How to Love a Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne-Review & Giveaway

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway

HOW TO LOVE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS
Devil You Know #1
by Kerrigan Byrne
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Genre: adult, historical, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 27, 2019

These men are dark, bold, and brave. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees…

Famed and brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out for to herself. But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in her past—one that she pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with her family nearing bankruptcy, Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get married to one of the empire’s most wealthy eligible bachelors. Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.

LOVE TAKES NO PRISONERS

Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the first step is securing a bride. Winning a lady’s hand is not so easy, however, for a man known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then, Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of lightning. When she proposes marriage, Piers knows that, like him, trouble haunts her footsteps. But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent nature, and incredible beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will do whatever it takes to keep her safe in his arms.

••••••••••

REVIEW: Have to admit it, I’m not a fan of “How to” titles unless their instruction books. However, that said, don’t let the title fool you. This book is a rollercoaster of action, romance, wit, and enchanting characters. It starts with a band and just keeps coming!

I won’t spoil the plot or storyline for you but let me tell you I was up until 5:00 am reading because it was just that good!

This is the marvelous adventure of Lady Alexandra, daughter to the Earl of Bentham and Piers Gedrick Atherton, Duke of Redmayne.

The set up of this book is as entangled as the plot and storyline itself. It begins with rape and murder and continues to build action throughout the book! How you say? Well, this is a must read it yourself to be enjoyed. Let me at least tell you the story is very well written and told with such patience. The main characters are good but have flaws. The villains are so very well described and completely evil. The secondary characters are endearing and enchanting. The whole cast of this book are entertaining and keep the action lively.

Is there romance? OH YEAH! It’s slow at first but builds with the story and becomes the hottest stuff I’ve read in a good while.

The only spoiler I will give you is that the book begins with the heroine getting raped at the hands of the schoolmaster. If you have issues with reading that, this might not be for you. I thought author Kerrigan Byrne handled it very sensitively and the subsequent way her life formed, much like I’d expect. I thought it was very well written and handled. Poignant and brave.

If books were like stocks, this one would be blue chip! Do yourself a great favor and grab a copy but be warned, you may lose sleep by not being able to put it down. I certainly couldn’t.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Georgianna S

Q: What inspired you to write How to Love a Duke in Ten Days?

A:  I’ve always been one of those women who have enjoyed fierce female friendships. I think that soulmates, even for heterosexual women, can be just as necessary with other women as with men, and a real hero must not just love and respect you, but also your tribe. I wanted to write a series where historical heroines could truly have it all, education, dreams, businesses, wealth, genius, revenge, hot sex, AND true love. Where the sacrifices were made on their behalf instead by them, and where their heroes learn to lift them up in all ways, heal their pains, calm their fears, become their best friends, and protect them with what I hope is a great balance between alpha hotness and progressive sensitivity.

Q: Is there one thing you would like readers to take away from this story?

A: That’s tough because I packed a lot in there! I would say the one thing from this book, specifically, is that happiness is attainable against the odds, even when overcoming the worst that people can do to one another. Even though I’m a grown up and a cynic, I still like to write books that remind me that true love conquers all, because that love can come from so many people.

Q: Can you describe your typical day writing this book?

A: This book was especially difficult for me to write, so I spent a great deal of time in my bathrobe. I would get up, my fantastic husband would make me coffee, I’d call my critique partner and we’d do a bit of brainstorming, and I’d write and rewrite for hours, stress, cry, throw things, walk the dog, eat, snack, eat some more, facebook way too much, and then finish under word count, binge a tv show or a book until I stared at the ceiling into the wee hours. Oh, and there was drinking in there at regular intervals.

Glamorous, I know!

Q: Describe the hero and heroine of How to Love a Duke in Ten Days in three words each.

A: The Duke of Redmayne:          Wary. Wounded. Wicked.

      Lady Alexandra Lane:             Brave. Brilliant. Beautiful.     

Q: What is the one thing that the heroine, Alexandra, can’t live without?

A: She cannot live without her two dearest friends in the entire world, Miss Cecelia Teague, and Lady Francesca Cavendish. They literally buried a body for her, and would defend her to the death.

Q: What was your hardest scene to write in How to Love a Duke in Ten Days? Your favorite?

