A Dark and Stormy Knight by Kerrigan Byrne

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The final full length book of Kerrigan Byrne's Victorian Rebels series is A Dark and Stormy Knight. As I mentioned in my wrap-up for the read-a-long, this was also re-name and re-released as Seducing a Stranger and is also the first book in her Goode Girls Series.

To round out the series, our Chief Inspector Carlton Morley, a.k.a. Cutter finally gets his HEA. As he is doing his nightly vigilante investigations, he runs into Prudence at an outdoor brothel. She is there several months before her wedding to lose her innocence since she's overheard her sister and friend (as well as most everyone else) talking about how many bastards he has and that he loves the ladies. Prudence and Morley end up staying together and he disappears before either of them can even give their names. They're brought back together on Prudence's wedding day when he walks in to her holding the knife that killed her fiancé. So begins the quick but crazy roller coaster that is their story.

I loved how Morley was so excited to be a father and was secretly working on a nursery. I also loved how drawn together they both were. Now I know that they both had their issues, but what I didn't like is how long he still did not trust Prudence and kept hurting her. It really hurt my heart how lonely she was and that he didn't notice it. The book also felt shorter and more rushed than the others. I guess looking at page counts, it is about 100 pages shorter than the others. I haven't looked too much into what sisters are going to get HEAs in the spin-off, but I do hope that Honoria gets one. Her horrible husband ends up dying in this and I really want her to find her own Knight.

Overall this was a fun intermediary book that takes us from the Victorian Rebels into the Goode Girls. While I wanted more from this and wasn't completely sold on Morley's emotions throughout most of this, it was still good. I feel like with Kerrigan Byrne, even if you aren't into the trope or plot of the story, the way she writes is still so engaging. I'll definitely keep reading her books, and as I mentioned in my wrap-up I'll probably pick up her Devil You Know series next.

Have you read A Dark and Stormy Knight?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Dark and Stormy Knight, Kerrigan Byrne, 4-stars, 2 days, eBook, 252 pages, published in 2020

Romance Book Squad - Victorian Rebels Wrap-Up

As we have reached March, we are finally at the end of the Victorian Rebels read-a-long hosted by the Romance Book Squad. If you haven't seen my pervious reviews of these books, Romance Book Squad is comprised of Alecia, Natasha, Krystal and Kerry and they hosted weekly lives on Saturdays for each book (as well as other random lives for fun). 

I'm excited that participating in this club gave me the excuse to start this series, which is one of Kerrigan Byrne's most hyped series. I'll list links to the reviews below as they are posted, but as you know from them I had a rocky start with the series. The first book just was overhyped for me and didn't quite do what I was expecting it to both story wise and in reading experience. 

Overall this series ends up with a 4.42 rating not including the novella (which I haven't gotten to yet). What's fun is the 7th book was also retitled to be the first book in the Goode Girls series. I'll definitely continue reading Kerrigan Byrne and getting through her backlist. While I am looking forward to the Goode Girls series, I think next I want to get to her newer Devil You Know series. The third book comes out tomorrow (March 9th, 2021) and this series intrigues me a lot more. Plus I absolutely love (as you can see from my ratings) the way that Kerrigan writes her Scottish heroes. As much as I love the covers for Victorian Rebels, the Devil You Know covers just do it for me. They are sooooo pretty and I'm tempted to buy them in paperback before I read them just to have the prettiness on my shelves. (Yay! Consumerism! Also Yay! Pretty books!) 

1. The Highwayman 🍎🍎🍎🍎

2. The Hunter 🍎🍎🍎🍎

3. The Highlander 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

4. The Duke 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

5. The Scot Beds His Wife 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

6. The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo 🍎🍎🍎🍎

7. A Dark and Stormy Knight 🍎🍎🍎🍎

The next read-a-long will be Pam Godwin's Sea of Ruin and intro novella during March. They'll also being interviewing Pam later in the month! I'm not sure I'll participate since I'm torn on if I want to read Sea of Ruin or not, but I definitely enjoy the personalities of all our hosts and love lurking in the discord and watching the lives. If you'd like to join, check out the hosts above! I believe they all have a link to the discord in their profiles.

Did you participate in the Victorian Rebels read-a-long? If so, how did you like the series?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne

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 The 6th book in the Victorian Rebels read-a-long is The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne. As mentioned before, The Romance Book Squad is hosting this read-a-long and is comprised of Alecia, Natasha, Krystal and Kerry.

I was very excited to read The Rook's book and though it was good, just not as good as the previous few books. I didn't see it coming before this, but a little bit in I did get the hints that the Rook is actually the true Dorian (that's believed to been dead since book 1). I liked Lorelai too, especially her propensity to heal and take care of the wounded creatures she came across, including Rook.

