Item: A Secret Surrender
Rating: 3
Author: Alana

A Secret Surrender by Darcy Burke
Series: The Pretenders #1
Published by Darcy Burke Publishing on October 12, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Regency, Victorian
Pages: 336
Format: eBook
Source: ARC

A survivor of the mean streets of London’s East End, Selina Blackwell has learned to be a chameleon, and in her current iteration as a fortune-teller, she’s able to provide a Season for her sister. Only, Madame Sybila can’t be a chaperone, so Selina takes on another identity as the proper Lady Gresham. But when a Bow Street Runner takes too much of an interest in her business, it seems the crimes of her past will finally come to light.

Determined to prove that Madame Sybila is a fraud bent on fleecing London’s elite, Harry Sheffield enlists the help of the alluring Lady Gresham in exchange for introducing her to Society’s best. With his busy career and aspirations for the future, Harry has no time for marriage, but an affair is just right—until he discovers the lady’s disarming secret. Whatever his feelings for her, he can’t ignore who she is and who she’s been. And when she holds the key to the one case he couldn’t solve, he must choose justice or love.

I’m always excited when I see the potential for a criminal romanced by a lawman (a constable in this case)! Selina is a con-woman trying to support herself and her best friend while they work towards their respective goals.

Harry, a straight-laced gentleman that works for Bow Street, was an interesting character. While technically a part of the ton, unlike most second-born sons, Harry skips over purchasing a commission or becoming a man of the cloth and chooses to work within the justice system. I loved seeing his rigid ways upended by the enigmatic Selina.

As enjoyable as I find the concept, I think I just didn’t connect with the characters enough for this romance to really blow me away. Harry was the easiest to understand, but Selina baffled me almost as much as she did Harry. Some of the scenes felt rushed and incomplete as they spent time together. Their first kiss came out of the blue and I ended up rereading the lead up twice to see if I missed something that would turn the conversation from relatively mundane to this searing passion. It’s definitely a bummer because I love stolen moments at a soiree. The pacing issue also extended to a mystery surrounding Selina. I can’t share much without a spoiler, but I do think that big reveal could have had more impact. That said, maybe my lack of connection to Selina muted that emotional punch for me. As odd as the pacing felt early in the book after Harry discovered the truth regarding Selina’s other identity everything seemed to click together.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the criminal/inspector aspect of the relationship and the obstacles that created for the couple. When considered separately, I enjoyed Selina and Harry but something was missing from their relationship for me. So while I enjoyed the book, it just missed the mark just a bit for me to truly rave about it. I’m really looking forward to Beatrix’s romance in the next book though!

CW: References to a past sexual assault

**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About Darcy Burke

Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, emotional historical and contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. Join her Reader Club at http://www.darcyburke.com/readerclub.

A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, two Bengal cats and a third cat named after a fruit. In her “spare” time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. Her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge.