Lovers to betrothed to enemies to friends to lovers. And I loved all of it. Both main characters are very stoic and resolved in doing what they think needs to be done rather than what they want to do, and I was very into the resulting angst and pining. There’s one antagonist who’s a bit of a megalomaniacal caricature and yet it’s not hard to believe that the power of the aristocracy back then might lead to brain rot for some nobles. This one really boils down to a tale about bloodlines and lack thereof, and while we’ve seen that done numerous times in historical romance, I still thought this had enough uniqueness to feel fresh rather than stale. Also a sucker for a MMC who gifts the FMC and her daughter all of their hearts’ desires.

THIS WAS SO GOOOOOD. The second chance? The angst? The secret!?

I loved how the heroine was secretly writing about her time with the hero before he left her at the alter. Everyone can tell the book is about him, but only he knows who's really writing the story. He has to confront her and confront old feelings and why he really left her. I was OBSESSED!!!!! Please read this if you haven't yet!!

Honestly, this one just didn't stick out to me. I really don't have any memory of it while coming back to write this review.

The Notorious Lord Knightly is book 2 in The Chessmen series and we get a second chance romance!

Regina and Knightly were engaged in the past and on their wedding day he told her their whole relationship was a joke and ditches her. Regina’s reputation was tarnished and now we catch up with them 5 years later where she is anonymously publishing a scandalous book all about villainous Lord K. We find out a lot about both Regina and Knightly’s family lives, his father is a Duke who treated Knightly and his mother horribly. Regina was a by-product of her father’s affair with her mother and struggles with creating a relationship with her half siblings.

I loved the chemistry and tension that sizzled between our couple. Their second chance romance was so angsty and swoonworthy that I adored it!

Thank you so much for allowing me access to this title.

The characters, the premise, the style were all perfection. I have been in a slump with historical romance, and this was like a jolt of caffeine.

I seriously loved the scandal and the true heart of this. Lorraine Heath knocks it out of the park again.

Lorraine Heath stories always deliver what I love most in HRs -- a solid plot, characters you want to get together, fun banter, and steamy goodness! This story was a second chance love story that I enjoyed and would recommend.

Five years ago, Arthur “Knight” Pennington, the Earl of Knightly, and Regina Leyland fell head over heels in love and they planned to marry and live happily ever after. But the morning of the wedding, Knight arrives at the church to call off the wedding and breaks Regina’s heart by refusing to say why other than he no longer believes they will suit. He tries to mitigate the damage to her reputation by saying that she realized that he was not a good choice for a husband, but it backfires and instead of painting him as the villain, society turns on Regina. Forcing her to into hiding abroad for years, taking his heart with her. Knight had never told a soul why he left Regina at the altar and never will. He has tried to erase her from his mind, but when a book by an anonymous author begins to circulate detailing the titillating escapades between a young woman and the mysterious Lord K, speculation runs wild as to the identity of Lord K. But after reading a few passages Knightly knows it is him and knows the author – Regina. He confronts her for the first time since jilting her and knows he is in trouble. She has suffered because of him and he will do whatever he can even help her marry another, to make things right. Because despite what everyone, including Regina, believes Knight never stopped loving her, but he cannot marry her.

Regina Leyland is the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Bremsford and his longtime mistress, a love child who would never really be accepted by society, but who was loved dearly by her father, so much so that he bestowed her with a large dowry and gave her a grand come-out ball. It was at that ball that she met Knight, the two soon became inseparable and fell madly in love with plans to marry. But her dreams of living happily ever after are crushed when Knight refuses to marry her on the morning of their wedding, and then he crushed her heart by saying he didn’t love her and would soon grow tired of her. Heartbroken and ostracized by the jilting, she escapes abroad and stays for years, only returning when her father is dying. Her father was outraged by Knight’s actions and tried to protect Regina by leaving her the house and her dowry in trust for her, essentially making her an heiress. Now five years later, with secrets of her own, Regina plans to marry and writes the salacious memoir as a way to exorcise Knight from her heart once and for all, but things don’t work out as planned, and instead of leaving him in the past, it brings Knight back into her life when her book threatens to ruin her future and her security. But can she work with Knight and not lose what is left of her heart, especially when it is clear that he still cares for her and the passion between them burns as bright as it did five years ago, but he still won’t tell her why he called off their wedding.

