The Wicked Marquis by Barbara Cartland

The Wicked Marquis Reviews

• 
  Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves

  3.65*
  Okay, I'd say this is a better one from BC.
  Most of her book tend to coalesce and in time, this too would join that place in my mind but unlike 2-3 of hers I've read recently, this one is somewhat better done.
  
  “A kiss—to you a little thing!
  Yet I heard the angels sing.
  The stars all fell from out the sky,
  We cannot forget—my heart and I!”
  The H saves the h from unwanted male attention at an inn in her village. He then steals a kiss as reward and they have an insta-love connection, only the H's cynical mind takes too long to wrap itself around the idea. By then, he's engaged to an ow in France who by chance turns out to be the h's widowed cousin.
  
  So, the h's the ow in this book. Thankfully the cuz is not painted as an evil, grasping woman but only a troubled, grasping one (;D) and there's true affection between the two girls. The cuz loved a man who left to seek his fortune and since then she's been on a 'manizing spree'. She finds the moody H a bit scary and even now seeks solace with others who fall at her feet.
  And there's the proverbial villain who's badly smitten with the h and does his little bit for the drama in the book.
  
  Unlike most books, the middle is where this book is the strongest.
  We get few incidents where typically the BC h has to prove her dedication to do-gooding but it's done well here and is not annoying. In fact, I applauded this BC h who could go toe to toe with the H without sounding overly sermonizing, and minus the stuttering. (Those are saved for the love scenes.)
  And as a true BC H, he is moved by her innocent zeal to become a better person etc.
  The h/H tip toe around each other and their honor. Lot of anguish and longing but being the good peeps they are, they will only toe the honorable line. Hmmm, okay.
  
  *More spoiler*So, of course, the ow's guy returns in the nick of time - on the wedding day. And here's where the h behaves stupidly. So, while she was ready to stand by stoically and see the two married, she runs off when she knows there'll be a disruption? Too un-self-seeking to snatch the wedding gown off the cuz and rush the H to the altar? Sheesh!
  BC maybe wanted them to have a fresh start at their hea and not a hand me down one but still, the h running off made no sense to me.
  
  And what about the cuz's latest beau, the poor Italian ambassador? He said he'd waiting for her when she returns from her wedding trip. Lol.
  AND what about the malicious grandmother? We get no hint or idea if she ever got her deserved comeuppance from the H. She just disappears from the book. What are the bad guys for if not for being thumped (like the om), ostracized, served their just desserts or even snubbed at the very least.
  I hate such loose ends.
• 
  Poonam

  3.5 stars
  
  I did not have very high expectations from this book and picked it up for a quick read. I have got to say that I was pleasantly surprised by it.
  
  This may not be my first read by Barbara Cartland (as I distinctly remember reading some books by her but I do not remember which ones). After reading this one I would like to explore more romances written by Cartland.
  
  This is a historical romance where an innocent orphan heroine and a powerful wicked Marquis fall in love eventually. Sounds very run of the mill but I still liked it. It is a clean romance with a satisfying ending.
  The star of this book for me is Orelia our heroine. Darius (our hero) wasn't that bad either but he was more on the sidelines as we see the story unfolding through Orelia's eyes.
  
  Orelia was fairly well developed character. I loved her simplicity, honesty, warm and caring nature. She held on to her values and principles without coming off as stuck-up or prudish. I really liked how she handled the different circumstances that she was thrown into.
  
  Also this is not a love at first sight but Darius falls in love with Orelia over the course of time after getting to know her sweet nature better.
  
  The only pitfall in this story was Caroline (Orelia's cousin). She is soo over the top selfish that it is hard to believe that someone like Orelia would toe along with Caroline's mad schemes.
  The ending was a bit out of the blue in order to give Orelia a happy ending with Darius.
  
  But apart from the above mention gripe, this was a delightful read.
• 
  Nameeta

  I remembered reading Barbara Cartland when I was in high school and was suddenly feeling nostalgic. I picked up The Wicked Marquis as it seemed to be one of her most popular books. I did not remember reading this one but after a few pages I realized that this was going to be a re-read.
  
  I loved the whole idea of bumping into someone randomly who you then meet again and fall in love with and live happily ever after. Of course only after over coming some obstacles because obviously their love needs to be tested. The story is told entirely from Orelia's point of view and I wish the author had also written from the point of view of the hero, Darius as well.
  
  Darius's male chauvinistic attitude irritated me. Plus Orelia seems to have an asthma attack when ever he seems to be around. She keeps getting breathless which got on my nerves. Plus some of the prose had me rolling my eyes:
  
  It was her secret. It was deep within her heart, and, loving him, she must not in any way spoil that love by making it anything less than the spiritual ecstasy it was at this moment.
  
