Wicked - Jill Barnett
- Author: Jill Barnett
- Publisher: Pocket
- Year: 1999
- Setting: England
- Amazon Listing: Wicked
Book Description
Nobody writes a love story as unique and magical as "New York Times" bestselling author Jill Barnett. Now she sweeps us away to the pageantry of medieval England, where a strong-willed knight must fight the battle of his life to win a stubborn lady. Lady Soria Beatrice Rosalynde Anne Therese Howard has had as many suitors as she has names. But she's spurned every last one of them, to the dismay of her guardian, King Edward I. Now, even increasing her dower prize will not lure offers for the defiant, but lonely, Sofia, whose young heart was once broken by a too-arrogant knight. Sir Tobin de Clare is the man who broke her heart, and he must make amends for a careless act from the past. Nothing will stop this ruthless warrior from winning her hand. Nothing, that is, except Sofia's tattered pride and her demand that he also surrender his heart. In a rousing battle of will and wit that makes war seem peaceful, one powerfully determined knight and his spirited lady find that love at first sight is never, ever easy.
Amazon Review
Lady Sofia Howard is richly dowered and the ward of her powerful cousin, King Edward of England. Willful, independent, and full of mischief, she foils every attempt the king makes to betroth her to an acceptable nobleman. But at age 12, Sofia falls head over heels in love when she looks across a sea of people at a fair and into the eyes of a handsome knight, Sir Tobin de Clare. Over the next several years, Sofia and Tobin are thrown together on occasion; given Sofia's stubborn nature and Tobin's arrogance, it's not surprising that their acquaintance is stormy.
But no one could have predicted the fireworks that erupt when King Edward betroths Sofia to Tobin without her knowledge or consent. While there is no denying the passion that blazes between them, Sofia wonders if she'll ever really know the hard-edged knight. At the same time, Tobin struggles to come to terms with the depth of his feelings for his impossible wife. Each has emotional scars from their childhood and Sofia needs to know that she is loved by Tobin for herself alone and not for just her rich dower. And when fate intervenes with war, hostages, and duty to his king, the arrogant Tobin may make one wrong decision too many and lose Sofia forever.
