Hellion Pride

Hellion #1

by Vicky Walklate

The daughter of an Earl, Tamar should have lived a life of opulence as one of the Regency elite. Instead, her world is shattered when she is falsely accused of murdering her father. Escaping to London, she is rescued by an unlikely ally and trained in the art of thief-taking in the perilous city underworld.

Sinking into obscurity with a spirited group of friends, she is plunged into danger when a seemingly straightforward case of a missing person becomes something more sinister. Murder, kidnapping, bodysnatching... her determination to solve the case may lead her to the gallows. With her vicious brother hunting her and a troublesome Duke on her tail, Tamar must use all her courage to protect her friends and prove her innocence to the world.

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2013

About the author

Vicky Walklate is a romance author from Norfolk, UK. She writes full length novels about dragon gods, and spicy novellas about predator monsters. She loves all things monstrous and magical in romance.

Reviews

[Michele Quirke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so I picked this up because it takes place in the Regency era, but oh my gosh! This isn't Bridgerton or Pride and Prejudice! This is the Regency era book I didn't know I needed! It's gritty, a bit dark, and features a protagonist who can seriously kick butt!

At the start of the book, Tamar is an earl's daughter. She's living in an estate and has grown up in a life of luxury. But everything changes when her home is burnt down, her father is killed, and her brother accuses her of both those things. Tamar and her friend must flee so they run to London. And there, they are both taken in by the owner of a tavern who teaches them to fight. I LOVED THAT! Like, every book I've ever read that takes place in this time period is about a young woman finding love with a handsome duke. And while I do love those stories, this was a unique and refreshing change of pace. Tamar is so so cool! I also loved Thalia. Some of the stuff she said had me cracking up.

Hellion Pride is full of action, kick-ass characters, and mystery. There's a hint of a possible romance between Tamar and the duke, Alexis. I'm rooting for those two, but I want to say again, this book isn't a romance. But who knows what book 2 will bring?! I, for one, am eager to find out!

[A Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tamar grew up the daughter of an Earl, taking her easy life for granted. But everything changed in one night. She was accused of murdering her father and was forced to flee to London with the hopes of disappearing there. After a dangerous encounter, she was rescued by someone who offered her a new life as a thief taker. But when they accept a case involving a missing mother and her child, Tamar found herself and her friends dealing with something much more dangerous than she initially thought.

I enjoyed having a mostly female cast of characters as well as characters who had vastly different personalities. This helped them to be memorable, though I felt like I was unable to emotionally connect to them. When scary or dangerous things happened to them, the tension was unfortunately lacking. Similarly, the storytelling was good, though I would have liked to see more details describing the setting throughout the work to help it become more immersive.

Unfortunately, there was a little bit of romance that was added into the last quarter of the book that didn’t make sense at all. The female character involved spent the pages leading up to the romance furious with the man, then all it took was for him to brush his fingers across her hair and she began to feel tingly and in love. This was an unnecessary addition that greatly detracted from my like of the characters and from the book overall.

The plot was intriguing – I liked the idea of the thief takers and their entire set up. I did feel like some important explanations were missing related to a few different key points, though these things may be addressed in the second book. I also didn’t prefer how much the plot shifted focus towards the middle-end of the book. I was hoping it would continue unraveling some of the mystery related to the missing women rather than shift focus to Tamar. Again, this will likely be addressed in the next book, but I felt that this work suffered because of it.

This was a good read overall. Fans of historical fiction and light mystery will enjoy this read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Candy Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duncan McKinnon, Earl of Haven was the father of Tamar and Oliver. Zahra had been her best friend for the last eight years. With the death of her mother, her father became cruel and mean. His son Oliver was even sicker. During a rainstorm, the girls had started to go for a walk, but they had to turn back. They did not want to get caught by her father and brother in the house. They tried to reach her room before they caught them. The father and brother locked Tamar in her room and took Zahra downstairs with them. The girls were both terrified. As the girls were trying to get away, somehow the house was on fire. They made it out but as time passed, Tamar was accused by her brother of killing her father. The girls were unable to take anything with them and they were on the streets alone.

This is the first time I have read anything by Vicky Walklate. I found it wonderful and just what I wanted. It was exciting and engaging. It kept you on the edge of your seat. It is hard to understand how life could go so wrong. A lot of things happen during this story, but it is worth reading.

I received an ARC from Book Sirens and voluntarily reviewed it.

[Kat Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kick-ass heroines.

When evil strikes that changes your whole life, you accept the helping hand that's given to you. Protecting your closest friend with both of you becoming a strong, fighting force against evil, creates two very powerful women that stay in the shadows. All realized from that helping hand. This journey is dynamic, compassionate, heartbreaking, and reclaiming what is rightfully yours in an unusual way. And an Earl that insinuates himself into your life creating havoc, persecution, and sexual awakening.

The characters in this story are quite unique and are very well written. Each character has its own strong identity that does justice to the story.

This is very well written and a page-turner. As a historical, how women in certain societies are treated is very well depicted in this story. I look forward to the continuation of this story and reading about the exploits of these strong women. I highly recommend this book.

[Sarah the reading addict · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a really interesting read. It was full of dramatics and excitement. I love experiencing new worlds through the words of authors, new and old. This is a new author to me and I'm really glad I was given the opportunity to review it by the Fiction Cafe Review group and the author.

The story line was really exciting with friendships and enemies, and lots of great bits in between.

I'm glad to find out it is there is potential for a series too, I love when that happens.

Brilliant book and I look forward to more installments.

[Steven Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hellion Pride by Vicky Walklate is a promising start to what looks like an interesting series. The main heroine, Tamar, is a well-developed and exciting character. The plot is engaging, the thief takers are definitely intriguing. Overall, I would rate this 4.5 and I hope there is book 2 that I can read soon.

[Victoria Weyland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love that this book gives us another side of Victorian London that we don't normally see. I would recommend caution for those that are sensitive to SA, not on page, but does occur to the fmc's best friend. But don't worry, the bad guy gets his comeuppance exactly as he deserves. The side characters on this really make the story pop.

[Rachel D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book, and I enjoyed the plot. However, I really didn’t see a necessity for Cassidy’s clairvoyance. The story was still great without pulling that into it. There are plenty of other ways that she have frightened Oliver without her having supernatural abilities. Still, it’s a fun read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a wonderfully done female lead detective series, it was a wonderfully done mystery and I appreciated how well done it was. I look forward to seeing where this author will go next.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Fraxinus · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the death of her father, Tamar McKinnon is on the run with her best friend, Zahra and heads into London where she meets Jonas a "Thief Taker" who trains the ladies and turns them into veritable weapons, in a time where women weren't seen, heard or allowed to wear pants. When a client comes to her searching for a "Moll" (prosititute) Tamar and her friends take the case, which leads them to learn about missing women all over the city. Can Tamar and her friends find the missing women or as a wanted woman herself will Tamar's time run out, forcing her to hang for crimes she did not commit.

This book started off slowly for me, especially with the violence in the beginning. But, it picked up and I raced through the second half of the book. Zahra was a compelling sidekick, overcoming so much violence and living up to the name, "Blade." I loved the interplay between the four women and how they survived when everything seemed to be working against them-- especially foolish men who think they know everything.

I really enjoyed how the book came together and did not see all the suprises that they author had in store for us. I am looking forward to the next installment of this book and can't wait to see where the author takes us.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.