Lord Ywain Hemingford is a wealthy, successful barrister. As the son of a duke, he has high connections, including the prince himself. As Ywain (who thankfully goes by the name of Ives) is pondering the qualities he wants in his next mistress, a distraught woman calls on him, asking for his help. Padua Belvoir has just learned that her father has been imprisoned, and waiting to be tried for the serious charge of counterfeiting. Based on his reputation, Padua has sought Ives to defend her father, not knowing that high-ranking government officials have already requested that Ives prosecute him.

Ives is an honorable man, and while he almost certainly will have to take the case, he's intrigued by Padua and curious as to why the government so adamantly wants him to prosecute. He puts off giving his official reply while he does some investigating. Ives' inquiries seem to indicate that there is a whole lot more to this case than meets the eye. The more time he spends with Padua, the more he desires her, and he desperately wants her for his mistress. While his honor keeps him from making that offer, it doesn't stop the passion they feel for each other, and soon they become lovers.

I love Ives' and Padua's forthrightness, both in their dealing with her father's situation and their acting on their feelings for each other. I admire how Ives was honest about how his friends in high places would almost surely guarantee that he couldn't defend her father himself, yet he set out to help her. Though his station in life is so far above Padua's, Ives always treated her with respect and courtesy. Padua is determined to retain her independence, refusing anything from Ives that even remotely suggests that she is a kept woman. She also maintains her loyalty to her father, though he barely acknowledges her existence and pushes her away.

TALL, DARK & WICKED is an engrossing read that held my interest and attention. The mystery was believable, but the romance was the real focus, and it was emotional and powerful. Ives and Padua are the kinds of lead characters I love reading about - they're strong, honest, determined, and not afraid to admit their feelings and talk things out. It was a joy to follow their road to love. TALL, DARK & WICKED is a book that is truly hard to put down, and I recommend it highly.

Book Summary

Most women will give him anything he wants. She is not most women… 

As a well-known barrister and the son of a duke, Ives confines his passionate impulses to discreet affairs with worldly mistresses. A twist of fate, however, has him looking for a new lover right when a fascinating woman shows up in his chambers, asking him to help save her father from the gallows. Unfortunately, he has already been asked to serve as the prosecutor in the case, but that only ensures close encounters with the rarity named Padua Belvoir. And every encounter increases his desire to tutor her in pleasure’s wicked ways...

Having always been too tall, too willful, and too smart to appeal to men, Padua Belvoir is shocked when Ives shows interest in her. Knowing his penchant for helping the wrongly accused, she had initially thought he might be her father’s best hope for salvation. Instead, he is her worst adversary—not least because every time he looks at her, she is tempted to give him anything he wants…