Duke of Pleasure
By Elizabeth Hoyt
Publisher: Grand Central
Release Date: November 29, 2016
Alf, also known as the Ghost of St. Giles, is nervous when
Kyle approaches her for her assistance. After all, after she rescued him, she
kissed him—a kiss she can’t forget—did he know? It soon becomes apparent he is
unaware she’s a woman, let alone the Ghost. She agrees to his request to find
the men who tried to kill him; however, her questions soon bring down the same
men on her and she barely escapes for her life and runs to Kyle’s house.
Kyle takes her in, feeling guilty he put a child in danger,
and soon after, he discovers Alf is the St. Giles Ghost…and more importantly, a
woman. He cannot keep her out of his mind or his bed as they work together to
find out all the men who belong to the Lords of Chaos. The problem is can he
let go of his past and allow himself to fall in love with the one woman most
perfect for him?
This novel in the Maiden Lane series is welcomingly lighter
than its predecessor. Although the arc regarding the Lords of Chaos is a dark
one and has been featured in a book or two already—and is going to feature in
the book coming after this one (Duke of Desire), the action scenes felt much
lighter than in previous books. It is also refreshing to have a woman
action-hero whom the hero trusts to do the kind of work that is ultimately
dangerous, but that he knows she is capable of handling. The hero and heroine
felt very much like equals, even though he is the illegitimate son of the king
and she is a guttersnipe; and the reasons for keeping them apart do not have
to do with her believing she is not good enough for him (or vise versa).
I love this series. Ms. Hoyt always keeps this series fresh
and sexy, dark and emotional. As always, I want to go back and reread all the
books in the series and fall in love with all the characters again. (I’m not
sure who inspired Kyle for this story I know Tom Hiddleston—squee!—was the
inspiration for the Duke of Sin; and I believe Jason Isaacs was the inspiration
for Lord Caire, the first hero of the series. But I wonder if Ms. Hoyt has been
watching some episodes of Poldark with the rest of us, because Kyle’s black
hair, black eyes, and smiles remind me of Aiden Turner. A reader can dream,
yes?)
~Hellie
************SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*****************
The ebook edition of WICKED INTENTIONS, the first book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s bestselling Maiden Lane series will be FREE from November 28th through December 12th. On December 13th the price returns to $5.99.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2fVKt1w
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fLtiSD
