The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo

B A N A N A S (in the best way)!

Ok. Ok. So there’s this duke. He has a tattoo, but he doesn’t know what it means… No wait, there’s actually a pirate. He kidnaps the heroine on her wedding day… Actually, lemme start with the guy who crawls out of a mass grave and gets rescued by an abused girl.

And then adventure! Danger! Betrayals! Thwarted escape attempts! Forced marriage! Plot twists like you wouldn’t believe. And through it all, a heady, almost fated attraction, from two of the loneliest, most isolated people I have ever met.

I loved this book for the incredible action, the unbelievable plot twists that literally had me screaming, and the immense emotional angst. This book put me through the wringer, you guys. I came out show more the other end definitely dehydrated from crying so much, but also filled to the brim with love and life.

You don’t have to read all of the Victorian Rebels books to enjoy this one, but it will help you understand some of the plot and also give a deeper emotional pow! to the gut punches that Byrne delivers if you at least read The Highwayman first. Which, is in itself highly enjoyable and totally bananas as well.

I loved it so much, I read it twice in one week. show less

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne is a 2018 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Out of emotional and physical damage comes an epic love story which is both tender and very sensual.

In this unusual romance, Lorelei, a crippled girl at the mercy of her cruel brother, rescues a man left for dead on the side of the road, while in her early teens. Although many years have passed since she last saw him, Lorelei never forgot “Ash”, who had promised to come back for her.

But, as her brother gambles away his fortune, he arranges a marriage for Lorelei. However, before she has a chance to exchange vows, the infamous ‘Rook’ arrives and whisks her away. Lorelei instantly recognizes him as her beloved Ash, but the man she once show more knew is no longer visible. In his place is the formidable and terrifying man with a reputation as a thief and a killer.

“She was his prayer in the night. His song in the dark. His past and present. His future.”

Ash is buried deep inside the man known as ‘The Rook’. He’s a ruthless pirate, a man with a brutal past, but Lorelei is his one weakness and his only hope.

Lorelei is stunned by Ash’s appearance, the change in his countenance. She’s terrified of him, feeling as if she and her sister-in-law are being held captive. But, our noble heroine soon sees the traces of the boy she once nursed back to health. Ash is in there somewhere, she just has to find a way to convince him of that.

“To hate you must remember, you must dwell. You must hold it in your heart all the time and feed it.”

This is a fantastic second chance at love story! I love, love, love those flawed heroes!! Back in the heyday of historical romances, rough edged heroes with an aura of danger about them, men whose trustworthiness is in question, was common. As times changed those heroes fell out of favor, but with the Victorian Rebels they have made a comeback, but with a modernized twist. Byrne creates strong characters, giving them real adversity to overcome, with plenty of action and adventure.

This story is a stunning page tuner, highly engrossing and almost impossible to put down. It’s a moving story with some truly astounding twists that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The story has everything that made me fall in love with historical romance in the first place – a dark hero, pirates, intrigue, danger, sweeping romance, and redemption.

I thoroughly enjoyed this installment in the series and hope for many more like it in the future.
4.5 stars show less

Be still my beating heart!

Oh my! I love this group of brothers-in-arms, and their stunning women! The Rook's story is no exception.
A naked corpse beneath an ancient ash tree is just the beginning of a saga filled with betrayal, treachery and brokenness. Apart from his damaged body, the only identifying feature about the stranger is an arresting dragon tattoo festooning his forearm.
Lorelai Weatherstoke, daughter of Sir Robert Weatherstoke, the Earl of Southbourne, who spotted him from the family coach assists with his healing. She's drawn to the stranger, and in turn her presence calls to some place deep inside him, to his very soul. Lorelai names the stranger Ash. Thus death is denied. Ash had "lived only because she bade him to."
And show more then the young man Ash leaves ... with a promise to return. That returning takes twenty years under horrendous circumstances. And what a return! High drama, tragedy and heart wrenching agonies cling to the man known as The Rook. Lorelei finds herself in uncharted territory looking for the young man she once knew. What she finds is that a dark and powerful new Phoenix has arisen. Drawn to the Rook she searches for remnants of Ash. The electricity between them is palpable. And what can I say about 'The kiss!' It seemed like it spanned pages and is just beautifully written!
A powerful read with a tortured hero and an equally as troubled, albeit in a different way, beguiling counterpart.

A NetGalley ARC show less

Series: Victorian Rebels #6
Publication Date: 8/28/18

THE romance of all time. Two hearts, two souls have spent two decades calling out to each other across time and space. I loved this intelligently written, excellently plotted, and very romantic book. It will be going on my Top Ten For 2018 list. After my disappointment in the last book, The Scot Beds His Wife, I almost decided not to read this book. Boy, what a mistake that would have been. I was also afraid that it was going to be really dark, but, in my opinion, it wasn’t. There were dark things in it, but they were part of the past and were discussed as things from the past – so, not dark or intense in the current time.

