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Sep 25, 2010

Ridley rated it:

I'll probably never win another book through Goodreads' First Reads again with this review. What an anachronistic, ungrammatical, unfinished book that was.

The book opens with the widow Temperance Dews wending her way through the dank and dangerous streets of St. Giles, clutching a loaded pistol. She’s on her way back to the foundling home she runs with her younger brother, returning with her maidservant and an infant they pried from the arms of a dead young mother. Along the way, sh More...

37 comments like (24 people liked it)

Aug 12, 2010

Fani rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

28 comments like (14 people liked it)

Feb 24, 2011

Laurie rated it:

I was very impressed with Wicked Intentions; I greatly enjoined reading this story and the characters. I loved the mystery, adventure, danger, emotions and the hot sex. I’m always a sucker for a book with a hero that is on the darker side and has a tortured soul, but what I liked most was the author didn’t drag anything out between the hero and heroine and she kept them together pretty much thought-out the book.

You’ll find some wicked things in this book. You have a hero Lord Caire More...

3 comments like (9 people liked it)

May 21, 2011

Juliana rated it:

To my surprise, it ended up being one of my favorite romances (5 stars)

I have never before read an Elizabeth Hoyt book and that was mostly because after reading reviews about her books, I got the sense they were probably a little too wild with not enough actual story/substance for me. I am so glad I decided to finally test my theory and that I started with this one - I checked it out of the library but am definitely buying my own copy, because I know this will be a reread many, many More...

17 comments like (13 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2011

Isalys rated it:

*Note: Read and reviewed for The Season for Romance.

Since her husband’s death nine years earlier, Temperance Dews has dedicated her life to helping her brother run a home that cares for the orphaned children of St. Giles in East London. Although she cares for the future and welfare of these children, her dedication is driven by a fierce need to atone for a past sin that continues to haunt her.

Lazarus Huntington’s mistress was brutally murdered in St. Giles and he has mad More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 03, 2012

KatLynne rated it:

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a Hoyt and I had forgotten her amazing talent. I enjoyed my journey through 18th century London slums and found myself so involved that I didn’t want to put this one down. How refreshing for me to find a HR that leaves the focus of snobbery London behind along with who’s wearing what and a H/h bent on following society rules to the letter and instead offers a delightful tale with the spotlight being the hero and heroine’s emotional ride to the very end!

More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2010

Keri rated it:

What an awesome read!!!! I wish that I read this sooner. Lord Caire, Lazarus is a man that lives on the dark side and can't be touched without pain and his sexual proclivities are the stuff of legends. Pretty but demure Temperance runs an orphanage in one of the worst parts of London.

At first glance these two have nothing in common, but as their layers are uncovered they find that the other has exactly what the other needs. As Lazarus and Temperance look for a murderer and continue t More...

4 comments like (9 people liked it)

Sep 12, 2011

♡KarLynP♡ added it

I never tried so hard to read a book, but after many attemps over two months I just couldn't get into the story or care about the character - or keep all those off-the-wall names straight. Made it about page 100. I normally love this author, so it may be I'm just not in the mood for this story. And so many of my reading buddies did love it, so I tried. Maybe someday I'll try again when I can look at it with fresh eyes. But for now, DNF.

7 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2011

Tammy rated it:

"Modern squalor is squalid but Georgian squalor was an art form in itself."
www.gentree.org.uk/artlondonpast.htm

The slums of Georgian London. Close your eyes and you can picture the buildings - tall, grey and sooty, so close together they look to be leaning inward towards you. The claustrophobic feel of the small rooms, narrow alleys lit only by feeble lamps. The smell of the slaughterhouse in the air. The grinding poverty. The abje More...

29 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Jacqueline rated it:

Until picking up Wicked Intentions, To Seduce A Sinner had been the only Elizabeth Hoyt novel that I had read. I remember being so impressed with the story, especially how real and raw it felt - suspense plot and all. The hero and heroine were so well-drawn and complex that they outshone the typical rake and spinster archetypes.

The same holds true for Temperance Dews and Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, who are so much more than the lonely widow and emotionally unavailable rogue. Laza More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 14, 2011

Jacqueline rated it:

Does anyone recall that YouTube video of that Twi-tard who expresses obsessive adoration for the book Twilight by saying "amazing book" in a rather awkwardly freakish way? Well, take those exact sentiments and apply them to a far, far better novel, Elizabeth Hoyt's Wicked Intentions to be exact, and you've pretty much summed up the review for this work of fiction!

