Kerrigan Byrne

Kerrigan Byrne returns to her captivating Victorian Rebels series with the USA Today bestselling The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo. The bravest of heroes. The brashest of rebels. The boldest of lovers. These are the men who risk their hearts and their souls—for the passionate women who dare to love them... He is known only as The Rook. A man with no name, no past, no memories. He awakens in a mass grave, a magnificent dragon tattoo on his muscled forearm the sole clue to his mysterious origins. His only hope for survival—and salvation—lies in the deep, fiery eyes of the beautiful stranger who finds him. Who nurses him back to health. And who calms the restless demons in his soul... A LEGENDARY LOVE Lorelai will never forget the night she rescued the broken dark angel in the woods, a devilishly handsome man who haunts her dreams to this day. Crippled as a child, she devoted herself to healing the poor tortured man. And when he left, he took a piece of her heart with him. Now, after all these years, The Rook has returned. Like a phantom, he sweeps back into her life and avenges those who wronged her. But can she trust a man who’s been branded a rebel, a thief, and a killer? And can she trust herself to resist him when he takes her in his arms? “Byrne is a force in the genre.”—RT Book Reviews

The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo

Sarina Sherman

4 stars✨
Oh the Victorian rebels. This story was so cute! It reminded me sooo much of Elizabeth Hoyt’s maiden lane book about Mickey, but combine it with the first book in this series and you get this. I find it was a bit too similar to the first, but I liked it a lot. Ash and lorelai’s story spanned over decades and had so much longing, my heart hurt for them. And the last line in that epilogue? I might’ve shed a tear. Can’t wait for Veronica’s story!

Rachel Benton

I would like like to thank “The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo” book tour and Netgalley for providing me with a free E copy so I can review this wonderful book. The Duke with a Dragon Tattoo is the sixth book in the Victorian Rebels series.

Lorelei is crippled, and do to her brother she is forced to marry a man she does not love. Her situation only gets worse when she is kidnapped by the infamous “The Rook” who not only kills her brother, but kidnaps her sister-in-law Veronica along with her.

Turns out the Rook is the man she fell in love with twenty years earlier, who she had found half-dead on the side of the road and nursed back to health. He later on disappeared without a trace. “Ash” she is not the same man that she had fallen in love with. He had grown darker and colder. Will she be able to resurrect “Ash” or stay trapped by possessive Rook?

I thought this book was Amazing! It’s definitely going on the list of top favorite books of this year. The fact that this is just one of a series really excites me because I’m planning on reading the rest of the books in this series.

I don’t think that you have to read this series in chronological order in order to know what is going on. I was able to catch on quickly as other characters from different books were introduced into the story.

I thought that all the characters were written well. Even though we just got a glimpse of a potential pairing in Veronica and Moncrieff I’m already crossing my fingers that a books is in the works for these two.

Usually there is some kind of build for pairings, but I thought the pairing of Lorelei and Ash had an instant connection. Something when Lorelei first came upon Ash that they were meant to be together. The chemistry between these two were Amazing. I was on the edge of my seat on when these two were finally going to give into their feelings for each other.

Overall, I thought that the story was very well written. I love the plot to this story, I thought it was very original. I literally couldn’t put this book down once I got started on it. If your looking for a good romance look no further.

Judy Hudgins

I won this book on Goodreads and I wish I could return it. It was terrible! 

First, I am not offended by violence and profanity if it has a place in the story. However, I felt like the author was going "I need one fuck on this page and other on the next page. And oh, one here." And the abuse by the heroine's brother was a bit over the line...like serving her the pet rabbits in a stew.

But the whole book read like a rough draft and not an advance reader's copy. Found myself having to reread paragraphs because they made no sense. While the premise was good, waiting 20 years to come back for revenge. Really?

Never really understood how The Rook was a duke. Mainly because I didn't care. 

I made it halfway through the book and then skipped forward and still couldn't put all the storylines together. I guess better readers than I liked it, but it is something I can't even pass on.

b.andherbooks

Free copy received in exchange for a fair review!

The Rook has existed on the edges of Byrne's Victorian Rebels series, and we finally have his book! 

Lorelei is the only reason the man now known as the Rook has breath in his lungs. She found his brutally beaten, burned, and damaged carcass in a mass grave. She didn't give up on him, much like her menagerie of animals she's also nursed back to health. She fell in love with him, but knew she with her limp and her wicked brother would never be able to be with the man she only knew as Ash, the man with no memory and the damaged dragon tattoo.

So even though she gave him her heart and despite his promise he would always come for her, Lorelei wasn't surprised when her brother told her "Ash" had left.

Eight years later, Lorelei is on the verge being forced by her brother to wed an old lecher but is on the way to the church the Rook murders her brother and kidnaps her and her sister-in-law. And the Rook is Ash.

The Rook has finally come, like he promised, but the boy she knew and loved is now a soulless pirate. Or so he claims. 

What follows is a beautifully tempestuous romance where a gentle soul brings back from the gates of hell a damaged man who does indeed still have a chance to find his HEA. Also, pirates and treasure! And kittens.

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


A long, long time ago I discovered a new-to-me author thanks to a book giveaway. The book was The Highwayman and the author was Kerrigan Byrne. I've since read a few of her Victorian Rebels books, but I've not been great at sticking with the series, though I love it. I finally picked up The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo for Romanceopoly and I remember what I'm missing by not reading her books. I need to go back and read the books I skipped while I wait for the next book(s) to be released. 

