Lord of Darkness (Maiden Lane #5)
by Elizabeth Hoyt
by Elizabeth Hoyt
Publication date: 26 Feb 2013 by Grand Central Publishing
Category: Adult Historical Romance
Keywords: Historical, romance, second chances, revenge
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook
Source: e-ARC received from Netgalley
Synopsis:
When Strangers In The Night
He lives in the shadows. As the mysterious masked avenger known as the Ghost of St. Giles, Godric St. John's only goal is to protect the innocent of London. Until the night he confronts a fearless young lady pointing a pistol at his head—and realizes she is his wife.
Become Lovers...
Lady Margaret Reading has vowed to kill the Ghost of St. Giles—the man who murdered her one true love. Returning to London, and to the man she hasn't seen since their wedding day, Margaret does not recognize the man behind the mask. Fierce, commanding, and dangerous, the notorious Ghost of St. Giles is everything she feared he would be—and so much more.
Desire Is The Ultimate Danger
When passion flares, these two intimate strangers can't keep from revealing more of themselves than they had ever planned. But when Margaret learns the truth—that the Ghost is her husband—the game is up and the players must surrender...to the temptation that could destroy them both.
Review:
I am pretty new to the Maiden Lane series and became a fan of Elizabeth Hoyt after reading Thief of Shadows last year. Full of mystery, adventure, and passionate romance, this has quickly become one of my favorite historical romance series. As such, I was very excited to receive an e-galley of the newest book Lord of Darkness.
Fans will recognize Megs and Godric from Thief of Shadows, where Meg's secret lover was killed - supposedly by the Ghost of St. Giles. In the wake of that tragedy, Godric marries Megs to save her from scandal. Megs has remained in the country for the past couple of years but now returns to London with two goals in mind. One, she must seduce her husband and get with child and second, she must get vengeance for her lover's death.
While I enjoyed Lord of Darkness, it didn't grab me like the other books in the series. Megs and Godric were both admirable, if somewhat stubborn characters. Both have felt love before and have felt its terrible loss. And both are determined never to betray that love by feeling it again with each other. I wanted to shake both of them at times because they kept pushing each other away. I think Godric came around quicker than Megs though and I was somewhat annoyed at her for waiting until the last possible moment to tell her she loved him.
Once they started coming around though, I really enjoyed their romance. Hoyt definitely knows how to write a steamy love scene and Megs and Godric are quite a passionate pair once they let down their guard. I also liked that this wasn't a conventional romance. It was hard watching Godric and Megs struggle with the guilt over their new feelings. This book is about second chances and embracing life. I think Godric's wife and Megs's lover would have been happy that they found love again.
Though this wasn't my favorite Maiden Lane book, Lord of Darkness is a solid entry in the series and is an engaging and entertaining read. I enjoyed getting to know Megs and Godric and was glad that these two found their happy ending. The book can be read as a standalone though you'll probably enjoy it a bit more if you have some back story on the series. Or you can be like me and start in the middle and then go back and read everything else (because you'll want to). Lord of Darkness also includes a brief excerpt from Duke of Midnight, the next book in the Maiden Lane series. It stars Artemis Greaves and the Duke of Wakefield and sounds fantastic. I am already looking forward to it. :)
*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.
Visit the author online at www.elizabethhoyt.com and follow her on Twitter @ElizabethHoyt
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