Hoyt absolutely blew me away to every degree imaginable with Wicked Intentions! I devoured this novel in under More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 30, 2011

Kit rated it:

Elizabeth Hoyt's romances are always page turners. Complicated characters searching for love sometimes poignantly and in this case slightly darkly. It took awhile for me to warm up to the H&H and the side plot was an interesting track but when you close the book you will be looking forward to the next one.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 22, 2010

Bill rated it:

This is the first book by Hoyt that I have read. It is a fantastic story on lots of levels: lots of sexual tension but only a few hot kisses so far; a great murder mystery; danger; both the hero and heroine have secrets that half way through the book are still unrevealed and intriguing; and more. Mix in orphans and a brave heroine in the worse slum in London of 1737. And as a bonus, each chapter starts with a paragraph or two of a fairy tale which is also fun. Only near the end does the tie-in b More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2011

Robin (RBBR) rated it:

One of the supporting characters is the Ghost of St. Giles. He wears a mask so no one knows who he is. At first its unclear as to weather he is real or not and then weather he is good or bad. Without giving too much away I think I can tell you he is real and he is good. I do have a couple of choices as to who I think it is. As the book progressed I had four characters I thought it might be. Two I eliminated before the book was over which left two.

The Hero Lord Caire aka Lazurus Hunting More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 01, 2010

Erica rated it:

First let me say that I'm an Elizabeth Hoyt fan. I'll read anything she writes. Her latest effort, however, is not her best. The premise is great--aristocrat approaches poor but principled woman to assist him in searching for a killer in the slums of St. Giles.

Perhaps because Hoyt is setting up for a multi-book series, lots of characters and plotlines are introduced. Some of these intriged me. The heroine's sister, for example, makes an all-but-unbearable choice that is left unresol More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 19, 2010

Shawna rated it:

5 stars – Historical Romance

Wow! This is the first book I’ve read by popular author Elizabeth Hoyt, and I certainly understand now why she’s so highly rated. Wicked Intentions, the first book in her new Maiden Lane series, is a dark, gritty, eerie, emotional, unique, and erotic murder mystery and romance with a bold, honest social commentary of class differences, poverty, and the rough, violent world of St. Giles in London.

The main characters, widowed child foundling More...

37 comments like (27 people liked it)

Oct 30, 2011

Michelle rated it:

Well, I was a bit apprehensive after reading the mixed reviews, but should have trusted my own best judgement on EH. She rocks. This was a nice book, thoroughly enjoyable. I purchased the next in the series and plan to move right on through.

I really liked all the characters. I thought them engaging. Temperance [get the name] was intriguing in her journey to trust herself and her desires. Lord Caire - he puzzled me a bit. He seems a bit fragile, as if something is broken. Suffered som More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 02, 2010

♥ Beth rated it:

5 stars!! I loved it! This book reminds me of how much I love Elizabeth Hoyt's writing! Wicked Intentions is a great beginning to her new Maiden Lane series and I was totally absorbed by Temperance and Lazarus! Two very unlikely people who discover themselves and fall in love while attempting to solve a murder mystery. The mystery suspense along with the chemistry between the H/h make this one hard to put down. We also meet other characters along the way that are intriguing and I'm really lo More...

6 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 30, 2011

Ilze rated it:

A mostly enjoyable and interesting read. Despite the anachronism with the piano (at the recital and the gift from Caire) I felt the story was believably set in the early part of the 18'th century. Some aspects of the hero's psychological state stretched my suspension of disbelief, especially the relationship with his mother, but not enough to seriously detract from my enjoyment of the story. The emotional growth of the H/H and their relationship was beautifully done. My only negative reaction wa More...

0 comments like

Dec 20, 2010

Carolyn F. rated it:

I just love Elizabeth Hoyt's books. I haven't read one that I didn't like. This one is a bit of a mystery too, which was nice. Temperance runs an orphanage with her brother. While rescuing a baby one night, she literally runs into Lord Caire, a tortured hero. While they try to figure out who murdered Lord Caire's former mistress, they find they have feelings for each other. Great book. I'm planning on reading the rest of the series.

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2012

Felicia rated it:

Read for Fun/Friend Recommended it to Me
Challenges: Read for Fun
Overall Rating 4.25
Character Rating 4.50
Story Rating 4.00

First Thought when Finished: I don't think I read enough Historical Romance---Elizabeth Hoyt has a new fan girl!

