Once Upon a Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt

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The final book in Elizbeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series is the novella Once Upon a Maiden Lane. This was my favorite of the three novellas and it had what I was missing in the epilogue of Duke of Desire. Update: I have applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the place in the title prompt.

This book focuses on Mary Whitsun, Lady Caire's kind-of adoptive daughter that we met all the way back in book 1. Mary is enjoying her day off at the bookstore and gets somewhat accosted (in a friendly way) by Henry, Viscount Blackwell. He thinks she looks exactly like his fiancé Joanna and believe she is her long lost twin. This was such a fun and unique novella. Mary ends up finding out that she's the twin and moves in with her found family and also learns she has been betrothed since birth to Henry.

I loved the banter between Henry and Mary and how drawn he was to her fiery nature. She was so different from Joanna and yet they immediately connected. I also enjoyed the little side romance between Joanna and her love. While I didn't enjoy the is she/isn't she the actual missing twin, I loved seeing her finally feeling like she found the place she belonged. I did wish that it had more of an hea with Henry not being cut off by his father and the final result on who was Lady Cecilia. 

The epilogue really was the cherry on top. At Henry and Mary's wedding we see all of the couples and their children. The wedding is held at the home for foundlings and Winter Makepeace himself walks Mary down the aisle. It had me grinning in delight seeing all of the people we've spent 12+ books with together and partaking in a moment of pure happiness. As I mentioned above, this epilogue is really what I was wanting when I got to the end of Duke of Desire. 

There are a couple short stories that are on Elizabeth's website or part of her newsletter, one that I'd really like to read since it's about Peach and Joseph Tinbox. I'm not sure when I'll get to it though or if I'll do a full review post when I do. If you've only read the main books in the series, I would highly recommend if you read any of the novellas, this would be the one. It really wrapped up the series how I wanted (outside of the Lords of Chaos mess) and made me heart all warm and fuzzy. 

I'm glad I joined in with the binge of Maiden Lane with a lot of the booktube and bookstagram personalities. Overall I enjoyed the series, with all books being between 4 and 5 stars. I have found the ones that I enjoyed the most are skipped or not enjoyed as much as others, and my lower rated books are favorites for others. It's nice that we all have differences and experience books differently based on our life experiences, but I do wish not as many people skipped book 2, Notorious Pleasures. It is in my top 3 of the series and Griffin is one of my favorite heroes. If you enjoy historical romances and haven't read this series yet, I highly recommend it. Or even just Elizabeth Hoyt in general. I really enjoy her writing. For me, I like them better when she focuses on the romance and not as many side-plots. I'm excited to get into more of her backlist, especially her Princes series.

Have you read Once Upon a Maiden Lane?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt

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And so we come of the end (~ish) of the Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt. The twelfth, and final full length book in the series is Duke of Desire. This is also the final book, obviously, in the Lords of Chaos storyline.

After meeting Iris in Duke of Pleasure, I was excited to see her as the heroine for this final book. We start off bombastic once again, with Iris being held captive at a special revelry by the Lords of Chaos where she is to be sacrificed. The snag comes when they announce she is the Duchess of Kyle. She corrects them, to their disappointment, but they want to move forward instead. Raphael, the Duke of Dyemore, is there to be reinitiated (ish) and decides that since she didn't marry Hugh, he can finally have her for himself. Raphael is the epitome of the scarred hero. Not only is one side of his face horribly scarred from a knife cut that was meant to get his eye, but as his father used to be the leader of the Lords of Chaos was abused sexually (as well as emotionally) as a child. Thankfully his aunt took him to Corsica right after and was able to save him. Unfortunately we learn for certain that there were other sons and daughters of the Lords that weren't rescued from their fathers. Raphael is given Iris, but told to kill her after his fun.

To save Iris, Raphael suggests they get married, especially since she shot him during her unbeknownst rescue. This book was 5-stars when dealing with the romance. I loved how Iris kept pushing for a real marriage with Raphael and just wanted to understand him inside and out. After her previous marriage that left her away from her husband most of the time, she was hoping that her next marriage would be for love. Since that doesn't appear to be the case at first, a part of her is heartbroken. I loved how accepting she was of how things ended up and kept adapting and trying to make the best of everything. She pushed Raphael, and even when he made it a point to say he wouldn't go all the way with her and give her a child, she suggested they do other intimacies instead. She just wanted that closeness.

