Steamy romance sizzles between a resurrected earl and his repentant bride in USA TODAY bestselling author Meredith Duran’s latest historical romance. Back from the dead, an earl seeks vengeance… Liam Devaliant, Lord Lockwood, was born into a charmed life. Charismatic, powerful, and wild, he had the world at his feet–and one woman as his aim. His wedding to Anna was meant to be his greatest … wedding to Anna was meant to be his greatest triumph. Instead, in a single moment, a wicked conspiracy robbed him of his future and freedom.
…but will his long-lost countess pay the price?
Four years later, Liam has returned from death with plans for revenge. Standing in his way, though, is his long-absent bride. Once, he adored Anna’s courage. Now it seems like a curse, for Anna refuses to fear or forget him. If she can’t win back Liam’s love, then she means at least to save his soul…no matter the cost.
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If I could give The Sins of Lord Lockwood a zillion stars, I would, but you will never, ever get me to lend out my personal copy of this keeper. Meredith Duran is a wish come true author for me–sparkly prose, fantastic historical world building, plenty of schmoulder (looking at you, Lockwood), and characters that stay with me long after the Happily Ever After. Do yourself a favor, lock yourself in with Lord Lockwood tonight.
If you’re not reading Meredith Duran, you’re CRAZY. She’s one of the best writing today. This book is fantastic in about 1789 ways.
I cannot fathom how I have only just discovered Meredith Duran, but thank goodness I did! This book was sweet torture! With plenty of passion, snappy dialogue, deep emotions, and a clever plot, this was one of those books I inhaled, and Meredith Duran is now on my list of ‘must read’ authors. I know I’ve discovered a gem of an author when I am thinking about the book when doing other things, and I’m anxious for the day to end, so I can crawl into my bed and read some more. I honestly loved everything about this book. The hero went through some pretty traumatizing things, and Ms. Duran did an excellent job of making his character ARC believable. And the heroine was no wilting wallflower. She was a strong, fiercely independent woman who was very believable for the times. Brava! I highly recommend it for lovers of historical romance!
Wonderful style from a new-to-me writer.
I saw worlds in you. I saw my future.
This second chance romance held angst and despair that squeezed my heart. But there was beauty in its tragedy.
William “Liam” Alexander Knollys Devaliant was the 5th Earl of Lockwood. He was an eligible bachelor and a bit of a playboy who had a bright future ahead of him. A number of women wanted to be on the arm of this charming, handsome man. But William had his sights set on Anna.
A Scotlander by birth, Anna Winterslow Wallace was the Countess of Fourth. She though Liam was a scoundrel when she first met him. She was very smart, loved and wrote about science and was a no-nonsense person. During their time together, they enjoyed each others company. He liked her wit and she liked his charm. She was set to inherit a great deal, but because she was a woman, she had to marry to receive her inheritance. She wanted a no-strings marriage, one where she could stay in Scottland and run her island without interference from her husband. Liam loved to travel and needed money to settle some family debt.
They were the answer to each other’s needs, a “perfect marriage”. A contract was drawn, no strings were attached and a wedding ensued. Neither expected to develop feelings for the other. When her husband disappeared, Anna tamped those feelings down. As far as she knew he had abandoned her.
Except, he hadn’t abandoned her. He was falsely arrested and abducted and thrown on to a prison hulk. He was brutally tortured for years, kept in solitary confinement, degraded and made to feel lowly. He was certain his new bride thought he had left her on their wedding night to gallivant around the world. Moreover, he wanted her to believe that because he didn’t feel she deserved him for what he’d to do to survive while away.
Four years after his disappearance, Anna hears her husband is back in England. She travels there to take care of business and find her husband so he can give her an heir. She covers her hurt with anger when she sees him. He uses rudeness and vile words to hide his embarrassment for “what he’s become”. Yet, when they have sex, all their issues melt away.
He collapsed atop her. Powerless, emptied. Oblivion: what no drug had ever given him. Breathing her, his hand planted in her hair, he felt … at rest.
Duran made it clear that Liam was experiencing PTSD, although in those days there was not a label for this disorder. This made his scenes when he was suffering all the more powerful because there was no name back then for what he was experiencing. He was a tortured soul. And reading about his pain left me with a lump in my throat the size of a bolder!
Anna had been used to being left behind by her family so she didn’t expect anything different from her husband. Yet, once Anna found out the truth, she refused to let him suffer alone. She refused to let him feel alone. She refused to let him be alone. I loved her determination!
I think you are a survivor, she said fiercely. And I think you mine. And I will not let you throw yourself away on that bastard. You are mine and I am keeping you.
Historical romance is inherently romantic by the nature of its language. But it takes a true craftsman to convey real emotion. Meredith Duran does a phenomenal job with this. As well, she brilliantly crafts multi-dimensional characters. Her heroes are a little alpha, a little vulnerable and always romantic.
His mouth came against hers again. Truly, Anna, he said very softly into her lips. You carry the light with you. He slid his hand delicately through her hair, his mouth moving to her ear as he murmured, Of course, the sun would continue to burn if the planets fell away. But without the sun, the planets would be lost. And I would be a fool to abandon that orbit.
