lady gone wicked picks up the story of adelaide and nicholas, the two missing twins from twice as wicked. because they were kind of antagonists in the first novel, it's hard to switch gears and see them as protagonists in this second one. especially given the resentment between nate and nick. if this had been less fraught, perhaps switching gears and perspectives would have been more easily accomplished.

nick has every right to hold his grudges. and he's done a lot of terrible things. none, so terrible as abandoning adelaide. especially not realizing how she needed him. and now he's ready to step up and do the right thing. but she doesn't want that from him. or she does, but only as a last resort.

she doesn't want to entrap him. she doesn't want to be with someone who doesn't love her. except he does. this is what she fails to see, he loves her so deeply and so much that every time she says he doesn't need to marry her she cuts away another piece of his soul. he doesn't have that much left to spare.

once they get past this misunderstanding. and all the lies and misunderstandings that came before. well, that's the only way things will work out. and it's good to see that their family relations also get a measure of resolution. bygones do become bygones. apologies are made. forgiveness is granted.

but it's less easy. but the happy ending is there all the same.

**lady gone wicked will publish on february 26, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (scandalous) in exchange for my honest review.

Definitely a book to get into. The only issue was that it started to lag and drag in the middle and that it was extremely predictable. Predictable to the point of I could probably have read the first third and then not read the rest of the book. Even the "surprises" were cliche. It was well written asides from that, minor formatting issues made it a little bit difficult on some words though. I'm glad there wasn't a lot of description about Nick because what was there wouldn't have made me personally "want" him, and for me that's an essential to empathize with the female character.

Two set of twins, falling in love. Second chance in love. Secret baby. Revenge. I could name various tropes to fit this narrative.

Nicholas and Nathaniel Eastwood have parents whose paranoia of fratricide made them banish Nick from their home when he was 12. Their family history is steeped with the infernal crime and wouldn't want history repeating itself, thus the banishment of the spare to save the heir.

Nick has rendered his services to the Crown and has been offered the title of marquess as his reward provided no scandal is attached to his name until the papers are officially signed.

Adelaide Burnell twin to Alice, who's fiancée to Nate, was also banished to the nunnery to avoid the scandal. She's unmarried and carrying Nick's child, unbeknownst to Nick. Everyone thought Adelaide dead, they were informed that she and the baby expired at childbirth.

When Adelaide re-emerged, alive, and then shot Nick and demanded money without divulging her secret about their baby at first, everything unfolds slowly and scandalously. Nick's claim to the marquessate hangs in balance. Family reconciliation was slow but got there in the end. Adelaide and Nick still have this sexual tension between them. Adelaide and Alice might have patched up. but Nick finds it hard to bury the hatchet against his family.

This family saga is brimming with heartrending drama. Every single character is affected by it. It's a good read for readers who appreciate this trope.

I voluntarily read an NetGalley arc from the publisher. This is my impartial review.

Miss Adelaide Bursnell has a big problem. She was sent away to France in shame to give birth to her child, fathered by Nicholas Eastwood. A torrid love affair with the soldier/spy left Adelaide with child and alone, but everyone thinks she died in childbirth. Nick never received her letter telling him of her condition and he believed her dead as well until he meets her outside his family home, a family who sent him away when he was 12 years old for pushing his twin brother and heir out of a tree. Nick has resented his family ever since so seeing Adelaide again shocks him to his core. Nick is on the verge of having a title bestowed upon him if he can stay scandal-free for a fortnight. That could be in jeopardy if his previous affair with Adelaide is revealed. Complicating everything is that his brother, Nate, is engaged to Adelaide's sister Alice.



This was an thoroughly engaging story of twins in love with twins, difficult family dynamics and the hurt and resentment of a child wrongly accused of trying to kill his brother. Ms. Bright does a fantastic job of getting inside each character's head and revealing their most painful secrets. Nick, a war hero and accomplished spy in service to the crown cannot let go of the hurt and resentment he feels for his father for the way he was treated. Adelaide believes she is wicked especially when her feelings of lust/love for Nick pops up at the most inconvenient time. Would Adelaide ever rein in her feelings for Nick and marry a good and decent man or would she fall victim again to Nick's charms? Never knowing what happened to Adelaide has sent Nick's ordered life into a tailspin. Would he jeopardize a chance at a title to reclaim the woman he's never been able to forget? I couldn't read fast enough to find out what happens to these two. Fans of Regency romance will definitely enjoy this one.

