Sixth volume in the successful series by Kerrigan Byrne, I found that The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo began strongly but deflated quite a bit after the reunion.

The first part is very grabbing. We first meet a young man almost beaten to death in prison (doesn’t that remind you of another character in this series?). Then a family finds a critically wounded young man on the road side, and they take him home to nurse him with the heroine’s urging. When he finally wakes up he has no memory of his past (even if we suspect his identity). We see in this part the feelings appearing even if they are quite young, the heroine is only 14 and the hero’s age is estimated to just a few years more. This part is cute, poignant at times (the heroine’s brother is a moron and a bully), but yet the hero thinks something in his forgotten past makes him unworthy of the heroine. Then one day he disappears.

The second part is their reunion fifteen years later or so, when the heroine’s brother would have forced her to marry an old man to pay off his debts. The hero arrives, kills the brother, kidnaps the heroine and her sister-in-law. And the story deflates. We have pages of arguments, of discussions begun but not done to the end like :
-Something horrible happened to me.
-What?
-I won’t tell you. But it was because of your brother.
-What had he done to you?
-I won’t tell you.
There’s also the heroine playing the scared virgin, the hero saying he doesn’t deserve her and has no feeling but only wants to possess her, while showing by his actions that he respects her much more than he says, and the sister-in-law fantasizing on the hero’s second in command while trying to escape. All this part seemed weak to me and I couldn’t wait for the story to go on.

Then finally we meet characters from a previous volume (I was thrilled to see them again and learn how their lives had progressed since the end of this book) and big revelations about the hero’s identity arrive with some surprises I wasn’t expecting. But with all this I never really felt the couple’s feelings had a real evolution, more a change of mind a bit sudden on both side.

What’s more the review copy I received had several spelling mistakes and words for another which made me frown, and I hope the book would have been edited before the final publication. However I still like the author’s style and her ability to create deep or even tortured characters.

4 STARS!!

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…

The Duke With The Dragon Tattoo is a second chance historic romance. The story is well-written and engaging, the characters well-developed and most likeable and believable. The connection between Ash and Lorelei's can be felt throughout their story. Their journey is full of adventure, treasures, mystery, action, suspenses and a swoon-worthy romance full of passion and love.

This story is about revenge, forgiveness, redemption, finding true happiness and love.
I'm sorry, not giving away more than what other have share on their reviews.

This book can be read as standalone as the rest in the series can be read as standalone!
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange of my honest review.

The sixth book in the Victorian Rebels series by Kerrigan Byrne,”A Duke with the Dragon Tattoo”, is a heated love story with a wonderful HEA.
As a young girl of fifteen, Lorelai Weatherstoke, while traveling home with her father and her malicious older brother spots a body by the road.
Badly beaten, broken bones, lye burns on parts of his body and left for dead, the young man recovers under Lorelai’s care, but never recovered his memories of who he was or where he came from. He only has a tattoo on his forearm that could be a clue to his past life.
Young love bloomed between these young people until fate separates them for two decades.
Then on the day of Lorelei’s forced wedding, the young man returns to claim what he felt was his.
With acts of vengeance, betrayals, switched identities, secret treasures, and loves lost and found, this story never losses momentum.

A boy who is just becoming a man crawling his way out of a mass grave, barely clinging to life is not how you would think a great romance begins. But Kerrigan Byrne’s Victorian Rebels are anything but ordinary. The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo captivated me from the start as a teenage Lorelai rescues a broken young man with no name, no past, no memories. She gives him a name – Ash – and shows him kindness, gentleness, and love for the first time in his life. And when he’s torn from her, he takes a piece of her heart with him. Flash forward twenty years later and Ash is back, only now he’s the Rook, a man who has known nothing but blood, pain, and cruelty for years. The Rook wants to claim her for his own, but is there enough of Ash left for Lorelai to trust her heart to a pirate?

Lorelai is an incredibly endearing heroine. She’s grown up with an abusive monster of a brother and an indifferent father, but her strength and spirit shine through. She’s gentle and kind and loves rescuing and healing injured animals. How could she not melt your heart? Despite all she’s been through and the toll it has taken physically and emotionally, Lorelai never cowers. She’s got a spine of steel and she’ll need it to take on the Rook. Lorelai is the only good thing in the Rook’s life and he doesn’t want to let her go. Their romance is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast and I adored watching Lorelai bring her Ash back out into the light. Don’t get me wrong – the Rook has plenty of reasons to be angry. But even at his darkest, it’s clear he loves Lorelai and I couldn’t wait to see him come into his own so they could find happiness. Ms. Byrne excels at delivering grand, passionate romances and Ash and Lorelai’s is no exception. I loved the emotion that leapt off the page; it kept me reading until I couldn’t keep my eyes open no matter how hard I tried.

