I just loved this book, except for the title, but it does catch the eye I suppose!

Kerrigan Byrne is a fabulous writer, and her Victorian Rebels series so far has been unfailingly excellent. This book is number 6 in the sequence and tells the story of The Rook, who we first meet briefly in book 5 The Scot Beds His Wife.

The book is beautifully written, as always, with the same formula as the other books in the series, tortured Hero meets angelic heroine, who eventually redeems him. However, Ms Byrne manages to make the trope feel new with each book. The scenes between young Lorelai and the Rook are handled beautifully, and he is the very essence of a tortured hero.

Lorelai has suffered horribly too, and this is handled well, as it is not too mawkish.

The book opens in Newgate prison, where a young man is getting a dragon tattoo, which is related to a long lost treasure map. He then gets ambushed from his cell later that night by 5 guards.

Lame 15 year old Lorelai Weatherstoke is travelling with her father Sir Robert and vicious older brother Mortimer when she spots a naked body of a young man under an ash tree. She convinces her family to take him home and nurses him to health again. They spend a lot of time together and start to fall in love with each other. She names him Ash, because he has no memory of who he is, and he promises to come back for her one day. When he has recovered, he goes to town to find a job, accompanied by Mortimer. He doesn’t return.

Twenty years later, Mortimer has married Veronica and has gambled away his money and the estate. He has bartered Lorelai’s hand in marriage to a rich old industrialist to save his own skin.

Its Lorelai’s wedding day, she and Veronica get to the church, and are abducted by Ash, who also gets his revenge on Mortimer, however, he has changed significantly. He is The Rook, an infamous pirate captain. There is a forced marriage, and eventually they all end up at Ben More Keep, where Dorian Blackwell is in residence with his wife Farah and family (Book 1 The Hunter). the Rook finally learns who he is, and Lorelai and he finally come to an understanding.

Lorelai disappears, and Ash sets out to rescue her, and find the treasure he has been hunting, together with Blackwell and chief Inspector Morley who reveals another part of Ash’s life. They discover who has been sabotaging his plans and the treasure, and Lorelai and Ash finally get their HEA.

I loved the way the interactions are handled between them, and the way that Ash/Rook thinks about Lorelai. I found the villains both very satisfying, one unredeemable, one who might potentially be redeemed. I also liked how the books and characters in the series are linked up, with Blackwell and Morley making significant appearances, and the foreshadowing of what I guess will be Moncrieff and Veronica’s story in the next book.

All in all a very emotionally satisfying and passionate read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book. Opinions my own.

Also posted on Goodreads

This is the sixth book in the historical romance series, and while this one has merits on its own, reading the other books greatly enhances the experience. I have read the others in the series and considered myself fortunate to find this one as well. Lorelai discovers the boy she names Ash beaten almost to death and having crawled out of a mass grave. He has a dragon tattoo and no memory. She nurses him back to health and they fall in love. Her cruel and abusive to the extreme brother Mortimer (there's a name for a bad guy!) causes them to be separated for twenty years. Ash, now known as the infamous pirate Rook comes for her.
This book grabs you from the start and keeps your interest throughout. I always enjoy the author's main characters as they are unique and strong. I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I would highly recommend this series of books and the author as well!


The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo (Victorian Rebels)

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo - B-

He is known only as The Rook. A man with no name, no past, no memories. He awakens in a mass grave, a magnificent dragon tattoo on his muscled forearm the sole clue to his mysterious origins. His only hope for survival—and salvation—lies in the deep, fiery eyes of the beautiful stranger who finds him. Who nurses him back to health. And who calms the restless demons in his soul…

A LEGENDARY LOVE

Lorelai will never forget the night she rescued the broken dark angel in the woods, a devilishly handsome man who haunts her dreams to this day. Crippled as a child, she devoted herself to healing the poor tortured man. And when he left, he took a piece of her heart with him. Now, after all these years, The Rook has returned. Like a phantom, he sweeps back into her life and avenges those who wronged her. But can she trust a man who’s been branded a rebel, a thief, and a killer? And can she trust herself to resist him when he takes her in his arms?

This book has everything:
- prison tattoo
- amnesia
- 20 years pass with no contact
- crashes her wedding
- kills her evil brother in cold blood in front of her
- steals her away
- TO HIS SHIP BECAUSE HE'S A PIRATE

And that is all in the FIRST 25% OF THIS BOOK. There is a literal bodice ripping (also a nightgown). There are long lost brothers. There's an additional POV just so we can get some voyeuristic cunnilingus. There's a treasure map, and a mutiny, and a rescued damsel in distress. This book just goes all in, throws a bunch of tropes on the ground and rolls in them in delight. It's kind of great, even though this wouldn't normally be my jam, because this book has absolutely no shame in what it is and I can appreciate that kind of confidence.

