I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

All Scot and Bothered, by Kerrigan Byrne, is available at booksellers on 9-29-2020. Book 2 in the Devil You Know series is, to me, another hit. The series revolve around 3 boarding school friends who share a secret about a horrible situation. They've kept in touch and kept quiet.

Cecelia's life is a horror movie come to life. It's awful and will break your heart. She perseveres and somehow manages to keep a fairly good attitude and remains a nice person. She has more backbone than I do. Circumstances change, and how, putting her in the headlights of the Vicar of Vice, Lord Chief Justice, Cassius Ramsey. This guy is all messed up, straight laced to infinity. He's difficult to like at first, well for quite a bit of the book. He's torn between being righteous and lusting after the wrong woman. It takes him quite awhile to come to terms with his feelings but in the end love conquers all & there is a lovely HEA. Hurry up book 3.

#KerriganByrne #DevilYouKnow #AllScotandBothered #Netgalley #StMartin'sPaperbacks #historicalromance #romance

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!

Kerrigan Byrne is back with the second installment of her Devil You Know series, this time focusing on the second member of the Red Rogues, Miss Cecelia Teague. After the death of a mysterious aunt, Cecelia suddenly comes into a large fortune, and most surprisingly of all she has just become the proprietress of London’s premier gaming hell. If this wasn’t enough of a shock, add in the fact that she now has the Lord Chief Justice, Cassius Gerard Ramsey, breathing down her neck as he chases after the notorious owner of the gaming hell, and kissing her in moonlit gardens. Ramsey has no idea that Cecelia is anything other than the sweet redhead he finds his heart opening up to, will Cecelia be able to keep her two identities from him?

All Scot and Bothered was a fun romp through Victorian England. As per Byrne’s other works, it’s a pretty high-octane ride, at least as high-octane as a historical romance can get. There are undercover agents, devious plots, bombs, missing children, and secret societies. It was a blast! It definitely filled the Harlots shaped hole in my heart. No one could convince me otherwise that Byrne was not at least a bit inspired by the show. From the Georgian costumes the women of the gaming hell wore to the secret society that sacrificed young virgins, there is definitely a debt owed to Harlots.

I loved Cecelia as a heroine, she was very intelligent and sweet, while never being a doormat. I liked Ramsey overall, but there were times where I found him a bit overbearing and too stuffy. He didn’t really soften towards Cecelia in a way that I found believable or enjoyable. Maybe the romance just needed a bit more development. They certainly had physical passion, but I could have done with a bit more emotional development.


A longer version of this review will be posted on my Goodreads page, and my two blogs, https://nicbrouillette.tumblr.com/, and my new blog Flea With a Degree https://fleawithadegree.tumblr.com/.

All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byrne is due to be published September 29th 2020.

This book got me from the moment I start reading it.
Loved Cecilia, she is an awesome character in the book. When someone murder her aunt, she inherits all her possession, which is not that great and bring trouble and danger to her door.
Ramsey is another story, he is total opposite of Cecilia.
They are enemies....
Great enemies to lovers story.

Whew. I have so many thoughts about this book. I am a big KB fangirl. And if you’ve read anything by her before than you know to expect dark, mysterious, and high-octane emotional romances. And her latest book doesn’t disappoint!

The thoughts: All Scot and Bothered is really compelling because it harkens back to some old school (and let’s be honest, problematic) tropes. Primarily, a hero who doesn’t trust women because of his previous experience. Frankly, this hero is scarcely tolerable. He’s uptight to the point of prudishness. He’s judgemental. He’s rigid. And deep down…he’s just broken.

Now. IRL if you brought this guy to me and said “Caiti, this is my new boyfriend, Cassius.” I would look you dead in the eye and tell you, unequivocally, “Run.” Run fast. He might be gigantic and savage and hot as hell… but RUN.”

But, and if you listen to the Fates Mates Podcast they talk about this often, there’s often a rhetorical purpose to these sorts of characters appearing in romance. And when done well, they can serve to metaphorically dismantle the Patriarchy. And I see that in this book. There’s even a line when the hero says something akin to “you’ve dismantled me”.

Another thing. This book features a plus-size heroine. (I sincerely hate that term. As if “large” is somehow irregular…but whatever.) And I can see how some readers could argue that Cecelia’s insecurities about her body aren’t very fat-positive. But the thing is, feeling insecure and unworthy due to body size is a thing. It’s real. So sometimes it’s helpful to see a character working through toxic messages about her body and ultimately going on to claim herself.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

I am a huge fan of Kerrigan Byrne and both this series and her Victorian Rebels series and she has once again given us another gem.

