I love the title of this book.  What I love more is whose surrender it is.  The hero is so dark, one has to wonder how he can find the light.  But, of course, he does—its romance.

Andreas Merrick is a big time crime lord.  If you read Regency, you will understand how unusual a hero this is, at least, in historical.  His thought process is fascinating.  Ms. Mallory does a fabulous job in convincing the reader how he little he believes in his deserved happiness.

Enter, our heroine, Phoebe Pace.  Her father has been showing signs of losing his mental facilities over the course of the past few years.  She and her mother have, so far, been able to keep her father’s illness a secret.  (In current day, it’s known as Alzheimer’s.)  Phoebe has single handedly kept the family business above water, but it’s ripe for takeover.  She manages this by posing, somewhat, as a ditz with an over-bright smile and…food—an unorthodox method.

She shows up on Andreas’ doorstep.  But he has several dark secrets of his own.  That’s all I am willing to say.  Suffice to say this book is more unusual than the Historicals I usually read.  But I loved it.  You will not be disappointed…I promise.  —Kathy L Wheeler