Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the Goode Girls Romance series and I would recommend if you are looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f second chance romance
-gender twist
-female rake
-a piny male hero
-great sexual tension
-a grand gesture that goes a bit wrong

I struggled with this one. I loved the first book in this series and this one seemed to rely heavily on that prior knowledge with almost zero back story, as if this was a duet? The glimpses of our MCs past and the first half of the book moved at a break neck speed. The steam and sex scenes were filled with passion and feeling, but the over all plot just moved too fast for me. I would have liked to have sat with the characters for longer. Learned more about Titus. I would not recommend reading this book without reading the first book in the series, which is excellent!

This was almost a novella to me with the speed and lack of development, the way it assumed that you already knew the characters. The writing was impeccable and what was on the page was good. I truly enjoyed the second half, but connecting with the characters was harder because of this. I do love this series and love this author's writing and will keep reading more.


CW: domestic abuse

❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
I love Kerrigan Byrne. I will ready anything, ANYTHING that she writes! Once again she graced us with a hero totally head over heels for the heroine and I will never be sick of this.

Our hero has been in love with the hero ever since he was 10 and he worked for the heroine’s family. Now he’s a respected doctor and surgeon when the one woman he’s loved forever winds up on his table with a potentially fatal bullet wound. Upon seeing each other again their history is brought up and everything that went right and wrong with them. Throwing the two together in close proximity however brings up more than just memories.

We see a role reversal in this book with a rake heroine who actively strayed from her husband which was interesting to read. I didn’t know if I would like her from the previous book but I felt for her 100% and was invested in her long winding love story with the hero. To be honest I didn’t really want the book to end. Also when is the next book out? Because I need it yesterday.

Absolutely loved this story! Nora and Titus gave me the banter I expect from this author along with fantastic chemistry. It’s a easy read for her but I was still hooked from the first page. I grew to love Nora’s character as she developed over the story and Titus was just the kind of HR Hero I adore. Such a great read!

As a disclaimer, I received a free copy for review. I have not read the series that this spins off of, so I will admit that the very beginning seemed a bit disjointed to a new reader. While I have read other books by this author, I floundered a little in the beginning just trying to catch up on the backstory for the characters. Once I got past the muppet flailing, I was able to enjoy the rest of the book. I got the impression that the main character was less likeable in the earlier series, but she was able to stay on just this side of going too far in the other direction to be believable, although her martyr game was strong. The plot was enjoyable, if a little predictable to a fan of the genre. The characters were interesting, and the two love interests had good chemistry. I will add that there should be a trigger warning for descriptions of the main character's emotional abuse. Overall, this book was enjoyable, and it held my attention for an evening. I enjoyed the minor plot twist at the end, and I would recommend this author.

I got this book and adored it. I must say it is the sign of an amazing author when they can redeem someone who you thought was irredeemable. Kerrigan Byrne does that for Honoria. I read Seducing a Stranger (also known as A Dark and Stormy Knight) and was not a fan of Prudence’s sister who seemed so miserable. However I can now say after reading to this book I adore her and her hero Titus just as much as any of the other characters written by the author. It is a sign of a marvelous story teller when you forget you are cooking or forget you had to do a school pickup while reading .... I did both. Seriously read this book.

Titus Conlieth has pull his self up from being a coal stain bastard. To become a battlefield surgeon . Who comes away from the battlefield with a mysterious fortune. He’s sworn off ever loving again after Hornoria Goode broke his heart years ago and married someone else.. now the very same Honoria is the lady that Titus just save from bleeding out on his table. Horonia has not had a very easy life as a viscountess has been nothing less than hellish which she brought on herself . Can Titus ever forgive Honoria. Can they find a happiness the both want

I was so happy to get an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher! Here's my unbiased review:

Courting Trouble continues Kerrigan Byrne's new Goode Girls series, spinning off even further from her Victorian Rebels to focus on the Goode sisters, not-quite-respectable daughters of a baron fighting for love, sex, and self-acceptance in Victorian England.

