A Week to be Wicked (Spindle Cove, #2) in Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn

Apr 05, 2012 Caz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-1800-1850, aar, audiobook, romance-regency, favourites, 4-stars

This is easily one of my favourite audiobooks of 2014 - if not THE favourite. (So far). I've given it an A- for narration and an A for content at AAR.

Although recommended often by friends who read historical romance, I had yet to read this one and when the chance came up to review the new audio edition, I grabbed it eagerly.

I’m so very glad I did, because the story is every bit as good as I’d been told. And narrator Carolyn Morris’ talent for bringing out the humour, as well her sensitive interp ...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Nana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: satisfaction, delightful-delicious-etc, historical-romance, quick-clever-witty-leads, no-unnecessary-misunderstandings-rl

Now THIS is what an enjoyable read is like! Plain-jane snares the rake is not uncommon to historical romance, but this takes a riveting take on that kind of plot!

I was immensely hooked between the dialogues of Minerva and Colin (including their fresh tales (er, lies) to other people. It was quite refreshing to relive the humor in the book and they unmistakably make a great tandem!).

Another thing I loved is the character transformation-slash-revelation of Minerva. From being an awkward, nerdy Pla ...more

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Aug 14, 2013 Melissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013-reads

For some reason I was not overly impressed by Tessa Dare's first book in the Spindle Cove series. I didn't hate it, but it didn't wow me in a way that inspired me to continue reading the series. But after a long break I picked the series up again, and I'm super glad that I did. With A Week to Be Wicked I found a fun little romance that made me smile often and even caused a few outright laughs along with a great romance story.

The women of Spindle Cove are unconventional ladies who do not fit int For some reason I was not overly impressed by Tessa Dare's first book in the Spindle Cove series. I didn't hate it, but it didn't wow me in a way that inspired me to continue reading the series. But after a long break I picked the series up again, and I'm super glad that I did. With A Week to Be Wicked I found a fun little romance that made me smile often and even caused a few outright laughs along with a great romance story.

The women of Spindle Cove are unconventional ladies who do not fit into the perfect ideals of womanhood set up by the ton in regency England. Minerva is a prime example of this. She is a scholar, always with her nose in a book when she is not traipsing all over the countryside exploring rock formations. For some reason (and even now I think her reasoning is totally flawed) she decides to entice a total rake, Lord Payne, to run away with her to Scotland in a fake elopement in order to get to a geological meeting so that she can present one of her prized findings. Payne wants to get away, so despite every reason not to do so, the two of them fake the elopement, somehow having to convince everyone that they actually love each other enough to do something so rash. And they don't exactly hit if off right away. They are not conventionally compatible, but after time things change, and they find that they have more in common than they could have ever dreamed.

I really enjoyed the misadventures of this unlikely couple. Lord Payne (Colin) was a master at spinning tales, and as they had to make their way across the country, eventually having lost most of their travelling money, he comes up with some crazy ones to get them moving along the way. These were great, and eventually having Minerva come to follow along with these schemes was hilarious at times. At first I was a bit annoyed with the amount of page time devoted to making the reader see how super intellectual Minerva was. It was a bit of over-kill in my opinion. But once the two of them headed on their adventure and got into scrape after scrape I really did enjoy both Colin and Minerva as characters.

If you are looking for a fun historical romance with an unlikely companionship, I think that you'll enjoy this story. Lots of fun. Four stars. ...more

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May 27, 2012 Grace Elliot rated it it was amazing

After enjoying "A Night to Surrender" I decided to give "A Week to Be Wicked" a go - and wasnt disappointed.
It is a testament to the skill of the author that she made a slightly implausible storyline (Minerva wanting to run away to Edinburgh to win a geology competition) into something believable. Ms Dare also did a convincing job of turning a scholarly, spectacle wearing spinster into a strong, desirable, independant woman. She also avoided the trap of just enslaving the hero by him glimpsing ...more

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May 22, 2012 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance-historical

Really good follow-up in the Spindle Cove series! Minerva starts out meek & timid, but Colin brings out her wild woman (which has always been there but her mother had beaten it down so much you couldn't see it.) Loved the story: the careless rake seemingly mismatched with the bluestocking. There a lot more to it with Colin's storytelling and their continuous adventures as they travel towards Scotland and Min's scientific conference. It felt real and I ended up falling for Colin and Min myself! A ...more

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