A refreshing take on the Regency period. Dark Inheritance: Fallen Empire by @KReedauthor #review

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Dark Inheritance

Fallen Empire


Written by K. Reed




Genre: Dystopian Romance


Book Synopsis

The once glittering ballrooms of Regency England now lay desolate. A plague has ravaged the countryside. The government has fallen. What vestiges of order remained have been consumed by the endless funeral pyres.

Grayson, once the Baron of Harwich, sought only to protect his people. Rescuing a half-dead woman was not among his plans. But something about her pulled at him. Perhaps it was her beauty, still evident beneath the pallor of loss. Perhaps it was the recently fired rifle at her side. Or maybe he simply tired of death. All he knew was that the plague had taken too much already. He couldn’t let it take her as well.

Lady Juliette Adair had been ready to die with her brother. She didn't expect to be shown mercy in a world that had no room for mercy. When Grayson saved her, she questioned his motives but soon found herself intrigued by him, drawn to him.

Societal rules were a thing of the past, dead along with the ton. Juliette had no manner by which to measure her growing closeness to Grayson any longer. But when she discovers he may not be the man she thought she knew more is at stake than just her heart. The secrets she carries could make a king or destroy one.

Serena Akeroyd's Rating





Serena Akeroyd's Review


I chose to read this book because I liked the idea of a dystopian Regency England. Lots of Regency stories out there, so we feel the era more than most, and we understand the way the world works even though it's over two hundred years ago! So, a novel like this is really rather refreshing.

A plague has decimated the population, leaving only the strongest to survive and the weak and simpering Regency misses, who are the heroines of most tales of this sort, would be done and dusted. The Empire has literally fallen and all that was once proud and stalwart, has simply fluttered away with a plague that leaves no survivors in the form of zombies etc.

It is here, in the chaos, that we meet our heroines. Baron of Harwich, Grayson Merrick and Juliette, Lady Adair. Grayson is a protector and surrounds himself with survivors - he's a worthy and fair leader, even in situations where no living being would want to have to make the decisions he does! But, it's survival of the fittest and when he meets Juliette, whom he should abandon, he can't. Through the toils and tribulations they find one another and while this story isn't the most romantic of tales, it is there. But the plot is so well balanced and so descriptive that the love angle isn't the centre of attention- there's plenty going on and it's difficult to get bored!

I really liked this book. Definitely worth four out of five stars. Probably even 4.5 stars! My only pet peeve was... The first word after Chapter One, is Fall. Fall? Fall? In Regency England? I don't think so! Autumn, yes. But not Fall. These Americanisms do litter the story and it's really off putting. Jerks me out of the period and back into today, which I didn't really appreciate. I guess it's a tiny thing, but it really irritated. What's the point in describing the period, even decimated as the ton is, when that jerks you right out of it? But...

Apart from that, the story is tight, the plot detailed but not too much to confound and the narrative was clear and precise. All-round, a great novel. Worth buying.

Review Disclaimer: Book was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.