Hellions of Havisham Historical Romance Book Series by Lorraine Heath

Falling Into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath (2015)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Hellions of Havisham series. Tragic prologue for a group of young boys orphaned by a train accident and sent to live with a mad marquess. As the boys grow up, they’re known as the Hellions, giving the name to this series. Minerva (daughter of a former gambling hell owner) and the Duke of Ashebury end up meeting at a scandalous club where ladies attend to find trysts. She figures she’s an outspoken overlooked spinster who refuses to marry a fortune-hunter and she wants to feel desired for once in her life. There, she encounters Ashe, who does actually want her, without knowing who she is. When they encounter each other in society, Ashe starts suspecting Minerva of being the masked woman he met at the club and is completely intrigued by her. I loved how he appreciates her outspokenness and candor and how he comes to her defense when he overhears people speaking ill of her. There’s a lot of insecurity for Minerva to overcome though, so Ashe has his work cut out for him in his pursuit of her. As I do with most books by Lorraine Heath, I loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath (2016)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Hellions of Havisham series. This book is a reputation in the historical romance space and with good reason. Twin brothers Albert and Edward were orphaned as children, making Albert the earl at age 7. When they go on a safari together, Albert is tragically killed by a gorilla and he extracts a deathbed promise from Edward to pretend to be him so that his pregnant wife Julia waiting at home does not suffer a miscarriage. We start the book pretty much at the funeral of “Edward” and the countess worrying over how distant her husband has been since his return. It’s all sorts of angsty here right off the bat, since she doesn’t know her actual husband has died, she’s feeling insecure about her changed appearance during pregnancy, and her husband is acting strange. Edward is basically scared of any wrong move harming Julia and the baby and fighting his attraction for her. Huge mess of confusing emotions throughout the entire book and such a great read. This one is required reading for all historical romance fans.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath (2016)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Hellions of Havisham series. Viscount Locksley is not interested in falling in love, since it drove his father mad when his mother died in childbirth. And then Portia shows up at the front door answering the mad marquess’ advertisement for a wife. Locke wants to spare his father the trouble of dealing with a fortune and title-hungry schemer, so he marries her himself. It’s a quick marriage of convenience here with the aim of bedsport and making an heir. However, Locke soon realizes that Portia is not exactly what she seems and he becomes highly possessive and intrigued by her. Portia is doing her best to find security within the walls of the dusty old manor house. I liked seeing the slow development of real feelings between these two and also how Portia brings the manor back to life. I also enjoyed uncovering Portia’s secrets along with Locke and finding out just why the security of the country was so important to her.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

When the Marquess Falls by Lorraine Heath (2017)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3.5 of the Hellions of Havisham series. Quick novella telling the backstory of the Marquess of Marden’s romance with his beloved Linnie. We get some peaks of this romance in the previous book, but this one expands a bit and ties together with the set-up of the whole series. It’s a pretty straightforward romance here with George, the marquess, falling in love with Linnie, the baker’s daughter and his childhood friend. He’s got to overcome his mother’s disapproval, but it’s easy enough to do with how much he loves Linnie. Heads up that the plot does include the childbirth of Locke that leads to Linnie’s death, plus a retelling of the prologue of the first book (where the orphaned boys come to the manor) but from Marden’s point of view.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.