Return to the breathtaking world of the HEART OF A DUKE…the USA Today bestselling series that is sure to leave you sighing and longing for more!Lady Gillian Farendale is in trouble. Her titled father has dragged her through one London Season after another, until the sheer monotony of the marriage mart and the last vestige of Gillian’s once-independent spirit conspire to lead her into a single … a single night of folly. When her adventure goes so very wrong, she has only one old friend to whom she can turn for help.
Colin Lockhart’s youthful friendship with Lady Gillian cost him everything, and a duke’s by-blow had little enough to start with. He’s survived years on London’s roughest streets to become a highly successful Bow Street Runner, and his dream of his own inquiry agency is almost within his grasp.
Then Gillian begs him to once again risk angering her powerful father. The ruthless logic of the street tells Colin that he dare not help Gillian, while his tender heart tempts him to once again risk everything for the only woman he’ll ever love.
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Like her older sister, Genevieve, history is repeating itself – Lady Gillian Farendale is being forced to marry Lord Barber, after she attends a masquerade and is drugged and violated. Her cold, heartless parents leave her no choice. But strong willed and brave Gillian seeks the help of her childhood friend, Colin Lockhart. He is one of the many illegitimate children of the Duke of Ravenscourt. As children, they would dream together and have adventures in spite of the warning of her father. Until the day Colin and his mother and sister disappeared. As she grew up, Gillian followed Colin’s career first as a Bow Street runner and then head of his own agency. Naturally, she fled to him for help, reminding him of their childhood promise. Thinking a fake engagement will deter her parents, Gillian explains her plan to Colin. But Colin has worked the last 12 years to build an honorable career and has put all personal feelings on a back burner, making his work all encompassing. Seeing Gillian after so many years brings back a flood of memories – of fun and laughter, loyalty and friendship. After learning all the details, Colin agrees to help and approaches her father. After being turned down and learning of her father’s involvement in Gillian’s ruin, he and Gillian flee London. Gillian does not want to be another responsibility for she realizes her love was always in her heart for Colin, but Colin always see a peer’s daughter. Can the danger bring them to admit their love is strong enough to overcome any adversity? Beautiful romance of the dark evil man is capable of and the true love that brings light and joy to conquer it. Wonderful and magical end of an awesome series!!
Loved it!
It’s not imperative to read the series in order, but I think it would have helped with this one. I’ve skipped a few and the mentions were a bit challenging. Childhood friends doing their best to get by while helping each other out. Limited choices steers you down paths you might otherwise avoid. Great ending.
To Hold a Lady’s Secret by Christi Caldwell
Heart of a Duke Series Book Sixteen
Colin Lockhart was born on the wrong side of the blanket. His “father” an uncaring duke who left a trail of unclaimed children in his wake. At least Colin had Cheshire and Gillian as a child. Until his family was forced to leave there.
Lady Gillian Farendale had one day found her friend and his family gone. Their cottage empty. Never knowing why. But, when she fell into deep trouble, she knew she could count on Colin. As kids, they had made a promise to each other, and she was going to collect it.
Wonderful story. Several of their friends and family had previous stories. I always enjoy connecting stories with characters the reader has “met” before.
**Sexual content and language
https://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/2014/08/christi-caldwell-book-list.html
Excellent but too short! I wanted more of this couple. I really liked these characters and the plot of this tale. I hope her father rots. I can’t wait to read more from this author. Caldwell knocks it out of the park every time without fail.
To Hold a Lady’s Secret (The Heart of a Duke Book 16) by Christi Caldwell is one of my new favorites. It seems that is the case with each story that comes out. Lady Gillian Farendale and Colin Lockhart were unlikely childhood friends. She’s the daughter of a Marquess and he’s the bastard of a Duke. As an adult, she is ruined and turns to her old friend for help. The journey to HEA begins. I don’t want to give away the story but I will say it is well worth the read.
“Not,” she finished for her father. “I said I will not marry Lord Barber.”
He (her father) seethed, his eyes bulging..”Your options, I fear, given the circumstances, are limited.”
“I will not marry him,” she said coming to her feet. “You see, I am already betrothed.”
Well that went well! Now Gilliam had to work on finding a betrothed!
Gillian found herself in a dire straits, part of her own making for sneaking out to go to the masquerade ball and then the rest, the scoundrel who was determined to get her dowry by forcing her to marry him.
But she was going to do the one thing she hoped she could depend upon. Find her childhood friend Colin and remind him of his promise. Yes that had been twelve years ago …. She had kept the childish contract.
