshua and absolutely loved their story - from the very first page to the last.
This was definitely not the last book for me by this author!
If you like historicals in general or at least now and again I highly recommend to pick it up.
Enjoy! ♡
************
Longhope Abbey Series
Book 1 - A Beastly Kind of Earl - 3.5 stars
Book 2 - A Dangerous Kind of Lady - 4.5 stars
Book 3 - A Wicked Kind of Husband - 4.75 stars
Book 4 - A Scandalous Kind of Duke - audio tbr
Still one of the fiercest, most stubborn and most entertaining couples in historical romance in my opinion. This was a blast once again. (And I guess, even better on audio. Kate Reading for the win.)
“You clean up nicely,” she said.
“I aim to please.”
“You do nothing of the sort.”
I hope someday we’ll get the story of said unruly sister Lucy (down below in my original review) and who that Scottish beau was who caught the glass and to whom she promised marriage in her drunken state. What a debut she’d delivered that night!! *lol
4.75***** wicked stars
THIS might be the most entertaining historical I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, or better listening to. It was so well written, witty and funny. Simply great.
And Kate Reading did a terrific job narrating it. I think I could not have done these characters justice with reading it for myself as well as she did for me - even if I tried.
“You two make an adorable couple,” the duke said. The man snorted. “Spare me your matchmaking. I’m already married.”
“As am I,” Cassandra said automatically [...]
“I realize you are both married.” The duke looked from one to the other. “But do you realize you are married to each other?”
I was laughing so hard at that. I mean how funny is it that you meet your wife/husband in a park by coincidence and have no clue who is standing right in front of you.
Their banter was highly amusing and at the same time so very regency in the way they spoke. They were both smart, levelheaded and (most of the time) very mature. I was enjoying myself immensely while listening to this and them.
“Joshua. Restrain yourself, please.”
She was delightful when she became stern and he could be absurd. [...] “What? You said I must not call him a goat. You never said I couldn’t call him a dog.” “Please refrain from likening him to any animals.” Mischief glinted in her eyes. “A man of your talents can find much better names.” “I did not wish to upset your delicate ears.” “Oh, now you’re concerned about my delicate ears.”
One of the funniest things at the beginning of the book was that they kept calling each other wrong first names as to pretend to not know each others' correct ones. It was hilarious.
I adored Cassandra & Joshua and absolutely loved their story - from the very first page to the last.
[Joshua and Cassandra talking about her unruly sister]
“I’ve a ship leaving for New York tomorrow,” he said quietly. “We can put Lucy on it, if you’d like.” [...] “Britain’s last war with the Americans ended only recently. Send her there and we’ll start another one.”
This was definitely not the last book for me by this author!
If you like historicals in general or at least now and again I highly recommend to pick it up.
Enjoy! ♡
************
Longhope Abbey Series
Book 1 - A Beastly Kind of Earl - 3.5 stars
Book 2 - A Dangerous Kind of Lady - 4.5 stars
Book 3 - A Wicked Kind of Husband - 4.75 stars
Book 4 - A Scandalous Kind of Duke - audio tbr
December 19, 2020
Reread 12/18/20, better this time.
I said in my last status update about this book that it didn't find its rhythm for me initially. By the reintroduction of Joshua to Cassandra, I was wondering if I'd enjoy it. That scene, however, showed me the potential... It was followed by a lot of romcom-esqie quips, and I was worried it would undermine the story's emotional weight. They were funny, but I also needed more.
Well, it settled in quickly after that and I got more. It still had the snappy banter, but it also had a slowly building intimacy with hot chemistry beneath. I loved the way the relationship built. I love asshole heroes and heroines with fortitude. I might give this a higher rating on reread, but that beginning just did not work overall for me.
I said in my last status update about this book that it didn't find its rhythm for me initially. By the reintroduction of Joshua to Cassandra, I was wondering if I'd enjoy it. That scene, however, showed me the potential... It was followed by a lot of romcom-esqie quips, and I was worried it would undermine the story's emotional weight. They were funny, but I also needed more.
Well, it settled in quickly after that and I got more. It still had the snappy banter, but it also had a slowly building intimacy with hot chemistry beneath. I loved the way the relationship built. I love asshole heroes and heroines with fortitude. I might give this a higher rating on reread, but that beginning just did not work overall for me.
April 8, 2020
On Kindle sale today 8th of April 2020 for USD 0.99
(Tropes: Arranged Marriage, Opposites Attract, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship, Unstarched (hero)
Where did this come from!?!
**
- You’re a bit broken too.”
His head jerked up. “Nobody’s broken. That’s just life.”
“I think you are trying to stop life from happening, but life keeps on happening anyway.”
**
Quick plot: For two years Cassandra has been married to Joshua Dewitt, a man she first met on her wedding day and seen nothing of since. The arrangement has suited both fine as it was merely a marriage of convenience. But when her sister starts acting out Cassandra finds her path cross with her unconventional husband as they are forced to share a home in London.
At first it starts off a little farcical, the protagonists (especially Joshua), are almost theatrical, but then the story develops fascinating layers and the characters really show depths. The best part is that this is actually a really good rom-com.
- “I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me.”
“And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me.”
- “Where’s the love and sympathy, wife? You aren’t wondering what happened? You aren’t wondering if I’m in pain? You aren’t wondering if your dear husband will be all right?”
“Mainly I’m wondering why you don’t get punched in the face more often.”
- “You do realize,” he drawled softly, “that when you cover your eyes, I can still see you.”
“No you can’t.”
- “I confess that half the time I cannot decide whether to kiss you or throttle you.”
“What about the other half the time?”
“The other half I only want to throttle you.”
- She squeezed her thighs together and wondered how she could want to be near him, yet hate him all the while. Of course, she would have to be near him to throttle him, so perhaps it did make sense.
