Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Series: Maiden Lane Series #1
~*~Blurb from Author Website~*~
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 the area like the back of her hand—she cares for its children 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 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 a cold bargain soon falls prey to a passion neither can control—and may well destroy them both.
In this new-to-me-author novel, I was transported to the Georgian era where I would be taken on an adventure through the grim and dangerous streets of St. Giles, to high society social gatherings, and everything in between. I was drawn in from the beginning and held captive to the end in this action and passion filled story of two opposite characters that seemed the most unlikely pairing, and yet, ended up the most suitable partnership.
Right from page one of Wicked Intentions, the action takes off. You're introduced to the complicated heroine, Temperance Dews. She helps her brother, Winter, run the foundling home for orphaned children, which was left to the family after their father's death. While the home is immensely important to Winter, it is also in serious debt due to its lack of patronage. It is upon the lowest moment of the hour, just when they are about to be evicted, does a savior enter the scene. But the homes' rescuer is anything but saintly.
Lazarus Huntington, known as Lord Caire, is a wealthy member of the ton, but known as both a social and sexual deviant amongst them. For months, he has traversed the dark, dangerous, and unscrupulous streets of St. Giles, in search of a killer with little luck. He has heard gossip of Temperance and her brothers good deeds and decides to make her an offer that she can not refuse. He will save the orphanage from eviction and introduce her to members of high society in hopes of finding a new benefactor, in exchange for her assistance as a guide through the streets of St. Giles. While Temperance is leery of the strangers proposition, she is desperate for his charity. What she doesn't expect is just how dangerous the job would become -- both physically and emotionally. The killer doesn't stop at just one person, and soon Temperance finds herself as one of the killers targets, as well as the object of desire by one dangerously tempting man.
Wicked Intentions, is full of wicked deeds! From murder of a prostitute, brothels that offer activities of the 'abnormal' kind for the time period, to wicked amounts of sexual tension and sex in a carriage! Ms. Hoyt does a fantastic job at painting a picture of a dark atmosphere were woman and men are expected to behave a certain way, but harbor needs and desires that burn with an intensity, that the only thing left to do is to act upon them.
Ms. Hoyt's writing style fantastically matched the way I like to read. It was easy, yet fast paced, had a good balance of description to create a great picture in my mind, and even fun. Each chapter starts off with a paragraph or two, of King Lockedheart, a fantasy story of a king and maid, that acts as a metaphor for what the characters in the chapters are experiencing as their own relationship changes.
The hero and heroine are complete opposite in social status, as well as emotional, moralistic, and physical standards. The way in which the two pair up is slightly odd in the fact that one moment neither really knew of each other, and the next minute he's sitting in her sitting room asking her for her help in navigating the back streets of St. Giles. However, the oddity of this match making didn't cause me to feel that the storyline was forced. Quite the opposite in fact. Instead, I was swept up in the dangerous and delicious adventure of two unlikely people, who each harbor their own secrets and passion, that make them more compatible than then they could originally realize.
I liked the combination of complexity and simplicity that each characters attributes seem to portray. The heroine is typical, yet at the same time not, for this time period. Temperance is different in the fact that she is NOT a virgin! Yes, I know! A historical with a non-virgin female -- imagine that! There's more that adds to this story, but I'll leave that for you to find out. She is typical in the sense that she emotionally 'beats' herself up for her needs and desires, both in freedom and sexuality, that she feels are very inappropriate for to even contemplate. She also doesn't necessarily like the life that has been laid out for her, which causes her much guilt over the fact that it is deeply rooted in family. This is a strong driving factor in leading her in to the arms of Lord Caire. He offers her a world to explore her desires and freedom, and while she fights him in the beginning, it's only a matter of time before she can no longer ward him off.
The hero, Lord Caire, is extremely complicated. His childhood is riddled with emotional pain, that eventually turns into an extreme manifestation of physical pain, that ultimately leads him to cutting off any emotional feelings towards everyone around him, including his mother. However, Ms. Dewes, starts to wear down his hardened facade, even though he still can not stand to be physically touched.
But, in the end, his physical discomfort will be tested. And what a yummy test it is! There is a lot of sexual tension between these two main characters, which I will shamelessly admit, had me reading faster so I could get to the long awaited moment when they finally give in. And, I was not disappointed in the least when the characters finally did! Wow! Is all I have to say!
The 392 pages are fast paced and include many secondary characters, and even a side story that was taking place simultaneously, which I'm still on the fence how I feel about the necessity of its inclusion. I liked it. It gave a short story about Temperance's sister. But, when researching the upcoming book, I found that this character's story is not the focus of the next in the series. Instead, it is of another secondary character that I really enjoyed!
~*~Final Thoughts~*~
I recommend Wicked Intentions to anyone who loves a fast moving historical romance with lots of different characters and situations going on, and enjoys complicated, 'different', and dynamic characters who know how to fog up your senses with their own steaminess! If you tend to get squirmy about topics such as murder, violence, blood, slight portrayals of BDSM and voyeurism, than this book may not be for you. But, if those things sound right up your alley...well, then enjoy! I, myself, will be anxiously looking forward to the next book in the series, Notorious Pleasures, coming in February of 2011!
