Wicked Fantasy: A Novel (Paradise)

By the time I finished reading this one, I was just about giddy with delight. Who knew I had a weakness for the typical love story? Two people who are completely wrong for each other embark on a journey borne of deception, murder, etc and fall madly in love despite everything. Normally, it's not my cup of tea. But Nicole Jordan has somehow woven a fabulous story with all of the above, PLUS a super bonus of wickedly wonderful sex scenes. I have to admit that I'm completely taken aback, but delightfully pleased at the same time. THANK YOU NICOLE JORDAN!!! :-)

Just when I think Nicole Jordan has written a wonderful book, she somehow manages to come up with an even better one. Take her paradise series for example - the first book, "Master of Temptation," was excellent. "Lord of Seduction" followed as an incredible read, a keeper to be certain. This newest novel, "Wicked Fantasy," is well... wickedly fantastic!!! As a young girl and under unexpected circumstances, Antonia Maitland meets a mysteriously dangerous Trey Deverill. As any curious teenager, she develops an innocent crush on the devilishly handsome adventurer. As she grows into a young woman, her crush evolves into a not-so-innocent fantasy, nightly reoccurring in her dreams. To honor her beloved father's fondest wish of a high-class marriage, she becomes betrothed to a nobleman. After a tragic year in her life and delayed nuptials, Antonia once again meets Deverill. This time, however, Trey is convinced that Antonia's life is in danger and announces his intentions of championing her. Antonia, a wealthy heiress, and a respected icon of the ton, will have none of him or his forced guardianship. Deverill will take whatever extreme measures necessary to protect Antonia, even when his sense of duty becomes tangled with unfamiliar emotions. When sizzling passion is part of the emotions to be dealt with, it becomes even more potent in a beautiful setting and in the face of life-threatening dangers. Deverill and Antonia both struggle to accept their true natures and make choices from the heart as opposed to those born of obligation. This is such a beautifully romantic tale. I felt as though I witnessed an incredibly witty, adventurous and timeless courtship, which shaped into a breathtaking love. Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!

WICKED FANTASY easily lives up to my over-the-top expectations for sensual, realistic, character-driven Regency love stories; very few writers can meet these expectations, for me, but Nicole Jordan is certainly one of them! Ms. Jordan has truly spoiled me with her delicious novels. WICKED FANTASY, her newest, satisfies all my desires for a GREAT romantic read, all the while leaving me with that yearning for MORE. I didn't want it to end! Trey and Antonia are both strong characters, unconventional, not really happy or comfortable with the status quo of London high society. Ms. Jordan establishes this early on, and builds on it, so that soon the characters feel so real that the reader falls easily into the story... Antonia's father, a prosperous shipbuilder, wanted his only child to marry into the nobility. Loving his memory, and wishing to please him, Antonia has vowed to do just that, whether there's love in the marriage or no. When Trey Deverill, an adventurer whose past occupations have included battling the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean, begins to suspect that Antonia's noble fiance is not so noble after all, but likely the man who murdered her father, he has to get her out of danger, fast. The fiance won't stop at Antonia's father... he frames Trey for murder, forcing Trey to flee, and to take Antonia with him, into hiding. What Trey doesn't know is that Antonia has fantasized about him for years... ever since he gave her a scalding kiss, one moonlit night, when she was a mere child of seventeen... hence the title. Ms. Jordan writes incredibly beautiful love scenes which are quite scalding. She is truly the "queen of sexy historicals," as one reviewer has dubbed her. You come away from the love scenes feeling awed at the passion in her writing, which is transmitted to the characters, and thence straight into the heart of the very thrilled reader. And her characters find deep, lasting love, built on foundations which will last. I will always, always read Nicole Jordan. Brava, brava, brava! If you want romance, real love, and real characters in a brilliantly conceived and realized storyline, read WICKED FANTASY.

Antonia Maitland first meets the dashing Trey Deverill at the tender age of seventeen at her father's London home. Trey was well-known for his adventures and explorations, most notably his daring pirate battles on the high seas. Antonia never tired of hearing his adventuresome tales and found herself envious of the escapades of this close friend of her father's. Four years later Antonia's father is dead and his housekeeper suspects that Antonia's intended, Baron Heward, is responsible for his death, further believing that once Heward and Antonia are married and he has full control of her wealth, that she too will be killed. The housekeeper requests that Trey investigate Heward and protect Antonia while doing so. An American cousin of Trey's who does business with Maitland Shipping gives Trey insight to unscrupulous business dealings that Heward is participating in while running the shipping business, but Antonia does not want to believe him. Trey repeatedly sets out to intentionally provoke Heward in Antonia's presence, hopeful that he will lose his temper and show his true nature. Once Trey succeeds in humiliating Heward, he is met with brutal retaliation and finds himself needing to escape London, kidnapping Antonia and taking her with him to a secret location until he can prove Heward's guilt. With the assistance of fellow members of the Guardians of the Sword, Trey sets out to protect Antonia and prove Heward's guilt. When Antonia insists on being a part of Heward's downfall, Trey doesn't want to put her life at risk, although he understands her wanting to help put Heward in prison for her father's murder. Trey's plan begins to fall into place what he doesn't plan on is falling in love with Antonia. He knows that Antonia plans to follow her father's wish for her to marry a man of nobility. Realizing that she is falling in love with Trey, Antonia is torn between what her heart desires and the notion that she should do as her father wished. These characters are so well written that they leap to life on the pages. Nicole Jordan's heroes, Trey being no exception, are always strongly masculine, charming and determined in their passions. Antonia is strengthened by intelligence, wit, grace and beauty. Ms. Jordan never fails to deliver a book that is full of historical detail, heart-pounding danger and breathtaking sensuality. The secondary characters are exceptionally written without overpowering Trey and Antonia. WICKED FANTASY has my very highest recommendation, an absolute must-read for lovers of sensual historical romance. Courtesy Laurie/Romance Junkies