Wicked Captive (Regency Sinners, #5) by Carole Mortimer
Series: Regency Sinners #5
Published by Carole Mortimer on February 14th 2018
Genres: Historical
Goodreads

FINAL DECISION: Okay but not extraordinary. It added to the storyline in the entire series, but the relationship part didn’t work for me as well. The connection wasn’t as strong.

THE STORY: Jericho Black, Marquis of Wessex, is up for his investigation of a potential traitor. His target is his ward Lady Jocelyn Forbes. Jocey has just returned from France (which is one reason she is a suspect) and is pleased that Jericho is taking more of an interest in her because she had been attracted to him since Jericho took over her guardianship when she was eighteen.  Jericho’s problem is that his first sight of Jocey in months has him staggered to realize what a beautiful woman she has become.

OPINION: I wanted to like this one more than I did. The guardian/ward story had interesting possibilities. I also liked the characters: Jericho with his world weary attitude that is taken by Jocey’s light and joy; Jocey with her determination and caring for others.

The execution of the story, however, had elements that bothered me. The strongest one was that Jericho knew Jocey. If we had picked up the story when Jericho hadn’t spent time with Jocey, his mistrust and anger towards her might have worked. But here it seems clear that he knows her enough that he shouldn’t be so distrustful.

My other complaint is that while the two engage in various sexual activities, I wanted there to be some culmination to their relationship. It appears that happens totally off screen at the end which was disappointing.

WORTH MENTIONING: Now I really want to know about the woman that Stonewall is going to investigate.

CONNECTED BOOKS: WICKED CAPTIVE is the fifth book in the Regency Sinners series. The book is a standalone although there is a continuing story line about a woman who is a traitor and the men trying to find her.

STAR RATING: I give this book 2.5 stars.