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Georgian Romance #1
Wicked Wager
Can innocence survive the machinations of a malevolent society beauty and a charismatic rake?
Two weeks before her nuptials to her cold, harsh cousin, virtuous Celeste Rosington finds herself in the arms of notorious libertine, Lord Peregrine.
The unexpected encounter is, at first, shocking, but as his charm weaves its magic, becomes a welcome distraction from her troubles. Isn’t she already the subject of whispers due to her involvement in the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy plantation magnate - a role, orchestrated by her demanding husband-to-be?
A role in which Celeste failed spectacularly.
Nevertheless, Celeste has no intention of sacrificing all of her scruples for a man she knows is only toying with her. One kiss from handsome, charismatic Viscount Peregrine will surely be enough to give her the strength to fulfil her marital obligations?
But what if one kiss is not enough?
With her reputation in the balance, Celeste soon finds herself navigating the treacherous waters of envy, intrigue and deadly secrets, unaware she’s a pawn in a wicked wager between a ruthless society beauty and delicious, dissolute Lord Peregrine.
Could Peregrine really be a party to such perfidious plans? Will his reckless charm be the final undoing of a young woman once respected for her virtue and piety?
Or will Peregrine discover that true love is more powerful than greed and ambition in time to save Celeste from the terrible fate that otherwise awaits her?
*Wicked Wager was previously published by Harlequin Escape under the name Beverley Eikli. This exciting, fast-paced Georgian romance with mystery and intrigue has since been revised.
Two weeks before her nuptials to her cold, harsh cousin, virtuous Celeste Rosington finds herself in the arms of notorious libertine, Lord Peregrine.
The unexpected encounter is, at first, shocking, but as his charm weaves its magic, becomes a welcome distraction from her troubles. Isn’t she already the subject of whispers due to her involvement in the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy plantation magnate - a role, orchestrated by her demanding husband-to-be?
A role in which Celeste failed spectacularly.
Nevertheless, Celeste has no intention of sacrificing all of her scruples for a man she knows is only toying with her. One kiss from handsome, charismatic Viscount Peregrine will surely be enough to give her the strength to fulfil her marital obligations?
But what if one kiss is not enough?
With her reputation in the balance, Celeste soon finds herself navigating the treacherous waters of envy, intrigue and deadly secrets, unaware she’s a pawn in a wicked wager between a ruthless society beauty and delicious, dissolute Lord Peregrine.
Could Peregrine really be a party to such perfidious plans? Will his reckless charm be the final undoing of a young woman once respected for her virtue and piety?
Or will Peregrine discover that true love is more powerful than greed and ambition in time to save Celeste from the terrible fate that otherwise awaits her?
*Wicked Wager was previously published by Harlequin Escape under the name Beverley Eikli. This exciting, fast-paced Georgian romance with mystery and intrigue has since been revised.
- GenresHistorical Romance
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 7, 2019
61 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Beverley Oakley
225 books210 followersAlso writes under Beverley Eikli.
Beverley Oakley writes Regency, Victorian and Georgian-set romances full of passion and laced with mystery and intrigue.
Born in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, she married the handsome bush pilot she met in Botswana while managing a safari lodge and has spent the rest of her life as a ‘trailing spouse’ doing what she loves most: writing books from sweet to steamy; and from humorous to historical romantic suspense.
Here’s more about her series.
Daughters of Sin
A very steamy, funny, witty and dangerous Regency-set ‘Dynasty’ featuring two nobly-born debutantes and their illegitimate sisters - laced with political intrigue, cheating spouses and, of course, dangerous gentlemen.
1. Her Gilded Prison
2. Dangerous Gentlemen
3. The Mysterious Governess
4. Beyond Rubies
5. Lady Unveiled: The Cuckold’s Conspiracy
(Prequel coming October 2021)
The Scandalous Miss Brightwells
A humorous, sometimes steamy, matchmaking series – with some books sweeter and more sensual and poignant.
1. Rake’s Honour
2. Rogue’s Kiss
3. The Wedding Wager
4. The Accidental Elopement
5. The Honourable Fortune Hunter
6. The Wilful Widow
7. The Courtship Caper
Fair Cyprians of London
A group of women who work in a high class House of Assignation. Ranging from very steamy to sweet, hopeful redemption stories.
