Difficult and defiant as a child, Bran Crowther, Earl of Knighton left England as a young man to pursue independence and adventure. He never expected to inherit the title and when duty calls him home, he still finds Society’s codes constricting and others’ expectations oppressive. Nevertheless, he needs a wife to be a mother to his young daughter, preferably a woman of intelligence and warmth who … who is, above all, immune to his idiosyncrasies—and to falling in love.
Widow Joanna Shaw isn’t interested in a second marriage, not after the loveless, passionless union she endured. She’d much rather dote on her young niece and nephew since they will likely be the only children in her life…until she meets a precocious girl, in desperate need of a mother. But her father, the so-called Duke of Defiance, is as peculiar as he is handsome, and Jo won’t take another risk with her heart. Their rules, however, are made to be broken, even when the consequences could destroy them both.
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Bran and Jo’s story is a truly joyous one. Evie and Becky are the most adorable little girls. I am always amazed when I read stories about how parents treated their children who were different so many years ago and the fact that in some cases it hasn’t changed. Bran’s inability to be touched and to have certain things or materials against his skin was almost endearing. It was a beautiful love story with a very sweet happy ending.
This was a fantastic read – Darcy Burke has so much talent in the way she entrances her readers to fall in love with the characters in her books & pulls you directly into their lives. I will not review the whole book as it has been done in earlier reviews but suffice it to say that Bran Crowther, the new Earl of Knighton (aka The Duke of Defiance) & Joanna Shaw widow of a reprobate Vicar and sister to The Duchess of Kendal are a wonderful love story. I highly recommend this book & the series to all historical romance readers – they are all fun, some spice, lovable characters & all have HEA. You won’t be disappointed picking up any of them!
Another dynamite read by Darcy Burke! The Untouchables just keeps getting better! Here we meet Bran Crother, Earl of Knighton and his precious daughter Evie. They had been living in Barbados when Knighton’s brother’s and father died, therefore leaving him the title. So, reluctantly he heads back to London. He’d left London years earlier due to how he was treated by his brother’s and society. His daughter, Evie has befriended the little girl Becky and he heads over to pick her up; where he meets the breathtakingly beautiful, Mrs Joanna “Jo” Shaw. He’s in need of a governess for his little girl and asks Becky’s mother if she could help him with the interviews. The next day he is preparing to interview governesses when instead of Becky’s mother coming, Jo shows up. He’s taken with her from the start and as she begins to help him with the interviews, he begins to have feelings for her and at an upcoming ball, he kisses Jo and asks her to marry him. Jo turns him down; the reason being that Jo is barren and she knows that Bran needs to beget an heir. So she feels he’s not a suitable match for him. However, as time goes on and Bran finds it more and more difficult to find a governess and he see’s how much Evie is taken by Jo, he offers Jo the position of governess (in hopes of having a great governess for Evie but also to get to know Jo better and see if there isn’t a spark after all!) Jo does eventually take the governess position and soon she notices, she’s not treated like any regular governess, no, she’s treated with such love and kindness and her heart can’t help but open up to Bran and especially Evie. Will Jo fully open up her heart to Bran? Will Bran finally have Jo as his bride?
Oh, this book is just riveting from the first page. Burke’s writing is impeccable, the plot is deep, the characters’ are well-rounded and the romance is well and alive! If you love a tale of romance and lots of passion, then this is the book for you! I highly recommend this whole series, it’s amazing!
This is the first historical I have read of Darcy’s. I fell in love with her Willamette Valley Oregon set Ribbon Ridge series as I live here and know the country. It was so fun to read stories set in my beloved Oregon.
