Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

Synopsis: A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . .

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .
A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST . . .
Caire makes a simple offer-in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control-one that may well destroy them both.
A BARGAIN NEITHER COULD REFUSE

My Thoughts: I really wanted to like this story. I read the 4th book in the Maiden Lane series and enjoyed it quite a bit. This book, however, featured two unlikable characters that I never warmed up to, or in the heroine's case, I slowly lost all  respect for until I was rooting for the murderer to kill her.

What Worked: The murder mystery of who killed Marie Hume was actually quite interesting. I liked being privy to their entire investigation and the outcome was a plausible one. In addition to this, Hoyt's typical writing style of having a story within a story was an excellent addition to this, otherwise, sub-par romance. The addition of the mysterious Ghost of St. Giles helped keep the intrigue moving along also. There were a few secondary characters that I very much enjoyed as well, Godric and Lady Hero are among my favorites.

What Didn't Work: The characters of Lazarus (aka Lord Caire) and Mrs. Temperance Dews were just horrid. Hoyt spent so much time making Caire out to be a sexual deviant and someone who abhorred any kind of physical touch (from anyone--to the point it made him physically ill) that it's no wonder he never resonated as a hero with me. The physical touch issue was never fully explained nor addressed other than after awhile Temperance's touch no longer bothered him. His constant verbal bullying of Temperance was another issue with me. It was unclear if he was purposely trying to shock her, push her away from any emotional attachment to him or he was just an jerkwad. I settled on him being a complete jerkwad.

Temperance's characterization was not good either. She appeared to be a strong intelligent woman yet allowed Caire to repeatedly say things completely inappropriate to her. Things that often were extremely hurtful. She acted hurt by them yet she continued to go back for more of the same all of which she ultimately justified by 'realizing' Caire was only trying to get her to admit everything was for her own good. While reflecting upon it all she actually was thankful to him for helping her to admit what was buried within herself. In addition to this, her admission of her deepest inner secret guilt was enough to make me hate her.

I also think the Ghost of St. Giles thread could have been utilized more effectively. Since I've read another book in the Maiden Lane series I am more familiar with the Ghost but found in this book, for those who are just starting in this series, his plot thread might be a bit lacking. The thread of Temperance's sister Silence, was also quite lacking. It was choppy and failed to make a positive impact which may effect some readers' desire to continue on with the series.

In a Nutshell: Taking into consideration the negative with the positive this book rounds out to an average read. Hoyt does have a way of making her stories intriguing regardless the likability of her characters. However, if this had been my first Hoyt I might have considered shelving the rest of her books for an undetermined length of time regardless of the intrigue The Ghost of St. Giles produced. Thankfully it wasn't and I won't. She can write a great romance. This just wasn't one of them.

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

Synopsis (back blurb):

A MASKED MAN . . .
Winter Makepeace lives a double life. By day he’s the stoic headmaster of a home for foundling children. But the night brings out a darker side of Winter. As the moon rises, so does the Ghost of St. Giles—protector, judge, fugitive. When the Ghost, beaten and wounded, is rescued by a beautiful aristocrat, Winter has no idea that his two worlds are about to collide.
A DANGEROUS WOMAN . . .
Lady Isabel Beckinhall enjoys nothing more than a challenge. Yet when she’s asked to tutor the Home’s dour manager in the ways of society—flirtation, double entendres, and scandalous liaisons—Isabel can’t help wondering why his eyes seem so familiar—and his lips so tempting.
A PASSION NEITHER COULD DENY
During the day Isabel and Winter engage in a battle of wills. At night their passions are revealed . . . But when little girls start disappearing from St. Giles, Winter must avenge them. For that he might have to sacrifice everything—the Home, Isabel . . . and his life.

My Thoughts: Overall I was impressed with this book. I have read one other Hoyt book (The Leopard Prince) several years ago and both books share a few things in common. Both have women of a social standing much higher than the men. The men are working men, the women are women of leisure. She has money he doesn't. There is also a story within the story. I thought parts of the book seemed to drag a bit but overall it kept me wanting to get back to it. The story within the story was told in short parts at the start of each chapter and it made me want to hurry up and get to the next chapter.

Winter was a pretty good hero but perhaps not as 'mysterious' as Hoyt tried to make him. His 'inner beast' came across a bit silly as he is more of a Beta hero than an Alpha (I don't care what he does in his spare time he is still a Beta....but still wonderful...truly). Isobel comes across as cold and not quite likable but Hoyt does an excellent job of showing us that she really isn't cold despite her various actions throughout the first half of the book that would lead us to believe the worst of her. I think as characters go, standing alone, they would be average but together, as a couple, Isobel and Winter are just stunning.

And what can I say about the love scenes? You will rarely hear me say this but most of them were absolutely wonderful. For someone who tends to skip the moist parts I read a couple of them twice. 

As far as the plot goes, the pace seems a bit slow in spots but this is easily overlooked as we get wrapped up in Winter's need to save the innocent and Isobel's need to save Winter. The mystery aspect of the plot is a bit overshadowed by the romance between Isobel and Winter but not in a bad way, as this is a book one wouldn't read for the mystery anyway.

I am so glad I read this book and after reading a teasing sample of the next book in this series (Lord of Darkness) I can't wait until December.  Elizabeth Hoyt has made me a fan.

My favorite quote: "Never volunteer. Not even when pleasantly filled with warm scones and hot tea. Warm scones were obviously the work of the devil....."