One thing about this that I really enjoyed was how much little angst was sprouted from their separation 20 years prior. I was almost expecting it to be a huge issue and cause undue miscommunication. While it did take a bit for them to get to that conversation, once it was had they didn't dwell on it and moved on. I can't quite say why this book didn't quite hit 5-stars for me. I just felt like something was missing. I still really enjoyed this book. I also liked that we got a little bit of light on Inspector Morley's connection to our band of criminals and his background. His book is next. The epilogue (and throughout the book) also eludes to a romance between Sebastian and Victoria. It has been announced that book 8 will be his, so that's exciting. No release date yet though or confirmation that Victoria is his pair. Although there is a novella before his as well.

Have you read The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo, Kerrigan Byrne, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 333 pages, Published 2018

The Scot Beds His Wife by Kerrigan Byrne

 

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Book 5 in the Victorian Rebels series is The Scot Beds His Wife by Kerrigan Byrne. As I'm sure you know if you've read my other reviews of this series, I am reading these as a read-a-long by Romance Book Squad hosted by Alecia, Natasha, Krystal and Kerry. 

After immensely enjoying The Highlander, I was very excited to get back to Scotland and get the HEA for his brother Gavin. This book starts out on a train robbery in America and doesn't let up from there. I love tropes like this where it's secret identity and they try to stay away from each other, but just can't help being drawn together. I loved Sam (masquerading as Alison) and thoroughly enjoyed her schooling all the highlanders she was surrounded by what's actually need to run a successful cattle business. She was also a great sharpshooter and loved that her pistols were Antony and Julius. Gavin was the charming Scot as expected and hiding a heart of gold. I loved that Sam realized almost instantly that his issue wasn't that he didn't feel, but felt too deeply. 

The villain felt so appropriate and not too much. I did wish that even though there was the big secret that she wasn't actually Alison, that he still didn't force her to leave without listening to her. I did understand it though and found myself tearing up when she was on the train to the Netherlands. It just broke my heart that she finally found a place she felt she belonged and a home, but was sent away from it. Overall I loved this book so much, and loved the sneaky plotlines about the infamous pirate Rook. His book is next and I can't wait to start it! I'm a little ahead with the read-a-long, but I figured I'd try to finish them before I got too sucked into fantasy romance for FaRoFeb.

Have you read The Scot Beds His Wife?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Scot Beds His Wife, Kerrigan Byrne, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 394 pages, Published 2017

The Duke by Kerrigan Byrne

 

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After finishing The Highlander, I couldn't help but jump right into The Duke by Kerrigan Byrne. I am reading her Victorian Rebels series as a read-a-long with the Romance Book Squad, hosted by  Alecia, Natasha, Krystal and Kerry. 

Another 5-stars! After absolutely loving The Highlander, I couldn't help but immediately jump into The Duke. Book 4 centers around Cole, the not-so-secret spy and Duke of Trenwyth and his former lover and nurse Imogen. Going into this book Cole was teased a little, but the reader still didn't know too much about him. When on Goodreads to mark it as "currently reading," I did glance at the reviews. I just skimmed the first couple that were featured, at I was nervous going into this book due to the reviews mentioning horrible things he said to Imogen. I was expecting bad (because this is Kerrigan Byrne and she's not afraid to go dark), but it didn't really seem that bad to me. There's only one part really where he seemed abnormally mean, but at the same time he was also coming out of septicemia and surgery to help his wrist where he lost his left hand. Plus, he was at the point in his recovery from being a pow and tortured, that he almost wished he wasn't alive, and so took it out on the nurse that diagnosed him correctly and saved his life.

He was also snarky with her at the charity dinner, but so were other members of the high nobility that were there so it didn't seem that bad to me. Just stereotypical duke haughtiness. Anyways, I loved this book. Read it in one sitting and really enjoyed how it played on my emotions when he just didn't recognize her! The only thing I could've done without, was the dead kitten. Just, no. Also, I was surprised with whom the villain ended up being. After finishing The Duke and seeing we were headed back to Scotland for The Scot Beds His Wife, I immediately jumped in. I have to say, I now understand the hype around this series. I just wish it would've been a little more hyped that it's the later books that really up the ante. Or maybe it's just me that loves these later books. *shrugs*

Have you read The Duke?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Duke, Kerrigan Byrne, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 377 pages, Published 2017

The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne

 

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The next book for the Romance Book Squad's Victorian Rebels read-a-long is The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne. This is book 3 in series, and we finally have a winner. Before we get into my review, the Romance Book Squad is hosted by Alecia, Natasha, Krystal and Kerry. 