I loved reading Cecilia and Ramsay's story. Their attraction to each other was a page turner for me and I loved reading their interactions and dialogue. Cecilia is a bright light that hides a childhood of pain and loneliness. Ramsay is the same but instead of seeing the good in the world like Cecilia, Ramsay hides himself away and has closed himself off from everyone, including his brother.

Something that I liked a lot about this story is that not much time was wasted with hidden identities and secrets and the characters did not have to spend a majority of the book hiding and lying to each other. Their growing attraction and love was well paced and enjoy able to read. I did feel that the book felt shorter than what I'm used to reading from this author. It did not feel rushed, but I wish we had had more of their interactions and more elements to the overall mystery and plot.

The only complaint that I could say that I have about the book is that there are some things that I wish were explained more. More information about her mother and Cecilia's family in general and Cecilia being the one to tell Ramsay about her history. We get a bit of an epilogue for them in the previous book of the series but I would have liked to see a bit more of their future. together.

All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byrne is a strange but interesting tale about a Scottish man holding an important position in the British legal system who holds himself to a high moral standard and the young woman who is going to be his downfall. It is a good stand alone book but it is also the story of the last of three friends, young women, who are know as the Red Rogues. The story itself is exciting, mysterious and adventurous and steamy. A little too steamy for my taste but it didn't stop me from finishing the story. There's so much going on and it was interesting learning Cassius Gerard Ramsay's background story, learning about Miss Cecelia Teague's inheritance and how the two become so involved with a mysterious group (secret society) called the Crimson Council whose members want something that is in Cecelia's possession. The story wraps up nicely with all the answers to all the questions raised and a HEA for Cassius and Cecelia. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ok so I was bothered so I am thinking that it is a good name for the book. We have Cecilia who boggled my mind, she was supposed to be this smart person, however I didn't see that. It felt like she was as confused as I was, she flirted then was scared, put her foot down then squirmed. She goes full force to handle the gaming hall not knowing all the ins and out. So she is supposed to be smart I mean she got her degree in mathematics, yet had no common sense. Then we have Ramsey who was Chief Justice but did all the work and I am sorry but he was looking into who was the Scarlet Lady for so long, how in the heck did he miss so much if he ran his other cases like this I dont get how he would have kept that job.

What a fun read! What say you, up for an intriguing romp with a saucy bluestocking, a Scotsman with a vendetta on excess and a bevy of secrets? The characters catch you from introduction, and I want to know MORE. More about Cecilia, more about Ramsey, the Rogues, everyone! When smart meets stubborn, that makes for interesting times.

<strong>What a wonderful addition to the Devil You Know Series!</strong>
******
Overall Rating: 5 Red Rogue Stars
Kindle Unlimited: No
Standalone: Yes
Steam: 2 hot highlander flames
Triggers: There is references to a trigger from book 1
******
This book features Lord Cassius Ramsey, Lord Chief Justice of the High Court, the Vicar of Vice as our hot Scot! Cecelia Teague is one of the Red Rogues….Alexandra, Francesca and Cecilia (aka Alex, Frank and Cecil make up this wonderful group). These girls are more like sisters and have bonded through bullying, tragedy, and much much worse.
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Cecelia had a horrible childhood. Raised by Vicar Joshua Teague, a truly awful man that hated women and was set on punishing Cecelia for all of their sins. She was physically, verbally, and mentally abused. She was constantly told she was fat, worthless, and a temptress. Whenever her father felt Cecelia had committed a grievous sin, she would be locked in the cellar for days with no food, water, or light. All Cecelia wished for was for someone to love her, to hold her, to save her, to love her.
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Until one day her life is changed by an unknown benefactor that offers her a new life, education, and takes her away from the hell hole she has been living in. She then meets her BFFs, the Red Rogue's as they are known.
<blockquote><i><strong>"These Red Rogues, they are like three rosebuds, conspiring to bloom with such brilliance, they'll never be challenged by any other in the garden."</strong></i></blockquote>
Lord Ramsey's life has not been much better, and due to the pain he has suffered, he no longer trusts anyone...especially women, and he takes his job very seriously, it almost defines him. He is angry, untrusting...and really really hot! He is on a mission to eradicate vices in his town. Not to mention find the person responsible for kidnapping little girls and doing horrible things to them. Lord Ramsey is also the brother of the Duke of Redmayne, Alexandra's husband...meaning he will have many run-ins with Cecelia.
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Once Cecelia returns to Devonshire after finishing her education, she is quickly thrust into a new life with new unexpected responsibilities as the Scarlet Lady....she is now the proud owner of a gaming hell. How will she manage her new normal? What will happen when Lord Ramsey storms the doors of her gaming hell on her first day?
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These two characters were awesome. Cecelia a strong independent thinker with an education and doesn't want to give up her freedom for a man. Ramsey, strong, morally focused and will never let a woman break him. The secondary characters add to the story and you will instantly fall for them all. As the story progresses, so do the twists and turns. Who are the bad guys? Who are the good guys? Will Ramsey and Cecelia be able to work together to solve the mystery of the missing girls? Will they both make it out of the story alive? I won't tell...no spoilers here, you will have to read the book!
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To sum it up, the book was amazing! The ending was perfect! The story kept me reading through the night! I loved all the characters and I can't wait until Francesa's book is released! I loved loved loved that these three rose buds are blooming into three strong independent women! Can't wait for what's next! This is a definite recommend for me!
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<img src="https://nicolesorandom.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/recommended.jpg" width="150" />

