As an avid romance reader, I’m shocked to say that I didn’t pick up The Sins Of Lord Lockwood by the infamous Meredith Duran until this month.
The thing is, when I first read this book, I wasn’t a fan. The material is extremely heavy and I just couldn’t get into the characters.
The second time I read it, something happened. I loved both Anna and Liam. I realized that I had totally missed all the subtitles about who they are the first time around, because I was so busy looking for the big regency romance. Instead, Duran delivered something much more poignant.
In case you haven’t had a chance to research the book, here’s the blurb straight from the back:
Liam Devaliant, Lord Lockwood, was born into a charmed life. Charismatic, powerful, and wild, he had the world at his feet—and one woman as his aim. His wedding to Anna was meant to be his greatest triumph. Instead, in a single moment, a wicked conspiracy robbed him of his future and freedom.
Four years later, Liam has returned from death with plans for revenge. Standing in his way, though, is his long-absent bride. Once, he adored Anna’s courage. Now it seems like a curse, for Anna refuses to fear or forget him. If she can’t win back Liam’s love, then she means at least to save his soul…no matter the cost.
Warning: spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.
The Sins Of Lord Lockwood is about Liam Devaliant, the Earl of Lockwood, who is kidnapped the night of his wedding and shipped off to a prison camp in Australia. His new wife, Anna, believes that he has abandoned her and returns to her family home.
The thing is, although they both felt like they were falling in love, their marriage was technically one of convenience. When they do reunite in London, Liam is hurt that Anna never looked for him and just assumed he took off (rightfully so in my mind), but Anna has serious abandonment issues and can’t believe anyone would want to be with her (also quite realistically done).
When Liam finally escapes from the prison camp four years later, he returns to London a different man. He is deeply scarred and believes that the boy he was is gone; instead, he spends his time plotting revenge on his cousin, the person who had him shipped off to the camp.
Meanwhile, Anna hears that her husband is in town and is outraged that he hasn’t reached out to her. He’s spending her money outrageously (did I mention that they married because Liam was broke and Anna is a heiress?) and living in her London townhouse.
She returns to try and convince him that they should conceive a child or, if that fails, or petition for a divorce. After all, she needed a husband to come into her inheritance, and that has been solved. Obviously, she tries to avoid thinking about how betrayed she feels by Liam’s absence.
It’s sort of a second chance romance, which is my catnip if successfully accomplished, but is also a marriage of convenience.
When Anna first gets to her townhouse, it seems like they hate each other. I could feel the hurt and the anger between them, something Meredith Duran always manages to nail. Underneath however, they both re-experience the loss of their marriage quite deeply and put up (valid) emotional walls to protect themselves.
Liam refuses to tell Anna where he was which made me scream at him. If she only knew that he hadn’t abandoned her, that he had been tortured and beaten and buried alive in Australia, she could easily love him again. Unfortunately, due to his emotional scarring, he simply can’t bear to see the pity on her face, plus he’s also kind of mad that she just assumed he was off partying on the continent.
Meanwhile, Anna is hurt because no one has ever wanted her. As a child, her mother died and her father hoisted her off on a variety of relatives. The only thing she truly loved was her home in Scotland, where she has been holed up since Liam disappeared. I admired Anna’s tenacity; even when every word from Liam was aimed to stab, she never backed down or ran away.
Yes, this book is founded around the big misunderstanding, but it actually felt kind of realistic, especially when you see their relationship in the flashbacks.
The Flashbacks:
The Sins Of Lord Lockwood does incorporate some flashbacks. We see young Liam, a reported rogue whose reputation is worse than his actions. He needs to marry rich in order to pay off the debts of his foolhardy late father. He is immediately attracted to Anna and pursues her hand in marriage, though he quickly realizes that he likes her for more than just her money.
Meanwhile, Anna is all alone in the world, missing Scotland, and desperately needs a husband in order to get her inheritance. She believes all the rumors about Liam but sees a practical opportunity for them both to get what they need. They do form a sort of friendship and even fall in like/lust. As the wedding approaches, Liam realizes he loves her, and wants to tell her after the wedding. Anna also feels those warm and fuzzy feelings, though she’s a bit more reserved because she has literally never had anyone stick around in her life.