A hunt for treasure with only the scarred remnants of the Rook’s dragon tattoo as a guide complements the romance perfectly. There’s action, danger, discovery, and betrayal and everything combines into a wonderfully satisfying tale. The treasure hunt also pushes our hero and heroine into the path of beloved characters who may hold the key to the Rook’s past. I was thrilled to revisit past Victorian Rebels characters and the multiple relationships woven into the book absolutely made my day when reading it. If I seem incredibly vague, it’s because I don’t want to spoil the story for readers who want to discover the Rook’s identity on their own.

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo is a gripping, emotional, sensual love story. Lorelai and Ash have fantastic chemistry and I loved every bit of their romance. My only complaint is that I finished their book wanting more of Ms. Byrne’s Victorian Rebels. This series is like catnip to me – I simply cannot get enough of Ms. Byrne’s dark and dangerous heroes and the strong women who love them.

THE DUKE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is part of Kerrigan Byrne’s “Victorian Rebels” series— and here we are treated to a major rebel, in all of his badness!

It is almost impossible to capture and review all of the action and interactions this book presents. It is extremely well written and is coy with its information reveals. There are characters you would love to hate, a heroine that is more loving and giving than others deserve, and then there is The Rook — a man with a dragon tattoo and many, many secrets, including how he came to be a Duke.

Despite being only 14 years old as the first chapter begins, Lorelei has known that life can be harsh, especially when even your family alternates between cruel teasing and ignoring you. She takes comfort in providing rescue for injured animals, but feels she has truly found a worthwhile endeavor when she notices a man in great need of her compassionate care. In a horrifying description, we are introduced to the man she names Ash, who has been dumped into a mass grave after being severely beaten in a jailhouse fracas and considered dead. He is further injured when lye is dumped on him in the grave, causing grievous chemical burns to large areas of his body, including his forearm, where parts of a mysterious dragon tattoo are noted. Not only does he not recall why he has the tattoo, he doesn’t recall anything of his life before Lorelei; amnesia has stolen every memory he should have. Their feelings grow and mature as Ash recovers and Lorelei is heartbroken when he leaves for the chance of employment,but never returns, as he promised.

A full 20 years later, Lorelei becomes the captive of The Rook, a dangerous and lustful pirate. She is strong and resolute in standing up to this barbarian who has not only stolen her freedom but has also married her against her will. But Lorelei’s memories are strong and she soon realizes that The Rook of today and Ash of years past are one and the same.

So begins a wild adventure aboard a pirate ship that is known, feared, and hunted as The Rook seeks a long-forgotten treasure that is somehow related to his dragon tattoo. However, there are so many secrets and it simply takes time to finally be able to pull each tiny revelation into the light, examine it, and begin to appreciate the full picture from these small, intricate pieces. It is an exercise in patience for the reader, but the final surprising revelations are so worth the effort!

THE DUKE WITH THE DRAGON TATTO is an all-night read that provides everything one needs to enjoy a novel of this caliber. I am honored to have received an ARC through NetGalley and grateful to now have an author I know will provide future adventures I want to join!

4.5*
If you like dark historical romance then Kerrigan Byrne is the author for you.
This book is so hard to write a review for. There are so many things I want to explain but it would spoil it. Ugh! What to say....
Lorelai Weatherstoke, crippled as a young girl, she was teased by her family and gossiped about by society. She took refuge in healing lost and broken animals. On a rainy night she rescues a terribly hurt man from the side of the road. Taking him home, praying the doctor and time will heal him, she helps nurses him back to the living.
Waking from the burning hell with no memory and no clue of where he, he hears the sweetest voice he’s ever heard, Lorelai. During this time Lorelai becomes his world and he will do anything to make her smile. On the day he is well enough and with the promise of employment he leaves Lorelai with the vow that he will return for her.
20 years later he keeps his promise only he’s no longer the Ash she knew now he’s The Rook, the most wanted man in all of England and will do anything to make her his, even kidnaping.
Lorelai for everything she’s been through she is a strong, smart and loving woman. The Rook is a legend among pirates who kills and steals with no mercy and nothing can stop him, but a blue eyed sweet talking girl.
Your heart will break for these two characters so have tissues handy.