This book should have a few trigger warnings in its blurb.
Other than that it has the perfect combination of romance, and intrigue that keeps the reader hooked.

This book is titillating from the first page. The author leads the reader through every thought and feeling of her characters, so much so that you agonize, fume and desire along with them. The characters are interesting and complex as is the subject matter. I would have liked more information of Cecelia and her friends past included, to give readers that had not read the first book in the series a little more insight.

Cecelia Teague, saved from a tumultuous childhood by a mysterious benefactor that has allowed her to live comfortably among the London elite, has learned that her benefactor unexpectedly passed away and left Cecelia a notorious gambling house. Enter Lord Chief Justice of the High Court, Cassius Gerard Ramsay, who has been working tirelessly to rid London of it's vices, including Cecelia's newly inherited 'den of iniquity'. When a raid on the gambling house to find a group of missing girls throws Cecelia and Ramsey into each other's paths, their quarreling and pointed remarks start getting heated and they both find themselves wanting more. This book is for fans of Sarah MacLean and Lisa Klepas.

This ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.

Kindly provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review......

Give me a great historical romance and I am hooked. Add me some suspense and that's me in heaven.
This was Ramsey and Cecilia book. Not your immediate H & h matches but as the read went on Kerrigan just made them work.

Cecilia is the light to Ramsey's dark, the ying to his yang and I loved their story.

Great book Kerrigan !!

Many thanks for this opportunity xx

Later peeps xxx

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a decent historical romance with a complex hero and a brave heroine. Cecelia has had a difficult childhood but grows into a woman determined to view the world in a different light. Ramsay is immediately taken by her beauty and her bright nature. His role as justice makes him naturally suspicious of her especially after young girls begin to disappear and he believes it's from her brothel. They go through many moments of distrust and angst as Ramsay battles to learn to trust and love again. Lots of hot sexy moments and overall worth the read.

An edited version of this review will appear at All About Romance closer to the release date.

All Scot and Bothered
Kerrigan Byrne
September 29, 2020, HR (1850-1900)
St. Martin’s Paperbacks?, ? pages, Amazon ASIN B08472FB6T
Sensuality: Warm
Grade: C-

There are spoilers for How to Love a Duke in Ten Days in this review.

A couple of prefaces to this review:

I barely remember the first book in this series, even after re-reading the blurb, the All About Romance review, and the first chapter. So. There's that.

The series description suggests it is heavily focused on three fiercely independent friends who call themselves the Red Rogues because of their red hair color. Except we get this book blurb for All Scot and Bothered:

They are a dangerous duke, a fierce lord, and an infamous earl—dark, bold, brave men who know exactly what they want. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees…

...and suddenly the series is about three dudes. Also, the blurb is confusing - is this another story about Alexandra? What kind of switcheroo bullshit is this?

I digress. Moving on.

Cassius Gerard Ramsay is a sanctimonious asshole. He had a terrible childhood until his mother married the Duke of Redmayne; he's never forgiven her or stopped believing women are the root of all evil. Now nearing his forties, he's a super wealthy, abstemious, hypocritical bachelor with little patience or kindness, empathy or sympathy. He's also Lord Chief Justice of the High Court, and gets to practice being better and more virtuous than everyone else on a regular basis.