Another winner from Duran, The Sins of Lord Lockwood is darker than the other books from her I have read, and it is brilliantly executed!
I loved this book, it is a complex story with many layers that converge into an intense and gripping read.
The book opens days after William Dcvaliant, the Earl of Lockwood aka Liam marries Anna Wallace, the Countess of Forth (in her own right). He is aboard a prison hulk being beaten, he was abducted and traded for another prisoner. Later he realizes who orchestrated his abduction, his cousin Stephen and he vows revenge.
Fast forward 3 years, 8 months – Anna has left Scotland and traveled to London to confront her errant husband, he disappeared on their wedding night and she hasn’t heard from him since. But she learns he is back in England and is spending HER money and sponsoring artists in his London townhouse and she is going to set him straight. She enters the house and there is a party in full swing, she is appalled by his servants and the debauchery going on around her. She finds Liam on a sofa with a courtesan attached to him like a leech. He rises to greet her and tells her to leave. She refuses and tells him to send his “guests” home. Liam is not in good shape, he took some drug to gain oblivion, but it has only made him muddled. He can’t believe Anna is here and needs to send her on her way. She flat out refuses to go and wants answers – answers he is not willing to give.
Anna makes herself at home and takes every opportunity to vent her anger on Liam. She has come to town to settle some business matters and to get answers – so far she has only more questions. Liam is not the young man she married, but she sees glimpses of him. Where has he been and why did he leave her? The next day they talk again and he tells her what happened to him, but she thinks he is lying. She makes accusations that he does not deny and she seethes.
Liam doesn’t want Anna in his home, he has put his plan into motion and she is a complication he doesn’t need. But seeing her again brings back something he thought he lost, feelings, he FEELS for the first time in years and feelings he thought gone forever. And when she demands he give her an heir and lays down her rules, he agrees, but has a rule of his own. The passion between them is white hot, but neither is willing to bend and they wage a major war of wills.
Liam is no longer the young love-struck boy she married, the past four years have changed him, irrevocably. But Anna is no simpering maiden and she stands up to this new callous Liam. And when she learns the truth, Anna will stop at nothing to save Liam.
The story has several flashbacks to their first meeting, their courtship, wedding day and the fight they had before he disappeared. These flashbacks are well placed in the story and give the read a much better understanding of these two people.
This is not a light read, but neither is it overtly dark. It is a meaty, stick to your ribs kind of story with two very flawed people finding their way back to each other, it is a story of revenge, acceptance, forgiveness and love. I was hooked from the first page, it is extremely well written and even with flashbacks, it is paced perfectly. There are steamy love scenes, moments of heartbreak and sorrow, moments of horror, great secondary characters (including Julian and Emma), a shocking twist and a very sweet epilogue. This is the sixth book in the series, but it could be read as a stand alone title with no problems. I loved this book and would be happy to recommend it!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC provided to my by NetGalley and the publisher*
I don’t think I’ve ever met a Meredith Duran book that I didn’t like. This one is – WOW – just WOW! The story is riveting, heartbreaking and inspiring. I haven’t read the other books in the series and I don’t think that detracted from my enjoyment of the book. However, I’m heading straight out to purchase all of them because I think that background into the characters will add to my memories and enjoyment of this book – plus I’ll have five other great books to read. I was really afraid that this book was going to be dark – and I just don’t do dark – but it wasn’t. Our intrepid author dealt beautifully with the dark events that led to this story. She told us what happened – in small manageable chunks – but she didn’t dwell on it. The story she told us was the aftermath of those horrendous events, how our hero and heroine dealt with them and how they grew as individuals and as a couple. Kudos to Ms. Duran!
I loved our hero from the very first page. He was a happy, charismatic young man with impoverished estates due to his father’s mismanagement. He had to find a wealthy bride, but not just any bride would do. Then, he meets our heroine and he is lost. I really loved our heroine for the way she was in the early part of their courtship. She was intelligent and funny and full of self-confidence. At least you thought she was. She loved our hero – and he loved her – even though neither had told the other. They spent months together getting to know one another – the kind of people they were. So, when the chips are down – she just accepts that he’s left her and makes absolutely no demands that people search for him. I don’t buy it. Even if she really thought he’d left her – wouldn’t she question that he walked off with nothing? He didn’t take his belongings – nothing. No, I just can’t buy it. I know our author did her best to explain it all, but – still – I don’t buy it. I absolutely LOVED the book – just didn’t buy that part. Of course, not buying that part kind of negates the rest of the story.
William Alexander Knollys (Liam) Devaliant, fifth Earl of Lockwood, was handsome, charming, intelligent, honorable, loving and the world was his to command – until it wasn’t. Liam disappears on his wedding night. He and his new wife had a tiff and he headed out to the tavern – and never returned. Four years later, he is back. He’s in London and set on revenge. When you read the book, you’ll wonder why he was as patient as he was! He’s been in London for almost eight months and he knows that his wife will soon learn of his return and he’ll have to deal with that. Imagine his surprise when she turns up at his door – and she plans to stay!
