Kerrigan Byrne

"St. Martin's Paperbacks historical romance"--Spine.

The Highwayman

But really this was just beautifully done and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire journey. 

Megan BV

I LOVE THIS BOOK. 

I HAD ALL THE EMOTIONS. 

ITS HOT AND HEALING AT THE SAME TIME. 

FARAH IS THE BEST. 

I THINK I AM BROKEN. 

But really this was just beautifully done and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire journey. 

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance


  

 
  
    Summary
  
 
Dorian Blackwell, is a villain, and rose up from the alleyways of the worst slums in London, to become the powerful man he is today. He does what needs to be done to survive and the horrors of his past made him into what he is today. Farah Leigh Mackenzie, hasn't had an easy time in her life. When she was young, she got married and for a short while they were happy. Until he was taken away from her, and now she is a widow and for years she hasn't even thought about another man, until she meets the dark and dangerous Dorian. Then Dorian kidnaps her and takes her up to Scotland, because her life is in grave danger and only by marrying Dorian will Farah be protected. Soon Dorian and Farah's lives are intertwined and they discover a hidden passion and an abiding love that will surprise them both. Will the terrors of their pasts haunt their futures, or will embracing their new founded love be the healing balm they need?
 
  
    The Hero
  
 
Dorian Blackwell, had a rough childhood and even a tougher adulthood. He spent most of his youth in prison, and befriended a few other that have his back. The only people in the world that he has ever trusted. Dorian is deadly and dangerous and no one dares cross him. Dorian has learned how to survive in the worst of places in London, and worked his way up the ladder to be the most feared and powerful man in England. He has power and wealth and no one can touch him. He has no weakness, until he comes across miss Farah Leigh and he is lost in what she offers him.

  

  
    “My sweet Fairy.” He exhaled on a painful breath. “You can’t imagine darkness. You are the only light I’ve ever known.”
    

  

Dorian is one sexy alpha male you could never get enough of. He is the type of character you crave to read in historical romance. I just wanted more and more of him as the story progressed. I love his dangerous allure, his sensuality and all that emotional tortured feel his character gives off. Potent to the core!!
 
  
    The Heroine
  
 
Farah Leigh has been hidden away most of her life. She lost her closest friend and her husband, a man she committed herself to when she was just too young but much in love. Farah is strong and sweet and kind. She works for Scotland Yard as a secretary, and loves her work. She lives to uphold the law and she still yearns for what she once had a lost years previous. Farah isn't weak or naive, and she takes Dorian in full stride. I love that she stands up to him when no one else does; even though she fears him she doesn't back down when she truly believes in what is right. I love how her character develops and the way she treats Dorian. She handles him in just the right way, stands up to him but she also compromises with him so they both stand on even ground. She is solid both emotionally and physically. Even though she has suffered a low blow in life, she doesn't let that weaken her...it makes her even stronger.
 
  
    Plot and Story Line
  
 
The Highwayman is one of the best romances I have read this year!! My goodness, I have found a new love in this author and she writes historical romance the way it should be written. Full of depth, complexities and true romance at its core. I just couldn't get enough of this author. I just want more and more, thankfully, the second book will be coming out in a few months in Feb (CHEERS!!).

So what made this story so fantastic??? Well I will tell ya all. Everything about it made it simply wonderful. First off I want to set up the story a little. It starts off with Farah and Dugan as children. They are thick as thieves, both understand each other in different ways, then slowly as they get older, they decide to handfast to each other.

  

  
    
      “Of course I’ll love you, Dougan Mackenzie,” she said easily. “Who else is going to?”
“Nobody,” he said earnestly.
“Will you try to love me, too?” she asked in a small voice.
He considered it. “I’ll try, Fairy, but I havena done it before.”
    
    

  

But when Farah is about to get molested, Dugan protects her and ends up killing the man responsible. He goes to prison, and Farah leaves him food and letters but then he is killed. This really sets up the story on an emotional angle in a vivid way that reaches out to the reader. Then it skips ahead to when Farah is full grown, in her late twenties (we are the same age yay---so I felt it easy to relate with her) and when she gets kidnapped, she meets Dugan's closest friends. What are the odds right? Well in this book there are no such things as coincidences. We see her strike friendship with Dorian's friends, who treat her like a sister. It was quite amusing that if Dorian went overboard---he was in the dog house with his buddies because they look at Farah as family.