When All Scot and Bothered begins, Ramsay is deeply involved in the investigation of several missing young girls, and trying to learn more about an organization supposedly known as the Crimson Court - a super secret organization of powerful men rumored to be up to their eyeballs in nefarious activities. He’s had his eye on a notorious gaming hell and the woman who runs it, and believes she may be behind the abductions of the young girls. Unfortunately, he finds himself increasingly distracted from his work and life by an altogether different woman, Cecelia Teague, a close friend of his new sister-in-law Alexandra (wife of Piers Gedrick Atherton, Duke of Redmayne - his step-brother), who keeps showing up at the same shindigs.

As a young mathematics prodigy, Cecelia Teague was blamed, belittled and abused by men who didn’t like her, her body or her intelligence. Her father, the local vicar, was the worst of the lot. He regularly locked her in their damp, dark basement without food or water, as an additional form of punishment. She’s just spent two long days locked in the basement when she’s rescued by a glamorous stranger acting on behalf of a mysterious benefactor (say that five times, fast). The stranger tells her the vicar isn’t actually her father, removes her from the vicar’s home, takes her to Paris, and then deposits her at a prestigious boarding school. The mysterious benefactor asks only that Cecelia write regular letters detailing her life.

A lonely Cecelia spends her days with the school gardener, a widower who lost his wife and daughter to the flu. He becomes a pseudo-father figure to her, and then she meets and becomes fast friends with two other girls, Lady Alexandra Lane, and Francesca Cavendish, Countess of Mont Claire. They adopt masculine nicknames and dub themselves the Red Rogues (for their red hair). When Alexandra is raped by their headmaster, and then ‘accidentally’ murders him, the girls conspire with the gardener to hide the body. The murder doesn’t fracture their friendship, it cements it. Afterwards, Cecelia and Francesca confess their own deepest, darkest secrets to Alexandra in solidarity to their friend. When this story begins, they're still deeply in each other's pockets, Alexandra is happily married to Piers, and Cecelia’s life is about to change.

When Celelia is bequeathed Miss Henrietta’s School for Cultured Young Ladies (recognize the name? It’s the same place Sir Carlton Morely and Prudence Goode meet in A Dark and Stormy Knight, Victorian Rebels #7), by the mysterious benefactor, she isn’t sure what to expect. She’s disappointed she never had the chance to meet her (a maternal aunt), shocked that she now owns a gambling hell (with a staff that dabbles in prostitution), and that it doubles as a school for indigent mothers and girls. And she also inherits a young ward, Phoebe, along with a warning never to let her father have her. And her aunt kept a coded notebook with secrets and financial records and...Ahem. Her already overwhelming first visit is interrupted when the Vicar of Vice (you know who he is don’t you?) arrives with a warrant to search the premises. Donning a disguise, the Scarlet Lady meets Lord Ramsay in her new office and bluffs her way through his accusations. No, she doesn’t know anything about the missing girls. No, Miss Henrietta’s isn’t a brothel. No, he won’t find any evidence of wrongdoing.

Cecelia doesn’t know what to do about the Vicar of Vice, and things take a turn after she runs into him at Alexandra’s house and kisses him in the garden. Oops. Determined to run the gambling establishment (because she’s a math prodigy, running a gambling establishment should be easy), and take care of her new ward. Lord Ramsay is enormous and distractingly handsome, but since he hates women and wants to destroy her business, he can never know who she is. Unfortunately, someone tries to blow up the school, and then murder her and Phoebe on the street, and Ramsay learns her secret. Despite his disappointment once he learns who she is (I’m majorly understating this) and his constant state of lust, he takes Cecelia, Phoebe and the gardener and spirits them away to Scotland.

I want to tell you this messy premise finds its footing after Cecelia and Ramsay wind up together with her found family in Scotland...but I can’t. He lusts for her, but won’t fall for a woman who owns a gambling den. Or really, for any woman, because he’s a misogynist who thinks women’s vaginas are the root of all evil. Byrne: Ramsay can be big, burly, hot, sexy, a scottish wizard of the loch and a wolf under his skin, but if he hates women...I can’t ignore it. Except voluptuous, lovely Cecelia. Thankfully, Cecelia is bright and clever and kind and good, and unwilling (too smart) to give up her life so that he feels better about himself and his life choices. She’s been there, done that already. So she sets him straight. Well, right after she gives him the most amazing blowjob of his life, and he blows her mind returning the favor and then after he gets confused because his big cock won’t fit in her vagina because OOPS, SHE’S A VIRGIN WHO HAS NEVER BEEN KISSED BEFORE THE WHOLE GARDEN THING, while her former gardener/pseudo-papa and seven year old ward are sleeping nearby. But after that. Oh, and after that one time they have sex outside. Then. Then she sets him straight. And so does the gardener.

