Christi Caldwell has continued to be one of my favorite authors. The Lady's Guard was amazing and Diana and Niall are most mismatched couple, yet.

Diana is a forgotten daughter of a duke and a duchess (who recently committed to Bedlam for attempting to murder her half sister). She is feeling very lonely, confused, and scared she may become her mother.
Niall is an orphan who as raised himself above poverty to become one the members of the Hell and Sin Club. He has no respect for the nobility and wants nothing to do with them.
When Diana becomes threatened she end up with Niall as her body guard. What follows is a slow, sweet romance about two seemingly different people from different worlds who both need to love and be loved. I loved this book so much. All of the little interactions...I laughed, I cried, and at the end I wanted to reread it again.

Loved Niall and Diana's story. We start with two people who for all appearances are completely different, but as we delve into their story we see that they are so much alike and perfect for each other. I've loved all of the books in the Sinful Bride's series, but this one is definitely my favorite!!

This is the story of Lady Diana Verney and Niall Marksman. Lady Diana believes that someone is trying to kill her and so she goes to her half-brother, Ryker Black for help. Ryker assigns Niall (a fierce and strong guard of his gaming hell) to guard her to determine if the threat is real or imagined. The problem is that Niall does not like nobility, and he certainly does not want to be bothered with a lady of the ton. Still, he reluctantly acquiesces to Ryker's request and finds himself in a situation that he could have never foreseen in his wildest imagination.

This book is very well written with a very complex plot that will pull you into the story very quickly and keep you there right up until the last page. The characters are well-developed, very interesting and very likable. The story has drama and suspense along with some excellent twists and turns. It is also a book of intense emotion to the point that I wept. This book touched my mind and heart and kept me very entertained as only Christi's stories can do! Another excellent read from Christi that I highly recommend.

London, 1822At the notorious Hell and Sin Club nestled in London’s dark streets, Niall Marksman relishes taking the fortunes of the very same society that once disregarded his existence. Oh yes, Niall has sold his soul to the devil and paid dearly. It’s only when Lady Diana Verney appears at the gaming club looking for help that Niall knows that the devil has finally come to collect…by forcing him to protect the duke’s pampered daughter.

Disdained by the peerage and ignored by her father, Diana knows that someone wants to harm her. Her only protection is Niall, a scarred, intense man who lives and dies by the knife. Now her life and safety are in the hands of the most dangerous man in London. But a man raised on the city’s mercenary streets is adept at stealing anything he wishes—including a lady’s reputation and her heart.



* * * * *



Wow! I read historical romances as a way to escape the stress of everyday living. I achieved that goal in spades with THE LADY'S GUARD.



The tone of this book is darker then I usually run across in this genre being set in both Diana's world of the peerage and the rundown streets around Niall's club. It deals with two people in two entirely different worlds who are more alike then they would have thought. One thing that I really appreciated was how much both Diana and Niall grow and change as they get to know one another.



I do feel that any of my readers that enjoy a good historical romance will love THE LADY'S GUARD. There is some violence as someone is looking to kill Diana. I know that I will definitely keep an eye out for any future releases from Ms. Caldwell.



*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.

Lady Diana Verney is insecure and haunted by her mother being committed to Bedlam a year earlier. She feels since she is of her mother's blood she too will eventually be institutionalize. She suspects someone is trying to kill her but when she voices her feelings to her father, Lord Wilkinson, he just dismisses her. Since he had his wife committed to Bedlam he has become a shell of a man totally ignoring Diana.

Diana disguises herself as a boy to get into her half brother Ryker's gaming establishment the Hell and Sin. It is outside the Hell, she is apprehended by Niall Marksman the head guard in charge of security. Niall despised all nobles and when he realizes this is Ryker's half sister he is incensed by her.

When Diana speaks to Ryker he does not dismiss her suspicions and assigns Niall to return home with her and assume responsibility as her guard. He is to remain with her until the danger has passed.

I have followed the Sinful Brides series and I have waited patiently for Nail's story. Nail was raised in the streets of St.Giles. As a child, he was forced into thievery and to commit murder. He became soulless, caring for no one, loving no one. He lived everyday just to survive. His three brothers of the streets Ryker, Adair and Calium were all he cared for and protected.

His assignment to guard Diana was so against all he believed. As a giant of a man 31 years of age he carried the scares on his body of the horrific life he had endured. Diana, in her innocent and pure heart, weakens his abrasive nature and he is able to feel emotions he has never experienced before. She invites him to tea and pastries everyday and they converse. It is like Beauty and the Beast. Diana wiggles her way into his stone heart and he can never be the same as he was. Although from two different worlds, the kinship is there, the love is there. Niall needs only to let go and learn to enjoy life. This story has so many facets murder, mystery, love and acceptance. The electricity that emanates between these two is palpable to all.

