I love every book Kerrigan Byrne has written, but they aren’t for everyone. The heroes are always difficult, hard, violent men. None are simply rakes or rogues, but actual villains from her prior works, except the first, The Highwayman. I had read a marvelous review of that book, but delayed reading the book precisely because I’m not a fan of such extraordinarily difficult men. I was wrong, I have, overall, come to crave her men! When I see a new Book by her, I cannot wait to read it.
This book is the story of The Rook, a pirate wanted throughout the world , and he has come for our h, Lorelei, an over thirty spinster, crippled Lady, interfering in her we’ and kidnapping her and her sil, after murdering her evil brother. They have a history, as she assisted in his rescue after he was beaten and left for dead in a pit of corpses 20 years earlier. During his recovery they fell in Love , though he had no knowledge of who he was or what his past was.
The twenty years have taken its toll on his soul, and she fears him, though she still feels the younger man is somewhere inside him, despite his denial. The story is written beautifully, and the relationship develops sensually and as realistically as one of these stories can.
There is great passion, a bit of danger, and a lot to enjoy in this story. Plus, a hint of what the next story will be!
As I said, this may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it greatly. I received a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that the title was slightly misleading and only barely worked into the story line. The beginning was quite excellent and peaked my interest but somewhere after that I felt it jumped the tracks and did not live up to it's full potential. It was dark and heavy and slow going but finally reached it's ending.

I have rated this book 3 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

Kerrigan Byrne writes wonderfully complex books that leave the reader feeling every emotion – love, hate, sympathy, worry, anger, laughter, joy and wraps them all in a great read with a HEA.

Our hero was mistaken for another boy in prison, beaten and left for dead in a field. Lorelai noticed he was alive when her family carriage passed the field. They took him in and she cared for him as he got well. As he had no memory, she named him Ash. As they fall in love he hates her abusive brother, Mortimer, for his treatment of her, especially for causing her limp. Ash vows someday he will make him pay. When he is able, he finds a job, but her brother gets rid of him.

Twenty years later, Lorelai is being forced to marry an old man her brother owes money to. Her sister-in-law, Veronica, has also been badly treated by Mortimer. That is when Ash appears, and the story continues. No spoilers from me. This book is too good to ruin. I highly recommend it. It’s a keeper, as are all of Kerrigan’s books.

I absolutely adored the story!

Lorelei finds a man near death and nurses him back to health. During his recovery she falls in love with him. When he leaves, he promises to come back for her. 20 yrs later, he has kept his promise, but the man that returns is not the man that left 20 yrs ago. He is now, The Rook.

Having lost his memory all those years ago, The Rook, must struggle to survive. He has done some terrible things and knows that Lorelei is better off without him. He has been satisfied with just watching over her until she is to be forced into a marriage by her brother.

She finally has the man of her dreams back, but the man she remembers is no longer there. Can seh find her way back to the man she fell in love with all those year ago.

Byrne does it again with this book. I just couldn't put it down. This whole series has kept me riveted and this addition was no different. With such deep and dark characters, it's hard to not fall in love with them!! It looks like there is at least one more book in this series and I can't wait to read it!!

