Title: The Duke and the DarknessAuthor: Anna Harrington
Series: The Dukes of Darkness #1
Publication Date: Aug. 27, 2024
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical
Synopsis:
When Their Deepest Secrets Come to Light…
Devlin Raines, Duke of Dartmoor, has worked hard to put his father’s sins and his life as a former mercenary into the past. He’s saved the family’s reputation, kept his mother and sisters safe, and is on the verge of a respectable—if loveless—marriage. His future seems on track—until a mysterious, beautiful woman inverts his world…a woman who can only be a ghost.
Only the Darkness Can Save Them
Peyton Chandler is dead to the world. When assassins attacked her family’s carriage ten years ago, killing her parents and attacking her, she faked her own death to stay alive. But now she’s returned to London to seek revenge against the man she believes was responsible…Devlin Raines. Only the more time she spends with him, the more everything she thought was true falls apart. And before she knows it, her only safe path to finding answers depends upon her ability to trust the one man she swore to destroy.
As events draw them closer, they’re forced to work together to uncover the truth. But can they ever truly begin to trust—perhaps, even love—each other…or will the past destroy them both?
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“When you meet the devil in the darkness, he never gives you his true name.”
The Duke and the Darkness by Anna Harrington is a great start to what promises to be an intriguing series. The story follows Devlin Raines, an ex-mercenary turned duke haunted by his past, and Peyton Chandler, a woman believed to be dead, who returns to London seeking revenge for her parents’ murder- a crime she believes Devlin is connected to. As they work together to uncover the truth, they are forced to confront hidden truths and unexpected feelings that challenge everything they thought they knew about the past and each other.
I enjoyed Devlin and Peyton’s story. They’re both complex and layered characters with rich backstories that make their motivations and actions heartbreaking and understandable. Devlin’s struggle to move beyond his past and Peyton’s drive to uncover the truth created an interesting and compelling dynamic, and I was curious to see how they would resolve their very different views about how to handle the past.
The romance between Devlin and Peyton is so swoon-worthy, and I love that he falls first. Bound together by tragedy, the pair has undeniable chemistry from the very start. The “Who did this to you?” vibes are fantastic, and the connection between Devlin and Peyton, shaped by their pasts and their present, was powerful, adding a layer of emotional depth that highlighted their deepening feelings.
Harrington also does a great job of balancing the darker elements of the story with heartwarming moments and spicy scenes. It’s an intriguing plot, and though I predicted a couple of things, there were a few unexpected twists that surprised me. The story does delve into some difficult subjects, so I would definitely recommend checking out the content warnings before starting the book.
Overall, The Duke and the Darkness is another entertaining and swoon-worthy romance by Anna Harrington and an excellent start to her new series. I’m looking forward to seeing how the stories of Devlin’s friends will unfold in future books in the series. Special thanks to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
- Who did this to you?
- found family
- enemies to lovers
- hidden identity
I fell in love with historical romances and all things Regency—and especially all those dashing Regency heroes—while living in England, where I spent most of my time studying the Romantic poets, reading Jane Austen, and getting lost all over the English countryside.
When I read my first Regency romance in 2012, I was hooked and longed to create my own independent and spirited heroines and dashing heroes. The best part of writing historical romances is falling into history—to live in the world of Regency England through my characters, with dazzling balls, beautiful dresses, and gorgeous houses that I would otherwise never be able to experience. I love the period’s rich history and find that all those rules of etiquette and propriety can be worked to the heroine’s advantage…if she’s daring enough to seize her dreams.
In addition to earning my degrees in the U.S., I have studied theatre in London, Mexican history in Guadalajara, and Spanish in Ecuador. I am an avid traveler and have enjoyed visiting schools and volunteering with children’s organizations in Peru, Ecuador, Thailand, and Mexico, and I have amassed thousands of photos I unleash on unsuspecting friends who dare to ask about my travels.
I love to be outdoors! I’ve been hiking in Alaska, the Andes, and the Alps, including one week spent dangling off the via ferrata in the Italian Dolomites, and I love whitewater rafting (when I don’t fall in!). I earned my pilot’s license at Chicago Midway (To all the controllers in Chicago Center—I greatly apologize for every problem I caused for you and Southwest Airlines), and it is my dream to one-day fly in a hot-air balloon over Africa.
I adore all things chocolate, shamelessly dive into ice cream of any flavor, and guzzle Kona coffee by the gallon. A Doctor Who fanatic (everyone says my house is bigger on the inside), I am a terrible cook who hopes to one day use my oven for something other than shoe storage. When I’m not writing, I like to spend my time trying not to kill the innocent rose bushes in my garden
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