  This book was published in 1973 so there's a lot of longing from the heroine, a couple of stolen kisses and no sex!!
  
  The story is simple and light to read. So overall this was a 2.5 star read for me.
  
• 
  Graziella

  Oh Boy could Barbara serve up the totally innocent thrills and chills of light Regency romance. I read a pile of them when I was in 7th & 8th grades and loved them all. Until recently I wouldn't have acknowledged even glancing at the covers without disdain or irony but now...well hell, I thank them for recalling to me innocent days when romantic love was a simple concept that followed a reliable script, full of mild mystery and sweet promise...so now I welcome the Dangerous Dukes and Lovelorn Ladies to my Goodreads shelf (all represented by this one title lest the shelf collapse: to the delight of her fans the outlandishly frilly author wrote hundreds (?) of these stories). Barbara, in my mind you have a special overstuffed shocking pink cloud in the afterlife, ostrich-feathered robe discretely drawn around your buffed and pouffed visage...many thanks for the memories.
• 
  Georgina

  Having seen the film adaptations of four of Barbara Cartland's books, I found myself excitedly looking forward to reading The Wicked Marquis. The films convey a glimpse of the past, the rapture of romance and an ample helping of melodrama, which I found to be a refreshing and enjoyable indulgence. The Wicked Marquis contains all of these things.
  
  From the first page, I was quickly pulled into the scenes Cartland created and found myself swept up by the narrative. I found the heroine endearing and relatable, which was a pleasant surprise.
  
  Her manner of speaking, breathy, stumbling over her words and the excessive use of ellipsis, could have ruined the relationship between heroine and reader, for me, but Cartland balanced this well. Her character was consistent in her mannerisms but also drew the reader in with her impassioned speeches on injustice, rising to the occasion with determination and feeling.
  
  The plot was predictable in places and at times shared common plot twists to the films I have seen, based on her other works. For me however this did not detract from my enjoyment, on the contrary, I found myself intrigued as to how these characters would react, in similar circumstances to those I had seen portrayed on screen.
  
  There are moments that may make a modern reader stop and think, “This is ridiculous!” and they would be perfectly justified in doing so. The same thought crossed my mind on occasion, but for me this endeared the book to me all the more! If you prefer to dissect, analyse and de-construct plot points, or are easily irritated by absurd coincidence and events of a melodramatic nature then this is not the book for you. If, however, you are like me and are looking for a story that will suspend reality and send you into a world of romance and melodrama, then you need look no further than Barbara Cartland. I would recommend this book to all romantics who are looking for an entertaining and immersive read.
• 
  Debbie DiFiore

  He is engaged to her cousin but he loves the h. She is honorable but the cousin is a slut. Big time and get he was still going to marry her. There is an evil om trying to kidnap her too. The hero saves her of course. On the day of the wedding, the cousins first love shows up to rescue her, drama ensues and the heroine runs away. It was just okay. I don't get why he even asked Carl to marry him. Just stupid.
• 
  Susy

  Pretty typical Cartland, tiny blond heroine, misunderstood wicked hero in need of redemption. Heroine in this case is intelligent and fiery and the Marquis is honorable. Cartland sells the romance even if the book comes across as another romance off the assembly line. The deus ex machina ending I foresaw about 20 pages into the book.
  
  Non-taxing, enjoyable little romance full of faith, honor, social justice and other noble principles which are left out of published romances these days. To that end, it reminded me of the patriotic, and earnest novels of American Emilie Loring.
• 
  Reggie

  3.5 estrellas
• 
  LaFleurBleue

  Orelia has more personality and intelligence than the average Barbara Cartland heroin. I managed to believe in the rake hero redemption and I liked both of them sense of honor. The heroine's cousin Caroline didn't deserve love or even respect from any of them ; by the way her behaviour is extremely explicit and far from asexual.
  Very enjoyable read in the genre.
• 
  Nadia

  This was so not my cup of tea. If not for the long-gone first lover of Caroline hero would marry her and the heroine would be left alone with a broken heart and she was ok with that. They didn't fight for their love so I think they didn't deserved that HEA ending. The whole story was too long, too messy and too confusing.
• 
  Mimi

  i sooooooooo love barbara cartland ! i read many of her books! i can't decide which one is my favorite ! but this book was very impressive . :) it's so interesting all way through ! i didnt get bored at all !
  took me sometime to finish 'cause i was reading some other book at the same time
• 
  Sathish Subramaniam

  A very nice love story. To remember the most is that it was published in 1977 and now i have read it in 2014, no wonder there is no such girl like Orelia now a days. As said in the story Orelia is a perfect combination and the best package a man can get to fall in love.
  The story would be more interesting for those who are in love, those ppl can get that love feel better ( For those who are single like me is doubtful whether u could feel it that much). My first book of Barbara Cartland, no doubt she is the Queen of Romance...
  This story about poor orelia who has no one in the world except for her cousin caroline, who is been engaged to marquis. After finding her cousin not so interested with marquis, and marquis interested in her and her love to marquis.
  Finally what happened is a usual happy ending which favored all the characters of the story and of-course orelia weds marquis.
  Normal love story with a great feel of satisfaction.
  
