This is a romantic and dramatic story. The H is determined, bold and caring. The h is stubborn, and haunted. After agreeing to certain terms, their marriage of convenience is filled with turmoil, guilt and sadness, but they will have you rooting for them. I really enjoyed this story and the characters.

A Second Chance at Love

He had always loved her, but she never knew it. His best friend seduced and married her, and he came from war damaged. It would have been fine had her late husband not been so cruel at the end of his life, but he was. Now, Adriana was looking to get married again, but she did not want love. She made a bargain with Mrs. Dove-Lyon, the Black Widow of Whitehall. Sidney had been waiting for Adriana all his life, and when he knew about Adriana's desire to marry, he jumped at the chance. He loved her though, so how could he honor her request and keep the marriage free of love? Then, there was the matter of Adriana finding out the truth about how he won her hand. Could she ever forgive him? Would she ever believe in love once more? If you like Regency romance with a bit of angst, you might like this story.

Welcome back to The Lyon’s Den the most notorious gambling den in London, where matches are made... unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves.

She’d spend every last penny to marry again for security, comfort—or even friendship.

He’d win her wager, possess her, keep her for himself—even if he’d never win her love.

Cerise DeLand has written a beautifully romantic story about secret love and finding happiness where one least expects. Colonel Sidney Wolf has returned home and has now taken up the mantle of the Earl of Middlethorpe. After facing many battlefields he is now hoping he can secure an alliance with Mrs. Dove-Lyon as he faces the ultimate battle for love and happiness. He has loved Adriana for years now he only hopes she can open her heart and return his love.

Adriana, Lady Benton, has many regrets—and one hope. To wed a good man to gain a life to which she is entitled. One free of sorrow, penury and ridicule. Adriana’s life has drastically changed since becoming a widow and even though she is ready to marry again she doesn’t believe she will ever love anyone but her deceased husband. Appealing to Mrs. Dove-Lyon, Adriana hopes to attract one man who may appreciate her assets. But never need her love.

All’s fair in love and war and Middlethorpe is planning to lay siege to Adriana’s heart! ❤️

Overall I enjoyed this story and found the characters to be well-rounded and entertaining. This story is another great addition to The Lyon’s Den saga, I have enjoyed each book of the interconnected world that I have read!

📚Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, comments, and interpretations of the story are my own and bias free. I did not receive any money in exchange for this review. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review. 🦄

Sydney Reddington Wolf, now the sixth Earl of Middlethorpe, has returned from the war to start a new life. The one woman he wants to have as his wife, is the woman he's loved for years. Once married to a childhood friend, Adriana is now a widow living from hand to mouth. No one knows about the agony of living with an invalid and verbally abusive husband for a least two years before his death. She seeks help from Mrs. Dove-Lyon to find her a husband. One she doesn't have to love. She will be an acceptable helpmate, a friend, a hostess and give him succor. At least that's what she thinks she wants. Sydney will take her any way he can have her and hope that time will change her mind. Emotional angst and unhappiness lead to an understanding of love. Love the Lyon series. Keep it going ladies.
Heat level 4
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Complementary copy provided by NetGalley and publisher for my honest review and opinion. Cerise DeLand created a lovely romance of previous friendship turned matrimony. The story moved quickly with a lack of character build up, but it was a nice book for a quick read.

A fabulous addition to the Lyon's Den Connected World series!
Sydney has returned from war and is ready to put it all behind him and start a new life. He has loved Adriana for years and wishes only to marry her. Adriana had once married, but is now widowed and living a difficult life. She is ready to marry again and seeks help from Mrs. Dove-Lyon. She is not looking for love this time around, only a suitable companion, and possibly a friend, who will take care of her. Sydney agrees to this, in hopes he can change her mind and their marriage will be one filled with mutual love.
The story was beautiful and romantic and captured my interest from the very beginning and kept it till the end. The characters were lovely and well-defined and I enjoyed seeing their growth throughout the story. This was a delightful story and am grateful for the opportunity to read it!
I received a complimentary copy from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

This was a short novella in the Lyon's Den interconnected world.

Adriana, Lady Benton is widowed after marrying young, and then seeing her husband go off to war, but return severely injured and disabled. This lead to her becoming a young wife, to becoming a nursemaid to her husband. He returned a bitter angry man and he took it out on his wife. They were also rather poor too, as she came from a large family with many daughters and her father did not manage the estate well, and was not able to provide dowries to the daughters, and while her husband was also a baron, and a hero, his estates were also impoverished, and selling his commission did not provide them much.

