The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels, 1)

I LOVED this book! But be warned - this is not a light fluffy read. Parts of the book are disturbing and might have subject matter that is offensive to sensitive readers.There really isn't anything I love better than a possessive/obsessive hero - the man that sees "his woman" and claims her. Dorian is that kind of hero - Farah is his - she has always been his and will always be his. He doesn't let little things like other people get in his way - he kidnaps her and takes her to his castle in Scotland. Once there, he tells her that they will marry because someone is trying to kill her and only he can protect her and restore her birthright to her. She reluctantly agrees, but with conditions of her own.Dorian Blackwell is a very bad man - like king of the London Underworld, bad man. He is ruthless and lethal. His only redeeming quality is his loyalty to those he loves and he loves Farah.Farah is confused by her feelings for Dorian - she has spent the last 17 years alone and hasn't let go of the boy she loved as a young girl. The boy she loved gave up everything for her and she feels responsible for his death. Dorian is the first man she has ever been interested in since she found out that Dougan died. Turns out that Dorian and Dougan knew each other in prison and Dougan used to tell Dorian (and the rest of his motley crew) stories about Farah - who they all know as Dougan's fairy. They all swore to Dougan that they would look out for her and take care of her. When Farah finds out the extent of Dougan's suffering in prison - she feels even more responsible for his death.The time in prison had a profound effect on Dorian - he cannot abide human touch in any form. This proves to be a challenge to his marriage to Farah - as she is insistent on having a family. He wants her, but he is desperately afraid of hurting her and fears that the darkness in him will ruin her. Farah is all light - she is loving, caring, funny and hopeful. She knows that Dorian is a bad man - but she also sees his worth.These two have an incredible bond - I am not sure I have ever read a book with such a bond between the hero and heroine - I felt the love, the pain, the grief, the horror and the joy these two shared. It was one of the most emotionally charged books I have ever read. Parts of the story broke my heart. But the author balances those dark moments with moments of sheer joy and laughter.There a quite a few light moments in the book, I would have to say that Farah with the strawberry tarts and Dorian's reaction to Inspector Morley (Farah's former employer) were by far my favorites.Towards the end of the book, I began to wonder how Ms. Byrne was going to make Dorian into a good man, you know the pattern card reformed rogue hero. The answer was simple - she didn't - she left him bad and had the heroine love him anyway. Perfect! Farah finally helps Dorian realize that his darkness won't destroy her - that her light trumps his darkness. She loves him just as he is and he worships the ground she walks on.I highly recommend this book - it really is one of the best romance stories I have ever read and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Oh Holy Mother of Romance Novels. Kerrigan Byrne, you've been hiding from me. You've now been elevated to the Top Ten on my Kindle. The basic phrases that came out of my mouth while I read this book were: Holy-he didn't! Holy - she didn't. OMG, how hot. OMG, you go girl. And that was just in the first two chapters.If you can live through the very first steamy scene in this without having your heart-rate increase, you're dead. Trust me, put a fork in it, you're dead. I don't know one person who would not have to read and re-read the wedding night scene and would do it in pure enjoyment. It was at that moment, not even half way through the book that I knew I must continue to read Kerrigan Byrne, and that she was now elevated to the top of the list.Thank you to the Historical Harlots of Facebook for recommending this book in the first place. And thank you to the author for putting together a story that stays with you long after you put down the Kindle. It was wonderfully paced, kept my attention, and frankly, I can't find anything to say that is negative about the way this woman writes.And my final comment - WOW. Enjoyable read, hot, dark, and just plain wonderful!

Oh my god! Why did I not read this sooner and then another 75 times since then? I think this book ripped my heart right out of my chest. It was gone, crushed to smithereens, and then it put it back together again.I don’t even know where to start with this review. There is too much to say. So I’ll start at the beginning.I’ve been wanting to read a book with a sweet wedding in it for a while. The little wedding between Dougan and Fairy in the beginning was obviously not exactly what I was thinking, but it was so adorable and heartwarming and then it weaves its way through this story in ways that are both tender and terrible.Right after this sweetness, the book instantly goes from heartwarming to heartbreaking before the end of chapter one.Dorian Blackwell. My god. The anti-hero of anti-heroes. I’ve read a lot of books with supposedly tormented, powerful, animalistic heroes, but I don’t think any of them have captured the raw virility they intended as effectively as Kerrigan Byrne has done with Dorian. His sex appeal and ferocity blazes off the page like a roaring fire. He actually feels dangerous, dark, and deeply tormented.Dorian Blackwell would laugh at the tortured heroes of most other novels. Your parents died in a carriage accident? Poor baby. You think you’re ugly? You don’t know the definition of ugly. You’re responsible for someone’s death? You know nothing. Dorian Blackwell has a thousand tortured lifetimes on those guys.Farah, is the complete antithesis of Dorian. Where he is dark, she is nothing but light, despite having her own version of a tortured past. For seventeen years she’s mourned the death of her childhood “husband”, Dougan. For all that time she’s had questions about him and other parts of her past and when she meets Dorian, she thinks he might be the one to help her answer them.It’s clear from the beginning that you are meant to wonder if or even expect that Dorian and Dougan are the same person. (I’m writing this part of my review before I know the answer, so no spoilers here. I’m not sure yet.) I’m constantly going back and forth. He is or he isn’t. The story is told so well that it keeps you questioning it. And I can barely decide whether I want Dorian to be Dougan or if I want him to be his own person. Whether I want him to be the long awaited return of her childhood love, or to be a new person who desperately needs to be loved right down to his tragically rotten bones.Outside of these characters the story is surprisingly irrelevant. I don’t mean that in a bad way. What happens moves their relationship along, it helps them uncover secrets and answer questions. But this book is all about their pasts and what they’ve been through. It’s about their pain and how they overcome everything and figure out how to be together, especially for Dorian.The love scenes in this book are, without question, the hottest I’ve read in a long, long time. Maybe ever. The first love scene is oh. My. God. unbelievable. First of all, getting to it was a slow burn on its own. Then the scene itself plays out in the slowest burn possible. It’s evocative, passionate, intense, heart-pounding. It’ll leave you breathless.There’s honestly no way I can do the love scenes justice by describing them. But I will say a couple other things I loved about them. They switch POV between both Dorian and Farah multiple times, which almost never happens. They’re also so complete and satisfying. They don’t gloss over any part of it. Whether we’re talking mechanics or emotion, we get a full exploration of both.I don’t know what else to say about this. I don’t want to give too much away because it would spoil the book for sure. Do yourself a favor and don’t risk any spoilers for this one. This book will stay with me forever. It’s one I have to own and I’ll definitely read it again.

Highly readable for the genre, but although definitely not 'literature' I still expect the author/publisher to have it proof read by a British reader to avoid stupid errors and Americanisms. For example, we drink milk in our tea, not 'cream', and although we have terraced houses (for the masses), a substantial London dwelling of the type mentioned would be called a 'town house' and not a 'terrace'. Another sloppy error is in the sample of the next book which refers to a Scottish cattle ranch. We have farms in the UK, and not ranches, though I did discover the Great Glen Cattle Ranch, named in 1945 to mimic the cattle ranches of the US. Sigh.

This is the first book in the series, and my introduction to the author and it was a fabulous one. I devoured this read, the plot and characters were a delight, and I found myself swept away and lost in the pages of this historical romance.The book centres around the lovely and innocent widow Farah Leigh Mackenzie, and Dorian Blackwell, the Blackheart of Ben More, whose gaze and name brings a sharp shiver of fear to most men. Dorian is deeply tortured, the scars of his past meaning he cannot bear the touch of another – but in Leigh he finds a promise of a life he never thought he could have, one he is afraid to grasp, luckily Leigh is one determined woman and she won’t be giving up without a fight.The start of this book was sweet/endearing and had me absorbed. After we get a glimpse of the past, we are transported smoothly to 17 years later. Be warned Dorian is super broody and angsty, but it so worked in this book, and whilst there are dark moments/undertones in the book, it didn’t feel too dark.There were some very small instances where a word felt a tad contemporary, and I worked out the core twists super quickly, but the way in which things were written and the ace main charters mean I really didn’t care, I still really enjoyed every moment of my read. The Dual POV adds a really good layer to the entire story.This is so staying in my re-read pile!Triggers: Child abuse (sexual and verbal), beatings, police brutality.

