'Thief of Shadows' Maiden Lane #4 by Elizabeth Hoyt

 Received from the Publisher 

From the BLURB:

A MASKED MAN . . .

Winter Makepeace lives a double life. By day he's the stoic headmaster of a home for foundling children. But the night brings out a darker side of Winter. As the moon rises, so does the Ghost of St. Giles-protector, judge, fugitive. When the Ghost, beaten and wounded, is rescued by a beautiful aristocrat, Winter has no idea that his two worlds are about to collide.

A DANGEROUS WOMAN . . .

Lady Isabel Beckinhall enjoys nothing more than a challenge. Yet when she's asked to tutor the Home's dour manager in the ways of society-flirtation, double-entendres, and scandalous liaisons-Isabel can't help wondering why his eyes seem so familiar-and his lips so tempting.

A PASSION NEITHER COULD DENY

During the day Isabel and Winter engage in a battle of wills. At night their passions are revealed . . . But when little girls start disappearing from St. Giles, Winter must avenge them. For that he might have to sacrifice everything-the Home, Isabel . . . and his life.

Winter Makepeace has taken it upon himself to be the saviour of St. Giles, by donning a mask and becoming its Ghost.

By day Winter Makepeace is the humble austere manager of the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children, situated in the squalid section of London; St. Giles. But at night Winter dons a Harlequin mask, arms himself with swords and sweeps the streets for criminals and crooks, thieves and murderers.

St. Giles was a weeping wound of humanity. Those too poor to live elsewhere came here. the prostitutes, the thieves, the ones enslaved to gin. All the dregs of London. And with them came their problems: rape and thievery, starvation and want, abandonment and despair. He’d long ago learned that there weren’t enough hours in the daytime to help the destitute of St. Giles, so he’d taken to the night. Some wrongs needed more than good intentions and prayed to correct.
Some could only be helped with the point of a sword.

He was taught to be the Ghost from a young age, by a family friend who saw how difficult it was to protect orphaned St. Giles children from predatory whoremongers and the like. Winter has done a fine job of keeping his ghostly identity a secret, but after rescuing the infamous Mickey O’Connor from the hang man’s noose; the occupants of St. Giles are out for the Ghost’s blood, or if the law can get to him first, they’ll take him to the hangman directly. On one such night when the Ghost is set upon by angry St. Giles residents, he narrowly escapes the mob with his life when Lady Isabel Beckinhall whisks him into her carriage and takes him to her townhouse – to mend his wounds. She never sees his face, but Lady Beckinhall becomes fascinated and somewhat enamoured of the mysterious, steely Ghost, and vows to find out more about him.

Widowed Lady Isabel Beckinhall is a member of the The Ladies’ Syndicate for the Benefit of the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children. Isabel believes the home to be a good cause, even if its manager is a cold-shouldering stick-in-the-mud. No matter how much she dislikes Winter Makepeace, Isabel can admit that he does an honourable job as the home’s manager. That’s why she’s somewhat dismayed to learn that the Ladies’ Syndicate is considering deposing Mr. Makepeace as the home’s manager, and inducting one Lord d’Arque to make the orphanage his pet charity project. Even more dismaying than this news though, is the suggestions that Isabel be in charge of bringing Winter Makepeace up to scratch – to turn him into a refined gentleman whom the Ladies’ Syndicate can be proud to trot around ballrooms and associate with their pet cause.

Winter Makepeace and Lady Beckinhall have a rocky start. He thinks her frivolous and loose, while she finds him to be barely hospitable and cantankerous for one so young. But when orphaned children start disappearing off the streets, suspected kidnapped, both Isabel and Winter are united in their attempts to save the stolen orphans. And when Isabel continues to cross paths with the infamous Ghost of St. Giles, she creeps ever closer to the truth behind the mask. . .

‘Thief of Shadows’ is the fourth book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s deliciously decadent historical romance series, ‘Maiden Lane.’

Confession: I had written Winter Makepeace off as a bit of a wet rag. From reading him in previous books – the older brother to Silence Hollingbrook and Temperance Dews – I really didn’t think much of him beyond his standing as orphanage manager. By contrast, I had been utterly riveted by the consistent side-story of the Ghost of St. Giles which appeared in all other ‘Maiden Lane’ books. So I was, to be perfectly honest, quite shocked to learn that Winter Makepeace was our dastardly Ghost – shocked, but also delighted. And after reading ‘Thief of Shadows’, my ideas of Winter Makepeace are forever, wonderfully, altered – he is a man to be reckoned with, and a romance hero to remember.

