ARC REVIEW How to Love a Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne

Devil You Know #1, The first book by this author I read was the end of the Victorian Rebels series catching that one at the end, and really liking it, I made sure I caught this series at the beginning. From the first page this book pulls you in it emotionally ties you the the three young ladies (at the time) when a traumatic experience binds them together for life. Alexandra, Cecelia, and Francesca bonded in boarding school they were rambunctious girls who formed a group just for them The Red Rogues and gave themselves nicknames and pretended what it would be like if they were men. When they left school they knew each other's darkest secrets, Including the truth about Francesca and her family which she has vowed to find and punish whoever killed them. Fast forward ten years Alex has a doctorate in archeology, Cecilia is a mathematical genius and Francesca has continued her search for her parents killers which may have just lead to the Duke of Redmayne's door.

Piers Atherton, Duke of Redmayne, was a great hunter going off to all sorts of places hunting for the sport of it until a jaguar caught him by surprise and left him with a claw mark on the side of his face; a wound he almost didn't recover from. Upon his return he finds his fiance married his cousin after some time Piers knows he needs to marry to fulfill his duty as duke so he re-establishes an old marriage contract between Francesca's Father and his. But when Francesca's best friends arrive he's completely taken with Alexandra. Alexandra is being blackmailed for what happened at school and her family is going bankrupt when she offers herself up to Piers instead of Francesca in exchange her parents get the bride payment. Piers agrees as long as Francesca does too and the next day they are married and off to spend their honeymoon in Paris at an archaeological dig Pier's cousin setup to to excavate the ruins of what might be an ancestor of the Redmayne line. But things only get more complicated as it becomes clear someone is trying to assassinate either Piers or Alex and when Piers discovers Alex isn't a virgin he thinks the worst of her when his accusations couldn't be further from the truth.     


Overall, the intrigue and the romance together make this book just so good! Piers is so aggravating at times so oblivious to what's right in front of him. Alex is so strong but yet vulnerable at the same time. I loved these two and the mystery of the blackmail and the assassination attempts really keeps you hooked. I love the epilogue and tease about Cecelia can't wait for the next book. 

ARC REVIEW The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne

Victorian Rebels #6, First time reading this author for me and I'm jumping in at book 6, which was fine really even with all the mentioning of previous character and some of their involvement in this book this could be read as a stand alone. Rook is a feared pirate hunted by the Royal Navy, among others, but before he was a pirate he was Ash a young man who was found left for dead in a mass grave with no memory of who he was. He was nursed back to health by a girl, Lorelai. Lorelai was raised without her mother by a weak willed father and an abusive brother who crippled her by breaking her ankle as a child; the only thing that kept her going was her rescued animals and that one summer she spent with Ash. When Ash left he told he nothing would keep him from returning but as the years past she lost hope of ever seeing Ash again.

Lorelai's brother lost all the family's money the only thing he could use as collateral was Lorelai. Now Lorelai is getting ready for her wedding to a disgusting old man and only her sister-in-law, Veronica, to help. But as they arrive at the church her brother is killed in front of her and thenVeronica and her are kidnapped by pirates. It doesn't take long for Lorelai to realise that Rook, the most wanted man in the Country, is none other than her Ash. He's not the same Ash she once knew, this Ash is harder, mean, and rough around the edges and the first thing he does when he gets he on his ship is marry her. Despite her attraction to the man in front of her she is terrified of him and angry at him for being gone for twenty years and just assumes he can sweep in and take her away. Rook's love for Lorelai turned into obsession she was his guiding force, his north star, his hope and he spent the last twenty years dreaming about her and trying to find his way back to her. But in doing so along the way he was forced to act in ways that changed him. Now standing in front of his Lorelai he is having a hard time reconciling the fact that she may no longer want him.

Overall, this was a terrific pirate adventure, and no swashbuckling journey would be complete without buried treasure, mutiny, tattoos, and in Rook's case finally gaining back his lost memories, gasp! This book definitely makes me want to go and read the first five books in the series. Kerrigan Byrne is a fantastic story teller she gets you so aggravated with the characters and so engulfed in the story you lose track of time. I loved Lorelai and Ash they had such a hard road for them to go on but one so worth it in the end. A beautiful Romance and an exciting story.