- “You clean up nicely,” she said.
“I aim to please.”
“You do nothing of the sort.”
- Bad enough that she had shown up here at all, as a real person. Even worse that she was attractive. If she proved likable also, that would be disastrous.
- A question rose to his lips but he bit it back. Go around asking people why they were sad and the next thing you knew, your life would be all tangled up in theirs, and that never went well for anyone.
- She caught the edge of his robe. “This is very…”
“Depraved? Do say depraved. I adore the way you say depraved.”
“Perhaps. But we are married,” she added, as if to reassure herself. “So this must be all quite proper.”
“Proper! I will strip away your proper,” he promised darkly. “I will strip away your nice and polite. I will strip away everything until you are nothing but raw, savage, aching need.”
*****
- “You showed me a world where it was safe for me to express myself and fight. Which, apparently, means that I yell now.”
4.35 stars
(Tropes: Arranged Marriage, Opposites Attract, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship, Unstarched (hero)
Where did this come from!?!
**
- You’re a bit broken too.”
His head jerked up. “Nobody’s broken. That’s just life.”
“I think you are trying to stop life from happening, but life keeps on happening anyway.”
**
Quick plot: For two years Cassandra has been married to Joshua Dewitt, a man she first met on her wedding day and seen nothing of since. The arrangement has suited both fine as it was merely a marriage of convenience. But when her sister starts acting out Cassandra finds her path cross with her unconventional husband as they are forced to share a home in London.
At first it starts off a little farcical, the protagonists (especially Joshua), are almost theatrical, but then the story develops fascinating layers and the characters really show depths. The best part is that this is actually a really good rom-com.
- “I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me.”
“And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me.”
- “Where’s the love and sympathy, wife? You aren’t wondering what happened? You aren’t wondering if I’m in pain? You aren’t wondering if your dear husband will be all right?”
“Mainly I’m wondering why you don’t get punched in the face more often.”
- “You do realize,” he drawled softly, “that when you cover your eyes, I can still see you.”
“No you can’t.”
- “I confess that half the time I cannot decide whether to kiss you or throttle you.”
“What about the other half the time?”
“The other half I only want to throttle you.”
- She squeezed her thighs together and wondered how she could want to be near him, yet hate him all the while. Of course, she would have to be near him to throttle him, so perhaps it did make sense.
- “You clean up nicely,” she said.
“I aim to please.”
“You do nothing of the sort.”
- Bad enough that she had shown up here at all, as a real person. Even worse that she was attractive. If she proved likable also, that would be disastrous.
- A question rose to his lips but he bit it back. Go around asking people why they were sad and the next thing you knew, your life would be all tangled up in theirs, and that never went well for anyone.
- She caught the edge of his robe. “This is very…”
“Depraved? Do say depraved. I adore the way you say depraved.”
“Perhaps. But we are married,” she added, as if to reassure herself. “So this must be all quite proper.”
“Proper! I will strip away your proper,” he promised darkly. “I will strip away your nice and polite. I will strip away everything until you are nothing but raw, savage, aching need.”
*****
- “You showed me a world where it was safe for me to express myself and fight. Which, apparently, means that I yell now.”
4.35 stars
March 3, 2019
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ALL THE STARS!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you're ever in the mood for some historical romance—of if you've never read any and are looking for a gateway to it—, I can't recommend enough debut author Mia Vincy.
I'm completely astonished by "A Wicked Kind of Husband"
A friend recommended it to me a few days ago, and I couldn't stop reading despite being busy and tired. I've greedily devoured the whole thing and I'm left wanting for more!
The banter, the wit, the building tension, the angst, the steam, the swoon... This book has EVERYTHING I'm looking for in a romance.
So much laughter, so much frustration so much emotions, so much... wickedness!
The dialogues are superb, and the level of wit demonstrated was simply BRILLIANT. I've highlighted so many dialogues, so many retorts, so many hilarious comebacks.
This novel was remarkably entertaining.
A grumpy hero stripped off his rude armor by a feisty and stubborn heroine in a forced proximity scenario. Marriage of convenience anyone?
It's available on KU, I'm HIGHLY recommending it to all romance readers (that's the polite speak for "read the damn book OR ELSE!") 🌹🥀
This is by far one of my favorite HR ever. Mia Vincy is going straight to my "auto-buy" list.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
If you're ever in the mood for some historical romance—of if you've never read any and are looking for a gateway to it—, I can't recommend enough debut author Mia Vincy.
I'm completely astonished by "A Wicked Kind of Husband"
A friend recommended it to me a few days ago, and I couldn't stop reading despite being busy and tired. I've greedily devoured the whole thing and I'm left wanting for more!
The banter, the wit, the building tension, the angst, the steam, the swoon... This book has EVERYTHING I'm looking for in a romance.
So much laughter, so much frustration so much emotions, so much... wickedness!
The dialogues are superb, and the level of wit demonstrated was simply BRILLIANT. I've highlighted so many dialogues, so many retorts, so many hilarious comebacks.
This novel was remarkably entertaining.
A grumpy hero stripped off his rude armor by a feisty and stubborn heroine in a forced proximity scenario. Marriage of convenience anyone?
It's available on KU, I'm HIGHLY recommending it to all romance readers (that's the polite speak for "read the damn book OR ELSE!") 🌹🥀
This is by far one of my favorite HR ever. Mia Vincy is going straight to my "auto-buy" list.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
January 13, 2019
What an amazing debut! Bravo, Ms. Vincy! I haven't read a really good romance in quite some time and almost lost hope in finding one. But along came this story and it's special.
Thank you OLT for bringing the story to my attention with your excellent review.
With wonderful characterization and pace, the book is superbly romantic, funny, angsty and sizzling.
