Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Review -- Lord of Darkness

Lord of Darkness
Maiden Lane—Book 5
By Elizabeth Hoyt
Publisher: Grand Central
Release Date: February 26, 2013
 




Warning—this review contains spoilers for those who haven’t read the Maiden Lane series. 

Lord of Darkness begins two years after Thief of Shadows ends. Two years after Godric St. John was blackmailed into marrying Lady Margaret Reading.  In fact, the books starts off with Godric seeing Megs for the first time since they married...and she’s holding a gun to his head. Though, she has no idea she has her husband in her sights. Megs only sees the Ghost of St. Giles, whom she believes killed Roger, the only man she ever loved. 

Megs comes to London for one reason: to seduce her husband and conceive a child. She hasn’t seen Godric since their wedding day, but holds no ill will toward him because she knows he did her a great favor by marrying her. But now she desperately wants a baby. She doesn’t expect to see the Ghost so quickly upon her arrival, but decides it is the perfect time to exact her revenge. When the Ghost ends up saving her life, Megs begins to see him in a somewhat different light...which of course causes her to feel slightly uncomfortable and confused. 

Godric returns to Saint House just before his wife’s arrival. He doesn’t expect her to stay too long since his house is in no way fit for company. Because of his nighttime activities as the Ghost of St. Giles, protector of the weak, he prefers his privacy above all else. So imagine his shock when his wife tells him why she’s there! But Megs isn’t the only person who has felt loss. Godric lost the love of his life to a slow, debilitating disease only years before. At first he rejects Megs’s plea as he feels it would be a betrayal to his beloved Clara. Later, he tries to appease her in the hopes that she’ll leave, but by then he is already falling for her charms. When Megs discovers her husband’s secret, they make a pact to find out the truth behind Roger’s murder. But they must be careful as there are others who want the Ghost dead... 

What can I say about Elizabeth Hoyt’s books that I haven’t already said in my other reviews? With each new book she releases, she always delivers the goods. I don’t think she could write a bad book if she tried. Lord of Darkness features two previous secondary characters who are brought together by a marriage of convenience. But even then, they aren’t “together”. Megs enjoys her life at Laurelwood Manor but soon longs for a baby and decides to throw caution to the wind and seduce her husband. I love Megs’s reaction when she first encounters Godric sleeping in an old, ancient armchair wearing ragged slippers and half-moon spectacles, and she deems him to be just as ancient. Ha! Of course, he’s not that old—that’s just what he wants her to believe. That’s what he wants everyone to believe, that he’s boring and stodgy. When she finds out he’s the Ghost, she knows that she and everyone else had him pegged wrong.
 

She threw her head back, her dark eyes shining, her hair already beginning to struggle out of its confines as she started pacing in front of his fireplace. “Until yesterday evening I thought I knew you. I thought you were a staid, elderly scholar who lived by himself in a much too dusty mansion and once in a while for a bit of excitement went out to coffeehouses. And then”—she spun at the far end of the room, waving her hands as if battling birds attacking her head—“and then I find out that you’re a notorious madman who runs about in a ridiculous mask and gets into fights with footpads in St. Giles, and, Godric, I really, truly don’t think I know you at all now.” 

She stopped dead and glared at him, her breast heaving. Dear God, she was magnificent when she was in a rage. 

He cleared his throat. “Elderly?” 

Elderly?” She mimicked him in a horribly high voice, which he privately thought was a bit unfair—he didn’t sound like that at all. “That’s all you can say?...”
 

Godric has been alone for so long that when Megs hugs him for the first time it is a shock to his body and mind. Both have felt the keen effects of losing someone they loved with all their hearts and certainly never expected to find that kind of love again. Their relationship slowly evolves from passing acquaintances to a deep understanding of one another and they sincerely appreciate what the other means to them.
 

“He may help people in St. Giles, but I think he does it at the expense of himself.”... “It can’t be good for a man such as Godric—a sensitive, moral man—to deal with violence so often. It’s as if he’s chipping away at his own soul.”

  
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He could spend hours thus, simply watching the constant flicker of changing emotions across her face. She was so vibrant, his Megs, so alive with hope and love and happiness. If she left him—when she left him—he didn’t know how he would return to his old life. 