Elizabeth Hoyt does a wonderful job of writing Winter’s duel-personalities. As the rather dour orphanage manager (often described through Isabel’s eyes), Winter is given to Bible lessons and chastising Lady Beckinhall’s frivolities – versus his rather primal alter-ego when he dons a Harlequin mask and leaps between St. Giles buildings. I loved the fact that Hoyt toyed with reader’s (and Isabel’s) past assumptions of Winter as the most boring of the Makepeace siblings – because when his masked Ghost is revealed; it’s an incredible transformation.

Winter is, in fact, a rather dashing hero. He’s lethal and calculated, a veritable 17th century Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark – when he straps his swords on and wears the Harlequin mask, he becomes someone deadly and barely restrained. And he had my heart racing.

And as thrilling as it was for Winter to pique my interest, it was even better to read Isabel’s turn-around from loathing the man to lusting after him. I didn’t think that Elizabeth Hoyt could write a hotter coupling than the mourning widower Silence Hollingbrook and her river pirate ‘Charming’ Mickey O’Connor. . .  but she has done it with Winter and Isabel.

Winter and Isabel are, without a doubt, one of the best romantic pairings I have ever read. What I really loved was that Hoyt changed up a lot of historical romance clichés in pairing these two. Isabel is slightly older than Winter (early thirties, compared to his mid-twenties?). Isabel is a widower, who has had three lovers since her husband’s death and is not ashamed to admit she likes sex. Winter, on the other hand, has sworn to abstain from pleasure and is a virgin. I loved the change-up with these two; it was so refreshing to read a historical romance in which the man is inexperienced and the lady his tutor. It made for some incredibly lush scenes, with much blushing while reading.

“I think you sometimes like to hide behind a facade of gaiety, my lady.” He cleared his throat. “I also think that when you enter a room, all eyes turn to you. You blaze like a torch, lighting the darkest corners, brightening even those who thought they were already well lit. You bring joy and mirth and leave behind a glow that gives hope to those you’ve left.”
“And you, Mr. Makepeace? Are you one of those who thought themselves well lit?”
“I am as dark as a pit.” Now he was glad her back was turned. “Even your torch will have difficulty lighting my depths.”

As with all ‘Maiden Lane’ books, there is a short sneak-peek at the next instalment. I won’t say anything about who the next hero and heroine will be, but I will say I have my reservations (although they are probably entirely unfounded; I don’t think Elizabeth Hoyt is physically capable of writing a bad romance). But I will say that I still have my fingers-crossed for a book about Asa Makepeace, the black-sheep brother we met in ‘Scandalous Desires’. I was also intrigued by a comment Winter made in ‘Thief’, that oldest orphan, Mary Whitsun, is turning into a beautiful young woman – I would really love a story about her too!

Elizabeth Hoyt’s ‘Maiden Lane’ series is one of the best in the historical romance genre. It is utterly, deliciously splendid – with intriguing heroes and heroines, blazing romances and an ever-intriguing setting of the infamous St. Giles. Winter Makepeace delightfully surprised me with his turn as masked hero in ‘Thief of Shadows’, and his romance with Isabel Beckinhall is one to rival even my previous favourite pairing of Silence and ‘Charming’ Mickey. I loved it, and I can’t wait for book five, ‘Lord of Darkness’, coming February 2013.

5/5

'Scandalous Desires' Maiden Lane #3 by Elizabeth Hoyt

From the BLURB:

Can a pirate learn that the only true treasure lies within a woman’s heart?

“Charming” Mickey O’Connor is the most ruthless river pirate in London. Devastatingly handsome and fearsomely intelligent, he clawed his way up through London’s criminal underworld. Mickey has no use for tender emotions like compassion and love, and he sees people as pawns to be manipulated. Yet he’s never been able to forget the naive captain’s wife who came to him a year ago for help—and spent one memorable night in his bed...talking.

Widowed Silence Hollingbrook is impoverished, lovely, and kind--and a year ago she made a horrible mistake. She went to a river pirate for help in saving her husband and in the process made a bargain that cost her her marriage. That night wounded her so terribly that she hides in the foundling home she helps run with her brother. Except now that same river pirate is back...and he’s asking for her help.

