The series started off strong, but the writing grew repetitive and predictable, It’s insta-love with flowery prose which becomes redundant throughout the series. Not enough room for character growth or plot, It’s insta-romance. I don’t know why he likes her. Just does bc shes fragile? Same for her. The end was a setup for more books in this series.

Maybe because this was part of a series (which I haven’t read) and perhaps some issues were addressed there, but I felt there were many unanswered questions re the MC’s. Why was Felicity such a nervous person? What was the cause of all her fainting spells? What abuse did she suffer from her father and how did that impact her? Honestly, Felicity was a difficult character for me to relate to. Although caring and patient, she was so timid and fearful. Gabriel was a delicious big, brooding beast of a man although his history was somewhat murky too. There was a bit of mystery that was interesting however I felt the resolution was rushed. There is also still the lingering question as to the survival of Marco Villanueve.

A couple editing notes: since “sister” in French is considered a feminine word, it should be MA soeur not mon soeur. Also, LA petite mort not le petite mort.

This was one of the more original stories I have read this year. While it could be read as a stand alone, it is best read in context of the whole series. Those who have been reading along with the series get a better feel for the desperate longing of the hero. This book is more in line with some of Ms. Byrne's earlier works, especially The Highwayman and The Hunter. I'm all about heroes who know early on that they love the heroine. Are there a few plot points that stretch the imagination? Well, sure. What romance novel doesn't? The whole face-transplant thing was really cool, though.

I would recommend this book to anyone.who has enjoyed Ms. Byrne's earlier, angstier books. This was a real return to form of all the things I love about this author's works.

This was the story I was most looking forward to in this series. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t quite up there with the rest of them.
Shorter than I would have liked and the ending was abrupt.
Still a huge fan of this author and will read anything she writes.

So this one wasn't my favorite. I liked Gabriel, he was the dark and brooding man with a soft spot for the woman he loved. I just didn't care much for Felicity. She didn't seem to really stand out in my opinion. I liked her sister more, Mercy. I mean I liked Felicity as a person, she was kind and helpful, and really sweet. But at the same time I felt that she was really flat as a character. There wasn't much depth to her, or to Gabriel. I wish we had gotten a better look at the characters, there wasn't much to go on with them and their pasts. I wanted more from them and more of their backstories. There was always hints that things had happened in their past, and while we got glimpses into the past, nothing was ever delved into. She just felt like she was just there, that there was nothing really making her stand out to me. I really wanted to like her, but I just felt like my affection for her wasn't there. Overall, it was an okay book. I liked it enough, and I enjoyed the writing style. I just wish the moments were more developed.

I really need to read previous books too! I read Dancing with Danger where I met Gabriel before, so I really hope he would get his HEA too.
In this book we know more about his feelings, pain, loneliness. And his aching for love. I loved that Felicity never saw his image as something bad, she accepted him and grown feelings for him simply because of his personality.
really beautifully written.

This was my FAVORITE book in this series! I'm mean there was lots of swooning (just from me)!!!

A case of a large inheritance, mistaken identity and lots of longing - make for a great historical romance!

Gabriel was the perfect hero - I loved how he looked out for Felicity and how he just happened to be in the right place to get a job with her! And how much he calmed her soul.

Felicity underneath it all is feisty and knows what she wants and that turns out to be Gabriel... she just doesnt know its him!

It was just well written and the story moved at an excellent pace - pretty sure I didnt put this book down until it was finished!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is fine. It's very Beauty and the Beast sort of vibes. My only peeve about it is that the hero is an actual murderer who thinks about times he just killed people out of impatience or annoyance, I personally had a hard time appreciating Gabriel as a hero after that but others may feel different. The writing is good, the heroine is a nice blend of having a rough time but is likeable, smart and keeps on going. I really liked Felicity. There's a nice mystery going on in the background, I always appreciate that. I would definitely recommend this author and this book, just be aware that the hero's past might not be everyone's cup of tea and personally I did not see any kind of warning or indication in the summary or back cover that would have let me know ahead of time.

Tempting Fate by Kerrigan Byrne
• historical romance

Rating: 4 stars

Felicity Goode- the sweet, quiet, unassuming bookworm of the Goode family is on track to be the only spinster of the four sisters. She must find and marry a man of high station in order to claim her father’s inheritance.

After an attempt on her life, Felicity places an ad for protection and unwillingly stumbles (literally) into a dark, mysterious stranger one night. Handsome but imposing, Felicity hires this stranger, Gabriel Sauvageau, on the spot.

Unbeknownst to her, Gabriel is actually Gareth Severand, her twin sister’s brother-in-law who was horribly disfigured last time she saw him. He had major surgery to alter his mangled features and is now unrecognizable to Felicity.

Thoughts:
I adored these two! Kerrigan Byrne is one of my favorite authors (just discovered her this year) and she definitely knows how to write some simmering chemistry. There was also a mystery intertwined into this slow burn romance. So when the pages weren’t swoony or singeing, your mind was constantly mulling over the clues. I do prefer a few more love scenes and the heat started off slower than I would like, but the angst was 👏🏼

Things to Note:
Phantom of the Opera/Beauty and the Beast-ish vibes, virgin hero, mistaken identity, protector trope.

(This is book 4 in the Goode Girls series and can be read as a stand-alone, but you might get confused occasionally. Author does good job of summarizing characters back stories to briefly catch you up)

Interest: 4/5
Romance: 4/5
Heat: 4/5
Stand-alone: yes
Cliffhanger: no
Would I recommend: Yes


*** I was given a copy of this book for an honest review by the author/publisher through Net Galley.

I adore Ms. Bryne's writing but this felt so stilted and unlike her other books. I have read this gem and I know how beautifully she can write and give us the feels so I was not expecting such dry characters here.

