In her latest, novelist Sophie Jordan (Firelight) introduces us to Grier Hadley, the illegitimate daughter of a London reprobate. Having made an obscenely large fortune through his various disreputable activities, Mr. Hadley decides it is time to purchase a bit of respectability through an advantageous marriage for his daughter. While doing her rounds on the Regency "marriage mart," Grier meets, and instantly clashes with, Sevastian Maksimi, the crown prince of a small European country who is in search of a highly pedigreed bride. Their attraction is immediate, intense and incredibly inconvenient, as neither is in any way what the other is looking for.
Relying on a standard plot of romantic literature, Jordan's novel could easily have come across as hackneyed and trite, but she breathes new life into the cliché through her personable and engaging main characters. The hero of the novel, despite being the quintessential fairytale prince, feels like a real person rather than just a collection of attractive qualities. Grier veers between grudging vulnerability and a refreshingly radical eccentricity.
Though she does employ a slightly jarring climax to tie off the emotional loose ends of the story, Jordan has imbued her work with a bracing touch of maturity. The relationship between Grier and her father, whom she simultaneously disdains and wants desperately to please, is particularly well drawn. Fans of Sophie Jordan, and of romance in general, will find Wicked in Your Arms to be a worthy addition to any collection. --Judie Evans, librarian