Then we see the romance blossom between Dorian and Farrah in quite a poignant and powerful way. Dorian is bitter and cynical, and Farrah is sweet and good natured. Patient with him, and I love how she handles him in such a positive way. Firm but kind. It takes a turn when the truth comes out, and a secret is revealed. Now this secret is slowly built up through the story, so it didn't come to a complete surprise because the author leads up to it, but the author slowly teases us until the truth is really revealed. I really couldn't get enough of these two, seeing them form a strong bond to each other, meanwhile dealing with the danger to Farrah, and the friendships that she forms with Dorian's friends. I am over the moon with this one, and its the type of story I could see myself re-reading in a couple of years. This is a story that touched me in every way. The emotion and the feelings that are poured into it are all consuming.  So if you love a sexy romance full of passion, danger and mystery....pick this one up right NOW!!

  

  
    
      “I make ye my heart
    
    

    
      At the rising of the moon.
    
    

    
      To love and honor, 
    
    

    
      Through all our lives.
    
    

    
      May we be reborn,
    
    

    
      May our souls meet and know. 
    
    

    
      And love again. 
    
    

    
      And remember.”
    
    

  

 
  
    The Cover
  
 
Is there a better cover?? I mean really. One I love yellow on covers, especially this golden warm yellow. I love the sexy pose, almost kiss, her beautiful gown, and man his hair. I just want to run my fingers through it.
 
  
    Overall View
  
 
The Highwayman is a stimulating ride that takes you all over the British Aisles. Its a story to cry over, to laugh in those silly moments, and to flip those pages as fast as you can read them.A sweeping romance that will take your breath away.  A WILD SEXY ROMP!!

Stefanie  Uwah

This is only the second book I’ve read by her but I can honestly say that I love Kerrigan Byrne. She is such a skilled writer and communicates character emotions extremely well. I think that the premise of this story is interesting and there were lots of interesting characters. She can also write an AMAZING love scene. Unfortunately, that’s where my praise of this book has to end. 

(view spoiler)[First and foremost, I did not buy the power of our hero and heroine’s childhood love. Farah and Dougan meet in an orphanage when they are 8 and 11 years old, respectively. Farah shows him the power of true “love” at such a young age and they continue to fall in love. After two years, they decide to marry and Dougan performs these traditional Scottish wedding rites and boom, they’re husband and wife. Of course some drama goes down and the two are separated for 17 years. Dougan goes to prison for committing a crime and seemingly dies in prison. Farah manages to work her way to becoming a clerk at Scotland Yard. 

Then, Dorian steps on the scene as one of the most dangerous men in all of London. It is VERY obvious to the reader that Dorian is Dougan but for some reason, he hides her identity from Farah, even after kidnapping her and proposing a marriage of convenience. We learn that Dorian is pretending to be a friend of Dougan’s from prison. He claims to only know about Farah because Dougan couldn’t stop talking about her in da clink and hearing stories of her wonder and love gave hope to all of the prisoners. She was their Virgin Mary tbh. Of course Farah is vv turned off by Dorian because he’s supposed to be this massive brute and devil. But then she’s intrigued by his darkness and they get married a day later and have sex (vv well written sex scenes imo) because Farah wants a family and the only way she’ll agree to marry Dorian is if he gives her an heir. The story continues with Farah wanting more from Dorian but Dorian pulling away because he’s so disgusted by his past and all that was done to him in prison. There is a side plot about Farah being a secret royal and needing a way to regain the claims to her estate and title but honestly, it wasn’t that engaging. 

