An evening of flirtation is interrupted by murder, casting two bruised hearts together as they hunt for the killer.

Elizabeth Harper once had a fairytale romance, but her dreams of a happy future were shattered when her aristocratic fiancé was killed, leaving her unwed and pregnant. Seven years later, she’s a fiercely independent single mother running her late father’s newspaper. Research for her latest article investigating vice in London leads her to an infamous gaming hell where she searches for a friend’s missing daughter.

Owner of the Blue Angel, Matthew Reeves, was betrayed as a child by his family. Abandoning his respectable name and old life, he reinvented himself on the streets of London. The Blue Angel employees are his family, and he will do anything to protect them from a busybody reporter determined to defame its reputation.

In this spicy historical romance, a whip-smart newspaper editor and a devilishly handsome gaming hell owner join forces to find a killer. Can they push aside their mutual mistrust and learn to believe in love again?

Titles in The Lost Lords series include: Rumors, Ruin and the Duke ~ Scandal, Secrets and the Marquess ~ Vices, Villains and the Viscount ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Vices, Villains and the Viscount
Series:  The Lost Lords #3
Author:  Karla Kratovil
Published:  August 21, 2025
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Vices, Villains and the Viscount is the third title in The Lost Lords series.  This time, we’ll meet Elizabeth, a single mother and newspaper owner whose insatiable curiosity could land her in very hot waters.  And Matthew, the owner of a gambling hall, a man with a respectable past that he left behind, along with his horrid family.  Although I have not read the earlier books in this series yet, I was able to follow the backstory for the most part.  Yes, it would have made some events that happened all the more clear, sooner if I had read them in order, so I will make that observation.

Elizabeth is searching for a friend’s daughter, and is researching an article on vice at a gambling hall she’s entered during a masquerade ball (the perfect cover).  She and Matthew meet with an instant attraction behind their masks, and although she’s tempted, before anything scandalous can happen between them, a body is discovered in the alley behind the building.  Her friend’s daughter.  And it turns out that she is not the first murdered girl; there is a serial killer on the loose… and it seems he’s targeting Elizabeth.

Vices, Villains and the Viscount by Karla Kratovil is a well-written, steamy, intense historical romance filled with danger.  I was captured by this story very early on, and the twists kept me flipping pages eagerly watching them discover far more than they ever expected, and getting caught up in their romance.  I liked them individually and as a couple… and two more stubborn people it would be hard to find.  If you love getting lost in a steamy romance, with characters you can’t help but hope find their happy ending, then you’d love Lizzie and Matthew. (Now I need to go back to the beginning of this series)

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This title is available at Amazon (affiliate link)