This is what I was waiting for from Kerrigan Byrne. I absolutely adored this book and Mena and Liam. I was excited going into this book, even more since I've been in a highlander mood lately (Thank you Donna Fletcher). Liam is known as the Demon Highlander (from his efforts in the war) and Philomena is his new governess for his two teenagers. First off, this book starts dark (like most of the series so far), but this one really got to me more than the others. Philomena has been declared insane by her horrible, horrible husband and mother-in-law and is going through atrocities in an asylum. Thankfully she gets saved by our heroes from the first two books, but not without severe emotional damage being done. 

Philomena was such a strong character, but still managed to stay nice and have a fairly positive view of her life and the world despite the horrors she's been through. The meet-cute for them was so divine, I was grinning my ears off just knowing what was to come. Also, I love all of Liam's brogue throughout the book and he's just so swoony. If I make a book boyfriend list at the end of the year, Liam will definitely be on it. I really enjoyed the evolution of their relationship and how Mena was able to help repair the relationship Liam had with his kids and estranged brothers. I'm loving this rag-tag group of bad boys and their wives that's being built. I did see Liam's villain coming (it was pretty obvious to me who the creeper was), but am very happy to finally be on the 5-star Kerrigan Byrne train. I read this so quickly and immediately went into her next book, The Duke.

Have you read The Highlander?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Highlander, Kerrigan Byrne, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 358 pages, Published 2016

The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne

 

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For week 2 of the Kerrigan Byrne Victorian Rebels Series read along by the Romance Book Squad (hosted by  Alecia, Natasha, Krystal and Kerry), we had Book Two: The Hunter. This one was a hard one for me to settle on a rating for. I enjoyed it a lot more than The Highwayman. But as I mentioned in that review, it could be partly due to the hype not influencing my expectations near as much. I think if I were to go into quarter and half stars, The Highwayman would be more of a 3.75 stars and The Hunter would be 4.25 and both be rounded to 4-stars. 

I was way more drawn to Christopher as a hero, and liked that there wasn't really any obvious signs between the him and Millie that were ignored by the characters. Well, I guess there was, but the characters were aware that they were intentionally choosing to ignore it. I liked Millie as heroine and this has been a different kind of journey for me since I usually stick to the nobility or higher born characters when reading regency era historical romance. I felt for Christopher and his circumstances growing up and loved how Millie completely wrecked him from the first moment. I did kind of see the truth about Jakub coming, as well as her hidden innocence. 

The biggest problem I had with was the last 15ish percent of the book. I feel like we only really needed one attempt on Millie's life to bring Christopher to realize how much he needed to push past the fear of being with her. I felt like the two villians could've been condensed into one situation. I found myself saying, "Again? Didn't we just do this?" That really is what is holding me back from giving this 5-stars.

The next is Dougan's half-brother, the "Demon Highlander" and will also feature a side character from this book, Philomena. I can't wait to start The Highlander and this is the most excited I've been! I would've started it right after The Hunter if it wasn't already almost midnight when I finished.

Have you read The Hunter?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Hunter, Kerrigan Byrne, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 412 pages, Published 2016

The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne

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January 17th, 2021 marked the start of the Romance Book Squad's second read-a-long with Kerrigan Byrne's Victorian Rebels Series. The Book Squad is hosted by Alecia, Natasha, Krystal and Kerry. The first is The Highwayman. Kerrigan Byrne has been on my tbr for quite a while now, so I was excited to have the extra excuse to get to her books.

I loved the premise of this so much. Farah and Dougan found each other while children in a orphanage in Scotland, and come to find each other later in life. Now Dougan is Blackwell, a notorious criminal and lord. There were a lot of things I loved about this book, the main thing being Kerrigan's writing style. The way she described things and portrayed emotions throughout was really captivating. Going in, I knew that her books were a little bit darker for Historical Romance. However, I have heard so many people rave about her books. Think this is a 4-stars, mainly for that reason. I was expecting something to completely blow me away, but it didn't quite hit light I though it was going to. I think the hype just caused me to feel a little bit let down.

I still loved the book and the opening chapters (once we were in "present" day) we very gripping. I do have to say, I wanted more grovel from Blackwell. Also, his comfortability with being with Farah, both intimately and just platonically felt a little rushed. If he really was that triggered by being touched, it wouldn't take one bout of great sex and Farah being kidnapped (again) to make him okay with it. I don't know, it just felt like there could've been more emotionally between. I guess, not that I'm typing my thoughts out, I wanted there to be more conversation between them that wasn't baiting each other or kind-of arguing. Overall, I still enjoyed the books. It'll be interesting (for me) to see how I respond to other books after reading this one. Now the bar is kind of reset for the rest of the series. I'll probably re-read this later to see what my feelings are after getting through it, but I want to wait at least 6 months before doing so. 

Have you read The Highwayman?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Highwayman, Kerrigan Byrne, 4-stars, 3 days, eBook, 356 pages, Published 2015