Lisa/Rogues Under the Covers

When Lady Philippa Latham sees her mother attending a ball with a man that is not her father, she takes it upon herself to follow and save her mother, and by association, herself, from certain ruin. Little does Philippa know that it is one of those parties, the kind no respectable young lady attends. She is stunned to see so many people in masks and quickly realizes how out of place she is. When the notorious scoundrel, Lord Ambrose Sevrin recognizes her, she thinks she will finally have to marry but she is surprised at how decent Sevrin is. He tries to help her escape unnoticed and with her reputation intact but to his disappointment, someone catches a glimpse of them and uses it as blackmail. Sevrin has avoided notorious parties for years following his ruin of a young lady and the one time he decides to finally attend, he tries to do the honorable thing and help Philippa but he captures the attention of Jagger, a man who wants him to prizefight. As Sevrin loves to fight and is quite accomplished, this comes at no surprise but Sevrin has given up prizefighting as he does not enjoy the attention. With the threat of Philippa's reputation at stake, he has to agree to one more fight. However, with the mystery surrounding the identity of Sevrin's lady from the party, Sevrin keeps thinking of Philippa and is drawn to her as she is drawn to him. Sevrin has a deep secret in his past and refuses to ruin another woman but how can he refuse what Philippa offers? It seems to me, with each book I read by Darcy Burke, I enjoy them more and more. I loved watching the instant attraction between Sevrin and Philippa grow into a deep, true love. Sevrin was a delicious, complex man that was raised by a father that expected the best out of him and got it, even though he was the second son. When a terrible accident befalls his elder brother, it sheds some light on his own behavior and he closes into himself, taking all the blame. He believes himself to be unfaithful, selfish and arrogant and it will take a lot to change his mind. He also has a very strong vow that he adheres to now and I admire his restraint with Philippa in order to keep this vow to himself. He finds release in fighting and I even enjoyed the fights in the story, even though that is something I do not enjoy in real life. They were such a part of the story and they help transform Sevrin. Philippa was the perfect balance to his dark, protective nature. She is attempting to save her self-absorbed family from ruin, and when the whole truth comes out about her parents she is devastated and knows she must finally marry quickly but all she wants to do is marry for love. She is bold and is not afraid to go after what she wants and I adored her for that! She slowly tears downs Sevrins walls and helps heal his heart and forgive himself and together, they just fit. The scoundrel who is honorable and the lady who is a bit wicked. This was my favorite book so far from Darcy Burke and it is one I can not wait to reread! This romance was a delicious blend of love and acceptance, humor and angst, action and heat and a book I would recommend for any historical romance fan! 4 very solid starsReview copy provided by author, thank you!