Series: Goode Girls #1
Published by Gnarly Wool Publishing on June 2, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Victorian, Regency, Historical Romance
Pages: 333
Format: eBook
Source: ARC
This Knight of the Crown is driven by a painful past and a patient fury... and his entire life is a lie.
Sir Carlton Morley is famously possessed of extraordinary will, singular focus, and a merciless sense of justice. As a man, he secured his fortune and his preeminence as Scotland Yard's ruthless Chief Inspector. As a decorated soldier, he was legend for his unflinching trigger finger, his precision in battle, and his imperturbable strength. But as a boy, he was someone else. A twin, a thief, and a murderer, until tragedy reshaped him.
Now he stalks the night, in search of redemption and retribution, vowing to never give into temptation, as it's just another form of weakness.
Until temptation lands—quite literally—in his lap, taking the form of Prudence Goode.
Prim and proper Pru is expected to live a life of drudgery, but before she succumbs to her fate, she craves just one night of desire. On the night she searches for it, she stumbles upon a man made of shadows, muscle and wrath... And decides he is the one.
When their firestorm of passion burns out of control, Morley discovers, too late, that he was right. The tempting woman has become his weakness.
A weakness his enemies can use against him.
I stumbled on Kerrigan Byrne’s work last year after an opportunity to read and review How to Love a Duke in Ten Days but this is my first time reading one of the Victorian Rebels! Reading it as a standalone worked perfectly well, but I admit I would have enjoyed it more if I had the other books to reflect on for the cameos.
The first meeting of our dear couple, Morley and Prudence, is steamy and scandalous and I seriously loved it. I don’t often see intimacy with a stranger in historical romances, especially in an outdoor setting, so this was quite thrilling and a bit wicked. The bulk of the story occurs after the anonymous coupling complete with a mystery and betrayals aplenty. I flew through this story in two or three sittings so it is clear Byrne knows how to captivate an audience, particularly this reader that always has at least five books on the go.
I think Morley had to be my favorite part of this particular book. He is just tortured and flawed enough to tarnish that shiny armor. His interactions with co-workers and friends combined with his inner thoughts showcased how complicated he was. Even when he was being a twit he was easy to love.
Prudence seemed to play second fiddle throughout the entire story. I usually enjoy the sunshine/grumpy trope but in this case, her sunshine wasn’t as vibrant or compelling as Morley’s background and grumpy nature. Prudence had a distinct lack of agency or any real desire to change her circumstances even in the smallest way. I can’t delve into this too much without risk of spoilers, but even with her interactions with family and friends she just seems to let things happen around her and she is content with that. While I experienced sympathy pains when Prudence was clearly lonely, I didn’t see as much character growth or development for her to really grow on me. While that was a bit disappointing, when she is paired with Morley I felt like their differences made for a delightful contrast.
Overall, A Dark and Stormy Knight was romantic, steamy, and engaging. Even though Morley and Prudence’s story is set a bit later than the other historical romances I’ve read, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I plan on circling back and getting to know the other rebels and their paramours. Kerrigan Byrne is quickly becoming one of my hist rom author favorites.
CW: Sibling death
**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About Kerrigan Byrne
Kerrigan has done many things to pay the bills, from law enforcement to belly dance instructor. Now she’s finally able to have the career she’d decided upon at thirteen when she announced to her very skeptical family that she was going to “grow up to be a romance novelist.” Whether she’s writing about Celtic Druids, Victorian bad boys, or brash Irish FBI Agents, Kerrigan uses her borderline-obsessive passion for history, her extensive Celtic ancestry, and her love of Shakespeare in almost every story.
She lives in a little Victorian coast town on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State with her wonderful husband. When she’s not writing you can find her sailing, beach combing, kayaking, visiting wineries, breweries, and restaurants with friends, and hiking…okay…wandering aimlessly clenching bear spray in the mountains.
Excellent review. Sorry to know the female lead isn’t as promising as the male lead, otherwise, I’m sure you would have rated it a 5 stars. 🙂
Thank you! It is a shame I didn’t like Pru, but I really did love the rest of story