I loved this romance because it in many ways was unlike all others. Instead of our heroine being an innocent miss, she was a lovely widow who had loved her late husband. But she is given a second chance a love!
She is Francesca Bridgerton, the sixth of eight siblings. Her story is also the sixth book in Julia Quinn's series about the Bridgerton siblings. Francesca has always been a little bit different than her brothers and sisters. She is quieter, more reserved, but not necessarily shy either. She has a quite wit. She has chestnut hair like the rest of her family, but unlike them has fierce blue eyes.
He is Michael Sterling, an infamous rake of course, who has grown up with his cousin as if they were brothers. The only difference is that his cousin is an Earl. Michael has sleek black hair and astonishing silver eyes.
He was in love with one woman that could never be his...Francesca. He saw her a few hours before she was to marry his cousin, John Sterling, Earl of Kilmartin, and fell completely head of heels. He does not only lust after her, but truly enjoys her wit, humor, and He was forced to watch her and his cousin happily married, wishing her could have her. He never tells either of them how he feels because he feels so guilty it would betray John, his best friend and `brother.' Until one night while escorting Francesca on a walk, they return to the house to find tragedy. John has died and Michael is now the Earl of Kilmartin. He never wanted anything that John had except Francesca and now everything is his, excluding her. Francesca comes to him for support, but he can't face her. What is John to do? He flees to India!
He comes back four years later right when Francesca is deciding that it is time to look for a new husband. He is completely still in love with her and she knows nothing of it.
It takes quite a while to get to the good stuff at this point. But it seemed right that it took awhile. Francesca was happy with her late husband and doesn't want to betray his memory. Of course, neither does Michael. It would have seemed unnatural for them to not deal with their past. After they finally come to terms with everything that is between them, magic happens!
This book seemed a little deeper than the rest of Julia Quinn's books and even a little bit darker. There is humor. There is romance. But with unconventional twists! Since Francesca isn't a blushing miss, she can go and come as she pleases and is much more free. Since she was in love with her late husband, there are many emotions to get past to be able to even think of Michael.
I loved this book and would recommend it to any. Julia Quinn does an excellent job holding her own against her earlier books. Splendid and The Viscount Who Loved Me are quite possibly her best, but When He Was Wicked makes an excellent addition.

When He Was Wicked is the sixth book in the wonderful Bridgerton family series and again a winner.

Francesca Bridgerton, having lost her beloved husband John to a sudden and unexpected death, needs the emotional support of their longtime best friend, Michael Stirling. Little does she know that Michael has been madly in love with her since even before her marriage--and that the main focus of his life is to prevent her from discovering the truth of his feelings for her at all cost.

Julia Quinn has again fashioned a passionate, witty, and heart-winning novel of deep, true love. Here she excels beautifully at the difficult task of showing how "Frannie" and Michael develop an extraordinary love without and disrespect to the memory of John, a man whom they both deeply care for and respect.

As usual, Quinn takes the reader on a passionate, thrilling, and funny ride through the lives of two fully-developed characters who were clearly meant for each other. Their thoughts, emotions, struggles, and triumphs become the reader's own in this thoroughly enjoyable novel.

i was first given an inkling of the unhappy circumstance which befell francesca's marriage in 'to sir phillip, with love.' i always thought, based on ms quinn's previous books on the bridgerton brood, that francesca was a tad different from her female siblings, with a poised and dryly humourous air about her. but to hear of her tragedy was just something i did not expect.

it was apparent all througout the book that quinn wielded a different style of writing in that she was a little bit more serious (of course, the death of a loved one threw a pall over part of the story), and that she delved more deeply in the emotional anguish that michael had had to go through in his love for francesca.

also quite different was that, unlike the other bridgerton series, the infamous family was hardly in sight. except for a mention here and there of some of the siblings and the few encounters of michael with colin, the boisterous brood were, for once, masterfully kept in the sidelines, leaving francesca and michael on their own devices.

though michael was established as a consummate rake, one would hardly think it of him, since he has a deep sense of honor and decency. and it was always heart wrenching whenever he has to squash down the bitterness he feels in not being able to express his fierce love for francesca. i especially loved that part when he eventually had to brutally drive her away, claiming that his heart could not take any further battering if francesca could not find it in her own to feel any sort of emotion other than the fraternal for him. trust me, that scene will just want you to bawl like a baby...

and francesca...well...she was always the special one among her siblings, wasnt she? wise beyond her years, and so oblivious of her beauty and wit. but it was thrilling to see how she finally "sees" michael as an intensely attractive and desirable man. and michael can be quite ruthless in his seduction once he senses even the slightest inclination from francesca's direction. oh boy, get ready for the fireworks, and, quite probably, ms quinn at her most daring in her love scenes. this is her steamiest and most romantic novel as yet!

I thought this was a difficult book to read because of the heavy emotional aspect of the storyline. You have two gentlemen, cousins actually, in love with the same woman, Francesca who falls in love with and marries John, the Earl of Kilmartin and the older of the two cousins. Michael, the other cousin, suffers quietly from unrequited love and desire.

John and Michael are as close as brothers. Their fathers were twins and their close relationship fostered the relationship between their sons. As described in the Editorial Reviews, John dies early on in the story. Michael flees to India to escape his grief and his growing desire for Francesca. He, of course, returns to England four years later, plagued with malaria and still in love with Francesca.

The story drags on a bit because of the sensitive nature of the plot. Francesca and Michael are, of course, drawn to each other but guilt is a vast barrier that stands between them. Francesca is torn between her love for her dead husband and guilt over her attraction to Michael. Michael suffers for the same reasons but also because he is now the new Earl of Kilmartin.

Michael, however, handles their situation far better than Francesca. She drags her feet, and is indecisive, and her ambivalence really hurts Michael. Frankly, I agree with the other reviewers that Michael is a far more likable and sympathetic character than Francesca.

I recommend this book but with reservations. It's not an easy book to read, let alone finish.

Thsi book was pretty good. I enjoyed the story and characters. There wasn't much of Quinn's trademark humor in it, but is still worth reading.