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The last book I read for my weekend binge of the Maiden Lane series was book 6, Duke of Midnight. As of finishing this book, it's my favorite of the series. Elizabeth Hoyt had so much of what I love and want in a historical romance here. This also is the 3rd, and final, book in the Ghost of St. Giles chunk. As other readers have called this chunk the "Batman," this book gave off all the Batman feels to me. Update: I have retroactively applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the open shirt prompt.
Our hero is the 3rd active Ghost of St. Giles, the Duke of Wakefield, Maximus. I've mentioned it before, but I definitely prefer my England set historical romances to be set more in the Ton and Society than in the lower class areas. This also had a slight twist on my favorite trope, the wrong sibling. Our heroine is Artemis, the cousin and lady's companion to Lady Penelope. Maximus decides it's time to find a wife, and based off his list of qualifications, Lady Penelope is the one. However, the more time he spends around her, he finds himself drawn to Artemis.
I know you can probably tell by my rating and my writing so far, but I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was so good and my favorite so far. I loved how drawn they were together and that they both enjoyed early morning walks. Maximus was so drawn to Artemis (despite some uncouth remarks in previous books). That's another trope I really love in historical romances. While I don't like the hero to be mean to the heroine, I do enjoy when they almost dismiss or disregard them before coming to really see them for the person they are. While if it's in the same book I don't like it quite as much, having it happen previously in a series just gets me in all the feels once we get to their book. Artemis finds out that Maximus is the third Ghost and ends up blackmailing him (kind of) to rescue her twin brother Apollo that's been unfairly incarcerated in Bedlam for the past several years. While she does try to blackmail him, Maximum really only caves because he can't stand her to be sad.
I also loved that throughout the book her kept calling her "his Diana" and "my goddess." I love those type of nicknames and the subtle possessiveness. I know that some readers have issues with the trope where he believes her can't marry her and just have her as a mistress, but I feel like it was done well and there wasn't too much angst. Artemis was fine with it and understood why he felt that way, but eventually when she admitted her feelings was upfront about the fact she couldn't handle being his mistress at that point. The mystery plot about his parents murder was also woven in really well. Once again, I feel like it landed better for since it was something that correlated directly with one of our main characters. Plus I also loved his dogs and how they constantly would leave him to be with Artemis.
I haven't mentioned it too much before, but I also like how Elizabeth does the side characters and interweaves the other main characters for her books. Maximus's valet Craven was so great in this book and the perfect "Alfred" for this time period. I also loved getting back to their family and seeing more of Phoebe. I really can't wait for her book (it's number 8) and am so excited to find some more of her series that really hits me. I loved the wrap up of the Ghost of St. Giles chunk and am excited to see what the next 3 books will focus on. I can't wait to continue my binge!
Have you read Duke of Midnight?
Bookishly Yours,
Stasi🍎
STATISTICS: Duke of Midnight, Elizabeth Hoyt, 5-star, 0 days, eBook, 360 pages, published in 2013
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