That said, it's also. A lot. Of everything, all the time. The plot doesn't really build in a compelling manner, stuff just keeps happening and happening until all I wanted was for the book to end. The romance between The Rook and Lorelai is mainly conveyed through him threatening to have sex with her (a genre convention I despise), and her believing if she can just find the goodness she knows lies under the harsh exterior, all will be well. I much prefer enthusiastically consenting sex and partners who like each other for who they are, not who they think they might be. It's a romance novel, so of course when they do have sex she likes it, and Lorelai melts his wicked heart until he's capable of loving her again, but for me the ends don't justify the means.

It's the 6th in a series, and I haven't read the first 5, but it stands fine on its own - I assume the other books cover the stories of a few other couples we meet late in the book.

I'm not sure how to rate this, as I don't usually read this style of romance; I literally just picked it up because the title caught my eye. If you like a good bodice ripper with swooning ladies and men who look good with their shirts off, go ahead and pick this up. There were moments I really enjoyed this book, things keep happening and I kept turning pages. And though by the end so much had happened I was feeling exhausted, there is a conclusion and a HEA.

Overall grade: A for effort, but B- for...everything else

CW for genre typical sexual menace

Twenty years ago, a young man was found with no memory of how he had gotten beaten badly and placed in a mass grave. Lorelai helped name him Ash and nurse him back to health, but her cruel brother sent him away without her knowledge. Now, the international pirate known as Rook has come to claim Lorelai has his. She is afraid of who he has become, and also afraid of how drawn to him that she feels.

Lorelai is a sweet character with little agency in society. This leaves her at the mercy of her brother, who is cruel for the sake of cruelty; he had broken her ankle as a child and it was never looked after so that the incident wouldn't be talked about. Instead of this making her cruel in return, she turned her attention to saving injured animals and eventually Ash. Mortimer continues to be the villain in her life and sending Ash away ultimately forges him into the notorious Rook whose only purpose in life is to return to Lorelai. He says he doesn't understand love or emotion and is entirely callous, but he saves Lorelai from being pawned off in marriage and kills Mortimer. He marries her himself but finds that her emotions and needs matter to him more than he thought they would.

As the pirate Rook, Ash had collected a number of European titles along the way as well as treasure and a ship full of merciless pirates. He searches for a legendary Roman treasure, and the past he had forgotten suddenly catches up to him. Those loose ends of his life are tied up neatly and fairly rapidly, with all of the coincidences explaining away a lot of the breaks in Ash's memory. It means that there will be a happily ever after for Lorelai and Ash, even though a pirate would never have gotten one in Victorian England. It's a cute historical romance.

This book was beyond perfect from beginning to end. This epic romance is a page-turner, laced with action, darkness and mystery. I enjoyed the intricate plot, loved the characters, and found myself pretty much hooked from start to finish. I delight in stories where the characters conflict with each other and you can see as you read the characters change, grow and mature.

The hero, Ash, is not a good man, he is a powerful and callous villain and we see this for ourselves. It's not sugar coated and he shows no remorse for the way he has lived his life. And yet, this hero survived terrible circumstances, beatings and assassination attempts. He is the definition of the tragic hero, betrayed, abandoned and broken. I found a great deal to like about Ash. He's very alpha, but open to his complex emotions. He is one of the sexiest heroes I've read about in quite a while, the perfect pirate.

I really liked the heroine. She had the perfect balance of strength, vulnerability, and goodness. Lorelai is a spirited yet shy heroine, a resilient and genuine character, a champion of the weak and wounded. What was great in this story was Lorelai's faith in Ash, in his essential goodness and desire to eventually do the right thing. She is really Ash's strength. She compels him to come to terms and deal with his past. She accepts and loves him as he is. Their chemistry was insane! I can't stop smiling thinking about all the beautiful moments they shared.

Lorelai is Ash’s only weakness. He is cold, detached and cruel and yet he can’t stand to be the cause of her sadness and despair. He made a vow to protect her and nothing could stop him from fulfilling it. Lorelai and Ash made an awesome couple with their complex personalities and emotions. The story has a lot of sweet, tender moments between them.

What a thrilling adventure this book was! I never know what to expect when I start reading a book by Kerrigan Byrne, but what I know I can expect is excellent writing, rich and vivid period details and an epic, character driven romance. This story has it all. I’m looking forward to seeing what other characters and stories Kerrigan Byrne writes next. This book is part of the Victorian Rebels series, but can be read as a standalone.

