Review: Once Upon a Christmas Eve (A Maiden Lane Novella) by Elizabeth Hoyt

I do love Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series, set in Georgian England, and these accompanying novellas are a sweet treat. This one features Adam, Viscount d'Arque, who has had a minor role in several of the full-length novels. The heroine is Sarah St John, the sister of Godric St John - the hero of Lord of Darkness (#5 Maiden Lane series). You don't need to have read any of the series to enjoy this novella though.

The story starts a few days before Christmas. Adam and his grandmother are on their way to a house party when their carriage breaks its axle in a snowstorm. The nearest house turns out to belong to Godric St John, who doesn't much like Adam because he once flirted with Megs - Godric's wife - but Adam is a notorious rake and flirts with every woman. This is unfortunate because the only woman he's ever really been interested in (Sarah St John) really hates rakes...

This novella is quite short - it took me about an hour to read and finishes at 85% with a chapter from Elizabeth Hoyt's next book at the end - but I really enjoyed it. My only complaint was that I wish it could have been longer! I'd always felt Adam deserved a book of his own. I loved the banter between the characters, the lovely Christmassy touches (gathering holly in the snow), and the very romantic ending. *Sighs*. I think I'm going to read it again ... 

If you enjoy this, do try Lord of Darkness, which is one of my favourite Maiden Lane novels. 

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Review: Once Upon a Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt

Review: Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt

Review: Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

Review: Once Upon a Maiden Lane (Maiden Lane #12.5) by Elizabeth Hoyt

Once Upon a Maiden Lane is a standalone novella featuring characters from Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series. Officially it comes in at #12.5 (after the final novel, Duke of Desire) although the only characters to get a proper mention are from #1 (Wicked Intentions) and #10 (Duke of Sin).

The heroine, Mary Whitsun, featured in Wicked Intentions as a child. She was given her unusual surname after being found on the doorstep of an orphanage on Whit Sunday.

The hero, Viscount Blackwell, has been engaged to Lady Johanna Albright since birth. He was previously engaged to her twin sister, who disappeared as a baby. When he meets Mary Whitsun in a bookshop he is convinced she is Lady Johanna's long lost sister. Is Mary about to get a fairy tale 'happily ever after'?

I loved the characters; I found their interaction very engaging. Their romance was sweet and I loved the scene where they met in a bookshop. I wasn't so sure about the 'missing heir' plot, but Elizabeth Hoyt puts her own spin on it. My only complaint was that it ended too soon, almost as though it was missing a chapter. Several plot strands were left unresolved, and the villain's motivation seemed a bit weak. Maybe I'm just being greedy, wanting it to be longer?

But I did enjoy the story and I've already got the final novella in this series on order (Once Upon a Christmas Eve).

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Review: Duke of Pleasure

Review: Duke of Desire

Review: Duke of Desire (#12 Maiden Lane Series) by Elizabeth Hoyt

Duke of Desire is #12 in the Maiden Lane series of Georgian historical romances written by one of my favourite authors, Elizabeth Hoyt. You don't need to have read the others to enjoy the story, as the only characters to reoccur (from Duke of Pleasure) are Iris and Hugh.

On the way back from the wedding of her friend Hugh, Iris is kidnapped by members of the Lords of Chaos (a kind of Hellfire Club) who intend to sacrifice her in revenge for Hugh's campaign against them. She is rescued by the Duke of Dyemore, Raphael de Chartres, who has infiltrated the Lords with the intent of destroying them. Unfortunately Iris, misunderstanding his intent, promptly shoots him! They then spend the rest of the story trying to keep one step ahead of the Lords, who are determined to get their revenge.

I love this series because it's set in Georgian times, rather than the usual Regency or Victorian. The brooding-hero-with-a-bleak-past is one of my favourite tropes, and I always enjoy stories where the heroine doesn't whinge about her misfortune but just gets on with turning her life around. I loved the hero's gothic castle, with its sinister locked doors, and his rather sweet view of Iris bringing light to his dark. I think my only complaint would be that the story seemed to be over too quickly, but then the best stories often are!

Although Elizabeth Hoyt often references fairy tales in her novels, they are much darker and grittier than authors such as Julia Quinn or Eloisa James, and the sex scenes are more explicit - on a par with Sylvia Day's historical romances. So this book might not be to everyone's taste. Also, some might feel that the hero's grim past, as a victim of child abuse, is a little too dark.

But I really enjoyed all the action and adventure. It was a fitting end to a brilliant series, and I look forward to reading whatever Elizabeth Hoyt comes up with next.

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Review: Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

Review: Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

I love Elizabeth Hoyt's books, particularly her Maiden Lane series, which is historical romance set in Georgian England. Duke of Pleasure is #11 in the series but you don't have to have read the others to enjoy the story. 

Hugh Fitzroy, the Duke of Kyle, is the illegitimate son of King George II, who uses him as a kind of spy for the work he can't trust anyone else to do. Hugh's current investigation is into the Lords of Chaos, a secret society of aristocrats, similar to The Hellfire Club. One night Hugh is ambushed by their assassins, but fortunately rescued by a notorious vigilante known as the Ghost of St Giles - who turns out to be a woman.

Ironically, the female 'Ghost' Hugh is now obsessed with is already known to him as the street urchin 'Alf', who lives on 'his' wits by dealing in information - for a price. It takes Hugh about half the novel to realise Alf's real identity, and me about the same amount of time to recognise a reworking of My Fair Lady, as Hugh trains Alf to pass herself off as an aristocrat to help him steal some important papers and finally catch the Lords of Chaos.

I enjoyed Duke of Pleasure because it wasn't the usual girl-meets-rake historical romance, it had lots of action and adventure, as well as a bit of a mystery, and I loved the character of Alf. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Georgian romance.

The Ghost of St Giles (a kind of Georgian Batman) has appeared as a main character in three other Elizabeth Hoyt novels: Thief of Shadows (#4), Lord of Darkness (#5) and Duke of Midnight (#6). Alf has also appeared in other Maiden Lane books, mainly Lord of Darkness. So if you do want to read the other books in the series, you might want to start with those.