Where this book fell flat for me was the Lords of Chaos. First off, it really bothered me that it wasn't more resolved. It would've been okay if they just took down the leader and just had the stragglers, but it was left as more of a "there will always be someone to take his place." I get that's how the world really works and it's difficult to really eradicate criminal groups. This is fiction. I want not only an hea for my couple, but the series as a whole. They finally found the full list of names, but it was in the last freaking chapter! It just really bothered me. I also feel like with how evil the Lords were, it almost could've been it's own spin-off series. The last few books kind of got away from St. Giles and the actual Maiden Lane, which is fine, but it felt almost like main feeling the books pivoted too much. I just was left wanting more for the final book. I don't know if she knew she was going to do a novella after this one, but I would've liked more of a wrap up in the epilogue or a revisitation with the families we've been following for 12 books. 

I am also planning on reading the final novella, which is listed after this one as 12.5 and then my Maiden Lane binge will be done. I'll do a brief rundown of the series and my overall thoughts in that review (I'll link it when posted). The romance in this was great though and there were some great steamy scenes that were almost more intimate since it wasn't full on intercourse. If you love a scarred and damaged hero, this book will definitely float your boat.

Have you read Duke of Desire?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Duke of Desire, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 308 pages, published in 2017

Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

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Moving right along in Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series, my next book was Duke of Pleasure. This is the 11th book in the series and the second in the Lords of Chaos chunk. We also get a throwback to earlier in the series with a new Ghost of Giles!

After meeting the Hugh, Duke of Kyle in Duke of Sin I was super excited to see his book was next. Once again we start off with great action and Hugh escaping from a gang and running into St. Giles. He ends up being helped by the Ghost of St. Giles. When he bumps into him however, surprise boobs! He finds out the Ghost is actually a woman. She ends up kissing him and then escaping back to the rooftops. We follow the Ghost and come to find out our new vigilante is Alf, the urchin boy that's been an informant throughout the series. We have learned previously that Alf was actually a woman, but everyone seemed to leave it be and not confront her about it. 

I really loved this book. The connection between Alf and Hugh was so superbly written. As the Ghost Hugh was so intrigued and tempted by her. As Alf we was drawn to "his" intellect and snark. Alf is one of the few that isn't cowed by his station and is constantly challenging Hugh. Hugh has enlisted Alf as an informant to not only figure out whom was after him, but more information on the Lords of Chaos based off the small list that Val passed along. While there was a lot going on plot wise outside of the romance, it didn't bother me as much this time and was woven really well into the rest of the story. I wasn't expecting a makeover or lady training, but I really enjoyed seeing Alf struggle with letting go of her protection and embrace being a woman for the fist time in her life. I also really enjoyed how she forced Hugh to evaluation what kind of marriage he really wanted. I also enjoyed his two sons and how they immediately connected with Alf and she helped bridge the gap between them.

The boys were done really well. Despite them being more bratty than I prefer, it made sense with them losing their mother not too long ago and her poisoning them against Hugh when he was on the continent working for the King. I loved Lady Jordan and loved the friendship between her, the boys and Hugh. The only thing I didn't like was the over-confidence about defeating the Lords of Chaos at the end. It felt too easy and I feel like they didn't quite do their due diligence. But I also know there is one more book.

I'm super excited to get to the last book and see how Elizabeth wraps up the series. I'm slightly nervous, but I always am when it comes to the end of the series. I just don't want to feel let down and want it wrap up nicely. I do know there's another novella that's listed as 12.5 and a lot of reviews I've seen say that it feels more like the end of the series. We'll see how it goes.

Have you read Duke of Pleasure?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Duke of Pleasure, Elizabeth Hoyt, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 299 pages, published in 2016

Once Upon a Christmas Eve by Elizabeth Hoyt

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The next novella in the Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt is Once Upon a Christmas Eve. This is numbered at 10.7. This is actually also my last book for the Heaving Bosom's Reading Embrace, which is one of the main reasons I read this in the middle of May. Novellas are also perfect for me for during the week since most of my reading time is one the weekend.

Once again I wanted these characters to get their HEAs after seeing them in previous books. This is a sweet holiday romance between the Visctount d'Arque and Sarah, the half-sister of our former Ghost of St. Giles, Godric. This was such a sweet holiday novella. While it felt a little more rushed than the previous one, I still really enjoyed it. It wasn't too heavy on the Christmas which was nice since I read this in May. I enjoyed the pull that Sarah and Adam felt. It was also nice that Sarah was able to see past Adam's rake exterior. It was really nice to see him with his grandmother and the caring and love he felt for her. Where I wanted more from this, was the house party with other men (invited by her mother) and the attempted assault on her younger sister. Since this was a novella and so short, I wanted less of the ancillary things and more focus on Adam and Sarah. I still really enjoyed it and despite the shortness, it was nice to see Sarah and Adam find their HEA. If you have read and enjoyed the Maiden Lane series, this is a great addition and it's always fun to see more of the side characters. It was a nice break to read these two novellas as well before jumping back into the overarching plot of the last three books with the Lords of Chaos.