This book was, in my opinion, not your typical historical romance/pirate story. I loved the strength of these characters...both Ash and Lorelai. The story begins with Ash in jail, beaten almost to death, and found along the side of the road by Lorelai and her family. So begins her time of healing him...both physically and emotionally...even though he has no knowledge of his past. They are soon tragically parted and the story resumes twenty years later as Ash returns for Lorelai. He is now a well-known pirate, greatly feared by all who encounter him. He is fiercely protective of Lorelai and has come to claim her as his own. So begins their journey back to each other. I found this story to be romantic, engaging and loved the many layers to the main characters in this story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great romantic historical novel—that even includes a pirate! (I was given a copy of this book for my honest opinion. I loved this story and plan to buy more books by this author—I'm looking forward to reading Veronica's story!)

All About romance staffers Em Wittmann, Hollis Jade and Caz Owens read this sixth book in Kerrigan Byrne’s Victorian Rebels series and sadly, none of them was particularly impressed. Here are their thoughts on The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo.

EW: Before I say anything else about this book I have to ask – Did you guess who The Rook was before you started it? Were you right?

HJ: I did and I was!

CO: Honestly? I hadn’t thought about it since I finished the last book!

So, ladies – what are your general impressions of The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo?

HJ: The beginning chapters definitely hooked me; I liked the innocence and the healing we experience in the wake of the Rook’s unexpected rescue, and that Lorelai ends up with someone sympathetic on her side. But. After that point I feel like the author tried too hard to give us another Dorian and Farah and it just didn’t work. The emotional connection wasn’t there, I never grew to like Lorelai as a character at all, and for all the adventure and experiences that we hear about (eventually) from the Rook’s life post-Lorelai, I just… didn’t feel anything.

CO: You just said: “for all the adventure and experiences that we HEAR about” – and I’m nodding, because yes, there’s a lot of telling and not showing. The opening chapters are great – KB does a fine job in building a relationship between Ash and Lorelai, on conveying that first flush of young love, but after that, the whole thing just fizzles out and there’s not much plot until we get to the last few chapters and the Big Reunion. (Which, IMO, is the best thing in the book). And the attempt to inject some last-minute tension is horribly contrived.

EW: The author had me at hello, and then, not long after Ash winds up with Lorelai and her family, she lost me. I’ve liked all of the heroines in the Victorian Rebels books, but I simply didn’t connect with this one. Lorelai, victimized by her family, finds happiness in her love and care of the animals on the estate; her relationship with Ash felt like more of the same; he’s another “patient,” and I struggled to believe in Lorelai’s transition from caretaker to secretly lustful nurse. And on the flip side, Ash yearned for kindness and succor from his demons… but do I believe that translated into barely controlled desire? Then when they meet as adults, they’re surprised by the changes that time has wrought on the both of them. Really? Did they ever really know each other in the first place? Much like The Duke, Ms. Byrne simply skips developing the principal relationship. We go from improbable meet-up to straight up lust, time apart and then surprise when the person doesn’t turn out to be quite whom they expected. Well, duh. You don’t know each other. Pro tip: having sex probably isn’t going to help things (but will probably keep Em reading).

CO: *sniggers* I never got much of a sense of who either of them were. Lorelai collects wounded animals, Ash/the Rook has become a badass pirate and has nursed a grudge for twenty years, but once he’s dispensed with the object of that grudge it’s like his reason for existence is dispensed with, too. I almost always find the “we’ve-not-seen-each-other-for-a-gazillion-years-but-I’ve-loved-you-all-that-time” premise to be a difficult one to swallow, but it CAN work if the author is able to show the couple reconnecting and falling in love with the people they are NOW. That doesn’t happen here. As you say, the “romance” (and I use the term loosely) is based on lust – and even that is hard to believe.

HJ: It just felt so rushed! It seemed more like a bridging story or novella to set up the next book and/or wrap up something from the previous one. I think too much time was spent on the second pairing hovering in the background that took away critical time that could’ve been spent forging a believable adult emotional connection between the Rook and Lorelai.

EW: Caz, I’m so surprised to hear you liked the reunion scene! I loved having all those great characters together, but it’s so contrary to the anti-social personae she’s cultivated with each of her early heroes. And now they’re besties? MS. BYRNE: STOP REINVENTING DORIAN. He’s an anti-social dick with a heart of gold when it comes to his wife. FULL STOP.

CO: I think she’s trying to get across that Dorian is mellowing (a bit) with marriage and someone to ground him, but you make a good point. That said, I still liked that scene, but then Dorian is my favourite hero of the lot, so I’m always ready to see him again 😉

HJ: I was definitely willing to let Dorian have his moment in that particular situation. I think so much of why he’s antisocial could be a holdover of his guilt for what happened all those years ago, even though it wasn’t his fault, and I agree with Caz that a few years of love and happiness might have gone a way towards letting go of some of it. Had it been anyone but the Rook to inspire that kind of warm fuzzy in Dorian, though, knowing what we know of him, I agree that it would have been totally out of character for him.