Silence Hollingbrook once paid a pirate’s ransom to save her husband. She stayed the night with St Giles’s most notorious pirate king, Mickey O’Connor . . . one purely innocent night that ruined Silence’s reputation forever, and destroyed her marriage.

When Silence’s husband perished at sea she was heartbroken and drowning in grief, despite the fact that their marriage had been over ever since she’d agreed to Mickey’s offer.

The small ray of hope that dragged Silence out of her misery was Mary Darling, an abandoned baby left on her doorstep. Little Mary, with her head of black curls and pansy-coloured eyes filled the void left by her husband’s death.

But now Mary’s father has come to take her away . . . the pirate king, Mickey O’Connor.

Mickey is in the middle of a St. Giles turf war against the scarred and terrible Vicar of Whitechapel. Mickey has been battling the Vicar throughout his childhood, spent on the dangerous streets of St. Giles.

The Vicar has somehow got wind of Mary Darling and her adopted mother, Silence. Mickey will do anything to protect them – not out of the kindness of his own heart, but because nobody touches what’s his.

But when Silence agrees to stay at Mickey’s ‘palace’ and live amongst his looted treasures with Mary Darling, she starts to unravel Mickey’s history with the Vicar. She sees beyond his affluent criminality to a dark, wounded heart . . .

‘Scandalous Desires’ is the third book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s sublime historical romance series, ‘Maiden Lane’.

Silence and Mickey’s romance has been brewing since first book ‘Wicked Intentions’. For two books now we have been reading their heated dance – between Mickey’s impossibly cruel deals that tarnished Silence’s reputation, to Mary Darling’s appearance on her doorstep. Now ‘Scandalous Desires’ delivers fans the romance we have all been waiting for – between a notorious Pirate King and his virtuous woman.

Hoyt’s ‘Maiden Lane’ is one of the best historical romance series I have ever read. So to say that ‘Scandalous Desires’ is my favourite book thus far is big talk. . . and it’s all thanks to Mickey O’Connor.

Forget Jack Sparrow – Mickey is pirate du-jour, the hottest swash-buckler you’ll ever come across and a delicious fantasy. As is Hoyt’s trademark, Mickey begins the book as a total scoundrel and womaniser. He’s despicable and deplorable, greedy and unfeeling, utterly selfish in every way. The only reason he wants to protect Silence and Mary Darling from the Vicar is because they’re his, and nobody touches what’s his. Of course, Silence and all her virtue fascinated Mickey . . . she is his antithesis, pure and good, a sweet counterpoint to his black heart. But Mickey expects Silence to bend to his will and succumb to his charms.

Except Silence is nothing like the doxies Mickey usually beds. She is strong and self-possessed, viciously protective of those she loves and never afraid to speak her mind. Mickey is charmed, instantly and unfathomably.

Slowly, Mickey’s heart thaws to Silence and his own daughter, Mary Darling. He becomes desperate to protect them both from the Vicar, not because they’re his property but because if anything were to happen to them – he would never forgive himself.

If the babe died, Silence’s heart would be torn from her chest as surely as if a wild animal had savaged her. He had no heart himself, but he’d heard they were delicate things and easily broken. Mick growled low under his breath as he made his way to the front of the house. He knew how to protect Silence from knives and fists, from poverty and want, but he had no idea how – or even if – he could protect her from her own soft heart.

Mickey and Silence have the most explosive romance of any Hollingbrook sibling thus far explored. It’s partly thanks to Hoyt’s masterful building of their romance over the last two books . . . but also simply down to opposites attracting and Mickey’s climb to grace from such great depths.

A few new characters are introduced in this book, including Makepeace black sheep, brother Asa. And beloved secondary characters, like the prudish Winter Makepeace, are fleshed out and given glimpses into their upcoming books. I, for one, really hope that Asa Makepeace gets his own novel . . . because even the small, tantalizing little mention we get in ‘Scandalous Desires’ had me crossing my fingers for unlimited instalments in the incredible ‘Maiden Lane’ series!