I loved, loved both protagonists. They are complex, strong, interesting, engaging. They COMMUNICATE with each other. And, oh, what a delight this is! Their banter is one of the best I encountered in a long time.
The book has my favorite romantic trope- MOC. And as my GR friend Danker said in her superb review It is a MOC with a difference.
I’m so looking forward to the next book by the author.
Thank you OLT for bringing the story to my attention with your excellent review.
With wonderful characterization and pace, the book is superbly romantic, funny, angsty and sizzling.
I loved, loved both protagonists. They are complex, strong, interesting, engaging. They COMMUNICATE with each other. And, oh, what a delight this is! Their banter is one of the best I encountered in a long time.
“You seem puzzled,” said his disruptive wife, as they reached the gate. “Have I said something to puzzle you?” “Most of what you say puzzles me. It’s almost as though you have a mind of your own.” “Please don’t vex yourself. I’ll try not to use it too often.”
----------------------------------------------
“Mrs. DeWitt,” he said. “You will leave here tomorrow.” “I am willing to do whatever you ask, Mr. DeWitt.” “Good.” “So long as you do not ask anything that I am not willing to do.”
The book has my favorite romantic trope- MOC. And as my GR friend Danker said in her superb review It is a MOC with a difference.
I’m so looking forward to the next book by the author.
January 14, 2019
4.5 stars and no spoilers (for a change)
Ladies and lovers of historical romances, we might have a winner!
We certainly have a winner in A Wicked Kind of Husband. And so, let’s hope that Mia Vincy will be the author we can all be looking forward to, as what she’s done with her book is something that still leaves me stunned.
And in before anyone, Joshua is mine! And don’t make me pull the ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ gif. (Makes me wonder if I have a thing for the name Joshua when I think of The Hating Game’s Joshua Templeton.)
What you’ll find mentioned in those many 4-5-star reviews is the witty banter between Joshua and Cassandra. Married two years prior, solely on the grounds that it will be a marriage of convenience – which happens to be one of my favourite tropes – their paths cross when Cassandra, desperate to keep her family together, decides to get her unruly sister, Lucy, married. To say their marriage didn’t start off on the best of terms would be a slight understatement. When they meet again two years later, they don’t even recognise each other. I put that scene in one of my status updates. Neither of them wants the other around. And so the battle of wills begin.
Let me get to the witty banter. To me, it was more than that. Witty banter usually leaves me with a smile and the occasional laugh out loud moment. The exchanges between Joshua and Cassandra are duals with razor sharp swords, with every sentence placed with surgical precision and without annoying acrimonies which usually make me wonder why these people spend any time together, let alone fall for each other.
What Mia Vincy created is something else altogether. When Joshua and Cassandra dual, I was left with fist pumps and – more importantly – quite a few deeply satisfied evil grins from one ear to the other. It was more than fun; it was that feeling of ‘Finally! Finally, an author who uses the battles of wills between two people to showcase their characters’ Want a taste? This is a rather long one, but all worth it.
Though, admittedly, this quote may not really give evidence to my assertion. But there was a – to me – significant scene before this one. Joshua employs a number of secretaries whose job descriptions seem silly but make perfect sense when you get to know them.
It’s right after Cassandra and Joshua meet after two years, and he takes his main secretary, Mr. Das, out for a walk to give order to his confused thoughts and feelings; Mr. Das obviously supposed to act as a sounding board. But no, Mr. Das will do no such thing.
Because under all the razor-sharp dialogues, Cassandra and Joshua are people in pain. Both have loved and lost; both developed coping mechanisms; both despise the other’s coping mechanism. But more importantly – and that’s the utter beauty of this book – both are willing to look behind the masks they’ve donned. This, this is the reason why this book is so completely adorable. Their actions and motivations make sense. They make sense. Imagine my astonishment that I’d read a romance, and a historical romance at that, that makes sense. I think it was my GR fiend, Lyuda, who mentioned anachronisms. We had a short DM exchange about it, and I couldn’t see them. Given their personalities, their exchanges with each other as well as with others, made perfect sense to me.
And the way they do it? They talk. They question. They doubt; themselves as well as each other. And all of this despite their spats. He may hate her politeness which hides her true feelings, she may find his rudeness exasperating, but they discover each other’s strengths and weaknesses with something that – again – is remarkably significant: humour. They laugh. They forge a camaraderie not often seen in historical romances.
But most importantly, these characters, Cassandra and Joshua as well as the secondary characters, leap off the pages. They are complex, flawed, confused. Joshua considers Cassandra’s appearance in his life as colonisation. And, oh how she does colonise him, with much dignity and aplomb, and it left me with deep adoration; for the author and the story she crafted so beautifully.
And Mia Vincy doesn’t use lust to bring Cassandra and Joshua together. Lust – or sexual attraction – develops naturally the more they get to know each other. It reflects their growing affection and respect for each other, although both have their fears about where it’ll take them. And again, despite the complexity of their expectations, Cassandra and Joshua approach it with humour.
The only reason why I’m not giving this a full 5-star rating is because of the ending. Something that Joshua does. But I reserve the right to change my rating on re-read.
Have you noticed something? All the points I’ve made are the ones I kept criticising for the better part of the last two years with newly published authors. Too modern, too nonsensical, too much reliant on sex. Even some established authors have fallen into that trap.
And here we are: Mia Vincy. It is obviously way too early to tell but being a devoted historical romance reader for – well, I feel old now – about 20 years now, I’ve seen the shifts. I am by now means an expert on HRs, seeing that I still refuse to read Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Stella Riley, etc, which makes me a pariah of sorts. But I started with the bodice rippers of Busbee, Monson and Woodiwiss, I saw the slight movements with Kleypas, Ivory and Brockway in the mid 90’s, and then Julia Quinn hit the historical romance world, and though I liked the first few books of her Bridgerton series, I never loved them, and ultimately, Julia Quinn is the reason why I stopped reading romances altogether. They were all the same, and a lot of authors simply copied her. Many years later, and with my much-mentioned favourite new authors, we’ve seen a definite shift, but sadly the consensus for new authors is still: “Go with dukes and make them sound like a Julia Quinn.’ I know I’m generalising; I know the sub-genre is more diverse (m/m yay!), but I only have to look at the more traditional historical romances, and I find even the better ones mostly mediocre at best.
