A very well written story with fun characters and supporting characters that only gave the story a peak.
I love when you in a serie meet characters from other books and hear what have happened in their life. A sort of update. 
The children are a bit of age in the description but fits the story. Some of the past are mentioned a lot and I got bored with it. Jo should think of her present and not her past more often. A lot of info that not gave more to the story. Both main characters has a lot to struggle with before they can have their HEA and most of this story caught me and I had to read through it.
But all in all worth the read.

I received a ARC to provide an honest review.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

Oh my, I loved this book! It was so much fun to read and I felt like I really got to know the characters. And of course, the characters were awesome!

I really liked Joanna, the heroine. She was very practical and down to earth. She had a pretty sad back story, particularly in her first marriage. I always find it a little difficult to identify with heroines who let themselves be pushed around or mistreated by a man. And it was that way at first as I got to know Joanna's history. But I have to remind myself that every character is a little different and that I just have to go along with the story to see how everything plays out. So I ended up, of course, liking Joanna and loving the fact that she was strong because of her shitty first marriage. I loved that she was doing her best at seeing the good side of what life threw at her and finding joy in her family. She was just a joy to read, in general.

I loved Bran, as well. I super extra loved that he had spent most of his adult life in a place so different from England. I'm not 100% sure but I think it was Barbados? In any case, it was vastly different from his own childhood, which he felt was far less than ideal. I thought it was awesome that he was raising his own child in Barbados and trying to give her the life he didn't have. He had an unusual and sort of difficult to see problem... I think he might have been a bit agoraphobic? He didn't love crowds and he didn't like clothes all that much. Although it was a problem for him, the clothes issue was pretty funny. I mean, that day and age...hating excessive clothing? Boy, you would be in serious trouble! So many layers, combined with how you were supposed to have everything perfect, without a stitch or hem out of place? Yikes. So it was certainly sad but it was also a little funny at the same time.

I liked the progression of the relationship between Joanna and Bran. As you would expect, it wasn't a smooth ride. But it was absolutely lightened by the addition of the children. Bran had a five year old daughter who was adorable and precocious. Joanna had a niece and a nephew that she loved and doted on. Joanna's niece and Bran's daughter were really close, which is what brought Bran and Joanna together. It was super cute to see them all interacting and watching the young girls try to be matchmakers. It was also interesting to see the relationship between Bran and his mom but I couldn't really tell if it was improving or not. It was a strange part of the story and it wasn't totally fleshed out.

Overall, I loved this book. I laughed and got mad and was frustrated and everything else. I've never read this author before but after reading THIS book, I'm absolutely going back and will be reading some of her back list, starting with the beginning of this series! I would easily recommend this book to historical romance fans, even though it wasn't a perfect story. As I mentioned, the relationship between Bran and his mother wasn't very clear. He obviously disliked her because of how she treated him as a child but then it seemed like they were going to try and have a relationship but I never got the feeling that he ever trusted her. And by the end, it wasn't really resolved. Also, I didn't love how Joanna was CONSTANTLY comparing Bran to her first husband. She just went on and on about it and I got tired of it pretty quickly. There were a couple of other minor things but they were so minor that it didn't affect my enjoyment of the story. Anyway, go pick this book up and give it a chance... I'm betting it will be a hit!

A BUY BUY BUY BOOK!
One of the things I have come to expect from this author is the unexpected!. I must say I adore the way she writes her characters and plot lines. They are indescribably unique in some aspects of the story. Now for the review of this wonderful book. Having read the others in this series, I was and am continually surprised that the series just gets better. It seems that there is always a new element and the overall outcome is fantastic. I sincerely liked this story and did not stop until I was finished reading from the beginning to the end. It seemed like time flew and when it came to the end I was wishing for more already. The hero is a romantic gentle but manly man. The heroine a strong but incredibly feminine woman. Each aspect of their characters including the children thrown into the story was wonderful! 

So for a great read. Buy this book! I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom

Love everything by this author and this book is no exception. It's a story of second chances, but not without a few obstacles to surmount.. Characters you definitely root for.
I received an ARC copy of this book from netgalley.

This series just keeps getting better a super read and fantastic addition.I really enjoyed this one and really liked Bran and jo's story looking forward to reading more from this author.

I am fan of the "The Untouchables" series by the author and was anxiously waiting for this book which is book five in the series. It was fun to meet some of the older characters again in this book but I didn't really like the characters of the hero and heroine. The heroine refuses to marry the hero but is alright having an affair with him when she is his daughter's governess. I didn't like that part of the storyline and didn't like the way their characters were written. A little disappointed with this book considering how much I have enjoyed the previous books in this series. 

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

this book was fun to read, I liked the characters and the story line was very good. Real world situations made it believable. At times it felt a little stiff to me. It was well worth a read if you like a little bit of mystery and crime and a lot of romance.