* I liked the characters a little but everything felt so rushed I never really got to know them. I have no idea why felicity suffers anxiety, how her father abused her. What impact it had on her. How she finally healed from her "bouts of spells" or was it just something she learned to live with. Her meeting with Gabriel was so unbelievable I couldn't stop rolling my eyes.

* I wanted them to be obsessed with each other. For felicity to know about how Gabriel was protecting her way before Raphael met the twin sisters. There was no confession about that. Only a slight romance with a sub-par plot.

This felt like a short novella and was so unsatisfactory. The instalove was mind spinning. It left me wondering when did they even fall in love and how?
All in all if you're looking for a ✨sweet✨, short historical romance then this will do just fine.

I have read one other book in this series but it's easy to read as a standalone. I was disappointed in this book. While I like Ms Byrne's writing style the characters in this series are not appealing to me.
I feel they lack depth and it's difficult to stay engaged with a book when you don't really care what happens to the characters.

This is purely my take on the book but I have no doubt it will appeal to fans it just isn't my cup of tea.

I received an arc of this book via netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Felicity and Mercy are twins .mercy got her happy ending in the previous book with Raphael.the hero of this book is Raphael's brother Gabriel who is a beast of a man with horribly scarred face.
The moment he laid eyes on felicity, he fell for her.he undergoes a series of surgeries which manage to make him look better.
The romance between felicity and Gabriel was slow burn.felicity is different from her other sisters ,being shy and unsure of her self.she gets panic attacks.
Gabriel feels protective about her from the beginning.
It was interesting to read the way they fall in love.
For a change Hero n heroine both are virgin.
Loved their story

Overall I really love this book! I loved how angst this book was and I loved the chemistry! I loved how the hero was a protective alpha and it embodied everything I look for in a historical romance.

It was a good historical romance with a very bit of mystery that I felt it didn't need nor was it resolved well; it felt rushed and contrived. A man with a past, Gabriel Sauvageau/Gareth Severand, has been in love with Felicity since he could remember. He took a bullet for her in a previous book. So he is a man with a past. Felicity is a woman that needs someone to watch after her since she manages to get all the problematic men chasing her for her dowery and hand in marriage. So she hires G.S. to be personal protection. But the attraction is more potent, and neither of them will come out of this unscathed.

Tropes:
Mystery
Beauty and the Beast

I received an ARC from Oliver Heber Books and NetGalley for my review.

My very favorite of the Goode Girls series so far. I love Gabriel and Felicity’s story. It’s sweet and passionate and has lots of feels. It’s not as dark as some of her other work which makes me happy as I struggle with some of her darker work. Would read again. My favorite read of the year so far.

Love this series and love the wonderfully reckless (and ironically named) Goode girls. Byrne excels at weaving romance between a traumatized hero and a shy but brave heroine.

Kerrigan Byrne is an author I have mixed feelings about. Some of her novels I absolutely adore and others I just can’t get behind. She’s an author who really likes to pay homage to old school romances, despite many of their flaws. Her romances tend to have alphahole heroes and it can be really hard to like them, they also almost always have tortured pasts. I usually really like the heroines. I liked this one though I can definitely tell I’m missing something because I haven’t read the other books in the series and their relationship begins there. The disfigured hero falling in love with the beautiful woman isn’t my cup of tea but these are the classic tropes Byrne uses and really doesn’t try to do anything with. Maybe my opinion would be different had I read the other books in the series but this one just wasn’t for me.

Kerrigan Byrne never disappoints! I went into this book without having read the others in the series and I was immediately hooked. I devoured this book in two days! Gabriel is the kind of tragic, tortured, hunk-o-man meat I love to root for and watch get the girl of his dreams.

At first, this story was giving me major "Phantom of the Opera" vibes. Our disfigured hero watches the girl of his dreams from afar feeling unworthy of her love. Thankfully, it was written 100 times better/happier than "Phantom"! The plot was very good, the love story was superb, the payoff sex was wonderfully steamy and it's a quick 230 page read! I fell in love with the whole Goode family and now plan to read the rest of the series.

Start here or start at the beginning, just start this series!

After reading Mercy's book, I was soo excited to get to Felicity and Gabriel's story. & I did not disappoint. Kerrigan Bryne always writes so beautifully and poetically. This story reminded me of Beauty and The Beast. Felicity is the sunshine and pure joy, while Gabriel represents the darkness.

Felicity is the shyest of all the shy wallflower. Even tho it is not explicitly mentioned, it is implied that she deals with panic attacks and anxiety. She is overcome with fear and tends to play it safe. While it is well-intentioned, her family views her as someone to be looked after. I really enjoyed her journey into coming into yourself and owning her strength. She is quite brave even tho it looks different. I love reading about different facets of bravery. I love Gabriel. He is the brooding man hidden in the shadows. The way that he looks after Felicity and takes care of her. He really just worships the ground she walks on. Overall, this was a quick enjoyable read. I cannot wait for more from this series!

CW: on-page panic attack and descriptions of violence

*Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Thoroughly enjoyable tale, with the final Goode girl finding the man who will change her life

I adored him as Gabriel Sauvageau, however I fell in love with him as Gareth Severand.

And Feiicity really does come out of her shell in this installment of the Goode Sisters,

This is a slow burn (and I will say, it did drag at the beginning a bit, but not for too long)

I liked that right from the start of them knowing each other, they both saw past face value of each other.

And I adored seeing mousey, wallflower Felicity come into her own and out from her sister's shadows.

Loved seeing the other Goodes and their loves.