So, here’s to hoping. Hoping that Mia Vincy will keep that originality and quality she delivered with A Wicked Kind of Husband in her next books. Hoping that other authors will read this book. Hoping that they’ll see the collective sigh of relief of almost all of my trusted GR friends and historical romance lovers.
This sub-genre is simply too beautiful to be dominated by mediocrity.
(P.s.: I love you all.)
Ladies and lovers of historical romances, we might have a winner!
We certainly have a winner in A Wicked Kind of Husband. And so, let’s hope that Mia Vincy will be the author we can all be looking forward to, as what she’s done with her book is something that still leaves me stunned.
And in before anyone, Joshua is mine! And don’t make me pull the ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ gif. (Makes me wonder if I have a thing for the name Joshua when I think of The Hating Game’s Joshua Templeton.)
What you’ll find mentioned in those many 4-5-star reviews is the witty banter between Joshua and Cassandra. Married two years prior, solely on the grounds that it will be a marriage of convenience – which happens to be one of my favourite tropes – their paths cross when Cassandra, desperate to keep her family together, decides to get her unruly sister, Lucy, married. To say their marriage didn’t start off on the best of terms would be a slight understatement. When they meet again two years later, they don’t even recognise each other. I put that scene in one of my status updates. Neither of them wants the other around. And so the battle of wills begin.
Let me get to the witty banter. To me, it was more than that. Witty banter usually leaves me with a smile and the occasional laugh out loud moment. The exchanges between Joshua and Cassandra are duals with razor sharp swords, with every sentence placed with surgical precision and without annoying acrimonies which usually make me wonder why these people spend any time together, let alone fall for each other.
What Mia Vincy created is something else altogether. When Joshua and Cassandra dual, I was left with fist pumps and – more importantly – quite a few deeply satisfied evil grins from one ear to the other. It was more than fun; it was that feeling of ‘Finally! Finally, an author who uses the battles of wills between two people to showcase their characters’ Want a taste? This is a rather long one, but all worth it.
“Mr. DeWitt never drinks,” Mr. Newell chimed in, and Cassandra started, for she had quite forgotten he was there.Now, I never do quotes as long as these. But there are reasons for it: a) the pure fun watching them dual, b) showcasing their – supposedly - diametrically personalities, and c) the secondary characters that are not simply there to prop he main protagonists up but breathe life into them.
Mr. DeWitt whipped his head around and scowled at the secretary, then he returned his attention to his coffee and took a hefty swallow. “Newell, you’re fired.”
“Yes, sir.” Mr. Newell popped a forkful of ham into his mouth.
“Mr. Newell, you are not fired,” Cassandra said. “You can’t fire him. He’s my secretary.”
“I hired him as Secretary In Charge Of Matrimonial Affairs. That makes him mine.”
“And I am the Matrimonial Affair, which makes him mine.”
“That is specious logic. I refuse to entertain specious logic at the breakfast table.” He waved his arms again, the footman by the wall watching the trajectory of the coffee cup nervously. “His job is to deal with you and your affairs, so I don’t have to. He failed, because look, here we are.”
“Which is your fault for changing your schedule.”
“Which wouldn’t have mattered if you hadn’t disobeyed me.”
“Which I wouldn’t have done if you had been reasonable.”
“I am always reasonable.”
[…]
“We cannot possibly communicate with each other directly.”
It seemed that Mr. DeWitt took this as a challenge.
[…]
“Newell,” he said, not taking his eyes off her. “Tell my wife to go home.”
Cassandra mirrored his pose. “Mr. Newell. Tell my husband that I mean to stay until I have satisfactorily arranged my sister’s entry into society.”
He leaned in closer, so she could see the thick lashes framing his eyes. “Newell, tell my wife that her sister can have a fat dowry, and then pack some desperate gentlemen off to Warwickshire to fight over her.”
She leaned in further too. “Mr. Newell, tell my husband that not every problem can be solved with money and secretaries.”
“Newell, tell my wife that I will not tolerate this pigheadedness.”
“Mr. Newell, tell my husband that the only pigheaded one here is he.”
“And Newell—” Mr. DeWitt stopped, frowned, and turned his head, giving her his strong, scruffy profile. “Where the blazes has he got to?”
Though, admittedly, this quote may not really give evidence to my assertion. But there was a – to me – significant scene before this one. Joshua employs a number of secretaries whose job descriptions seem silly but make perfect sense when you get to know them.
It’s right after Cassandra and Joshua meet after two years, and he takes his main secretary, Mr. Das, out for a walk to give order to his confused thoughts and feelings; Mr. Das obviously supposed to act as a sounding board. But no, Mr. Das will do no such thing.
“But Mr. Isaac is your brother.”Again, two things are noteworthy: a) Mr. Das is his own person and doesn’t feel obliged to please Joshua, and b) the quote doesn’t show it, but Joshua goes through a moment of existential crisis. His past, his present and the void of his future.
Joshua glared at his secretary, who didn’t flinch. “Do I detect a tone of disapproval, Das?”
“Yes, sir.”
Do I pay you to disapprove of me, Das?”
“No, sir. I provide the disapproval for free.”
“Remind me to bloody thank you some time.”