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. Action, adventure, and Romance. I will be adding more of this series to my tbr list. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed their story quite a bit.  The two characters reminded me a bit of the Pirate captain and his lady love in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Deadmen Walking (without the paranormal aspect).  He is a scary and powerful pirate king who is infamous and known to be cold and cruel.  She is a sweet and innocent woman who fears him at first but sees beneath the surface as the story progresses, though it does take a good portion of the book to see a softer side of him.  They met when she was 14 and he was 17 when she spots him lying in a mass grave badly beaten, lye burns on portions of his body, and almost dead.  She nurses him back to life and it is her voice that pulls him from the brink of death.  She has a very cruel older brother and once Ash is healed he tricks him and sells him into slavery on a ship.  It takes him 20 years to make his way back and by the time he does, Ash is dead and the Rook has taken his place.  He comes back to claim her as his, kill her brother, and kidnap her.  She is definitely distraught by his reappearance and the dramatic change.  Lorelei has always loved Ash and she can’t except his assertion that Ash is dead and gone, for he is the one she loves.  It takes her a good amount of time to come to terms with his harsher persona, but she refuses to give up on him and their love.  She sees glimpses, though very brief, of who he was 20 ago and she fights to keep a hold of him now that he is back in her life.  A great twist in the plot is the fact that because of the massive beating he took caused him to lose his memory, so he doesn’t know his past or who he really is.  Along the way, during their adventure in seeking treasure and a new relationship within the parameters he sets, they come across two men who knew him before the accident and they help him piece together his lost memories.  I really enjoyed the two main characters; they are strong, dynamic, and complex.  He jumps off the page and the reader truly feels for her in her struggle to earn his love, not just his claim that she is his.  It had a strong plot, diverse conflict, was an easy read, and was a great story.

4.5 stars - I so enjoy Kerrigan Byrne's writing! I love how this book is several down in the series, but stands well on its own. That being said, I now have to go back and read the previous books in this series that I missed.

If you love strong heroines who are fierce and forgiving, with great big hearts and strong heros who long and love and screwup and then fix things in grand fashion, look no further. The Rook and Lorelei’s love story is all you could ask for in an adventure romance. Rest assured, you’ve found a winner!

I received an ARC of this book, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a lyrically intense, dark, sensual tale with great characterization. This author is an artist with words, with an ability to pull at all of our senses. A great build of the romance between Ash and Lorelai, lots of “sizzle”, and a HEA. This is my first book by Kerrigan Byrne and look forward to many more.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

An intense moving read that will give your emotions a run for it's money! A non-stop bundle of intrigue, angst and page turning twists! Passion filled Sexy chemistry! An engaging must read!

THE DUKE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Kerrigan Byrne

Victorian Rebels


Historical Romance

England – 1858 and 1878

Lorelai Weatherstoke is the one who spots the body from the family carriage on the stormy night. Her older brother stops the driver and they bring the badly injured man to their home. Lorelai, as she has done for rescued animals all her young life, helps to nurse the young man back to health. She is, herself, crippled by a deliberate “accident” when her brother crushed her ankle. His cruelty and nasty behavior towards both his father and his sister are observed by the injured man as he recovers.

Unable to recall anything, even his name, Ash, as Lorelai calls him, struggles to regain his strength and show his appreciation to the fifteen year old “nurse” who has been by his side from the first. Ash sees first-hand the beastly behavior of her brother, Mortimer, and when he finally can leave the sick bed, is determined to help Lorelai. But Mortimer has other ideas.

Twenty years later, The Rook returns to wreak vengeance on those who hurt him and to rescue Lorelai. But the man that Lorelai knew no longer exists, at least he’s nothing like the gentle Ash. He is rough talking, angry, and dispatches those who made his life so difficult. Lorelai is unaware of what happened to him after Mortimer took Ash to a potential position in town all those years ago. Her brother told her that Ash suddenly regained his memory and returned to his roots. Now Lorelai must cope with the man who has kidnapped her and her sister-in-law, and try to understand what happened to the young man she loved.

The sixth book of the Victorian Rebels series, THE DUKE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is a heart wrenching tale of two people who survive despite the hardships that engulf them as young people. Lorelai lives with a weak father who lets his cruel son rule their lives with his fists and his verbal abuse. Ash has endured unbelievable hardship most of his life, and his escape from it all has turned him into a hard, distrustful man known throughout Great Britain as a pirate. Will the two ever be able to regain what they had as youngsters?

Jani Brooks

What a wonderful book! It tears at your heartstrings! Tragic hero finding his love after 20 years! Can she bring the light back into his life or has too much time passed? Very richly drawn characters- one feels their emotions. Bravo for Kerrigan Byrne!