Have you read Once Upon a Christmas Eve?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Once Upon a Christmas Eve, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 92 pages, published in 2017

Once Upon a Moonlit Night by Elizabeth Hoyt

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Continuing on in Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series, I decided to read the novella Once Upon a Moonlit Night before moving on to the next full length novel. This is numbered at 10.5 and directly connects with the previous book, Duke of Sin. Update: I have applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the diverse main character prompt.

This novella picks up with Hippolyta's escape from the Duke of Montgomery's estate and running through the night. She somehow has lost the pony and the hounds are after her. She stumbles across a carriage and convinces them to take her to the next town. Here is where she meets our hero Matthew. He has just inherited an earldom and is returning from years spent exploring India. Hippolyta is covered in mud and scratches and looks worse for wear after her kidnapping. Matthew doesn't believe that's she of the aristocracy, but his protective nature gets the better of him and he allows her passage.

While I gave this 5-stars, it still doesn't quite have the weight of a full length novel 5-star. For a novella, this was great. It felt like a complete story. I was wanting more, but a big part of that is because I was so intrigued by Hippolyta in the previous books and wanted to just spend more time with her and Matthew. I also loved that he had a pet mongoose, of which Hippolyta always wanted from when she grew up in India. I wanted more from them and also more of Viscount d'Arque's grandmother. Like I said though, taking into fact this was a novella and under 100 pages, it still had great banter, quite a few steamy scenes and a very tangible connection between the main characters. Everything one could want from an Elizabeth Hoyt historical. 

This was a perfect late night read and it always feels nice to sit down and read a book in one sitting, no matter how long. I have one more novella to read next before getting back into the meat of the overarching story. I'm sad it's wrapping up but also excited to finish another series, especially a long one like this!

Have you read Once Upon a Moonlit Night?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Once Upon a Moonlit Night, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 87 pages, published in 2016

Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt

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Moving right along with Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series, I came to the recent villain of the series in Duke of Sin. This is the 10th book of the series and the first in the last chunk of books, what I'll refer to as the Lords of Chaos.

Our couple is the Duke of Montgomery himself, Valentine and his housekeeper Bridget. This book was a little bit of a struggle for me. Val has suffered a lot of trauma and had a very terrible childhood. As a result, his main goal in life seems to be to obtain power to control everyone around him to protect the few he loves. We've seen him blackmail several of our previous main characters (on top of being behind Phoebe's kidnapping attempts). Where I get torn is he's supposed to be the villain, but he doesn't feel like a villain. Yes he does things that are not cool and have hurt those we've come to adore in previous books. At the same point it didn't feel like evil intent to me. It almost felt like the Psy from Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series where he doesn't quite understand emotions and how they actually make someone feel. He knows and understands some, but is very stunted emotionally.

If I were to be more specific in rating, this would be more of a 3.5-star rating. I didn't quite like the way that Bridget and Val's relationship evolved. She was fine and I liked that she was a spy to help her mother and other ladies in the syndicate. I just didn't feel the emotional attachment to her and the sudden attraction felt weird. I understand and have enjoyed insta-lust and insta-love before, but I just found it weird that she didn't find him appealing at all, especially when studying his life-size nude painting (which let's be honest, I kind of love that he has), but then face to face suddenly she can't stay away from him. At this point she's been his housekeeper for several months (at least). I also didn't like how all of sudden she was taken in as Lazarus's sister. I wish that aspect had happened earlier in the book and we could actually see their connection form. I wanted more from that plot point.

With Val's emotional deficiencies I wanted more of a morality chain feel from Bridget as well. However, she obviously had her own issues and wasn't completely good/right. On top of the fact that he didn't feel evil enough to need a morality chain. I know I just contradicted myself, but that's how this book makes me feel. He just was a bad guy that did bad things, but still didn't feel aware of how his actions would effect those around him. It was like he was a manipulative mastermind, but only on a surface level. I guess I just wanted him to feel and be a real villain. Just dive right in and be dark through and through.