Because under all the razor-sharp dialogues, Cassandra and Joshua are people in pain. Both have loved and lost; both developed coping mechanisms; both despise the other’s coping mechanism. But more importantly – and that’s the utter beauty of this book – both are willing to look behind the masks they’ve donned. This, this is the reason why this book is so completely adorable. Their actions and motivations make sense. They make sense. Imagine my astonishment that I’d read a romance, and a historical romance at that, that makes sense. I think it was my GR fiend, Lyuda, who mentioned anachronisms. We had a short DM exchange about it, and I couldn’t see them. Given their personalities, their exchanges with each other as well as with others, made perfect sense to me.
And the way they do it? They talk. They question. They doubt; themselves as well as each other. And all of this despite their spats. He may hate her politeness which hides her true feelings, she may find his rudeness exasperating, but they discover each other’s strengths and weaknesses with something that – again – is remarkably significant: humour. They laugh. They forge a camaraderie not often seen in historical romances.
But most importantly, these characters, Cassandra and Joshua as well as the secondary characters, leap off the pages. They are complex, flawed, confused. Joshua considers Cassandra’s appearance in his life as colonisation. And, oh how she does colonise him, with much dignity and aplomb, and it left me with deep adoration; for the author and the story she crafted so beautifully.
And Mia Vincy doesn’t use lust to bring Cassandra and Joshua together. Lust – or sexual attraction – develops naturally the more they get to know each other. It reflects their growing affection and respect for each other, although both have their fears about where it’ll take them. And again, despite the complexity of their expectations, Cassandra and Joshua approach it with humour.
The only reason why I’m not giving this a full 5-star rating is because of the ending. Something that Joshua does. But I reserve the right to change my rating on re-read.
Have you noticed something? All the points I’ve made are the ones I kept criticising for the better part of the last two years with newly published authors. Too modern, too nonsensical, too much reliant on sex. Even some established authors have fallen into that trap.
And here we are: Mia Vincy. It is obviously way too early to tell but being a devoted historical romance reader for – well, I feel old now – about 20 years now, I’ve seen the shifts. I am by now means an expert on HRs, seeing that I still refuse to read Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Stella Riley, etc, which makes me a pariah of sorts. But I started with the bodice rippers of Busbee, Monson and Woodiwiss, I saw the slight movements with Kleypas, Ivory and Brockway in the mid 90’s, and then Julia Quinn hit the historical romance world, and though I liked the first few books of her Bridgerton series, I never loved them, and ultimately, Julia Quinn is the reason why I stopped reading romances altogether. They were all the same, and a lot of authors simply copied her. Many years later, and with my much-mentioned favourite new authors, we’ve seen a definite shift, but sadly the consensus for new authors is still: “Go with dukes and make them sound like a Julia Quinn.’ I know I’m generalising; I know the sub-genre is more diverse (m/m yay!), but I only have to look at the more traditional historical romances, and I find even the better ones mostly mediocre at best.
So, here’s to hoping. Hoping that Mia Vincy will keep that originality and quality she delivered with A Wicked Kind of Husband in her next books. Hoping that other authors will read this book. Hoping that they’ll see the collective sigh of relief of almost all of my trusted GR friends and historical romance lovers.
This sub-genre is simply too beautiful to be dominated by mediocrity.
(P.s.: I love you all.)
November 29, 2022
I read this whole thing in a single day if that's any indication of how much I liked it. But fair warning, there are 11 deaths in this book even though it is very much a historical romance novel. Granted, 5 of the deaths are such secondary characters that they aren't even given names and 4 of the others occurred before the time period of when the book starts. But there's definitely some strong emotional scenes in this book, so be prepared. And some of those strong emotions might be wanting to strangle most of the characters in this book at various times! But I still really liked this, despite how bad this review is making this book sound. Oh, and also I didn't read any of the other books in this series and I don't think I missed anything by doing that. This one is marked as the third in the series, chronologically, but it was actually published first so that is probably why it reads well as a standalone.
April 18, 2021
Hooked from the first page. Eager to read the other serials.
January 22, 2021
“That’s what hearts do,” she said. “They break. Hearts love and hearts break and then they heal. Every hour, every day, we love and hurt and heal.”
I feel like I should've loved this book but unfortunately, I didn't. A Wicked Kind of Husband had my favorite marriage of convenience and second chance trope, delivered with a lot of witty banter, but as a whole, it just didn't really work for me.
Plot wise, I felt like there was too much going on at the same time. I also wasn't particularly fond of the hero in this one (I'll even admit I forgot his name a few times). His character was a little too all over the place. I personally don't feel like he ever redeemed himself either. And in the end, I wasn't convinced he was worthy of the heroine at all.
The last 15% was a massive curveball I feel very conflicted about (trigger warning: ). Nonetheless, I can see why people enjoyed this one. The 2 stars are for the heroine and the hilarious banter!
Rating: 2/5
March 8, 2020
4.5 STARS!!
Plot: Two years ago Cassandra's father arranged for her to marry Joshua, a rich industrialist, in name only after (A) she was jilted by her betrothed, and (B) to ensure the family's continued stability if something were to happen to him as he lacks a male heir.
Cassandra and Joshua have not seen each other since the wedding, not even after her father dies.
There she comes face-to-face with her 'husband'.
Oh, the glorious banter!
Cassandra found Joshua baffling.
So where are the 5 stars? Two reasons.
First, I thought the vibrancy of the Joshua and Cassandra was off-set by the secondary characters being caricatures whose only purpose was to move the plot forward; the smarmy ex-betrothed, the cruel grandmother, the steadfast best friend, the unruly sister, the uncaring father.
Maybe this is unfair, but I had the impression of watching Cassandra and Joshua dance in vivid technicolor between the black and white, wooden supporting cast and the obvious plot devices.
Second, this:
"My whole life was a simple five-note tune and he has turned it into a symphony."WOW! I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It makes me want to say something pretentious like 'Mia Vincy is a wonderfully fresh voice in historical fiction.' Lol.
