I really enjoyed the FMC in this book (Felicity) and I also liked the MMC (Devil). I liked the premise - a bad boy and a woman scorned by society. I loved the moments when Felicity got to tell people off and/or dress them down. My main beef is two fold: I didn’t enjoy the complex revenge plot between Devil and his brother, and I thought Devil and Felicity broke up too much. Basically every time they moved their relationship forward, one of them tried to break it off. A third act breakup? Fine. But like… three of them starting at the 50% mark? Stress! Annoyance! Especially when they had a big bad they could have taken on together. The ending was great and I will definitely read more of this series.

This was a fantastic start to the Bareknuckle Bastards series. I loved the dynamic between Felicity and Devil - emotionally mature woman with a talent for both literal and metaphorical lockpicking eviscerates hot-but-emotionally-constipated Covent Garden smuggler. There are so many moments that stand out - the whispering bench (HOT), the rooftop (SIGH), the hold (SOB). I am grateful to have read this alongside friends, because I would have missed the nods to Rumpelstiltskin (I'm not familiar enough with that story to catch the allusions but love that MacLean has woven these in for savvier readers). If you love high stakes, deathbed confessions, class difference and romances that buck the aristocracy, Wicked and the Wallflower delivers.

all in all, one of my favorite Sarah MacLean books I've read, but there's a pretty profound betrayal between Devil and Felicity that I found it hard to forgive as easily. I do adore their dynamic (banter 8/10 best I've read since Book Lovers), and Felicity is a force to be reckoned with, but I wish more time was spent on the reconciliation.