Viscount of Vice by Shana Galen Series: Covent Garden Cubs #0.5
Published by Sourcebooks, Sourcebooks Casablanca on January 6, 2015
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Advance Reader Copy, NetGalley
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This sparkling novella introduces award-winning author Shana Galen's brand new series, Covent Garden Cubs. Galen mixes London's glittering ballrooms with the gritty underworld in her exciting new Regency romance series.
Whispers and secrets are no match for love...
Henry Flynn, the new Lord Chesham, still blames himself for the disappearance of his younger brother when they were children. That incident destroyed his family, and now he's on a path of self-destruction that no one can interrupt...
Lady Emma Talbot can't stand watching the man she secretly loves destroy himself little by little. She's determined to show him that no one holds him culpable, before it's too late. But Emma doesn't know what really happened to Flynn on that fateful day long ago, so what chance does she have of saving him from himself?
It’s nice to start the year off with a good book!
When Flynn was a boy, he and his little brother were playing hide and seek. He looks up to find him, and his brother is missing.
Fast forward to adulthood, and Flynn has spent his entire life blaming himself for the loss of his brother. His family was devastated from this, and he’s believed his brother was dead all these years. So he builds up the reputation of being the Viscount of Vice. And he revels in it.
But Emma knows better. She knows he’s a good man, and although she doesn’t know the specifics, she knows that he’s not to blame. Now that she’s 18, Emma is ready to go after Flynn.
Normally an 18 year old heroine bugs me. They are barely adults at 18, she’s in her first Season, I mean I was pretty naive at 18. And I know it’s accurate, but still, 18 is still a teenager. That being said, Emma never seems young to me. I liked that. But I don’t know why she couldn’t be a couple years older. Flynn for his part, knows how young she is, and tries to keep a healthy distance (he’s about 9 years older). But he’s been in love with her since he first saw her when she was maybe 12 years old.
I’m honestly surprised no one mentions that in any of the reviews I’ve read. It was presented so that you don’t feel Flynn is a perv drooling over his buddy’s sister, but it’s not exactly glossed over either. Either way, it didn’t bother me, because she’s 18 when we start the story, and Flynn has kept his distance from Emma for all these years, so you don’t feel as if he’s dreaming and pining away over of his friend’s little sister. In fact he makes a conscious effort to become a better man, which I loved.
The set-up is for the series, not just this novella, so when Emma is kidnapped by a street gang in Bath, it’s hinting at things to come. The rescue is easy, but it shows you just how bad the villain of the next book (and possibly the series) really is. Flynn was a great hero. Between the missing brother, the kidnapped heroine, and looking at the next book, I see a pattern here, that looks very promising. I can’t wait to read the next book!
I can’t believe this is my first Shana Galen book! I swear I’ve read her before, but I guess not. I do have almost her entire backlist on my nook, though, so I’m set!
This is a spin-off series of her Jewels of the Ton series, the third book of which has Emma’s brother, so there’s the connection, and I’m excited, since as I said, I already have the whole series!
Anyone who wants a quick read, or a Shana Galen fix will really enjoy this, and I think it’s a really good introduction to the series called The Covent Garden Cubs.
***ARC courtesy of Sourcebooks Casablanca
