Series: Victorian Rebels, #7
Tropes & Traits: marriage of convenience; tortured hero; law enforcement hero; heroine is accused of murder and is the daughter of hero's boss
Genre/Setting: Historical; Victorian; London, England
Rating: 5 stars!
As the Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard, Sir Carlton Morley has made a distinguished and prominent name for himself. He’s made his own fortune independently of his police salary and his pay from his time as a decorated soldier and marksman. Now his main focus is justice, even if he has to prowl the streets at night as a vigilante to get it. In his youth, he was a different person, a thief and murderer, and that has shaped his need for both justice and redemption as well as his determination to steer clear of temptations. He’s quite successful at this up until he meets, entirely by chance, Ms. Prudence Goode.
Pru has always been a dutiful daughter, aware of what is expected of her, but when faced with marriage to a known philanderer, she is determined she’ll have a night of desire for herself and of her own choosing first. Her nighttime search for the right man leads her to a shadowy, decidedly dangerous man and she decides he’s exactly what she needs. But their surprising passion leads to consequences and it’s soon obvious that Carlton was right to fear temptation as it soon means he has a weakness that can easily be exploited.
Long have I waited for Carlton’s story and I must say I was not disappointed. Although this book was a bit shorter than the others of this series and I would’ve liked to see a bit more backstory on Carlton’s life and specifically how he earned his knighthood, it was still very satisfactory. I loved Carlton and Pru together and loved seeing their deepening connection. Beyond that, what I enjoyed most was the depiction of some of the harsh realities of being a police officer. As a LEO wife I felt Pru’s struggle with the toll the job took on Carlton very keenly and I think the author did an excellent job of depicting the stress and difficulty that comes with such a job and humanizing it, exploring some of the bad along with the good, rather than romanticizing it. I thought this was lovely and made Carlton an even more relatable and likable hero, as well as making Pru appear very sensible. This was a couple I was definitely cheering for and now I’m looking forward to the spin-off series with the rest of the Goode sisters’ stories.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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