Lord Alaric Wilde is an intrepid explorer and travel writer. His books inspired a play based on his exploits and have led him to become a celebrity whose image graces the walls of many ladies. At a house party he meets Miss Wilhelmina Ffynche, a spirited and inquisitive reader who wants nothing to do with the man and his devoted entourage.
While Lord Alaric attempts to win over Willa the story is a bit of a slow burner but is enlivened by the introduction of a skunk, a missionary’s insane daughter, a ferrel cat, a fake betrothal and finally, a performance of the much talked about play.
The author also feeds in a little tongue in cheek humour at her choice of title. Lord Alaric is clear in his dislike of the one who decided to write a play based upon his exploits and pokes fun at it:
“He could imagine a playwright deciding to to make a penny by dramatising spurious adventures under the insipid title Wilde in Love.”
While the plot was amusing, I struggled with the authors style of writing and it took me a while to figure out why. I finally realised that the story seemed to jump from one train of thought to another without fully completing the first. It left me feeling unsatisfied. The jumps from one thought to another seemed very random to me and I often had to re-read sections just to make sure I hadn’t missed something.
Another problem was clarity. For example, one moment the characters are discussing an incident in Lord Alaric’s book (I think is about how he got his scar but I can’t be certain). The author tells us the conversation took place, rather than shows us through dialogue. In the very next paragraph Willa talks about how she thinks Lord Alaric really got his scar and she thinks another dinner guest agrees. It’s all inner monologue, there’s is no dialogue to reveal the actual thoughts of the characters. It’s very vague.
I mentioned this book is a slow burner but once Alaric and Willa start kissing, they do plenty of it, and the plot heats up nicely.
“His voice was a caress in itself. It made her feel wanton. She leaned forward and put her lips on his, her breath catching as his tongue traced the seam of her lips and then licked its way inside.”
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feels: ⭐️⭐️
Sensuality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️ and a half