4.5 Stars
Nicholas Eastwood is finally about to get everything he ever wanted. As a reward for his service to the Crown, he has been offered the title of marquis. All he has to do is stay scandal-free until the papers are signed. There’s just one problem: His ex-lover, presumed dead, is remarkably alive.
Adelaide Bursnell is determined to right her wrongs. She will be a dutiful daughter and loving sister. Most importantly, she must marry before her scandal catches up to her. Nicholas was once her ruin, but now he is determined to be her salvation. If he can find her a suitable husband, their shared past can stay buried.
A lovely second chance story, this is the second in the series & although Nate & Alice do feature this book could well stand on its own, however both books are so good I’d recommend reading in order. Nick is still deeply hurt by the way his family has treated him, Adelaide is almost ignored by her father. They are very likeable characters & it took some time for them both to realise how they felt about each other. I love a hero trying to be selfless & saying he will give her to a better man, a heroine who likes to read in a corner of a ballroom, you have to love the pair. I enjoy an epilogue but who is Freesia’s husband? I hope she has her story

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Lady Gone Wicked is my first book by Elizabeth Bright, but won't be my last. Ms. Bright has given us a book that is well-written. Her characters are phenomenal. Nick was thrown away by his family at the age of 12. He has earned his way in the world and is now awaiting a title. Adelaide is an unwed mother, sent to a convent when her parents discovered she was pregnant. Adelaide and Nick's story is loaded with drama, secrets and sizzle. I enjoyed reading Lady Gone Wicked and look forward to reading more books from Elizabeth Bright in the future. Lady Gone Wicked is part of the Wicked Secrets Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book started literally with a bang when Nicholas Eastwood is confronted by Adelaide Bursnell waving a pistol at him. Adelaide shoots Nick and demands that he give her money. She reveals that she left upon finding herself pregnant, she ran away to have their baby, leaving everyone to believe both she and the child perished in childbirth. However, her return means that she must quickly wed in order to avoid the scandal created by her absence. Adelaide agrees that Nicholas pretend to court her but that she will marry another. The more time they spend together, the more Nicholas realises that he cannot be parted from Adelaide. The only problem is that the title of Marquis, that will soon be his, prevents him from linking his name to Adelaide’s will soon be fraught with scandal.
This is a story to savour and the writing style of Elizabeth Bright, will keep its readers enthralled. The many interactions between Nicholas and his twin Nathaniel quickly reveal the reasons for the strained relationship between Nicholas and his family. Whilst in contrast, the strong bond between Adelaide and Alice, highlighted all that Adelaide felt that she has lost due to her interlude with Nicholas. It was these relationships that gave greater depth to the story.
Having not read the first book in the series, I instantly purchased the book so as to uncover the story leading up to ‘Lady Gone Wicked’.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this story. Nick is a good man whose parents were terrible to him. Adelaide is a good girl, who allowed love to cause her such pain. Their roa d is quite bumpy but their story is so good. I plan on reading more of Miss Bright's work!

Objectively speaking, this was a decent book, worthy of at least 3 stars. However, from a personal point of view, this book was extremely disappointing, especially since I loved the first book in the series. It's really hard to root for a love story between two characters who are absolutely unbearable. Mix that with a trope that I absolutely despise, the *drum roll*....<spoiler> secret baby trope </spoiler>, and I'm raging.

Elizabeth Bright is a fantastic writer, but not even good writing could make me like Nick and Adelaide. When the despised trope played peekaboo with me 20% into the story, I was mad...but I was willing to give Adelaide the benefit of the doubt because she had gone though shit trying to contact Nick before.

Nick and Adelaide are both flawed characters. However, they are not endearing like Alice and (especially) Nate. I got more excitement from appearances from Nate, Alice, Eliza and Wessex than anything else related to Nick and Adelaide. Nick's character is pretty easy to understand, but his actions from two years ago and his overall behaviour towards Adelaide were the opposite of swoon worthy. Adelaide was a liar through and through, completely denying Nick's absolute right to know the truth. Her damn secret felt like the elephant in the room, sucking all of my enjoyment of the story. Every chapter, this cursed secret was nagging me at the back of my mind. On top of that, Nick and Adelaide barely talked to each other, which made their whole arrangement heavy with unresolved tension, and not the good kind of tension. Adelaide and Nick were equally wrong in my eyes.

It took him a while, but at least Nick realized exactly how callously and recklessly he'd acted two years ago and how that affected Adelaide. Nick started changing and making an effort to be straightforward (i.e. he told her point blank that he was still attracted to her), but Adelaide just kept getting worse and worse. She was so distrustful of Nick, which made sense, but she couldn't even be bothered to give him a chance even after he started making an effort. Nor did she try to open up to him and then had the nerve to complain that Nick does not form "proper emotional attachments".