Dorian/Dougan was super fucking angsty and I couldn’t deal. I love a dark hero as much as the next person but Dorian took this to another level. When Farah eventually figures out that he was actually Dougan, he keeps saying, “NO, DOUGAN IS DEAD I’M DORIAN NOW.” Farah is like “okayyy well I can love you as Dorian,” and Dougian replies, “no, I don’t have a heart to give you love,” even though he obviously does. The whole song and dance is draining to read. Dougian sends her away (in his mind, it’s for her own good because he sees himself as damaged goods and unworthy of a luv so pure as Farah). Farah is quick to point out that he hasn’t fulfilled his end of the bargain because she agreed to marry only with the promise of having kids and Dougian is all “well, I lied.” 

Farah goes back to her ancestral home alone for 2 full months, is super horny, and has had enough. She writes to Dougian at his London home and says “if you won’t give me the D and a baby, I’ll find someone else who will xoxo gossip girl.” Dougain is PISSED and goes back to being possessive. He’s very much an “I only want her happiness” but also an “if I can’t have her nobody else can.” (I HATE when heros do this. Don’t say a heroine is better without you in their life then get mad when they try to move on.) Dougan rushes to meet Farah and confront her but realizes that there has been an attempt on her life. This whole thing causes Dougian to realize how much he loves her and doesn’t want to be without her. He learns to trust her with his body and his scars (this is actually extremely touching) and is now willing to give himself over to her. They have an HEA complete with children of course. (hide spoiler)]

Okay so I got a little carried away at the end there but yeah, this wasn’t my favorite Kerrigan Byrne book. She’s a wonderful writer but a lot of things missed the mark. The plot was a little convoluted, I didn’t buy the H/h love, and the last minute twist was very predictable. This is more like a 2.75 rounded up because I had more annoying moments than enjoyable ones. But when it was good, it was really good.

Jaclyn

Beautiful!! A new favorite of mine! I’m speechless!

Tori Jarrett

This was my first Kerrigan Byrne and it combined two of my most favorite sub-genres in romance: dark romance and historical. I’m OBSESSED. 

Dark historical are new to me, although some of the bodice rippers I read when I was young were definitely dark. Since I don’t consider BR’s true romances, I’m going to say this is my first dark historical. 

Oh boy. The beginning of this book absolutely ripped my heart out. The bond Farah had with Dougan when they were children was so sweet and heartbreaking. Living her “prime” years as a self-proclaimed widow after the boy she “married” as a child was so heartbreaking to read. The love of children is such an innocent thing and to have it stripped away in such a horrific fashion was horrible to read. 

After Dorian steps into the scene, I instantly loved this man. Reading about his time at Newgate prison genuinely made my stomach hurt. It’s no wonder he turned out like he did after the absolute horror he lived through for years. What I did enjoy about his character was that while he was ruthless, he wasn’t going to let anyone harm Farah. He was dark without being a bully and I loved that about him. 

Farah was such a strong heroine. She had been through such heartbreak and travesty, but was still capable of such love and devotion. Her dedication to Dougan really shown through and I admired her so much for it. 

I loved everything about this book. It was so well written. I was afraid that the dark side of this novel would take away from the historical side, but Kerrigan did such a fantastic job of writing this one that I have zero complaints. 

TW: violence, rape (off page), pedophilia, trauma, grief

Mariam Mohsen

Alexis 

5/5 Stars 

This exceeded any expectations that I had going in. This has been recommended and hyped so much. I've read another Kerrigan Byrne book previously and loved it, so I was hoping this would be the same. This was just so good. I loved the tension that our two characters had. Also, the romance was just everything for me. Overall I just really loved this book!

b.andherbooks

An intriguing start to a new series, there were many things I loved about The Highway Man, and a few details that irked me.

There was a refreshing difference to this romance, including Farah's job at Scotland Yard and the fact Dorian is the one with a damaged heart, body, and soul (and huge sexual hangups).

Slight spoilers ahead, but if you didn't realized this straight off, please.

What I didn't like was the absurd notion that Farah doesn't realize who Dorian is. He remembers her and can identify her as an adult instantly, but throw an eye patch on this guy and she has no clue. Seriously? 

I think the overall love story would have been more satisfying for me if the characters had known each other better (not just based everything off a couple of weeks as children).

Still, a lot of fun. Recommend for those who also love Sarah MacLean's books.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Helena Cristina Nogueira Pereira

Saayan

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
.