Sometimes when historical romances address situations such as autism or Aspergers, it's glossed over as the character being "eccentric" and left at that. I loved that Burke not only incorporated many of the struggles that go into having the condition but didn't shy away from showing how difficult it can be, especially for the time period. A unique or "broken" hero isn't new to historical romance but Burke captured one that's definitely a keeper. Highly recommended.

Darcy Burke is a new author to me. I love her writing but passed over her books in the past because the covers didn't really pop. I took a chance requesting one through Netgalley and so glad I did. I will be tracking down more of her books. I like that the covers stick to a theme, I just wish they were a little more exciting and memorable. Some readers do judge a book by their cover, and while these are not bad they are just not memorable.

The children and heir romance-plotting are adorable. The pace is great and the characters are very likable.

I very much enjoyed this book. However, I did find the ending a bit rushed. I would have preferred it to have been more drawn out.

A pleasing read!__4 1/2 stars

Quite a beautiful story about a man who doesn't fit into the role thrust upon him and a woman betrayed by choices thrust upon her.
Bran Crowther, Earl of Knighton can't stand to be back in England. Indeed he figuratively and literally is chafed by the burden. He fled the constrictions and oppressiveness of England and his family at a young age. He found himself in Barbados. Now duty has called him back.  Dubbed a defiant child by his mother, Bran is touted as the Defiant Duke.
Joanna Shaw now had freedom from a doomed marriage but what will she do? There is a definite attraction between Jo and Bran. Bran needs an heir and Jo's eight year marriage resulted in no children. 
These two hurt souls come together healing each other, although with some mishaps on the way.

A NetGalley ARC

Never expecting to inherit the title Bran Crowther left England as a young man to pursue independence and adventure. Now duty calls and he returns from Barbados to England the new Earl of Knighton with his five year old daughter Evangelina, “Evie”.  He knows he needs a wife and a mother for Evie and an heir to his new title. Widow Joanna Shaw isn’t interested in a second marriage, not after the loveless marriage. Joanna has given up on having her own children after eight years of marriage and no children so she loves and dotes her niece and nephew.  She decides she wants to be a governess and accepts an offer from her niece’s new best friend Evie’s father Bran.  Joanna and Bran are both emotional wounded souls who are flawed and so deserving of finding love and acceptance.  Both are capable of great depths of love, but will they risk their hearts in this journey of finding acceptance and a love neither expected to have the HEA they both deserve! A great story for everyone!!!
This is my honest opinion and review of an ARC copy from Net Galley and the publisher.

This is the first book I've read by Darcy Burke but it wont be the last. I absolutely loved it.  The characters of Jo and Bran were perfect for each other.  Bran's daughter Evie was a great addition to the story (maybe one day we'll see her story). I cant wait to go back and read the previous books in this series.

The Duke of Defiance by Darcy Burke
The Untouchables #5

What a wonderful way to spend the day! I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in 1817 London with Jo and Bran. This is not the typical historical romance with the silly ingénue and the rake but instead a story of two slightly more mature people embarking on a new phase of life. Both without spouses, one with a young daughter to take care of as he takes on responsibilities of being an Earl, one verbally abused for years by her vicious vicar husband before finding herself widowed and both so in need of a safe place to land. I loved all of the characters, the story, the issues dealt with and the love that grew in spite of expectations otherwise. A delightful book and the first one I have read by this author – it will not be my last. 

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I truly enjoyed this well-rounded historical romance. Good plot.

Widow Joanna Shaw has known Bran Crowther  as a child, he was her best friend's brother. Married off by her father at a very young age to an old man, marriage was of no interest...until Bram came back to assume the Earldom.
   He still carried the inner scars from being tormented as a child by members of his own family and found Joanna to be a soothing influence for him and his daughter, but there were obstacles to overcome.
   Wonderful addition to the Untouchables series and not to be missed.
    I requested and received an ARC copy to peruse

I haven’t read all the books in Darcy Burke’s <strong><em>The Untouchables</em></strong> series, but I’ve enjoyed those I <em>have</em> read and can confidently say that each book works as a standalone.  <strong>The Duke of Defiance </strong>features a new central couple and briefly re-introduces readers to the “Untouchables”, gentlemen so named by their heroines because their lofty positions in society meant they were well beyond their touch.  Although as things have turned out, they obviously weren’t 😉

Mrs. Joanna Shaw is the widowed sister of Nora, the Duchess of Kendal, who was the heroine of book one, <strong><a href="https://bookish29.wordpress.com/2017/05/13/the-forbidden-duke-the-untouchables-1-by-darcy-burke-audiobook-narrated-by-marian-hussey/" target="_blank">The Forbidden Duke</a></strong>.  Joanna – Jo – was unhappily married to a country clergyman for around eight years, and is now living with Nora while she decides what she wants to do with the rest of her life.  At thirty-one, she is still lovely and her position as the sister of a duchess gives her a certain cachet in society – but she is not sure if she wants to remarry.  Her late husband’s emotional cruelty has naturally soured her view of the institution, and her inability to conceive a child during eight years of marriage makes her a less attractive prospect as a wife.