Christi Caldwell uses her pen as a sword and carves her characters into you heart and mind. Another great story now I await #4.
A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection written by Joann Maggio

One of my favorite Christi Caldwell books. Niall Marksman, a man that had grown up surviving the underbelly of London becomes a personal guard for Lady Diana Verney, his brother's sister. This is a special brotherhood- one derived through survival, and honored as thicker than blood.

Niall is mad about the assignment, at first, thinking he is safeguarding one of the ton's snobby ladies. Instead he finds a woman that is truly frightened for her life. She believes that someone is trying to kill her- and turned to her half brother for help. His help in the form of Niall Marksman may cha her her life in more ways than one.

They irritate each other; they mock each other; and they learn to count on each other. But once feelings begin to develop, they try to learn to avoid each other. They are forced together, but when given the chance to dissolve the assignment- will they?

Will Niall and Diana find the way to happiness? And can that be with each other?

Christi Caldwell's books in her series (Sinful Brides) can be read separately- but I prefer to read them all! I wouldn't miss Niall's story- and look forward to Adair's and Callum's. Great characters, and believable story. That's Christi's trademark!

The Lady's Guard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️by Christi Caldwell
(Sinful Brides #3)

Lady Diana Verney is insecure and haunted by her mother being committed to Bedlam a year earlier. She feels since she is of her mother's blood she too will eventually be institutionalize. She suspects someone is trying to kill her but when she voices her feelings to her father, Lord Wilkinson, he just dismisses her. Since he had his wife committed to Bedlam he has become a shell of a man totally ignoring Diana.

Diana disguises herself as a boy to get into her half brother Ryker's gaming establishment the Hell and Sin. It is outside the Hell, she is apprehended by Niall Marksman the head guard in charge of security. Niall despised all nobles and when he realizes this is Ryker's half sister he is incensed by her.

When Diana speaks to Ryker he does not dismiss her suspicions and assigns Niall to return home with her and assume responsibility as her guard. He is to remain with her until the danger has passed.

I have followed the Sinful Brides series and I have waited patiently for Nail's story. Nail was raised in the streets of St.Giles. As a child, he was forced into thievery and to commit murder. He became soulless, caring for no one, loving no one. He lived everyday just to survive. His three brothers of the streets Ryker, Adair and Calium were all he cared for and protected.

His assignment to guard Diana was so against all he believed. As a giant of a man 31 years of age he carried the scares on his body of the horrific life he had endured. Diana, in her innocent and pure heart, weakens his abrasive nature and he is able to feel emotions he has never experienced before. She invites him to tea and pastries everyday and they converse. It is like Beauty and the Beast. Diana wiggles her way into his stone heart and he can never be the same as he was. Although from two different worlds, the kinship is there, the love is there. Niall needs only to let go and learn to enjoy life. This story has so many facets murder, mystery, love and acceptance. The electricity that emanates between these two is palpable to all.

Christi Caldwell uses her pen as a sword and carves her characters into you heart and mind. Another great story now I await #4.
A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection

I loved the characters and liked the plot. It did take a while for this one to grab me, but it has a great ending. Happy ☺reading 📚!

3.5*
Niall Marksman was basically born in the streets of London and sold to a cruel man who raised him to be a thieve and kill. Until the day Ryker, Adair and Calum became his brothers and opened the Hell and Sin Club. Lady Diana Verney lived the life of the ton until everything changed and her mother was sent to Bedlam for arranging the murder of her fathers mistress and his children Ryker and Helena.
Diana knows there's someone's out to harm her but her father doesn't believe anyone would want to do her harm. Sneaking out to the Hell and Sin to seek Ryker's help she's caught by Niall the Clubs head Guardsmen. Dressed like a boy Niall doesn't recognize her until he has her pinned against the alleys wall and his arm to her windpipe. Ryker assigns Niall as Diana's constant guard until the threat is found or she marries. Niall does not want to guard the pampered princess and he hates everything to do with the upper crust of the ton. Diana has no plan to marry, she wants to travel and see the world before madness takes her just like it has her mother. The weeks Diana spend in the company of Niall's she learns there is much more to the scared man. Niall has no plans to get to know Diana and wants this over as soon as possible, but the more time he spends with her the more she slips under the walls he's built. Niall will do what ever it takes to protect Diana but he may be to late when the villain sets up the trap to make Diana pay for the sins of her mother.
This book lagged for me but I loved the ending. I can't wait to read the next book.

