Kerrigan Byrne continues to amaze me with the dark depths of her characters, that pull no punches and the extraordinary story telling that binds them together through love and redemption. Another absolutely marvelous addition to this already stellar series of stories!

Love how the male characters in this series stay just this side of abominable much of the time. Perfect for any reader who loves alphas and bad boys!

Despite my preference for Regency era romances, I decided to give this Victorian one a try, and it was worth it. More than a romance, this story included a rags-to-riches tale (in an unusual way) and a murder mystery as well.

This was an addicting tale, I was up until 3 am finishing it because of the cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. The character, while flawed, were very strong. Particularly the heroine. She starts out as an unrecognized heroine and is eventually able to be very philanthropic. The hero of the story is a brute in some instances, and gentle in others, but it fits into his PTSD.

This is the only one of this series I have read, so I am not sure how the rest of the series went, but this book is understandable as a standalone as well. I would definitely recommend it.

I am a fan of Ms. Byrne and thoroughly enjoy her stories, but I have to say "The Duke" wasn't my favorite. The story is dark and depressing. I understand that our hero Cole suffers unimaginable torture when he's captured and not rescued until a year later, and seems to suffer severe PTSD. He meets our heroine, Imogene Pritchard, on his last night in London before shipping out for another military campaign. He mistakes her for a prostitute and steals her virginity, although he was so drunk that he didn't realize that at the time. Fast forward 3 years and these two are changed forever from their experiences since they first met.

Ms. Byrne is a masterful writer and I felt the story deeply and that's what earned my 3 star rating. The horrors of war has robbed Cole of any nobility he once possessed. He's rude, condescending and threatened to ruin Imogen, now Lady Anstruther, his next door neighbor, as she has opened her home to the downtrodden to give them a second chance at a decent life. He doesn't recognize her, but has carried her kind words with him since that fateful night 3 years ago. My main problem with the story is no matter what Cole does, Imogen forgives him. She's just too good. I didn't enjoy the near violent sex scenes either. This story was just too dark for me and I didn't enjoy it as much as the author's other books.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise of the story, Cole and Imogen sharing one night, circumstances keep them apart, hidden identities, danger, and then coming together. I liked both characters even though there were moments they frustrate me.What make me not give it 5 stars was the ending.It felt so rushed.

I'm sure this will work for a lot of people, but it just didn't do much for me. I liked the first in this series quite a bit, but have liked the subsequent books less and less. Not my catnip.

I thoght this was a great book and Imogene was the perfect match for Cole even if their past was sketchy. I cant wait to read more by this author.

My first time reading this author. The story developed in a way that was unexpected. There were certainly punchy romances- this novel does not beat around the bush, it dives straight into the deep end. However, it is incredibly melodramatic, so be prepared for a lot of bad guys and cliches.

The Duke by Kerrigan Byrne is a 2017 St. Martin’s Press publication.

The Victorian Rebels series is my favorite series in the historical romance category right now. I eagerly anticipate each new installment, but then hoard it because I want to have something to look forward to and I know once I finish it, I’ll have to wait for what seems like an eternity for the next book in the series.

I couldn’t hold out any longer, but I did manage to read the book very slowly, drawing it out and lapping up every delicious morsel one chapter at a time, trying to make it last as long as I could.

Kerrigan Bryne can create a dark and troubled hero better than anyone out there right now. Collin ‘Cole’ Talmage, the Duke of Trewyth, is tortured, but is slightly different from the heroes featured in past installments.

He’s a privileged Duke who spends one night with the sweet and innocent Ginny, leaving him with a memory he can not shake. In fact, it’s his memory of her that sustains him on the battlefield, where he is severely injured. She haunts him always, as his seemingly futile search for her stretches out over the years.

Imogen Pritchard, is a nurse by day, a maid by night, but after a dangerous encounter she is saved by a marriage of convenience. Now widowed, Imogen suddenly finds herself face to face with the one man she could never forget. But, little does he know, Imogen, the wealthy widow next door, is the woman he has been longing for. Should Imogen remind him of their shared past or keep it secret from him?

As a big fan of romantic suspense, I loved the element of suspense in this chapter, which was like the cherry on top!

The way the lovers seemed like two ships passing in the night also adds an element of tension to the story and of course a little frustration, too.

