Sandy M’s review of The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels, Book 1) by Kerrigan Byrne
Historical Romance published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks 1 Sep 15
This books hosts one of those mysteries of is he or isn’t he, tossing you back and forth between believing and not believing, hoping it’s true and then having your hope dashed. Every time I thought I’d figured out if Dorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, is Farah’s lost love of long ago, Ms. Kerrigan punched holes in my figuring, leading me in a different direction, until the very next time I’d begin to think along those lines once again.
Having met as unwanted children in a Scottish orphanage, Dougan Mackenzie and Farah Leigh become first friends and then marry in their hearts, only to be cruelly separated. Nearly twenty years later, Farah meets by chance the man who was the closest to her Dougan during his years of imprisonment for trying to rescue her from sexual attack. Dorian Blackwell clearly remembers all the stories of Dougan’s “Fairy,” stories that gave him and his men hope, kept them alive and sane. Now here she is in the flesh. As rich and powerful as he is now, it’s his scars and internal loathing that keeps his lust, as well as any other awakened feelings, in check.
Farah has kept her vow to Dougan over the years, posing as a widow, after learning her “husband” died in prison, to live life on her terms. She has a good job at Scotland Yard and is being courted by her boss. Then she’s kidnapped by the Blackheart of Ben More to keep her safe from someone reappearing from her past. In the Scottish Highlands she begins to know Dorian and his men better, as well as learning about Dougan during the years he spent imprisoned with these loyal and big-hearted characters. While Farah never sees the clues that weave in and around her, and though the reader does, Ms. Kerrigan does a terrific job of keeping the mystery of Dougan and Dorian revealed until late in the book.
There’s twists and turns throughout, the most intriguing, aside from Dorian’s identity, is trying to keep Farah safe while proving her identity to reclaim her heritage. The attraction between Dorian and Farah sparks from the beginning and smolders due to Dorian’s aversion to touch, until it finally explodes when he can no longer deny either of them the pleasure to be found. Both have a huge amount of baggage, and it’s a perilous journey as they learn to rid themselves of that weight, but it’s worth the fight. For both of them as well as the reader.
Grade: B+
Summary:
STEALING BEAUTY
Dorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, is a ruthless villain. Scarred and hard-hearted, Dorian is one of London’s wealthiest, most influential men who will stop at nothing to wreak vengeance on those who’ve wronged him…and will fight to the death to seize what he wants. The lovely, still innocent widow Farah Leigh Mackenzie is no exception–and soon Dorian whisks the beautiful lass away to his sanctuary in the wild Highlands…
COURTING DESIRE
But Farah is no one’s puppet. She possesses a powerful secret–one that threatens her very life. When being held captive by Dorian proves to be the only way to keep Farah safe from those who would see her dead, Dorian makes Farah a scandalous proposition: marry him for protection in exchange for using her secret to help him exact revenge on his enemies. But what the Blackheart of Ben More never could have imagined is that Farah has terms of her own, igniting a tempestuous desire that consumes them both. Could it be that the woman he captured is the only one who can touch the black heart he’d long thought dead??
No excerpt available.
