This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, what a non-stop drama filled with romance and intrigue! Harry is looking into several things as a constable and most of them have to do with Selina - which he does not realize. So, you wonder how he will be able to get over the fact the she has lied and misled him during the time that they are together.

Can't wait to read about Beatrix as she is a fun character and it seems like her story will be equally involved and interesting!

I loved how you see little bits from previous stories of the spitfire ladies!

Darcy Burke creates wonderful, appealing characters, lively dialogue, and intriguing conflict that keeps the reader engaged from the first page to the last. While this is the first in a new series, there are always "guest appearances" from book in other series. This one is connected to the Spitfire series.

Harry Sheffield is the second son, by a few minutes, of an Earl. He was a barrister, but found it boring so became a constable for Bow Street. His father requested that he investigate a Madame Sybila, a fortune teller, who his mother has been seeing. That is how he meets Selina Blackwell, who is Madame Sybila, in disguise. Deception is the way she has been able to support herself and her young friend after she and her brother had been orphaned and brought to London by a charlatan. Her brother had managed to sent her to a boarding school where she befriended Beatrix, but after being raped while she was working as a governess, she collected Beatrix, brought her to London and is helping her find her father. She believes her brother, Rafe, was murdered by "the Vicar", who appeared in some of the other books. When she learns that Harry is investigating The Vicar, she offers to help and they become quite close. They both have lots of surprises and danger in store for them. But as always, there is a HEA.

I had hoped that Harry would have surprised Selina by investigating the identity and what happened to Selina's parents, which seems very mysterious. Perhaps in a future book?

I read an ARC from NetGalley.com. This is my voluntary and unbiased review.

A wonderful romance story. Really enjoyed reading Harry and Selinas journey through this story.

It was definitely a lively take for a historical romance story but enjoyable none the less.

It was all resolved a little too neatly too quickly for my liking but I can see its allure as well.

Definitely a good start to a new series.

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is my first book by this author. I saw Courtney Milan had mentioned her in one of her book acknowledgements, so I was happy to see this available on NetGalley.

The story is similar to one I just read about a lady with a secret identity, lost brother and a Bow St Runner... I seem to be reading a lot of twin books. (I just read TWO books where the heroes were dyslexic. Bringing my lifetime total to 2!)

This book is the first in a series, but exists in, like, an 18-book universe. That is dedicated! It reads fine as a standalone, but be aware that every character in this story probably has a whole novel about them, so there is a ton of backstory.

Ok, the plot- Selina is a grifter with a heart of gold. She pretends to be a fortune teller for rich old ladies and convinces them to donate to her fake charity. Harry is a Bow Street Runner whose mother is one of the rich old ladies. He is investigating the Selina, who also moonlights as fake Lady Gresham, a pretty young widow with whom Harry falls in love. Add to this mix Selina's kleptomaniac fake sister and a bunch of missing jewels, and a criminal mastermind who has eluded Harry for 4 years, and it's an action packed story.

Each character in the story felt very 3-D, they had a history and flaws and their vulnerability with one another (reluctant at times) was believable and lovely to see develop. I enjoyed the families depicted in the book as well. Harry's family is open and warm and loud, whereas Selina's is not. Both, however, are supportive and loving in their myriad ways.

There are two things that rubbed me the wrong way. First, I kinda hate when one characters lies to the other for most of the book. I can accept this trope under certain circumstances, but this resolution didn't work for me (SMALL SPOLIER) Like, if she was so desperate for money, how was she able to return it all? Just sayin!

The other thing, and this is both more and less annoying, is that every man in this book just assumed the fortune-teller was a sham and actively defrauding the old ladies. First, where's the harm? and second, everyone just assumes women are liars and irks the bejesus out of me. This part is handled fairly well by the author, with a few characters pointing out there is no harm in the fortune teller, but I would have liked one darn person to say something about the fact that part of the assumption was due to her being a woman. Yes, I am ignoring that she is, in fact, a fraud.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the rest of the Pretenders... annnnnd maybe hitting that 18-book backstory!

#NetGalley #ASecretSurrender

It doesnt support or open after I download the pdf version of it. It's also not showing in my shelf in netgalley and I cant open it to read

Please look into the issue and if you can send me the pdf in my mail ID- taniagungunsarkar@gmail.com

I cant read the book from here. Please look into the issue

SEEEE I could have liked this book as I tend to like Darcy's books, but I had problem with this one. Why? well so we meet Selina who is playing a psychic, and my issue with that is that she had seemingly good people giving money to charities that did not exist, and that was my problem. It was that she was doing it to evil people (not saying that is correct) but could have tolerated more. But no she was simply a thief and couldn't respect that. Harry went to investigate her since she had fleeced his mom but there was just something about her. They meet again under different circumstances, but she is keeping the secret that should bring them doom, she is a thief and he is a bow street runner, what to do what to do

Historical romance and a slightly unbelievable rags to riches story. Good characters who are not typical to the time.

4.5 stars -This is an engaging romance about a heroine Selina Blackwell, who has many incarnations including: fortune teller (Madame Sybila) and widow (Lady Gresham). Her hero is Harry Sheffield an accomplished bow street runner and sone of a nobleman.

Sheffield is falling in love with Lady Gresham, suspicious of Madam Sybila, and completely unaware that they are both aliases of Selina.

He’s the most understanding nobleman she’s even met. Her secrets and familial connections are just dangerous enough to ruin everything. Witnessing the story unfold and the love blossom was a real treat!

Darcy Burke is my go to author for historical romance and A Secret Surrender encapsulates every reason why. I would read this book again and I would buy it for a friend looking to get into historical romance.

I'm always excited when I see the potential for a criminal romanced by a lawman (a constable in this case)! Selina is a con-woman trying to support herself and her best friend while they work towards their respective goals.

Harry, a straight-laced gentleman that works for Bow Street, was an interesting character. While technically a part of the ton, unlike most second-born sons, Harry skips over purchasing a commission or becoming a man of the cloth and chooses to work within the justice system. I loved seeing his rigid ways upended by the enigmatic Selina.

As enjoyable as I find the concept, I think I just didn't connect with the characters enough for this romance to really blow me away. Harry was the easiest to understand, but Selina baffled me almost as much as she did Harry. Some of the scenes felt rushed and incomplete as they spent time together. Their first kiss came out of the blue and I ended up rereading the lead up twice to see if I missed something that would turn the conversation from relatively mundane to this searing passion. It's definitely a bummer because I love stolen moments at a soiree. The pacing issue also extended to a mystery surrounding Selina. I can't share much without a spoiler, but I do think that big reveal could have had more impact. That said, maybe my lack of connection to Selina muted that emotional punch for me. As odd as the pacing felt early in the book after Harry discovered the truth regarding Selina's other identity everything seemed to click together.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the criminal/inspector aspect of the relationship and the obstacles that created for the couple. When considered separately, I enjoyed Selina and Harry but something was missing from their relationship for me. So while I enjoyed the book, it just missed the mark just a bit for me to truly rave about it. I'm really looking forward to Beatrix's romance in the next book though!

CW: References to a past sexual assault

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Secret Surrender is a book about a con artist and Bow Street Runner. I've read books by Darcy Burke.and I usually enjoy them; This is her typical writing style as all of her books. But for some reason I cannot seem to connect to the characters. I think the problem is that I'm indifference to Selina's character. Otherwise it was an ok book.

A Secret Surrender is the first book in The Pretenders series by Darcy Burke and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up the next one to see how this series moves forward.

This story involves Selina Blackwell, someone who has learned to do whatever she needs to in order to survive. When Selina returns to London to give her sister a Season, she does so in the form of Lady Gresham. The thing about Selina is that she also needs to make money to support them so she is also a fortune teller known as Madame Sybila and she draws the interest of a Bow Street Runner, Harry Sheffield, who's father happens to be an Earl...and not fully supportive of his wife's patronage of the fortune teller. Based on his father's nudging, Harry starts to investigate Madame Sybila and things begin to get interesting.

Selina has a lot of secrets but as she begins to form a relationship with Harry as Lady Gresham, she has to figure out what is most important to her. Not only is she trying to maintain secrets and multiple personalities but the brother she thought was dead just happens to be someone Harry is interested in tracking down. I enjoyed how these characters' relationship was built and thought Burke did a great job of keeping the core of the story at the front of mind.

The secondary characters were all interesting and I will definitely grab the next book in this series to see where Burke takes it. If you're looking for an engaging historical romance, check this one out!