‘Scandalous Desires’ is also the book that takes readers through the grimy streets of St. Giles, and reiterates the dangers of Maiden Lane. Because Mickey has lived in St. Giles all his life, and is its veritable King, Hoyt does some really masterful things with the descriptions of this sad little London town. Some of her scene-setting is truly magnificent for being mired in scum;

He crossed a street and looked up. The spire of the new St. Giles-in-the-fields loomed ahead. Mildew had destroyed the old church. Rumour had it that the mildew had fed upon the damp from the rotting plague corpses buried beneath the church flagstones. Certainly the air in the old church had held an evil stink.

‘Scandalous Desires’ is my favourite instalment in an incredible historical romance series. Mickey O’Connor is a sublime pirate rake, and an instant fictional favourite. ‘Desires’ ends on a delicious cliff-hanger concerning the Ghost of St. Giles . . . leaving me all aquiver for ‘Thief of Shadows’ in 2012.

5/5

'Notorious Pleasures' Maiden Lane #2 by Elizabeth HOYT

From the BLURB:

Their lives were perfect . . .

Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humour, but that doesn't bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother...

Until they met each other.

Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect - and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire - desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero's wedding nears, and Griffin's enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?

Lady Hero Batten meets her future brother-in-law under the most excruciatingly awkward circumstances. At her engagement soiree Lady Hero walks in on Griffin Remmington coupling with a married woman who is most certainly not his wife...

It’s one thing to encounter your almost brother-in-law in the middle of a carnal act upon a settee, it’s entirely another for said brother-in-law to not care in the least. In fact, Remmington finds the whole event slightly hilarious, and takes great pleasure in Hero’s prudish embarrassment. What’s worse is that Hero finds herself mortifyingly enamoured of the younger Remmington, even though she is engaged to his brother Thomas.

Griffin Remington has enjoyed his notoriously rakish lifestyle. Women come and go and he takes great pleasure in their fleeting encounters. Until Lady Hero – or, as he nicknames her, Lady Perfect. She is gentle, kind and everything his brother Thomas deserves. Except that Griffin wants her for himself . . . which makes Hero the second woman Griffin has supposedly stolen from his older brother.

‘Notorious Pleasures’ is the second book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s ‘Maiden Lane’ historical romance series.

I love Elizabeth Hoyt. I haven’t read a book of hers that I didn’t adore. And honestly, my love for her is hard to articulate. Admittedly, her storylines aren’t reinventing the historical romance genre. There’s a pretty limited spectrum of story to be explored in this genre, and invariably there will be a rake, a wronged party and a fair maiden. But Elizabeth Hoyt seems to elevate the historical romance genre to something truly magnificent. I can’t quite put my finger on it . . . it’s a combination of her lyrical writing, easy repartee, cunning heroines and her reluctantly romantic rakes who remain determinedly roguish for as long as possible.

I loved Hero and Griffin’s first meeting in ‘Notorious Pleasures’. So often romance authors are unwilling to go the extra mile to make their ‘rakes’ truly rakish and hard to love. More often than not, the heroine will never encounter her rake’s sinister side, and all promiscuity will come to a screeching halt once the rake meets his maiden. But Hoyt takes the plunge and writes Hero meeting Griffin for the first time while he is rutting away with a married woman. Brilliant! Absolute, solidified proof that Griffin is as notorious as he’s made out to be. Admittedly, upon meeting Hero, Griffin quickly realizes he likes this lady more than any other he has ever encountered. But he holds-out for a long time, trying to put the attraction down to ‘lust’ and nothing more.

She’d heard a few whispered rumours about her fiancé’s mysterious brother, but they’d been maddeningly vague. “Are you so irredeemable?”

“I am a veritable blackguard.” He circled her, pacing slowly to the music, whispering so only she could hear. “A seducer, a rake, the worst sort of profligate. I am notorious for my pleasures – I drink too much, wench with abandon, and belch in mixed company. I have no discretion, no morals, and no desire for either. I am, in short, the devil himself, and you, my dearest Lady Perfect, would do well to avoid my company at all costs.”

I was quite surprised that I liked Hero so much. We met her in first book ‘Maiden Lane’ and she seemed a little too good to be true. She is the main benefactress of the St. Giles Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children, and she kindly pours money into the charity. She seemed a little too squeaky-clean and holier-than-thou. But Hoyt actually takes that assumption and runs with it . . . Hero initially takes great pride in being ‘perfect’, and Griffin is oddly enamoured of her benevolence. But as Hero falls for Griffin she loses herself amidst the lust he incites in her . . . she becomes disgusted with herself, and lost to Griffin’s love. I really enjoyed reading about Hero’s fall from grace, it was a different way to write about a blushing maiden.

