The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo (Victorian Rebels #6) by Kerrigan Byrne #TheDukeWithTheDragonTattoo

  The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne

Blurb:

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

Lorelei 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?


Wow, that book took me on a ride!
When The Rook comes to claim his woman, a long time has passed - too much time? He isn't the young man he once was and Lorelai, well, not much has changed for her otherwise but it is difficult to feel the same for someone who doesn't resemble his former self anymore. Is it?
The Rook is formed by those years that separate them, he is harsh and hard, a pirate, a killer - and he has one weakness: Lorelai. Will that be enough? And will he ever find out who he really is?

I really loved Lorelai and the way she cares for those around her and how she opens her heart to those in need. Her brother being a brute of the kind that lives in your nightmares and her father being too weak to protect her, she is used to abuse and suffering but she never gives up and she never loses hope.
The Rook and her, they belong together and I loved to see them fall (back) into love while they slowly unravel the mysteries of his past - and not just those of the past!

The story captivated me right from the start and I enjoyed every page of it. There were some minor aspects that made me go for four stars instead of five though.
Considering her age and the fact that she lived with her brute of a brother all those years, Lorelai hasn't aged. Twenty years later she is still the same and she still sounds like the young girl of fourteen that she was when Ash left her. And I must admit that I felt that the fact that The Rook is so hard and that he can't feel and ....well, all that, was stressed a bit too much. Add the fact that he and his friends who finally turn up everywhere (at least it feels like that) all got up in the world and became people of consequence in one way or another, well, that was a bit too much for me.

Despite that, I really enjoyed reading this book and I can't wait to find out, hopefully, about Veronica and her groom in the next book!

★★★★