Review: Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt

Format: mass market
Pub Date: October 2017
Publisher: Grand Central
Length:  308 pages
POV: 3rd, past

***Content warning: rape, incest, child molestation***

Elizabeth Hoyt's books are often gritty. They often deal with less than savory behavior. There's violence in them. But Duke of Desire should have a content warning on it. I found it deeply distressing, especially as a major character motivation deals explicitly with being raped by his parent as a child.

The plot revolves around Raphael, the Duke of Dyemore, infiltrating the Lords of Chaos (an evil group of men who rape and sodomize as part of their secret society). He rescues Lady Iris Jordan from their clutches under the guise of raping and murdering her "off screen" as it were. She shoots him, not realizing she's actually being rescued.

I had several issues with the plot and pacing, but for me...this was just too dark. I finished it, because Hoyt is compulsively readable, but it's not a book I'd recommend easily. Proceed with caution.

TBR Challenge Review: Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt

Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pub: Grand Central/Hachette
Pub Date: November 2015
Length: 328 pages
 POV: 3rd/past
FTC: Purchased myself

I'm afraid to say that I've beaten the reading slump that has plagued me for the last few years, but...I think I've finally beaten the damn thing!!!  So I joined the TBR Challenge again, which I'm hoping doesn't jinx it.  It's ok to sign up late if you want to join in!

I'm perpetually behind on the Maiden Lane series, despite the fact that I ALWAYS enjoy them. I'm not sure why this is, except to say that the books are usually quite emotionally draining, and I just can't glom them.Of course, of all of the books I've read so far, this one was my least favorite. Which still isn't all that bad, when the bar is set so high.

TBR Challenge Review: Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

Format: mass market, ebook
Pub Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Length: 384 pages
FTC: Purchased myself
Why it was in the TBR: Picked up at publication intending to read, then promptly forgot it.

This month's TBR Challenge theme is a series you're behind on. And since I'm always a book or three behind in the Maiden Lane series, I picked this one out of the digital TBR.  I don't know why, but I always forget how truly awesome Elizabeth Hoyt is. I have yet to read a book of hers that I haven't at least liked. Every single book I've read is different. Hoyt does not repeat herself, and this one was one of her better ones.

Review: Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: November 2011
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Length: 370 pages
FTC: Review copy courtesy of the publisher

I haven't read an Elizabeth Hoyt book in a long, long time. I'd forgotten how awesome she is. Her heroes, especially, are always a bit edgy, which I love.

This book is for all of those who are suffering under Regency England overload. Not only is this not set in a shiny ballroom, stuffed full of eligible aristocrats, the hero is a river pirate. That's right, a RIVER PIRATE. How awesome is that? And although there is a baron as a secondary character, most of the characters are of common stock.

To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

I never seem to tire of the old Beauty and the Beast plot lines. I'm not sure why, but I find it--and the Ugly Duckling stories-- to be redeeming in some way. Perhaps it is my innate distaste for the way modern society focuses on appearance, but I really enjoy it when one--or both--characters don't follow the 'they're so beautiful' mold.

This is the first book by Elizabeth Hoyt that I have read, and I must say I wasn't disappointed. She has a fresh approach to historical romance and her characters are well developed--from the servants to the heroes. Every single one of them is memorable.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that the heroine was a 'fallen' woman who didn't fit the 'perfect' heroine mold either.

To Beguile a Beast was a very satisfying book with an even more satisfying theme.