Narrated by Will Thorne
This is the sixth book in Candace Camp’s Mad Morelands series, which originally comprised four books, but which has been expanded to include stories for the two youngest Moreland siblings, twins Alex and Con. His Wicked Charm opens not long after His Sinful Touch ended; I wasn’t overly impressed with the storyline of that book (my content grade was C+) which I found clichéd and somewhat clumsily executed. His Wicked Charm is an improvement, mostly due to the fact that Con is a more engaging character than Alex – Con is lively and funny where Alex was quite dour – but even so, the story meanders and lacks focus, and the paranormal elements are rather corny and melodramatic.
Constantine Moreland and Lilah Holcutt disliked each other from the moment they met. She thinks he’s too impulsive and not serious enough, and he thinks she’s too proper and bound by convention, but now Con’s brother has married Lilah’s best friend, they have to play nice. Needless to say, they are rarely successful; Con delights in needling Lilah by flirting with her outrageously, and most of their interactions end up as arguments. So, it amazes both of them to find that when the situation calls for it, they can actually set those differences aside and work together to achieve a desired outcome – in this case the rescue of Con’s mother and sisters, who are abducted off the street during a demonstration in support of female emancipation. Lilah insists on accompanying Con when he sets off in pursuit, but it turns out that the ladies are on the verge of rescuing themselves when the couple arrives (as detailed in the short story included at the end of the audiobook, Their Unexpected Adventure), but they still have to work out who kidnapped them and why.
Piecing together the various bits of information gleaned from his mother and sisters, Con comes to the conclusion that the Moreland ladies were not the kidnapper’s intended targets, and that they were actually after Sabrina, Alex’s new wife. This poses a lot more questions to which Con and Lilah are determined to find answers, and Con thinks they may be found at Carmoor, Sabrina’s family home in Somerset. But with Sabrina away on her honeymoon, Carmoor is closed up, so Lilah very reluctantly extends an invitation to her childhood home, Barrow House, which is nearby.
Lilah’s unwillingness to go to Barrow House is due to the fact that it’s the home of her very eccentric Aunt Vesta, a spiritualist and mystic who used to hold séances on behalf of Lilah’s father, who was desperate to contact his dead wife. After a séance-gone-wrong when she was twelve, Lilah was sent to live with her other aunt – the complete opposite of Vesta – who drummed into her the need for strict propriety and correct behaviour at all times. Lilah has been the very model of decorum ever since, and keeps herself under very strict control; and it’s this tightly restrained aspect of her that proves such an irresistible challenge to Con, who becomes determined to draw out the daring, passionate woman he is sure lies beneath her prim and proper exterior.
Con and Lilah are one of those classic antagonistic, opposites-attract couples, and there is definite chemistry between them, but Lilah really is a bit of an antidote for most of the book. It’s true that she’s hiding a pretty big (and pretty far-fetched) secret and is desperately trying to cling to the respectability and normalcy she craves, but she’s quite judgemental and difficult to like a lot of the time, making it difficult, sometimes, to understand what Con sees in her. That said, though, the romance is done reasonably well, although it’s a little hard to believe that buttoned-up Lilah would fall so readily into bed with Con. And then, of course, the author has to throw in a Big Mis born of miscommunication; and this is in addition to an already convoluted plotline concerning a shadowy brotherhood, blood oaths, a mystical goddess, a mysterious Sanctuary and other supernatural shenanigans. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy paranormal romances or stories with mystical elements, and I’m aware that there has been a paranormal element running throughout the series (all the “Mad Morelands” are gifted with supernatural talents) – but this is old-fashioned, not-at-all-subtle hokum that sometimes feels as though the author just threw her various ideas into the pot and didn’t cook them properly. She does, however, do a very good job of concealing the identity of the villain of the piece; it wasn’t until fairly late in the day that I realised who it must be (because of the absence of many other suspects).
Will Thorne’s narration is thoroughly accomplished, enjoyable and, as was the case with the previous book, strong enough to carry the weaker parts of the story. His interpretation of Con is perfect; there’s the glint of naughty humour and a lightness of tone in his voice which suits the character down to the ground, but there’s a strength and determination behind it all that clearly informs the listener that he’s more than a charming rogue. In the scenes in which the twins appear together, they are easy to tell apart, and Mr. Thorne does a very good job when it comes to differentiating between the large secondary cast; the entire Moreland clan makes cameo appearances, and somehow, he manages to give each of them – male and female – a different register, tone and timbre so as to create subtle differences between them. Characters, such as Sabrina and the Desmonds – whom we met in the previous book – are portrayed consistently across both titles, and as with Con and Alex, Mr. Thorne is able to imbue Lilah and Sabrina with sufficient different vocal characteristics as to enable the listener to easily distinguish between them. The one criticism I can make is that sometimes Lilah sounds rather breathy and her speech is often ‘whispery’, but that wasn’t a huge issue and the performance as a whole, is excellent.
I enjoyed His Wicked Charm more than I did His Sinful Touch, but I still can’t say that the story – which goes into completely bonkers territory near the end – is one I’d recommend without some serious caveats. Will Thorne’s narration carries the day, though, and if you’ve listened to him before, you’ll know that his performance alone is going to be worth the price of admission. Take this one with a big pinch of salt and listen to it when you’re in the mood for a bit of silliness.
Caz
Buy His Wicked Charm by Candace Camp on Amazon
