The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne | Audio Review

Series: Victorian Rebels, #6
Traits & Tropes: damaged hero & heroine; hero with amnesia; tortured hero; titled hero; suspense; dark themes; second chance; pirates
Setting/Genre: Historical, Victorian, London, England
Heat Level: 4.5/5
Publication Date: 08.28.18
Rating: 5/5
Narration Rating: 5/5 for Derek Perkins!

Since pulling himself out of a mass grave, the man known only as The Rook has known nothing of his past and has only a partially ruined tattoo of a dragon as a clue.  His survival depends on the lovely stranger who nurses him back to health, but when they are separated, he finds he’ll move heaven and earth to reclaim what’s his.

Lady Lorelai Weatherstoke has never forgotten has never forgotten the beautiful man she rescued.  She has contended with a lame leg for nearly her entire life and has devoted herself to healing similarly injured creatures.  Now, 20 years later, she’s amazed and skeptical when confronted with the notorious pirate, The Rook, who resembles the beloved boy she saved and named Ash but retains none of his sweetness.  When he rescues her from an unwanted marriage, Lorelai isn’t sure what to think.  Though she finds him hard to resist, she’s not sure she should trust a man with such a reputation, but neither can she bring herself to give up on him when she sees more and more of her beloved Ash beneath The Rook’s fierce demeanor.

Now this is more like it.  This is the gritty emotion I expect from this series.  Ash was raw and had so many layers, so much depth.  All that, in addition to his devotion to and protectiveness of Lorelai makes him one of my favorite heroes yet.  I also loved Lorelai as a heroine.  She was so sensible and relatable and she definitely showed to advantage next to her fairly neurotic sister-in-law.  I loved how Lorelai never gave up on Ash, even when she couldn’t see him behind the shield of The Rook.  The intensity and chemistry between these two was very well done and their intimacy was a beautiful show of redemption for Ash and growth for Lorelai.  I loved that she gained confidence throughout this book despite being faced with a blustering pirate, kidnap, and various other stressors.  I do wish Mortimer had gotten more of a comeuppance and that titles had been dealt with a bit more accurately, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.  Ash was a very rough-edged anti-hero with a heart and Lorelai was a sweet, sensible heroine with a backbone and they were the perfect complement to each other and to their setting.  Beyond the relationship between Ash and Lorelai, I loved his regaining his memories and his blood brothers.  Those relationships were lovely and now I really wish I hadn’t read Morley’s book before this one.  This book was excellent.  I’m less sure about Sebastian as a hero, but I’ll give him a shot while I wait and hope for books for Callum and Dr. Longhurst.

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/4208132105
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2312216350