The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo was my first Kerrigan Byrne novel. The novel takes place in two different times. The first when we first meet "Ash" and Lorelei as young adults. Ash was gravely injured and left for dead. This caused him to loose his memory. Lorelei nursed him back to health and in the mean time falls in love with him. Due to unfortunate events, Lorelei is made to believe Ash's memory has returned and left her.

Twenty years later, Lorelei is taken on her wedding day after her fiancé and brother are killed. She comes to find out, the boy she knew as Ash has grown up to be the infamous pirate.

Ash and Lorelei's relationship is a test of wills. The man she thinks he is, is dead. Lorelei refuses to believe it. She knows he's in there still. The story had heart, action, found identities and betrayal. What I liked is that while there was a lot going on, it continued the story line and character development. A great first read and I'm going back to read "Dorian's" book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for this honest review.

4.25 Stars
Fourteen year old Lorelai notices a naked corpse at the side of the road, the corpse then moves. The young man is taken back to Southbourne where Lorelai nurses him back to health. They share a kiss & then he leaves for an interview to be an apprentice never to return.He took a piece of her heart with him. Now, after twenty years he’s returned. Like a phantom, he sweeps back into her life and avenges those who wronged her.
This is the sixth book in the series but is easily read on its own, however I’d start with book one as this series is so very good. I thoroughly enjoyed the book & read in under a day, the pace of the story is good & the characters well portrayed. I liked both Ash & Lorelai & found their teenage romance very endearing. I’m so glad that Ash has at last had his story There were twists & turns along the road to their HEA, I’d love to read Victoria’s story too. I know the title is out of the author’s hands but personally would have liked a simpler title maybe The Pirate

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo is the sixth book in author Kerrigan Byrne's Victorian Rebel series. She tells an interesting story and her characters are well developed. At times I got lost in all the descriptive passages which took away a little bit from the story. I will have to try reading some more of this author's works.

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne is a 2018 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Out of emotional and physical damage comes an epic love story which is both tender and very sensual.

In this unusual romance, Lorelei, a crippled girl at the mercy of her cruel brother, rescues a man left for dead on the side of the road, while in her early teens. Although many years have passed since she last saw him, Lorelei never forgot “Ash”, who had promised to come back for her.

But, as her brother gambles away his fortune, he arranges a marriage for Lorelei. However, before she has a chance to exchange vows, the infamous ‘Rook’ arrives and whisks her away. Lorelei instantly recognizes him as her beloved Ash, but the man she once knew is no longer visible. In his place is the formidable and terrifying man with a reputation as a thief and a killer.

“She was his prayer in the night. His song in the dark. His past and present. His future.”

Ash is buried deep inside the man known as ‘The Rook’. He’s a ruthless pirate, a man with a brutal past, but Lorelei is his one weakness and his only hope.

Lorelei is stunned by Ash’s appearance, the change in his countenance. She’s terrified of him, feeling as if she and her sister-in-law are being held captive. But, our noble heroine soon sees the traces of the boy she once nursed back to health. Ash is in there somewhere, she just has to find a way to convince him of that.

“To hate you must remember, you must dwell. You must hold it in your heart all the time and feed it.”

This is a fantastic second chance at love story! I love, love, love those flawed heroes!! Back in the heyday of historical romances, rough edged heroes with an aura of danger about them, men whose trustworthiness is in question, was common. As times changed those heroes fell out of favor, but with the Victorian Rebels they have made a comeback, but with a modernized twist. Byrne creates strong characters, giving them real adversity to overcome, with plenty of action and adventure.

This story is a stunning page tuner, highly engrossing and almost impossible to put down. It’s a moving story with some truly astounding twists that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The story has everything that made me fall in love with historical romance in the first place – a dark hero, pirates, intrigue, danger, sweeping romance, and redemption.

