review: a hint of wicked by jennifer haymore

What do you do when your presumed dead husband surprisingly returns from war? Likely you should not greet him while naked in his bed with another man; but alas, that is exactly the circumstance under which Garrett finds Sophie when he finally comes home. With nearly eight years having passed, Sophie has found new love with Garrett's best friend Tristan, who also lost his spouse. There’s a little more to this than the typical romance novel as there’s not only Sophie’s struggle with which husband to be with, but also a conspiracy against Garrett. It turns out that, unbeknownst to him, someone intentionally kept Garrett from his family and now wishes to tarnish his reputation. That conspiracy brings the triangle together, but Sophie still has to hurt one of the men.

I found the romance portion of A Hint of Wicked (and by the way, the title doesn’t really fit the plot) to be a bit lacking although I enjoyed the conspiracy plot. With the romance, I just didn’t get that Sophie really loved either man; she was pretty enthusiastic about the sex though! Another annoyance was that Miranda, the child Sophie was pregnant with when Garrett went to Waterloo, seemed a little old for her years. Although adorable when making demands of her newfound father, some of it was unrealistic. Not only was her language a bit advanced, Miranda also handled her father's incredible return with far more maturity than one would expect.
3/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Forever.