Plot: Two years ago Cassandra's father arranged for her to marry Joshua, a rich industrialist, in name only after (A) she was jilted by her betrothed, and (B) to ensure the family's continued stability if something were to happen to him as he lacks a male heir.
Cassandra and Joshua have not seen each other since the wedding, not even after her father dies.
Their marriage was not what either of them wanted but it was what they had.When it becomes obvious that Cassandra's headstrong sister can't continue to languish in the country, Cassandra defies her husband and goes to London in the hopes of convincing her grandmother to see her sister through her first season.
There she comes face-to-face with her 'husband'.
Oh, the glorious banter!
"I am the husband, so I make the rules."These two complete strangers met each other head-on in a wonderful battle of wills.
"And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me."
"I don't find you repulsive," he said.Mia Vincy created two incredibly vibrant main characters, neither of whom had any idea of how to deal with the other, but both with their own agendas backed up by their stubborn determination and personal demons.
"Splendid. Then you won't be averse to catching me when I swoon over your compliments."
Cassandra found Joshua baffling.
It was as though there were two version of him - one wicked and playful, the other gentle and caring - and the speed with which he switched between them made her head spin.And Joshua thought the same of Cassandra.
Her sense of injustice, her lack of power, her subtle strength of character - he imagined them wrestling with each other like drunks in a brawl, wreaking havoc inside her, with only her politeness to keep them locked in.They spend the story learning who they are married to.
"Unlike you, I do not need everyone to like me. I have some pride."Pushing at each other, poking and prodding.
"Some of us haven't the luxury of pride."
He had only meant to tease her a little, and now he was the one tormented.Until they both have to face some hard truths about themselves and the world around them.
He felt helpless, indecisive, unsure. He did not recognize this version of himself.Theirs was an incredibly satisfying journey to take.
So where are the 5 stars? Two reasons.
First, I thought the vibrancy of the Joshua and Cassandra was off-set by the secondary characters being caricatures whose only purpose was to move the plot forward; the smarmy ex-betrothed, the cruel grandmother, the steadfast best friend, the unruly sister, the uncaring father.
Maybe this is unfair, but I had the impression of watching Cassandra and Joshua dance in vivid technicolor between the black and white, wooden supporting cast and the obvious plot devices.
Second, this:
He could not ask her, because some things he did not want to know.The relationship between Cassandra and Joshua was mostly pushed forward by miscommunication . . . which was understandable in their situation, but it went on for too long.
He did not tell her how beautiful she was, or how he longed to bask in her joy, or how the world was lovelier with her in it.But that quote is incredible, isn't it? Mia Vincy is set to become a powerhouse in historical romance. I'll absolutely read more by her in the future!
January 2, 2023
Hell of a debut novel and my first 5 star read of 2020! Cassandra was bold, self assured, and my favorite heroine in a long time. Despite a marriage of convenience, Cassandra and Joshua stubborn natures challenged each other and brought out the best in the other. The story was compelling, each character was well written. Kate Reading as the narrator was perfection. Kudos to Mia Vincy and I'm excited read the next book in the Longhope Abbey Series.
Reread 12/28/2022 and this still holds up as a 5 star and my favorite of the series.
Reread 12/28/2022 and this still holds up as a 5 star and my favorite of the series.
June 1, 2024
Review from 2019
I've given this an A for narration and an A- for content at AudioGals
Mia Vincy’s début historical romance, A Wicked Kind of Husband, came out in the middle of 2018, but I didn’t get around to reading it until December – and was so impressed by it that it was a last-minute entry into my Best Books of 2018 list. Historical romance has been in a bit of a slump for the past couple of years, so it was a huge relief to find this gem, a very well-written, funny, tender and poignant marriage of convenience story featuring complex, well-drawn characters and peppered with superb-one liners and humour that never feels forced. In fact, even as I was reading it, I just knew that if the book ever came out in audio format, Kate Reading would be the ideal narrator; that dry wit and banter was just crying out for her wonderful deadpan delivery – and what do you know? Sometimes wishes really do come true!
Two years before the book opens, Cassandra married wealthy industrialist Joshua DeWitt, a friend and protégé of her father’s. At the time, Cassandra was nursing a broken heart – the man she loved had eloped with someone else – and agreed to the match after her father persuaded her that DeWitt was a good man and that marrying him would ensure she would be able to retain possession of the family home, Sunne Park, after his (her father’s) death. Cassandra remembers little of the wedding or her bridegroom – other than that his manner was rude and abrasive and their wedding night was perfunctory and uncomfortable – and has been content to remain in Warwickshire ever since. This preference has accorded well with her husband’s stated wish that she should stay put in the country, but the increasingly erratic and outrageous behaviour of her nineteen-year-old sister Lucy has caused Cassandra to decide to spend some time in London. Lucy’s behaviour is, she suspects, partly due to her being cooped up with little to do or to interest her, so she decides to ask their grandmother, the Duchess of Sherborne, to sponsor Lucy’s début into society in the hopes that she will eventually attract a suitable husband. As luck would have it, Mr. DeWitt is due to travel to Liverpool, so as long as Cassandra times her visit to take place whilst he is away, he won’t even know she’s in London.
Um.
The trouble starts just a few days after Cassandra’s arrival when, out walking with a group of friends, she encounters a tall, dark, (and yes, very handsome!) rather unkempt and rude gentleman who immediately rubs her the wrong way:
“Did you scold me?” he said.
“Had you greeted us politely, neither of us would be wasting this time.”
“Had I greeted you politely, you would have taken that as an invitation to blather on about balls and bonnets and I don’t know what. And what are you laughing at now, Dammerton?”
“You two make an adorable couple,” the duke said.
The man snorted. “Spare me your matchmaking. I’m already married.”