Right from page one of Wicked Intentions, the action takes off. You're introduced to the complicated heroine, Temperance Dews. She helps her brother, Winter, run the foundling home for orphaned children, which was left to the family after their father's death. While the home is immensely important to Winter, it is also in serious debt due to its lack of patronage. It is upon the lowest moment of the hour, just when they are about to be evicted, does a savior enter the scene. But the homes' rescuer is anything but saintly.
Lazarus Huntington, known as Lord Caire, is a wealthy member of the ton, but known as both a social and sexual deviant amongst them. For months, he has traversed the dark, dangerous, and unscrupulous streets of St. Giles, in search of a killer with little luck. He has heard gossip of Temperance and her brothers good deeds and decides to make her an offer that she can not refuse. He will save the orphanage from eviction and introduce her to members of high society in hopes of finding a new benefactor, in exchange for her assistance as a guide through the streets of St. Giles. While Temperance is leery of the strangers proposition, she is desperate for his charity. What she doesn't expect is just how dangerous the job would become -- both physically and emotionally. The killer doesn't stop at just one person, and soon Temperance finds herself as one of the killers targets, as well as the object of desire by one dangerously tempting man.
Wicked Intentions, is full of wicked deeds! From murder of a prostitute, brothels that offer activities of the 'abnormal' kind for the time period, to wicked amounts of sexual tension and sex in a carriage! Ms. Hoyt does a fantastic job at painting a picture of a dark atmosphere were woman and men are expected to behave a certain way, but harbor needs and desires that burn with an intensity, that the only thing left to do is to act upon them.
Ms. Hoyt's writing style fantastically matched the way I like to read. It was easy, yet fast paced, had a good balance of description to create a great picture in my mind, and even fun. Each chapter starts off with a paragraph or two, of King Lockedheart, a fantasy story of a king and maid, that acts as a metaphor for what the characters in the chapters are experiencing as their own relationship changes.
The hero and heroine are complete opposite in social status, as well as emotional, moralistic, and physical standards. The way in which the two pair up is slightly odd in the fact that one moment neither really knew of each other, and the next minute he's sitting in her sitting room asking her for her help in navigating the back streets of St. Giles. However, the oddity of this match making didn't cause me to feel that the storyline was forced. Quite the opposite in fact. Instead, I was swept up in the dangerous and delicious adventure of two unlikely people, who each harbor their own secrets and passion, that make them more compatible than then they could originally realize.
I liked the combination of complexity and simplicity that each characters attributes seem to portray. The heroine is typical, yet at the same time not, for this time period. Temperance is different in the fact that she is NOT a virgin! Yes, I know! A historical with a non-virgin female -- imagine that! There's more that adds to this story, but I'll leave that for you to find out. She is typical in the sense that she emotionally 'beats' herself up for her needs and desires, both in freedom and sexuality, that she feels are very inappropriate for to even contemplate. She also doesn't necessarily like the life that has been laid out for her, which causes her much guilt over the fact that it is deeply rooted in family. This is a strong driving factor in leading her in to the arms of Lord Caire. He offers her a world to explore her desires and freedom, and while she fights him in the beginning, it's only a matter of time before she can no longer ward him off.
The hero, Lord Caire, is extremely complicated. His childhood is riddled with emotional pain, that eventually turns into an extreme manifestation of physical pain, that ultimately leads him to cutting off any emotional feelings towards everyone around him, including his mother. However, Ms. Dewes, starts to wear down his hardened facade, even though he still can not stand to be physically touched.
But, in the end, his physical discomfort will be tested. And what a yummy test it is! There is a lot of sexual tension between these two main characters, which I will shamelessly admit, had me reading faster so I could get to the long awaited moment when they finally give in. And, I was not disappointed in the least when the characters finally did! Wow! Is all I have to say!
"Something wild and feminine thrilled at the roughness of his voice, at the knowledge that she was affecting him, despite his sophistication. She opened her mouth beneath his, biting back at him, and he inhaled sharply. Then his mouth was crushing hers, roughly, almost out of control, a male creature dominating a female. His female."
The 392 pages are fast paced and include many secondary characters, and even a side story that was taking place simultaneously, which I'm still on the fence how I feel about the necessity of its inclusion. I liked it. It gave a short story about Temperance's sister. But, when researching the upcoming book, I found that this character's story is not the focus of the next in the series. Instead, it is of another secondary character that I really enjoyed!
~*~Final Thoughts~*~
I recommend Wicked Intentions to anyone who loves a fast moving historical romance with lots of different characters and situations going on, and enjoys complicated, 'different', and dynamic characters who know how to fog up your senses with their own steaminess! If you tend to get squirmy about topics such as murder, violence, blood, slight portrayals of BDSM and voyeurism, than this book may not be for you. But, if those things sound right up your alley...well, then enjoy! I, myself, will be anxiously looking forward to the next book in the series, Notorious Pleasures, coming in February of 2011!
4 comments:
I have a few Hoyt books in my TBR and while I haven't read her yet, romance readers seem to love her.
Great review Tanya! You had me at BDSM and voyeurism!!
This sounds really good, I think I will add it to my TBR pile. Great review.
I've had this one on my radar for awhile. I love historical romances.
Great review!
awesome review, Tanya! I really liked this one too! She's a great author, my fave of hers is the Raven Prince, you should check it out! It's actually one of my top Historical Romances of all time :)
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