I still enjoyed the writing and most of the time I enjoyed the banter and conversations between Val and Bridget. And then he went and kidnapped Hippolyta, so that happened. It was such a throw away event though. It happened and Bridget immediately rescued her, then it was over. I'm excited to jump back into the series and finish it up after I'm done with a book club book. I'll definitely read Once Upon a Moonlit Night (the 10.5 novella) next because we get to see what happened to Hippolyta after she escapes Val. I'm a little sad she didn't get a full length book though since she's intrigued me since we first met her. I can't believe I only have two full length books left, but am excited to finish the series!

Have you read Duke of Sin?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Duke of Sin, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 338 pages, published in 2016

Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt

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Moving right along, the next book in my binge of the Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt is book 9, Sweetest Scoundrel. If you've come along on this binge with me, I've been reading these for the live show hosted by Jenn at The Book Refuge. I managed to squeak this one in on time and ended up reading 9 (and 1/2) of the 12 books! Update: I have applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the flowers on the cover prompt.

This book wraps up the Harte's Folley chunk and gives us the beautiful HEA for Eve (the Duke of Montgomery's half-sister) and Asa. What I really enjoyed about this book is that they weren't instantly attracted to each other at first. Eve is different than Asa's normal "type," but he still finds himself drawn to her. Eve has suffered a lot of trauma and can't stand to be around dogs or touched or be around men.

Her trauma was difficult to get through, however I feel torn on how it was dealt with. I liked that the little touches (helping out of a carriage, brushing arms when walking, etc.) were enough to give her pause and I loved how natural it felt when she started to feel comfortable around Asa. He also really liked to tease her a lot and I adored when she almost didn't know what to do with herself or what she was feeling. However, once Asa realized she felt desire for him, I feel like they started rushing things. It didn't feel rushed and I understand that there comes a point when you let go a lot and want more, but it just felt slightly off at times. I also loved her Dove and Henry the mastiff she rescued (despite being terrified of dogs). 

While I really enjoyed this book as well, it just didn't leave me feeling as settled as the previous books. I think part of it was the secondary plot (once again) and the person trying to destroy the theatre. It just felt kind of rushed at the end (again) and there wasn't really any clues on who was behind everything. I know that that's part of the fun of a mystery, but I feel like there should've been more questions on who it actually was and not the wrong person almost the entire time. I don't know, it just felt unnecessary with all of the emotional work that they both had to do to reach happiness. It just felt like too much or not fleshed out enough (again). We also get the lead in to the last set of the series, what I'll call the Lords of Chaos chunk. I'm super excited to continue the series and hopefully will get through the last three books and few novellas by the end of the month!

Have you read Sweetest Scoundrel?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Sweetest Scoundrel, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 368 pages, published in 2015

Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt

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The 8th book in Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series is Dearest Rogue. I've been waiting for this book since being introduced to Phoebe in Notorious Pleasures. If you've read my previous reviews you probably already know this, but if this is my first post you're reading, I've been bingeing the Maiden Lane series lately. A lot of booktube and bookstagrammer personalities have recently read this series. In late April Jenn from The Book Refuge announced that she was going to do a live show on May 8th discussing the series. It had been on my tbr for a while, so I figured I'd get through as many as I could before the live. Since this is actually scheduled to be posted after, the link above is to the show! Update: I have applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the plus size prompt.

As I mentioned above, this book focuses on Lady Phoebe, the younger sister of the Duke of Wakefield and Lady Hero. We'd been introduced to our Hero previously, Captain James Trevillion. He used to captain the dragoon company that was patrolling in St. Giles. Since his injury, James has been too injured to continue service and Wakefield has hired him to be a guard/escort for Phoebe. We've seen her losing her sight throughout the series, but she's pretty much blind at this point. One day while shopping on Bond Street there is a kidnapping attempt on Phoebe. During the second attempt, James gets upset with himself and his disability and resigns as her guard. Phoebe ends up getting kidnapped after he leaves, but he rescues her and whisks her off to a safe space that nobody knows about. 

I really loved how drawn together Phoebe and James were, but that it was Phoebe to make the first move. Yes there is a class/station difference (which I'm normally not a fan of), and yes James thinks he's not good enough for Phoebe (which can be angsty), but I really loved the quiet moments between them. When they are running from the first kidnapping attempt, they have a quiet moment on the horse being in such close contact in a different way. I love the moments when James almost wraps himself around Phoebe, a lot of the time when dealing with horses. I also really liked the way that being around horses was another way for them to connect. Another reason this was a slam dunk for me is there wasn't much secondary plot. There's her whole kidnapping issues, but it's minor and in the background. I much prefer that, as I'm sure you could tell from my previous reviews of this series.