Both Diana and Niall have nightmares. They share pasts that were filled with more horrors than children should ever see. With the help of their new-found families, though, they will be able to move beyond those pasts and find love in a new future for themselves.

A worthy addition to the Hell and Sin Club series!

I absolutely adored Niall and Diana's story. They are two completely different people, from completely different worlds and upbringings but they turn out to be more alike than they ever could have imagined. I loved Niall's gradual transformation the most. How he was so closed off and close minded at the beginning of the book and how by the end he didn't deny his feelings and realized he was wrong about a lot of things. I really felt sorry for Diana and the feelings of loneliness that she struggled with her entire life. Diana and Niall being total opposites really made for some delicious tension. I loved the steam in the book; it was perfect and not at all overdone. I also liked the fact that Ryker seems to be warming up to his half sister and that Diana and Penelope are friends. There was just the right amount of suspense to round out this historical romance! I'm really looking forward to the next book in this Sinful Brides series!!

The Lady’s Guard is the third, standalone book in Caldwell’s highly enjoyable Sinful Brides series, and it is a great addition. Lady Diana Verney might be the son of a duke, but she’s been ostracized by society after her mother was attempted murder and deemed insane. After a series of mishaps, Diana worries her life is threatened and seeks the assistance of her powerful bastard half brother, who owns the notorious Hell and Sin club. He assigns his “brother by circumstance", Niall Marksman, to serve as her bodyguard.

Niall has suffered and fought his entire life as an orphan of the streets, and he has no love for the nobility. He reluctantly accepts the position, but he is surprised when he finds himself attracted to and liking the vivacious and charming Diana. She’s just as drawn to him, but the two must reconcile their differences in station while also dealing with the threats against Diana.

Niall might be rough around the edges, but he has a tender heart that is slowly revealed as he falls for Diana. She is endearing and caring, and she and Niall’s love story is truly romantic. The Lady’s Guard is truly romantic and a feel-good experience.

Beauty enters the lair of the beast and ends up rescuing them both. An adventurous spin on a tale embedded within the hearts of many romantics all over the world. Christi Caldwell has that touch. The Lady's Guard proves it. Niall is a broken man who lives on the edge of society and wallows in the center of danger. Diana is a woman that finds herself in the midst of a mysterious power struggle that lands her in serious danger from an unknown enemy. There is always a twist and a hidden lesson of value waiting hidden within. The most valuable one: The most beautiful person shines from the inside, not dazzles from the outside. Through dazzling adventure, the darkest of dangers and the tragedy that surrounds them this couple creates something beautiful.

"The Lady's Guard' By Christi Caldwell is book Three in the "Sinful Brides" series. This is the story of Lady Diana Verney and Niall. I have read the previous books in this series but feel you can read this as a standalone. But I would also say this has been a great series so far...so you might not want to miss out on reading them all.
Diana is the half sister of Ryker Black. whose story played out in book two "The Scoundrel's Honor". Diana doesn't really know her half brother because he was a illegitimate child along with his full sister. Ryder owns a Gambling Hall alone with a few other men...one being Niall. Diana has a feeling someone is trying to kill her after she had so many 'accident' and strange happenings at her home. Her father doesn't believe anything is going on so Diana sneaks out one night to go to Ryder's Hall to ask for his help. Ryder's help came in the form of Niall as a bodyguard until they can find out if there is someone after her.
Niall is a hard type of man due to him growing up on the streets and being bullied into hurting people to stay alive. So he doesn't want to watch over a "Princess" while they find no one is threatening her. But their time together they find they aren't so different after all.
Ms. Caldwells books always deserves more that 5 Stars....she puts allot emotions for me in her books. I honestly couldn't put it down! Loved it!
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
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Niall and Diana are not so different. They think their past marks their future. Not so. There is so much emotion in this story and it never lets up. The characters are beautifully written and their journey to their happy ending is not always flowers and teacakes. I dare you not to cry at the end.

I also loved seeing all of the brothers. Great series.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The relationship between Niall and Diana developed from bodyguard to lover. Niall's who is from the streets of St. Giles and Diana a Duke's daughter are an unlikely match and yet it takes Niall longer to realize this than it takes Diana. The story is about murder, kidnapping, a Duchess placed in Bedlam, a young girl ignored by her family and the slow developing love between Niall and Diana. The book is a good read and I would recommend it.

This book is going to rip your heart out. It is easily the darkest tale Christi has ever told us. Regular readers of Christi Caldwell will know what I mean when I say this book is even darker than Rutland or Derek.I loved every single page.