This was a beautifully written and very touching second-chance love story between two people who were clearly meant to be. My heart broke for Regina and everything she endured, while I knew Knight must have had a good reason for doing what he did, it was hard not to paint him as the villain. And when the truth came out, my heart broke for him too, especially knowing what he gave up and what he missed. This book is filled with emotion, regrets, lies, steamy love scenes, surprises, jealousy, secrets, a bit of heartache, betrayal, and finally a long-overdue HEA complete with an epilogue. This is the second book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title. I loved this book and would happily recommend this title to HR readers who enjoy steamy, second-chance romances.

I gobbled this up in a single afternoon, and I shouldn't have been surprised because I also loved the first book in the series, but I was! This one was magical and I feel into the story in the first few pages. Reginia and Knightly were amazing together, and despite their troubled past you could feel that connection right away.

Overcoming the obstacles that kept them apart took some time, but the connection between them was so strong we all knew it was going to happen. Forgiveness and love were the themes here and I for one was all here for them. I can't wait to dive into the next one!

This latest read by Lorraine Heath makes for an excellent read and adventures. Knightly and Regina were two characters I enjoyed getting to know.

This book is a tear-jerker. Told partly 5 years in the past, we flash back and forth between Regina and Knightly's previous engagement and their current estrangement.

Knightly meets Regina, the illegitimate daughter of an earl, when her father throws a coming-out ball for her to find a respectable husband. They fall instantly in love. Five years in the future is where the book starts, with Regina publishing an anonymous book about a doomed romance with Lord K. When Knightly realizes that she's the author and that his breaking their engagement damaged her reputation, he sets out to make things right. Regina is understandably angry at Knightly for jilting her and recently returned from Europe with a daughter. She accepts his help to woo Lord Chidding, but only so she can marry and find a respectable home for her daughter.

Through their reconnection, Knightly and Regina renew their love for one another. Knightly still won't tell Regina why he dumped her at the alter, so Regina can't move on. Around 70%, the truth finally comes out, and Knightly is forced to confront his prior actions toward her. All is resolved, and there is a HEA.

This book was devastating, especially when discovering why Knightly broke his promise. I wasn't sure how the author would resolve their relationship, but I was pleasantly surprised. Other Heath characters befriend Regina because they come from unconventional backgrounds and marry into the Aristocracy. Fans of Heath will love that part. I also loved how remorseful Knightly was and how hard he worked to help Regina and earn back her trust.

Honestly, me not enjoying a LH would be something of a rarity, but this second-chance, angsty story just really hit at the right moment in spite of the fact that it's been on my TBR for a few months. It's always fun to see tie-ins or crossovers with other characters and other series, but Arthur and Regina have such a great build-up to reconciliation that feels believable and earned. And truth be told, the darkest point of the book doesn't even have to do with whether or not they'll stay together — that part feels like an inevitability — but whether outside forces will find a way to intervene. I'm continually surprised by Heath's approach to the genre, and it really seems like she's getting better and better with every book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A swoon-worthy second chance romance with a well-constructed plot and well-rounded characters.
Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, and Heath drew me in with her delicate portrayal of healing and forgiveness.
This was a nearly perfect read for me. The only drawback was the inclusion of a secret baby element- I can just never bring myself to enjoy that trope.

