Review: Interesting Twist on Premise
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 7, 2014
THE WICKED GIFT is a prequel novella for the Carhart series.  It is the story of William White who has had his eye on Lavinia Spencer for a year.  William is barely getting by and has no prospects for marriage because although he was raised as middle class, he had slipped down the social ladder.  When William discovers that Lavinia's brother is in debt, William spends his entire ten pounds to but her brother's note so that he can blackmail Lavinia into going to bed with him.  Lavinia is not about to allow William to control her.  I loved their relationship and how William and Lavinia grow and change and manage to find a better life together.  This prequel is not about aristocrats or gentry and this gives a different view than most historical.The version I have has additional supplemental content by the author.  There is nothing earth shattering here, but some of the material is very interesting especially about the dilemma that William faces.