Colin was the bastard of a Duke and although he and Gillian, the daughter of a Marquess had been friends as children, it was her father who had run him and his family off. He had worked hard and ended up a Bow Street Runner and just opened his own detective agency. He did not even recognize Gillian when she came to his office, unfolded that contract that said he would marry her if by twenty three she was unwed and wanted to..
Although a little heartbreaking at first, Christy infused her tantalizing humor and brought the thoughts and emotions alive in this tale of unlikely long ago friends that still have ties, even though neither acknowledge it until if was needed. She pens the wounded hero so brilliant and believable, with a heroine that has her own wounded soul. It is amazing to witness how the pull between them grows and the journey they take that melts the heart.
Truly a story I will not soon forget and as always cannot wait for more from this amazing author!
Gillian’s father is insisting the she marry the man that compromised her, but she isn’t about to spend the rest of her life with the man that took her innocence against her will. With no one else to turn to, she goes to her best friend from childhood. They haven’t seen each other in many years, but Gillian hopes that he won’t turn her away.
Colin’s childhood friendship with Gillian cost him everything. He is finally about to see his dreams come true when she barges into his life again. He doesn’t want to take the chance of losing everything again, but his heart tells him that he has to do everything he can to help her.
Can Colin help Gillian get out of this unwanted marriage? Will these long, lost friends find that there could be more to their relationship now that they are adults?
I absolutely adored Gillian and Colin’s story!! I loved that the relationship that they had as children, sorta of just picked up where they left off (well, plus the sexual tension now that they are adults, LOL!). They were back teasing each other almost from the start. I just love stories where the H/H have known one another since childhood because you really feel like they know one another and it isn’t all just a physical attraction. This was a great addition to the Hear of a Duke series!
Lady Gillian Farendale has always had an adventurous spirit, going against the strictures of polite society. So when she finds herself in the worst possible situation, and an unwanted engagement to a terrible man looming, there’s only one person she feels she can turn to, Colin Lockhart. They were unconventional friends when young; Colin, a duke’s bastard-born son and Gillian, a Lady, the daughter of a controlling and unkind marquess. With a written promise from years ago in hand, Gillian shocks Colin when she appears in his office asking his help twelve years later.
There’s a bad history between Colin and her ruthless father, and knowing that going against Lord Ellsworth will risk ruin for his investigative business and future, he turns Gillian away. But later, when allowing himself to relive the long buried memories and remembering how precious that time was, he uses his skills to discover more of her troubles, and his heart leads him on a path to assist his beautiful and dear friend.
The friendship between them only grows stronger as Colin protects and shelters Gillian from the evil and foul men in her life, and they begin to realize the bond that sparked when they were very young is something far deeper. But can there ever be anything more, considering the social difference between them. It was never a concern for Lady Gillian, but as a youth and now years later, will Colin be able to truly overcome the horrid deeds done by her father and trust that love will conquer all?
Their story is heart-wrenching, beautiful, and passionate. To Hold a Lady’s Secret can be read as a stand-alone. It’s wonderful how this Heart of a Duke series continues to bring new and captivating stories, while still building on this awesome family of characters that steal our hearts, and leave us wanting more.
I was fortunate to receive an ARC for my honest opinion, as well as having pre-ordered for my kindle library. I highly recommend this moving and passionate love story, written by the brilliant Christi Caldwell.
This is a story I have been looking forward to reading for some time, it is a welcome addition to Christi’s Heart of a Duke series. Our heroine, Gillian and hero Colin have both appeared in previous stories as secondary characters. We discover that they were childhood friends, forced apart but now years later circumstances force Gillian to seek out Colin for help. Along the way family secrets are revealed that force our couple to make difficult choices, ultimately the strong bond forged as children cannot be broken. Although there is some dark material within the story, there are many lighter moments with laughs to be had and our couple find love and a happy ever after. This is what sets Christi apart from other regency writers, she tackles difficult subject matters with solid writing, her characters have depth and you genuinely feel for them. She cleverly mixes drama and comedy throughout her books and of course there is always a happy ending. This can be read as a stand alone but characters from previous books appear who you will want to find out more about after you finish. I highly recommend this book.