It did take me a little longer than normal to get through this, even with how much I loved it. Mostly it's because I read it during the week and I've been absolutely exhausted after work lately. It's just that time of year. Fun story, I finished this book about 7pm after work. I was planning on immediately starting the next, however I woke up at 1am with everything still on and my tv still playing the classical station (I listen to that while I read). Apparently my body just wanted to sleep. I am super excited to read the next book, especially after getting introduced to Eve in this one. One thing Elizabeth Hoyt does really well is her epilogues. It's a great hook to keep you wanting to move forward in her series. I'm so glad they are all out now and I don't have to wait months, if not years for the next book after that teaser!

Have you read Dearest Rogue?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Dearest Rogue, Elizabeth Rogue, 5-stars, eBook, 2 days, 326 pages, published in 2015

Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

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After a quick detour to start the Romancing Summer Challenge, we are back to Book 7 of Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series, Darling Beast. This book starts the next little chunk of books in the series which I'll call the Harte's Folley chunk. After meeting Apollo in the previous book, I was super excited to see him heal from his injuries and find his own HEA. Update: I have applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the backlist prompt.

Lily, our heroine, is the premiere actress of the time and highly regarded. She's been mentioned in previous books by her stage name of Robin Goodfellow. It's also been pointed out that she does "breeches" roles, which a lot of the ladies love. We come to find out that Apollo is friends and business partners with Asa Makepeace and all his capital (that he invested before put in bedlam) was put towards Harte's Folley. However, it was burned down in the previous book. He is hiding out and redoing the landscaping and gardens. He's actually been trained in it before his grandfather got wind and forced him to stop since he's heir to the earldom. Asa had made a deal with Lily to be exclusive to his theatre, but since it's burned down she has no income. In exchange he allows her, her son Indio and her friend (she's more like godmother/caretaker/lady's maid) to stay in one of the theatre rooms that wasn't completely destroyed. One day Indio mentions the monster in the garden and they come to find out that it's really Apollo and since he's been gardening in the mud and ash, he's very dirty.

I really enjoyed their love story and liked how everything was laid out. Why this is 4-stars and not 5 is that I wanted more of a connection between them before he regained his voice. It was very sweet the moment he first talks, screaming Indio's name in terror as a tree is falling towards him. I just wish that the connection between them was a little bit stronger before not only he regains his voice, but he goes about hunting the actually murderer that set Apollo up. There's twists in the plot that Lily ends up at the same house party and they finally get intimate, but I was missing the other types of intimacy. It just felt a lot more rushed than previous books and more insta-love. I did love Apollo and Indio's relationship and how he just followed him around everywhere and just watched him work from the bushes. 

The plot around the murders of Apollo's "friends" was kind of obvious to me. It didn't pull too much from the romance since it was also directly associated with Apollo, but as I think this maybe it did since I felt the romance was rushed. It didn't seem like it was obviously taking away from the story. I also am intrigued by the Duke of Montgomery and am interested to see how he plays into everything. I feel like the overall plot keeps evolving, which I really like. I feel like if we were still dealing with the gin stills and Ghost of St. Giles directly I would've started to get a little bored. It helps that she is doing major plots in three book chunks.

I am super excited to continue my binge and can't wait for the next book. I've been waiting for Phoebe's book since we met her in book 2, and I am so excited for the romance between her and Captain Trevillion. I'm really enjoying the series so far and can't wait to see what happens next!

Have you read Darling Beast?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Darling Beast, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 321 pages, published in 2014

Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt

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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

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt

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The next book in my Maiden Lane binge is book 5, Lord of Darkness. I finally got another 5-star and am really enjoying Elizabeth Hoyt's writing. Book 2 in the Ghost of St. Giles chunk features our next ghost and his abandoned wife. Update: I have retroactively applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the Instagram recommendation prompt.

There were teasers in the previous books about who the Ghost of St. Giles might be. As we found out last book, there are actually three of them. One of the guesses I had at the beginning was Godric. I am happy to say, I was right! Lord of Darkness focuses on Godric as the 2nd Ghost of St. Giles and his abandoned second wife Lady Megs. In the previous book we also saw that Megs had a tender for Roger, who was then murdered by what was rumored to be the Ghost. Now this happens between the books, but it comes out that they had pre-marital relations and Megs finds out she is pregnant after his death. Her brother Griffin (the hero from book 2) set up an arrangement between her and his friend Godric, since he had just lost his first wife to a long-term illness. The day of the wedding Megs ends up miscarrying and after she leaves her sick bed is sent to Godric's country estate.

