The Wicked Wallflower by Tracy Sumner

The Wicked Wallflower Series: The Duchess Society Series Book #4
on April 11, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
Pages: 302
Goodreads

A slow-burn battle of wills leads to love.

Their biggest secret? Their infatuation with each other.

Independent, impulsive Lady Philippa Darlington guarantees her freedom by playing the role of a wallflower. After two miserable seasons in the ton, she’s vowed to never marry with the help of the most dreaded female enterprise in London—the Duchess Society. But a madcap misadventure will throw her plans off course and put her face-to-face with the most dangerous man she’s ever known.

Common-born Xander Macauley crawled from the slums to rule an empire. And he has secrets. One being that he’s smitten with his best friend’s little sister. Although Pippa Darlington is the last woman in England he’d risk his heart over. However, after a snowstorm forces them together and she lets him see the enchanting woman beneath the bluster, Xander finds he will do everything in his power to possess her.

The risks are undeniable. But so is the chance to find a true, overwhelming love.

The Wicked Wallflower is book four in the Duchess Society Series. This was an extremely entertaining book. Sumner does an amazing job developing complex characters and an intriguing story line. With a slightly different spin, the hero Xander Maccauley is not an aristocrat but a man who has climbed to success from the slums of London to rule an empire and is known as the Prince of the Limehouse Docks. Sumner uses one of my favorite tropes in this book: the best friend of the heroine’s big brother. I liked the character development especially with Xander. His inner struggles were intriguing. There are some very steamy scenes. “His fingertips tingled with the yearning to touch, link his fingers through Pippa’s, and tug her against his body. Tangle his hands in hair the color of sunlight and promise. She could stand on that stool again, bringing them almost nose-to-nose. He would make her moan, he’d kiss her so thoroughly.” You might need a fan when you read this book. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.