Anna Winterslow Wallace, Countess of Forth is the rarest of things – a countess in her own right. However, she cannot inherit one part of her inheritance, the island of Rawsey, until she is married. She’s been looking for a suitable candidate over the last couple of years, but just can’t find a suitor she can picture being leg-shackled to. Then, at a house party, she meets Liam. She’s determined not to like him – after all, he is English and she is a Scot through-and-through. He’s just so engaging and funny that she can’t help herself. She’s in love! Anna has been left behind her whole life – by her father, by aunts who shuffle her from one to the other – can she really have found someone to be hers?
Liam and Anna love each other, but each falls back on their excuse of a marriage of convenience because they are afraid the other doesn’t return their feelings. What a mistake that lack of sharing is! When Liam leaves and doesn’t come back – Anna just assumes he’s left her. Four years later, when she arrives in London to confront Liam, she is shocked at the cold man she meets. She wonders why he is the one to be so cold – she is the one who was left behind while he was off adventuring for four years on HER money. As she learns more of what has happened to Liam, and there is an attempt on his life, she knows she has wronged him dreadfully and she realizes she still loves him. How can she help heal the darkness in him (today we would call it PTSD) or can he be helped at all?
I hope you will read this well-written, fast-paced, gripping and poignant book. You will be transported to that time and place and won’t be able to put it down.
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“I requested and received this e-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.”
As great as a Lisa Kleypas book!
I swear that, like Lisa Kleypas, Meredith Duran possesses the kind of top notch romance writing talent that keeps me enthralled with every word. This full-length novel also has the subtlety and intelligence of Courtney Milan! I devoured this book. I could not wait to pick it up again whenever I had to set aside this masterpiece. The story unfolded in surprising ways. From the book description, I was not able to predict how the first few chapters would go. I thought, “What is going on here? What is Liam’s strategy?” I enjoyed the flashbacks of how they met and courted, which made a lighter counterpoint in between chapters of the more dramatic, darker situation in the couple’s present time of 1861.
I loved the magnetic, mysterious pair of characters. Anna, the Countess of Lockwood, is a wonderfully strong-willed woman who devotes her time to science when she is not confronting her reappearing husband. She reminded me of some of Courtney Milan’s best female characters. On their wedding night, Liam (Lord Lockwood) was kidnapped by his cousin and shipped to an Australian prison island. He was tortured and almost died. He managed to survive three years until the characters in the previous book figured out where he was and rescued Liam. Lockwood is suffering from PTSD and some very strong angst and anger. He used to be a pleasant, charming rogue; now he is changed so much that he and his wife don’t know each other anymore, but he still longs for her.
Duran has rich, exquisite prose with a flare for expressing complicated, subtle feelings. This novel is also a swirling maelstrom simmering with passion and intrigue.
There are intensely passionate and intimate love scenes with some very light bondage. Liam is not a dominating jerk, thankfully. There was no cheating, either. This is the fifth book of a series but you can read it as a stand-alone. I highly recommend this to all of the romance readers who like a little spice and darker themes.
I received a free advanced reading copy from the publisher via Netgalley, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
An Emotionally gripping story, The Sins of Lord Lockwood held me hostage until the last page was turned. On his wedding night, Liam, Earl of Lockwood was kidnapped and taken as a criminal to a penal colony for over three years. The horrors he had to endure just to stay alive would make even the strongest soul never the same and fraught with nightmares. Escaping, he comes back to England to seek revenge against his betrayer, who he figured out early on. His wife, Anna, had thought he abandoned her all the years he was gone and it seemed to fit in with her feelings of abandonment during her life. After all, their marriage had been more of convenience for her to gain her land outright and him to gain money to run his estates. But she thought there had been developing feelings between them and on her part there were. Hearing that Liam was back, she was so full of anger that he had abandoned her and not even let her know he was back. What she found when she confronted him was a different man who would not explain anything to her. Meredith Duran was a master in bringing the characters to life. I felt the intense feelings of Liam trying to deal with what he had been through and Anna, pushing her way back to help him face his demons while trying to stay strong. This story held intense darkness but also there was hope that there could be light in the end. The interactions between Liam and Anne, along with the wonderful secondary characters brought this heartfelt story to a satisfactory end. I was smiling as I turned the last page but it will be awhile before I forget this couple. Thank you Meredith Duran for such a thought provoking book. Cannot wait to read more.
How can it be possible to like and loathe a character at the same time? Meredith Duran makes it possible. The Sins of Lord Lockwood proves how underrated of an author Duran truly is. My heart broke for the lovebirds who never got the chance to be happy. Fate played a cruel joke on two unsuspecting souls. They offered their hearts and instead received heartache. Liam lost his soul to a darkness intent on breaking his spirit. Anna lost her hopes and dreams to a cruelty she fails to understand. Just as easily as hope was snatched away, it suddenly reappears. A vengeful Lord, an emotional whirlwind and a mesmerizing race to a second chance, wage a courageous battle against fate, despair and heartbreak. An epic tale of hearts and faith is at the center of an awe inspiring romance.