'Lush, dark, utterly real and above all achingly romantic' RUTH WARE
In high society England, gossip and scandal are traded over afternoon tea and the country is awash with rumour.
In Lady Hester's opinion, it's just typical that the wickedest gossip of all focuses on her beautiful, impossible husband Crow. Damaged aristocrat, soldier, spy, Crow loves Hester fiercely, but he has a wild past and rumours of a child with his black hair and grey eyes wound Hester more deeply than she is willing to admit. And yet London blazes with a far more lethal whispering campaign that threatens the safety of their own little daughter, Morwenna. Crow's enemies want him tried for treason and soon Morwenna herself is in mortal danger. Hester may love Crow as much as he loves her, but now their baby's life is at risk. There's nothing she won't do to protect their child. So when clever, worldly-wise Countess Lieven drops her guard and says, 'Run... take your baby, Hester, and run,' Hester does exactly that.
Accused of high treason, Crow will do anything to save Hester and Morwenna, even if that means accepting a final mission that might just end in losing them both for good.
Praise for Katy Moran-
'Passionate, smart and action-packed... Stuffed full of heart-pumping romance' SARAH HUGHES, the Guardian
'A wonderfully thrilling, sweeping romantic historical adventure that keeps you gripped until the last page' ROWAN COLEMAN
'Badly behaved aristocrats, gloriously opinionated women and danger at every turn' iNews Best Books of 2019
Industry Reviews
'A thrilling, sexy romp through brilliantly reimagined history. Hester is one of my very favourite heroines and it's probably best not to ask what I'd like to do with Crow ... Totally absorbing' Holly Hepburn.
'Sweeping and romantic, with a hero to rival Ross Poldark, Wicked By Design is a fantastic and compelling novel that draws you in and paints a glorious alternative St Petersburg, keeping you hooked until the end' Imogen Edwards-Jones.
'A swashbuckling, sparkling world of a novel ... with a mad, bad and dangerous-to-know hero' Suzannah Dunn.
'A master of pace, plotting and action packed scenes' Rhian Ivory.
'It's pretty hard to pull off a good Georgette Heyer homage, but Moran makes it look easy with this addictive sequel set in a world where Napoleon has won the Battle of Waterloo' i newspaper.
'Excellent writing and characterization pushes it up several notches - with special mention for Hester: a fizzing-with-life, believable and resourceful heroine if ever there was one' Daily Mail.
'Badly behaved aristocrats, gloriously opinionated women and danger at every turn' i newspaper.
'Every feel-good list needs at least one Regency bodice-ripper and they don't come any better than Moran's second book, a wonderfully knowing take on the genre, stuffed full of deceit, desire and beautiful people behaving appallingly' i newspaper.
'I've always loved alternative histories, and Wicked by Design by Katy Moran is a luscious, swashbuckling gallop through a Cornwall reigned over by the Empress Josephine' Woman & Home.