I love Kerrigan Byrne. No-one writes flawed characters in need of redemption like she does--and this time, it's a woman who must be redeemed. Honoria Goode was, frankly, not a very good person, and not because she paid men for sex. She was shallow, she was selfish, she was willfully blind. But she fought her social station and Victorian social mores to finally grow up and get what she needed to be a completely loved and loving person.

And Titus! Yum. I love that he started as a very low servant and wrestled his way to respectability and relative wealth. I'm a fan of the up-from-the-gutter trope, and always think that it is smart to make those characters doctors, as it's realistic for them to raise themselves up and to interact with higher levels of society.

I'd give this book a 3.5 rating, really (rounded up to a 4) for two reasons: It wasn't urgent enough--the stakes for the 2nd chance romance were pretty low, and the taboo elements (of the sex, especially) were just not as thrilling as the Victorian Rebels (especially The Highwayman and The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo). And it relied on flashbacks to tell the story and offer motivation. In some ways, because Honoria was so flawed in A Dark and Stormy Knight, we need a lot of background to understand how she and Titus could reconcile with a love for the ages. But I wanted Byrne to show instead of tell, and I wanted to see these characters interacting in the present. As a few other reviewers noted, it felt rushed.

Kerrigan Byrne's purple prose is familiar to her fans. If you're not a fan, or if you're not familiar, it can sometimes be a little much. But I urge you to give yourself over to the magic of her writing and just let yourself swoon the way her characters do, to be overwhelmed by sensuality. Honestly, a less than stellar Byrne book is better (imo) than about 82% of all other historicals and she remains an auto-buy for me, even if some of her books are better than others, this one included.

Kerrigan Byrne remains the queen of the anti-hero or in this case, maybe the anti-heroine. In this book she flips the script and focuses on a woman who is not a bad person but by all surface appearances has been publicly unfaithful to her husband, kicked a wonderful man to the curb for not being elite enough, and was married to a man who was a villain in his own right. Of course not all is as it seems - but Honoria has certainly built herself up into a righteous villain - at least in her own mind. In the reality she has suffered at the hands of every man who crossed her path - except for Titus. And she purposefully drove him away to try and save him from threats of ruin from her father.

Titus has worked his way up in medicine - as a army surgeon and now a successful doctor. He's also spent the better part of his life in love with Honoria. Losing her, especially in the way it happened was like losing a part of himself.

I loved Titus and Honoria together. It was beautiful to see Titus accept Honoria back - despite everything. He was very angry at her, no doubt, but their love for each other did allow them to overcome anything. Even the really horrible hand fate dealt Honoria. Not that Titus's life was in any way easy - but poor Honoria. She really had no one after she sent Titus away. She was always protecting everyone - particularly Titus and her sisters.

I am absolutely in love with this series - and this story of second chances and redemption is a delight.

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

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an intensely emotional historical romance. A story marked by pain, betrayal desperation and unrequited love. Titus becomes infactuated by Nora as a young boy but his sociatal station keeps him from truly forming a relationship with her. Although she loves him, Nora makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his reputation by marrying an abusive husband. Years later he saves her life as again and comes to the brutal realization that he never stopped loving her. Their love story comes to life through the authors uncanny ability to paint a beautifully tragic tapestry of angst and passion. A love so profound that it surpasses time, betrayal, and sorrow. It pained me to read how they were torn apart and how they kept each other's memory alive. Beautifully written and so raw that it might bring tears to your eyes. Definitely not a lighthearted tale so readers beware.

Kerrigan Byrne is honestly my favorite historical romance author and an automatic read of anything and everything that she writes. Her Victorian Rebels and Devil You Know series are just different from most other formulaic historical romance books in the sense of the grittyness of what the heroines endure as well as the strength that both the men and women display. There have been a few misses here and there, but for the most part every single one of her books has been extraordinarily refreshing.

Except for her latest 3 books.

THE GOOD
1) Titus is three years younger than Honoria, which is one of the first times apart from Outlander that you read about the man being younger than the woman. Seeing as how I personally am dating a younger guy, I felt a squee of glee at seeing that represented on paper.