The following contains SPOILERS:

<spoiler>The most annoying thing about Adelaide is how her way of thinking and reasoning had no logic! I was always so confused when I was in her head. At one point she thought that Nick would just turn a blind eye to his son even though he had just told her how he felt about abandoning one's child. Then she started crying that he'd hate her if he found out, even though he DESERVED to know. And a few chapters after, she cried thinking that she belonged to Nick if only he would claim her. Logic, anyone?? Her reasoning is not only illogical, but it also stems from selfishness. It's all about her and not the fact that Nick might want to know he has a son. What he did to her was shitty, but what she did to him is equally shitty, if not worse. I thought she'd be better than that. She's always crying about her oh-so-sad life, but she does nothing to save herself. She just closes herself in her room and cries like the loser that she is. Also, the fact that she got jealous of her sister...that was just so distasteful. Alice made her choice and she made hers. Deal with it.

And just when Nick started turning out okay, he fucks up and gets mad about the wrong thing LOL. Instead of being pissed that Adelaide kept his son from him, he's pissed that she abandoned her child. Um, no? She didn't abandon him. That was so unfair of him. I understand how his whole backstory plays into this anger, but omg, it literally didn't bother him that Adelaide lied to him about his very much alive son. At this point, I just started screaming because I couldn't handle all this drama. That's not even it. We are 93% into the book, Adelaide still does not trust Nick and thinks that Nick is having an affair with Jane. WHAT EVEN? Logic?? This is the woman she literally trusts with her child. GIRL, BYE! </spoiler>

What I liked: the supporting characters, Nick's relationship with Nate and his father, the epilogue and the answers to my questions from the last book. What I needed, aside from likable characters, was knowing how Nick made up with his mom. Plus, the relationship between Adelaide and her father was not deeply explored. There was zero meaningful communication there.

God, I really needed to rant about this book. I am not sure why I've been getting unlucky with beloved authors writing books based on this ugly trope.

Anyway, boy am I glad I'm done with this book. I need to reread Nate and Alice's book to cleanse my palate. I am really hoping the next book is Wessex and Eliza's!!! <3

I have not read the first book in this series, which probably would have helped. The characters were interesting, but I was not fond of Nick through most of the book., and I therefore struggled at some points in the story.

Publisher's Description:

Nicholas Eastwood is finally about to get everything he ever wanted. As a reward for his service to the Crown, he has been offered the title of marquess. All he has to do is stay scandal-free until the papers are signed. There’s just one problem: His ex-lover, presumed dead, is remarkably alive.

Adelaide Bursnell is determined to right her wrongs. She will be a dutiful daughter and loving sister. Most importantly, she must marry before her scandal catches up to her. Nicholas was once her ruin, but now he is determined to be her salvation. If he can find her a suitable husband, their shared past can stay buried.

But old temptations prove impossible to resist and scandal can never stay secret for long...

My Thoughts:

This book is easily as good if not better than the first book in the series, the author's debut novel.
Though there are characters in this one that also appeared in "Twice As Wicked" it can be read as a standalone without skipping a beat. Once I started reading it I found it hard to put down.

Adelaide Bursnell is a very determined lady. Although she was previously ruined and bore a child she has returned from the dead. Everyone believed both she and her child to have perished in childbirth.

Nicholas Eastwood has been awarded a title due to his service to the crown. The title is an even higher one than the one his twin (older) brother holds due to the circumstances of his birth.
He has returned and is no longer in service or a spy. Finding and making right all the wrongs of his past to Adelaide is his greatest wish. However he has been told she is dead. Imagine his surprise to open his door to find the lady there and very much alive. Not only is she alive but she is pointing a very deadly looking pistol at him.
He, unknowingly, not only ruined Lady Adelaide but he was the father to the child she bore.
How will this sometimes comical scenario end?
I gave this very delightful book 4.75 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 3.75 of 5.0 flames.
The intimacy in this book is less heated due to the nature of this couple's past.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book from the publisher to read and review. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Although this is considered book #2, in the series, you don’t have to read the first.
It does feature characters from the first book “Twice as Wicked” but it doesn’t really detract from the book.

Nicholas is a spy and soldier for the crown. But he’s a rogue and the black sheep of the family. And he’s finally come good, if he can stay out of trouble he will be given the title of “Marquess” and he will be able to hold his head up high in society again, but there is trouble coming round the corner......

Adelaide had the misfortune to fall in love with Nick and have his baby. She was then sent was to a convent in France by her parents to have her baby in secret (the shame of a child out of wedlock)
But she disappeared and was thought to be dead for the last two years.

Adelaide has a twin sister called Alice. (Yes the same Alice from book 1)
In Alice’s book, Alice came to avenge Adelaide’s death and downfall at Nicholas’s hand, and tried to kill him. Needless to say, all she did was fall for his “twin” brother. (Well ..... maybe she tried to shoot him a few times 😉)

The two sisters are reunited and it becomes clear that Adelaide wants her past to disappear and to marry into a good family. But there are twists and turns that keep Adelaide and Nicholas bumping into each other.
Nicholas wants Adelaide to marry into a good family and will try to “help” her regain her good name. But with the heat simmering away between them, it’s only a matter of time before something explodes.

