A Secret Surrender

This is the first book in a new series “The Pretender’s “. I hope all of the books are this good.
This is a darker and harder book then some of Darcy’s. Selina Blackwell grew up on the rough and hard streets of London. For a while she had her brother to watch over her and help till, he was killed in a fire. When life and death is a day to day thing one does anything, they can to just keep living.
To keep from being a prostitute, which is what most unmarried and poor women had to do. Selina tells fortunes to the wealthy, runs a scheme to get money using a home for homeless children as a front and has even been a pickpocket too. In the beginning there is not much to like about her except her undying love for her late brother and her sister Beatrix. Beatrix is not her sister by blood but by also being homeless even if her father is an Earl. They both met while in a home for homeless girls.
Selina even tried to go straight and be a governess unfortunately it turned out to be the worst decision of her life. She has many roles going Madame Sybila, Lady Gresham, so she can be a chaperone for Beatrix so she can have a season and hopeful re-met her father.
Now enters one Herry Sheffield, Bow Street Runner and a oh so handsome Viscount too. He is out to prove that Madame Sybila is a fraud and is cheating his mother out of her pin money.
His problems get worst when Lady Gresham falls into his arms. The attractions between them start
here. As the story unfolds, between the lies, secrets of just about everyone alive and dead they are a lot going on. So many twists and turns you will love Harry from the start them want to slap him upside the head for thinking like a snob instead of understanding why. With Selina you will run thru all the emotions.
My oh My what a story, be sure and get your copy to see if it all works out for a happy ever after..
am sure you will love it .
I received and ARC from Net Galley and am giving my honest opinion voluntarily.

Lies and Deception!
Lies and deception are definitely not a good combination to base one’s life on and this is what Selina learns when she tries to survive using these methods.
So many personas and yet she is such a likable character that Harry, the Bow Street Runner can’t help but fall for her as together they unravel and solve a mystery with a very surprising ending.
I just loved how every single thing in this story ties up neatly in the end.
The story is very well written and is an entertaining and enjoyable read!
I read an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) and my voluntary review above is unbiased.

3.5 rounded up

Harry Sheffield, younger son of the Earl of Aylesbury and constable for Bow Street, has been tasked by his father to learn all he can about a fortune-teller named Madame Sybila, whom his mother has been visiting. He has tracked her to a perfume shop on the Strand and hopes to get the proof he needs to shut her down. But Madame Sybila surprises him, she refuses to see him and no matter how much he offers, she won’t “read” his cards. She asks him to leave and when he says he will be back, she surprises him by saying Bow Street is not that far.

Selina Blackwell aka Madame Sybila aka Lady Gresham is exactly what Harry thinks she is – a scammer and a fraud. She has had a hard life, orphaned early in life and raised with her brother on the streets of London, then sent to school, where she met another lost child, Beatrix. After years at school, she lost touch with her brother and built a life for herself and Beatrix. She has returned to London as Lady Gresham to introduce Beatrix to society, with the hope that her father – the Duke of Ramsgate – will acknowledge her and offer to support her. She plans to steer clear of Harry, but when she learns he is looking into a fire that killed several people – including her brother – she decides to befriend him to learn who killed her brother and get revenge. But things don’t work out as she plans and she learns that her brother is not dead and happens to be the “Vicar”, the very criminal mastermind that Harry is looking for!

Selina plays a deep game, juggling her many personas and trying to keep herself from falling in love with Harry. Harry is thwarted at every turn in his investigations of Madame Sybila and the Vicar and completely smitten with Lady Gresham. Harry is falling hard for Selina and begins to think of forever, but when the truth comes out, he is shattered and any chance of HEA is gone…or is it?

I thought this was an interesting story, there was a lot going on and was not quite as cohesive as I have come to expect from Ms. Burke. I liked the characters, Harry is to die for, but I was not thrilled that Selina kept lying to Harry for so long, I understand the reasoning, but I still didn’t like it and while I didn’t hate her, I spent a good portion of the book disappointed with her. The book has a bit of everything, intrigue, shocking revelations, secrets, lies, fraud, betrayal, steamy love scenes, a kleptomaniac, a meddling yet loving family, heartache, a very forgiving hero and finally a HEA that seemed impossible.

This is the first book in a new series, but it has ties to the Spitfire Society and you will see some familiar names if you have read that series. And as there were some lingering, unanswered questions in this book, I will be looking forward to the future installments with the hope that they will be resolved in Beatrix and Rafe’s stories.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by the publisher.*

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. 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 including his mother, 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.
The first in a new series but it set in the same world as the Spitfire Society & of course the Untouchables, a lovely start to a new series. Another well written book that was a bit darker & grittier than some of the author’s other books which for me made it all the more enjoyable. We’ve met Harry before & I loved his story although I did wonder how he & Selina would achieve their HEA. Selina was a complex character, who had done what she had had to, to survive. Strong characters who were very well portrayed, I loved both Selina & Harry who’s attraction was electric but they also confided in each other. The secondary characters also had depth & I look forward to Selina’s siblings’ stories. I must admit I didn’t work out who the true villain was until just before they were revealed. An enthralling read that I found very hard to put down & I loved it.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

At the beginning of the story I was not impressed with Selina. She is not very likeable at all in my opinion. She manipulates at every turn and feels no remorse. On the other hand I loved Harry. He is upfront, honest and has loads of integrity. (BTW, the cover model for Harry is one of my favorites on historical romances.) As I kept reading, I was thinking there has to be something about Selina I am missing. There are a few twists in the book that I liked. The further I got into the story, I realized that what Harry was trying to do for the children in the community is exactly what Selina needed as a child and then the light went off and I felt sorry for Selina. By the end of the story I did like her. She truly loved Harry. I see that Beatrix is the next story and I have to wonder how she will overcome. I also hope that Rafe gets his own story.

I received a complimentary copy from the author.