1. Saving Grace
2. Forsaking Hope
3. Keeping Faith
4. Wedding Violet
5. Christmas Charity
6. Loving Lily
Hearts in Hiding
Historical romantic suspense, very steamy often showing the darker aspects of Regency society, including the dependence and subjugation of women – and how, against the odds, they find their happy-ever-afters.
1. The Duchess and the Highwayman
2. The Bluestocking and the Rake
3. Duchess of Seduction
4. The Countess and the Cavalier
Scandalous: Three Daring Charades
Three sweet, yet intrigue-filled Regency historicals
Lady Sarah’s Redemption
Lady Olivia’s Butterfly
A Little Deception
You can connect with Beverley on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBeverl...,
or through her website at: www.beverleyoakley.com
http://twitter.com/BeverleyOakley
https://www.facebook.com/beverley.eikli
Beverley Oakley writes Regency, Victorian and Georgian-set romances full of passion and laced with mystery and intrigue.
Born in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, she married the handsome bush pilot she met in Botswana while managing a safari lodge and has spent the rest of her life as a ‘trailing spouse’ doing what she loves most: writing books from sweet to steamy; and from humorous to historical romantic suspense.
Here’s more about her series.
Daughters of Sin
A very steamy, funny, witty and dangerous Regency-set ‘Dynasty’ featuring two nobly-born debutantes and their illegitimate sisters - laced with political intrigue, cheating spouses and, of course, dangerous gentlemen.
1. Her Gilded Prison
2. Dangerous Gentlemen
3. The Mysterious Governess
4. Beyond Rubies
5. Lady Unveiled: The Cuckold’s Conspiracy
(Prequel coming October 2021)
The Scandalous Miss Brightwells
A humorous, sometimes steamy, matchmaking series – with some books sweeter and more sensual and poignant.
1. Rake’s Honour
2. Rogue’s Kiss
3. The Wedding Wager
4. The Accidental Elopement
5. The Honourable Fortune Hunter
6. The Wilful Widow
7. The Courtship Caper
Fair Cyprians of London
A group of women who work in a high class House of Assignation. Ranging from very steamy to sweet, hopeful redemption stories.
1. Saving Grace
2. Forsaking Hope
3. Keeping Faith
4. Wedding Violet
5. Christmas Charity
6. Loving Lily
Hearts in Hiding
Historical romantic suspense, very steamy often showing the darker aspects of Regency society, including the dependence and subjugation of women – and how, against the odds, they find their happy-ever-afters.
1. The Duchess and the Highwayman
2. The Bluestocking and the Rake
3. Duchess of Seduction
4. The Countess and the Cavalier
Scandalous: Three Daring Charades
Three sweet, yet intrigue-filled Regency historicals
Lady Sarah’s Redemption
Lady Olivia’s Butterfly
A Little Deception
You can connect with Beverley on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBeverl...,
or through her website at: www.beverleyoakley.com
http://twitter.com/BeverleyOakley
https://www.facebook.com/beverley.eikli
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 7, 2019
A Pawn In The Game Of Love💔 and Money💰
There's Something About Harry....
London High Society, sometime in the 1700s, during the powdered wigs and men's long hair era.
Celeste is a young innocent woman who has been betrothed to her cousin Raphael, Lord Ogilvy, for years. She knows he is a cold calculating man who doesn't love her, but what can she do? He tells her after she bears him an heir, she can basically live her own life, while he lives his the way he wants, taking lovers, etc. So....it's a marriage of convenience, only. She has only her aunt and Raphael to rely on for advice and guidance.
Someone in her circle of so called friends or family is using her as an pawn in a sick twisted game to get a fortune from a man she doesn't know, Harry Carstairs. He was betrothed to Charlotte, her friend and sister of Lord Peregrine, a Viscount.
Perry as he is known, has been his sister's protector since their parents died in a boating accident when they were children. At the same time he is a rake and a libertine, and his current and long term infatuation is with Xenia, a beautiful, but twice widowed wealthy daughter of a slaver ship's Captain.
Several staged bedroom scenes are set and executed to compromise the innocent Celeste. But why and for what purpose?
Perry finds Celeste with Harry the first time, by a contrived circumstance, and Charlotte's engagement is off after that. Harry disappears after that, too.
Perry and Celeste begin seeing each other, when Raphael wants to find Harry, and Perry wants to find him, too.
The attraction between Celeste and Perry is instantaneous and mutual. Celeste sees it has her only chance to ever experience love before the long years she faces in a loveless💔 marriage.
ARC Received from Candid Book Reviews📚
Opinions Expressed are my own.
This is a somewhat convoluted plot that will keep you guessing until the end! Several key characters have their own insidious reasons for wanting to find the elusive Harry.
At first the book reminded me of Dangerous Liaisons because of Xenia, the creepy, bored, and meddling seductress, the wager, and the rake, Perry, preying on the innocent Celeste. It was sort of like Deja Vue all over again, but it's actually quite different! There is much much more story to this fascinating book!
There's Something About Harry....
London High Society, sometime in the 1700s, during the powdered wigs and men's long hair era.
Celeste is a young innocent woman who has been betrothed to her cousin Raphael, Lord Ogilvy, for years. She knows he is a cold calculating man who doesn't love her, but what can she do? He tells her after she bears him an heir, she can basically live her own life, while he lives his the way he wants, taking lovers, etc. So....it's a marriage of convenience, only. She has only her aunt and Raphael to rely on for advice and guidance.
Someone in her circle of so called friends or family is using her as an pawn in a sick twisted game to get a fortune from a man she doesn't know, Harry Carstairs. He was betrothed to Charlotte, her friend and sister of Lord Peregrine, a Viscount.
Perry as he is known, has been his sister's protector since their parents died in a boating accident when they were children. At the same time he is a rake and a libertine, and his current and long term infatuation is with Xenia, a beautiful, but twice widowed wealthy daughter of a slaver ship's Captain.
Several staged bedroom scenes are set and executed to compromise the innocent Celeste. But why and for what purpose?
Perry finds Celeste with Harry the first time, by a contrived circumstance, and Charlotte's engagement is off after that. Harry disappears after that, too.
Perry and Celeste begin seeing each other, when Raphael wants to find Harry, and Perry wants to find him, too.
The attraction between Celeste and Perry is instantaneous and mutual. Celeste sees it has her only chance to ever experience love before the long years she faces in a loveless💔 marriage.
ARC Received from Candid Book Reviews📚
Opinions Expressed are my own.
This is a somewhat convoluted plot that will keep you guessing until the end! Several key characters have their own insidious reasons for wanting to find the elusive Harry.
At first the book reminded me of Dangerous Liaisons because of Xenia, the creepy, bored, and meddling seductress, the wager, and the rake, Perry, preying on the innocent Celeste. It was sort of like Deja Vue all over again, but it's actually quite different! There is much much more story to this fascinating book!
April 11, 2019
This is intriguing, suspenseful, unpredictable and entertaining. Perry is a bored, impulsive and uncaring rake who can't resist a wager. Celeste is an vulnerable, innocent, broken and naive woman who is being used by her fiancé. After Perry accepts a wager from his lady friend to expose the woman who destroyed his sister's life, he's not so certain she is guilty of anything. Celeste is ordered by her fiancé to get information and a necklace from Perry, because his friend, who is in danger, needs them. A game of cat and mouse begins, but no one who is the cat and who is the mouse, because there are too many players in the game. It's a storyline that captures your attention immediately, and keeps it until the very end. Add it to your TBR list.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Candid Book Reviews. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Candid Book Reviews. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.
June 5, 2020
A wonderful, convoluted series of secrets and misunderstandings provide the story for this Georgian romance. Celeste allows herself to be manipulated by her intended and is much too naive to understand the motives. When Lord Peregrine accepts a wager to destroy her for her violations, the scene is set for his role as her hero. A little long in places and a little long waiting for the secrets to be revealed but an interesting romance with interesting characters.
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September 21, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (9/21/2020)! 🎁
June 20, 2019
There are sure a lot of misunderstandings going on in this story. Lord Peregrine, (Perry) is bored and feels lost. He is at the opera with Lady Busselton (Xenia). She has been married twice, old, rich and titled men. Perry has been her lap dog for ten years and gotten nothing out of it. To relieve her boredom she proposes a wager to Perry. He would ruin, the very prim and perfect seeming Miss Rosington and he could have her, Xenia. She also wanted to know where Harry Carstairs was. After all, he was the best friend of Rafael, cousin and engaged to Miss Rosington, she should know. Perry's sister, Charlotte, had been jilted at the altar by Harry Carstairs and promptly disappeared. Confused, don't be it all becomes clear. The author is able to keep all these strings together but separate. Her writing is smooth, concise, and keeps your interest. The characters seem so lifelike and seem to grow as the tale goes on. I enjoy the bantering, and mystery of this amazing book.