I received an ARC of this book to read from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. The Duke With The Dragon Tattoo is book six in Kerrigan Byrne’s Victorian Rebel Series. It can be read as a stand-alone as it was the first book I’ve read in this series. I do plan to read the rest because I enjoyed this one very much. Lorelai Weatherstoke crippled at age 6 by her nasty and violent older brother at age 14 rescues broken creatures, so when she finds a young man mostly dead under an ash tree she takes him in and nurses him back to health and gives him the name Ash as he is unable to remember anything of his past. He is pretty sure he was dead when Lorelai called him back to life he makes her the promise that as long as the sun sets in the west he will come back to her. However her evil brother sells him into slavery aboard a merchant ship and it takes 20 years for him to come back to claim her. Lots of adventure, nasty villains, a Pirate King, lost treasure maps, mysteries to be solved and of course True Love.Quite Steamy Publishing Date August 28, 2018 #TheDukeWithTheDragonTattoo #NetGalley

While riding in a carriage one day with her brother Mortimer and her father, fourteen-year-old Lorelai Weatherstroke was looking out the window. Shockingly she saw what appeared to be a dead body underneath a tree. She begged for the carriage to be stopped. Mortimer gathered up a man, not a corpse, who was very close to death. They brought him back to their home and, with the aid of a doctor, Lorelai nursed him back to health. With no memory of his past, his name, or anything else, he is at their mercy.

Lorelai has always taken in injured animals, and brought them back to good health. So it is only natural to care of this young stranger. In so doing, one of the things she does is to name him. As he was found underneath an ancient ash tree, that is the name she gave him: Ash. It takes months for Ash to heal from his injuries, and the two draw become very close. Although they can never say the words that are in their hearts, the feelings that grew were incredibly powerful. But...they become separated.

Enter The Rook - a pirate who is wanted by everyone, including the Royal Navy. He is no longer Ash, but a bold pirate with a reputation for brutality and a man who wins whatever he wants to attain. Now he wants Lorelai, but he is not the Ash she remembers, the Ash she has dreamed of, the Ash she has cried for....

What ensues between Lorelai and Ash/The Rook is a compelling story that became impossible to put down. I couldn't imagine how the two could come together. IF they could ever come together. The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo is an enthralling read with strong characters and a powerful plot. I was riveted to this story, especially as my curiosity of how the tender Lorelai and the now brutal Ash could get past the barriers between them.

The character development was just so wonderful. I absolutely loved Lorelai. She was a very strong heroine and took no foolishness. Ash went through so many transformations that I couldn't help but feel for him. The passionate romance in this story was well worth the wait. I do wish that I read the previous books in the series, but this book stood well as a standalone, as I got just enough of a glimpse of the past stories. Nonetheless, I am eager to read the other stories in the series. Kerrigan Byne has done a superb job with this book. I truly enjoyed her writing style and I am very glad to have read it and am now on the hunt for the first five books in the series.

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for this ARC to review in exchange for an honest review.

Dark, kinda sinister and gritty beginning had me hooked. Loved the rough pirate ways that stayed throughout the entire book. Of course romance is thrown in there with long lost loves coming back to each other, but not in a way you'd expect. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I didn't read any of the others in the series and think this is a great stand alone.

More than a page-turner, this is the kind of story that you can't put down, reading until the wee hours of the morning to see how (and even if) it all works out. With a dark, shadowy hero and a woman who softens him, the story is fast-moving with a touch of sweetness to ease the angst. In this story, one of a series in Kerrigan Byrne's Victorian Rebels books, the emphasis is on rebel. What can you expect from a hero who nearly dies in a mass grave? Lorelei, our heroine, appears more fragile than the usual feisty heroine -- yet she manages to nurse our hero back to health after his brush with death. They are parted for years and meet in dramatic fashion. Through the passage of time, the young boy is now Rook, a hero so hardened you wonder if there's a heart. Lorelei has been beaten down by her own physical frailty and the cruelty of the world. Yet, they can heal each other, through love, respect and fighting a common enemy — and that's what makes the story so sweet in the end. There is no hero to the rescue; there are the two of them, making each other, and their lives, better. (I received an ARC from NetGalley. This is my own review.)

Being the third book in this series I was not expecting it to be so good. But again when does Kerrigan Bryne let you down. It was refreshing that this wasn't two perfect people falling in love.