CO: Yes, exactly. Given who the Rook is, it works.

HJ: But with that said, even though that reunion scene lasts, what, a chapter? I felt that every other player stood out more than either of our main protagonists. For all that the Rook is supposed to be this fearsome, shark-like presence, instead he comes across as a blank. And after all Lorelai endured at her brother’s hands, and as a result of her father’s negligence, she has no strong feelings about either? I’m sorry, I’m all for forgiving personalities but there should be something of a limit. I just wanted her to feel something. To do something other than faint or cry or argue about a name or be caught up in some lustful spell. Unfortunately I really don’t feel like either persona had much dimension and instead were simply stuck in the shadow of characters that came before.

CO: As kids, ‘Ash’ and Lorelai were great, but as adults, they’re bland and inconsistent, and their romance (such as it is) is a pale imitation of that in The Highwayman (which is still the best in the series, IMO).

EW: I totally agree. Lorelai is boring at the beginning and at the end, (CO – And in the middle!) while Ash morphs from hot, sexy and tormented to hot, sexy, tormented and tatted up. I didn’t buy them as a couple when they initially met, and I had a hard time believing in their long term prospects.

Going back to what I said at the beginning, I read the series having no idea (or even a guess) who The Rook was. Then, after a re-read in advance of The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo, I thought I knew who he was – I was right by the way – and I felt dumb that it hadn’t occurred to me before. The author definitely drops hints, so I can’t decide if she wanted readers to guess or meant for it to be a mystery.

HJ: Same, Em, same. And I think maybe it was a bit of both? Reading them as they were released, I definitely didn’t piece it together, but going back for my own reread made it pretty easy to guess – and guess correctly. I think, had I not prepped with revisiting the previous books, I would’ve loved the big reveal and seen it all in hindsight. But having done so, I loved being proved right, too. Hopefully readers will find satisfaction no matter which camp they fall into.

CO: I haven’t done a re-read, so I can’t remember, but it’s pretty obvious within the first few pages if you’ve read the other books. But frankly, I don’t know if there was meant to be any mystery about it, or if it was even planned. I have long suspected that the Victorian Rebels series was originally meant to be a trilogy and that the author was asked for more after the first book or two were so successful (NOTE – this is MY opinion, and I may well be wrong) – so my view is that it wasn’t planned. I mean, KB has to do a bit of a Conan Doyle and resurrect someone she killed off right at the beginning of the series, so…

EW: Much like the books that precede this one, my favorite parts of Ms. Kerrigan’s books (well, apart from the HOT and steamy sex scenes) are the opening chapters. She sucks me in every time! TDWTDT, like its predecessors (well, not The Duke – but that’s an outlier), opens with a harrowing scene as we discover who The Rook is – and how he’s related to the other characters in the series. Damn, he had a rough start in life.

HJ: Agreed, I think the introductions of almost all the books in the Victorian Rebels series have been outstanding. Not a nice kind of outstanding, of course, but completely engaging and engrossing. One of them (The Hunter) even made me cry. But The Rook’s rebirth, as it were, was pretty terrible. Strangely, though, I wanted more. I wanted to live out some of that terror, of waking up in that grave, and clawing his way out. As we well know, this author has never shied away from that kind of dark and grit and horror in regards to what her tortured antiheroes endure, and I suppose I just expected to see that play out here. And I think ultimately that applies to this book in general : I wanted more.

CO: I agree that it was glossed over; Ms. Byrne hasn’t shied away from showing some pretty horrible stuff in the other books, but here, when the relevant lines occurred I was like – “is that it?”.

Em, you’ve mentioned the sex scenes so I’m going to pick that up and say that I found them to be walking the wrong side of the hot/funny line much of the time. Ms. Byrne’s prose has always been somewhat purple-tinged, but now she’s passed the lavender spectrum and is heading towards violet. I mean – stuff like this? She released a rush of wet need on a tortured moan. Makes me want to giggle (rather than, you know, release my own rush of wet need! – TMI?!)

EW: Caz! O.M.G. I LOVE Ms. Byrne’s sexy scenes. I want to say I don’t mind the purplish prose – but that’s a pretty bad example. My issue this time out has everything to do with chemistry – in this case, the lack thereof, and less about the lovemaking. I was okay with it!

CO: Yeah, but there are lots of examples – not all of them in the sex scenes – that were just too eye-roll-inducing. I agree about the lack of chemistry, though.