The characters are full developed and well rounded. Not only are they believable, they are lovable. I wanted to be friends with Diana. I wanted to wrap her in a hug. She feels society’s censure in a whole new way. This is not the story of some miss who is avoided for some indiscretion of her youth, this is a girl with madness tainting her bloodline. No one in society would possibly wish to be involved with her. The interesting part of it, for me, was that Diana didn’t really blame society. She was lonely, and wished for companionship, but she never wallowed in self pity or whined about missing balls and parties as other young ladies might. After Robert and Helena, I completely underestimated Diana’s strength and cleverness.

Enter the hero! Step aside, Robert and Ryker. You have been completely overshadowed. Niall piqued all of our interest in Ryker and Penny’s story when Rival gang leader Killoran’s men attacked. We all know how Penelope wriggled her way past his defences, at least in part. Well, rest assured. He is everything you’ve dreamed and more! We know from Helena and Ryker’s books the hard life the brothers knew at the hand of crime lord and gang leader Diggory, but their stories hardly prepare you for the things forced on the little boy named Marksman. Diggory fully intended for Niall to earn that name. My stomach churns just thinking about it. It did take me awhile to get adjusted to the idea of big, serious Niall wearing dandy colors. Sapphire breeches just didn’t really seem to fit into my preconceived notions about his character. But get used to it, I did. Furthermore, I understood it, which is even better.

The discourse in this book is perfect. I loved the witty banter between Niall and Diana. We know going in that Niall is a laconic, hulking beast of a man, and Diana is a slip of a thing with a penchant for asking probing questions. I absolutely loved watching them go toe to toe. Their conversation is some of the best I’ve ever read. I also thoroughly enjoyed Diana’s internal monologue, and conversations with her father.

The cast of side characters is completely unique and lovable. I cannot wait for the rest of the Hell and Sin brothers to have their day!

This story is well rounded. The plot is believable and well conveyed. The writing is, as usual for Christi, flawless. If you skip this book, you are doing yourself a disservice. This is hands down my new favorite Christi book. I already want to reread it.

I received an ARC link to Netgalley from the author for an honest review.. Only Christi Caldwell can take a virtually unlikable character in one book, and make him a hero that you fall in love with and have you sympathizing with in another. That's one of the many reasons I love Ms. Caldwell. I LOVED Niall Marksman, Guard of The Hell and Sin Club and Lady Diana Verney. I loved how he called her Princess. What in the beginning was a deragatory name became a endearment/pet name. The strong, silent, sullen guard having tea and pastries with Diana? Classic. I was crying. As I always due with a Christi Caldwell novel. Not to give anything away, but this has to be the best HEA in a Christi Caldwell novel..

I started this book right after reading a contemporary bodyguard story. At the time, I thought it doesn’t get any better than this. Oh, but it does! Sure, I love those stories where the heroine spends time in close proximity to a gorgeous man willing to risk his life for hers. But when that man is a regency hunk with a cockney accent, I’m a goner! #3 in Christi Caldwell’s Sinful Brides series, The Lady’s Guard is the ultimate bodyguard romance. With romance, suspense, danger, betrayal, and lots of STEAM, your every bodyguard fantasy will be fulfilled.

