Historical Romance Book Club discussion

Discussion thread for the March, 2019 BOTM. Please remember to use the spoiler tags when necessary! (Please see 'some html is ok' for instructions.)

Happy Reading!

Wicked Intentions


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.

Hmmm. This wasn't the one I hoped would win. Ha ha ha. Never mind. I went back and reread my review from May 2017, and now I'm considering rereading this one when March comes around. It seems I did quite like this on first read, so......

I am excited because I read some of the other Maiden Lane series but never book 1. If I enjoy it, I may add to my series challenge.

Mariana wrote: "I am excited because I read some of the other Maiden Lane series but never book 1. If I enjoy it, I may add to my series challenge."

I've read the whole series, and according to my reviews, I liked this one more than some of the others.

Jan wrote: "Mariana wrote: "I am excited because I read some of the other Maiden Lane series but never book 1. If I enjoy it, I may add to my series challenge."

I've read the whole series, and according to my..."

Good to know. I loved some and hated others of the ones I read.

Mariana wrote: "Good to know. I loved some and hated others of the ones I read."

Yeah some of the series left me a little lukewarm, but I wanted to read them all so I did. You know how you can get engrossed in a series and just want to know all there is to know about that world and those characters? But this first one was quite good.

I was hoping this would win, even though I've read this book about 10 times. I still love it!

Also would be intersting to see several opinions to it!

Yes That's the fun of BOTM and BRs. I love seeing other people's opinions, even when I don't always agree LOL.

First Hoyt I ever read was The Raven Prince which I liked a LOT. Next I read this, two months ago, and it didn't really work for me. I don't think I felt the chemistry between H/h, also I generally don't like HR stories where there's a lot of focus on H/h working together on a mystery or crime. But I'll probably re-read this one with the group and see if I have a different feeling about it the second time around. Plus of course I like to hear what others like or don't like about a book.

Looking forward to reading this book. I have 4 Maiden Lane books in my book collection. I have read the Leopard prince. Which I liked.

I plan to join as well. It is neither my favorite nor least favorite of the series or of Hoyt books, probably close to the middle for me.

This sounds interesting! I've not read Hoyt but have her on my list to try. Will look forward to the March BOTM.

I've recently read it and loved it, enjoy !

This was a nice series for me and I enjoyed it. Narration is also good. Love Elizabeth Hoyt.

I own the audible book and listened to this years ago. I’m up for a reread since it has been awhile.

I have listened to the first 4 chapters. It’s been so long, I don’t remember much. I agree with you, Darbella, about all the points you make. Yes, Lord Caire’s “perversions” did make me cringe. But he is a complicated hero. There is more to his emotionless demeanor. And I forgot how gruesome the story was. What happened to Caire’s mistress was terrible!

Discussions underway! I need to start this but probably won't have time until next week. Where did February go?

Darbella wrote: "Finished. I really enjoyed this in a I can not believe I enjoyed this kind of a way. LOL I love that the Hero and Heroine had that instant attraction/spark. I was even happy that [spoilers removed]..."

To your spoiler: (view spoiler)[I think the ghost that is dealing with Mother Hearts Ease is the hero from book 5. I feel like that gets clarified in a later book, but I may be wrong. (hide spoiler)]

I have two other books to read before I start this book.
Looking forward to reading it, as I have the next 4 books in the series to read as well.

Thanks Darbella.
Probably start reading it on Monday. Sounds like it could be a good read.

I just finished. It took a while for the characters to grow on me but, in the end, I enjoyed this book a lot. The murder mystery really helped to move the story along and I enjoyed seeing the main characters tackle the mystery together.

This wasn't the one I was hoping would win for March either... but there are some later books in the Maiden Lane series I want to read and I always like to start a series at book one....

And I do have this as an ebook, so I'm still gonna try to join in if I can finish my current book (a contemporary romance, The Wedding Date) soon enough.

I'll be starting today. It's one of the first EH books I read after the Princes Triology.

I agree with Joanna, it's neither my favorite nor my least favorite of hers. I enjoyed it a lot when I first read it, but then I read some of her other's which were waaaay better.

Excited to see what everyone thinks.

Picked up the book today. Plan to start reading tomorrow.

Just finished reading book 1, in the series. A good read.
Going to start book 2 which is about Lady Hero.

This is the first book of the series that I read and ended up reading the entire series in a month.
This is not the best or the worst HR but it is interesting in its own way.
I like the h and H individually but their romance had the potential to be more than just physical.

Darbella wrote: "Just finished the first chapter. I had forgotten how young Winter was at the beginning of this series. Wow, only 25 and had already taught daily school for five years.
The siblings besides Winter ..."

I just read the first chapter finally! I never read this one before, but I did read Winter's story. All the characters feel familiar.

I am through chapter 5 now. The writing is good, but Lord Caire is just so unlikable.

I made some more progress.

I think since I have watched Dateline and Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer, it makes it even more difficult for me to like a psychopath without empathy. Too often they are evil. I am going to keep going though.

Anyone else still reading?

I never got around to starting :(

How did it end up for you Mariana?

It was okay.

Hoyt's writing was engaging and erotic as I expected. She writes a diverse set of leading charcters- wealthy and poor, beautiful and plain, good and evil. I place a lot of emphasis on relating to or liking both the H and h by the end of the story. I really didn't like or relate to either Lazarus or Temperance.

For this reason, I don't want to read book 2 this year.

However, I do this these two are perfect for each other. That's a plus.