BOOK REVIEW- WICKED WYCKERLY by Patricia Rice

John Fitzhugh Wyckerly has been the spare heir all his life, supporting himself with gambling and charm. The news that he’s inherited the bankrupt title of Earl of Danecroft shatters his indolent world. Even penniless, he’s always paid his debts, but now the estate’s creditors are closing in. He can fake his death and run for cover, or accept overwhelming responsibility and find a rich wife, one who will also accept his illegitimate terror of a daughter.

On his way to find an heiress, he meets Abigail Merriweather, who is neither rich nor aristocratic, but she can tame The Terror and stomp cockroaches. Unfortunately, she needs a wealthy, powerful man who will fight her father’s executor and retrieve her four half-siblings. When an unexpected inheritance falls into Abby’s lap, she sets out for London to seek a lawyer. 

Can Fitz charm his practical Abby into trusting him to save her siblings when it’s doubtful that he can even save himself? And can Abby surrender reason and logic for the folly of love offered by a man who can have any woman he wants but insists he wants only her? AMAZON 4 STARS


Both of the main characters had a lot to deal with.  Both Fitzhugh (Fitz) and Abigail (Abby) have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, without very much money or power to deal with them.  
It was easy to become involved with each of their stories.
 Fitz might come from the Wicked Wyckerly line of people, but he finds he does want to do something different than his predecessors.  But the debt is stacked so high, he's not sure what he can do. He has spent much of his life winning at cards but there is no way he can see to use that skill to overcome those kind of bills.  And the creditors are chasing him, literally.  Not only that but he is now responsible for his wild-cat illegitimate daughter.  Oh course he was the one who "rescued" her but he is so over his head even on this one.  
His daughter, Penelope (Penny) was a hoot wherever she appeared in the story.  She was only six years old but no one had really loved her or cared about her before.  No wonder she ran wild and had a mouth like a sailor.  Fitz soon found that she also had the Wyckerly personality of doing the opposite of whatever she was ordered to do.  But he only caught onto that after seeing Abby work her magic with Penny.  It also made me smile when Fitz thought about how proud he was that he hadn't begot any squeamish, insipid miss but a warrior child.  Abby had learned a lot from her years of helping with children especially her beloved half brothers and sisters.  

Abby is fighting mad trying to recover her half-brothers and sisters.  The only reason she "lost" them was because she was a woman and the executor of her parent's estate saw that as the reason to remove them.  She hasn't lost hope but things aren't looking good either.  

I liked how Fitz saw Abby as he got to know her more. Yes, he was attracted to her but he also admired so many of her qualities.  He saw her as having the appearance of an angel with the fierceness of a lioness.  And once she made up her mind, she was like a little general who raced full speed ahead.  And she was fierce when it came to those she cared about.  

It looked like both needed to marry but not to each other.  Fitz needed a heiress with a lot of money and Abby needed someone with the power to help her get her family back.   Fitz is a charming man who is used to women falling easily at his feet but not Abby, she is way too practical for that.  A comedy of errors and chaos follows.  There are plenty of surprises, twists and turns in store as well as a well deserved but unusual H.E.A.