2) Titus is also shown in his early years as being a very kind, gentle man. So often, Byrne's male characters are hard and damaged. While Titus might have fought in the same war as Carlton Morley, he emerged not nearly as damaged.

3) Another rare thing is that Honoria Goode isn't a virgin. She has sex at 20, marries her husband, and cheats on him several times with various male prostitutes. This made for an interesting theme on the effect this had on her and the backlash she received from the ton.

THE BAD
1) This book felt surprisingly short. Too short. 40% of it was almost in flashbacks from the time period when she was 17 and then when she was 20. The problem was it felt like the flashbacks were all part of one major prologue versus the actual story, so when we finally caught up to modern day, there wasn't as much to say from a plot perspective.

2) This book felt too safe. There was no clear opposing force or villain, but rather the mere threat that someone wanted information that Honoria didn't have. (view spoiler)

FINAL THOUGHTS
Kerrigan Byrne can do no wrong, but her latest books have definitely felt and read safer and more tame.

I've been waiting to see how this one would go after the end of The Earl of Christmas Past! I'm so glad we basically get a prequel after a chapter or so in the beginning to see how Honoria and Titus met. The story flowed very well. I really did feel bad for Honoria, but there are strong reasons behind her actions. Also I just saw more books are added to this series so I can't wait!

Narrators Stella Hunter and Derek Perkins were perfect for their characters.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

4.5 stars. I read and listened to this book
Hey, The audio is Duet Narration!
Another winner from Kerrigan Byrne!
Honoria is Prudence's sister from book 1 Goode Girls series & another spin off from the Victoria Rebels series.
Titus is the orphan boy that loves Honoria his whole life.
Titus is sent away from Honoria but is apprenticed to be a Doctor's assistant, then Titus becomes a Doctor.
Meanwhile Honoria's awful father arranges a marriage to a Duke that is an abuser, a criminal and gross pig.
Honoria's sweet personality and spirit is just about snuffed out.
Honoria is hurt by her husband & her way back is not easy. Her father and other men try to keep her down.
Titus have a reunion but Titus has lost respect for "Nora". Their past is told in flashbacks.
Ironically Titus, the poor orphan boy has become very well respected as a Doctor with great innovations and skill. Honoria has struggled and is despaired of ever having a happy life or someone to love her. Her reputation has been severely damaged.
I loved the duet narration! Derek Perkins as always is perfect and Stella Hunter is perfect as Honoria.
I loved how Titus and Honoria reunited and got to know each other - as adults. They'd both been through so much. They still have to find a way to be together.
I love this book and the narration. I received an audio copy from the author.

Most Kerrigan Byrne heroes tend to have very dark, terrible, pain filled histories. Some of heroines follow similarly sad paths. In this book that is not so much the case for our hero Titus, but is for Honoria, our beaten down heroine. While this book picks up at the end of her prior victorian story (which is both book 7 of the victorian rebel & book one of the good girls series), you could get by without having read all of the prior books however you would benefit more having read the last since we are introduced to Honoria and the events resulting in her current situation are discovered in it. This is a 2nd chance at 1st young love story. The author does a nice job of taking us back in time to when the couple were both naïve and innocent and their early interactions and the sweetness (and resulting heartache) of young ill-fated star-crossed love. this brings forth and makes understandable all the longing, fear, anger, hope and worry that the now mature somewhat jaded adults feel and helps the reader fret alongside them in hope that they will find a way to HEA together at long last. while occasionally the passage of time was a little confusing to follow, over all this was a well written story that was a touch of sweet and hope on the power of love between 2 individuals who are meant to be together despite the odds and twists of fate. Another success by a talented author.

Rounded up from 4.5 Stars

A second chance romance between a sexy surgeon and the woman who broke his heart? A woman who’s gone on to make a scandalous sexual reputation for herself? I’m in. Very, very in. Courting Trouble is book two in the Goode Girls series but fans of the Victorian Rebels series will see some familiar faces and names.

This book is gritty and raw and everything I’ve come to expect from a Kerrigan Byrne book. I loved it. Flew through it. Sometimes I’m in a mood where a dark and broken kind of romance novel is ALL I WANT FOR DAYS AND DAYS and KB is always, always just the one to deliver it.