One things I love about the ‘Maiden Lane’ series is that Hoyt has not limited herself to any exploration of societal ranking. Often in historical romances the characters will be a part of the ton or middle class and rarely interact with anyone above, or below, their station. The ‘Maiden Lane’ in question is located in the treacherous London area of St. Giles – a red-light-district and general dead-end town. It is in St. Giles that the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children is situated. In the first ‘Maiden Lane’ novel we met the family who charitably run the home – the Dews family. Running concurrently with Hero’s story is the tale of Silence Hollingbrook (once Dews) who helps run the home, and has adopted one of the foundling children as her own. I really love that while ‘Notorious Pleasures’ was all about the more upper-crust of society, Hoyt still integrates the dregs of St. Giles and explores the lower-rungs of the city. The next book in the Maiden Lane series is called ‘Scandalous Desires’, and will be all about how Silence Hollingbrook falls for the King of St. Giles, notorious criminal Mickey O’Connor. I can’t wait! I also hope a future book in ‘Maiden Lane’ focuses on the Ghost of St. Giles (I'm dying to know who he is!)

Elizabeth Hoyt is the queen of historic romances. Her novels really are decadent perfection - her characters live in the gray areas and come from all walks of life. ‘Notorious Pleasures’ is yet another succulent delight; a lady’s fall from grace and a rake succumbing to love. Perfection!

5/5

'Wicked Intentions' Maiden Lane #1 by Elizabeth HOYT

From the BLURB:

A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . .

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .

A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST . . .

Caire makes a simple offer-in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control-one that may well destroy them both.

A BARGAIN NEITHER COULD REFUSE

‘Wicked Intentions’ is the first book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s new historical romance series, ‘Maiden Lane’.

Maiden Lane is situated in St. Giles, a notoriously dangerous area of London – gin-soaked streets, urchin children, brawling bodies and a masked vigilante roaming the streets.
It is here that Temperance Dews and her brother, Winter, run an orphanage for abandoned children. It is also here that one Lord Lazarus Caire lost his mistress to a knife-wielding murderer. In the most unlikely of circumstances Lord Caire and Temperance’s paths will cross – Caire needs someone with St Giles know-how and Temperance needs a patron for her flailing orphanage. Temperance agrees to help Lord Caire find his mistresses murderer, and in return Lord Caire agrees to help look for a moneyed patron for the orphanage. But both Temperance and Lord Caire will get more than they ever bargained for...

I stumbled across Elizabeth Hoyt earlier this year, and her novel ‘The Raven Prince’. I was really blown away by that book, and did intend to read more of Hoyt’s work... but it wasn’t until the blogosphere started buzzing with praise for her newest novel ‘Wicked Intentions’ that I finally revisited Hoyt’s writing.
And I've got to say... she amazed me again.

Hoyt excels in writing complex and compelling characters. Lord Lazarus Caire is one such conundrum. First impressions would suggest that he is an anti-hero of the rake variety... a debauched lady-lover who shuns polite society and is gossiped to have perverse bedroom preferences.
Rakes are a dime a dozen in historical romances... but Hoyt’s deliciously devilish and dark hero has more going on beneath the surface than just a predilection for ‘tie me up, tie me down’ bedroom antics. Hoyt has written in Lazarus a deeply disturbed loner for whom physical touch is repulsive and painful. Lazarus had an isolated childhood, devoid of love and affection, and as a result he has built an invisible fortress around himself... to the point that he mentally fears physical touch.
That’s just an example of how much deeper Hoyt goes in her historical romances. Lazarus isn’t just a rake; he’s a rake with deep-seated psychological issues.

Temperance Dews is likewise not your typical historical romance heroine. Yes, she runs an orphanage and has been a poor widower for nine years. In any other historical romance she would be written as a thorough Mary-Sue to show a rake the error of his ways and the salvation to be had from pure love. Think again. Temperance has issues just the same as Lord Caire, and they run just as psychologically deep. Temperance has been harbouring a guilty conscience since her husband’s death, and to repent for her wicked ways she has been punishing herself for these past nine years. Temperance works at her family’s orphanage, but she holds herself back from caring for the children. She holds her emotions in check, and refuses to allow her heart to love.

“There’s something about her,” Caire said in a low voice. “She cares for everyone about her, yet neglects herself. I want to be the one who cares for her.”

