Name: When he was wicked
Rating: 3.940420560747663 (428 reviews)
ISBN: 0786270837

Barbara Cartland

When he was wicked

Julia Quinn

In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breath-taking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous bachelor, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton.

After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing.

Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer - the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin . . .

When He Was Wicked

Marcy Pursell 

Something about Francesca's story just spoke to me, and it's by far my favorite Bridgerton book so far.

Another great book in this series. It's great seeing all of the Bridgerton siblings find their true match. This one was really amazing too. I hated how long it finally took for Francesca to finally understand that they were meant for each other. I did really enjoy how they felt like John would have approved. Great book and cute story but it hasn't been my favorite in the series. 

Maggie Hotmer

In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breath-taking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous bachelor, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton. After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer - the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin.

Inspiration for the Netflix Original Series Bridgerton

this one was really interesting! i liked how the circumstances of francesca finding a husband is different from the rest of the books. the banter was fun as well. the plot development was good as well. the ended was so cute too!

Hannah Williams

Francesca G

Not bad just... Not really my cup of tea unfortunately

love but i did miss the rest of the family having cameos like in the other books

vinny<3

Perfectly smutty and cheesy. The best type of romance 

Macy M

Found myself losing interest from time to time. Didn’t love this Bridgerton sibling as much as the others. 

Julia LaRosa

In every life there is a turning point . . . A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton. A fter a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer—the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin. But that was then . . . Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love . . . until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets . . .

Molly Morgan

I really enjoyed this! The spice was really good and the build up was 10/10. Very drama. Very romance. Very good.

This was a really great book from beginning to end! Francesca and Michael's story was so cute and felt so genuine. Comparatively, this was one of my favs from this series. I think it has a great plot and characters. There is a shit ton of steamy scenes, just as an fyi.

Paige Leitner

Connor 

3.5. I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did--the summary seemed rather off-putting, and thus I dragged my feet in starting it--but it turned out to be much lovelier and better handled than I'd expected, and there was more space between John's death and Michael's appearance on the ~romantic scene~ which honestly made it about 5000x better and the relief alone makes it worth the extra star to the half.

But let's be real, we all know the real reason I bumped it to 4 for a 3.5 is because there was so much more Colin Bridgerton in it than expected, so.

Tate

Rating 4.5

Why I read this book:
Broken-hearted rake
Love after loss
This book inspired me to:
	Reflect on what it means to love after loss
Favorite Quote:
	“Thank you, Michael, for letting my son love her first”
Favorite Moment
(view spoiler)[ Violet and Francesca talk about why Violet had never remarried and the differences between her and Violet’s circumstances  (hide spoiler)]

Summary: Michael Stirling has been in love with Francesca Bridgerton since he first met her - at a party celebrating her engagement to his cousin. After Francesca is unexpectedly widowed two years into her marriage, can the two find love with each other after tragically losing the person that they both loved most? 

Review: Michael Stirling, known to the ton as the ‘merry rake’ would be more accurately described as ‘the broken-hearted rake’. His seemingly hopeless love for Francesca will surely endear him to any true romance reader. Francesca Bridgerton has not been prominently featured in her preceding sibling's stories. She is definitely the most independent and introverted of the Bridgertons. After the sudden death of her dear husband John, Francesca spends many years mourning ( and Michael spends many years traveling in India, running away from love, his grief, and his new status as Earl of Kilmore). When finally she makes the difficult decision to remarry, not for love but because she longs for children. This is when Francesca and Michael reunite. What is unique about this Bridgerton installment is that Francesca is not a virginal debutante but a widow! This really affects the sexual tension between Francesca and Michael, and the actual love scenes have a different dynamic. This story is definitely the most passionate of the Bridgertons, to say the least. Francesca and Michael’s love story is one of passion and longing, as well as grief. Moving past John’s ghost is difficult for both Francesca and Michael; they had the shared grief that in one way brought them together but also kept them apart because of the guilt of moving past John and finding each other. I loved Violet and Francesca’s connection in this book; they are both widows and are uniquely able to understand that experience. Francesca’s bond with the ‘mothers’ was another addition that I feel enhanced the story; the grieving mothers helped Francesca to move on. Michael was a wonderful love interest; certainly flawed but also devoted, romantic, and charming. I loved Francesca as a leading lady. She is quiet but content and confident with herself. I do feel that perhaps the conflict over the guilt of being together while John is gone was resolved quite suddenly after Michael’s talk with Colin, but the overall pacing of the story was nice though.

When he was wicked

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