As such, Adriana is now living with her sister, but realizes that if she wishes to have a home of her own, she would have to marry. She makes a deal with Mrs. Dove-Lyon, who runs the Lyon's Den, to set up a wager to win her a husband who will meet her unusual demands for marriage - essentially to provide her with a home and financial security, and she would be a good wife, give the husband a comfortable and well run home... but be a wife in name only. She wants to protect herself from being disappointed from love and loss again.

Sidney Wolf has also returned from war, and has inherited his family's titles and estates. He never thought he would have a chance to marry his childhood love, who is Adriana, and when he finds out what she is up to, he manipulates events so that she would have to accept him as a husband, even if it is name only... he would not give up this chance to have her for his wife.

I liked the story of Sidney's hidden love for Adriana, from when they were childhood friends. There was a lot of martyred love there. And as the story of Adriana's relationship with her husband played out, how sad it was as the deceased Lord Benton sounded like a selfish ass, and Sidney and Adriana were prevented from happening because Benton seduced a young innocent and stole her from under Sidney's nose. In general this was a decent story, but there was a lot of angst and miscommunication/lack of communication to cover and was not seemingly really well resolved in the story, as well as I could not get over the fact that she asked for a celibate marriage, he agreed, and then all the foolish misunderstanding around that. He came across as too hot for me to find that believable.

3.25 stars out of 5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!!
A desparate Lady Adriana turns to Mrs. Dove-Lyon for help in finding a husband. Her late husband was in the military and life was hard when he returned home injured until his death.
Colonel Sidney Wolf, the new Earl of Middlethorpe, makes a very unusual deal with Mrs. Dove-Lyon as he knows Lady Adriana would make him a wonderful wife. Sidney has loved Adriana his whole life, and had to watch his best friend marry her. Sidney is determined to have Adriana as his wife, and knows he must meet all her requests,.He wants to take care of her, ease her path in life, and hopefully someday have a family with her.

This is a well-written story full of love and emotion. Sydney is a wonderful hero. He has loved Adriana since she was young, but he had to stand by and watch her marry his best friend, who sudussed her into marriage at 17. Now with her husband and his bestfriend dead, He agrees with Adriana’s desire for a marriage of convenience, a friendship, at least for a while. Adriana has some emotional issues stemming from her first marriage. She was a bit harsh with Sydney while she tried to work them out. There is love between them, but things to work out before they can truly have their happily ever after. And he will be patient, for now. I enjoyed this story, though I have not read the previous ones of this long series.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Sydney and Adriana’s story was completely adorable. I absolutely love the friends to romance story. The writer did a wonderful job of sharing the courtship between the two. I could almost feel Sidney’s love and admiration for Adriana through his words and how he feels about. The description and details are excellent in the narrative. Adriana, I was able to understand her emotions and hesitation in allowing herself to be free. I also love that the writer portrayed her character as a woman of determination and independence. The romance was very sweet.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Very enjoyable and entertaining read.

An old friend and former soldier, Wolf, sets out to save the woman of his childhood dreams now she’s a widow.

This is sweet, romantic, and beautiful. It held my attention throughout and I loved every page.
I love this series and can’t wait for more.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

The Lyon’s Share by Cerise DeLand is a little different take on the Lyon’s Den Connected World. Adriana had had a miserable year with her husband after he returned from the war. He had lost the use of his legs and instead had bitterness and meanness in spades. She had been so happy when they had first married and before he had gone to the war. Now he was dead and she was determined to capture some happiness for herself. The only asset she had was the cottage he had bought for them when they married. She would sell it and use the proceeds to pay Mrs. Dove-Lyon to find her a mate. Her requirements were small: hopefully a title, but surely a good income and several homes, an income, and no desire for the more physical aspects of marriage. She was done with that. She had had her one love and was not looking for another. She would see if Mrs. Dove-Lyon would accept what money she had with the promise of more when the house sold. Sidney Wolf had been her friend, and Paul’s, before the war. He had loved her always and wanted to court and marry her. Afraid Mrs. Dove-Lyon would find her a match, he purchased her marker from the woman. A first, and one he promised not to disclose. He agreed to her terms, although that was not what he wanted. But, he was willing to take her however he could get her.