Cole, of course, is heartbroken and sad, but also, bitter and angry. He doesn’t know what to make of Imogen and his attraction to her, which leaves him conflicted about his feelings for Ginny, while Imogen is afraid to tell him the truth, which creates inner angst and turmoil, but makes for some seriously sharp dialogue as the pair play a delightful and slightly dangerous lovers game.

The only downside to the story is that the ending was tidied up a bit too abruptly, combining the threads a little too hurriedly, but it was still dramatic and despite the dark tones, the book ended on a humorous note, allowing Cole to steal the show and Imogen’s heart once and for all.

This is another terrific effort by this author. I love her style, her risk -taking plot lines, and how her stories are ever evolving and changing guaranteeing they stay fresh and original

This was my first book by Byrne, and I found it enjoyable. I am normally a stickler about reading books of a series in order, but this one slipped past me. I'll definitely go back and start the series at the beginning. I'm looking forward to these other books by Byrne, and suspect that I will find them very likable as well!

This story of Imogen and Cole is sort of a second chance at romance tale. I liked both characters and wanted the best for them. I was pleased at the resolution of the storyline.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I have been pleasantly surprised by this series. Since I picked up the first book on a whim, it’s quickly become a go to historical romance series of mine and one I highly recommend you give a try. Why, you may ask? Because I love the unconventional characters and scenarios, how it blurs the good and bad preconceived lines, and the fact that it’s not scared to get a little dark when most historical romance is light and fluffy.

THE DUKE is no different. Our heroine starts out dealing with a tough situation. She makes the best of it while trying to maintain her dignity through it all. And she survives it and flourishes in spite of it all. I love strong heroines like this, so THE DUKE was total catnip for me. The fact that as much as I loved the hero, the heroine stands out on her own in this one makes me feel giddy. And believe me at times he was too much of a jerk to love.

If you love your heroes imperfect, scarred or disfigured (I don’t want to give anything away), with a healthy dose of bad attitude and grumpiness, then you’ll love Collin. The more I read about the things he went through and how they changed him, the more I developed a love/hate relationship with him. And that’s the best thing about this author’s writing. She has a way of involving me in the story that I’m along for the ride, whether it’s the ups or downs, good or bad decisions and actions.

Collin and Imogen didn’t have it easy, and there’s a lot they both had to overcome separately as well as together. It’s not a cookie cutter love affair, the desperation at times is palpable, and your heart will go out to both of them.

In the end, this was another strong installment in this series and I honestly can’t wait for more from this author. I love diving into this world and these words and enjoying it as a special treat. Now if only she would write faster!

Kerrigan Byrne continues her astounding series of Victorian Rebels with the tale of The Duke. Collin Talmage has just inherited the title of the Duke of Trenwyth when the story begins. Before he leaves on his next military mission he is in a tavern celebrating with some soldier friends. While he is there he avails himself of a barmaid who he assumes to be a whore. In reality, Imogen Pritchard is a nurse by day and working at night in the tavern at night to work off her father’s debt to the owner. She is also a virgin, at least she was until Collin (aka Cole) pays 20 pounds for her.
The Duke’s spy mission goes terribly wrong and it is a year before he is found almost dead and brought to the hospital where Imogen is his nurse. The two of them have each been through terrible experiences and while Imogen recognizes Cole, he doesn’t recognize that she is Ginny the whore that he dreamed about while trying to stay alive.
The two dance around each other, fighting and arguing. The Duke doesn’t know who she is and is still trying to find his Ginny when she has been living next door to him all the time after she married his old and sick neighbor.
Collin is struggling to overcome the darkness inside – brought on by torture while he was in prison. He is beastly at times and there is a darkness in him that the reader wonders if he will be able to overcome.
Ms Byrne, does an excellent job of making the characters believable, even in their darkest places.

I was definitely excited for more Victorian Rebel because it usually means an intense story with some great characters. While I enjoyed this one, I'm also a little sad to say it kind of lacked depth in comparison to the rest of the series. The story does a couple time jumps, it starts when Imogen, our heroine, first meets Colin (aka Cole), the Duke of Trenwyth and has one magical night with him, to two years later were they're lives re-intertwine in an unexpected manner.