It would be like living without sunlight.
 

Lord of Darkness is another outstanding, emotionally-charged historical romance from Hoyt. It is the fifth in her popular Maiden Lane series, and while you certainly don’t need to have read the other books in the series to enjoy this one, I would recommend that you do in order to gain a greater understanding of the characters and their actions. Plus, they’re all terrific books! Those of you who have read the series will relish seeing some familiar faces and getting updates on previous couples. Once again, Hoyt has produced another gem for my keeper shelves and, once again, she has penned another book that I highly recommend. She continues to keep me enthralled with the folks of Maiden Lane and if the snippet from her next one is any indication, I will be enthralled again come November.  

 
~Andrea

26 comments:

  1. Great review, Andrea!

    Cannot wait to get my hands on my copy, it's on the way, but not nearly fast enough :) LOVE this series!!

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    1. Thanks, Beebs. This series is so addicting, isn't it?!

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  2. Your review left me wishing I could skip all I have to do today and read the new Hoyt without delay, Andrea. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until the weekend. But then I plan some Please-Do-Not-Disturb reading time devoted to Lord of Darkness.

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    1. Sounds like a plan, Janga. :) I hope you enjoy it!

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  3. Great review, Andrea! I probably won't have time to read this one until next week and it's making me a very unhappy camper. Love Hoyt's writing and the entire Maiden Lane series!

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  4. Terrific review Andrea! I'm not surprised that Lord of Darkness received it either because I don't think that Elizabeth has ever written a book that isn't great - it's just not something she would accept.

    Whenever I finish one of her books I picture her going over her manuscript and making slashes and writing in changes (though today's day and age she probably uses a computer).

    Have you ever had the same thought and mentally pictured an author with wadded up paper thrown all around on the floor while they search for that perfect phrase or scene that will take us right to the heart of the story?

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    1. Thanks, Jeanne! Yes, I have pictured that. And I can definitely picture that with Hoyt. I have to add that when I finish one of her books, I am utterly ruined for any other books for at least a couple days. :)

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  5. Awesome review, Andrea! I'm with you - you could read one of her books as a stand alone, but why would you when you could experience her brilliance over and over again. One of the best things about an Elizabeth Hoyt book is the worlds she creates! I am so excited. I forgot today was release day and this book is at the top of my list. Thanks for the great preview.

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    1. Thank you, irisheyes! I totally agree--Hoyt creates amazing worlds. Not only are they interesting, but they leave you craving for more. I hope you enjoy LOD!

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  6. Oh, I read the first in this series and really looking forward to this next one!

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  7. Started it and cannot put it down...sneaking a read now and again at work. It IS SOOO good!

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    1. I know, right? I couldn't put it down either, Hope! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, you sneaky thing! ;-)

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  8. I really want to read this book. I love her books.

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    1. Yes, you really want to read this book, Quilt Lady!

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  9. Just got my copy~! Super excited to start reading.

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  10. Thanks so much for another review. I love having books like the Maiden Lane series to look forward to. I was trying to wait until the series was all out to begin them, but I can't wait any longer. I have got to start reading them now.

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    1. You must have the patience of a saint, librarypat! You are in for a treat. :)

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    2. It is because I have no patience that I wait to read them until they are all out. I can't stand to have to wait months between books. If I do happen to start a series, I wil snap the next book up as soon as it is out.

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    3. I can certainly understand why you do it, Pat. I love discovering a "new to me" series and being able to gobble it up!

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  11. Great review! I really love Hoyt's Maiden lane series I can't wait to read Lord of Darkness.
    I also love her 4 solider series :)

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    1. Savannah, I have loved every single one of her books. She creates the most intriguing worlds filled with people you truly care about. And the way she ties them in with a fairy tale in brilliant. Enjoy LOD!

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  12. I really enjoyed your review and the excerpt you shared, Andrea. I always love Elizabeth Hoyt’s novels yet you make me want to run right out and buy it!

    Thanks so much for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, Connie. I appreciate that. Hoyt makes it so easy to love her books and I only hope my review did it justice. :)

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