A: As with many (most) of my novels, the prologues are the hardest to write, and read, I suspect. Usually I take the characters to the very edge of their breaking point, often times pushing them over so they have what seems like insurmountable conflicts to overcome both internally and externally. So, for this book, Alexandra’s assault was the most difficult thing to get through, and boy did I enjoy being able to help Piers put her back together, because he was just the perfect hero for her. Tender, empathetic, a good sense of humor, and a large dose of protective alphaness.

Q: Why do you write historical romance? 

A:  I’ve always romanticized the past. I can’t help it. I love the pace and the aesthetic, the gowns and the suits and the manners and the manors. I love to do historical research and it’s so fun to see how much we are influenced by the past and how, even though so much has changed through the centuries, people really haven’t. Also, it’s fun to play with language, mystery, and sex in a time when a scandal was still possible. *wink.

Q: Is there another particular author that inspires you or that you enjoy reading? 

A: There is a LIST! I would say in historical romance, though, it’s always always Lisa Kleypas. She has a grasp on the characterization of historical folks that I can never hope to attain. I’m just in awe of her every word.

Q: Where do you go or what resources do you use to make sure your novels are historically correct? 

A: I love to find books about a time period at B&N or my local bookshops. I go to Harper’s Bazaar for fashion, and a slew of Victorian references for the time period. I do read blogs and sometimes consult with historians and experts.

Q: Did you learn anything surprising while researching for this novel?

A: Many things! I learned how truly difficult it was to attain an education as a woman as little as a hundred years ago. It’s really incredible how far we’ve come in a century.

Q: What do you do when faced with writer’s block, if you ever are? 

A: Oh man. I often am. I usually try to shake it loose with a brainstorming conversation with a few friends I have who always seem to be able to unstick me. I rely heavily on the creativity of others as well as my own.

Q: How did you feel the first time you realized one of your books was a big success? 

A: I didn’t believe it. It seems surreal every time I truly realize that a story I wrote entertained another human. Let alone more than one. I’m like… they paid to read it? WHAT?

Q: What’s next for the Devil You Know series?

A: I’m especially excited for the next book ALL SCOT AND BOTHERED because it’s about Alexandra’s best friend the curvy vicar’s daughter, Cecelia Teague. She inherits London’s most infamous and successful brothel, and one imposing, surly Scottish enemy along with it. She and Lord Ramsay, the Lord Chief Justice with an axe to grind against her establishment, can’t be in a room together without the sparks flying. I can’t think about this book without smiling.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: I hope you enjoy this trio of roguish redheads as much as I enjoyed writing them!

 

Chapter One

Maynemouth, Devonshire, 1890 Ten years later

Alexander,
Accept the invitation to Castle Redmayne. I’m in danger. I need you.

—Frank

Alexandra Lane had spent the entire train ride from Lon- don to Devonshire meticulously pondering those fourteen words for two separate reasons.
The first, she had been unable to stop fretting for Fran- cesca, who tended to give more than the appropriate amount of context. The terse, vague note Alexandra now held was more of a warning than the message contained therein.
The second, she could no longer afford a first-class, pri- vate railcar, and had, for the last several tense hours, been forced to share her vestibule face-to-face with a rough- featured, stocky man with shoulders made for labor.
Alone.

26 kerrigan byrne
He’d attempted polite conversation at first, which she’d rebuffed with equal civility by feigning interest in her cor- respondence. By now, however, they were both painfully aware she needn’t take four stops to read two letters.
It was terribly rude, she knew. Her carpetbag remained clutched in her fist the entire time, except when her hand would wander into its depths to palm the tiny pistol she always carried. The sounds of the other passengers in ad- joining vestibules didn’t make her feel safer, per se.
But she knew they would hear her scream, and that pro- vided some relief.
For a woman who’d spent a great deal of the last ten years in the company of men, she’d thought these painful moments would have relented by now.
Alas, she’d become a mistress of manipulating a situa- tion so, even if she had to endure the company of men without a female companion, there would be more than one man. In the circles she tended to frequent, people be- haved when in company.
It had worked thus far.
Alexandra braced herself against the slowing of the train, breathing a silent prayer of relief that they’d finally arrived. She’d been terrified that if she’d glanced up once, she’d be forced into conversation with her unwanted com- panion.
Rain wept against the coach window, and the shadows of the tears painted macabre little serpents on the conflict- ing documents in her hands. One, a wedding invitation. The other, Francesca’s alarming note.
A month past, she’d have wagered her entire inheritance against Francesca Cavendish’s being the first of the Red Rogues to capitulate to the bonds of matrimony.
A month past, she’d assumed she’d had an inheritance to wager.