Okay, I do love love Imogen. She worked as a nurse during the day and a bar wench (in disguise) at night to help keep her family safe. The universe was definitely unkind but Imogen was so deserving of a happy ending. Let me tell you, Imogen should of gotten an award for having to deal with a stupid Cole (and the amount of misogynist bull crap in general by men). I'm glad Imogen keeps her held high and doesn't back down.

""It would take nothing to destroy you.” He tightened his fingers ever so slightly, and the telltale jump of her pulse belied her unwavering audacity.

“Better men than you have tried,” she remonstrated, her eyes blazing green with a maelstrom of her own primitive emotions. “Yet here I stand.”"

Cole. Oh Cole. Yes, he had a ridiculously terrible two years, heck the man lost his hand on top of torture during the war! So I get that he's holding on to a shining beacon of joy (aka. Imogen as Ginny during their one night together). But I was frustrated by Cole's attitude towards Imogen when they encountered years later. Cole does manage to somewhat redeem himself, so there is that.

I did enjoy the chemistry between Cole and Imogen. They fight because they don't know what to do with all the tension, ha. And they do have a few pretty cute moments too.

"Abruptly, she pulled away. "Where is everyone?"

His brow furrowed with confounded indignation, lips wet and hard above her as e processed her words between panting breaths of mounting lust. "You interrupted what was possibly the best kiss in the history of the empire to ask such a question," he said tightly.

She loved this arrogant, grumpy beast with all her heart."

This story definitely focused more on the romance and wasn't quite as dark as the previous book. There's still a good about of suspense and action, but less espionage than you would expect. I did love the return of our previous couples and their part in the story.

Overall it was a good story but didn't quite blow me away. I struggled in some parts, but in the end it was an enjoyable story with a great heroine and a hero that does redeem himself. I still look forward to more in this series.

{* Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Edelweiss for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Imogen Pritchard endured the worst life had to offer. The Earl of Anstruther had been her friend and patient. He married her as a way to protect her and her family. Now she's a wealthy widow who's determined to help those less fortunate. She and the Duke of Trenwyth have an unusual connection. He met her when she worked as a bar maid at the Bare Kitten. Cole wanted to forget that his family was dead as well as the dangerous mission he was undertaking for Queen and country. He used her and left. Now the Duke is back. He's become a cruel and embittered man. This story highlights the love - hate relationship between these two passionate people. They each have their secrets. Their verbal sparring kept me reading. I wanted to know how these two would deal with their powerful chemistry. The suspense ramped up when Imogen becomes the target of a serial killer. Kerrigan Byrne has written powerful characters that leap off the page. I must admit at times Cole frustrated me with his stubborn, intractable attitude. I was glad that Imogen didn't let him bully her. She gave as good as she got. I'm enjoying the Victorian Rebels series. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.
I received a copy of The Duke. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. My comments are my honest opinions.

This was fun to glimpse back into the series...but I'm beginning to feel like the series has one very overarching theme of alpha males bordering on alpha-holes who run ragged over their women, despite the women having very good reasons for doing things the way they're doing them.

Author Kerrigan Byrne has a beautiful way with words and emotions which pulls the reader into this deep emotion packed read. This book is filled with various chain of events that filled me with dread, sadness, excitement, tears, laughter and thankfulness. Meanwhile, mixed into the story are several interactions between Imogen and Cole that just burn up the pages.

Imogen is a female character that one can admire and wish for all good things to happen to. I love that her main strength is what draws and drives Cole away. This unconventional woman drew my attention more than most heroines I have read recently. She is kind, considerate, caring, honorable and dependable.

Cole's character was handled with extreme finesse both in who he was and who he became. I delighted in the manner that the author used to show the differences and similarities of his before and after person. The richness of his character will keep the reader’s attention trying to figure out what he will do next.

There are many secondary characters within this story and most of them are characters that could use attitude adjustments but they are perfect for this storyline and really create the drama needed to keep this book moving forward in a fast pace. I have always liked intrigue and this book has it in spades so sit down with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea and enjoy the ride.

For me, the authors ability to pull forth all my emotions caused this book to standout from other books and for this reason I give it 5 STARS.