I thoroughly enjoyed this installment in the series and hope for many more like it in the future.
4.5 stars

Ash is a prisoner for years who is finally beaten to death, thrown into a mass grave with lye thrown on him. Lorelai is the daughter of a duke, riding along in a carriage when she sees a nude man, crawling in the mud. She insists they stop the carriage and, take the man back to the castle. She nurses him back to health, becoming his only light in the dark because, he has no memory of his former life. The two fall in love but, her brother takes him away to a meeting then, Ash disappears.
A man, known only as THE ROOK, returns 20 years later outside of Lorelai's wedding, kills her brother and fiance, then kidnaps her and her sister-in-law.
Lorelai realizes that The Rook is her Ash, only much harsher and, a cruel man,
This man has lived through hell for decades, only to remember the one woman he could never forget. This woman finds her love again, only to realize that, even though he has changed dramatically, he is still and, will always be her one true love..
I used to find historical romances boring and wimpy. This is not only the best I have read this year, it pulled me through every emotion in my heart! I felt like I was being yanked through the middle of a hurricane so, I held on for the ride!
If I could give this book a 10, I would!

An enjoyable historical romance with convincing characters and an interesting plot which moved along quickly.

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo (Victorian Rebels, #6) by Kerrigan Byrne This book is 6th in the series and can be read as a stand alone.... I give this 4 1/2 stars and thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for allowing me to preview this book. The Rook (Dorian/Ash) and Lorelai are both damaged he by years of mistreatment her by her hateful brother who broke her ankle..and it was never fixed. This story has danger, violence, love, caring, steamy sex and a HEA.. I hope maybe Veronica's book is next. I'm loving this series.

3.5-3.75 Stars
Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone (this one is the first novel by the author I've read). A historical pirate romance with a focus on second-chance love. The two MCs and their journey to overcome abusive pasts and their quests to find themselves and each other are central to the story arc. At some point, the plot does get a little blurry, but overall a quick and easy romance.

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This is the sixth book in the Victorian Rebels Series by Kerrigan Byrne. This book was remarkable in every way. An adventure that will have you mesmerized and unable to put it down. This exceptional story brought out so many emotions. I have read all six of the books in this series and every one of them was my favorite until I read the next one, this one is no exception.

Two people who are damaged physically and mentally are what makes this love story so poignant. The story starts out in Newgate prison where a young man is getting a tattoo from another prisoner. The tattoo plays an important part in the story. Before the tattoo was finished he was savagely beaten and thrown in a mass grave. With the last of his strength, he crawls out of the pile of dead bodies and passes out on the side of the road. He is rescued by a 14-year-old girl and nursed back to health in her home.

If you think that this sounds like the plot of other Historical Romance novels then you would be so wrong. There is so much more to this story then I could ever put down in a review. Kerrigan's characters are complicated, sophisticated and fearless in the face of overwhelming peril and incapacitating emotional and physical pain.

Lorelei is a timid girl who has been abused by her sadistic older brother, He broke her ankle when she was six and it never healed properly so she walks awkwardly with a limp. She has learned to avoid him. He torments her mercilessly and her father can't protect her because her brother has beaten him too. She insists on taking care of the young man they found on the side of the road. When he finally wakes up he does not know who he is. She names him Ash. As she nurses him back to health a bond grows between them. Two unlikely allies in a world full of obstacles that will test their determination and courage. Taking care of Ash has brought Lorelei alive and now has someone in this world to love. He understands her like no one else and can now look forward to a future for the first time in her life. When Ash plans to go to town with her brother to see about work Lorelei begs him not to go. She is afraid he will never come back. He doesn't return and Lorelei is devastated when her brother tells her that he remembered who he was and went home to his family. Her life is shattered once again and has nothing to look forward to.

Their life experiences are what makes these characters so compelling. What happens to Ash is so unimaginable. The malevolence and evil are so vicious it makes him into a man that is merciless and violent. When he returns 20 years later he is an unfeeling brute and Lorelei is frightened by him and doesn't understand what happened to him. He is now called The Rook, an infamous pirate who is the most wanted criminal in the world. The only thing that has kept him going was he knew one day he would return for Lorelei. She is his obsession and will do whatever he takes to make her his. What shines through the violence and betrayal is the love story of two people that have survived and conquered obstacles that anyone else would have run from.

That is all of the plot that I will give in my review. You have to read this extraordinary story. Kerrigan's talent is now undisputed in the Historical Romance Genre. The rollercoaster of the emotions that I experienced makes this book a keeper. It's like a good movie that you can watch again and again and find something that you missed the last time you saw it.

I really, really recommend this book and series.

I never knew I needed this series in my life until I finished the last words of The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo. Sure, we've seen snippets of The Rook but this was more. Kerrigan Byrne is master for writing this series. It's dark, it's edgy but it's also about love, redemption and everything else. I loved this book!

