Series:
Duke's Guard (Book 5)
Garahan has no time for love, but his heart has other
ideas…
James Garahan, one of the duke’s private guard, has had
his head turned many times by a comely face in his thirty years. Not once has a
lass touched his heart…until the night he walks into a tavern in the bowels of
London and sees a battered angel in need of rescuing.
Melinda Waring is alone and homeless. She struggles to
find work, but employers see her pronounced limp, from a childhood injury, as a
weakness. With no other choice, she accepts an offer to work in a tavern in
exchange for room and board. The conditions are deplorable, and the constant
jeers from patrons, intolerable, but she has no choice but to stay.
The next time Garahan sees her, she has bruises on her
wrists and cheek. When she is cornered in the back room of the tavern, he
whisks her to safety. For the first time in his life, Garahan listens to his
heart, and willingly hands it over to the brown-eyed lass with work-worn hands.
Melinda is drawn to the handsome-as-sin Irishman with the
broad shoulders and big heart. She tries to ignore the pull of attraction, but
cannot resist his dark brown eyes and dimpled smile. Can he see past her
imperfections to her heart?
As the lass is healing, Garahan must uncover a new source
of vicious slander, and threats of scandal, aimed at the duke’s family. Leaving
Melinda in the care of the duke’s London staff is the last thing he wants to
do, but Garahan has a vow to keep and a duty to perform. When she is reported
missing, Garahan vows to bring her back and never let her go!
Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to elude The
Duke’s Hammer before he will let harm come to those he has sworn to protect
with his strength, his honor, and his heart.
Another fantastic entry in the Duke's Guard series. The
brothers and cousins of the O'Malley, Garahan, and Flaherty families are
members of the Duke of Wyndmere's personal guard, protecting those he holds
dear. They are very good at what they do and have earned the duke's admiration
and respect.
This book is about the Duke's Hammer, James Garahan, who
has a reputation for persuading information from the most reluctant
adversaries. He also has quite a reputation with the ladies, who can't get
enough of his Irish charm. We've recently seen him turn the head of Mary Kate,
a maid he helped rescue from a bad situation. But none of these ladies touched
his heart until he met Melinda.
By now, we know when these Irishmen fall, they fall fast
and hard, and James was no exception. While on an information-gathering mission
in a seedy tavern, he witnesses the abuse Melinda endures from her employer. He
lets her know he can find her a better position, but she feels she has no
choice but to stay. The next time he sees her, she is bruised and battered, and
he's barely in time to save her from the unwanted attentions of a tavern
customer. I loved seeing him wade in, rescue her with a fellow operative's aid,
and carry her off to the duke's house and his caring servants.
Melinda is in a tough spot. After the death of her vicar
father, she lost her home. Because of a limp caused by a childhood injury, she cannot
find work and takes a job at the tavern owned by a distant cousin. The man is
cruel and abusive, but she has nowhere to go until the handsome Irishman whisks
her away. But Melinda is stubbornly independent and doesn't want to be beholden
to anyone. James can barely get her to agree to remain where she is while she
heals from her injuries - far worse than he initially knew.
Despite having watched four of his fellow Guard members
fall hard and fast for their ladies, he doesn't expect it to happen to him -
until it does. It was fun to watch him and Melinda butt heads as he tried to
keep her safe, and she tried to assert her independence. She has fallen equally
hard for him, but between her limp, her scars, and her past, she believes that
she isn't good enough for him. It takes a great deal of patience on James's
part to get past the obstacles she puts up. I loved the help he got from his
family, friends, and even the noble ladies of the duke's family. I loved the
ending and seeing both get their hearts' desires.
James isn't able to spend as much time with Melinda as he
would like. Someone is spreading nasty rumors about two women in the duke's
family, and he and the rest of the Guard are tasked with finding who it is and
making it stop. The reader knows who it is early on, and I enjoyed watching
James and the others conduct their investigation. There are some intriguing
twists in the search for the truth, and I always enjoy watching the guys use
their skills to make things happen. I laughed out loud when James confessed the
details of the latest rumor and had to deal with the expected reactions. I also
enjoyed the scenes with the earl's and viscount's wives, who are as stubborn
and strong-willed as Melinda. Like Melinda, they don't take well to being
coddled and kept in the dark and take the actions they feel are needed.
The resolution of the rumor issue was very well done. I
loved the set trap and the unique method of baiting it. James, of course,
handled his part flawlessly. It was lovely to see the bad guy get what he
deserved. I also loved seeing James get teased by his cousin about his lack of
a shirt and then have to deal with the earl and the viscount and their
comments.
As usual with this series, I couldn't put it
down once I started reading this book. I can't wait for the next one.
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