I really loved Hoyt’s character explorations into her hero and heroine. Hoyt really makes her readers work to know her characters – as a reader you have to see past their shield and armour, discern their motivations and issues. As much as ‘Wicked Intentions’ is a mystery whodunit, each of Hoyt’s character are mysteries unto themselves for readers to unravel and predict. Temperance and Lord Caire are both cordoning themselves off from feeling – but it’s a matter of reading to know why, to know what shadows lurk in their past and deep down in their psyches. ‘Wicked Intentions’ is a historical romance, but Hoyt’s characters are so layered and wonderful that by the end I was pretty sure it was also a psychological thriller to boot...

And then there’s the fact that Elizabeth Hoyt writes marvellous sex scenes. I found that in ‘The Raven Prince’ and Hoyt proves herself yet again in ‘Wicked Intentions’. Her sex scenes are great literary foreplay, sensual and slow scenes that unravel in conjunction with the character’s lowering defences. The sex scenes are more than just smut when Hoyt writes them, they become lush revelations;

Something snapped. He muttered a curse before hauling her around and slamming his mouth down on hers. This was what he wanted; this was what tamed the beast within him: her soft lips, the quiet sound of her moan as he licked across them. There was a desperate, animal need within him, one he couldn’t fully identify. One he couldn’t understand rationally. It was tearing him apart from within, this need. It wanted her – something from her – though he didn’t know quite what. He only knew that if this terrible need was not assuaged, he very much feared he might lose something within himself.

‘Wicked Intentions’ is primarily a historical romance, but the propelling plot that brings Lord Caire and Temperance together is the hunt for a murderer in St. Giles. And how ironic that the love interests are brought together by the man’s hunt for his mistresses murderer. The murder mystery often takes a back-seat to Temperance and Caire’s romantic development, but overall I felt like Hoyt balanced the mystery and romance very well. I think it helped that hunting for the murderer bought Temperance and Caire closer together, and offered up numerous situations in which to test their mettle.

I did have two niggling complaints about ‘Wicked Intentions’. One small complaint, and one rather large story issue...

Along with the murder hunt and Temperance and Caire’s romance, there was a storyline regarding Temperance’s little sister, Silence. Silence is the youngest of the five Dews children, and married to a ship captain called William. William captains the Finch, and upon returning from sea the ship’s cargo is stolen. The ship’s owners accuse William of being in cahoots with the thieves who robbed the Finch, and it looks as though William will be thrown into gaol unless the cargo turns up. All of St. Giles knows that notorious thief ‘charming Mickey’ stole the cargo, but Mickey owns St. Giles and nobody wants to confront him. Nobody, except Silence. But what Mickey asks Silence to do in exchange for the cargo and her husband’s innocence will test the strength of her marriage and family-ties...
This storyline threw me.... where I thought that the murder-mystery and romance melded really well together, this side-story running in conjunction really stuck out like a sore thumb. For a little while I wondered if the storyline of the missing cargo would eventually run into the murder-mystery... but by the end of ‘Wicked Intentions’ I realized that Hoyt intends this to be a continuing minor plot (possibly throughout the series?). I’m really not sure about Silence’s side-story. On the one hand I think the storyline unto itself is great, and could have warranted a book by itself. But within the context of Temperance and Caire’s story... it didn’t work for me.

My minor complaint was regarding character names. The names are a little odd, and upon first reading they are also slightly tough to grasp. For some reason Hoyt has provided many of her major characters with noun-names. Temperance, Winter and Silence. And she also throws in a few adjective-named characters for good measure, like Lord Caire’s valet called Small. When first introducing a few of these characters I had to re-read sentences when I realized that Hoyt was using nouns as proper nouns. Yeah, it was somewhat confusing.

Hoyt’s books are not your typical historical romance fare. She isn’t writing throw-away smut-fluff to be consumed in an afternoon of light reading. Hoyt’s historical romances have a slightly sharper edge, intricate plot and complicated heroes. Elizabeth Hoyt writes some of the smartest historical romances I have ever read, and while there is still plenty of sensual sex to entertain and keep you hot under the collar, it’s her complex characters and intricate storylines that set her apart from the rest.

4.5/5

I really look forward to the second book in the ‘Maiden Lane’ series, called ‘Notorious Pleasures’ and coming in February 2011.