“As am I,” Cassandra said automatically, her head beginning to float away, her eyes fixed on His Grace’s cravat
“I realize you are both married.” The duke looked from one to the other. “But do you realize you are married to each other?”
Oops.
We all know where this is headed, but Ms. Vincy has put her own spin on a well-used trope and elevated it into something fresh, exciting and, in places, even unpredictable.
Cassandra and Joshua are compelling, likeable and flawed characters who leap off the page. Cassandra has taken on the burden of caring for her family – her laudanum-addicted mother and two younger sisters – since the death of her father, and none of them has any concept of all that Cassandra does for them and certainly no appreciation for it. She’s an admirable heroine, one who operates within the constraints of society but who is most certainly not the sort of biddable and demure wife convention suggests she should be. She’s quick witted and more than able to hold her own against her irascible husband, but there’s a vulnerability to her, too, one that Joshua quickly recognises in the way she retreats behind a mask of fixed smiles and diplomacy whenever she finds herself becoming too emotional.
Joshua – who grew up as the heir to an earldom until, aged fourteen, his father’s marriage was declared bigamous and he was cast out – is blunt, lacks patience and doesn’t suffer fools AT ALL, let alone gladly, but he’s also full of energy and ideas. He expects unquestioning obedience and likes his life as it is – so the sudden and unwanted appearance of the wife he married as a favour to a dear friend is unwelcome to say the least. He wants to pack her off back to Sunne Park as soon as possible; she wants to stay until her grandmother agrees to sponsor Lucy’s season; they’re at an impasse, and the last thing Joshua wants or needs is to start finding himself reluctantly impressed by his wife’s determination and her quick wit.
“You should… Let me explain, Mrs. DeWitt, how marriage works.”
“Oh, please do, Mr. DeWitt, I’m all agog.”
“I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me.”
“And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me.”
And worse… she might even be likeable. Which would be disastrous.
“You seem puzzled,” said his disruptive wife, as they reached the gate. “Have I said something to puzzle you?”
“Most of what you say puzzles me. It’s almost as though you have a mind of your own.”
“Please don’t vex yourself. I’ll try not to use it too often.”
If you’re familiar with any of Kate Reading’s performances of Loretta Chase, then you’ll understand why I thought she’d be the perfect narrator for this book. She’s an incredibly skilled performer, as adept at narrating this sort of dryly amusing, quick-fire banter as she is in moments of reflection or intimacy or in scenes where the humour is of the laugh-out-loud variety. (Her Drunk!Lucy is a hoot.) Her portrayal of both principals is spot on; Joshua’s lower-pitched almost growly delivery immediately paints him exactly as he’s described – tetchy and cantankerous but brimming with energy, and Cassandra’s even, unflappable tones and measured delivery are the perfect foil. In Ms. Reading’s capable hands, their verbal exchanges are so well timed that it’s easy, sometimes, to forget you’re listening to one person and not two. Yet for all her skill in this area, she’s no slouch when it comes to quieter, more reflective moments, where she brings their more vulnerable qualities to the fore. It will come as no surprise when I say that all the other aspects of Ms. Reading’s performance are excellent, too – the secondary cast is expertly differentiated (she has a great line in ‘grande dames’) and the pacing is just right. A Wicked Kind of Husband is a real treat in terms of both story and narration, and Mia Vincy is most definitely an author to watch. Do yourself a favour and grab a copy as soon as you can.
I've given this an A for narration and an A- for content at AudioGals
Mia Vincy’s début historical romance, A Wicked Kind of Husband, came out in the middle of 2018, but I didn’t get around to reading it until December – and was so impressed by it that it was a last-minute entry into my Best Books of 2018 list. Historical romance has been in a bit of a slump for the past couple of years, so it was a huge relief to find this gem, a very well-written, funny, tender and poignant marriage of convenience story featuring complex, well-drawn characters and peppered with superb-one liners and humour that never feels forced. In fact, even as I was reading it, I just knew that if the book ever came out in audio format, Kate Reading would be the ideal narrator; that dry wit and banter was just crying out for her wonderful deadpan delivery – and what do you know? Sometimes wishes really do come true!
Two years before the book opens, Cassandra married wealthy industrialist Joshua DeWitt, a friend and protégé of her father’s. At the time, Cassandra was nursing a broken heart – the man she loved had eloped with someone else – and agreed to the match after her father persuaded her that DeWitt was a good man and that marrying him would ensure she would be able to retain possession of the family home, Sunne Park, after his (her father’s) death. Cassandra remembers little of the wedding or her bridegroom – other than that his manner was rude and abrasive and their wedding night was perfunctory and uncomfortable – and has been content to remain in Warwickshire ever since. This preference has accorded well with her husband’s stated wish that she should stay put in the country, but the increasingly erratic and outrageous behaviour of her nineteen-year-old sister Lucy has caused Cassandra to decide to spend some time in London. Lucy’s behaviour is, she suspects, partly due to her being cooped up with little to do or to interest her, so she decides to ask their grandmother, the Duchess of Sherborne, to sponsor Lucy’s début into society in the hopes that she will eventually attract a suitable husband. As luck would have it, Mr. DeWitt is due to travel to Liverpool, so as long as Cassandra times her visit to take place whilst he is away, he won’t even know she’s in London.
Um.
The trouble starts just a few days after Cassandra’s arrival when, out walking with a group of friends, she encounters a tall, dark, (and yes, very handsome!) rather unkempt and rude gentleman who immediately rubs her the wrong way:
“Did you scold me?” he said.
“Had you greeted us politely, neither of us would be wasting this time.”
“Had I greeted you politely, you would have taken that as an invitation to blather on about balls and bonnets and I don’t know what. And what are you laughing at now, Dammerton?”
“You two make an adorable couple,” the duke said.
