The Duke (Victorian Rebels, #4) in 2-3-4 Challenge

Feb 17, 2020 Jonetta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: group-read, historical-romance, nc-br-digital-library, 2020-in-2020, 2020-audiobook-challenge, 5000-2020, 2020-beat-the-backlist-challenge, audiobook, 2020-historical-fiction, 2020-library-love

Imogen Pritchard is a nurse by day and at night she works as a maid and barkeep at the Bare Kitten Gin and Dance Hall in London to take care of her mother and sister, as well as help repay her father’s gambling debt to the owner. She has a special arrangement with him where she doesn’t have to “service” the bar patrons but on one night, he broke that agreement when Collin Talmadge, Duke of Trewyth, shows up with his cadre of soldiers and makes an offer the owner wouldn’t refuse. He’s just lost h Imogen Pritchard is a nurse by day and at night she works as a maid and barkeep at the Bare Kitten Gin and Dance Hall in London to take care of her mother and sister, as well as help repay her father’s gambling debt to the owner. She has a special arrangement with him where she doesn’t have to “service” the bar patrons but on one night, he broke that agreement when Collin Talmadge, Duke of Trewyth, shows up with his cadre of soldiers and makes an offer the owner wouldn’t refuse. He’s just lost his beloved family in an accident and is on the eve of a new assignment for the Crown. His one night with “Ginny” as she’s known at Bare Kitten turns out to be more memorable than either of them imagined.

The men of this series are most definitely the epitome of rebels, all physically imposing, fearless and willing to work in the gray areas of the law. Collin gets captured during the campaign he left for following his assignation with Imogen and was presumed dead until he was found and rescued by Liam MacKenzie a year later. He returns a very broken man with dark edges and indirectly was responsible for Imogen losing her job at the hospital after she helps save his life.

I have to admit that I didn’t like Collin (Cole to his friends) for much of this story. He was tortured and sullen, and directed much of his anger towards Imogen who he didn’t recognize as his Ginny. Her circumstances changed, for the better, and he resented her for what he felt were good reasons (you’ll need to read the book for that). Imogen holds her own with him but doesn’t let on that she’s the woman he’s still desperately trying to find as the memory of that one night with her sustained him during his captivity.

There’s a lot going on here as a serial killer is at large, preying on women who are seemingly unconnected but look very similar, including Imogen. That danger was in the background but the strength of the story is the developing relationship between Cole and Imogen. I did weary of the time it took for the secret to be revealed but it was entirely consistent with the story and Cole’s transformation. I had a hard time putting it down and the narrator, Derek Perkins, again delivered a stellar performance. This series isn’t for those looking to revel in the aristocratic and genteel aspects of the Victorian era. It’s honest about that time, particularly how difficult it was for women and those outside of the Royal connections and for me that’s a very good thing. It’s ranking as one of my favorites.

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Feb 22, 2020 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, historical-romance, kindle

Imogene Pritchard works as a nurse during the day to keep a roof over her family's head. At night she works as a barmaid at the Bare Kitten, paying off her father's debt to the innkeeper. One evening Collin "Cole" Talmadge, the Duke of Trenwyth, comes into the bar with his troops. He is in mourning for his family and is about to go on his last mission for the crown. He pays for a night with Imogene who calls herself "Ginny". It's a night neither of them will forget.

Later, after being presumed de ...more

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Feb 14, 2020 Anita rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, kindle-libby-city, historical-romantic-suspense

Oh, the angst! Oh, the horrible treatment! Oh, the _______! You can fill in the blank as this one is all that and a lot more. The series has a very dark take on this period of history and I'm not a big fan. But, like a car crash or a train wreck, you just can't look away. Life for women was not good in this era and some definitely got the short end of the stick, mostly because of their birth. As has been noted in several other reviews, the hero, Cole, is a dick. The heroine, Imogen, did the best Oh, the angst! Oh, the horrible treatment! Oh, the _______! You can fill in the blank as this one is all that and a lot more. The series has a very dark take on this period of history and I'm not a big fan. But, like a car crash or a train wreck, you just can't look away. Life for women was not good in this era and some definitely got the short end of the stick, mostly because of their birth. As has been noted in several other reviews, the hero, Cole, is a dick. The heroine, Imogen, did the best she could in the situation life handed her. I guess the take away in this book and series is that strong women make their own way and find love with broken men in the process.

Collin "Cole" Talmage, Duke of Trewyth, is morning the loss of his family and he is being sent on one final mission for his country. Imogen Pritchard was a young woman when the death of her father plunged her into a nightmare of servitude, first to a hospital that didn't appreciate her and also to the tavern owner who held her father's gambling debts. Cole encounters Imogen, or Ginny as Cole knows her from the tavern, on his last night before leaving for his mission. He is a handsome, melancholy, wealthy soldier who pays an extreme amount of money for her for the night. Their encounter is passionate and meaningful for both of them and it's memory is what sustains both of them for the coming year.

A year later, Cole has barely survived war, betrayal, injury, capture and torture. The experience left him - changed. He is rescued and sent to Imogen's hospital. He is delirious and in danger of losing his life due to a misdiagnosis. Imogen saves him and he returns the favor by getting her fired. Her hospital job was the only thing keeping her, her sister and their sick mother off the streets. It is the darkest of times for Imogen and when a customer at the tavern want more than his drink and attacks her, she stabs him and flees fearing she has killed him. Returning to the hospital for the possessions she left behind, she finds everything gone. Desperate, she goes to the room of the elderly, sick Lord Anstruther, the only kind person at the hospital, to rob him. Instead, he offers her marriage.

Two year later, Lord Anstruther has died and Imogen is the widowed Lady Anstruther, wealthy and accepted in Society. Saving the women and children from the men who would degrade them gives her purpose and her cause has given her new friends. But her next door neighbor, Lord Trewyth wants the scheming piece of baggage who married a rich old husband gone. Cole has no idea, she is his precious Ginny, whom he has been searching for. As these two are drawn together in passion, Imogen fears that if Cole remembers her, he could destroy the life she now has. But, there is another who is murdering women who look like Imogen and he could end her life. ...more

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Mar 09, 2020 Lauren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: serial-killers, disabled-hero-heroine, historical-romantic-suspense, ptsd, second-chances, virgin-heroines, victorian, love-hate-relationship, men-in-uniform, love-thy-neighbor

The Duke
4 Stars

The second chances romance between Imogen Pritchard and Cole Talmage is particularly appealing mainly due to the fact that the hero and heroine are atypical fare for historical romance. As a barmaid and a nurse, Imogen is as far from an aristocratic debutante as it is possible to be, and Cole, despite being an illustrious duke, is suffering from both a physical disability and severe PTSD (which goes a long way toward explaining his irascibility and general "asshatness").

Imogen an ...more

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