ARC Review: The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville

Title: The Importance of Being Wicked
Author: Miranda Neville
384 pages
Expected publication: November 27th 2012
Publisher: Avon





The rules of society don't apply to Caro and her coterie of bold men and daring women. But when passions flare, even the strongest will surrender to the law of love...

Thomas, Duke of Castleton, has every intention of wedding a prim and proper heiress. That is, until he sets eyes on the heiress's cousin, easily the least proper woman he's ever met. His devotion to family duty is no defense against the red-headed vixen whose greatest asset seems to be a talent for trouble...

Caroline Townsend has no patience for the oh-so-suitable (and boring) men of the ton. So when the handsome but stuffy duke arrives at her doorstep, she decides to put him to the test. But her scandalous exploits awaken a desire in Thomas he never knew he had. Suddenly Caro finds herself falling for this most proper duke...while Thomas discovers there's a great deal of fun in a little bit of wickedness.

This is the first of a four book series centered around a group of badly behaved late-Georgian art collectors. *Goodreads Synopsis*


*My Review*
We first meet Thomas and Caro when Thomas comes to call on Caro's cousin Anne whom Caro is chaperoning. The spark between Thomas and Caro is immediate but they are so vastly different that neither thinks that the spark will go anywhere. Thomas is all about doing his duty to marry a wealthy heiress and Caro still clings to her deceased husbands friends and their comparatively wild lifestyle.

I loved Thomas right away he is the good boy who has a wild side hidden within and he also is willing to do whatever it takes to be with the woman he loves. He is there for Caro through thick and thin and is willing to take down anyone he sees as trying to harm her. He is Sir Stuffy in shining armor! (okay Caro calls him Lord Stuffy so I took a little creative licence with his title :O) )

Caro I could identify with on many levels, she is the rebellious child (so was I), She will do things just to upset her mother who wants her to be more proper and less scandalous, she even went so far as at 17 she eloped to Gretna Green with her late husband. In order to deal with the grief of losing her husband so young she has walled away all the bad about their marriage and only dwells on and thinks of the good.

With Caros huge debt and her ability to get herself and those around her into all sorts of trouble and Thomas with his need to marry well and avoid scandal you would think these two could never make it work however with Thomas's love and devotion Caro finally is able to let herself grieve and fall in love again.

As I said I love love love Thomas, at times I found Caro a trial I wanted to shake her and tell her she was being stupid. But then that is just a mark of Ms. Neville's work that I was able to feel the characters and relate to them and fall right into the story. This is the first of a 4 part series and I will look forward to the next one to see if this series is as good as The Burgundy Club Series.
I give this a red roses rating!