But, this book? Oh, my word. What a ride. Lorelei and Ash gave me feels for days. As is always the case with Kerrigan's books, I was hooked from the very first chapter. Her characters are always phenomenal and complicated, and Ash especially was no exception. If you've read Kerrigan before, you know her books are on the darker side. They're certainly darker than most of the historical romance I read. They're gritty. Ash is a pirate with one hell of a past and he's a hard man. (Side note: I think this was my first pirate novel and I simply must read more.) I don't even know that I would call him a good man, but he had a good heart. At least when it came to Lorelei. These two put me through it and I couldn't have loved it more.

Favorite Quotes:

"Lorelei. There are only two indisputable facts in this world. One, that the sun will set in the west. And two, that I'll come for you. Always."

"I was born the moment I heard your voice commanding me to live. And you have been mine ever since."

"Love is soft. Love is kind. I know nothing of that. What I feel for her is... well, it's neither of those things. It's too obsessive. It's marvelous and terrifying. It is the cruelest affliction for a merciless man. Because it leaves me at her mercy. So unprotected. So easily damaged. It is a bizarre thing to accept, that when entire armies have failed to destroy me, one word from her lips could dismantle me."

Jolie

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo was unlike any historical romance that I have read before. Why do I say that? A few reasons. This book was a lot darker than your usual Victorian romance. The author chose to explore themes that were taboo in that era. She also chose to make the book violent. I can count on one hand where I read a Victorian romance that had violence in it. Usually, those types of books are all sunshine and rainbows. Not this one. This one showcased the darker side of the human nature. And guess what, I loved it!!

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo is the story of Lorelei and The Rook (also known as Ash). Ash was left to die on the edge of a road as a teenager. Lorelei, her father, and her brother happened to be riding by in their carriage when Lorelei spots him. He was horrifically injured, lye poured over him. The only thing unmarked was a beautiful dragon tattoo. The stranger, who has no memory of who he is, is renamed Ash by Lorelei. One day he leaves with her older brother, never to return. Instead of saying goodbye, he tells her: "There are only two indisputable facts in this world: The sun will set in the west, and I'll come for you. Always." His leaving means that she is now at the mercy of her abusive older brother, who had crippled her as a child. Ash does come back for Lorelei...20 years later. He is not the same boy that Lorelei fell in love with. He is a man with scars on his soul and no memory of who he was before he met Lorelei. He has done horrible things. He has exacted his revenge on the people who held him captive for 15 years. Can Lorelei help Ash regain his memory and heal? Or will she fail to drive out his demons?

Ash was damaged. He wasn't a good guy by any means. He did some pretty awful things in the 20 years he was separated from Lorelei. Even when they were together. But, the author made me feel pity for him. His reaction to Lorelei wanting to be with him was heartbreaking. As was the nightmares that he had. I wanted to reach into the book, hug him and tell him it was going to be ok. I enjoyed watching his interactions with Lorelei but I did feel frustrated with how he treated her at first. My frustration went away in the middle of the book when his internal monologue showed me how much he loved her. By the end of the book, Ash was still as damaged as he was in the beginning. But he was healing and that made me smile.

I liked Lorelei. Her rescue of Ash and her help in his recovery was excellent. I could see why Ash fell in love with her. An older Lorelei was amazing. She had been shaped by her life with her brother. Instead of turning into this fearful woman, she was someone who stood up to people. She was the one who made her father and brother stop the carriage. She had a hand in Ash's recovery. So, I wasn't that surprised when she discovered that she still had feelings for Ash. She fought for him, which I loved. It wasn't that she had to compete with another person for his affections. Instead, she fought his demons for him.

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo had some pretty hot sex scenes that weren't between the main characters. There was intense sexual tension between Veronica and Moncrieff. That whole scene when she was watching him have sex with another woman was insane. Especially when she was getting turned on. Which is why I was surprised when the storyline took the turn it did. I was expecting something different. 

Speaking of sex, Ash and Lorelei's scenes were insanely hot. Mainly because you could taste the emotions when they were having sex. Everything Ash wouldn't/couldn't say came out when they had sex. The sexual tension between them was insane too. It didn't go away when they had sex. Instead, it was even more turned on, if that makes sense.

I wish the storyline that involved Ash's memory loss had been resolved earlier in the book. I felt that the conclusion to it was rushed. Which leads into the other storyline about the treasure. I didn't like the way it went in the end. There was a twist that I should have seen coming but didn't. A twist that made me go "Shut up" when I read it.

The end of the book was fantastic. I'm not going to go much into it but I will say this. I burst into tears at the last sentence of the epilogue.

What I liked about The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo:

A) How realistic Ash and Lorelei were

B) The storyline. Loved it!!

C) The sex scenes

What I disliked about The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo:

A) Ash's memory loss storyline being resolved when it was

B) Mortimer

C) Moncrieff

I gave The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo a 4-star rating. This is a dark romance with plenty of sex. I was able to connect to both characters. I felt that the memory loss storyline could have been ended sooner. Other than that, this was a book that I enjoyed reading.

I gave The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is graphic violence. There is language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Paperbacks, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo. 

All opinions stated in this review of The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**