Member Reviews
I really enjoyed Courting Trouble. It was my first novel by Byrne and I'm sure I'll read more of her work.
The story is slightly different than most historical romances because it's darker and there's more action. The heroine was wonderfully flawed which made her struggle and love troubles all the more convincing - and at the same time I couldn't help but root for her. What I missed was a similar depth of character in the male protagonist. Titus was just a tad too perfect to be entirely believable.
The crime subplot made the story more fast paced and spicier. All in all, a very good read. I recommend it!
I requested the arc since it seemed it was inspired by Persuasion (and I'm always on the look out for those books), this one seemed promising but I didn't buy the character's feelings for each other. I think we were told about them but not shown, especially without much scenes of them falling for the person the other is now in the present, they just said they still loved each other but there wasn't enough development of them in the past to uphold that and there wasn't scenes of them falling for each other again in the present to make me invested.
I am curious about the next two books because I did like the sisters and I think next book miiiight be one I'll enjoy, at least based in the two chapters that were on my epub.
I absolutely love this story. So many times I wanted to cry for our H&H. Nora's love is so pure, and yet her troubles are devastating. Titus is the very best of men. No spoilers here because you must read this story! I'm now anxiously awaiting the next book in this series...because I love the Goode girls!
I really love this author, which is why I picked up this self-published spin-off of her Victorian Rebels series. The first book featured Sir Carlton Morley and the middle Goode sister, Prudence.
This is the eldest Goode sister Honoria’s book. You meet her and her dastardly husband in book one. Courting Trouble picks up immediately where the book leaves off and then ambles around a bit through Honoria’s past and her childhood romance with the hero, Titus.
I enjoyed this romance, although it isn’t my favorite by this author. Both the backstory and present-day romance felt a bit rushed. Especially once Honoria started recuperating at Titus’s hospital. There isn’t much talking before they jump each other’s bones again and the HEA comes not too long after. But it's a quick, fun read.
I am interested in the last two Goode sisters and seeing how they fit into this expanding world, especially Mercy and the mysterious Raphael Sauvageau. Seems I won’t have to wait too long. Dancing with Danger has a release date of 02/09/2021.
Am I capable of not loving anything Kerrigan writes? I think not. Already ready for the next book in the series!
I didn’t know that this was a spin-off to the Victorian rebels series which was a pleasant surprise. It was nice seeing a certain someone again!!
I really enjoyed most of the books I read by Kerrigan Byrne. This might not be on my top books by her, but it’s still a good start for what’s to come in the series. I enjoyed it enough to finish it in one setting. My main issue is that it was so short and kinda fast. I don’t think we get enough of the two mains characters together. I wanted to see more of them with each other. And to get to know them more? This just felt like an intro for the next books.
This wasn’t as dark as the other Kerrigan Byrne books that I’ve read, but it was still full of some action. It’s kinda the basic second chance romance of two young lovers separated due to difference in class with a martyr heroine and a sweet hero. I enjoyed the book but I didn’t care about these two so much honestly. HOWEVER, I’ve got my eyes on the next book because that sneak peak we got made me so freakin excited for it! Because the hero is like the “bad guy” and I think I like both him and the heroine already.
Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this copy
Courting Trouble by Kerrigan Byrne is an interesting novel. I like how it captured my attention immediately. I like how it ended. It was well written. What I did not like was the main character of Nora or Honoria. What an interesting conundrum. I enjoyed reading the book and wanted the best for her, but I didn’t like her. I liked the good Doctor however, so that helped me like the book.
Honoria was forced into a marriage that helped her father. Her husband was a mean man who found ways to degenerate his wife at every turn. However, we do not find this out right away. The book starts off with Honoria being shot by her own husband and then her husband being shot by her sister’s husband. He died. She did not.
I like Kerrigan Byrne’s writing and I found the entrance of the novel was explosive and riveting. The novel is the second book in a series about the Goode sisters. Courting Trouble by Kerrigan Byrne was a good read.
If you like second-chance romance, this book is for you. Honoria and Titus are perfect for each other, but social expectations and her powerful father tore them apart. Watching them grow as individuals and find their way back to each other is a very satisfying reading experience.
The structure of the book is a bit unusual. The prologue opens in 1880, where the last book in the series ended, with Honoria having just been shot by her husband. Then the novel skips back in time, dramatizing the important events in her relationship with Titus. This accounts for about 30% of the novel. It doesn't read like backstory, though. It's integral to Titus and Honoria's love story.
When they finally acknowledge the passion that still burns between them, the ensuing love scene is exquisite and combustible. Now, I'm not someone who reads books for the love scenes. I enjoy them if they're there, but I don't miss them if they're not. This one, though? It should get some kind of award for the best love scene of 2020 (and I've read, like, 300 romance novels this year, so this isn't some naive observation). The scene is tender and emotional and steamy, with a decade's worth of love and loss expressed in the intimacy they share. I don't mean it's some OTT hot-hot-hot love scene. It's understated and passionate and just right for Regency romance.
The resolution of the mystery was a little rushed, but I honestly didn't care because the romance plot was so strong. The teaser at the end for the next book in the series is awesome, and I can't wait to read that one as well.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.
I adore Kerrigan Byrne - thank you so much for the early copy! I am so excited to have found historical romance at this point in time, there are so many authors to binge read and Byrne was one of my first.