You know that feeling when you pick up a book and it grabs you from the very first chapter? That's what The Highwayman did to me. It didn't waste any time getting into the story and I loved that. What started off with sweet and innocent childhood love between Farah and Dougan turned dark, quickly. I was shocked and my heart broke a bit for these kids. 

Flash forward several years and the story just gets more interesting when Dorian Blackwell comes into Farah's life. He's a notorious villain who has quite a dark past. He was a hard man who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty to right the wrongs done to him. Yet, for some reason, he wanted to protect Farah from another darkness who was out there threatening to harm her. 

The characters drove this novel. Farah was easy to connect with. She was a great, strong heroine. Dorian was darker and more complicated, but I still liked him. Despite his warnings of him posing a danger to Farah, it was clear he'd sooner hurt himself than hurt her in any way. I enjoyed watching both of these characters grow and connect. The chemistry was great and the emotions ran high (for me, too) as secrets began to come out. 

The Highwayman was part romance, part mystery and entirely glorious. I even read it slowly to savor every word... which is rare for me. It was darker than the other historical romances I've read but it was gripping, sexy and emotional. This is the first time I've read one of Kerrigan Byrne's books, but it certainly won't be the last. I'm already looking forward to the next book in this standalone series. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Nikki

4.8 stars

Loved the book. 
1. I loved how smooth the transitions were between the protagonists' POVs in the third-person narrative

2. I loved the main characters, Farah and Dorian 

3. (view spoiler)[ This might be a spoiler. I loved how the story progressed keeping the suspense alive and brought the plot twist at the right time, all the while keeping the readers hooked. (view spoiler)[

4. I loved the eloquent writing style throughout the novel.

5. I also liked how the descriptions didn't overpower the story. 

The only reason for the 4.8 is because there were a couple of instances in the book which didn't keep my attention and I tended to fast-forward through those parts. Otherwise it's a solid 5. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Danielle Crain

This book... WOW. Emotional roller-coaster.

I had to add a tortured-hero shelf to my GR account. I normally don't love the whole tortured-hero shtick but because of the child-hood connection it works.

Dougan and Fairy are childhood friends from an orphanage who are *quite* tragically separated. 17 years later Farah aka "Fairy" is kidnapped by the dark and ever elusive Dorian Blackheart when they decide upon a "marriage of convenience" in a pact that benefits them both.


  "Dorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, is a ruthless villain. Scarred and hard-hearted, Dorian is one of Victorian 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...


yes, yes and yes! Tortured heros annoy me (which is why I stopped reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series years ago) but I loved Dorian so I could look past the PTSD and I found myself routing for him the whole time, despite it. I was so angry with him at times, but at the same time my heart was breaking for him.

Farah is awesome, seriously. A woman working for Scotland yard in the 1880's? If there is a thriller novel with that as a plot device, please point me that way now. I was so disappointed I didn't get to read more about her work there. I'm not usually into feminist views in historical romances because they are just very out of place in the time for me, but it works. 

My one complaint about this book is that I thought the love-making scenes were a bit A LOT out of touch with reality. That said NEXT PLEASE! I'll be reading The Hunter when it comes in at the library.

My Ratings:

5*****I loved this book, consider it an all time favorite
4**** Thoroughly enjoyed the book and will recommend it
3*** I liked it well enough,
2** Brain Candy - It was okay. Writing mediocre, will
keep/re-read if part of a series
1* didn't like/possibly not finished.

Lacey

I can see now why everyone loves Kerrigan Byrne! A delicious tortured hero, a headstrong heroine, and a love that has lasted 17 years - how could I not enjoy this book? Onto the next Victorian Rebel!

Maia Weithington

A Library Journal Best Book of 2015 A Library Journal Summer Spotlight Title They're rebels, scoundrels, and blackguards-dark, dashing men on the wrong side of the law. But for the women who love them, a hint of danger only makes the heart beat faster, in the stunning debut historical romance The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne. STEALING BEAUTY Dorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, is a ruthless villain. Scarred and hard-hearted, Dorian is one of Victorian 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?

The Highwayman

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