The book picks up a couple years later. Megs is back in town (and with his and her family) not only to finally consummate their marriage, but she wants a baby. She also wants to hunt down the Ghost and get revenge for the death of Roger. Our first meeting of these two is Megs holding the Ghost, her husband, at gunpoint when he arrives to rescue her from footpads in St. Giles. The first chapter hooked me, more than the previous books, and I couldn't put it down. While this is more angsty, which I keep saying I usually don't prefer, I absolutely loved it. I did wish that they had bit more communication about their grief and how it felt getting intimate with someone else than their previous loves. It led to some miscommunication and anger between them that went on a little too long for my preference. I also felt like the romance was sufficiently explored and wasn't left wanting more. While the plot of finding Roger's true killer was prominent, it felt better weaved in, especially since it directly correlated to our couple. I don't think I've mentioned him too much before, but there's also a soldier (Captain Trevillion) that's been tasked with hunting down the Ghost and gin runners in St. Giles. I love how in every book he's slowly coming to realize what exactly is going on in St. Giles and not just hunting the Ghost based on rumors propaganda. 

This is a shorter review, but really I can't say much more than I loved it! I'm certainly getting through these a little quicker than I expected, but when I get to a good one I just can't seem to put it down and find myself ravenous for more. I find if I'm really enjoying a book, I read faster because I just need more and more. If I find myself reading slower or putting it down from time to time, it's an indicator for me that I'm not enjoying it as much. After reading this, I immediately jumped into the next book to read about our 3rd Ghost!

Have you read Lord of Darkness?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Lord of Darkness, Elizabeth Hoyt, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 385 pages, published in 2013

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

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My weekend binge of the Maiden Lane series continues! Book 4, by Elizabeth Hoyt, is Thief of Shadows. In my previous review I mentioned that this series could be broken up in 3 book chunks. This is the start of what others are terming the "Batman" section, but I will call it the Ghost of St. Giles chunk. Update: I have retroactively applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the outside the USA prompt.

If you haven't read the first three books in the series, this book with have some major spoilers, so warning. Our heroine is Lady Isabel, one of the new patronesses of the foundling home. This book starts right away in the timeline, with the escape of the Ghost after saving Mickey from getting hanged. Lady Isabel is on her way to the new home (that's finally finished getting built) and runs across the injured ghost. She decides to save him from the mob (can't have our entertainment [the hanging] spoiled). She nurses him herself and finds herself really drawn to his wit and demeanor towards her. I should also mention, she is a widow. Our Ghost is none other than the manager of the home himself... Winter Makepeace.

I really enjoyed this book, once again. I absolutely adored Lady Isabel and how she was so drawn to Winter and the Ghost but didn't push him. We also have a virgin hero in Winter, which is something meh to me. I don't really mind that he's a virgin, but I just don't get excited about it as other readers. I did love that once they finally got intimate, Winter couldn't hold "the beast" (his term) back any longer. While I really enjoyed the push and pull between them, I did feel like Winter was a little too push and pull in the beginning, but then Isabel was at the end. It just felt like neither of them were on the same page at all until the very end of the book. Once again I felt the wrap up was a little rushed, especially with the non-romance plot. Once again it felt like the mystery plot of the missing girls took a little too much away from the romance.

I liked the idea of Isabel giving Winter society lessons, but it just really bothered me that he didn't really need them but chose to act rudely/uncouth intentionally. I understand that was his point, but I feel like he could've been a little nicer and aware of how he was making the patronesses feel, especially Isabel. Also, I really disliked Lady Penelope and felt her whole pushing Winter out as the manager was unnecessary. Especially since it was made a point multiple times that nothing was to be decided until Lady Hero and the elder Lady Caire returned from the country.

Another reason I feel like this ended up as 4-stars for me is the hype. I know this books is a favorite for a lot of readers, but I wasn't quite 100% there. I also got a little bit frustrated (like I had with first book) about how much the religious aspect was pushed. I went into my thoughts on this in my other review, but I just wanted to mention it since it was another thing that I didn't connect with. On a more fun note, we find out that there's more than one Ghost of St. Giles! I immediately jumped into book 5, especially after the epilogue and am thoroughly enjoying my binge so far!