As a new reader of Kerrigan Bryne’s historical romances, Courting Trouble stood out as something a little different than what I’ve come across before. Usually I expect to read about two head strong characters who have to find a way to use that fire for them rather than to burn everything down. It always works for me—delights me, even. In the case of Courting Trouble, the heroine was a little more meek, although surprisingly bold in her adulthood, and I liked how unexpected she was. The hero, Titus, was dreamy and wonderful and while he had more of the typical strong traits I anticipated, he also was a more gentle soul.
I think I’ve read so many alpha characters lately that I’ve forgotten how lovely it is to read a novel featuring two characters who are genuinely good humans. The hurt-ache and angsty bits were there but not too heavy handed and the storyline has me anxious to go back to any of the previous books I’ve missed in this series and also anticipating the two books I think are coming.
Courting Trouble was a fun, quick read. Perfect for the next free weekend you have to read.
I love nearly every book by Kerrigan Byrne and this one is a good one again. Having read the first book, this second book made sense to me, but I think that even with the introduction chapter it wouldn't be easy to get into it for someone who missed the first book. I wasn't a fan of the heroine in the first book, as she came across as very selfish and vain, but it speaks for Ms Byrne's talent to be able to turn this around. The heroine hasn't lost her character in the second book and is still a little selfish and vain, but you can see her development and understand her motivations. I absolutely adore the hero and think he's way too good for her. Sigh!
ARC received for review
Honoria/Nora redeems herself from the witchy way she acted in her sister Pru's book. Titus has been in love with her since they were teenagers. She pushes him away, and attempts to do it a second time but family and friends stop that.
I think I'm gonna love the new bad guy who's gonna wind up with a Goode sister. I really can't wait to see him interact with all the previous heroes in the Victorian Rebel's series.
A splendid historical romance that was quite good actually. Good writing and characters. So enjoyed it!
This was a quick read. I loved the interaction between Honoria and Titus. It was a feed-good romance which is sorely needed. I do wish there were more interactions between the two rather than navel gazing.
Kerrigan Byrne is always able to draw me into her stories, and “Courting Trouble” is no exception. I dashed through this book in an evening (not hard as its only a little more than 200 pages). Drawing in characters from other books and other series, the frequent reader of Byrne will know some of the back story. Much of the relevant back story is told in the first part of the book. That was a little disappointing for me, as I felt the plot took too long to really engage and get going.
In sum, though, this is more enjoyable escapism from Kerrigan Byrne.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Titus Conleith has loved Honoria Goode since they were children, but being a mere servant, his feelings were forbidden. Years later, after Honoria has married another man, an awful attack leaves her in his healing hands – and gives their hearts another chance.
Starting with the second book in this series – which is loosely linked to Byrne’s Victorian Rebels series – I was a bit confused at the first chapter, but quickly got my bearings. Readers are taken back to Titus and Honoria’s past together, shown the attraction they share and the strength of their feelings, then the story settles in to explore the events of years down the road, igniting an unexpected second-chance romance that pulls the reader in ruthlessly. The strength of their feelings is undoubted, the problems they still have to work through tricky, and along the way we meet the other Goode sisters, all very interesting girls who have their own romances to look forward to. While I did enjoy the second half of the book more than the first, Courting Trouble certainly helped to cement Byrne on my list of must-read authors, and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for readers in the future!
Kerrigan Byrne is hit or miss author for me personally, and unfortunately this was more of a miss than anything. For one thing, I found Honoria to be a very unlikable heroine. The hero was fine, but nothing special IMO. I also didn't really understand why these characters were separated for so long, so I was annoyed a lot of the time while reading this. I just felt like the conflict could've been resolved in an easier way?? Idk I'm just frustrated.
**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**
I love a good second chance romance, and this book definitely fits the bill. This is a classic Kerrigan Byrne story, with lots of emotion and passion, as well as some darkness, on the way to a much-deserved HEA. I was fully engrossed every moment and read this book in one evening. I am anxious to read the next books in ythe series, not only to get an update on Nora and Titus’s story, but also to see what is next for her sisters.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
ARC provided by Netgalley:
I cannot get enough of these books! You get sucked in so fast and before you know it, you read the whole book in one sitting.
I love the stories Bryne spins. Enemies to lovers, broken souls, long lost loves. There is not one book I don’t recommend.
This book we have Titus and Nora. Young lovers that were torn apart by family and reputation. It will break your heart and put it back together.
Content warnings: abuse, violence, language
This was my second book from Kerrigan Byrne. After enjoying All Scot and Bothered, I was very pleased to receive an arc for Courting Trouble. Although it is a different series, the whole atmosphere of the story is the same. It just breezes Kerrigan! The great thing is that her stories aren't all happy-go-lucky. No, the characters have an edge to them. And a dark history. Which makes the story intriguing and it also keeps you wondering what will happen next.
In this story, Kerrigan let's you get acquainted with doctor Titus and Viscountess Honoria. When Titus rescues a wounded lady, he doesn't realize that it is his first love who broke his heart. Through flash backs and alternating points of views, you slowly get an idea of the total history between Honoria and Titus. And the story continues after Honoria heals from her wounds. What will happen next, now Honoria and Titus know the truth? Another great read and I can't wait for the next story of one of the Goode Girls.
Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.