Byrne is flawless as usual. I was only this shocked in a series once before. The history, how interwoven the characters are. Is just amazing. It was like seeing old friends. I was just upset Argent wasn't there. The Rook fell and he fell hard. It was really lovely to see him open to falling like that. Byrne is gifted and it didn't disappoint.

This is the second book I have read from this author. The story had a good story line …the characters were strong and believable. I loved the chemistry between Lorelai and Ash …you could feel the fire and passion between them. Overall, I would rate this book a solid 4 and would highly recommend is novel!

I would like to thank Ms Byrne, the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

I received this ARC via Netgalley in return for an honest review. The author writes very well; the characters are well defined; the hero and heroine deserve their HEA after a great deal of struggle (and 20 years time). I found the violence scenes and the lovemaking too graphic for me to find this a comfortable book to read. I definitely felt sorry for both the hero and the heroine and all they overcame but the various 'bad guys', like the heroine's horrible brother, were too much for me. If you want a story that is well written, detailed, with strong characters and strong scenarios, then you should like this book.

If you can totally suspend disbelief and don’t mind that horrible things happen to both characters, mostly offstage, and the hero is a terribly damaged person with no moral compass except for his feelings for the heroine then you may enjoy this book.

We’re supposed to believe that the hero (who doesn’t really have a name as much as a nickname, the Rook) has a terrible childhood as a street criminal in London, is arrested and becomes the kingpin in prison before the age of 18, is horribly beat up and left for dead, is rescued by the heroine (and her awful family), nursed back to health and falls in love with the heroine, then is sold into slavery for 15 years, mutinies and becomes a pirate and one of the richest men in the world on a freaking steamboat pirate ship, then kidnaps the heroine and forces her to marry him, is some sort of phony duke with an Italian title, and then has a HEA.

Yeah, I’m not buying it. Maybe if this were taking place in the 17th century, some of these plot lines would be believable, but not in the mid-19th century. I felt that the author was a bit too much entranced with her own idea of the hero than with making him an actually likeable character from the reader’s point of view. There’s also an unbelievable amount of coincidence and deus ex machina plot twists.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

I really enjoyed Lorelei and Ash's story. This book kept me reading every chance I got. It has everything a romance should have, action, adventure, passion and a great plot.

I have wanted to try one of Kerrigan Byrne’s books for a long time, and The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo did not disappoint (though I still think the title is hideous). The story was engaging, moving, and sexy. I am going to have to go back and start at the beginning of this series!

I have heard many readers rave about Kerrigan Bryne so I needed to see for myself what all the hype was about. I am both astonished and pleasantly surprised! This is one of the BEST historical romances I have ever read! Now I want to go back and read all of the previous books on the series. To say I was hooked on this would be an understatement! What an excellent and refreshing read!

I received an.advanced copy of the book from NetGalley. This is a story of two damaged people that come together to find love. Lorelei was a young girl she she and her family found a young man that was left for dead in a mass grave. Suffering from broken bones, lye burns, and amnesia, Lorelei helps to nurse the young man back to health. Lorelei is a beautiful soul who suffered a crippling injury caused by her older brother. This caused her to find other broke creatures and nurse them back to health. Aware of the cruelty of her brother, the young man wants to protect her and eventually prove himself worthy and marry her. Lorelei's brother instead sells the young man and lies to his sister. After 20 years, her young man returns on her wedding day with a new identity as The Rook, a dangerous pirate. He has covered himself with tattoos and amassed a fortune. All he wants is his Lorelei and will stop at nothing to have her. The Rook takes Lorelei and their road to his redemption is filled with his learning his true identity as well as the healing of his soul. This was a wonderful book and I was hooked from page one. I cannot wait to read other books in this series.

I received an ARC of The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo from NetGalley for my review. I have read all of the books in this series and this one did not disappoint! It has all of the angst, action and romance of the other books. It also answers some questions from the previous books particularly The Highwayman. I give this a solid 4.5 stars.