HJ: I’ve noticed that I’m particularly sensitive to the purple love prose when I’m not feeling the characters. If I’m in it, if I’m feeling it, I don’t mind. It becomes part of the experience and I float away on all the feels. But if I’m struggling with believability and connection or just not buying it full-stop, then, yeah, wet need just ends up feeling a little much and I want to avert my eyes.

CO: Much as it pains me to say it, I think the Victorian Rebels series may have passed its sell-by date and it’s time to wrap it up. Being perfectly honest, I’m only continuing with it for two reasons – one, I’m waiting for Morley’s book and two, I usually listen to the audiobook version because the narrator is excellent and helps to paper over the cracks in the story. Unless the next book is Morley’s (and I suspect, given a line near the end of this one, that it’s not), I’ll be passing on it. This one scrapes a C+ from me – had the book continued in the same vein as the first quarter, it’d have got a solid B (or higher), but given that it didn’t…

HJ: Despite how much I loved the first three books, I can’t seem to rate this one higher than a D+. This series has been dark and emotionally gripping but The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo feels too much like book one but without as much darkness and completely missing that emotional connection. While I don’t necessarily want to see the series end, I feel like we’ve already seen the best parts of it. Like Caz, I am holding out major hope for a Morley-centric instalment.

EW: This one is a miss for me too, so I’m going with a C+ as well. But I will be back for the next book. The Victorian Rebels are some of my favorite romantic heroes, and I’m hopeful there’s another Dorian or Argent waiting to be discovered!

A young boy, a thief gets a tattoo of a dragon which is the map for a treasure. Walters finishes it and suddenly some guards come and beat him so bad they think he is dead. They dump him in a pauper's grave, pour lye on and leave. Lorelai Weatherstroke is riding by with her father and brother. She points him out and she sees a little motion and begs to pick him up. They get him home and the doctor comes, Lorelai nurses him back to health. She had a broken ankle and could not walk well but she was very attentive to him. She calls him Ash because he was found under an Ash tree.
This is a very complicated story, so much happens. Ash and Lorelai are separated by twenty years and he has changed his name to the Rook, a notorious pirate. The characters are amazing and interact very well with each other. I loved when he got his memory back and his two brothers there, and they started filling him in on the past twenty years. This was a mesmerizing read it was so good you could not put it down. The author has done such a marvelous job of keeping all the ends together, it is well written and moves smoothly. She did great and I so highly recommend this book. It does have some sexy scenes, so you may want to keep this to people eighteen or over.

I received this ARC from the author and voluntarily reviewed this book.

Where have I been? It must have been under a rock because for all of my love for historical romance, I'd never heard of Kerrigan Byrne, or her Victorian Rebels series. I had no idea that this author and her characters existed. That is until I read her latest installment, The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo. What a way to get to know her work!!

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo is a classic second chance love story. Lorelai befriends and helps a young man who has no idea who he is or what happened to him. As he convalescences at her family home, Lorelai and the young man grow close and ultimately fall in love; that simple and pure first love. As fate would have it, the two are separated with only his promise to come back to her.

Here's what I loved about this book...basically everything! We have a dashing pirate, a woman with enough strength and loyalty to pass around, a yet to be found treasure and of course... a swoony love story!! I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. I ordered dinner for my family and had it delivered because I could not be bothered with cooking a meal! I needed to read this book!

Now, that I know that there are 5 other books in this series, I need to add those to my TBR!

This is book 7 on the Victorian Rebel's series. It can be read as a stand alone but several of the characters from previous books are included in this book.
This is the story of the Rook(Ash) and Lorelei. They meet when Lorelei (age 14) finds Ash(17) on the road beaten to a body pulp, barely alive. She helps nurse him back to health. This is where they fall in love. But her sadistic, evil brother drugs him and sells him to a slave ship.
The next time they see each other is 20 years later.
Ash is now known as The Rook, a notorious pirate. Lorelei is a spinster, firmly on the shelf.
Kerrigan Byrne knows how to write a love story. I was hooked from the beginning, couldn't put it down. Ftom the beauty of that innocent first love, to the all consuming, possessive, sexual love.
The only reason I gave it 4 stars, is the amount of violence in the book and the use of the "F" word, multiple times toward the end.
The story itself was 5 stars.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I liked the description of this book and I had read the last book in this series and enjoyed it, so I thought I’d give it a try. And I’m so glad I did, I really liked it! It did end up being a little darker than I expected, the hero was definitely a tortured individual when he returned, he had a plethora of demons. I ended up really liking the story line still, the plot was interesting and the characters were well developed. The story line kept me interested and I wanted to keep reading and finish the book. Some of the parts got very wordy, most of the lovey dovey parts I actually ended up liking though since they were very poetic and romantic, but at a couple points it got to be a bit too much. I did especially love that it was a pirate waxing poetic to a shy and timid woman. And I loved Lorelai’s menagerie as well, especially that she got to teach an otter how to fish – I thought that was so cute! Overall I really liked this book and I would definitely recommend it! I would be interested to read more in the series.