Historical romance is one of my favorites, especially when the women are portraited as independent, fiery and feisty. And Darcy Burke has done this perfectly in A Secret Surrender. Selina Blackwell has survived orphanage and hardships in her early years. Together with her thieving sister, she uses several aliases to survive in society. One of them is being fortune teller Lady Sybila.
Harry Sheffield doesn't like that his mother is being swindled out of her money by a fortune teller. When he needs a bait, he turns to the mysterious and witty lady Gresham. Little does he know that she and Lady Sybila are the same person. Selina isn't proud of all the lies and personas she has used to survive. But she will not end up at the poverty house again, ever. Not even, when the honest and attractive Bow Street runner Harry is hot on her heels. But will she give up on her chance of love, to ensure her sister will establish her name in society?
Find out for yourself in this wonderful story of lies, cheating, surviving the odds and doing the right thing. Maybe the world isn't as black and white as Harry thinks. And maybe Selina can learn that besides all the shades of grey there is a much more colorful world. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Although, I loved the storyline, it was a very slow moving story and difficult to get into. I get the reason why Selina started on the path that she did but it was like there was no remorse for cheating and robbing so many people blind. That bothered me a little about her character and also how Harry kind of just glossed over their crimes. That part of the storyline just didn't work for me. I really loved Harry's character and liked his integrity and honesty. So it was difficult to see him just move past that part of Selina. It feels a little unrealistic considering all that Harry stands for and I felt like it was written to wrap the story into a HEA.

This is the first book in "The Pretenders" series. There are some characters from a previous series, "Untouchables" that we meet again in this book, that I really enjoyed. I am interested to see what happens with Rafe in the upcoming books.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

This new series will be an interesting take on a well-worn genre. Each of the protagonists is pretending to be something they are not. In this case, a woman who's a little bit Artful Dodger and a little Jane Eyre allies with a high-born Bow Street Runner and his matchmaking family. She's got a kleptomaniac adopted sister, a booming business as a phony fortune-teller, and a bunch of shady characters from her past threatening to ruin everything. My main complaint is that one of the most intriguing people from her past is killed off in this novel, and therefore won't be in any future books.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

I've read several books by this author before and I really loved them. So I had very high expectations going into reading this book. And it definitely lived up to my expectations. I was hooked from the very first page. I would highly recommend this book, or any other book by this author!

This is the story of Selina and Harry. Harry, the second son of an earl, longs for purpose in life and therefore has become a bow street runner. He finds fulfillment in helping people and solving crimes. One such crime that his father asks he look into is a fortune teller, Madame Sybilia, whom his mother and other society ladies see often (and donate money to, of course).

Selina is the infamous Madame Sybilia, but you wouldn't know it based on a French accent and a heavy black veil. She has not lived the comfortable life Harry has and has to find other means to support herself and her sister (who isn't a blood relation, but as close as two sisters could be) as she launches her into Society. To everyone else, she is Lady Gresham, a widow, whereas a select few know her true identity and what tricks she is up to. She is quite interested in keeping Harry close as she learns he is investigating her, as well as a fire that Selina believes killed her older brother.

The story is engaging in the same way many of Ms Burke's book are. I gave this a four-star rating because I enjoyed the plot, the banter between characters and the steam between the hero and heroine. Personally, I would have enjoyed a slightly longer book as the ending felt marginally rushed and tied up too neatly, too quickly, for my liking. These are complex characters and while a happy ending is guaranteed, I would have liked more pages dedicated to getting there instead of everything just magically working out in short order. I recommend this book if you're looking for a fun read and a view into the underworld within London.

Darcy Burke never fails to disappoint. Her characters are well written and fleshed out. I love books about siblings and the ladies they fall for, so this was right up my alley! I recommend to any historical romance readers looking for a few fun hours to escape!

.Set in the world of The Untouchables, indulge in the saga of a trio of siblings who excel at being something they’re not. Can a dauntless Bow Street Runner, a devastated viscount, and a disillusioned Society miss unravel their secrets?
The introduction to a new series this book which is one of those books that includes a previous series.

At an early age, Selina Blackwell learned to be a chameleon in order to survive. No stranger to fraud, deception, and deceit, Selina plays the roles of both the dubious Madame Sylbia and Lady Gresham. When Madame Sylbia catches the attention of Harry Sheffield, the second son (younger twin) of the Earl of Aylesbury and a Bow Street Runner, the sins of her past and present finally catch up with her. Their interactions and the mutual attraction will determine her future.

It was refreshing to read a Regency novel without being inundated with fancy balls and a petty “scandal” where two characters are caught unattended in a dimly lit library. No, in A Secret Surrender, the author Darcy Burke raises the stakes and goes all in.
Selina is as deceptive as they come, and in this case, her choices are quite understandable, although not enviable. Harry has a strong sense of justice that deviates from the idealized concept of justice. When it comes to Selina, Harry must then redirect his moral compass for love’s sake.

The characters and story were very engaging, although the last portion of the story came to some far-reaching conclusions in order to wrap things up neatly. Harry’s choices, in the end, weren’t ideal, but they were understandable. It will be interesting to see what happens with Rafe.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.