Oh my god, I really enjoyed this book much more than initially expected. I did quite like the first book in this series, but it lost me in the second half. This book had me engaged from start to finish though. I just really liked the set up of this romance. I don't think I've read a second chance historical romance before, and I really liked how this book executed it though.
I just really like the characters. I thought they were interesting people to follow, and their personal journeys were incredibly interesting as well. Knightly has a dark secret, with some messed up family dynamics, and Regina was such a badass person. She also had some messed up family dynamics, and I liked how that formed her in the present. Their personal developement was also really well done, and it completely made you understand how, despite not working 5 years ago, these two are trying it all over and making it again now. I explained all of that terribly ... Woops!
Anyway, I ADORED the romance. I just think the author did an amazing job creating this bittersweet feeling between the two. I thought it was obvious they were still completely in love with each other, but there has been so much hurt that needs to be worked through first. I also really liked how that was done. The reason for their break up was held away from us for a while, and normally I don't like that. However, in this book I just thought it was done really well, and done in a way that made sense. I also liked the flashbacks chapters we got occasionally. I feel like that did make us understand the love between these two really well. I truly felt all the feels when it came to the romance, and I just loved how it was executed.
Yeah, this was a shit review, I know. Just know, that I really liked the characters, the story, and especially the romance. I didn't absolutely LOVE this book, so it wasn't a five star, but I did really really enjoyed it. I'm also really excited to read the third book in this series once that comes out.

Here's the thing, when I love a Lorraine Heath, I love a Lorraine Heath, but when I don't like one of her books, it's because her wild premise didn't live up to what I created in my mind. This book should have been SO good for me, but ultimately, it just fell flat. The characters were interesting and intriguing, but there were secrets being kept for what felt like no reason and honestly, there's a spoiler thing where the way that it was handled felt horrendous. Ultimately, I will keep picking up what Heath writes because I do love her writing so much of the time. I just never know which books will be hits out of the park and which books will leave me a little bored like this one.

Loved so much. Classic LH . These are the books that i grew up reading and loving. I liked the hero and heroine. Loved the storyline. So many secrets and twists.

Told through flashbacks to five years in the past, Arthur dumped Regina on their wedding day. During those years she wrote a book, My Secret Desires : a Memoir by Anonymous. Everyone is avidly reading it and wondering if Arthur is Lord K, and who is anonymous? Mostly it's a depressing story full of bitterness and anger. A second chance romance that was so slowly plotted I couldn't stay interested.

This book was just so so. I love a historical fiction romance so I was excited to pick it up. It was a quick read but not the best I have read!

Lorraine Heath’s writing is unmatched! I love how she tells a story with such care and this book is no exception. Regina and Knightly are absolutely amazing. The angst and conflict are done in a way where you want the groveling but you understand the circumstances as to why they weren’t together in that particular moment. I recommend reading The Notorious Lord Knightly, as well as the rest of Lorraine Heath’s backlist! Can't wait for the next book in the series! Thanks Avon and Netgalley for the eARC!

✔️ Second Chance
✔️ Secret Identity
✔️ Then and Now

I always have to be prepared for emotional damage when picking up a second chance read. I now need to remember to prepare to be devastated when it's a "left at the altar" read. Regina (the jiltee) wrote a salacious book detailing trysts with "Lord K", based on her experience with the Earl of Knightly (the jilter). She did it to put him in her past but all the book did was bring them back into each other's lives.

I loved the story and both characters though it took a long time for me to warm up to Knightly. It helped that he just accepted her anger towards him and tried to make life easier for her.

Reading some of the flashbacks of their courtship was so painful knowing how much Regina suffered during the aftermath of their breakup. One pet peeve I have about second chances was here though, and detracted a little from my enjoyment of the book (no specifics so I won't spoil it).

However, there were some surprising reveals which boosted my enjoyment of the book. You're left with the feeling like these two have earned their HEA.

While this is book 2 of The Chessman series, it worked well as a standalone (though I do want to go back and read book 1).

Steam 🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕

For all the time we've spent with the Chessmen, I really didn't feel like I knew much about Knightly going into this book. Despite that, I really enjoyed this second book in the series. Regina was a spitfire, and I do so love a woman scorned. Were there moments where their internal dialogue felt a little repetitive? Sure, sure. However, these two had chemistry for days and I was into it. I don't always enjoy flashbacks, but these were few enough that they worked for me. You could definitely read this as a standalone if you're a fan of second chance romances, women out for revenge, and animosity that I wouldn't quite label as enemies-to-lovers, but still gives off that vibe.

3.5 stars rounded up