Review: In the Dark With the Duke (Lost Lords of London Book 2) by Christi Caldwell

In the Dark With the Duke is the second book in Christi Caldwell's Lost Lords of London series. This wonderfully woven tale pairs Lady Lila March, who suffered greatly during the tragedy at Peterloo, and street fighter/Lost Lord, Hugh Savage. 

Both characters, deeply scarred, attempt to heal each other in unconventional ways. Both Hugh and Lila transform each other's lives in ways that only can be imagined by delving into this dark to light tale. 

In the Dark With the Duke by Christi Caldwell, is yet another triumph to her credit. A fan of darker romance, this story sated my appetite for the dark along with the build up to an perfect HEA. 

~KIMBERLY~

To Hold a Lady’s Secret by Christi Caldwell

The mistake that Lady Gillian Farendale made by attending a notorious masquerade, has finally caught up with her. Now her unfeeling parents want her to make things right, but doing that would destroy her spirit.

Gillian seeks out her childhood best friend, Colin Lockhart, one if the numerous  bastard sons of the Duke of Ravenscourt, for help. She is praying that the promise they made as children would finally be able to be fulfilled. When Colin, now a struggling private investigator in London is reunited with Gillian, things don’t exactly work out how Gillian thought they would and she is disheartened as well as desperate. 

As soon as Colin sends Gillian away, he regrets it. His past with her comes rushing back and he realizes that she still means more to him than is prudent for a Lady and a bastard.  Her desperation brings him to action and neither of their lives will ever be the same. 

Lady Gillian Farendale is one of my favorite of author Christi Caldwell’s heroines. She is matter of fact, she doesn’t blame anyone for her actions and take complete responsibility for decisions she has made, good or bad.  Despite the crime that was committed against her, she is strong and resilient and deserving of a bright future with a caring man. The one man she has been on her mind since she was a young girl getting into mischief, Colin Lockhart 

Colin Lockhart has been on his own since his banishment from the Farendale lands, caring for his sister and mother. Discovered on the streets by a brother, another bastard son, Colin picks himself up and sets out to create a new life for himself as a private investigator. He is consumed with his business and until Gillian reappears in his life, he is rather solitary in his existence, keeping a small circle of a few of the brothers and his beloved sister. He is considered to be common if not below that for being a bastard, but has more integrity, compassion and honor than any man in the ton. 

To Hold a Lady’s Secret is one of my favorite Christi Caldwell books to date. While some of the subject matter is not an easy one, the story is superb and getting to that prefect ending is just a marvel. This story is meaningful and compassionate and will stay with me for quite a while. Bravo Ms. Caldwell…

~KIMBERLY~

EARLY REVIEW: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Kerrigan Byrne

I want to begin this review by saying that Kerrigan Byrne is a talented genius and her writing fills my heart. I have honestly been waiting for Carlton Morley’s story for years and now it’s finally here and I am just so darn happy about it. I also have to say that Kerrigan Byrne’s publisher has really dropped the ball on this particular book being directly in their Victorian Rebels series. Sir Carlton Morley has always deserved his own story. He has been an integral part of the menagerie with the dark secrets that needed to come to light.    So I say a big bravo to Kerrigan Byrne for going ahead with A Dark and Stormy Knight, Morley’s story. Thank you for making me a happy reader!

The right proper and upstanding Chief Inspector Carlton Morley is after the killer of male prostitutes plaguing London. All of his spare time I spent in the roaming the dark and dangerous streets seeking clues in his task. A loner, Morley stalks those streets with an urgency only a few could possibly understand. 

 After the emotional let down of discovering that her fiancé is an unfaithful rogue, Penelope Goode decides to take one night of passion for herself before being thrown into the constraints of marriage to the unscrupulous lout. She wants to give her virginity to a man of her own choosing. To achieve this, she finds herself at Miss Henrietta's School for Cultured Young Ladies, where she was given a password to gain entrance into the garden of pleasures that awaits her.

Chief Inspector Morley, in disguise, is lead to Miss Henrietta's School for Cultured Young Ladies with his own agenda of crime stopping, but when a  stunning young woman literally stumbles over him, sparks fly and both of their worlds will be forever changed.

I prefer to stop here with my details of this story. This tale must be experienced individually and I strongly insist that you do. The anticipation of Carlton Morley finally meeting his match is pure exhilaration. Kerrigan Byrne uses her masterful understanding of the English language to spellbind her readers, and the reader is only too happy to be put under her spell. A Dark and Stormy Knight by Kerrigan Byrne is so worth the wait! 

~KIMBERLY~