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Blackthorne #2
Wicked Angel
Jocelyn Woodbridge cares nothing for the vanities of Regency London. Although the niece of an earl, she prefers tending the sick and reforming the fallen. Called a “Holy Hannah” by the ton, Joss is content with her life until the day a handsome, golden man rescues her from an angry mob. When she looks at his face, she knows he must be an angel. Tall, gawky Joss falls secretly in love with a man whose love she may never possess.
Alexander Blackthorne is no angel. Part American Indian and the son of an English aristocrat, he arrives in London to enjoy its taverns and trollops, not to mend his reckless ways. Alex has always placed women in one of two categories—beloved family members or sexual diversions. But kind and keen-witted Joss is unique. She becomes his friend…until a marriage of convenience between them changes everything.
Joss will need more than prayer to make a loving husband of her…
Alexander Blackthorne is no angel. Part American Indian and the son of an English aristocrat, he arrives in London to enjoy its taverns and trollops, not to mend his reckless ways. Alex has always placed women in one of two categories—beloved family members or sexual diversions. But kind and keen-witted Joss is unique. She becomes his friend…until a marriage of convenience between them changes everything.
Joss will need more than prayer to make a loving husband of her…
395 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 28, 2001
8 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Shirl Henke
63 books77 followersaka Alexa Hunt.
Working my way through college provided great life experiences for a novelist. One problem. I didn’t know I was destined to write books. Instead, I floundered around during and after receiving my B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Missouri. None of my wide variety of jobs satisfied me: cashier for a loan company, public welfare caseworker, assistant circulation manager for a small daily, editor for several “house organ” newspapers, administrator of a federal information program for the elderly.
Finally I was offered the opportunity to use my history degrees, teaching in a large urban university in the Northeast. I truly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, when the history requirement was dropped for incoming students, so was my instructorship. After that I taught gerontology, sociology, proposal writing for social service agencies and freshman composition at the same university. Further life experiences. My last two years of teaching were in remedial English—just the nudge I needed to take this writing thing seriously.
Since childhood I’ve been an avid reader, everything from Robert Heinlein’s sci-fi adventures to Frank Yerby’s historical romantic sagas. More recently I became hooked on thrillers. Since childhood I had story ideas in my head, but never the epiphany to write them. Okay, maybe I just didn’t have the courage. But there were just so many times I could explain what a verb was to a college senior before I realized that maybe writing a book might be easier. I sold my first novel, a big historical romance titled GOLDEN LADY, to Warner Books in 1985. Within two years, I quit remedial comp. Now I can't imagine doing anything but writing for a living. In 2005 I switched over to the “dark side.” Tor published two political thrillers, CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY and HOMELAND SECURITY under the pseudonym Alexa Hunt. I’ve also written romantic suspense for Penguin Onyx and Silhouette Bombshell as Shirl Henke. Since I began my career, I’ve appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list, been a RITA Finalist twice, received a BookraK Bestseller Award, and won three Career Achievement Awards, an Industry Award and three Reviewers Choice Awards from Romantic Times.
My husband Jim Henke is a former cabdriver, bartender, sailor, judo instructor and English professor. He's a scholarly authority on obscene slang and a master at its use, but an astonishingly understanding man who puts up with my all-night writing sprees and sudden dashes to my desk to jot down bits of dialogue as dinner burns on the stove. Since he took early retirement from academe, he has helped me brainstorm plots and research my novels.
After four years in the U.S. Air Force, our son Matt works in telecommunications and lives in an adjacent county with his brute of a cat, Max. Jim and I now share our cedar house in the woods with a pair of utterly adorable tomcats, Inky and Pewter, whose destructive capacity rivals that of a medium sized thermonuclear weapon. But just as life without writing would be unimaginable, so would life without cats.
For therapy when I'm not at the computer or off researching a new book, I cook large dinners for our extended family, putter in my garden and greenhouse, and still read voraciously. When deadlines permit, I love to travel. I'm a member of the Author's Guild, Romance Writers of America, Missouri Romance Writers, Sisters in Crime, Novelists Inc. and International Thriller Writers
I wrote my first twenty-two novels in longhand with a ball-point pen--it's hard to get good quills these days. Dragged into the 21st century, I now use one of those "devil machines. Another troglodyte bites the dust
Working my way through college provided great life experiences for a novelist. One problem. I didn’t know I was destined to write books. Instead, I floundered around during and after receiving my B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Missouri. None of my wide variety of jobs satisfied me: cashier for a loan company, public welfare caseworker, assistant circulation manager for a small daily, editor for several “house organ” newspapers, administrator of a federal information program for the elderly.