Ash has absolutely no clue who he is. He lost all memory of show more his life when he was eighteen years old and was left for dead in a mass grave. He was horribly beaten, broken, bruised and burned from the lye poured upon him to help his corpse quickly decay. Except, he wasn’t dead and managed to crawl from the grave toward the side of the road where an angel saw him and rescued him – her whispered words called him back.

Lorelai Weatherstoke is a broken and deformed young lady who, at fourteen, has known her share of pain and injury. Now, she spends her days rescuing injured animals and nursing them back to health – and – trying to avoid her older brother’s cruel abuse. As she, her father and brother are traveling along the road, she sees a naked body along the road and asks her father to stop. They rescue an all-but-dead young man who seems to be expiring as they rush toward a physician. Lorelai removed her cloak and spread it over his shuddering body and then she whispered, “Don’t go. Stay here. With me.”

It takes almost a year for Ash to heal, but his memory never returns. Lorelai nurses him just as she does her creatures and they grow closer and closer and although they never say the words, they love each other. She even gave him his name – Ash – from the tree he was lying under when she discovered him. Then, as he was healed it was time for him to make his own way in the world and Lorelai’s brother was taking him to an interview for a job. Lorelai doesn’t want him to go, but knows he needs to do it. He almost tells her that he loves her, but doesn’t voice it and when she expresses concerns about him leaving, he tells her “Lorelai, there are only two indisputable facts in this world: The sun will set in the west, and I’ll come for you. Always.” Those were the last words he said to her for twenty years.

Twenty years later, Lorelai’s brother has gambled away both her and their estate to a horrible, cruel man. As Lorelai arrives at the church to marry the loathsome man who won her, she and her sister-in-law are abducted by the infamous pirate – The Rook, and he is insisting she marry him. She recognizes him – it is Ash – her Ash – how can he also be The Rook? She calls him Ash, but he quickly tells her that the boy she knew as Ash is long dead and has been replaced by the monster known as The Rook.

Ash has had a horrible, horrible twenty years of slavery, torture, and subjugation. He has buried, killed in his view, every emotion he’s ever had. His heart is black and nothing but ice runs in his veins, but, Lorelai has always called to him. She is what has kept him going. I was absolutely shocked and appalled at all he had gone through. I was amazed that he had come through it with any humanity still intact.

I absolutely adored Ash and Lorelai. They were true soulmates. I loved watching her gentle, sweet healing ways melt his heart – though I suspect it wasn’t as cold as he thought. He’d always loved her and he’d always known it. I highly recommend this wonderful read!

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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher." show less

Kerrigan Byrne is a new to me author, I also didn't realize when I go this title that it was #6 in the series. Not having read the rest of the series, I don't know if I missed anything or not I'm hoping it was just some of the couples that were in this book. I loved that Lorelei was a strong woman, fighting for what she wanted with Ash when she thought all was lost. The middle was a little slow for me, the ending picked up but it seemed a lot was thrown into the last couple of chapters just to get everything cleared up. Still an enjoyable read and now I need to go back and read the other 5 books in the series!

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This story is a perfect addition to the Victorian Rebels collection. You don't have to have read the previous books but once you meet some of the characters from them you'll want to go back and check them out as well.
My one complaint about this book is the title. To call the main character a Duke is pushing it a bit. He's a prisoner and a pirate and eventually an Earl but the Dukedom is a title bought with violence.
The two main characters are about as opposite as they could get yet there is something that draws them together and holds them even after a 20 year separation. His violent lifestyle is no match for her gentle caring.
The pain and suffering they go through only help to make the Happily Ever After that much happier.
I received show more an advanced copy of this book. show less

There were times I didn't feel like I should be enjoying this book as much as I did. It follows the same tortured-hero-long separation as 1/2 of the series (or so). But I loved that part. It features the hero who knows nothing but cruelty for everyone but the loyal few and is ruthless as hell-even at times to the heroine. But...I loved that too. And I liked that the tiger doesn't change his stripes (as usual) but his soft underbelly is exposed...but in the most ferocious way.

And I thought The Rook/Ash was damn romantic. I liked his words. I liked his actions. Tattooing animals of the world to bring back to her. so wickedly sweet

Lorelai was super sweet, but at times hard with how naive she could be. Mistaking piece for peace? Really? show more Didn't even make sense. There were times I was wondering how she didn't pick up on this or that, and protests that didn't persist when they should've increased, but overall..she felt like a new heroine, one who was much softer than the prior ones despite her trauma, and that worked really well to balance out Ash's ferocity.

I didn't particularly love a couple of the plot contrivances to get to resolution, particularly how late they were. Bits of it felt really rushed, and there were beautiful conversations...but there were a lot of them I'd give this a 3.5, but a really solid one that I'll be rounding up for it's binge-worthiness. So yes, formulaic. So yes, maybe too reliant on dialogue. But what fun.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less