A tortured hero, a heroine who has a shady background (and thus is not the best choice for a wife), and the concerned retainers caring for them have become common in regency-set historicals; much as embattled castles and the war-weary knights come to guard them dominate medievals. This is not a criticism, it’s a fact. So a lot of our reviews, including this one, are based on how well the author balances these elements and how she makes them fresh for the reader.

To this end this author creates a very believable and understandably vulnerable tortured hero and a compassionate heroine who’s willing to struggle with him to get through his very heavy baggage in order to achieve their HEA. Unfortunately, Ms. O’Reilly also creates some fairly unbelievable plot points that come out of nowhere and backstory shortcuts that leave the reader confused and a little impatient.

Colin Wescott, Earl of Haverwood, is tortured by a childhood throughout which he endured damaging emotional abuse from his “father.” This man made sure he knew, from a very young age, that he was actually the product of his mother’s rape by a violent criminal. He also made it clear that he expected Colin’s “bad blood” to emerge. So Colin has spent the years since trying to convince himself that he is a dragonslayer. He sees the “dragon” as both the evil that others do, and the evil he fears lurks in himself as a legacy from his biological father.

His counterpart is Sarah Banks, the owner of a gaming establishment left to her by her father, and someone who is routinely ostracized by polite society – except for those pesky fortune hunters who keep turning up on her doorstep. She’s always dreamed of falling in love with a man with sherry colored eyes and luckily for her, she meets just such a man at the opera: Colin.

It’s clear that the author has no problem in writing her protagonists. The hero and heroine are two extremely vulnerable, compassionate, and deeply lonely people. Though their attraction is immediate, it is their emotional bond that comes through in every scene they share together. The two primary supporting players are equally fleshed out. Colin’s butler Giles has been more of a father to him then anything else, and his machinations to make sure Colin is happy are very enjoyable. When he teams up with Sarah’s maid, Iris, there is genuine humor in their doings.

The elements that don’t ring true – or seem fresh – all have to do with plot. There’s some fairly repetitive material about Colin’s need to be a dragonslayer, but we’re never given the full story of his mother’s plight and how that turned his father into such a monster. In addition, the impetus for Colin to seek a wife is his father’s will. It requires that he marry by age 28 (at least that’s what I think it required, it was never fully spelled out). If he doesn’t marry, the foundling home he runs will be turned over to an unscrupulous relative. This subplot had major holes and seemed there solely as a device to force the hero and heroine into closer proximity.

Likewise, Sarah’s plight is vague. Her father ran a gaming club, so she is not accepted by the ton. Okay, makes sense, but then why would she ever think she would be? Why is she so bitter at the slights? Is it that her father was an aristocrat and therefore she should be eligible for entry into society? You’ll have to read this and figure it out, because I couldn’t. And Sarah’s almost being killed several times comes out of nowhere, as does the fairly tortuous route the plot takes to explain the attacks.

This early work by author O’Reilly – she debuted one month earlier with a Harlequin Duets title – shows some promise. She obviously had a strong idea who her hero and heroine were. If she can get as clear a picture of the plot in her next effort I’ll be checking it out.