Review of A Wicked Way to Win an Earl by Anna Bradley

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow. I LOVED this book. I’m so sad it’s from the library. I’m contemplating just keeping it forever and dealing with the late fees. How else can I clutch it to my chest and sleep with it under my pillow forever?

This is the first book in the Sutherland Scandals series. Delia and Alec’s family have...a history. A generation ago, Delia’s mom created a scandal by breaking an engagement to Alec’s father. Choosing love, her family scorned the tons gossip and lived the country life happily.

Robyn, Charlotte, and Eleanor (Alec’s siblings) become friends with sisters Delia and Lily and invite them to a two week house party. Alec hears rumors of Robyn’s interest in Delia. He is determined to keep Robyn away from Delia, to protect his family from rehashing the scandal. He is drawn to Delia and cannot stop the challenge of ruining her reputation, almost as a type of revenge.

That is what he starts out as his goal anyway, before it transforms into something totally different.

I absolutely love Anna Bradley’s writing. All her characters seem to just come to life so easily. The relationship between Delia and Lily just captures that sister bond so well. None of her characters fall flat for me. I am curious about them all, and I come to love them all.

When Alec first meets Delia he compares his reaction as when he was 11 and fell off his horse and knocked the breath out of him. It’s not love at first sight. It’s something he doesn’t really understand. And it makes him angry. The attraction is undeniable, except maybe to him, which he fights tooth and nail. How can he be interested in the daughter of a walking scandal?

I actually loved both main characters so much. Usually I love one over the other (usually the hero). But, I want to be Delia’s friend. She’s fun and smart and witty and can be oh so sassy and genuine. And Alec. Mmm. I want him for other things 🤣

Alec can definitely be a jerk. I have heard all Anna Bradley’s heroes are horrible and mean but I don’t think Alec fits that description. There’s one scene where he could have. Oh he could have. I was like “Don’t do it. No! I’ll hate you. You’ll have to grovel! Much groveling!” And it twists around in away that I totally loved him then, if I didn’t already. He makes some bad choices, and says some horrible things. BUT. Then he is lost in anguish over it. He hates himself. And he can’t rest until he knows he’s forgiven.

He is overcome with possessiveness and jealousy the moment he meets her. Anger. Snarling. Growling. God I LOVE IT. Sorry, not sorry. He doesn’t want anyone looking at his woman, touching his woman. He’s fighting it so hard but all he wants to do is seek her out just to look and touch any moment he can. He’s a man possessed.

So yeah. I recommend this book. 😆 If you like that stuff like me.

I guess this books steam is debatable. But the tension! Oh the tension is what I LIVE for. Couldn’t have hacked through it with a machete. I think there’s 3 kisses until you get to almost the end of the book. I loved them. It’s the kind of tension and kisses that yes you can’t wait for culmination but at the same time you are loving every minute of waiting. Then you get 2 good scenes at the end. Plus on in the epilogue. This book is also a little shorter - it’s less than 300 pages but it didn’t feel lacking in anything.