Bran Crowther, the Earl of Knighton was a third son who never expected to inherit his father’s title.  But the recent deaths of his two elder brothers necessitates his return to England from the successful life he had built for himself in Barbados, and he and his five-year-old daughter, Evie, are finding it difficult to adjust.  Fortunately, however, Evie has found a good friend in Becky, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kendal, and when Bran arrives to collect Evie from a play date, he meets Mrs. Shaw and is immediately struck by her wit and good sense, as well as by her beauty.

Bran and Jo are attracted to each other, and their interactions are nicely judged and generally very honest.  They are initially brought together when Nora offers to help Bran to find a new nurse for Evie and then has to send Jo in her stead.  Bran is pleased to discover that Jo's views fit with his own, and also finds her comments about the dos and don'ts of London society very helpful as he tries to settle into his new life.  When he – and Evie – practically beg Jo to become Evie's governess, she finds she cannot refuse, even as she knows that being in close proximity to Bran day after day is not a good idea.  But she has come to love Evie as she is coming to love the girl's father, and agrees to a trial period, trying not to think about what will happen when Bran eventually takes a wife who will be able to give him more children and, most importantly, an heir.

Jo's concern about her lack of fertility is the main source of conflict in the romance, and it's one I'm not particularly fond of.  The women in such stories always blame themselves without any reason to do so other than that they're women and therefore the fault must lie with them!  Bran at least has the sense to suggest that it might not be Jo's fault, but she is naturally very sensitive about it, and isn't prepared to let him take the risk that she won't be able to give him any more children.  Her belief is not helped by the insecurities about her womanliness fostered in her by her late husband, but it's nonetheless a plot point that always makes me roll my eyes.

Bran is a no-nonsense sort of person, and his years of living away from the strictures of London society have made him careless of convention and proper behaviour.  He thinks nothing of allowing Evie to go without shoes when they are at home – to the intense disapproval of some of his starchier servants – or of divesting himself of cravat and coat in front of Jo, when it is certainly not the done thing to 'disrobe' in front of a lady.  (Not that Jo minds, of course😉)  When he describes how clothes make him "itchy" and then explains how, as a child, his mother regarded him as defiant because he refused to wear clothing or eat what he was given; how he could never sit still or remain in bed all night, I thought Ms. Burke may have been setting him up as someone with a condition such as ADHD or on the Autistic Spectrum, but this is never made clear.  Jo comes to recognise and accept Bran's quirks, but other than having been brought up by an extremely harsh, unforgiving mother and a father who didn’t bother with his third son, we're not really given much of an explanation for them, and for the most part they are just glossed over.  There's an implication that Evie, too, has anxiety issues, but these are handled in more or less the same way.

And on the subject of Evie, much of the time she comes across as much older than the five years of age she is supposed to be.  At one point, she tells her father: <em>"I was certain you might be falling in love" </em>- which sounds more like a teenager, for instance, and she reads as more of a plot-moppet than a real child.  Children are hard to write well (Grace Burrowes is one of the very few romance authors who is able to get it right) and I'm afraid Ms. Burke has missed the mark. She’s also way off the mark when it comes to the master/servant relationship that should exist between Bran and Jo.  He pretty much treats her as the mistress of the house as soon as she sets foot in it, assigning her a bedchamber in the family wing, a maid of her own, and insisting upon her eating meals with him, to name just a few things no over governess would have been granted.  I get that Bran is supposed to be unfamiliar with society customs but Jo should know better and allows Bran to wave aside her very weak protests.

As I said at the beginning of this review, the book does work as a standalone, but information about previous characters and situations is given in obvious info-dumps, rather than evolving naturally; and while the good-natured teasing between the four heroes of the previous books is one of the best things about the this one, it felt like overkill for all four of them to just happen to be around in order to meet Bran.

While the writing is strong and the love scenes are sensual, <strong>The Duke of Defiance </strong>is, sadly one of the weaker entries in this series. I do plan to read more by Darcy Burke, but I'm going to chalk this one up as a misfire.

Grade: C - 3 stars

Sometimes when you start a book it's hard to relate to or like the characters, this is not that book.  I  likes both the h and the H very much from the very start.  And really would have been upset at anything coming between them, fortunately, the relationship moved fairly smoothly as regency romances go, and I was not disappointed.  The book is part of a series, which I have read, so was familiar with some characters, but the couple is new.  He is a new Earl, the third son who had not expected to inherit.  She ia the widow of a vicar, who apparently was rather un-vicarish. There is of course, an immediate attraction between them, though there are some barriers, and a romance ensues.  And a HEA , most rewarding!  Look forward to more by this author.