Tag: Darcy Burke

A Secret Surrender by Darcy Burke

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

A Secret Surrender (The Pretenders #1)A Secret Surrender by Darcy Burke

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Pretenders, #1

Release Date: August 7, 2020

Harry Sheffield, younger son of the Earl of Aylesbury and constable for Bow Street, has been tasked by his father to learn all he can about a fortune-teller named Madame Sybila, whom his mother has been visiting. He has tracked her to a perfume shop on the Strand and hopes to get the proof he needs to shut her down. But Madame Sybila surprises him, she refuses to see him and no matter how much he offers, she won’t “read” his cards. She asks him to leave and when he says he will be back, she surprises him by saying Bow Street is not that far.

Selina Blackwell aka Madame Sybila aka Lady Gresham is exactly what Harry thinks she is – a scammer and a fraud. She has had a hard life, orphaned early in life and raised with her brother on the streets of London, then sent to school, where she met another lost child, Beatrix. After years at school, she lost touch with her brother and built a life for herself and Beatrix. She has returned to London as Lady Gresham to introduce Beatrix to society, with the hope that her father – the Duke of Ramsgate – will acknowledge her and offer to support her. She plans to steer clear of Harry, but when she learns he is looking into a fire that killed several people – including her brother – she decides to befriend him to learn who killed her brother and get revenge. But things don’t work out as she plans and she learns that her brother is not dead and happens to be the “Vicar”, the very criminal mastermind that Harry is looking for!

Selina plays a deep game, juggling her many personas and trying to keep herself from falling in love with Harry. Harry is thwarted at every turn in his investigations of Madame Sybila and the Vicar and completely smitten with Lady Gresham. Harry is falling hard for Selina and begins to think of forever, but when the truth comes out, he is shattered and any chance of HEA is gone…or is it?

I thought this was an interesting story, there was a lot going on and was not quite as cohesive as I have come to expect from Ms. Burke. I liked the characters, Harry is to die for, but I was not thrilled that Selina kept lying to Harry for so long, I understand the reasoning, but I still didn’t like it and while I didn’t hate her, I spent a good portion of the book disappointed with her. The book has a bit of everything, intrigue, shocking revelations, secrets, lies, fraud, betrayal, steamy love scenes, a kleptomaniac, a meddling yet loving family, heartache, a very forgiving hero and finally a HEA that seemed impossible.

This is the first book in a new series, but it has ties to the Spitfire Society and you will see some familiar names if you have read that series. And as there were some lingering, unanswered questions in this book, I will be looking forward to the future installments with the hope that they will be resolved in Beatrix and Rafe’s stories.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by the publisher.*

A Duke Will Never Do by Darcy Burke

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

A Duke Will Never Do (The Spitfire Society #3)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Spitfire Society #3
Publication Date: 5/19/20
Number of Pages: 280

I have wanted to see Anthony’s story since we first met him in The Duke of Distraction from the Untouchables series. He just begged to have a warm, loving, and very caring lady to heal his heart and soul, and he certainly found her in Jane. The story is interesting and moves at a steady pace, but if you are a stickler for period correctness, the entire Spitfire premise is very unlikely. Still, I have enjoyed the stories and am looking forward to future stories (in another series) with several of the characters we meet in this book.

Anthony Colton became a Viscount about a year before – and he’s been inside a bottle since then. His parents were murdered by a highwayman, and it is his fault. He’s to blame for their deaths and therefore he is a worthless sod who doesn’t deserve to ever forget it. He wallows in the guilt and the bottle and sees no reason to crawl out of either. Being sober means he’d have to feel – and he certainly doesn’t want that. Being drunk day-after-day and in one brawl after another has become his normal existence. So, how did he end up having his wounds tended by an angel?

Jane Pemberton just didn’t take during her seasons and her parents blamed her for it. She was never nice enough or demure enough or … well, just never enough. Her parents harangued her about it all the time and were trying to force her to marry a neighbor she just couldn’t abide. So, she declared herself a spinster and moved to the home of her friend Phoebe, who had just recently married (A Duke Is Never Enough), and moved to her husband’s home. Jane sometimes rethinks her decision, but always decides she is ‘alone but not lonely’. Yet, sometimes she is lonely and she feels that way more and more since her friends have married and are deliriously happy. Then, as she is leaving he house one morning, she stumbles upon this bloody pulp of a human crumpled in her doorway. He’s almost unrecognizable and nothing will keep her from nursing him back to health.

Jane and Anthony are perfect for each other. Jane soothes the savage beast in Anthony and helps him to realize that there is still hope in the world and Anthony gives Jane the courage to confront her family issues. When a crisis occurs and Jane thinks Anthony has abandoned her, she summons the courage to confront her issues head-on – only to learn Anthony is there lending her strength. It was a lovely, lovely romance and I truly came to like and admire both Anthony and Jane.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.