Second chance isn’t my favorite trope but let me say I almost ALWAYS love it when there was some sort of betrayal/misunderstanding that tore the couple apart. So it worked for me here. This book does jump around in time a little bit but that worked for me too.

Thank you to Oliver Herber Books and Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When the writing is this good, almost anything is possible.

It’s rare, especially in a historical romance, that you come across a heroine with the kind of past like Honoria “Nora” Goode. She’s married—oh so very briefly in the prologue—to a horrible man, which is not entirely her fault. She’s an adulterer by not only taking lovers but paying men of the night for sex. Her existence isn’t a happy one and usually this isn’t a storyline that would appeal to me. But after a rather explosive prologue, Byrne takes the reader back in time and allows us to see for ourselves how Honoria Goode and the good—very excellent—doctor Titus Conleith came to be.

Fifteen years before Honoria’s terrible, murderous husband shot her, she was seventeen and the eldest daughter of the Baron of Cresthaven—another truly horrible man, her father—and Titus was fourteen and a boy-of-all-work in their household. Titus has loved Honoria since the age of ten and his reverence and pining really did tug at my heart. I’m a sucker for unrequited love and that’s what ails poor young Titus. Then Honoria gets sick and probably would have died had Titus not discovered her burning with fever. He truly is her guardian angel, working with the doctor to reduce the fever and heal her. At this point, I’m completely enamoured with Titus, my heart aching for him.

Fast forward three years and that’s when Nora takes notice of a seventeen-year-old Titus, more man than boy now, tall and handsome. He has most of the girls gawking at him, especially Nora. You can guess what happens next, right? And that’s when I began to empathize with Nora’s plight. She simply isn’t free to love and be with whom she wants. Did I forget to mention that her father is absolutely dreadful? Ugh. I kept praying that her husband wouldn’t be the only terrible man to die or be killed because I can be a bit bloodthirsty like that. Needless to say, I ached for Nora and Titus and the situation they were in. And their backstory is essential for the telling of the story.

In the present, Nora is now a widow and is taken to Doctor Titus Conleith with a bullet in her shoulder. You can imagine how Titus feels seeing her in that condition. Torn because of the way things were left between them. As a reader, I think I was more torn because I knew the whole story and he only knew half. But it’s been over a decade since they’ve spoken and feelings are still raw. Of course I know things will end happily for them but I know it’s all about the journey and I was eager to take it with them, as heart wrenching as it was at times.

I thoroughly enjoyed Nora and Titus’s romance as well as the intriguing, well-rounded cast of characters. I’ll only go so far as to say her sisters are wonderful. Their parents, not so much.

This is the second book in the Goode Girls series and it’s clear I need to go back and read the first, Seducing a Stranger (which is currently a steal at $.99 and features her sister Prudence’s romance with Carlton Morley), but it isn’t a must to enjoying Courting Trouble, as each book can be read as standalones. Next up is Mercy and Raphael Sauvageau’s book, Dancing With Danger. I assume we’re first introduced to Mercy in the first book, but Raphael definitely makes an appearance in this one. I’m looking forward to getting my grabby hands on theirs.

~ Beverley

A romance not for the faint of heart! Kerrigan Byrne knows just how to write characters you'll fall in love with and keeps you coming back for more. My heart broke several times in this story, but I couldn't put it down. The audiobook is brought to life by two narrators that capture Nora and Titus perfectly. Courting Trouble is another beautiful tale of second chances from an author whose characters I wish I could meet in real life. I'm counting down the days until Dancing With Danger releases!

The Goode girl and the coal boy.

This story overlaps a little with Morely and Prudence's story.
Honoria "Nora" is the oldest of the Goode girls. She hasn't been such a good girl, though. She has had a handful of lovers and has just been shot by her husband and is immediately widowed. As she lay bleeding out, she is brought to Titus Conleith. He was once the Goode's coal boy, three years younger and is now a doctor. He was once infatuated with her and his career path was due to Nora and typhoid fever she had when they were teenagers.