After their wedding, the two are planning to set off on their honeymoon, but they have a nasty fight over money. Liam went directly to the bank to take money out of Anna’s accounts once they were married, which he felt was necessary and above-board since he needed to pay off debts immediately. Anna sees this as a sign that he only wanted her fortunate and was just pretending to care for her. They have a large fight and Liam storms off, only to be captured and transported to an Australian penal camp for four years. After waiting hours for her husband, Anna believes he has abandoned her due to their fight and retreats to Scotland.
I really loved how Meredith Duran wrote these flashbacks. She manages to show every bit of important information without making them feel tedious. In fact, I’d say the flashbacks encompass less than half of the book.
Liam and Anna are not immature in the past; in fact, you can clearly see their spirits that they still possess in the present, only they haven’t been hampered by the darkness that waits ahead. They’re cautiously optimistic when it comes to their relationship, but neither is brave enough to admit their feelings, though they both want to.
These chapters of the past really illuminate how many hopes Liam had for the future and how they were all dashed when he was kidnapped. He wants to be that man again yet he also doesn’t want to lose the darkness that he has in the present, because it’s what made him survive. He’s almost angry at Anna that she’s still that same person, that she hasn’t experienced the trauma he’s been through.
The flashbacks also serve as a bit of brevity and lightness. We see Liam and Anna meeting at balls and going on adventures instead of dealing with the heaviness of the present. I’m usually not a fan of flashbacks, but I really can’t imagine The Sins Of Lord Lockwood without these parts!
The Romance:
Anna and Liam fall back in love slowly. They never truly stopped caring for each other, but they are both so hurt when they meet again in London that the barriers feel insurmountable.
While they do have sex (with a blindfold and handcuffs, per Liam’s rules so that Anna won’t know what has happened to his body), they’re largely disconnected. Liam is just trying to survive and is terrified that his body will betray him; the poor man is on the verge of breaking down the entire time. Anna feels that she has been used, since he immediately turns cold against her again.
It isn’t until Anna figures out what happened after their wedding when things really take a turn. Liam fills in the blanks for her then abruptly falls ill due to poison (his evil cousin back at it) and must be nursed by Anna for four days.
She sees his scars and realizes how much she cares for him once she knows that his story is true, but Liam doesn’t like this when he wakes up – not at all. His walls are back up and he can’t accept pity or kindness from Anna, plus he feels like she has no idea what he went through. On the one hand, he’s right, but she also has a good heart and would be willing to work with him.
Luckily, Anna is too plucky to give up. She literally forces Liam to shut up and listen to her and tells him that he belongs to her, that she won’t give him up. In an ultra sexy scene, she tells him to strip and she’ll show him how she feels. After a bit of persuasion and force from both sides (the good kind, everything is totally consensual) he does and of course he wants her deep down, even if he’s scared, and they have a breakthrough moment.
In realistic fashion, their troubles don’t end there. Liam still has severe PTSD that must be worked through for the remainder of the book, plus the nasty cousin needs to be dealt with. We do get a satisfactory ending that feels realistic. The sex is hot but it doesn’t fix everything. Once again, Meredith Duran nails the pacing.
The Characterization:
Meredith Duran’s brilliance truly lies in her ability to create complex, sympathetic, realistic characters. The Sins Of Lord Lockwood is no exception.
Both characters have realistic backstories that don’t take away from the present. They balk at expressing themselves and being vulnerable and this makes sense based on what they’ve gone through.
While I wanted them to overcome their trauma while reading, I never once questioned their actions or motives.
You know those books where you want to hit the character over the head because their actions are stupid? This wasn’t one of those. In fact, I’d venture to say I’ve never felt more sympathy than I did for Anna and Liam.
By the end of the book, I could only see both characters as brave. They overcame their trauma in such realistic ways that I simply can’t think of a single thing I would change.
Sure, the material is heavy (Liam was literally tortured for four years) but the portrayal of such material is so realistic yet sympathy inducing.
Overall, I’m giving this book a solid A. I want it to be an A+, but the level of darkness is definitely hard for me to get through. Plus, I could have done with one more sex scene, though there are at least a few. I guess I just wanted a bit more love and openness from the two after so much darkness.
Regardless, I highly recommend The Sins Of Lord Lockwood for anyone who wants a deep, moving, intense, and angsty read.