Meanwhile, someone is abducting young girls and trafficking them, someone is trying to kill Cecelia, and maybe, just maybe Ramsay's boss/mentor is a villain. And a twist. Or two!

Reader, I read everything Kerrigan Byrne writes hoping to discover another The Highwayman. Maybe it’s time to give up.

Fantastic Book!

"And I've realized, it was because ye were with me. Cecelia, ye are my happiness."

Kerrigan Byrne has a talent for writing damaged heroes, and strong female characters. These are my favorite types of books. Ramsey is definitely near the top of my favorite Kerrigan Byrne heroes. As a big strong Scot, he was extremely protective of those he considered his own. Cecelia and Ramsey balance each other out perfectly.

I loved how this book had a tie in with her Victorian Rebels series. If you have not read those, you are missing out!

This book, as with the first book in the Devil You Know series will keep you on the edge of your seat. The Ah-ha moment will make your heart stop, and happy tears will be shed.

"Ye did," he murmured. "Ye've ruined me, Cecelia. Ye've dismantled everything I thought I was, everything I've wanted to be. Ye ripped the bits of me that were festering and rotten away from myself, and now I doona ken what I am. Who I am."

It's fairly simple. I love Kerrigan Byrne's writing and her ability to write dynamic, multidimensional characters. She's an instant pre-order author for me. Her books are fabulous and this book is no exception! This is book 2 of the Devil You Know series. It follows three women who attend the same boarding school and form the Red Rogues Society. Book 2 focuses on Cecelia/Cecil.

You meet Cecelia in book 1, but this could be read as a standalone. The hero in this story is Ramsay (also introduced in book 1). Both characters (similar to other Byrne's books) have traumatic pasts. But they've overcome them to a degree and are living through them and past those experiences. There's also a bit of mystery and intrigue here. And Ramsay is a Chief Justice, so he's also an authority figure (hot trope IMO).

Without giving too much away, this book was amazingly brilliant. Ramsay is a bit of a grumpy Scottish man, but lovable. Cecelia is intelligent, bespeckled, and delightful. She's strong, independent, and resourceful. It's lovely too that Cecelia isn't a waif, but nearer to being plus-sized. It's a welcome representation!

I would warn those that this does have some content warnings of childhood trauma, sex, and some language. But, this is typical of Byrne's romance and what I love about her. It's not all sunshine and unicorns. Her writing is never to the point of vulgarity in my opinion. It's essential to her stories.

Can't wait for book 3 and Francesca! Really really hoping this series extends beyond book 3!

I received this book as an ARC through Netgalley but all opinions are my own. I've already pre-ordered a paperback version!

I started All Scot and Bothered without reading the first book in the series. Some fellow romance readers quickly stopped me and made sure I read the series in order and I am so glad! The friendship between the Red Rogues is so much better knowing Alex's story before we get to Cecilia. Cecilia and Ramsey were such a sweet, slow burn and their conflict was exactly what we needed in this second installment. His high moral compass and her newly found scandalous business were the perfect form of opposites attract. I am new to Kerrigan Byrne but am all in now.

I really liked this book. It was fast paced and had really interesting and developed characters - you could see why they acted the way they did which is not always the case. This is the second in a series, but you could absolutely read it on it's own first. I love a historical romance, but I liked that the main trio of women challenge the system in a way that is still believable for the time. Highly recommend.

This book starts out with our heroine as a young child being abused by her would be father, a vicar. As a young woman she is self assured, kind, and extremely intelligent. She meets the hero, Cassius Gerard Ramsay, through her close friend and they get tossed together trying to solve a heinous crime. Both have suffered greatly growing up and it affects their interactions with others and their relationships. As they come to know each other their barriers are tested and their hearts become entangled. They must face their fears to come out ahead of their enemies.
This was an engaging read with strong characters and intense scenes. I was impressed with it and loved the ending. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series.