I sat here and debated for a little bit over what to say about this book. I'm still kind of undecided. Because I liked this book, enjoyed reading it, but there was something...missing. Something just wasn't quite...there. I'll try to explain after writing the obligatory extended summary.

Hot Silk is the third and last book in the Hamilton sisters trilogy - a series about the 3 illegitimate daughters of an erotic artist in early 1800's England. The remaining single sister is Grace, the great beauty of the family. Since she was old enough to understand, Grace decided she would marry well and save her family from financial ruin. At 18, she thought she'd met her prince. But he toyed with her heart, stole her innocence and tossed her away. And on that same night, she met Devlin Sharpe, a dashing, seductive pirate and highwayman. She spends the night in his arms...and the next two years unable to forget about him. Now, he has hijacked her coach and taken her captive. For Devlin had been unable to forget her either. But how could they ever be together, given that she is a Lady, and he is a criminal?

I think that last line of my overview sums up the overriding theme of this book: the star-crossed lovers thing. Because that's what most of this story is about. Grace is always thinking she shouldn't be doing what she's doing and trying to find ways to fit in with the ton. And Devlin is always telling himself he couldn't ever really have her...he's a criminal, etc etc. I won't say it bored me, but it was a little too typical. It didn't have the seductive magic that the relationships in the first two books had.

But I can't really figure out what to say about why this book was a little off for me. It just didn't have that air of mystery or sexual excess that the first two books had. Sexually, this book was very toned down, especially compared to book 1. It's still very much erotic because of the explicit language and acts, but aside from some voyeuristic viewing of what others are doing, the sex is rather basic. In book 1, there was a lot of experimentation, a lot of over the top sexuality. Book 2 lost a lot of that, and book 3 pretty much just had a few token scenes performed by others. It was a bit disappointing because part of what made book 1 so much fun to read was the sexual excess paired with a solid story. But in this book, the star-crossed lovers theme, and the H/H's individual insecurities take over the story and make it more typical of a contemporary romance instead of an erotic romance. The sexuality of this series just decreases with each book, and it took something away from them.

Mystery-wise, this book had the weakest plot, in my opinion. There really wasn't much mystery, compared to books 1 and 2, just some bad guys causing trouble. The book lacked the air of suspense that the others had, and so didn't completely capture my attention. And like I said earlier, the story is kind of dominated by the star-crossed lovers thing.

Lastly, I didn't really care for the resolution of Grace and Devlin's relationship. Personally, I think it came off a little silly (the jail break especially). And I just couldn't see Grace deciding to sail the seas with Dev. It didn't work for me. So I was disappointed in that.

And now that I've done all that complaining, lol...I still liked this book plenty. Which is why I gave it four-stars (though maybe 3.5 would have been more fitting). It wasn't a bad book, it just didn't live up to my expectations and it was the weakest of the three books in the series. Would I still recommend it? If you've read the other three books in the series, then definitely yes. And if you haven't, well, the series as a whole is one I'd definitely recommend.