I will admit that I was a tad skeptical about a book called "The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo" but I ended up being pretty wowed by this one, and yes, the duke does indeed have a tattoo, although the most important one isn't a dragon. Kerrigan Byrne gives readers a angsty, melodramatic romance that harkens back to the more old school type romances without going too far off contemporary sensibilities.

Lorelei is a spinster that has suffered years of abuse from her brother, in fact, her brother is the reason that she walks with a severe limp. This same brother has contracted a marriage for Lorelei and the day of the wedding Lorelei is abducted by a mysterious (and handsome) pirate. The kicker: she knows this pirate from her girlhood and has always been haunted by his vanishing act when they were on the verge of a innocent romance. Yep, the setup is pretty nuts, but it totally works! The reunited lovers trope is done very well here, and I loved that Lorelei and Ash/Rook get a second chance. The author does a fantastic job in making these two work for their happily ever after especially considering the baggage Ash comes with.

I wasn't too interested in the previous couple of books (The Scot Beds His Wife seems too out there for me), but my enjoyment of this one has me interested in checking out The Duke and re-reading The Hunter (my fav in the series to date). For historical romance fans who are looking for a read that is over the top in the dramatics but still deeply emotional grab this one!

Lorelai is at the mercy of her cruel brother, her father unwilling or unable to stop him. She sees a man lying in a ditch while riding in a carriage with her father and brother and demands they stop. The man has no knowledge of his name or past when he awakens. He only remembers that he woke up in a mass grave with a damaged dragon tattoo on his forearm.

Lorelai and the man she names Ash develop a bond. Ash is the one person that sees how cruel her brother is. She is devastated when Ash leaves, her brother claiming that he remembered his past.

Years later, The Rook stops Lorelai's wedding and takes her to his ship to claim her as his wife. As Lorelai discovers more about The Rook, she is stunned to learn that he is Ash.


OMG! What a book! I have loved the books in the Victorian Rebels series so I was thrilled when I saw this on NetGalley. I was hooked at the first chapter. I hated Mortimer and was thrilled when he got his deserved ending. I felt so bad for Veronica. I was holding my breath at the twists and turns in the novel.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you!

Oh wow. If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you may remember my epic love for The Highwayman a few years back. This book is every bit as good as that one was. It gave me all the same feels. It was just as riveting. And it was the exact same brand of tortured hero catnip. Did it feel like a rehash? Absolutely not. It just recaptured the magic of that first book and I didn’t want to put it down from the first page to the last.

This is Rook’s story—and it’s not too much of a spoiler for fans of the series to reveal that Rook is actually Dorian Blackwell—the REAL Dorian Blackwell, whose identity Dougan Mackenzie co-opted in book 1. You don’t have to have read the prior books to appreciate the import of this, though I would recommend that you at least read The Highwayman. It’s not a hardship. I promise. Anyway, this nugget revealed in the very first chapter and you know immediately that his history is every bit as dark as Dougan’s was. After all, they were brothers-in-arms, facing the challenge of Newgate. Only, Dorian was supposedly killed while the bad-guys mistook him for Dougan. He was beaten and burned.

But he didn’t die.

He was found by young Lorelei and her family and nursed back to health. With no memory of who he was or what happened to him, he accepted the name Ash and clung to life with only Lorelei’s voice and gentle touch to guide him. She became his angel and reason to live. But her dastardly brother sold him into slavery after he recovered and they were separated for 20 years. During that time, he became the Dread Pirate Roberts, er, Rook, and he devoted his life to savagely making his way back to her side. He doesn’t reveal himself until her brother tries to force her into an unwanted marriage, and he spirits her away aboard his ship and marries her himself.

There were so many things I loved about this book, but mostly it was just how well Ash was drawn. He was so bleak and desolate—and why wouldn’t he be? He had been abused in every possible way. He lived in total darkness, but for the the light Lorelei provided. This is my very favorite trope and Kerrigan Byrne has done it to perfection. Ash sees himself a monster, incapable of humanity, but he worships Lorelei and she loves him no matter what.

It’s not a smooth path. Ash has a long way to go to even recognize how much he loves his wife. He doesn’t believe he is capable. But we see it in his every action… his every word. And Lorelei has been through so much. It’s earth shattering when Ash returns, especially seeing him so changed. But it’s worth every moment of struggle. If I am being real, it IS the struggle—the journey—that makes the book so riveting. And as an added bonus to fans, we get a very satisfying reunion with Dougan that brings the series full circle… along with some surprises about another familiar character.