WOW! I devoured this book in less than a day! It's so much swashbuckling fun! I couldn't stop reading about Ash and Lorelai's story, it was just the perfect amount of angst and action. I think this is one of the strongest titles in Byrne's series.

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo (Victorian Rebels, #6)
by Kerrigan Byrne
This was a difficult one to review. While I totally was captivated by this story line, I do not think the title suits the actual story. Actually being a duke felt like it was an afterthought. That is the only reason for the down grade.

Now .....buy buy buy buy buy.... a super story line that gave me emotional times as I was reading. I can only say this was a good read. From start to finish your caught and you just keep drowning in a wonderful world of adventure and romance in this historical. While I do not think the title suits the actual story, I will say this was a super good read and one I will enjoy rereading. From her characters to the way she creates a new world for her readers this is a book to have. I was given this arc via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

OK for starters, I have no idea what to call the hero, so I'm calling him Rook for now. (You will understand when you read the book...) I loved both the main characters, who are both so deeply damaged but also both SO STRONG in their own unique ways. Lorelei's ankle was broken as a child and never healed correctly so she is crippled, both in body and in spirit by her abusive (horrible!) brother. Despite how wounded she is, both in body and in spirit, Lorelei is a giver and a caretaker and helps to heal up all the broken creatures she finds - even if those creatures are very big teenage boys. Rook is interesting on a whole other, darker level, and he's also been wounded in body and in spirit. Their journey is so heart-breaking and painful and also lovely and I cried through a lot of this book, but also laughed a fair amount too.

This book is a lot closer to an old-school bodice ripper than most of what I read, but I still really enjoyed it. It's also higher angst than I usually enjoy (I tend to go for lighter, fluffier reads with a romantic comedy feel), but it's so well written and the characters are so multi-dimensional that I really enjoyed it.

This is the sixth book in the Victorian Rebels series, but can be read as a stand alone. I assume there are some spoilers for at least one earlier book in the series, as they meet the couple from the first book, The Highwayman, and go into their story a bit. I'm still looking forward to reading the earlier books in the series (this was my first Kerrigan Byrne!) and don't feel like this spoiled them for me, and I also was not left feeling lost having not read the earlier books.

The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo had an epic and unforgettable romance that went years never having had its time to then bursting from the pages upon its return. Byrne’s skilled writing fostered a profound tension—one that was as emotionally expressive as it was sexually enticing—that exuded from both characters and the plot itself to create a fast-paced and provocative story. And the surprises along the way—twists and turns from every direction—only heightened the turmoil circling our two star-crossed lovers, making this a story not to miss.

The depth and complexity of Lorelai and The Rook—along with their scars, both shared and personal—were essential to capturing the pieces needed to tell a love story that spanned across two decades. Byrne wonderfully displayed a young love that was deep and sincere and then proceeded to painfully draw them apart. The result was a magnified attraction mired with misery and loss. The stoic and tempered Lorelai had this well of hope and goodness to her even with the hurdles and struggles of her life, and I adored her undying fortitude. She was just good and able and full of heart. Meanwhile The Rook was this mystifying now-pirate that was as puzzling before as he was after, but he was a sponge for the goodness that was Lorelai. Every moment they spent in the presence of one another was exquisitely poignant, and for a love story with such unfortunate circumstances, the powerful quality to their connection never once abated, and I fell so very hard for it.

Even without reading any of the prior books in the series, I never found myself lost or missing any crucial pieces, and it certainly didn’t detract from the upheaval I felt experiencing their shared journey back to each other. After struggling for weeks to capture my thoughts, I still don’t feel like I’ve been able to express the beauty that is The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo, nor that of its adept storytelling, but I can say this: Historical Romance fan or not, this love story is a must-read for its brilliant writing and weighty second-chance romance.

I've read and enjoyed all of Kerrigan Byrne's novels - and the Duke with the Dragon Tattoo was the latest in an excellent series. The Rook was introduced (or alluded to) in previous stories and I've been looking forward to his story. While this book wasn't by absolute favorite in the series (The Highwayman), it was a really good read.

