Vennor, Duke of Newlyn, stalks the stews at night, seeking information about the death of his parents. With a mask concealing his identity, he protects the innocent from harm. His childhood friend Marianne, secretly a newspaper columnist, wants to find the "Vigilante" and interview him. If she can prove herself as a reporter, maybe she can live an independent life rather than marrying the aristocrat her parents have chosen for her.

In this book, Bronwyn Scott combines Batman with Regency romance to create something new. It's a well-written, fast-paced, emotional, and compelling story. Vennor and Marianne are made for each other, both outwardly conforming to the strictures of society while flaunting them in secret. What a fun book!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

If Batman had a love story that took place in this period and ended in marriage and HEA then this would be it. I requested this book from NetGalley not knowing what to expect and it was a pleasant surprise. I just want to share my reading experience (as I normally do with almost all interesting books I acquire).

The hero is burdened by the murder of his parents. The heroine has a career that she cannot pursue due to the limitations set by society. I like that they are friends and developed into lovers. So expect some lovemaking scenes. I also liked that the hero is not a libertine/rake/rogue. He’s a celibate man on a mission. And the heroine is an innocent lady supporting the hero. There is a touch of mystery so it made the romance more interesting. And I like the epilogue of sorts at the end.

Good friends to lovers story. Though the book is the fourth in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone. Marianne and Vennor have been friends all their lives and lately have grown even closer. They are each other's protection in Society, as neither wants to marry yet. Both of them have other, more important goals.

Two years earlier, Vennor lost his parents in a brutal murder. Devastated by their deaths, he pursued every usual road to finding their killers but with no success. Unwilling to give up, Vennor donned a mask and became "The Vigilante," searching the underbelly of London for answers. While he made no progress in his quest, his sense of justice made him a hero to those less fortunate. Vennor has sworn that he will not marry until he has brought the killer to justice.

Marianne has one goal in mind - to be a journalist, something that is not done by women. She has already taken the first step, landing a gossip column, but she writes using a man's name. Vennor is the only one who knows her secret. Her parents have begun pressuring her to marry, but there isn't anyone who interests her. Someone is paying very close attention to her, but Marianne doesn't return his interest.

I liked the development of the relationship between Marianne and Vennor. Their friendship is a close one that has grown over the years, and they count on the other one always being there. But when Vennor realizes that Marianne has a suitor who could succeed in marrying her, it opens his eyes to the fact that if she marries, their relationship would never be the same. He also notices that she has grown into a beautiful woman. Likewise, when her mother mentions that Vennor needs to marry, Marianne realizes that she doesn't like the idea.

For Marianne to avoid marriage, she must have a viable alternative. She knows that if she wants to make a career in journalism, she has to get out of the gossip rut and find a real story. She settles on the idea of finding and unmasking The Vigilante. Vennor, of course, is horrified when she tells him her plan. He's never told her about that part of his life and knows she'll be angry when she finds out. He also knows that she has no fear and could put herself into extreme danger if she follows her plan. Forbidding her makes her more determined.

I was glued to the pages when Marianne made her move. She had no idea how much danger she was in until it was too late. I loved how her note to Vennor made him suspicious enough to follow up. I felt his fear when he realized what she did and that he wouldn't be in time to save her. That confrontation was intense, both Vennor's battle with her attackers to Marianne's realization of his identity and her reaction. The strength of their responses exploded into unexpected passion. This is the beginning of a new stage in their relationship. I loved watching them work together, as Vennor introduced Marianne to the real people of that world. Supporting each other strengthened their feelings for each other, but there were still obstacles to a life together.

Marianne's life is complicated by Lord Hayes, who has decided that only she will do for his wife. While on the surface, Hayes appears to be the perfect nobleman, the words "too good to be true" are accurate. The reader learns that Hayes has a hidden agenda for his courtship, and it isn't a pretty one. I admit that he gave me the creeps from the beginning, and I was quickly proved correct. Vennor still focuses on solving his parents' murders before he marries, and that tunnel vision could lose him the woman he loves. He gets a break when a woman he helps as The Vigilante, describes someone he is very familiar with. I liked how Vennor's friends from the previous books in the series stepped in to help set a trap. The situation becomes very intense when Marianne ends up in danger. I was glued to the pages as Vennor raced to the rescue hoping to be in time. The man involved was genuinely twisted, and I was happy to see him get what was coming to him.

I loved the ending and seeing the change in Vennor as he finally allows himself to be happy. I enjoyed his wedding gift to Marianne and the tangible evidence of his support for her dreams. I liked hearing about their plans for the future and would love to see them pop up in some future book.

This has the Batman theme in a Historical version.

I really enjoyed the romance, action, some mystery/suspense and definitely the main characters.

Vennor, the Duke of Newlyn and Marianne Treleven are best of friends. Their families a have been close friends and the two have grown up together. The last couple years they have become best of friends. The share pretty much everything with each other and rely on each other as back up from other suitors.

Ven had lost his parents several years back, a terrible tragic killing. He was very close with his parents and was devastated by their death. He pursued every avenue to try and catch the killers to no avail. So he took maters into his own hands and became the vigilante. His purpose was to catch his parents killers but in the process became a hero to the less fortunate and down trodden. He felt like his life was given meaning and purpose.

Marianne is a journalist but a one that writes under an assumed name, as a male. No one knows she's a journalist but Ven. She's been feeling the pressure from her parent that it's time for her to marry but she's really found no one that really interest her or that she's attracted to. There is someone that has shown interest in her and looks like he might offer for her hand. But she doesn't think he's someone she want to marry.

Ven and Marianne have never really crossed the line past friendship. But recently each has felt the pull and attraction. And then one day Ven realized how really beautiful and attractive Marianne really was and he was blindsided but the revelation. Marianne knows she needs to marry someday but she wants a relationship that is like her friendship with Ven. And lately she's felt that he's looked at her differently and there seems to be some underlining tension between them. And to make things more complicated she's begun to notice how really attractive he is.

One evening Marianne share's with Ven her secret desire to do a article on the Vigilante. Ven of course is shocked and worried. It's dangerous for Marianne to be in the neighborhoods he frequents as the Vigilante and the other is he's never told her his secret. He know she will be hurt because the pretty much share everything. He tries to dissuade her and she becomes hurt that he is discouraging her as he's always been so supportive of her journalistic talents. But something happens and Ven reveals his secret to Marianne. From that point on things really change between them. The truth of their attraction becomes vivid and real. They decide to work and maneuver through the possibility of true love between them. And as they do a proposal from the other man throws a kink in their relationship as well as some new evidence about Ven's parents death.

But what I loved about this love story they communicate and work through their issues until they get their happy ever after. As well as justice for Ven's parents death.

Very well written. But my only issue is that I wish that their attraction was always their instead of all of a sudden one day they noticed each other. I guess that is possible but again I found it a little odd in their love story.