Book Review | The Duke With The Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne
Can true love really be found when a mysterious pirate kidnaps you after crashing into your wedding to steal you from the alter and murdering your brother right in front your eyes on the way out? Then marries you himself! In Kerrigan Byrne’s The Duke With The Dragon Tattoo anything is possible!
I really enjoyed reading this book a whole ton and it is quite easy for me to say that this was a five out five star reading experience hands down. In general, I don’t normally gravitate towards the romance genre typically because I just prefer other types of genres like history, fantasy, and crime thrillers but this novel went beyond my expectations. Now I prefer a cleaner read even in romance which this book doesn’t take it too far which was nice.
As a reader, I want a story that captures my heart so I don’t like them to just be jammed packed with sex and only sex without really having a point. It was refreshing to find a romance that didn’t dwell too overly on such details making the story and characters more the focus. This book was truly great.
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… – Kerrigan Byrne.
The very first chapter had me extremely conflicted on how I felt about what I was reading. It has many elements of emotional and physical abuse that can be hard to read. The main character is Lorelei. She is a young noble woman constantly facing a lot of torment by her older sadistic brother who is terrible. This book is quite gut-wrenching from the first page and only seems to deepen the further Lorelei’s past is revealed to the readers.
As a reader, I felt for poor Lorelei but couldn’t tell if I was going to enjoy the story; however, this quickly changed before long as I couldn’t set it down! Lorelei meets Ash. This changes everything for both characters. Their love is strange, instant, and endearing beyond words. The two young kids absolutely love each other. This is just the kind of romance my heart eats up and seeks in the romance genre. The ensuing drama is no let down either!
Lorelei and Ash become separated shortly after meeting and don’t see each other for the next thirty years. Neither person forgets the other and they both are holding on to it. I felt very sympathetic to all Ash endures during his life after Lorelei. He is sold into slavery and then becomes a pirate.
He is very changed and Lorelei has grown up now but is pretty much the same. She is a bit more confident but still under her brother’s thumb. The book at this point is very exciting until the very last word. It is the kind of story that starts with a slow build up but before you know it you are sliding rapidly down a mountain. A lot of shenanigans and craziness happens.
But what can one expect when a pirate kidnaps you from your wedding altar after murdering your brother right in front you? Then marries you himself! It is all rather complicated. The adventure this romance has often cannot be found in other books of its genre. I find this incredibly refreshing. It is worth reading! The book is pretty fast paced despite my initial first reactions.
The setting, characters, dialogue, and general plot are all worth praise in my opinion. Never have I been so entertained by a romance novel this much. This is on the same level of The Princess Bride, one of my all time favorite classics. The true love, adventure, comedy, fantasy, drama, romance, and fairy tale are just not so easily won but these two book nail it perfect.
BOOK SYNOPSIS
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?
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Okay, that was probably the greatest intro to a book review ever- pulled me right in and now I have to put this book on my to read list 🙂
I really enjoyed reading it that is for sure! It is kind of a slow beginning but then takes you on whirlwind!
Thank you for sharing your review of “The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo”! It sounds like a captivating and well-written book. I’ll have to add it to my reading list.
I really enjoyed it. I just got my hands on a copy of Ken Zurski’s second book for his unremembered history series that I will be reviewing once I am finished reading it!
Great to hear that you enjoyed the book! I’m always interested in learning about lesser-known historical events and figures, so I’ll definitely have to check out Ken Zurski’s book as well.
What a superb review!
I am so glad to hear you liked the review!
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