Unlacing Lilly

With no father to care for her mother or sisters, Lillian "Lilly" O'Rouke's family has had it rough. Cora, one of the sisters, had been murdered not too long ago, one of the victims of the Blood Wyvern Brotherhood. The Brotherhood would abduct ladies to be tortured and then sacrificed. The Brotherhood would have done the same to Gina and Bella O'Rouke, but for their timely rescue. (In Bella and Andrew Hunter's story titled "Lord Libertine". Bella married Lord Hunter and is happy; however, Gina has withdrawn within herself. To support and protect her family, Lilly accepts the marriage proposal from Edward Manlay, the Marquis of Olney. She has no idea of his horrid reputation though. But right after Edward's mother loans Lilly the Rutherford Sapphires and only moments before she is to walk down the aisle to wed, Lilly is kidnapped and a forged note left for the groom. Devlin Farrell is the illegitimate son of a duke and desires revenge for his mother's murder. Since neither the duke, nor his heir, seems to care about anything but the family name, Devlin decides that scandal and public humiliation would be best. To do this Devlin kidnaps the bride and leaves a note informing Edward that he has been jilted. Devlin only intends to keep Lilly hidden a few days and to return Lilly to her family, unsullied. He never stops to think about Lilly's ruin, even though she is still chaste. To make matters worse, the resurgence of the Brotherhood has begun and a few low class ladies have already disappeared. Devlin had a hand to stopping the Brotherhood before, along with Andrew, Lilly's brother-in-law. Now Devlin must return Lilly, somehow make things right for her, accept that he has probably lost a close friend in Andrew, and help stop the Brotherhood all over again. Can Devlin forfeit his desire for vengeance in order to achieve his desire for Lilly? ***** Author Gail Ranstrom has quickly become one of my favorite Regency authors to date! After you read this story, or Lord Libertine, you will understand why. It is no wonder to me that the author is getting more and more fans. Ranstrom knows drama and she knows it well. Readers are kept enthralled not only the drama between the main characters, but also with sub-plots. The story never slows down in the middle and the secondary characters (gypsies are but a few) are fascinating. Highly recommended! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.