Series: Wicked Wallflowers, #3
Tropes & Traits: damaged hero & heroine; friends to lovers; swoonworthy; tortured hero
Publication Date: 02.12.19
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England, 1826
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 5 stars!
| Broderick Killoran is known for being the ruthless and mysterious leader of the Devil's Den gaming hell and its accompanying gang. Though Broderick's cultured speech has always marked him as not being from the streets, no one knows of his past or true origins, only his ruthless climb to power in London's underworld. His longing for respectability and connections to the nobility have caused issues for two of his siblings of the street in the previous installments of this series, but now he has other issues to deal with after the revelation that his youngest adopted sibling, Stephen, is in fact the son of a marquess, stolen as a child and brought into a life on the streets. This same marquess now blames Broderick and the rest of the Killorans for kidnapping his son and seeks to ruin them and bring down the empire Broderick has spent his adult life establishing. Just when Broderick thinks his family, to which he is absolutely loyal, can't be shaken any more, his right hand at the club, Regina, is making plans to open her own music hall, which will inevitably compete for the same clientele as Broderick's gaming hell. Reggie can't bear to spend any more time around the man she's been in love with for the past ten years; it's too painful when he only sees her as family or a coworker. For Broderick this damning announcement comes just as he's beginning to see Reggie as a woman, in the midst of his world crashing down around him, and he sees it as the ultimate in disloyalty and betrayal. Faced with the possibility of being blamed and executed for the kidnapping of a nobleman's son, Broderick needs to establish noble connections now more than ever and is shocked by Reggie's lack of cooperation. He was counting on her to accompany him and his only remaining unwed sister, Gertrude, as her companion for a London season and this is the first request Reggie has ever refused him. But Reggie refuses to return to the polite society she was one well-acquainted with and only wants to take the opportunity to begin the business venture she has been quietly planning for months. She has been pining away for Broderick almost since he first saved her ten years ago but when he it becomes clear that his request is really a demand, her final hope of ever having more with the title-obsessed proprietor is quashed. Both of these characters have been completely cloaked in mystery in the previous installments of this series, with only very small clues given as to Broderick's prior circumstances. It was great to finally get some information on their backgrounds and it made Broderick and the reasons for his actions in this book and its predecessors make much more sense. Broderick is wracked with guilt over his unwitting role in Stephen's initial kidnapping and hopes to make amends by finding a titled husband for Gertrude. He is further besieged by over his newly developed lustful thoughts towards Reggie and then floored by her perceived betrayal. He holds no hopes of saving his own neck from the hangman's noose, but hopes to establish security for his family and those dependent on him before that happens and his best hope for that is to see Gertrude accepted by polite society and therefore, in a position to keep an eye on Stephen when he takes his rightful place in society with his father. Broderick is forced to open his eyes and see the world beyond his usual framework of definitive black and white and it was great to read. More and more both Regina and Broderick note the sparks between them and there is some serious sexual tension burning between them. Poor Regina finds herself backed into such an awful corner; her options had me stressed towards the end of the book and I couldn't put it down. Though this book is part of a series it can still be read and enjoyed as a standalone, although it does have spoilers for the second book's plot. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. |
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