I could go on and on, but I think I’ve gushed enough. Bottom line, if tortured heroes are your bag, pick this up immediately. It’s so very good.

Rating: A

This author once again proves she’ll keep you on your toes, my fellow romance book loving friends. The original set-up of Lorelei and Ash, the main couple, first meeting 20 years ago was enough drama to put them on the path to love at the same time placed them in a situation where they were going to have to fight for it. Then she doubled the drama by including a scenario that transformed this alpha protective hero into something even darker, unreachable, and even unrecognizable to Lorelei.

Underneath it all though, we get glimpses Ash is still there smoldering underneath his legendary, lethal persona, and that his feelings for Lorelei have never changed. In fact, her memory has been what has kept him breathing and fighting for this very moment to be with her. Unfortunately, she’s got some catching up to do, folks. Not that I blame her. It was a pretty shell shocked way to reunite. Ash, who has now morphed into a cave man hero used to always being obeyed, needs to reach down deep and not be afraid to completely let her into his heart and soul.

There were big reveals, twists and turns, and much welcomed cameos of characters from previous sequels. Along with some new sub-characters like Veronica, Lorelei’s sister-in-law, who has suffered unimaginable pain and cruelty at the hands of an evil relative. I’d love to read more about her in future sequels, btw. I suspect she’ll get her own story told, especially due to the brief mention of her at the end of this book . It seemed unfair for her to have to witness a man she was attracted to getting down and dirty with a prostitute. Really, I felt she had been through enough, folks.

Though I enjoyed most of this book, the scenario I just mentioned and one between the main couple getting smexy immediately following a life-threatening situation had me thinking the author could lay on the steaminess a little too thick and at inappropriate times.

Lorelei is the lovely leading lady that comes across meek yet strong, and at times as frail and fragile as a butterfly. Regardless, she seems to still calm the savage beast that is known as The Rook, Ash, and surprisingly by another name.

Inspector Morley, who was in love with the heroine from book 1, will be the hero focus in the next book, A Dark and Stormy Knight. Though he wasn’t linked to Veronica in this book, I can’t help but hope she becomes his love interest.

Title: The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo, Series: Victorian Rebels (Book 6), Author: Kerrigan Byrne, Pages: 333, stand-alone but part of a series, alpha protective hero with a tortured past, kind hearted virgin heroine who rescues animals, some violence, some steamy scenes, heroine has a limp.

Book 1 - The Highwayman (Dorian & Farah), 9/1/15, Pages: 384
Book 2 - The Hunter (Christopher & Millie), 2/2/16, Pages: 432
Book 3 - The Highlander (Liam & Philomena), 8/2/16, Pages: 358
Book 4 - The Duke (Imogen & Collin), 2/7/17, Pages: 384
Book 5 - The Scot Beds His Wife (Samantha & Gavin), 10/3/17, Pages: 394
Book 6 - The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo (Lorelei & Ash), 8/28/17, Pages: 333
Book 7 - A Dark and Stormy Knight - (Inspector Morley’s HEA), 2019.

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review, nor is there any affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley)

This was so good! I loved the romance in it and everything about it and thought it was super sweet and cute and I loved reading about the characters. I thought it was a great storyline following a pirate hunt! The twists and reveals were interesting and unexpected and I liked being surprised by everything that was revealed and going on. I didn't predict anything and it was great not knowing anything! Highly recommend this book!

I’ve had a bit of an up and down relationship with this series, but this was a title and premise that intrigued, so I’m giving it a go. And, for the early part of the book, until about the halfway point, I was all in: the stories were intriguing, the blush of young love was refreshing, and the nod to (while often ignoring) conventions of the time showed a sense of Victoriana while not reverting to the overall stuffiness that often surrounded and stifled interactions. But both Ash and Lorelei are wonderfully drawn, and despite both having horrible pasts, gentle and open with one another.

And then, Ash left and Lorelei was left, at fourteen, at the hands of her dastardly brother, with few to no options and constant psychological abuse, put downs and a helplessness and near hopelessness where changing her future was concerned. Twenty years have passed, her brother has run through all the money (including her dowry) and terrorizes his own wife in ways unimagined, well, if Lorelei wasn’t privy to most of aftermath. Her only options are penury and the abuse, or marriage- a marriage to another distasteful man, arranged by the brother. On her wedding day, one that she’s dreaded yet accepts with her usual equanimity – keeping everything close to her chest except from those who know and care about her best: her sister-in-law. But, circumstances align and she and her sister-in-law are taken from the church, her bother is murdered and her fiancé is a no-show – and the culprit – The Rook, is to blame. The Rook is Lorelei’s Ash, some twenty years later- a harder, more threatening, twenty years too late Ash.