Niall Marksman was born with an edge of roughness and felt nothing for anyone. The son of a cheap whore and an unknown father, he’d been handed over as a boy to a street thug. Raised by Diggory on the streets of St. Giles, Niall had been forced to thieve and murder so Diggory could grow his street power and wealth. Until Ryker Black found him. Now, he and his ‘brothers’ (Ryker, Adair, and Callum) were proprietors of the Hell and Sin, a popular gaming hell where Niall also served as the head guard. His life was much improved now, but Niall would never forget his beginnings. He’d been an emaciated boy starving in the streets, invisible to society. And so he’d “kindled a burning hatred for those pompous lords and ladies who cared for nothing but their own pleasures”.
Lady Diana Verney had been alone all of her life. The only legitimate child of the Duke and Duchess of Wilkinson, she’d been raised for one purpose-“to make an advantageous match that would grow the family’s wealth, power, and prestige”. Society had only seen her as a duke’s daughter, but now they saw her as a mad duke’s daughter. A year ago, Diana’s mother had ordered the deaths of her husband’s mistress and illegitimate children. When it was discovered, the Duke had had her sent to Bedlam. For the past year, Diana had heard the whispers of society, that she was doomed to follow her mother’s madness. And in that year, she’d had not a single caller, suitor, or friend. Her father had become an empty shadow of a man, rarely leaving his chambers. Not only was she shunned from society, but now it seemed someone wished to hurt her. There’d been broken axels, saddles, and open windows. Someone intended her harm. She’d shared the incidents with her father, but he’d merely waved off her fears. “Society might see her as a pampered duke’s daughter on her way to madness, but she was no fool.” So dressed in trousers, disguised as a boy, Diana made her way to St. Giles to seek help from the only other person she knew to turn to. Her half- brother, Ryker Black. A man who’d wanted nothing to do with her. She was nothing to him. Nothing to anyone. Yet when she told Ryker her story, he calmly accepted it. No doubts or disbelief. Ryker knew there were still those loyal to Diggory who would do anything to harm him. Even attack his family. Diana required a guard. Not some footman in her employ but a man who could truly protect her. Ryker knew just who to send. “For the first time since her mother had been carted off to Bedlam and her father had become a shell of a man, Diana didn’t feel alone.”
Niall wasn’t happy about his assignment. He belonged at the Hell and Sin. Killoran, their enemy and Diggory’s heir, threatened the security of Niall and his brothers. Someone had infiltrated the club for the last year and Niall had yet to discover who it was. He felt like his being sent away was a mark of failure and weakness. He was needed at the club, not caring for some spoiled chit with a silver spoon in her mouth. He did like the way she looked in trousers though. But “he’d be damned if he lusted after, appreciated, or had any dealings with a bloody lady”.
It bothered Diana that Niall didn’t like her. She felt a bond with him. He’d been cast out of the Hell and Sin to watch over her and she’d been cast out of society because of her mother. She’d been so long without company that she’d hoped for a friendship of sorts with Niall. That seemed the last thing he wanted.
“Life had given Niall little reason to smile and every reason to be silent and guarded.” Most people found that intimidating. Not Diana. She took him to task. No one challenged him. Diana did though, and it filled him with an unwanted wave of desire. As their weeks together progressed, they formed a truce of sorts. Niall soon realized he’d looked at Diana before but had never truly seen her. She wasn’t like the other society ladies. He’d thought ladies often spent their time shopping or at parties, but Diana didn’t attend a single event. She was clever, brave, and far more intelligent than he’d given her credit for. A grudging respect for her grew. She was the only person who treated him as anything other than a ruthless thug. She drew him into conversation, something foreign to him, and had him sharing parts of his life he’d never shared. There was something enlivening being with the bold, unafraid Diana. Yes, she was a lady, Ryker’s sister, an innocent, but somewhere along the way, she was becoming so much more.
Diana came to see Niall in a different light as well. Yes, he was menacing, but she found him more ruggedly beautiful than any gentleman of London society. There was a goodness and gentleness to him that he didn’t see. He’d become more than a guard. He’d become the only true friend Diana had ever known. He might like her and enjoy her company, but could he ever give her his heart?
Just as Niall and Diana are discovering each other, and in turn discovering themselves, the danger returns and Niall will have to face past fears he’d thought long buried if he wants to have a future with Diana.
What an exhilarating addition to a phenomenal series! I fell in love with Niall and Diana. Though they came from completely different worlds, they had so much in common. Diana had spent the last year certain she would eventually descend into insanity, linking herself to her mother’s crimes. But Niall forced her to look at herself differently and realize her mother’s crimes were not her own. Niall had spent his life thinking himself evil because of things he’d been forced to do as a child. He revealed his scars, both figurative and literal, to Diana. Yet she still saw the good in him and helped him to find it too. By sharing their secrets, they discovered it wasn’t your station or situation in life that determined your worth but how you conducted yourself and how you treated others.
I loved the way their relationship evolved. Diana was so genuine in her treatment of and interactions with Niall. It was comical to see him so out of his element. The art of conversation was beyond him. He rarely spoke and when he did, he was so abrupt. But as they spent more time together, he transformed. Like Diana, I loved his teasing rather than his mocking. His grinning rather than scowling. They needed each other to help them discover themselves. I enjoyed Niall’s relationship with his brothers as well. Ryker is starting to seem like a father figure to me, watching the others as they find a love that transforms. All the books in this series have been moving but this one especially so. The lives Niall and Diana endured were beyond imagination. It was tragic, but in finding each other, they found hope.
Christi Caldwell is a master at writing romance. She draws you in with a beautiful love story and keeps you hooked with a compelling plot. The romance doesn’t happen too quickly. She’s good at teasing and making you wait for it. The relationship builds gradually and by the time the characters realize they’re in love, you’re in love too. And when all that pent up passion is released, it’s magical. I’ve read every book in this series so I really can’t imagine reading this as a stand- alone. You’d miss out on the history of vital characters. And believe me, this is a series you don’t want to miss a second of.