I received this novel for free, which I loved, and decided to review it. My thanks to the author.
I received this novel for free, which I loved, and decided to review it. My thanks to the author.
May 16, 2019
Needed to jump into one that was set into this time and come across this author whom was also new to me. It gave me everything I wanted from a Victorian romance but also mystery and suspense. Celeste is the star of this one having you wishing also at times you could whisper in her ear advice but that was part of the intrigue I suppose. The games that are played in here will at times have you a little miffed for her but that was how things went at times. Then there is Perry whom you so are brought to the edge hoping he does the right thing even though it appears different. This is also a story that is not easy to guess but keeps your attention and mind a working. Do so thing though this was one that kept you in it from beginning to end.
April 7, 2019
What a cruel fate! Celeste was used as a pawn, deceived and put in risk, all at once and with no champion to fight for her. For her cold fiancé and the notorious rake, she was a means to an end. I suffered with the protagonist and her sad situation with no way out. What was really going on? Who was the villain? The story was full of strong and dramatic situations, protagonists struggling with their feelings and emotions, betrayal and romance. The interesting plot development kept me intrigued with the intense situations and following the twists. Good how the author kept the suspense and the mystery until the end.
May 25, 2019
Well I sure was entertained!
I knew there was a lot of mysteries and intrigues but I wasn't excepting the pace to be this fast and it was refreshing!
It was a little too heavy on the drama for my taste as the heroine was very active and clever the first part of the book but more passive and damsel in distress in the second part, she suffers from a lot of thing without finding a way to fight back but waiting for opportunities without knowing if there ever will be any.
Also, there are some sexy teasing but no sexy scene all the way which was a bit disappointing.
Regardless, it was a very nice read!
I knew there was a lot of mysteries and intrigues but I wasn't excepting the pace to be this fast and it was refreshing!
It was a little too heavy on the drama for my taste as the heroine was very active and clever the first part of the book but more passive and damsel in distress in the second part, she suffers from a lot of thing without finding a way to fight back but waiting for opportunities without knowing if there ever will be any.
Also, there are some sexy teasing but no sexy scene all the way which was a bit disappointing.
Regardless, it was a very nice read!
April 14, 2019
Wow!!! This took a woman scorned to the highest degree. This tangled web of deceit kept me glued to the pages in anticipation and shock as this couple is manipulated on every side. I like both characters and think they make a great couple. The mystery behind the wager is much bigger though and was another wow/emotional moment for me. Perry has met his match with this stubborn and feisty Celeste. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation from the author.
May 28, 2019
Another great read by this author. I like that she balances the romance with the drama. It doesn't feel like there is a lot of drama for drama sake. I would rather have a little drama and little romance than have a lot of drama for dramas sake. I enjoy reading this author and will be reading more of her books in the future. I am sure others will enjoy Wicked Wager as much as I did.
May 21, 2020
The start reminded me of Dangerous Liaisons. What starts out as what seems to be a wicked wager to ruin a young woman for revenge, turns into a quite involved intrigue involving numerous actors who use Celeste for their own gain, regardless of her well-being.
While it's rather suspenseful, at times I became impatient and wanted to jump to the end of the page to see how things turn out.
While it's rather suspenseful, at times I became impatient and wanted to jump to the end of the page to see how things turn out.
May 20, 2019
A well written story with twists, turns, suspense, drama, danger, attempted murder, murder, evil, villains both male and female, and romance this story has everything. A story that held my interest until the end. I received a copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing.
April 14, 2019
Full of mystery, intrigue, and romance. This book is set aside from all others. Totally immersible and hadn't realised I had finished it until I turned the last page. What a book!!
April 26, 2019
good story.. well written.. enjoyable plot.. and fun characters. it was a good read. :)
April 29, 2022
This historical romance captured me from the first pages, lots of intrigue and secrets before Celeste and Peregrine find their way to love all from the start of a wicked wager.
October 4, 2023
WOW I did not see that ending coming!! There are so many twists and turns. The plot kept me guessing. The characters and storyline are very well written. I will be looking for more books by this author. R. K. Hanson
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews