A Secret Surrender by Darcy Burke
The Pretenders #1

What would you do to survive? Would you lie, cheat, steal, run cons, do whatever it took to save yourself and someone you cared for as deeply as a sister? Some would and some think they would not and yet…in a situation like that my guess is that a child might do what it took to keep body and soul together. Selina was lucky enough to have a slightly older brother by her side for the early years of her life on the streets and the skills she learned stood her in good stead when she and her friend Beatrix found themselves alone and in need of a way to make a living. We don’t hear much about those years as the book begins when the two women have already made it to London so Beatrix can have a season and make her mark. But will either Selina or Beatrix achieve what they set out to do?

What I liked:
* Selina: savvy, capable, intelligent, willing, and able to do what it took. She didn’t plan to fall in love with Harry but fall in love she did.
* Harry: intelligent, loves to solve puzzles, knows the law, sees in black and white…until he meets Selina and shades of gray appear. He did not plan to fall in love with Selina but fall in love he did.
* Beatrix: a woman with sticky fingers but a heart of gold. I really want to see what happens when her story is told in book two.
* Rafe: Intriguing brother of Selina that I need to know more about – can’t wait to read his story!
* Harry’s family: what a blessing they are and so much fun. I am wondering if perhaps Jeremy, Harry’s twin, might end up married in this series, too.
* Maggie: a bit player but one that was key to the story. I hope she and her brother managed a better life.
* The way Selina managed to make a life for herself and Beatrix – her strength of will was amazing.
* The relationship between Harry and Selina was believable and real and I was hoping they would manage their HEA by the end of the story.

What I did not like:
* That Rafe and Selina had their future stolen from them – do want to know more about how that happened.
* The evil men that were revealed at the end of the book – I was glad they were caught.
* Having to say goodbye to the cast of characters knowing it will be awhile before book two is ready to read.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Darcy Burke Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )

I received an ARC of this book as a member of a review crew to read in exchange for a fair review. A Secret Surrender is the first book in Darcy Burke’s exciting new series, The Pretenders. Characters and events in this book relate to her previous series, The Untouchables and the Spitfire Society, but it is not necessary to have read them to enjoy this book. Selina Blackwell has more than one identity, including Madame Sybila, a fortune teller and of Lady Gresham, a widow looking to launch her younger sister into society. She meets Harry Sheffield, the younger son of the Earl of Aylesbury, who is a Bow Street runner when he is investigating Madame Sybila and to protect herself, she convinces him to let her (Lady Gresham) help him in his investigation. What she didn’t expect was that she would fall in love with Harry and things get even more complicated when her sister Beatrix steals some jewels and her dead brother turns out not to be dead, but someone Harry is looking for because of a fire from four years ago where several young women and children died. The twists and turns in this story will have you avidly turning pages and hoping that somehow Selina will get her HEA with Harry. Medium Steam. Publishing Date: July 7, 2020. #ASecretSurrender #DarcyBurke #HistoricalRomance #BowStreetRomance #bookstagram ( )

I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an advance reader copy of this story.

A Secret Surrender, by Darcy Burke, will be available at booksellers on 8-7-2020. This is book 1 in the new Pretenders series. I'd say it's off to a good start. We're given a straight laced Bow Street Runner, Harry Sheffield. He's a guy who is constantly looking for the next thing to catch his interest, keep him from being bored but also to be useful. He went from being a barrister to runner, that's a big cut in pay. He works and keeps to himself. Our heroine is Selina, with lots of identities, so what's her real last name, who is she really. Cons and deception and hustles are how to make money to survive. She needs a safe place to land. They seem like an impossible couple and it starts out that way. Attraction turns into admiration that turns into hot flirting. The next story, A Scandalous Bargain, is out in October 2020. It carries the story on from here with another family member.

#DarcyBurke #Netgalley #historicalromance #romance #bowstreetrunners #ThePrentenders ( )

Series: The Pretenders #1
Publication Date: 8/7/20
Number of Pages: 294

WOW! This new series has certainly gotten off to a steamy start! In a book that is filled with gritty characters, larceny, deception, secrets, and lies, Harry Sheffield stands out as everything a hero should be. The writing is excellent, the plot is tight and well-executed, and, as I already mentioned there is plenty of magnetism between the male and female leads.

Harry Sheffield is the younger twin son of the Earl of Aylesbury. Harry has a strong sense of justice that doesn’t exactly conform to the rest of ton society. He trained as a barrister, but that just didn’t satisfy him so he became a constable for Bow Street – and he loves it. When his father asks him to look into Madame Sybila, a fortune-teller Harry’s mother has been seeing, Harry jumps right on it. Nobody takes advantage of his family – especially his mother. He pays a visit to Madame Sybila (without telling her he works for Bow Street), but she won’t perform a reading for him – nor will she answer his questions. She does, however, slyly let him know she knows who he is and where he works. He leaves but lets her know they aren’t done yet and he’ll be back.

Selina Blackwell/Madame Sybila/Lady Gresham has had so many identities and has told so many lies in her lifetime that she has no idea who the real Selina is nor what the truth really is. She’s tired of it all and would love to be able to quit – and maybe she can once this last scam is finished. She created the character of Lady Gresham in order to infiltrate society and launch her ‘sister’ with a season, and she created the character of Lady Sybila in order to earn the money to pay for the season. Once that is done, she hopes to have the money to ‘retire’ from 'the life' and leave London.

When Harry meets Lady Gresham, he’s intrigued. His family has been trying to marry him off, but he just hasn’t been interested and hasn’t met anyone he thought he’d like to spend his life with. However, as he sees Selina more and more often, he really becomes intrigued by her. Then he comes to love her – even though he doesn’t realize it for quite some time. He thinks an affair will be sufficient – RIGHT!

Selina had a horrible childhood and there were few options in her life. She survived the best way she could – by running scams, lying, and cheating. I understand that – but – I had a bit of a hard time coming to really like her. Maybe it was because I thought her dishonesty with Harry went on too long. I had sympathy for her because it seemed as if she were damned if she did and damned if she didn’t. I just liked Harry so much that I hated to see the pain he went through when all of the secrets came out. Then, when Harry suffered a friend’s betrayal – and Selina’s friend was killed – there was more heartbreak for Harry. I’m amazed he could find it in his heart to love Selina – much less trust her.

I’m looking forward to the next books in the series when we should meet the father of Selina’s ‘sister’ – and maybe even more about Selina’s brother. I’d like to learn more about Selina and Rafe’s parents and how they came to die. I’m curious to see if that plays any part in Rafe’s book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )