This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
Lorraine Heath begins an exciting new series with a breathtaking romance about a young woman who must marry a titled gentleman to obtain her inheritance and the unsuitable man she begins to fall madly in love with…
She is desperate to wed a duke…
Lady Kathryn Lambert must marry a titled gentleman to claim her inheritance and has finally gained the attention of a duke. Yet she is unable to forget the scandalous second son who aided in her achievement—or his betrayal.
He wants what he can never possess…
Lord Griffith Stanwick is tormented by the bitter truth that as a “spare,” he will never be able to give Kathryn what she yearns to possess. But when his father is found guilty of treason, Griff detours into the dark and dangerous corners of London, haunted by memories of the woman lost to him forever.
Love not to be denied…
As the duke’s courtship intensifies, Kathryn discovers Griff has become a man to be reckoned with. When old passions flare and new desires ignite, she must decide if sacrificing her legacy is worth a lifetime shared with the scoundrel of her heart.
How often, in our world, do we have the opportunity to explore the possibilities without the sense of being constantly on display?
My Review
First Impressions
I will be honest in that after the more recent series from this author, I wasn’t too eager to pick up this book. They just didn’t leave such a big impression as she normally has in the past. But then after hearing some great recommendations of this book, I just knew that I had to grab it up and I am HAPPY that I did pick this one up here because it was superb in so many ways. I definitely couldn’t get enough of this book and I READ it so fast. Like under two hours, it just swept me away and I just wanted more of it. It definitely was a delightful mix of everything that I wanted in a historical and more. I don’t know how to quite explain this book but I will say that it definitely left an impression and I am thrilled that I was able to grab this one up and take a chance on this one here. If you have enjoyed this author in the past, then you definitely need to grab this one up here. It is so delightful in so many ways. And it is connected somewhat to the Trewlove books, which was a fun twist.
Or perhaps only with the foolishness of a man who was just coming to realize he possessed a heart. She was like the sun coaxing a bud into opening.
Summary
Lord Griffith Stanwick is the “spare” and has always felt like he was considered useless by his father. He goes day to day in his life living the life as many second sons in the Ton do, not really cultivating his dreams or realizing what he is capable of. But there is one woman that has always held his heart and she has no idea of the depths of his feelings for her. Lady Kathryn Lambert has heart eyes set on a Duke. She is entering close to the deadline where she must marry a titled lord in order to gain her inheritance which has tremendous sentimental value to her. A country cottage out by the coast. She knows that she will have to marry, so why not a Duke if she can catch his eye. When the Duke claims a challenge to have every prospective woman who seeks his handwrite a letter of her attributes, he claims he received a letter from Kathryn, but she knows that she didn’t send him one. But after a sensual embrace, she shared with the one man she least expected…..Lord Griffith Stanwich, a man who is the brother to her best friend, she wonders what she will have to decide on. But then the worst happens for Griffith and his family, his father has claimed a traitor, and Griffith and his siblings are carted off to the tower but then released when it proved that they are innocent. But they lost everything, and now it’s been a year later, and he is striving to reclaim a dream that he has kept hidden. A dream to build a place where the less fortunate children of members of the ton, or successful gentleman and women that gather with no judgment and enjoy each other’s company. And during this venture, Griffith and Kathryn reconnect. There is only one problem, Kathryn is about to be engaged to the Duke. Now Kathryn will have to decide which holds more value to her …..her inheritance or the man who has captured her heart…..
But Griff was learning that the truth didn’t bring peace. It brought only misery.
What I Liked
There were so many aspects of this story that I truly enjoyed. I will admit that I couldn’t seem to get enough of this one here. I mean I read this one in under two hours and I rarely read a book that fast. I mean I am a fast reader but it rarely happens that quick. But I couldn’t seem to flip the pages fast enough, which for a modern historical, is a miraculous feat that is for sure. I really loved the depths of emotion that are revealed throughout this story here. There is such devotion that Griffith has to Kathryn, and seeing the lengths he goes to just to see that she is happy and settled in life, was simply BEAUTIFUL. He is so devoted to her in such a selfless way. I have such a fondness for unrequited love and I don’t see this trope as much as I used to, but I really admired the way the story unraveled in its intricate but simple manner. Lorraine Heath truly worked her magic with this one here. My heart broke for these siblings who have lost so much. I guess I had forgotten what had happened to them since the sister marries one of the Trewlove’s. And to be honest it was the ending that truly finalized this story for me and is the factor in which decided the higher rating. For most of the story I really felt like it was a solid rating of 4, but after this poignant ending, I just knew it had to be a 4.5 because it was so much more than a 4 for me although not quite a 5. I simply loved so many parts of this book that just captured my heart completely.
A year ago, I might have believed that it was all lies, but now I know the truth of it. There is no man in all of Christendom who would serve better as my husband.
What I Struggled With
There really isn’t that much that I struggled with, I mean there were parts in the story that stilted at times with the pacing, or there was a lack of depth in some parts while the majority of the story had so much of it.
Overall View
I found myself in love with Scoundrel Of My Heart, it’s a romance that will capture your heart and attention from the get-go. It’s a tale of redemption, growth, and embracing your dreams….captivating in every moment!
With her, nothing about his birth or his past mattered. All that mattered was their love.
Book Details
Title: Scoundrel of My Heart
Author: Lorraine Heath
Genre: Historical Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Self Purchased
Length: 384 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| Story Graph| Literal Club
If You Like These Books, then I would Recommend Scoundrel Of My Heart
Devil in disguise by lisa kleypas
a wicked bargain for the duke by megan frampton
hit me with your best scot by suzanne enoch
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 5
Story Itself: 4.5
Character Development: 4.25
Writing Style:4.5
World Building 4
Feels + The Romantic Heart 5
Pacing 5
Plot 4
Cover Art 4
Ending 5
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Scoundrel Of My Heart-Pub 2021 (384 Pages)
The Duchess Hunt- Pub 2021 (384 Pages)
Return of the Duke- Pub 2022 ( 384 Pages)
About The Author
She is the daughter of a British beauty (her mom won second place in a beauty contest sponsored by Max Factor® during which she received a kiss from Caesar Romero, (the Joker on the original Batman TV series) and a Texan who was stationed at Bovingdon while serving in the air force. Lorraine was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, but soon after moved to Texas. Her “dual” nationality has given her a love for all things British and Texan, and she enjoys weaving both heritages through her stories.
When she received her BA degree in psychology from the University of Texas, she had no idea she had gained a foundation that would help her to create believable characters—characters that are often described as “real people.” She began her career writing training manuals and computer code for the IRS, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since.
Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including RWA’s RITA®. Her novels have appeared on bestseller lists, including USA TODAY and the New York Times.
The author of more than 60 novels, she writes historical and contemporary romance for adults and historical romance for teen readers.
I’m so happy to hear you loved this one! I’ve been wondering if it lives up to her previous series or if it would be a little lackluster. Reading your review, you sold me with “unrequited love”…and the fact that it’s the hero who is the selfless one! 🙂
Lovely review! Glad to see that aside from some pacing issues, this was a winner for you 🙂