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Wicked All Day

by Liz Carlyle

reviewed by Cheryl Sneed

October 2009, 432 pages, Publisher: Pocket, ISBN: 1416594922

Wicked All Day joins two Carlyle families of long standing: the Rowland family (first introduced in A Woman Scorned) in the person of Stuart Rowland, Marquess of Mercer, and the Armstrong family (of My False Heart) with Zoë Armstrong, the illegitimate daughter of patriarch Elliot. I provide the characters' provenances upfront for those who are already Liz Carlyle fans and need to know right away, "who's in it?" If you have no idea who any of these people are, don't panic. Each of Carlyle's books can stand alone, but I predict that, once started, a reader will be eager to dive into Carlyle's world and splash about.

Zoë has always been, well, not quite a hellion, but definitely reckless in her behavior. Father Elliot has had it and threatens her with marriage or banishment to Scotland if she gets into one more scrape. During a party, she and her best friend, distant cousin and partner in crime Robert, hide away in a study where she pours out her anger, frustration and tears. He is tipsy and she ready to do something really outrageous and things get carried away. Zoë and Robert enjoy a "kissing cousins" or "friends with (some) benefits" relationship and they are caught in a compromising position and quickly engaged.

Zoë and Robert both know that they should not marry, that, while great friends with a complicated relationship, they would make each other miserable - especially as Robert is in love with his mistress. Zoë, for her part, has always had an itch where Robert's brother Stuart is concerned - a feeling Stuart is inclined to reciprocate once the horror of the engagement makes clear his own feelings. Now everyone gets to go to the Rowland family estate and spend a miserable summer together until the wedding.

Zoë is a tricky character to write - a reckless and deliberately provoking heroine is a risky thing for an author. But Carlyle has imbued Zoë with a gradual and believable maturing arc. Her growth is shown in part by her determination to do the Right Thing and marry Robert and make him happy and then in her determination to do the Right Thing and not marry Robert and make him happy. And along her journey, there is always Stuart.

Stuart is one of those responsible guys; he was always bailing out Zoë and Robert from whatever crisis they'd created. He's always looked after Zoë and thought of her as a pesky younger sister until she was 15 and he suddenly bestowed upon her a very un-brotherly kiss. Since then, he's been fighting the attraction and the despair he experiences once he fully admits his feelings is well done. Carlyle does hero-angst like no other. It's delicious to watch how she makes her men suffer. We all know it is good for them.

For long-time Carlyle fans, there are old friends to visit, most notably Jonet and Cole (Stuart's parents) and Elliot and Evangeline (Zoë's). All play their part in untangling the mess the "children" have gotten themselves into and it was nice to see them again.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wicked All Day and predict that Carlyle fans will as well. For those who have not tried her yet, there is never a bad place to begin.

Reviewed by Cheryl Sneed, September 29, 2009