The power play between these two, with Ash’s inability to find his humanity and the words to explain just how important Lorelei is to him, how he fought through being shanghaied and repeatedly sold from one ship to another, waited to build experience and fortune, killing and looting- all to reclaim her. But, he still is no closer to knowing who he is, only that he must possess Lorelei, have her close to hand simply because she brings him peace. The revelations from Ash’s past, including his name, his history and the semblance of family he created as a young street urchin are dramatically, and thoroughly revealed, as Ash comes to learn of his past, his memories returned, and Lorelei at his side.

The stories here are heartbreaking and horrible: Ash’s trials, Lorelei’s struggles and everyone’s amusement at Ash’s cluelessness with regard to his feelings for her. Emotions are palpable, with Lorelei’s heart and fierce protectiveness shining through. A lovey story that has some intriguing and clever moments woven into the story of lost and broken things finding hope and happiness, and a new start.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9SQ/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This book grabbed me and did not let go! The anguish you feel for the hero starts right away, which turns to hope when he meets Lorelai. He has no memory of himself before being found by her, but knows he would kill to keep her safe.

She has endured a fairly miserable life herself, compounded with being left by the man she called Ash. She has lost all hope when suddenly the pirate known as The Rook appears in her life, but she knew him as Ash all those years ago.

This book had it all - wounded hero, strong heroine and lots of chemistry and action. There was several twists along the way, all that added to the wonderfulness of the story. My first by Kerrigan Byrne - not my last.

Historical fantasy with a duke and a tattoo. What could possibly be more captivating on a rainy weekend? I loved reading about the Rook/Ash and sweet, innocent, Lorelei.

Lorelei was a sweet and loving person. She was nothing like her brother or father. She was not deserving of the abuse she suffered for years. She only wanted to be loved and to love in return. The one she fell in love with left her years ago. Now, thirty-four years old, she was more or less sold to pay debts she did not incur. She never would have guessed this would be the change in her life she needed to make it better.

Ash/the Rook was just a boy when his world changed. He was young man when he learned the value of hard work and the deny of love. He was a man back to avenge, change, take back the life he lost and the love that he was sure was meant to be.

Lorelei and Ash's romance was full of adventure, drama, pain, sorrow, abuse, mistrust, love and life. I LOVED these two characters from the first time I met each one of them. This one was most certainly was a page turner, an adventure to top all historical adventures.

Byrne gives me a read that takes me on a trip back to the past each and every time I pick up one of her books. I love making the journey filled with sight and sounds of the past writing in words that enmesh the mind in a visual cloud of dreams.

I LOOK FORWARD TO THE AUDIO. . . I WILL LISTEN TO IT OVER AND OVER. . . This was my best historical romance of the year.

My favorite part was the last chapter, really it had more conversation, passion and fun then the whole entire book. Because I really wanted to love this book for the fact it’s about two people, Lorelei who is 14 when she saved a strange man from a mass grave, Ash , 18, she will call him (but later on he will be titled The Rook and later on his real name Dorian Blackwell and people to help break a 20 years of amnesia) and these two will be reunited unhappily 20 years later when he’s hitting 38 years old. But there is more inner dialogue then I like, even the sex parts were you expect some communication but all there is, is pages upon pages of their inner thoughts from both POV. I started this on the 28 of last month and today is the 7th day of forcing myself to read this story. This is the first I’ve read from this author and I’m not sure I will in the future but who knows.


Lorelei is a crippled because of her older brother, Mortimer, 20, she fears life with him and so is their father who lists his son do as he please and let’s hime smack to old man around and beats Lorelei, kills her animals and makes her eat them without a word until after wards. And when he bring in Veronica his wife and does to her what he did to his sister, Mort is also behind the disappearance of Ash, Lore’s inheritance, their homes and titles and more, even putting his sister as a bet he lost in a card game and she is forced to marry some old disgusting pig farmer that won everything she lost, 20 years after Ash left.

Ash was a thief before prison, a month before his release he was mistaken as his friend and was left for dead in a grave, losses his name, memories and his self worth, until a voice brought him back from the dead. He was nursed to health and lived again and fell in love with Lorelei until Mort drugged and sold him as a slave to a ships captain. He fought for his life and lived for his promise but Ash died many times befor The Rook was born. 5 years he became a blood thirsty pirate before fate stepped in his way and forced his hand to kidnap his heart back and to avenge his hate on his enemy to get his heart back.