Lord of Darkness (2013) (Piatkus)
Elizabeth Hoyt
Grade: A
Genre: historical romance
Sex scenes: HOT
Source: library
Maiden Lane: (1) Wicked Intentions, (2) Notorious Pleasures, (3) Scandalous Desires, (4) Thief of Shadows
Godric St. John was blissfully married to the love of his
life, Clara, for one short year before she contracted a fatal illness. He was
forced to watch helplessly as she disintegrated a slow death before his eyes.
His life lost all meaning and he became the Ghost of St. Giles, protecting the
vulnerable people of London at the risk of his own life.
It’s just a normal night in St. Giles when Godric finds a
gun pointed in his face – what he’s not expecting is to see his wife on the
other end. Margaret St John is in London to stay, with two goals in mind. The
first is to get herself pregnant and the second is to avenge the murder of the
only man she has ever loved, Roger Fraser-Burnsley, father of the child she
miscarried shortly after marrying Godric. Roger’s killer? The Ghost, of course.
When Lord Griffin Reading, Megs’ older brother had
discovered that Godric was the Ghost, he gave Godric an ultimatum he couldn’t
refuse: marry his pregnant sister, or the world would learn that he was the
ghost. Two years later and while they haven’t seen each other since their
marriage, neither Godric nor Megs can deny the sparks between them. When Megs
discovers that her husband is the Ghost, they’re suddenly bound together even
closer than before in a race to stop
This is my favourite Maiden Lane book by far. For one, I actually understand it (books 1-3 are a very confused jumble in my head) and secondly, it reveals some truths about the Ghost of St. Giles that are long overdue. Godric is the second of three Ghosts that we know of; the first being Winter Makepeace, the hero from Thief of Shadows. Since marrying Isabel Beckinhall, he has given up his ghostly duties. We've apparently met Godric before, but I just don't remember. Anyhow, I feel like I’m finally in the loop and I cannot wait for book six, Duke of Midnight, which I think concerns the last of our trio of Ghosts.
Megs was a lovely heroine. She hasn’t seen her husband since
she married him and has every reason to be wary of their reunion, but she treats
her planned seduction and takeover of his house with casual aplomb. She’s
wonderfully full of life and laughter a real pleasure to read. She might have
anticipated Godric’s role to be merely that of a studhorse, but however hard
she tries, she’s unable to stop these feelings she’s feeling from taking over
her heart.
Godric, similarly, was a great hero. Despite living a
fraught life as the Ghost, he’s remarkably laidback about everything else; he
reminds me a little of Roarke in this respect. He barely bats an eyelid when
Megs, his sister, stepmother and a whole entourage of staff takeover his London
townhouse, and willingly escorts them to mundane things like the theatre in a
bid to get rid of them faster. He’s calm and collected and in control of his
emotions – except around his beautiful wife.
Have you ever seen such a beautiful cover? Elizabeth Hoyt
covers are, in my opinion, possibly the most consistently beautiful historical
romance covers out there, and Lord of
Darkness was no exception. So far in the Maiden Lane series, this is my favourite cover, with Scandalous Desires as my favourite
stepback (click on the link and hover your cursor over the covers to see its
stepback. Beautiful, no?).
We've had a nice introduction to our next duo, Artemis Greaves and the Duke of Wakefield. Artemis is companion to her wealthy cousin, Lady Penelope; she's lost her family, the man who loved her and her brother has been wrongly committed to Bedlam. The Duke of Wakefield is one of few eligible Dukes still unmarried and Lady Penelope's latest obsession - can't wait to see her reaction when she discovers that her penniless cousin has won him! It's released next month and I'm super excited!
Images courtesy of Elizabeth Hoyt.
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