Thomas Charles Prestwick, Viscount of Ashbury, had a domineering, strict father, A young puppy love with a house maid turn tragic, A brother he was not allowed to talk about or see, and this made him an angry, guilt ridden, lonely man. Full of this guilt and secrets he has kept himself closed off for years, until a winning hand at the Lyon's den occurred.

Mr Conor Jameson is an import business man from a proud Irish family. The only remaining family member left is his sister Miss Olivia Rose Jameson. With a bad year behind him, he ends up using her to pay a loss in a game of Dark at the Lyon' s Den.

Mrs. Dove-Lyon, owner and matchmaker finds payment of losing wagers for beneficial women rewarding. Mysterious in her veiled clothing, she gets her matches by fair means or foul.

Conor informs Olivia she is payment and will be wed or it is centers prison for him. She is not happy but will do it until she sees the groom. The one person she wants revenge on more than anything. so as she and her Pomeranian, Sir Kippingon-Prestwick, marry Thomas she bring new meaning to for better or worse to the vows.

As secrets get revealed and understanding behind the secrets come out these two start to heal. Anger, hurt, and guilt become past feelings and in its place is something to build on.

Sandra Sookoo has a way of bring to the forefront topics that have heart, heart brake and social misconceptions in such a way that you get drawn into the stories and relate to them on a deeper level. Sally is what I would term a Downs child but is no less of a person than anyone else. They need and deserve love just as much. They enrich and show compassion more than most do.

So join in this firey union as this poignant story is told with fun, witty and oft time combative banter as you see the emotions grow and gain a better understanding of what and why people do some of the things they do.

In true Dove-Lyon fashion, two souls are brought together to find their purpose in life. The beginning of this story was a bit difficult to dive into as it seemed to be dark and filled with anger. Yet, as it moved along one could begin to find the warmth and beauty in it. Life as we know it is a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs and this author does an amazing job of demonstrating this throughout the entire story. Beautifully written and crafted, a sure inspiring hit.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonsblade for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

A debt paid in full, in the most bizarre of ways thinkable
Could two people with secrets make it work…
The storyline was really enjoyable and I loved the book from cover to cover.
The characters strong and had well developed personalities and I really enjoyed getting to know more about them as the book progressed
A love story – romantic and sexy
It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

I truly loved this book and it was different than 95% of the historical romance books I've read in that it had a new trope that is not popular in this genre; a love triangle. Thomas loved Cyntia, a maid in his household in his youth. Olivia lived on a neighboring property to Thomas, and was a lonely girl growing up. She befriends Cynthia and they become best friends. Cynthia dies, Olivia blames Thomas and of course Bessie Dove-Lyon arranges their marriage due to a game of cards in the Lyon's Den. This is a tale of forgiveness, miscommunication and redemption. If you are a fan of this series there is even a visit with the Earl of Pennington and his wife Adriana from The Lyon's Puzzle. I love when the writer includes characters from other book sthey written in this series.

Most descriptive, negative definition of love I've ever seen - "love was like a maggot in the brain and removed a man's common sense." Thomas Prestwick, Viscount of Ashbury.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for review.

An emotionally charged tale with two people who had the common bond of loving and losing a person in the past as well as tragedies involving children. She has a strong will, courageous and brings him out of a prison he put himself in. They are each other’s salvation. Lovely tale and wonderful HEA.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

Thomas revels in his grief over a lost love. He is not happy to find he has won the hand of a woman in a card game with her brother. Olivia is furious her brother bet her, especially when she realizes it is to her sworn enemy. They both need to let the past go in order to live in the future. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

WOW!

What more can I say, a heartbroken Viscount and heartbroken Woman are brought together via Mrs Dove-Lyon.

The emotions running through this storyline are simply amazing. One moment your happy, the next your heart jerks with the feeling of sadness.

Both learning to trust each other and accept love into their lives again before they can find their HEA.
I just love the issues covered in this storyline, so true to what can happen in life and true in the historical age but how they both overcome and accept them is simply just amazing!

If you love to read a historical romance with a little more true to life issues of the age and you don’t mind it bringing a tear to your eyes and some strong pulls on your heartstrings. This is one read you cannot miss this Autumn!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mrs. Dove-Lyon the owner of the most notorious gambling den in London is not playing nice this time. They either marry or else! So against their wishes Olivia and Thomas find themselves married and soon realize there are secrets, acts of vengeance and misunderstandings to overcome and to learn to trust one another. Sandra Sookoo has written a story with characters who manage to grow and yet retain their personalities which captivates you from the beginning until the very end.

I received a ARC copy from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Ahh, back to the Lyon's Den. I do love the machinations of Bessie Dove-Lyon. Here, Mrs. Dove-Lyon and fate conspire to match Olivia and Thomas. Olivia blames Thomas for the loss of her best friend, Cynthia. Thomas mourns Cynthia's loss as the loss of his love, and of his child. He has no idea that Olivia knew Cynthia, nor that Olivia has spent years plotting revenge.

The duo figure out their common connection almost immediately and the question becomes what to do with that connection. Olivia gives up her need to do violence to Thomas almost too quickly. Their whole story is fairly instalove, though that is not unexpected given the story's novella length. I also though Sookoo did a lovely job interweaving characters with disabilities into the narrative.

I did find how deeply Olivia was impacted by the loss of Cynthia a little too much to be believable. The women were friends for what sounds like a fairly short time, and Olivia was not a close enough friend for Cynthia to share her secrets. Yet Olivia has spent years mourning and plotting? Everyone deals with grief differently, but I just did not find this entirely believable.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonsblade for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

Another Lyons den success.

Thomas and Olivia are complex characters linked by one other Cynthia.

Thomas loved Cynthia but lost her and during child birth. Olivia thinks Thomas killed Cynthia and wants to take revenge. Book starts out with both of them being forced into a marriage.

Lots iof hard discussions later, Thomas and Olivia learn to leave their pasts behind and move together for a better future.

Really lovely read with depth of emotions

Challenges, Blackmail, Revenge:
This story is quite a complex love story to say the least.
Thomas was a very tormented person, but he is my favorite character, where Oliva I struggled with her good and evil split character. 
Lady Dove Lyon comes through again with an interesting set up where the couple have a few unusual problems that creates much anguish to overcome along with dealing with emotional and mental disabilities. The author had a wonderful way of introducing the mental complications that plays a big part in this deeply involved emotional story and she makes you feel like you're looking right into both Thomas and Olivia's souls at different times.
Kip the dog was a fun part of the story and gave me a few chuckles.
A good deeply heartfelt story that grabs at your heart.
Mature Advisory: Fan suggested and maybe a tissue?

Is it a match made in hell or true redemption for a man still living in the past and marrying a woman who wishes nothing but his death?!?
A little long and a little depressing, but with a very happy ending.
Descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

I loved this story and it was good to see Mrs. Dove-Lyon makes another great match in this enemy to lovers marriage. I loved the unique twist they put on their wedding vows which made me laugh out loud. I also loved the strong woman that Olivia has become even though she has not always had things easy. I felt for Thomas and the secrets he has kept that is slowly destroying him. The story is well written and very entertaining. It is full of compassion and at times you just want to cry. It’s a wonderful story and I was glad for them to have their HEA but the road was not always easy. It’s definitely worth reading and I would highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

I enjoyed this book it is enjoyable and fun to read. The character development was good and they were complex and multi-dimensional which I really liked. If you like steamy reads this is a must read for sure.