This was a delightful tale set in England about a reluctant, third son, Earl and a widow who is relieved to be rid of her two-faced hypocritical vicor husband. Bran was an unwanted 3rd son who never seemed to be able to do anything right. He also suffers some kind of contact issue that my ARC did not explain. Darcy’s characters always seem to have something different about them and enjoy reading about them and how they come to grips with these issues. Bran escaped the family, made a life for himself in Barbados, got married and widowed with a young daughter. The then find himself moving half-way across the world with his daughter, saddled with the responsibilities of a title and struggling to fit into the stuffy rules of English society. He’s lost. Through the friendship of his daughter with a duke’s daughter, our heroine’s sister & husband. Nora gets busy with duchess duties so Joanna steps in to help this lost newly minted Earl and his very lonely daughter. My heart was tugged over and over again as Joanna falls for this awkward man and his delightful daughter, both so in need of love. She understands she’s unable to have children after her fruitless 8 year marriage and knows that Bran must marry again to have an heir to his title. I loved this journey and now I’ve got to read the previous books in the series to find out their stories as well!
Thank you Darcy for the privilege of being in your ARC group!
WOW!!! Just WOW!!! This is an awesome romance with a strong, loving father who wants only happiness for his small daughter and a wounded lady who knows she’ll never have the family she so desperately wants. Both are flawed, but both are also capable of great depths of love.
I was so engrossed with this book that I read it straight through – finishing at about four o’clock in the morning. I just couldn’t put it down. It sucked me into the lives of these lovely people and just wouldn’t let me go! By the way – I have not read the previous books in this series and thoroughly enjoyed the book anyway. However, the characters were so intriguing that I fully intend to go back and read the first four books.
Bran Crowther left home when he was just old enough to be able to do so. He didn’t care where he was going, he just bought passage on the first ship leaving. That ship deposited him in Barbados where he proceeded to create a successful life, acquire a fortune, marry, and produce a beautiful daughter – Evie. Why would such a young man leave home without caring where he was going? Well, his family was absolutely awful to him. His older brothers tormented him constantly, his mother was a vile creature who did nothing but berate him and his father just gave up on him. Part of the problem is that Bran is much younger than the others and he has some issues. They label him ‘defiant’, but it would appear that he really had some sort of mental/physical issue. He couldn’t stand to be touched and clothes were an awful trial. He also had a lot of anxiety any time he was in the company of strangers or if he was within a crowded space. Those issues followed him into adulthood, but he had learned to manage them better. They were much better in Barbados because he was much more relaxed and in a less congested area. However, when he was forced to return to England to assume a title he didn’t want, those issues threatened to overwhelm him.
Joanna, “Jo”, Shaw is the childless widow of a country vicar. Joanna had always wanted love, marriage and children, but when her older sister, Nora, created a scandal it destroyed Joanna’s chances of having her own season and making a good marriage. She only received one offer and that was to a country vicar. She accepted the offer only to discover that the vicar was a vile mean, hateful, perverted creature who mentally abused her for years. So, when he finally died, she moved in with her sister Nora, who had brought her life around and was married to a duke. Jo isn’t sure what she wants to do with her future, but she is sure it won’t include marriage and children. After all, she could never surrender control of her life to another man, and besides, what man would want to marry her when she was worthless, unattractive and couldn’t provide him with an heir.
Evangelina, “Evie”, is the five year old daughter of Bran. She lost her mother at a very early age and Bran stepped into the role of both parents. The only home she has ever known is Barbados and England doesn’t compare favorably with the balmy beaches, rich colors, and fragrant scents of Barbados. She’s adjusting, but she’s not really happy with the idea of never returning to Barbados. Luckily she meets the daughter of Jo’s sister and they become fast friends. She also meets Jo and becomes instantly attached to her. To my thinking, the two little girls act much more mature than any five-year-old that I’ve ever known. They are writing plays at five – almost six. I don’t know – I loved the little girls, but they just didn’t ring true to their age to me.
One thing I really liked was that the story wasn’t filled with angsty introspection. Both of the main characters had issues and both of them went forward with accepting and dealing with those issues. It was a wonderful story of two flawed people finding acceptance and love with each other.
The very best thing about this book was the Epilogue – it was absolutely perfect! I think it should be a law that all historical romance books should have an epilogue!
“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”