Stayed up late to finish - Cole and Ginny were the perfect balm to each other's souls. I loved their story diverging and coming back together. Great mix of romance and suspense/action.

I don’t know it was just something about this book that I couldn’t really get into the characters. It was interesting at the beginning but somewhere in the second chapter, it went downhill, and never really recover until I turned the last page. That was back in December. I decided to give the book another go, and maybe just maybe something would change. I found that it was the two main characters.

Colin is blaming the world because of his missing body part and Imogen always the victim. I thought that sooner or later the characters would come to know that you and only you can change your destiny or life as it may. But with the lack of character development comes the lack of knowledge on the characters.

Even though this was part of a series book #4 of Victorian Rebels. The Duke can be read as a stand-alone. I never read any of Kerrigan Byrne other books. I might just have to give this book a third read after reading the other books in this series.

Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Rinou
Review Copy from the Publisher

Fourth volume in the Victorian Rebels series from which I already reviewed the previous volume, The Duke follows Imogen and Cole through several years, with a very gripping beginning and a quite dark style.

At the beginning of the novel, Imogen works as a nurse by day and as a serving maid in a tavern by night to pay off her late father’s debts, with a false name and a dark-haired wig. One night a group of soldiers come in the tavern, and among them Cole, who, quite plastered, pay a fortune to the owner to buy one night with her, and the owner forces her to accept by threatening her little sister. One year later, Cole, who disappeared during a mission just after this night, is brought gravely injured in the hospital where Imogen works, and she treats his wrist amputation. When he wakes up from a coma he doesn’t recognize her, he gets angry because she saved his life, and the director takes advantage to fire her. We meet them again two years later, when Imogen has done a good marriage and wants to spend her late husband’s wealth to help the poors, and Cole, her neighbor, has taken a dislike to her and wants to dissuade her from doing it.

Imogen is a strong heroine, decent, kind, ready to do a lot of things to protect her mother and her sister. She was lucky to meet an old patient who took her out of the poverty she was in after being fired from the hospital, and she wants to help those who are in a miserable situation. She tries to put on a brave face while defending her project even facing nobles who look down on her. And facing Cole, who turns out to be so different from the man with whom she fall in love this famous night because of his kindness in spite of the circumstances, she doesn’t get flustered. When he finally discovers her secret and accuses her of concealment and lie, the way she explains herself and puts him in his place is really enjoyable after the mounting tension between them.

Cole is a dark hero, he was tortured in an ottoman jail and suffers from post-traumatic syndrome. He’s angry at the world and very withdrawn to himself, convinced there’s in him a violent monster he must control. He’s also quite snobbish and haughty, he despises Imogen because he believes she’s a gold-digger who took advantage of a sick man to rise in society, and he makes her feel it every time. Since he came back he’s been looking for the woman he spent the last night with before going in mission, because her memory helped him during the months of torture, but when he thinks of her he only has vague memories of physical details and sensations.
He’s annoyed to be attracted to Imogen when he’s obsessed by this woman’s memory. He’s also mad at her because little by little she forces him to come out of the shell of trauma and anger he took refuge in.

There’s a strong attraction between them, and each tries to resist for different reasons, Imogen because she fears he’d ruin her if he learns her secret, Cole because he wants to be faithful to the woman of the past, but there’s also a lot of sensuality when they let their respective walls go down the slightest bit. Their interactions often have lively and biting comebacks. All through the novel we see Imogen discovering her internal force and what she really wants in her life, even if she’s forced to realize her ideal can’t necessarily be reached. We also see Cole struggling with his demons and opening a little to the world, but don’t wait for big changes in his dark personality.

The beginning is very grabbing, we’re immediately hooked by the main characters. However I thought it strange that we don’t see much of Imogen’s family when they’re the basis of a lot of her decisions. There’s a plot with a killer which forces Cole to realize hi protective need for Imogen, and allows to have the couple from the previous volumes intervene more. There’s also an important violence, which seems more realistic for the period than a succession of social events, but could be difficult to read for some people. There are lighter moments, as when the heroine compares the colors of two dresses, one coral and the other apricot, and only receives blank stares from the three men present in front of her.

In the end once again I really liked the author’s style and her ability to create deep characters. Here is a dark and captivating romance that I preferred to the previous volume and that I strongly recommend.