Have you read Thief of Shadows?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Thief of Shadows, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 360 pages, published in 2012

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

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Continuing along in my binge of Maiden Lane in time for the live show (see my review of Wicked Intentions for the information), I started the weekend with Book 3, Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt. This book continues with the setup started in book 1, Silence and the notorious River Pirate Mickey. Update: I have retroactively applied this book to the Romancing Summer Challenge for the historical romance prompt.

I really enjoyed this book and was torn on how to rate it. I really adored Silence and her taking care of Mickey's daughter Mary Darling. I also loved Mickey and how drawn he was to both Silence and Mary, especially after they started living with him for protection. It took some time, but once Mickey really opened up to Mary, he was such a great father and I loved the moments between them. I really enjoyed Silence and how she handled the situation. She didn't really give in to her desires right off the bat and made Mickey work to be a better man and give up the pirate pretense.

Where this book fell short for me was the other plot stuff. Once again, just too much. I really wish that the drama with the Vicar of Whitechapel was taken care of before the end of the book so we could see more of Silence and Mickey coming to terms with their feelings and really settling into their HEA. There were too many twists and turns and I feel like a couple of the plot points could've been removed. While I didn't feel that their relationship was lacking anything for me to believe in the HEA, I wasn't completely satisfied at the end. 

I guess I should've done this part earlier, but Silence found Mary Darling on her doorstep at the end of book 2. Things happen and Mickey's enemies (mainly the Vicar of Whitechapel) find out that not only is he drawn to Silence, but that she has his daughter. He kidnaps Mary Darling to protect her, fully expecting Silence to come along. It's a little manipulative, but I love how strong she was in showing him that she wasn't one of his crew and would follow is demands blindly.

I was sad too that another great side character was killed (it happened in book 2 as well, but I didn't really get into it). I hope that doesn't continue in the future books. I still really enjoyed it and am overall enjoying the series so far. From what I've heard the series is set up in kind of 3 book chunks. This would conclude the first chunk, which I would term the Foundling Home chunk. Everything kind of dealt with the setting up the home and dealing with the Vicar of Whitechapel. I'm excited to continue on my binge! I immediately jumped into book 4, which I know is a favorite for a lot of people.

Have you read Scandalous Desires?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Scandalous Desires, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 370 pages, published in 2011

Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt

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After reading through Wicked Intentions and finally starting Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series, I immediately jumped into book 2, Notorious Pleasures. I had heard mixed reviews about this book and was slightly apprehensious going in. I ended up liking this book a lot more than Wicked Intentions.

Our couple is Lady Hero, one of the new patronesses of the foundling home from the first book. She is the sister of the Duke of Wakefield. She gets engaged to the Marquess of Mandeville. However at the ball to announce their engagement, she runs into a gentleman tupping a married woman in a sitting room. She knows her husband is on the way and reluctantly assists them. Surprise surprise, she feels a thread of attachment and is drawn to the mysterious man. Come to find out, he is Lord Reading, her betrothed's younger brother.

So a big issue that I saw people mention is the cheating in this book. While it was technically cheating, it didn't bother me like it usually did. First of all, it's an arranged marriage and they both clearly have no feelings for each other outside of normal care for another human being. The Marquess Thomas is also in love with another woman that isn't "good for his station." Another issue I saw and heard was how Hero was very stanch and tried to be the perfect paragon the entire time. While I understand how some could be frustrated with that, especially combine with the cheating, I didn't feel that way. 

Now, the wrong sibling trope is my favorite so I am a little more forgiving when it comes to this kind of drama and plot points. While Lady Hero was staid and tried to be perfect all of the time, I really connected with her. She tries all of the time to be what other's expect and want of her, all the while stifling her true self. I loved that Griffin (Lord Reading) saw it was a façade and pushed against it every chance he got. Like I mentioned above, while they do get intimate while Hero is still betrothed, the impetus that kickstarts them both caving to their desires is when Thomas leaves Hero in a maze and hunts down his former mistress (and real love). Griffin is so frustrated that Thomas could treat her that way and just loses it. Another thing I liked is that Hero knew there was something between Thomas and the Lavinia. She didn't quite know or understand the whole story between them, but she saw the looks and wasn't made ignorant at all. I really applauded that character point and it made it easier for me (not that I was having issues before that) to accept Hero giving into her desires for Griffin.

One of the things I mentioned about Wicked Intentions was the lack of romance for me. This book had it 100%. I absolutely adored how drawn together they were and all of the little things between them. Griffin just noticed things about her and her family. I loved when Phoebe got hurt during their outing he yelled at Hero about getting Phoebe better glasses. It was at that point that Hero opened up about her sister going blind. Also when he came to dinner and joined in with feeding Cousin Bathilda's spaniel at the dinner table. He just noticed her and even with her mask in place, would still notice the little ticks that would help him read her emotions and body language. I just loved that he saw her. 

