Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.  Griffith is a spare and Kathryn wants to marry a duke.  Experiencing them falling in love was wonderful for the reader.  Great chemistry and a great story, loved it.

** Thank you NetGalley for ARC. My opinion are my own.**

What can I say. It was a beautiful story. Griff and Kathryn’s love story was one that had you enjoy the journey of their HEA. It was refreshing to see how much Griff loved her until she also realized her love for him. 

I also enjoyed “seeing” other characters from previous books. Lorraine Heath created a wonderful story.

This book was different and unique but I didn't see that right away. In fact at first I wasn't even sure I was going to like it.  I thought it was going to be another story about a dissolute, no direction, second son.  But after awhile it turned into something more.  And the emotions portrayed about how cruelly a "spare" could be treated was really well done.   Griff was all but invisible to his family.  His father would direct attention to his heir of course, a few moments for his daughter but nothing to Griff at all.  I really liked how later he turned all of those experiences to his advantage later.  For a while his life went from bad to worse after his father is accused of treason.  All of them had their lives turned frighteningly upside down.  Griff went from a lighthearted, charming, laughing man who was soft in so many ways to the exact opposite. He had to harden up in order to survive and to help his siblings survive.  He turned into a man that people gave wide birth not because of the scandal but because of his toughness.  
I liked how Griff teased Kathryn by calling her  Freckles.  Kathryn didn't like it and for a while chalked it up to his being mean instead of the affection that he had for her.  It takes them both a while to figure out how much more of their feelings were at work but Griff knows there can be no future for them.   Kathryn has a heavy weight on her shoulders by her loving grandmother.  Now she has to decide if love is her route or marrying a titled gentleman will give her the cottage that holds so many beautiful memories.  Besides, being near the sea makes her feel free.  The verbal sparring between the two was often funny. 
There is still danger out there for Griff's family with only some of it finished.  
I liked how the couple got things figured out and it ended with a H.E.A.  That was something that  I wondered how it was going to happen.  It was ingenious.  There is also a sweet Epilogue. 

 "I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

It begins as Kathryn must marry a title by her twenty fifth birthday to inherit her grandmother’s cottage by the sea. Griff is the devil-may-care drunkard second son, not amounting to anything. The Duke of Kingsland is holding a competition where he will have women write to him to make their case of why he should choose them for his wife. Griff uses this and Kathryn as a money-making venture. Until this point the plot is pretty run-of-the-mill. This changes when, Griff, his father, and brother are arrested for treason. The story skips ahead only TEN MONTHS and Griff is out of prison, an expert street fighter, ex-treason hunter, club-owning underworld boss. The flowery dialogue and I’m not good enough for you trope dragged the book down for me. I’m still interested in what becomes of Kingsland (I suspect Miss Pettypeace), and Griff’s brother Marcus. Who is behind the act of treason? The Trewlove clan is mentioned often. I realize now I should have read their series first so their tidbits would mean more to me. SPOILER: when Griff used threats and blackmail against Kathryn’s cousin (it wasn’t his fault he was in line to inherit) to get her cottage, and she gushed a thank you, was too much for me. The third star is because I’m interested enough to try the next book in the series.

Lorraine Heath has done it again. This is Griff and Katherine’s story. In order to inherit her grandmother’s cottage she needs to marry a titled man by the time she turns 25.  Griff’s family was stripped of title and property because his father was a traitor. He has always loved Katherine. He was never right for her because he was a second son before his family lost everything. He tries to help her win a Duke to marry. He loves her enough to let her go but he underestimates her love for him. I loved the book. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I especially can’t wait for Marcus’s story.

It took me a bit to get into this book, but it was probably my mood at the time. Because then I couldn’t put it down. At first I thought it’d be the same type of book from this genre. Girl needs duke to further her dreams, but meets scoundrel and falls in love with him instead. But this book was so so much more than that. First of all, Lorraine Heath is a phenomenal writer. The characters, the setting, the description, pulled me in and left me breathless. Great chemistry of the characters! Really felt I was there at the cottage, or following Griff’s dreams in his club. But the twists and turns were what really got me. Even when I thought okay this will probably happen next, I kept being shocked in a great way and in no way did the book go the way I expected. Which I always love! This was an awesome read that I highly recommend. A first in its series, it is standalone as in this book ended with the perfect happy-ever-after with the couple. But then later we get to see what happens to another character we meet in this book, and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. Also, in no way of my reading this did I know this intersected with a different series, so I’m eager to read those now as well. All completely stand-alone, but will make a great compliment to each other. And why just read one when you get read them all? I can't wait! Highly recommended.

Lorraine health's new series and I love it.  It was great introduction to her new series and good love story. I can't wait for the next book in the series and hopefully I will love it too.