This book ranked up there with book two as one of my favorites of this series. There is something about a hero slightly on the edge of humanity, part of a dark underworld, that I love The kind that, in real life, I would run far, far away from, but will always gravitate towards in fiction.

I went into this book with some trepidation as I'd struggled to connect with the previous book. Despite knowing what and who it was going to be about, I kept putting it off. But the minute I started it, I couldn't put it down. I loved the early parts of the story, seeing the younger years and innocence and beauty of that connection. What developed after was dark, sensual, and utterly compelling. And there were some surprising character developments that have me anticipating the next book. I'd say my biggest issues with this one were some of the phrasing that went a little too far into flowery or purple prose. It's an issue I notice more in the books I'm struggling with, but the plot in this one had me turning the pages too fast to notice as much or care.

I received a ARC of this book through Netgalley.

This was one of my favorite reads of the year so far. It has the perfect balance of plot and character development with just the right amount of angst. This series is a little bit over-the-top in a good way. A lot of crazy things happen and there were some interesting revelations in the end of the book. After a disappointing fifth book, I'm glad that this series has returned to it's earlier greatness and I look forward to future installments.
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Kerrigan Byrne is my favorite author in this genre, and her latest book is a perfect example of why. She takes you on a journey, where you're introduced to a man with a past, and a woman who wishes she could forget hers. When their paths collide again years later, Lorelai has to decide whether she can trust the man she once nursed back to health, who took a piece of her with him, or if she needs to keep her distance from The Rook. A wonderfully spun, suspenseful romance!

Lorelei's keen eye saves Ash's life, though he has no memory of his past. Torn apart in young love by duplicity, Ash vows to come back for her--the memory of her sustains him. After many years, he returns to save her, and he leaves a gruesome wake behind him. "Kidnapping" her to his ship, he's an infamous pirate known as the Rook. Still unable to remember his past, Lorelei is unwilling to just be his wife. He must earn her trust and forgiveness to reclaim her love.

As they pursue a treasure, more truths arise, his memory comes crashing back, and the revelations are amazing. Danger still lurks, and as their passion is rekindled, they face even more challenges which threatens their lives. Foes are allies and allies are foes...but the one thing which can bring them salvation is their love for one another in the fight to live.

A passionate romance with twists you will love. I highly recommend.

**Received an ARC from netgalley

Clever alliteration aside, the title is just a touch misleading. While the dragon tattoo is both real and an integral part of the story, this Victorian romp is less high society and Almack’s and more pirates and treasure hunts. Which is actually a lot more fun, but not really what I was expecting.

The Rook is the most notorious pirate on the high seas. So when he turns up at Lorelai’s undesired wedding and kills both her groom and her abusive brother before whisking her off to his ship, she could be forgiven for going into a state of total catatonic shock.

But Lorelai knew The Rook long ago, when he was just a boy with no memory and no name, near death from brutal wounds. She nursed him back to health and named him Ash, and though he had to leave her, he promised he’d return, no matter what. It’s just taken him twenty years, and what he’d survived and endured would break any man, much less a boy already sorely wounded.

There are mentions of past abuse both physical and sexual in the story, and Ash has had to become brutal and merciless in order to become the man he is today. He doesn’t know any other way to be, even with Lorelai, but something holds him in check when he’s with her.

I admit I was briefly concerned this might turn a bit rapey, but thankfully Ash stopped himself before letting his baser instincts overwhelm him. Seeing the alpha-est of alpha males brought low by a woman as gentle as Lorelai was definitely a treat.

There was a fairly large plot hole regarding Moncrieff, Ash’s first mate, which I suspect was setting him up for a book of his own, but I have to say I hope he doesn’t get one. It’s always a hazard setting up a ‘villain’ for a future story, because you have to be careful he doesn’t cross specific lines, and Moncrieff went just that little bit too far. I honestly thought it would have been easier to wrap up ‘The Rook’ with a conveniently dead pirate.

Despite its flaws, I really did enjoy the read and therefore I’m giving it four stars.

Forget everything you've ever read in the historical novels of great dances and enamored couple finding themselves hidden in the garden ... and finding themselves in a compromising situation.
Here, everything revolves around action, revenge, brutality and a passion that resists time.

A man without memory who creates his own story. It becomes one of the biggest and most feared pirates.
Years before, he was helped by Lorelei when she found him injured and almost dead.
As she leaves, Ashh (as she calls him) promises to return. And he does.