HOW TO LOVE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS 27
Their little society had seemed destined to live up to the promise they’d once made as young, disenchanted girls to never marry.
Until the invitation to an engagement masquerade— given by the Duke of Redmayne—had arrived the same day of her friend’s cryptic and startling note.
The invitation had been equally as ambiguous, stating that the future duchess of Redmayne would be unveiled, as it were, at the ball. Included in Alexandra’s particular envelope was a request for her to attend as a bridesmaid.
The subsequent plea for help from Francesca—Frank— had arrived in a tiny envelope with the Red Rogue seal they’d commissioned some years prior.
Alexandra hadn’t even known Francesca had returned from her romps about the Continent. Last she’d heard, the countess had been in Morocco, doing reconnaissance of some sort. Nothing in her letters had mentioned a suitor. Not a serious one, in any case. Certainly not a duke.
Francesca had a talent for mischief and a tendency to interpret danger as mere adventure.
So, what could possibly frighten her fearless friend?
Marriage, obviously, Alexandra thought with a smirk.
A risky venture, to be sure.

From How to Love a Duke in Ten Days. Copyright © 2019 by Kerrigan Byrne and reprinted with permission from St. Martin’s Paperbacks.

Whether she’s writing about Celtic Druids, Victorian bad boys, or brash Irish FBI Agents, USA Today bestseller Kerrigan Byrne uses her borderline-obsessive passion for history, her extensive Celtic ancestry, and her love of Shakespeare in every book. She lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains with her handsome husband and three lovely teenage girls, but dreams of settling on the Pacific Coast. Her Victorian Rebels novels include The Highwayman and The Highlander.

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St. Martin’s Press is graciously offering a paper copy of HOW TO LOVE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS by Kerrigan Byrne to ONE (1) commenter.

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The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne-a review

The Highwayman (Victoria Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne-a review

The Highwayman

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository / BAM

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…

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? 

REVIEW

5 out of 5 for this reader folks!

WOW .. that was one fantastic book! Everything I love in a historical romance was present and in truth totally exceeded my expectations. I love it when that happens!

The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne is the first book in her Victorian Rebels series. The story opens with two young orphans who form a strong bond, look out for the other and end up handfasting as young kids to prove their commitment to the other. When something happens that inevitably tears then apart, we are left wondering why fate has been so cruel … fast forward seventeen years and we begin to get answers to questions we had no idea to ask.

Farah Mackenzie is the young orphan girl that made that commitment so many years ago. She is living with the status of widow and working for Scotland Yard. When she is invited into an interrogation room, she has yet to realize that her entire life is about to be tipped upside down.

Dorian Blackwell is a scarred (literally) man with unbelievable black demons in his closet. He is known as Dorian the blackheart and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Coming from nothing, he is now wealthy and certainly not someone to cross. Dorian decides to kidnap Farah away from her life and spill a few secrets along the way.

Farah now is faced with big decisions. Dorian knows her past and has revealed his plans for both of them to get revenge. All Farah has to do is marry him. Farah, strangely attracted to this professed monster lays her terms on the table … she wants a child.

Off we go on an incredible dark journey that holds secrets, suspense, angst, freedom, capture, past/present failures, enemies/friends and scars so deep, one can never heal completely. It also leaves us questioning the possibility of rebirth and survival on love alone. Is it enough??

OH ME OH MY .. where do I start? Careful not to give away any spoilers (there are many things to spoil in this story) let me start with what I cherish the most in my reads … emotions. YUP, CHECK .. lots there. I felt anger, happiness, hope, swoon, annoyed, mystified, relieved … and a whole lot more …! Now add a story that can back up these emotions and keep me so riveted that I consumed this novel in one sitting (hey it was rainy and this is a really good book ..lol) .. YUP I’m sold.

These characters are amazing. So incredibly complex and the storyline had me from the first page. Dorian is not by any means a gentlemen and thank goodness for that .. he has just enough dirty to shock those that are not use to it in the historical romance and to feed those of us that like a bit of smut. His mouth had me blushing … LOL Farah is just enough woman to take it and give it right back naturally.

I really want to give you so much more because the story alone is beautiful. If you love historical romance, please check this amazing book out. I cannot wait for the next one and have to admit that I am adding more of Kerrigan’s books on my TBR pile!

HAPPY READING! 🙂

Reviewed by Rachel T

Copy supplied by Netgalley

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