• 
  Roub

  very sweet one! Darius was a darling where Orelia was concerned ! she was a sweet and timid non entity. Darius fell for her neway bcoz of her honesty and simplicity. she's not the young and vivacious heroine i usually go for but she was incredibly nice.
• 
  Annegirl

  Ha ha, can't believe I read any her books. Fluff and more fluff.
• 
  KC Love

  Enchanting!
• 
  Pal (the ott alpha love)

  Awesone awesome awesome....did I tell you..It was an awesome read..
  Among my all time favorite reads..
  Just can't help it
• 
  whylime

  Well, this was fun, I guess.
  
  The Wicked Marquis has a rather “scandalous” description, but the story really is a typical formula. It’s even more flavorless than vanilla but you know what, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. I liked being able to turn my brain off for a little while and sink into Cartland’s romanticized past.
  
  The writing does, however, leave something to be desired. She has, I think, only about three phrases she knows how to write and they get recycled over and over to an obvious degree. The prose is so lackluster with hardly any substance. Orelia… speaks…. in fluent… ellipses… so she seems… perpetually… constipated… and our “wicked” marquis hardly lives up to his grandiose name.
  
  Not something I’d recommend, but it was fun while it lasted.
• 
  Karen-Leigh

  When lovely young Orelia Stanyon returned home from the George and Dragon Inn, she found she could not forget the dark, sardonic stranger who had rescued her from two drunken fops. He was a man whose sudden and passionate kiss had stirred Orelia's deepest desires.
  
  She was alone in the world. The only family she had was her cousin Caroline-a beautiful woman who lived a wild and impetuous existence. Hardly the proper guardian for Orelia.
  
  But then, one day, Caroline announced her engagement. She was to wed the Marquis of Ryde. Handsome and irresistible, he was one of the wealthiest men in Regency England. Perhaps now the family would be secure:
  
  But Orelia was in for a surprise when she met the Marquis. For she knew him as the dark, mysterious man who had secretly won her heart months before at the George and Dragon Inn . . .
• 
  KhanhK

  Very very very old style of telling story, indeed.
  I went thru this book for a little change from all the modern historical romances I've been reading. I must say I'd prefer the style in the old books of Mary Balogh than this one. Anyway, this book has served me all I asked from it: a change.
• 
  Elizabeth

  Do all of her heroines have asthma? What's with all the elipses and hyphens? Breathlessness to this extent is not a good indicator of robust health at all. Maybe they need to loosen their stays a bit.
• 
  Carla (viajentrelibros)

  Quiero a alguien como el apuesto Marqués Ryder para amarme y protegerme como él lo hace con Orelia, por favor y gracias.
• 
  Ananyaa

  Thrilling.
  
• 
  Janika Puolitaival

  Poimin kirjaston lahjoituskärrystä - en voi uskoa että näitä tuli aikoinaan ahmittua. Niin siirappista romantiikkaa että sokerihumala iski -hauskaa kyllä oli.
• 
  Golden Time

  I would have love this one if there's no annoying cousin named Caroline and duchess grandmama.... I want to curse them both almost the whole time I was reading the book.....
• 
  Heather

  I was talking about the most prolific authors with friends and we looked it up. Barbara Cartland has a Gunniess Book of World Records record for most novels written in a year (23!) Since I've never read a book by her, I added it to my list. Noting that I'm not a big fan of romances in the first place, this wasn't a good book, but it wasn't by any stretch the worst book either.
• 
  Genna Gutier

  Definitivamente una de las mejores historias de Barbara Cartland. Por fin muestra una pareja que hablan y se conocen antes de "enamorarse" realmente, y se siente así. No es un amor forzado. Los personajes secundarios también son interesantes y no están colocados por simple conveniencia de trama, como solía hacer en la mayoría de sus obras.
• 
  Fer Hernandez

  Este libro estuvo lleno de frases de "eres diferente a las otras chicas", se la pasaron hablando solamente de su hermosura, y es la típica damisela en apuros.
  Además, siento que ni desarrollaron bien el romance, pues de un día para otro ambos se dieron cuenta que estaban infinita y profundamente enamorados.
• 
  Audrey

  I thought it important to read something by the queen herself... Dame Barbara Cartland!
  
  I see why she was so prolific. Her easily digestible, swoony writing takes you back to a different time. Were there parts that didn't age so well? Sure. But I have to give Ms. Cartland some credit; her female leads are strong willed and stand up for what they believe in, given the time it was published.