But Ash was a brutalized man, who had to survive the worst hardships.
He takes Lorelei for him, after killing some people.
This man, whom Lorelei has been loving for so many years, has her in his custody, and she will have to show all her patience, daring and love to reach the heart of man with a dragon tattoo
3,5 stars

Ash and Lorelei meet when they are young. Lorelei rescues Ash from death and nurses him back to health. Young love blooms but it is ripped away by her cruel brother.

Now it is 20 years later and Ash has returned to keep a promise he made to Lorelei. Sadly, the boy that she once loved is gone. Ash is now known as The Rook. He is ruthless and cold. The Rook is set on making Lorelei his. Lorelei is now terrified of Ash but she knows if she can find the boy buried inside him she can redeem him.

I do think you need to read The Highwayman before reading this book. It ties in nicely to The Rooks story. I really enjoyed Ash and Lorelei. I loved Lorelei’s sweet nature. Her nature is to heal broken things and this is what Ash needed. That being said she could stand her ground when she needed to.

I think this was another strong read in the Victorian Rebels series. Well done.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that so completely captivated me and Ash and Lorelai’s love story so delivered! What an amazing read! I need to own my own paperback copy ASAP to place on my shelf and look at and re-read and just plain love the crap out of it, lol!

What I loved:
1)The Heroine- Lorelai
She wasn't simpering, naive or cliche, she was strong, smart, with nerves of steel and a heart big enough to love Ash completely and unconditionally.

2)The Hero - Dorian aka Ash aka The Rook
The story weaves the tragic past of all the identities our Hero goes through and how he comes to forget Dorian, becom Ash and later on the Rook. Every facet of this character pulled at my heartstrings and I fell in love with each part of him. Ash was just the sweetest and I loved his short time with Lorelai.

She was his prayer in the night. His song in the dark. His past and present. His future. And he hadn’t even laid eyes on her yet.

It wouldn’t matter what she looked like. His heart had already decided to beat for her.


The Rook was definitely a complicated and damaged anti-hero but after everything he’s been through I couldn’t fault him. Instead the author does a great job showing you what shaped him into the man who comes back for Lorelai. He was a strong and resilient character and I couldn’t help but root for him.
“Love is soft. Love is kind. I know nothing of that. What I feel for her is . . . well it’s neither of those things.

It’s too obsessive. It’s marvelous and terrifying. It is the cruelest affliction for a merciless man. Because, it leaves me at her mercy. So unprotected. So easily damaged. It is a bizarre thing to accept, that when entire armies have failed to destroy me, one word from her lips could dismantle me.”

As Dorian – I liked his honor and loyalty to his friends and family. His scrappy street smart determination and pride was tenacious enough that even when he was lost in memory, Ash and Rook still kept that part of him alive inside themselves.

3)The Storytelling
I really liked the author’s writing style. She shows you rather than tells you what to feel. The story was rich and unique and had twists and turns that kept adding to the story she was telling. Her writing was full of emotion and heart. I will definitely be researching her for more reads after this.

Together Lorelai and Ash were amazing and their love for each other is a story I won’t soon forget.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

This is the first book that I have read by this author so I can't compare this book with any of the previous ones in the series. All I can say is that I really enjoyed the book and all the complexities of what Ash had to learn and live in his life.

The beginning when Lorelei finds Ash's beaten body and they think they have a future together was so sweet. Even though Ash lost his memories, he knows that there is a darkness to his soul and that Lorelei is able to soothe that darkness. But you know that would not come so easily for them.

It was intriguing for me to see that when Ash came for Lorelei and saved her from a terrible marriage, he was not her Ash but the Rook, a savage pirate that is feared by everyone even his own crew.

I truly loved watching the journey of Rook fighting his nature and not wanting to hurt Lorelei. At first, you expect them to have this wonderful reunion when he saves her but it was nothing like that at all!

Since I have not read any of the previous books, I wondered how Dorian Blackwell's story was told as we learn that is not his real name and why.

One thing I did wonder was that while Montcrief helped Veronica & Lorelei escape, why didn't Ash/Rook punish him? Was he just distracted by events that immediately followed? That seemed to be an important betrayal by Rook's crew, and he made sure he punished them if they stepped out of line.

The ending was dramatic, action-packed, and romantic. I sure hope that we find out who Veronica married in a following book, but so nice that Lorelei gets the medical help that she needed!!