I am always excited to see a new book by Lorraine Heath, and knowing this is the beginning of a new series spun off of her last "Sins for All Seasons" series made it even more appealing. It features a heroine and hero who are made for each other, but for many reasons refuse to acknowledge their attraction and growing love. Kathryn thinks she wants one thing, and Griff keeps sacrificing to enable her to realize her dreams, but what happens when they both realize what they have together is more powerful than anything? Once again Ms. Heath delivers an emotional and heartwarming romance, and I so look forward to the next entry. Highly recommended.

Can I talk about how much I loved this book? A wonderful story, well developed plot and I adored the main characters. Griffith was a phenomanal hero and I felt that he was one of my favorite heroes I have read lately. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

I am a huge Lorraine Heath fan - and have enjoyed just about everything she has written.  Victorian London is definitely my favorite thing to read in historicals.  The Trewlove series was a bridge into the lower and middle class London of the time and how it interacted with the aristocracy.  This book starts a new series - but continues on in the same world.  Griffith is Althea Stanwick's (from Beauty Tempts the Beast) brother.  Griff is the second son  and is not valued highly by his family.  He is pretty much ignored and is just a literal and figurative place holder.  Griff has big dreams - but he's pretty much on his own to achieve them.  But still - he is living a very privileged life.  - until his father is accused of treason and everything is taken away from him and his siblings.  

Kathryn is the daughter of an Earl and close friends with Althea.  She and Griff are attracted to each other as much as they annoy each other.  Kathryn has to marry a titled gentleman in order to inherit property from her grandmother.  She is living the typical life of a privileged young lady in England at the time.  

Griff and Kathryn begin to connect - and Griff wants to make sure Kathryn achieves all of her dreams.  He is in love with her but doesn't see her as being for him, particularly because of her need/desire to marry a title.  Griff is 100% willing to sacrifice himself and a possible relationship with Kathryn to make her happy.  He isn't completely selfless in it-  but still - the main goal is securing Kathryn's goals.  Its flawed - but really really romantic.  Griff really is a helper - someone who will drop everything to help his family and those he loves.  Even his business, to an extent, is designed to help people who don't fit in to established areas of society.  He definitely doesn't feel worthy of her - but also doesn't ask her if her wants/desires have changed along the way.  And Kathryn doesn't realize until it is almost too late that her desires and wants have changed.

As with every Lorraine Heath book, this one is carefully and beautifully written.  I loved the characters and can't wait to see more - I am hoping for a pairing of Kingsland and his secretary...and I still can't wait to see what awaits Marcus. And maybe a story for Kathryn's friend who goes to Griff's club...

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley,, but these opinions are all my own.

This story made me want to read and do nothing else. Such a great story. Kathryn wants to marry someone with a title. Has a friend willing to help her do just that. Everything is going according to her plans until it's not.  Can't wait for the next book!!

This book got me through my night before the election anxiety. It was exactly what I needed: an instantly engaging easy read, a heroine named Kathryn, and a hero willing to sacrifice his own happiness for that of his heroine.

A heads up to readers. This book is technically the first in a new series from Lorraine Heath, but it quite literally intersects with the Sins for All Seasons series. (The final book in the Sins for All Seasons series, Beauty Tempts the Beast, takes place in the middle of this book and is about the Griff’s sister Althea). This book absolutely does work as a standalone but anyone who doesn’t want the Sins for All Seasons books spoiled, especially Beauty Tempts the Beast, should read those first.

This book captured my interest instantly. The first few pages begin with Griff waking up hungover in his family’s garden overhearing a conversation between Kathryn and his sister Althea. It provided a bit of humor, set up the duke seeking plot of the book, and introduced this set of characters beautifully. Also there are so few heroines who spell Kathryn correctly, so I knew that I was going to love her instantly.

I should preface this part of the review by saying that Lorraine Heath is one of my all time favorite writers and I have read and loved the majority of her books. Part of my love for her is her mastery of heroes who are willing to sacrifice their own wants and happiness for their heroine and this book is no exception. Griff has been in love with Kathryn since the moment they meet as youths but as he is a second son she won’t give him the time of day. Kathryn’s one desire is to marry a duke, so Griff does everything in his power to deliver her a duke even if it means she can’t be his. This is beautifully expressed in the book about 35% of the way through stating, “Then Lord Griffith Stanwick, second son, who had never denied himself anything he wanted, strode away, denying himself the only thing he’d ever truly desired.” His self-sacrificing nature is heartbreaking at times but it never crosses over into the area of pathetic, which is a delicate balance that Lorraine Heath handles so well. I think I love this type of story because it gives a lot of power to the heroine as it gives her the option to choose between what she thinks she wants and what her heart actually wants.

This book gave me all the feels that I’ve come to expect from a Lorraine Heath book. I was happy to return to the world of Sins for All Seasons while getting to go off in a new direction. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for a arc copy for a honest review.   

I enjoyed reading Scoundrel of My Heart.  I didn’t like the end when Beauty  Tempts The Beast I was like noooo!!  It’s a beautiful story I was not disappointed 5 star read 

Happy Reading 
Lisa