While I absolutely love their romance, once again the other main plot just wasn't something I was as interested in. The whole gin distillery issues with Griffin and then her brother and Thomas creating all these gin bills to punish people for selling and buying it. Now I know that this is based off of real events that happened, but it just felt too pushed to me. While I understand that the point was that the aristocrats didn't see the whole picture a lot of the time, it just was too much once again. I did enjoy that we got more hints about the Ghost of St. Giles and I'm excited to find out who it is. I have a couple guesses. 

There was also a teaser for the next book and I'm really excited to see Silence get her HEA. I've been really intrigued to see how it'll play out since their meeting in book 1. I'm definitely going to keep reading the series and get through as many as I can before the live show (see my Wicked Intentions review for all the info). I'm excited to finally start this series and am happy that I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than the 1st. 

Have you read Notorious Pleasures?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Notorious Pleasures, Elizabeth Hoyt, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 371 pages, published in 2011

Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

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After finishing Donna Fletcher's Sinclare Brothers series, I was still in the mood for historical romances. I spent most of the day at work debating on what I wanted to read next. I was thinking of more Donna Fletcher or finally getting to some new releases (that aren't as new at this point) on my bookshelf. However, when I opened instagram in the afternoon, I saw that Jen is hosting a live show about the Maiden Lane series on May 8th. She and Crystal had been reading the series the past month or so, and several other booktubers and bookstagrammers had joined in. I've had Elizabeth Hoyt on my tbr for quite a while now, so I decided now the time to binge it! I don't know if I'll get through all 12 books in time for the live show, but I'll definitely try! It helps that I don't have any book club books at this point to get to first. The first book of the series is Wicked Intentions.

So first off, this book and series is set in the 1700s. I usually read more 1800s or 1500/1600s set books. I did feel the time difference, as there were a lot more people wearing wigs and other details like that. They were little things, but I did notice them being that it's different for me. We meet Temperance, our heroine, the caretaker with her brother Winter for a charity house for abandoned infants and foundling children that their father started. Things aren't going well as their previous sponsor has passed away and they weren't left anything in the will. This is also set in an area known as St. Giles and is very run down and on the grittier side of things. This was definitely a change for me as well since if I'm not in the wilds of Scotland, I'm usually in the higher society settings. Temperance runs across Lord Caire, Lazarus. He is in St. Giles to solve the murder of his mistress and so starts the mystery of the novel. I found Lazarus very interesting. He feels emotional pain when touched by anyone but it felt different than other heroes with a similar trope. He also "doesn't feel emotions." He makes a deal with Temperance for guidance and connections in St. Giles and in return he'll help introduce her to a new sponsor for the foundling house.

I was torn on how to rate this book. I feel like if I were to extrapolate out on my rating it'd be more like a 3.5 instead of 4-stars, but I rounded up. While I enjoyed the connection between Lazarus and Temperance, there were times where it felt like they were moving too slow and other times they were moving too fast. I feel like once they finally were fully intimate with each other and both opened up, I enjoyed their relationship a lot more. I did feel torn with the whole mystery. While it was fine, I either wanted it to be fleshed out more or less of a plot point compared to the romance. I also didn't like how much religion played a role in Temperance and her family's affairs. I understand that religion was a big deal during that time, but it's just not something I enjoy reading about as much, especially when it's in historicals. It just bothers me that if a woman feels desire, even for her husband that she's seen as a horrible person and it's a grave sin. I know it's woven in to a lot of historicals, it's hard not to be. I just don't like it when it's made super obvious. It could also have a part in the time frame this book is set as. I also wanted more insight into Lazarus's background and why he has issues being touched, especially since we only kind-of dealt with his abandonment issues. 

I know that a lot of favorites of the series are the later books, so I'll definitely keep reading the series. I've heard mixed reviews about book two, so I'll start that with a grain of salt. I enjoyed Lady Hero in this book and it has my favorite trope, the wrong sibling. I'm hoping it'll at least be a 3-star read, especially since I enjoy Elizabeth Hoyt's writing style. I'm definitely excited to get to some of the later books though.

Have you read Wicked Intentions?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Wicked Intentions, Elizabeth Hoyt, 4-stars, eBook, 1 day, 382 pages, published in 2010