Quick Review: This was just a FANTASTIC first in series book! Elizabeth Hoyt sets up a series that is sure to suck you in and make you want to read more. A damaged hero who has no emotions meets a headstrong, indepen More...

0 comments like

Jan 04, 2012

Maggie rated it:

I might bump this one up to a three and a half. I do like EH's writing, and although this was a solid story, I wasn't digging the characters and at points the mystery element of the plot had me going, "Oh, that's still going on? Kind of forgot about that..."

Lazarus is not a hero, my friends. he's not honorable and he is actually kind of a sociopath in the way that he can't feel emotions. This antipathy is what draws him to Temperence "Think of the children/my sexual urg More...

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2011

Milena rated it:

Warning: this is a totally unrealistic, completely subjective rating. Objectively, the rating should be closer to two stars. However, it totally worked for me, so bear that in mind. Also, there may be spoilers ahead, although nothing major.

On the bad side, this is a wallpaper historical, especially when it comes to the way in which people think and talk. Psychological concepts that are centuries premature -- and, frankly, add nothing to the book -- spill from the pages, and the plot ha More...

0 comments like

Nov 29, 2011

Jenny rated it:

This book came highly recommended by my personal romance novel library, AKA Julia. I enjoyed the plot a lot, but I had some issues with the writing and the characters. There was something about the writing that just didnt quite sit well with me. The sentences were very clipped and the sentence structure I think wasn't varied enough, which gave the whole book a start/stop feeling when I was reading it. But I got over that after awhile and starting enjoying the plot more. However, I also had a pro More...

2 comments like

Nov 28, 2011

Audrey rated it:

Very good and steamy read that introduced the seedy St. Giles area and Hoyt's new-to-me Maiden Lane series. I'm a little vanilla when it comes to atypical sexytimes in "mainstream" romance, so I hesitated a little when I heard that this book had some BDSM aspects. What's included in this book wasn't lurid or outside the flow of the story; rather, the sexytimes, including the light BDSM parts, were well integrated and appropriate to the characters and setting (for the most part - see sp More...

10 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2011

Samantha rated it:

A means to an end, that's all Temperance should have been to Lazarus, Lord Cairne. She helps him navigate the slums where her and her brother have a half-way house for orphans and he helps pick up the slack with money and allows her the means to find new "respectable" patrons.

I'll admit the idea interested me because it did seem to be a genuine reason for these two different people to interact, but that didn't last for long. This is because even though Lazarus is trying t More...

0 comments like

Jun 02, 2011

ALPHAreader rated it:

‘Wicked Intentions’ is the first book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s new historical romance series, ‘Maiden Lane’.

Maiden Lane is situated in St. Giles, a notoriously dangerous area of London – gin-soaked streets, urchin children, brawling bodies and a masked vigilante roaming the streets.
It is here that Temperance Dews and her brother, Winter, run an orphanage for abandoned children. It is also here that one Lord Lazarus Caire lost his mistress to a knife-wielding murderer. In the most unl More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 25, 2011

Trish rated it:

Gotta tell you - - Elizabeth Hoyt is the reason why I began reading historical romance. I was TOTALLY enchanted with her 4 Soldiers Series - OMG - I loved all 4 books...so much so that I read her previous 3 (Raven, Leopard and Serpant Prince) while waiting for the 3rd and 4th in the Soldiers series. And they were EQUALLY as spectacular!! I was beyond excited to get my hands on the first of this new series...And her writing style hadn't changed, but her romance had. It went beyond the imaginative More...

0 comments like

Apr 11, 2011

Scarlett.speaks rated it:

You know, I tend to shy away from historical romance set pre-Regency and post-Elizabeth. They tend to be too heavily tainted with Puritanism and frankly I don't find anything sexy in religous oppression. So I was a little shocked that I enjoyed this book. And really, because the main female character WAS laced a little too tight this book focused more on the mystery than it did on the romance.

Temperance Dews wants nothing more than to find a patron for her foundling home. Lazarus Hunti More...

0 comments like

Oct 21, 2010

Lea's Audiobooks rated it:

Unabridged audiobook review from Speaking of Audiobooks column dated 9/30/10:

Narrated by Ashford MacNab
I greatly enjoy Elizabeth Hoyt’s writing. Although she has three audiobooks to date, this is my first listen and that is due entirely to the choice of narrators. Hoyt’s two previous audios are performed by Anne Flosnik, a narrator I avoid if possible. But when I saw that Wicked Intentions was narrated by a new-to-me voice, I took the chance and was richly rewarded for it. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)