There’s just something sweet about romances that start with friendship. I love when the romance evolves after the couple has a history together. Especially when they’ve known each other since childhood. There’s just something about that innocent start to their relationship that always tugs at my heart. It’s so easy to identify with the characters when you’ve met them as children and seen what events shaped them. I can’t imagine Colin and Gillian’s story not including their childhood relationship. Their romance develops slowly and allows both of these characters to explore and remember the qualities they’d loved about each other as children and to realize that’s just what they needed now. They’d not just been casual friends. They’d been each other’s only friend. Confidants. An unlikely pair as Gillian had been born and bred in high Society and Colin was the bastard son of a duke who made no claims to him. Still, they’d spent their childhood exploring, playing games, and imagining their futures. They’d looked out for each other. When everyone had looked upon Colin with disdain, Gillian had called them out for that injustice. She treated him as an equal. But Colin had always been aware of the divide that existed between them. And when Gillian’s father forced Colin’s family out of Cheshire, leaving his family struggling to survive, Colin put those childhood memories behind him and focused on making something of his life. Never again would he be that scared and penniless boy. In the years that followed, both Colin and Gillian had never contacted one another. Until twelve years later when in a reckless night of folly, Gillian had been stripped of her decisions and choices. And so Gillian turned to the one person she’d trusted the most in her life. Colin.
This story has all the passion and emotion that I’ve come to know and love from Christi Caldwell. A touching love story with a happy ending, and loveable characters that you’ll be rooting for from the start. Colin and Gillian had such dynamic and emotional personalities and such a poignant history, it seemed as if they were destined to find each other again. Christi Caldwell does a beautiful job of bringing these two characters to life and bringing their lives together. They were so real to me. Christi Caldwell showed their vulnerabilities and their strengths perfectly. I loved them for both reasons. Both carried so much guilt. Gillian blamed herself for what had transpired when she deserved no blame at all. Colin carried such guilt that he was willing to sacrifice his own happiness for those he loved. Only through each other’s eyes did they see how strong they were, how much they had to offer, and how deserving they were of the life they wanted. There are so many layers to their history and their present. Once you start reading, you can’t walk away. With all the craziness in the world right now, it’s so lovely to get lost in Christi Caldwell’s world for a little while, where injustices are righted and love flourishes and perseveres.
Children love unconditionally, and for Gillian, she has always kept that love for Colin in her heart. This is a story of pure, simple love. After a cruel manipulation directed by her father, Gillian runs to Colin, a man she hasn’t spoken to since her childhood. I don’t write spoilers, but what we get to feel is the connection between these two people as they discover each other after 12 years. Gillian’s father is a horrible person with no redeeming features whatsoever. However, without his evil, Colin and Gillian may have never gotten together! I could have spent many more hours getting to know Colin and Gillian because they are just two very wonderful people. Once again, Christi Caldwell took us right into the heart and soul of her characters, and it’s a very warm place to be! I received a free read of this story in exchange for a honest review.
To Hold a Lady’s Secret
The Heart of a Duke Series #16
Christi Caldwell
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChristiCaldwell/
Release date 05/15/2020
Blurb :
Lady Gillian Farendale is in trouble. Her titled father has dragged her through one London Season after another, until the sheer monotony of the marriage mart and the last vestige of Gillian’s once-independent spirit conspire to lead her into a single night of folly. When her adventure goes so very wrong, she has only one old friend to whom she can turn for help.
Colin Lockhart’s youthful friendship with Lady Gillian cost him everything, and a duke’s by-blow had little enough to start with. He’s survived years on London’s roughest streets to become a highly successful Bow Street Runner, and his dream of his own inquiry agency is almost within his grasp.
Then Gillian begs him to once again risk angering her powerful father. The ruthless logic of the street tells Colin that he dare not help Gillian, while his tender heart tempts him to once again risk everything for the only woman he’ll ever love.
My review :
Will their childhood friendship hold against time and other’s deeds …
Oh I just realized it is my first read in this long series, so most of the characters are new to me but it does not matter as Mrs Christi Caldwell has a way to summarize who they are, strengths and flaws.
Gillian was the stubborn unmanageable daughter, more Holden than lady, championship of the weakest and in need.
Until she called too much trouble and find herself in dire circumstances, close to be robbed of her choices, if she has any.
Colin was the friend a lady should never have, and their friendship what ever time it lasted came with a heavy price. From there, he did what he had to to survive and put walls around his heart, as feelings are always doubled with pain.
So when Gillian crashes at his office, she reawakens long ago dormant wounds.
Both were torn apart because of her father’s deeds, a man ready to anything if only to fulfill his own needs.
I loved Colin was non judgmental, seeing where rightly lied the fault, when Gillian sees her burden the right punishment for her one time exaction.
This 4.5 stars fast read demonstrates how Mrs Christi Caldwell brings together two persons everything opposes and should keep apart, but their instant recognition links them immediately.
I was granted an advance copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.