DeLand had taken a totally different tack and it worked out well. These were two characters who each knew what he/she wanted and set out to get it. Things changed along the way and DeLand made the changes a natural progression and growth of the character. There were a couple of twists and turns along the way. The plot was thin, but it was enough to feed this character driven novel and make it an enjoyable read, if unexpected. It was a delightful read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Lyon’s Share by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #CeriseDeLand #TheLyonsShare

This is a well-written story full of love and emotion. Sydney is a wonderful hero. He has loved since she was young, but he had to stand by and watch her marry his best friend. He agrees with Adriana’s desire for a marriage of convenience, a friendship, at least for a while. Adriana has some emotional issues stemming from her first marriage. She was a bit harsh with Sydney while she tried to work them out. There is love between them, but things to work out before they can truly have their happily ever after. I enjoyed this interesting story.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Adriana, Lady Benton, lost her husband Paul and was left impoverished, so she looks for a marriage of convenience. While she refuses to love again, Colonel Sidney Wolf, Earl of Middlethorpe comes home specifically for her. He has loved her for years and will take anything she will give. With patience and kindness more than friendship grows. I enjoyed this book, although parts of Adriana's character was pretty annoying to me, I would still recommend.


I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

What a lady thinks she wants and what she gets if often different. Yes, Adriana did want to remarry, but just for security and hopefully friendship but purely a marriage of convenience.

Her visit to Mrs Dove Lyons at the Lyon's Den to hopefully fulfill her request, brought in Colonel Sidney, who had been in love with Adriana since they were young.

Now upon his return from battle, he is determined to win her hand and love. Adriana was so hurt due to how her happy marriage ended up tragic, but sometimes a determined man can win one over!!

As usual, Cerise weaves a wonderful story that will leave you with a sigh!

Colonel Sidney Wolf has come back only to find his one true love in an agreement with a notorious match maker. Lady Benton has no other choice but to survive this way. She refuses to succumb to love which is why she made the bargain.
It is interesting to see how this all comes to light. And the intrinsic detials that are arranged to get the outcome wanted. I will have to say I almost did not read because of the cover. The cover has nothing to do with the book.... I dont know why authors do that.... But I am glad I persevered it was well worth it.
I recieved a free copy so that I might tell you what I honestly think. Hope you enjoyed my review. Now go enjoy the book.

Sidney Wolf is now the Earl of Middlethorpe, but he has never married, loving only one woman since childhood. But his best friend Paul, had seduced her and married her when she was only seventeen. Now left as an impoverished widow, Sidney is determined
to have his beloved Adriana, as his wife. She agrees to a marriage of convenience but assures him she will not love him. Sidney is kind and patient with her in this, at times heart wrenching romance.

Lady Adriana Benton fell in madly love as a young woman and had an intense and happy life until her husband returned from the war. He came back crippled and bitter. He took his frustration out on her until his death. Now our heroine has decided to use the only asset she has to find a new husband. She will not allow love to lead her astray again.
Colonel Sidney Wolf has inherited a title, wealth and accolades but what he has always wanted is his bestfriend's woman. Our hero knows she will never love him, but he can save her.
Widow Dove-Lyon has arranged many marriages with her unusual methods. She will be the one to help.
A historical romance with lovely characters and an emotional story. There is only a small connection with the Lyon's Den world .
Good fun.

An emotional journey from tragedy to triumph as Adriana, Lady Benton, struggles to come to terms with not only her husband's death but also his last years after he returned from battle bitter and incapacitated, having had to depend on Adriana as his full-time nurse, and caregiver. Spiraling down into abject penury and despair, the widowed Adriana resolves to approach the scandalous Mrs. Dove-Lyon to find her a wealthy husband. Colonel Sidney Wolf has known Adriana almost as long as her erstwhile husband and has loved her from afar for years. Even though Adriana opts for marriage without an emotional attachment, he will take what he can get, so long as he has the woman he loves as his own. Not realizing how she has suffered under her late husband's scathing tongue, Sidney believes that he has to compete with a ghost, but as they build a new relationship, Adriana finds herself thawing and softening towards the gentle giant who has her best interests at heart. That is until he makes decisions without her consent. It requires some serious thinking on both their parts to resolve their differences, but the result brings this romance to a happy and tender conclusion. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Drafonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you NetGalley for another Lyon's book to read. The Lyon's Den is an interesting place to find love. Adriana was not looking for love. She had it once. Her husband died from wounds in the war. A friend of his takes up the offer of Adriana as he has loved her always. Sidney thought to not take the title but now it has come to him and he returns from the war in time to marry Adriana. One of her request is that there be no relations with her husband. He loves her enough to say, "Yes!". They find love together in the future and she can say goodbye to her first husband.