Series:
Lyon's Den (Book 82)
Her past and his future aligned to meet in the middle at
the Lyon's Den.
Crispin Morgan storms into the notorious Lyon's Den
gambling hell with a single goal: save his sister from her abusive husband, by
any means necessary. Desperate, he strikes a risky deal with the infamous
matchmaker, Mrs. Dove-Lyon. His end of the bargain? Marry her most impossible
bride. The last thing he expects is a fierce, clever woman who hides a knife in
her wedding gown.
Nenokaasi "Birdy" Carmody has crossed an ocean
to change her future, and maybe the world's. Half Irish, half Ojibwe, Birdy is
no stranger to straddling two identities. When she meets Crispin, hope collides
with desperation in a marriage of necessity that slowly transforms into
something far more dangerous: trust.
As peril follows them from London to the wilds of Canada,
Crispin must learn to thrive in Birdy's world just as she bravely stepped into
his. But when duty calls them back to the shadows of London society, only the
fiercest love, and a Lyon's heart, can help them survive what comes next.
This was one of the more unusual entries in the Lyon's
Den series. Mrs. Dove-Lyon has a minimal role, and the setting shifts to
another country at one point. It had an intense start, with Crispin rescuing
his sister from her abusive husband, who took their son and left her to die after
giving birth. Crispin takes her to the Lyon's Den, promising Mrs. Dove-Lyon
that he'll marry her toughest case if she'll save and protect his sister.
That "toughest case" is Birdy Carmody, a half-Irish,
half-Ojibwe woman who is visiting England with her merchant father. They seek a
noble husband for her who can help protect their lands from aggressive
companies. If that means marrying an Englishman, that's what she'll do.
I enjoyed watching Crispin and Birdy's relationship
develop. Birdy is slow to trust Crispin, reserving judgment until she knows him
better. Birdy's independence confuses Crispin, as she is unlike any other woman
he has known. However, neither can deny the attraction that grows between them.
They need to rely on each other as they search for their nephew and encounter
unexpected danger along the way.
That danger sends them out of England to Birdy's home in
Canada. Crispin is very much out of his depth in the wilderness, but determined
to learn and adapt. The scenes set in Canada were interesting and showed good
character growth in Crispin. I liked seeing the changes in him and his
confidence when they returned to England. The tension ramps up as they discover
the changes that occurred while they were gone. The attacks escalate as they
get closer to finding his sister and her son, with a final nail-biter of a
confrontation.
Through it all, Birdy and Crispin grow closer. It takes
time, but they finally lower their walls to let the other person in. Admitting
their feelings doesn't come easily, but fear of losing each other opens their
eyes. The ending was emotional, with an epilogue that gave a look into their
future.
The secondary characters fleshed out the story in ways
that helped show the main characters' growth. Crispin's two best friends play
vital roles in the book, with an interesting twist involving one of them at the
end. Crispin's father starts as unlikable, but redeems himself in the end. My
favorite was Luke, the teenage son of the coachman. I loved his enthusiasm and
adaptability.
Overall, it was a good book, though I did feel that it
dragged in a few places.
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