The story of Lorelai and Ash (also known as the Rook) is one of two people who have gone through a lot of hardship - they meet when they are young and are torn apart, but find their way back to each other. At the beginning of the story, a young Lorelai lives with her abusive brother and weak father. One night they come across the body of a young man (Ash) and take him home. Lorelai cares for him and, during that time, they fall in love. They are separated and spend years apart. During that time, Ash goes through a series of hardships and eventually becomes a pirate known as the Rook. Years later, they reunite and fall in love (while going through a series of adventures of course). Ash's character is a little more fully fleshed out than Lorelai's. A lot of her character traits seem more tied to things that have happened to her, rather than things she does. That said, she was a lovely person overall. The author does a wonderful job of pulling the reader in emotionally right away, but things get most interesting when the couple is reunited. Each character has gone through a lot - and changed a lot - during their time apart and I love that it's not just simple for them to pick up where they left off. The author does a great job of showing how they have to meet each other where they are as adults and fall in love all over again.

While it's not strictly necessary, I do recommend reading all of the books in the Victorian Rebels series in order - several characters appear in multiple books and some of the storylines are pretty strongly connected to each other. It seems like the next book in this series will be about two characters who are introduced in this novel, but I personally can't wait for Inspector Morely's book!

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When life doesn't seem to be going my way I can always cheer myself up with a good romance novel (especially if it has pirates). This book came along at the perfect time for me.

This book follows Lorelai and Ash (Ash is called a few names throughout the book but I am choosing to call him Ash because just like Lorelai I don't like calling him the Rook). Lorelei finds Ash when he is close to death and unable to remember anything from his past. She nurses him back to health. After a long time of not seeing each other they are reunited but Ash doesn't seem to be the man that Lorelai once knew.

While I did like both of the main characters I have to say that I liked them better when they reunited then when they first met. Young Lorelai actually annoyed me a bit. They definitely were more interesting after they had grown and their chemistry became amazing.

While I liked the action towards the end I was hoping that the character that turned out the villain at the end would have had a different storyline. But at least I enjoyed how the other characters ended up. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.

I loved The Duke with the Dragon Tatoo and couldn't put it down!

The story is romantic and suspenseful, and has a great cast of characters. I loved Lorelei and Ash when they were young and really wanted Lorelei's brother Mortimer to get what he deserved. Unfortunately, Mortimer got to Ash before he had a chance to teach him a lesson and it was many years before Ash and Lorelei were reunited. His last words to her were "There are only two indisputable facts in this world: The sun will set in the west, and I'll come for you. Always."

Ash does come back but now he's an infamous pirate called The Rook. He is a notorious killer who has traveled around the world. The one thing that kept him going was Lorelei, for she was his heart and light, even though he didn't believe he had a heart any longer.

Since I started with the 6th book in the series, I'm definitely going to read the other books in the series and was excited to see that book 1 is about Dorian and Farah. I'm also curious to see what comes next and who Veronica marries.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Why on earth was this the first book by Kerrigan Byrne that I have ever read? What is wrong with me? If her other books are half as fun as this one I need to rectify that immediately. We are talking amnesia, pirates, kidnapping, and kittens all in one book. This book was really crazy and fun with a very sweet central romance. Pure escapism and I need more.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC via Netgalley by St. Martin's for an honest review.

Alright. I take issue with the 20 years between meeting. While I appreciate at "late-bloomer" first marriage at the 30s, it just didn't seem plausible. Also, 20 years the heroine was abused by the older brother glossed over in a few paragraphs didn't seem right.

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne

This historical romance revolves around sweet Lorelai and Ash, the poor unfortunate lad who is found beaten on the roadside, who she nurses back to health.

While the premise was intriguing the structure of the novel was confusing. After a long prologue the novel is divided into two sections, past and then 20 years in the future. While the past section is only four chapters long (it seemed longer) it is very important in setting up the remainder of the story. The characters early interactions are sweet but the themes of abuse are not.

When we jump into the future our returning hero is anything but heroic. While his rough life and damaged memory account for his altered personality, he is a truly awful and unlikable character. His motivations were thin at best and when he threatened to rape the heroine, I very nearly decided not to finish. I pressed on and things improved somewhat but I had a hard time understanding how feelings between the H/h could grow in such circumstances.

The silliness of the story combined with the references to other characters made me feel like I was missing vital details – another earlier novel perhaps— and contributed to a less than enjoyable read.

This one is probably for fans of the author and this series. 2 Stars.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.