Titus has a difficult path. He is an orphan, was shattered by Nora and is now a highly skilled doctor.

What I liked?
Titus' journey. How Nora was a complex and compacted heroine. She's not pristine and has her own failings and weaknesses. I liked that she wasn't perfect or prim, instead indulging in affairs to feel after her horrible marriage to William. She reaped what she sowed. But does she get a second chance with Titus? I liked that class divide and the grittiness of this book.
Recommend.

The last book in the Victorian Rebels series, A Dark and Stormy Knight, introduced us to the Goode sisters. It’s now rebranded to Seducing a Stranger, the first book in the Goode Girls series. Courting Trouble, the second one in this new series, is about the eldest Goode sister Honoria, and it picks up immediately from the last book. Other characters from Victorian Rebels also make their appearances, and I’m here for it 🙌🏼.

I didn’t really like Honoria previously, so I was looking forward to how Ms Byrne would redeem her character in her own book. Surely enough, she has a dark past with a broken heart, sacrifice for her family’s sake, a controlling father, tortured marriage, and now she’s become a widow suffering the scandals from her criminal husband. Her life has been a misery after she had no choice but to break Titus Conleith’s heart, thinking that could protect him from her cruel and powerful father. I can sympathize with her actions and feel the agony that torments her heart 🥺😭...

Titus was a coal and errand boy for the Goode family, who has pined after Honoria since he was ten 🌲🌲🌲!!! And I’m dead for a pining hero 😭! He helped save Honoria’s life when they were both teenagers, and their mutual attraction blossomed into a pure, beautiful first love. Circumstances drifted them apart, and fate brings them back again after he saves her life for a second time. Now he’s a well known surgeon, who “had the heart of a saint, the body of a god, and the appetite of a libertine,” and she an infamous rakess... And so they must work out their past misunderstandings to have their second chance in love.

I quite enjoy the reverse trope in this book where she is notorious for taking on many lovers, and he the honorable, self-made, well respected, and talented doctor. I just wish that the story had a bit more depth... To me, this could be read as an excellent novella. If you’re looking for a quick read with second chance, pining hero, two virgins tropes, this is for you!

4.5⭐️ read for me!

*Special thanks to Oliver Heber Books for gifting me the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It’s out today!*

I love this story so much! This is the first book I’ve read written by Kerrigan Byrne but definitely not the last one.
Doctor Titus Conleith fell in love with Honoria Goode, the daughter of a baron, when he was ten years old and work as a coal boy in her house. At the age of fourteen, he helped doctor Albott to save her life and years later love and attraction through them together.
Then Honoria shattered his hopes and broke his heart when she decided to marry someone else.
Honoria's life as a Viscountess has been a nightmare. Trapped for years in a loveless marriage to a cruel rake, she has been widowed by the consequences of his villainy. When her own husband shoots her before dying, she asks to be attended by the only man she has ever loved.
Now Titus is going to do whatever it takes to save and protect the woman he once loved and still desires. Is it possible for them to have a second chance??
This is a beautiful love story. I absolutely love both main and secondary characters. Honoria´s sisters are really witty and funny. The way they talk about their own view of the future is amazing. This story was a beautiful journey with a lot of romance, amazing kisses, hot moments and smart dialogs.
This book is a must! I highly recommend it!

Titus Conleith has become one of the best surgeons in England despite his beginnings as a stable boy. Honoria Goode's life has been nothing but heartache and misery at the hands of the men in it. Never did either of them plan on meeting again, but now she's in dire need of his medical expertise. He has no choice but to save her in more ways than one.

I absolutely adored this second chance story. Nora proved to be much more selfless than she seemed in the previous book and I actually ended up loving her and being able to sympathize with her. My heart ached for Titus, for both of them really, for him not knowing or understanding the reasons behind Nora's actions, and Nora for all she had to endure. The longing and palpable tension was perfection. I love the timeline of their story, their history, and that Titus is slightly younger and from what's seen as a lower class at the time. So much was packed into this book without being overwhelming, it has a great pace. I can not wait for the next installment in this series. Like every other Kerrigan Byrne book I've read, I highly recommend Courting Trouble.