The man snorted. “Spare me your matchmaking. I’m already married.”
“As am I,” Cassandra said automatically, her head beginning to float away, her eyes fixed on His Grace’s cravat
“I realize you are both married.” The duke looked from one to the other. “But do you realize you are married to each other?”
Oops.
We all know where this is headed, but Ms. Vincy has put her own spin on a well-used trope and elevated it into something fresh, exciting and, in places, even unpredictable.
Cassandra and Joshua are compelling, likeable and flawed characters who leap off the page. Cassandra has taken on the burden of caring for her family – her laudanum-addicted mother and two younger sisters – since the death of her father, and none of them has any concept of all that Cassandra does for them and certainly no appreciation for it. She’s an admirable heroine, one who operates within the constraints of society but who is most certainly not the sort of biddable and demure wife convention suggests she should be. She’s quick witted and more than able to hold her own against her irascible husband, but there’s a vulnerability to her, too, one that Joshua quickly recognises in the way she retreats behind a mask of fixed smiles and diplomacy whenever she finds herself becoming too emotional.
Joshua – who grew up as the heir to an earldom until, aged fourteen, his father’s marriage was declared bigamous and he was cast out – is blunt, lacks patience and doesn’t suffer fools AT ALL, let alone gladly, but he’s also full of energy and ideas. He expects unquestioning obedience and likes his life as it is – so the sudden and unwanted appearance of the wife he married as a favour to a dear friend is unwelcome to say the least. He wants to pack her off back to Sunne Park as soon as possible; she wants to stay until her grandmother agrees to sponsor Lucy’s season; they’re at an impasse, and the last thing Joshua wants or needs is to start finding himself reluctantly impressed by his wife’s determination and her quick wit.
“You should… Let me explain, Mrs. DeWitt, how marriage works.”
“Oh, please do, Mr. DeWitt, I’m all agog.”
“I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me.”
“And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me.”
And worse… she might even be likeable. Which would be disastrous.
“You seem puzzled,” said his disruptive wife, as they reached the gate. “Have I said something to puzzle you?”
“Most of what you say puzzles me. It’s almost as though you have a mind of your own.”
“Please don’t vex yourself. I’ll try not to use it too often.”
If you’re familiar with any of Kate Reading’s performances of Loretta Chase, then you’ll understand why I thought she’d be the perfect narrator for this book. She’s an incredibly skilled performer, as adept at narrating this sort of dryly amusing, quick-fire banter as she is in moments of reflection or intimacy or in scenes where the humour is of the laugh-out-loud variety. (Her Drunk!Lucy is a hoot.) Her portrayal of both principals is spot on; Joshua’s lower-pitched almost growly delivery immediately paints him exactly as he’s described – tetchy and cantankerous but brimming with energy, and Cassandra’s even, unflappable tones and measured delivery are the perfect foil. In Ms. Reading’s capable hands, their verbal exchanges are so well timed that it’s easy, sometimes, to forget you’re listening to one person and not two. Yet for all her skill in this area, she’s no slouch when it comes to quieter, more reflective moments, where she brings their more vulnerable qualities to the fore. It will come as no surprise when I say that all the other aspects of Ms. Reading’s performance are excellent, too – the secondary cast is expertly differentiated (she has a great line in ‘grande dames’) and the pacing is just right. A Wicked Kind of Husband is a real treat in terms of both story and narration, and Mia Vincy is most definitely an author to watch. Do yourself a favour and grab a copy as soon as you can.
April 27, 2022
I laughed... I cried... I fell in love.
“I will strip away your proper,” he promised darkly. “I will strip away your nice and polite. I will strip away everything until you are nothing but raw, savage, aching need.”
“Mine is better than all the others. It’s bigger and stronger, and more handsome and more noble.” “All that!” She opened her eyes wide. “Magical too, I suppose?” “It can do tricks.” “For example?” “It can sit up and beg.” 🍆😂
“It is as though…My whole life was a simple five-note tune and he has turned it into a symphony.”
“I will strip away your proper,” he promised darkly. “I will strip away your nice and polite. I will strip away everything until you are nothing but raw, savage, aching need.”
“Mine is better than all the others. It’s bigger and stronger, and more handsome and more noble.” “All that!” She opened her eyes wide. “Magical too, I suppose?” “It can do tricks.” “For example?” “It can sit up and beg.” 🍆😂
“It is as though…My whole life was a simple five-note tune and he has turned it into a symphony.”
December 6, 2025
I DNF'd this book and not at all for the reason you would imagine
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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August 28, 2021
Cute couple, I quite liked the scene where he talks about her eyes. It was adorable. Perhaps not truly a fiver (everything with Lucy the sister was ridiculous in the truest sense of the word) but rated up for dealing with heavy issues like addiction and birthing issues and for its portrayal of depth of feeling despite the dragged out wishy washy dancing around of the male.
I also appreciated the husband’s lack of title. Psst authors, not every man was a Duke back then. Just sayin.
The dialogue was very engaging between these two and while all the family entanglements and tensions were a bit too much most were satisfactorily addressed.
Still don’t understand her ungrateful and rude siblings though.
I also appreciated the husband’s lack of title. Psst authors, not every man was a Duke back then. Just sayin.
The dialogue was very engaging between these two and while all the family entanglements and tensions were a bit too much most were satisfactorily addressed.
Still don’t understand her ungrateful and rude siblings though.
March 15, 2021
I really enjoyed the book. I read it in one day. The heroines father arranges a marriage for his daughter after she is jilted by her Earl. The couple meet for the first time at the wedding and then go their separate ways. The story starts 2 years after the wedding. These are 2 strong characters that give as good as they get. The hero, Joshua, has a lot of things to overcome and has been hurt repeatedly. Cassandra has had to raise her sisters and run the farm and deal with those problems. The book is much better than my review!
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