This is the first Kerrigan Byrne book that I have read and I enjoyed it very much - a not entirely unique story, but told with a unique spin. Having established a really heart-wrenching premise for these two souls, from childhood to adulthood, and knowing that there was a mountain to climb if they were ever to be happy together, I particularly liked the fact that when Farah finally realised who Dorian really was, it didn't wrap the the story up neatly, as one would expect, but led to further problems. Yes, the ending was fairly predictable [damsel in distress, hero to the rescue] but by then I was so caught up in the story that it worked for me.What irritated me - maybe I am missing something here - was that Farah, having being kidnapped, knowing that she was in the clutches of the most feared underworld lord, and the reader having been privy to her thoughts and fears as she was taken to Scotland, then, having spotted an opportunity to escape, sat and ate her breakfast [which was described in detail] instead of legging it without a backward glance! Having been thwarted in this attempt, she then attempts to talk the 'cook' into assisting her to get away, but seems to be far more interested in eating the pastries available in the kitchen. In certain situations, these diversions work, but in this case, for me, it just took away from the fear and urgency that she should have been experiencing. I also wish that American authors wouldn't always have characters 'popping' food into their mouths, and 'chewing'. For me, chewing refers to meat or something that requires mastication; couldn't they simply 'eat slowly' or 'savour the taste' or something along those lines, when referring to pastries, cakes, and so forth? Just a personal observation!

I discovered this gem of a book when a reading group I am in offered it up as a recommendation. I forgot how wonderful it is to fully immerse myself in a story, to become a part of each characters turmoil, heartbreak and struggle but also the triumphs, scandals and the tumultuous path travelled when falling in love. I'm a huge historical romance fan anyway but this is the first one I've read that managed to be incredibly edgy, deliciously dark and somehow still offer up a beautiful message of redemption and hope whilst staying true to a time in history that had many social restrictions as well as atrocities committed to those most vulnerable.The Highwayman is a sterling piece of writing from Kerrigan Byrne, (a new author to me), the use of dialogue, the mood, the interactions where all utterly flawless, with not only terrific multifaceted and complex characters but a plot line that was reminiscent of a hybrid between Beauty and the Beast and the Count of Monte Cristo. Revenge and romance at its finest.In The Highwayman, Dorian Blackwell, is a self-proclaimed unrepentant B*****d."I also admit that I'm not above lying to you to get what I want; however, in this I'm certain our purposes are aligned, and therefore I have no need to manipulate you. I think you want those who have harmed____, and you, to pay for their crimes.""Revenge." She tested the word, an ideal she'd always abhorred and yearned for at the same time. "And you consider yourself as what, some sort or Count of Monte Cristo?"He's not your typical bad boy hero, oh no, Dorian Blackwell will tell you himself he has no heart, no conscience and isn't afraid to demonstrate in both deed and language how true this is, he is the quintessential anti-hero. Yet somehow underneath this supremely damaged and jaded shell lies a man in desperate need of someone to love and comfort him and who better to take on that challenge (albeit reluctantly) than our innately kind, sweet and fearless heroine Farah. When you have such a dangerous and shadowy hero it brings something that little bit more romantic to the story when the light and good takes him on. There wasn't anything I didn't love about these two. They fight, they plot, they resist, they love passionately and they feel even deeper and Kerrigan demonstrates this with great flair and talent in how they interact with one another and how the story unravels, as their past catches up to them both. I fell hard for this story, the characters, the settings, the side players and everything in between. If you want a gripping, phenomenal historical romance with a darker element to it but an abundance of romance and swoony moments, as well as scorchingly hot ones, then please take a chance on The Highwayman.

Spoilers ahead!What more to ask for when you get such an excellent plot? This was the story of love being able to survive anything and everything. Even time, even a change.I did kind of expect Dorian's past wss not it seemed. That is why I decided to take that 0.5 star away. Other than that the read simply sucked me into itself and did not let go until the epilogue.What I'd do to see the castles and manors mentioned in the book. The secret paseges, the dining rooms the wash rooms. I was born in a wrong time and place. Where is my Highlander when I dream of one?