It’s a well written story, and again the characters come to life, and the secondary characters make you hope that they get stories too.

A few laugh out loud moments, and a few moments where you almost reach for the tissues.

I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.


Julie 🦋

Miss Adelaide Bursnell is a twin, she fell in love with Nick and had a baby. She was sent to a convent in France by her parents to have her baby. Nicholas Eastwood was a twin also, but he was a spy and soldier for the crown. Adelaide and her baby were thought dead for over two years , Until she went to see her sister, who was visiting her fiancé and his parents. Nick was the father.
I believe this is a unique kind of story. How often do you read about a spy and all the things he must do to keep the crown safe. he has given up his days of spying and meets the girl, he ruined and she shot him. protect her and she ,him. There are certainly some very interesting twists. both sets of parents are trying to make it thru Nate( Nick's brother) and Alice's (Adelaide sister) wedding. The author has done a fabulous job of keeping it all together and eventually explaining it all There is humor, maybe a little mayhem, especially when cakes are involved. I think it was a very good book.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Lady Gone Wicked is the second book in the Wicked Secrets series. The first book introduces some of the characters you’ll meet in this one, but it isn’t necessary to have read to read this installment. Of course, I would definitely say read it, Alice and Nathaniels’ story is a great one!

Adelaide Bursnell was believed to have died during childbirth as well as the child. Her family mourned her, her sister Alice set out to avenge the wrongs done to her sister. Now that Adelaide has came back out of hiding, the scandal of her out of wedlock pregnancy with Nicholas Eastwood’s baby is not going to be far behind her. Now she must find a husband before that happens.

The sisterly bond/love between Adelaide and Alice I enjoyed so much in the previous book. It was clear how much Alice loved her sister, and she was bound and determined to avenge her. So, it didn’t surprise me when she opened her arms and heart to Adelaide when she learned she in fact still alive and well. Adelaide was just as sassy and brash, and certainly has no problem say what she wanted. Sometimes it did get her some stares. God, how I adored this girl!

Nicholas Eastwood was the twin brother of Nathaniel, but he his the blacksheep of the family. The outcast. Just like his family, most of the towns people even looked down on him. I think that he had a good heart though. He was willing to step aside and so that Adelaide could find a “suitable” husband. Tell me there isn’t some good in him somewhere?! There is a lot more to him than all that rough exterior he holds onto.

The writing in this is such that you get swept up in it all, I didn’t realize how fast I was going through the pages. You can’t help but to feel for Adelaide and Nicholas both. They have history together, not all good but not all bad either and the chemistry is off the charts but neither wants to give in. There are laughable moments and somber ones. And following Adelaide on her journey to find herself again and see how everything worked out for her was engaging right till the end.

I adore this series, and I am anxious to see who we are introduced to next. The setting, the characters and the romance make this a book that fans of historical romance will devour.

As promised, this is my fair and honest review for this ARC. Wicked? Maybe a bit cheeky (after all, she is a bit prone to taking revenge), however, I wouldn't say wicked exactly. Headstrong. Cheeky. Determined to stand on her own. Big hearted. All of these apply to the heroine in this tale. Delightful read.

This book was even better than the first in the series. The characters were interesting. I really felt for Nicholas and was infuriated t that everyone tried to downplay the lifelong hurt he felt after being tossed aside by his family. Plus how do you not love a heroine who tries to hide and read in the middle of a ball? I would have liked more about their initial attraction in the past but I still loved this unusual take on a second chance romance.

It was a well written interesting story. It only had a few parts that dragged on and could easily have been omitted. #NetGalley #LadyGoneWicked

I don’t want to give too much away but you will love the heroine and the “Marquess”. It only took me a day (sick day) to read through it and I absolutely could not stop! I had to finish it, could not put it aside.
Read it and you will love it!

Although this is considered book #2, you do not have to read the first in order to understand and enjoy this one. Yes, this story does feature characters we first meet in Twice as Wicked, but that is all. This book stands alone on its own.

I have to say I enjoyed this story, even if the "man has feelings for woman, but will set them aside to help her find a better man" story-line has become one of the most popular in this genre. I feel like given the past history between these two gave them another layer and made them more interesting. How would they handle that? Would they be able to keep the scandal from catching up to them?

This is an author who knows what they are doing. The characters are complex (even if I want to smack them sometimes), and the story is engaging to the point where I found myself completely engrossed in the pages (I finished in a little less than two days). There were a couple of things that I wish could have been done differently, or things that I felt really didn't really add to the overall story, but this is one of those novels that will be easily enjoyed by fans of historical romance novels. I can't wait to read more from this author!

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This is Adelaide and Nick’s story. He took her innocence and left her pregnant. She was sent away by her family. They believed she had died. She shows up alive. She tries to make a deal with Nick. There are many twists and turns in their relationship. Love triumphs. I loved the story.