Book Review: Lyon Eyes by Lynne Connolly

About the Book:

Title: Lyon Eyes

Author: Lynne Connolly

Series: The Lyon’s Den Connected World

Publication Date: July 21, 2021

Publisher: Dragonblade Pub.

Synopsis: Enter the world of the most notorious gambling den in London, where matches are made… unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON’S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives… and loves.

Heiress to a fortune, Jenny Hambling needs a husband, before she is made to marry a man she despises. The Lyon’s Den is her only option to buy a husband fast.

But she runs into the last man she wants to meet, Miles, The Duke of Goldthorpe. He ruined Jenny’s debut by calling her a Mill Girl. Now he will ruin her bargain with his friend.

Three years ago, Miles saw Jenny and tumbled head over heels in love. Doubting his feelings, he called her a name he later regretted, but he arrived at her house too late to apologize. Jenny had gone home. Philosophically, Miles put the whole incident down to a brief infatuation and went on with his life. But infuriatingly, he could never forget her.

Now, he can do no less than make amends for her disastrous first season.

Thrown together, Jenny and Miles find their attraction as strong as ever. But their lives have moved on, and they find themselves in a new place. Miles is a duke with all the pomp and responsibility that entails. Jenny has an industrial empire to manage in the north. The obstacles seem too great.

But are they really?

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon |

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My Review:

This is such a fun and entertaining series, and I always enjoy heading back to the Lyon’s Den. Lyon Eyes follows Jennifer, a young woman who fled London several years ago after being humiliated by Miles, The Duke of Goldthorpe. Now heiress to a fortune and back in London to find a husband, Jenny enlists the help of Mrs. Dove-Lyon, who matches her with Miles’s friend Frank.

Miles, ashamed of his treatment of Jenny in the past and aware of his not-so-platonic feelings, determines to do whatever it takes to see her happy. As old feelings resurface, Miles and Jenny must decide if they are willing to take a chance on love and each other.

Lyon Eyes is such a great addition to the Lyon’s Den connected world. The story has excellent character development, and Jenny and Miles have a fantastic enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance. Jenny is an independent and intelligent heiress who is looking for a marriage of convenience to protect her assets. She is pressed for time and knows that this is her last chance to escape an unwanted marriage and retain control of her business. She has never forgotten the way Miles humiliated and scorned her all those years ago, making her the center of scandalous gossip. However, she can’t deny the way she feels about him. This results in so many conflicting emotions for Jenny, and it’s interesting to see how she reconciles them and opens herself up to something she never anticipated – a love match.

Miles’s strong feelings for Jenny began the moment he met her and has never waned. However, he doesn’t always know how to express his feelings, which causes problems. Miles spends much of the story trying to make his past misdeed up to Jenny, and his earnestness in doing so is heart-warming. Miles and Jenny have such a strong connection, and their banter throughout the story is wonderful and filled with chemistry. You can definitely feel the angst and tension between them, and their yearning is obvious to everyone but them.

The novella also shows the fickleness of the social elite. Many of the people who pass judgment and ruthlessly gossip to the detriment of others also change their perceptions and opinions when influenced by their peers. It’s an interesting commentary on the superficiality of the elite, and I love how Miles uses his knowledge of this fickleness to ingratiate Jenny back into society. He and his family use the gossip and speculation to their advantage and to help the woman Miles loves.

A quick and entertaining read with great characters, Lyon Eyes is a lovely historical romance. Though it is part of a series, it is easily read as a standalone, as are all of the other stories. That being said, I’ve read eight books in the series and have enjoyed them all. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Dragonblade Publishing, and Lynne Connolly for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.