Finally I was offered the opportunity to use my history degrees, teaching in a large urban university in the Northeast. I truly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, when the history requirement was dropped for incoming students, so was my instructorship. After that I taught gerontology, sociology, proposal writing for social service agencies and freshman composition at the same university. Further life experiences. My last two years of teaching were in remedial English—just the nudge I needed to take this writing thing seriously.
Since childhood I’ve been an avid reader, everything from Robert Heinlein’s sci-fi adventures to Frank Yerby’s historical romantic sagas. More recently I became hooked on thrillers. Since childhood I had story ideas in my head, but never the epiphany to write them. Okay, maybe I just didn’t have the courage. But there were just so many times I could explain what a verb was to a college senior before I realized that maybe writing a book might be easier. I sold my first novel, a big historical romance titled GOLDEN LADY, to Warner Books in 1985. Within two years, I quit remedial comp. Now I can't imagine doing anything but writing for a living. In 2005 I switched over to the “dark side.” Tor published two political thrillers, CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY and HOMELAND SECURITY under the pseudonym Alexa Hunt. I’ve also written romantic suspense for Penguin Onyx and Silhouette Bombshell as Shirl Henke. Since I began my career, I’ve appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list, been a RITA Finalist twice, received a BookraK Bestseller Award, and won three Career Achievement Awards, an Industry Award and three Reviewers Choice Awards from Romantic Times.
My husband Jim Henke is a former cabdriver, bartender, sailor, judo instructor and English professor. He's a scholarly authority on obscene slang and a master at its use, but an astonishingly understanding man who puts up with my all-night writing sprees and sudden dashes to my desk to jot down bits of dialogue as dinner burns on the stove. Since he took early retirement from academe, he has helped me brainstorm plots and research my novels.
After four years in the U.S. Air Force, our son Matt works in telecommunications and lives in an adjacent county with his brute of a cat, Max. Jim and I now share our cedar house in the woods with a pair of utterly adorable tomcats, Inky and Pewter, whose destructive capacity rivals that of a medium sized thermonuclear weapon. But just as life without writing would be unimaginable, so would life without cats.
For therapy when I'm not at the computer or off researching a new book, I cook large dinners for our extended family, putter in my garden and greenhouse, and still read voraciously. When deadlines permit, I love to travel. I'm a member of the Author's Guild, Romance Writers of America, Missouri Romance Writers, Sisters in Crime, Novelists Inc. and International Thriller Writers
I wrote my first twenty-two novels in longhand with a ball-point pen--it's hard to get good quills these days. Dragged into the 21st century, I now use one of those "devil machines. Another troglodyte bites the dust
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 9, 2024
Read: 5/1/24
A wonderful friend to lover story!
Alex is no sooner in England when a protest erupts into violence on the duck. He manages to save a tall bluestocking and her preacher father. An immediate friendship develops.
Jocelyn fell in love with Alex that day. She knows this beautiful man will never want a plain, overly tall woman like her. Fates keep bringing the pair together.
Positives:
I like the development of their friendship and later their romance. Though, I do want to hit Alex in head with bat. Wake up idiot!
Great MC! Jocelyn is a unique character! She's a smart, loving, caring person who doesn't see herself as beautiful. Alex is the dashing, bad boy that woman can't resist. I love how they both bring out the best in each other!
I enjoyed reading this book! It was well written with great MC. I highly recommend!
A wonderful friend to lover story!
Alex is no sooner in England when a protest erupts into violence on the duck. He manages to save a tall bluestocking and her preacher father. An immediate friendship develops.
Jocelyn fell in love with Alex that day. She knows this beautiful man will never want a plain, overly tall woman like her. Fates keep bringing the pair together.
Positives:
I like the development of their friendship and later their romance. Though, I do want to hit Alex in head with bat. Wake up idiot!
Great MC! Jocelyn is a unique character! She's a smart, loving, caring person who doesn't see herself as beautiful. Alex is the dashing, bad boy that woman can't resist. I love how they both bring out the best in each other!
I enjoyed reading this book! It was well written with great MC. I highly recommend!
January 1, 2016
This was the book that started it all. My first romance novel!! Loved it read it a couple of years ago finally got another copy after the other fell apart
May 25, 2018
Decent read
Book was decent enough, the story was typical of all her other work and novels of this genre. The love story here was not quite as compelling or as well developed. It’s a good book to read just for entertainment.
Book was decent enough, the story was typical of all her other work and novels of this genre. The love story here was not quite as compelling or as well developed. It’s a good book to read just for entertainment.
April 5, 2011
Was a very old fashioned love story....it had good character development for the most part
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews