Duke of Sin

Maiden Lane #10

by Elizabeth Hoyt

A MAN OF SIN

Devastatingly handsome. Vain. Unscrupulous. Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, is the man London whispers about in boudoirs and back alleys. A notorious rake and blackmailer, Montgomery has returned from exile, intent on seeking revenge on those who have wronged him. But what he finds in his own bedroom may lay waste to all his plans.

A WOMAN OF HONOR

Born a bastard, housekeeper Bridget Crumb is clever, bold, and fiercely loyal. When her aristocratic mother becomes the target of extortion, Bridget joins the Duke of Montgomery's household to search for the incriminating evidence-and uncovers something far more dangerous.

A SECRET THAT THREATENS TO DESTROY THEM BOTH

Astonished by the deceptively prim-and surprisingly witty-domestic spy in his chambers, Montgomery is intrigued. And try as she might, Bridget can't resist the slyly charming duke. Now as the two begin their treacherous game of cat and mouse, they soon realize that they both have secrets—and neither may be as nefarious—or as innocent—as they appear . . .

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Adult, Audiobook, Regency

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2016

About the author

Elizabeth Hoyt is a New York Times bestselling author of historical romance. She also writes deliciously fun contemporary romance under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with three untrained dogs and one long-suffering husband.

Reviews

[Gio Listmaker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was enjoying this book until around the 70% mark then it starts in with sexual violence and Pedophilia jokes.

Then this scene happened.....

"The little girl chose that moment to take her finger out of her mouth and point it damply at Val. “I don’t wike you.” He looked down his nose at her. “No, nor does anyone else, yet they all seem to be happy enough to let me take sweet Séraphine off to be debauched at my leisure. D’you suppose they would stand around twiddling their thumbs were I to take you as well?” “Val!” Bridget said, horrified."

I am out.

DNF at 81%

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good villain. And, I would have been sorely disappointed if our anti-hero, Val, turned out to be this great guy who was just misunderstood. That he is actually some sort of saint giving anonymously to the poor and shit. No! I fell in love with the villain, not some saint in villain clothing. Thank you to the author who understood this and wrote in her dedication that this book is for me.

Val acknowledges his villainous ways:

"This is who I am. Naked, with blade and blood. I am vengeance. I am hate. I am sin personified. Never mistake me for the hero of this tale, for I am not and shall never be. I am the villain."

Thank you! This is the character I want to read about. He doesn't even know the difference between right and wrong.



He is a blackmailer, a murderer, a rake, and so vain that it is hilarious:

Briget: "That hardly seems very fair, considering how many times you paraded around nude in front of me."

Val: "You noticed!" he said, delighted. "Was I not magnificent?"

Yeah, I love a bad guy who cracks me up. And, Val made me laugh so much! He finds his sister at a ball wearing a yellow gown and it's almost as if she is smoking crack, by his reaction. He must intervene!

Surely she wasn't entirely lost to reason? Good God, was this what love did to a person?
"We have golden hair, fair skin, blue eyes."

"Yes, I know," she said, sounding puzzled.

"Blues," he said. "We look good in shades of blue."

"But you're always prancing about in pink."

"Yes, yes," Val said impatiently. "I look good in everything, really. But to be safe, blue, not yellow, darling Eve."

What a great brother he is! Who else would tell her that yellow makes a blond look sallow? This is important stuff!



So, obviously, I embraced the ooey gooey darkness that is Val. And, our heroine, Bridget, soon finds herself attracted to him. He may be bad, but he also was raised by a psychopath. He is just a product of his upbringing. She is soft-hearted and brings warmth to his coldness. She cried for the abuses he suffered, even though he didn't even know that he should be the one crying about them. She is the perfect person to pull him out of the darkness.

Of course, it would have been disappointing if he suddenly becomes Mr. Sunshine and Kittens just because he has her. A leopard doesn't change his spots, after all. And, we fell for him because of his badness. So, it is good that even after his "redemption", he is still plotting to foil his foes.

There were seven more kittens remaining and a garden full of his enemies' children...

Buahaha!!

I also find that buying your enemies'/annoying friends/family member's children a drum set for their birthday party that you got roped into attending works just as well.

Oh, or even better:

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This is who I am, Séraphine. Naked, with blade and blood. I am vengeance. I am hate. I am sin personified. Never mistake me for the hero of this tale, for I am not and shall never be. I am the villain.”

Boy he was not lying. Ladies and gentlemen, the King of dark heroes, Valentine Napier. What a complete psychopath, I love him! 🤣
This was so fun and funny and crazy and also quite dark. This is not a safe book, this is not a golden retriever hero. He is a bad man. A bad bad man. But he’s so obsessed with the heroine and has his own weird moral compass and is so tragically broken.
I had so much fun with this one, even with its melodrama. I still don’t know why she loved him back, but who cares? Not me.

“If I were able I would love you as no man has ever loved a woman since the beginning of time.” 🥺

Boosting to five stars after the reread, for sheer entertainment.

[EmBibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

He made a two line appearance in book 6 and i was like “Him. I want him! Give me his book!”

Thankfully, the duke of Montgomery lived up to my expectations. He was wicked, Beyond vain, manipulative, and a sinful blackmailer. He was the villain I was promised he would be.

“This is who I am, Séraphine. Naked, with blade and blood. I am vengeance. I am hate. I am sin personified. Never mistake me for the hero of this tale, for I am not and shall never be. I am the villain.”

Bridget crumb is his dedicated housekeeper who got an ulterior motive, which is to find the letters the duke is blackmailing her mother with. She was such a headstrong dedicated character.

All the back and forth between them was so entertaining. Valentine’s vanity was hilarious. He was the perfect antihero and he acknowledges his evilness. This was such an addicting read and I enjoyed it against my better judgment. Definitely one of the good books in the series!

#3 scandalous desires ~ 4.25 stars
#4 Thief of shadows ~ 2.5 stars
#5 lord of darknsss ~ 3 stars
#6 Duke of midnight ~ 4.25 stars
#8 Dearest rogue ~ 3 stars
#10 Duke of sin ~ 4 stars

[Bibi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught and Courtney Milan are my default authors for historical romance but seeing how this book got a high number of 5 star reviews, I decided to give it a try. Also, I was intrigued by the hero- or shall we say anti-hero.

Sadly, it was a bit of mess and the plot seemed off kilter, as if the author couldn't really commit to making Val a true villain. I thought also that the heroine was mischaracterised, I would have preferred someone with a softer, kinder mien but with an inversed strength of character. Bridget was not it.

Add to these the lack of chemistry between Val and Bridget and I readily threw in the towel circa 50%.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I only had a heart…

I’m going to be brutally honest here…I had a few false starts reading Duke of Sin. Look, I’m all for falling for the bad boy, the rake, or even the arrogant jerk who thinks he’s better than others. BUT…for the hero to be all three…that could be pushing it. Valentine Napier, Duke of Montgomery, is one of the most hated, evil, vain and crass characters I have read in a historical romance. How could I force myself to be patient and see if he could “come good”? What will I have to witness? What will I have to endure? What will tip me over the edge? Well, it was nearly the time he…No, I won’t tell you, but I will say that there were a time or two. I ended up persevering and giving good old Val a fair go.

Bridget Crumb takes her job as housekeeper very, very seriously. She runs a tight ship but luckily has mostly a good staff. She is tasked with running the Duke of Montgomery’s household while he is banished overseas. While she does take her job very seriously and is honoured to be serving such an important man, she really has an ulterior motive. She needs to foil one of his Grace’s wicked and nefarious blackmailing schemes. Imagine her surprise when poor Mrs. Crumb is caught red-handed by the Duke himself. She hadn’t even realised he’d returned to England. Poor Mrs. Crumb has no idea what a challenge she has brought on herself now that she has her masters attention.

Val is intrigued with his housekeeper. She’s such a buttoned up, mobcap wearing mystery that he can’t help but want to know more about her. Now that Val has her in his clutches, he plans to unwrap her literally and figuratively. Mrs. Crumb hasn’t foiled his plans, but she sure has made his evil work more of a challenge.

Val always has a scheme going whether it be blackmailing the upper echelon of the Ton or bedding as many women as he can. With his good looks, position in society and money, not much is a challenge for him.

Val was brought up by very bad parents who took pleasure in making him feel bad. This leads him to turn off his heart, avoid emotions and only bring people into his life who serve a purpose. The thing is, he does do nice things, he does protect people in his care, and he does know right from wrong. He just doesn’t want anyone to know it.

The longer Val and Bridget are in each others company the closer they get. Val has a lot of enemies and he must stay vigilant if he wants to survive. Bridget knows of Val’s evil ways and has no hesitations in going behind his back to right some of his wrongs. She thinks he is redeemable and is determined to help him realise he is worthy of love.

Both Val and Bridget have secrets, but it doesn’t take long before they have to face them and deal with the consequences. Val’s are ones that have been hovering over his head for years. Once they are dealt with, he is concerned that people (Bridget) will turn her back on him. Bridget’s secret is one she has kept, but not her own. I found her story quite sad. I hated that she was made to live a life that wasn’t one she deserved. I loved that she made the most of it and took pride in her accomplishments. Once her secrets are exposed, she’s not sure whether it is for the better or worse.

With each secret exposed, feelings are hurt, lives are changed and futures are decided.

I ended up enjoying Duke of Sin against my better judgement. Seriously, Val is not a hero I would normally like let alone love by the end. Once we hear more of the stories of his youth and what he had to live through, my patience towards his theatrics increased. I still think he is BEYOND vain, conceited and rude, but I also know that he is capable of love, makes kind gestures hidden beneath evil intent and only murders the ones who need murdering (murder is bad, but I could totally get behind him killing off some of his victims).

This is a steamy read and Val is one of the most vulgar heroes I’ve read in a historical romance. He prefers nudity, aims to shock and lives to break the rules of society. Luckily, Mrs. Crumb is there to keep him straight…or straight…ish.



I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -

[Merry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have decided to read this series out of order. Ok I loved Val...I think he might be a sociopath. But what a wonderfully crazy life he lives. Bridget is a strong intelligent woman who is loyal and is not intimidated by the Duke and a great story is born. Be prepared for suspension of disbelief and just enjoy the ride. What a tragic childhood the Duke of Montgomery has endured that made him into the oddly lovable person that he is today. Many have reviewed this book so I will end here and just say again it was a fun, fun read.

[Dino-Jess ✮ The Book Eating Dinosaur ✮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Val is such an idiot and I love him with my entire heart.
Still a 5 star banger.

***********************

Re-read this and I loved it even more than the first time. Bumping it up to 5 stars because Val is just the best. I love him forever.

***********************

Val, Val, VAL.

Yas, YAS, YASSSSSSS.

I don't think I have ever read such a broken and twisted leading man. So, naturally, I'm in love with him.

He thinks he doesn't have a heart. He thinks himself incapable of emotion. He was taught at a young age that the only way to survive was to never actually love anything. And yet there is still a glimmer of goodness in him and even though it's only a tiny part, it's enough.

He lives a life of excess. Pleasure, wine, indulgence of every whim is the life he lives and the life he loves. He never changes his ways, he is his crazy self the entire way through the book, but he does learn to appreciate Bridget and I really enjoyed watching their love story unfold.

Some of my favorite parts of this book were where Val would burst into poetic declarations of yearning for his burning Seraphine (who we know as Bridget.) The way he romanticizes Bridget, wondering what she is hiding under her cap, her clothing, the secrets she is keeping. It was glorious. And his confusion over the way the lower classes live was incredibly endearing.

The sex in this. PHWOAR. Step back. There was a bath tub scene that was one of the hottest things I have read since I discovered the wonders of Raahoshing.

The mystery and intrigue in this was not too heavy. Val's machinations and blackmails were sinister, cunning and treacherous, and added a nice backdrop to this slow burning love story. I do think there were parts that were under-developed, however. The significance of Bridget finding the secret passageways in the house, for instance? That is never really expanded upon. She goes in there once and that is that. We never found out where Val was hiding her mothers letters. And like Heather said, there was never really any follow up on the fall out of Val knidnapping and imprisoning Hippolyta.....

I was a little worried I might have trouble with this, having not read any of the previous books, but this was incredibly accessible and I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

If you like villains, but you also like historical romance, then you are sure to love this.

Very enjoyable.

4 burning-seraphine Stars

Thank you kindly to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

In Duke of Midnight, the sixth book in her Maiden Lane series, Elizabeth Hoyt introduced a fascinating secondary character by the name of Valentine Napier. He’s a duke. He’s unutterably gorgeous. He’s extremely wealthy. He’s also clever, devious, amoral and vain, and through the last few books in the series, we’ve watched him manipulate, blackmail, orchestrate kidnaps and engineer goodness knows what other nefarious schemes.

He seemed at first to be an almost archetypal villain; the sort who is so sure he’s the smartest person in the room – as well as the handsomest, richest and most powerful – that there’s almost no way to bring him down, and given some of the things he did, especially in Dearest Rogue, we wanted him brought down.

But then came Sweetest Scoundrel when it became clear that although Val was a ruthless bastard, there was one person in his life who loved him and whom he loved (even though he would probably never admit that out loud!) - his illegitimate half-sister, Eve Dinwoody. And then we learned that he had saved her from unspeakable horror, and has been looking out for her ever since; and it began to seem that perhaps there might just be something worth saving beneath that beautiful exterior.

As a result of his actions in Dearest Rogue, in which he attempted to abduct Lady Phoebe, the sister of the Duke of Wakefield, Val was exiled from England. He is supposed to have been travelling on the Continent, but hints were dropped throughout Sweetest Scoundrel that he was in fact doing no such thing and remained much closer to home. In his absence, his household has been admirably run by his rather prim housekeeper, Bridget Crumb, who, we have learned, took a post at Hermes House for motives of her own. She is the illegitimate daughter of an aristocratic lady who is being blackmailed by Val, and who approached Bridget to ask for her help. Aided by the references provided by her mother, Bridget secured the post at the duke's London house, and takes every opportunity afforded her to search his apartments for the letters which give him his hold over her mother.

Bridget has so far been able to keep her search secret, in spite of an odd feeling of being watched. But unfortunately, her luck runs out just as she makes an interesting discovery. Poised indelicately across the duke’s bed, she is surprised by the man himself, who, not unnaturally, wants to know exactly what his housekeeper is about. Her calm, poised response and refusal to be intimidated by him intrigue Val immediately, so much so that he decides to make it his business to see if he can unsettle the very proper Mrs. Crumb.

The big draw of the story is, of course, the sexy game of cat-and-mouse that plays out between the completely outrageous duke who thinks nothing of wandering around naked (well, he’s gorgeous, so why should he deprive people of the sight of him?!) and having the most inappropriate conversations with his housekeeper; and said housekeeper who is by no means insensible to Val’s charms, but who is sensible enough to know that he’s trying deliberately to rile her and not to take the bait. The romance is as well-written and as steamy as any Ms Hoyt has written, and the sexual chemistry between the two leads is scorching, but even though the sparks fly between them right from the start, their relationship is remarkably free from the insta-lust that is so prevalent in romances currently. Val doesn’t think Bridget is particularly attractive to start with, and it’s true that she isn’t beautiful in the conventional sense. The initial spark is provided by Val’s curiosity about his very proper housekeeper and her refusal to be cowed by him; he is attracted to her spirit and intrigued by her pride and the untapped passion - not just sexual passion - he senses in her. And although Bridget can’t miss the fact that her employer is an incredibly good-looking man, she’s more concerned with trying to keep up with his quick mind and mood changes and to second guess him than she is with mooning over how searingly hot he is. Val is an intensely sensual being, so it’s perfectly natural – to him – to be wondering about what Bridget looks like without her clothes, but It’s a while before he realises that he actually wants to bed her quite badly and for him to start debating the best way to seduce her in earnest. In the meantime, he has set in motion a blackmail scheme so audacious that it will clear the way for him to return to society with no questions asked.

Ms. Hoyt set herself one helluva challenge by setting out to redeem the unscrupulous Duke of Montgomery and turn him into a hero. To be honest, I’m not completely sure I bought his turnaround, but I can’t deny that I absolutely loved him in this book. He’s all those things I said before – but he is somehow ridiculously endearing as well, with his dry wit and his penchant for hyperbole:

"I sought you out amongst your labors to bend my knee and plead that you leave the dust and spiders and mouse droppings to come and lounge awhile and perhaps partake of luncheon.”

- and then there’s his complete and utter self-confidence:

He thought and thought - many considered him quite a genius, including himself – and at last he thought of something he could say. “I’m sorry.”

Making this beautiful but conscienceless man who takes every privilege as his due into an appealing character is quite an achievement. But the author takes it even further once the reader is allowed more insight into what has made Val the way he is. The more we learn of his upbringing, the easier it is to begin to sympathise with and understand him. Considering what we discovered about Eve’s past in the previous book, the fact that much of Val’s backstory is utterly heart-breaking is unsurprising; but rather than dwelling on that too much, Ms. Hoyt concentrates on showing us the effects of that upbringing. The son of a sadistic father and a mother who hated him, Val has never seen any normal human reactions, so he has never learned them. This aspect of his character is rendered brilliantly by the way information about him is given; it often comes in the form of offhand comments, such as when he says "I started at twelve" and describes his initiation to sexual pleasure at the hands (or rather, mouth!) of a nineteen-year-old-housemaid - statements to which Bridget and the reader stop to think “what?!” while Val natters blithely on. The contrast between Val’s response and ours is a very effective way of showing how broken he is, while also showing that he is completely unaware of being so. He’s like an undisciplined child; so immensely rich and powerful that he can do exactly as he likes with little to no threat of retribution. He has had no role models, nobody to curb his excesses, and most importantly of all no-one (other than Eve, whom he had to send away for her own safety) has ever loved him or wanted him to love them.

Bridget is an extremely likeable heroine, and she exerts a subtle, but calming influence on Val which strengthens as the story progresses. Strong and stubborn, she’s exactly the sort of heroine he needs – one who won’t let him off the hook and who forces himself to take a look at himself in a way he’s never been challenged to do before. But she's also an extremely compassionate woman; the reader feels her heart-breaking for the "beautiful, bright boy" broken by depraved cruelty, because ours is doing the same thing. She’s the only one to see through Val's mercurial exterior to the potentially extraordinary man inside, and she becomes his moral compass, determined to get him to see what she sees, that he is capable of both being both more and better. Under her influence, he starts to think differently and to admit that there are points of view other than his own.

And I loved that their relationship is one of give and take, albeit on different scales. While Bridget is encouraging Val to locate his conscience, he is showing her that she’s a highly sensual woman and encouraging her to experience life’s pleasures, whether it’s making love in the middle of the day or drinking a rare vintage.

Duke of Sin is a thoroughly enjoyable novel in spite of a few holes (another kidnapping?), and the eponymous hero - or anti-hero - is one of the most charismatic characters ever to grace the pages of an historical romance. He is not completely reformed by the end of the story; rather Ms Hoyt wisely chooses to show him taking that first, big step in the right direction by having him learn to put someone else first, and leaving readers with the sense that with Bridget beside him, he will get there. Most importantly, she shows that he is going to do that without having a complete personality transplant. He might have given up on the blackmail and extortion, but he’s still a canny bastard with a wicked sense of humour and – lucky Bridget! - a devil between the sheets. And I suspect we wouldn’t want him any other way.

[Bubu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update January 2017

I'm downgrading this book after re-reading it for the fourth (!) - yes, I know I'm a sad person - time.

It helps taking off the rose-tinted glasses and having a closer look at the weaknesses, I so generously overlooked, because a) I was fangirling over Ms Hoyt and b) I was fangirling over Valentine.

Two reasons:
1. In my original review I had already mentioned that it's more Val's story than it is Bridget's, or at least Bridget and Val's story. Bridget as a character is - in comparison - underdeveloped. Not weak, not annoying, but Val's such an overwhelming hero that there's not much space left for Bridget.

2. The ending is slightly rushed and confusing, especially the whole Lords of Chaos business.

Although still a 4.5 star book, compared to other 5 star books, Bridget's lack of space, in particular, doesn't warrant a 5 star rating.

I still love it; love Val; love Bridget, but the book as a whole is missing that last bit of a 5 stars.

***************************************

Original review from June 2016:

“Fuck the rules, Mrs. Crumb.”

Ever since I realised that Valentine Napier would get his own story, there hasn't been another book I've been looking more forward to than Duke of Sin.

My fascination with anti-heroes began with one of my all time favourite films, Dangerous Liaisons. In the early glimpses Elizabeth Hoyt gave the reader of Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, I could see the decadence, flamboyance, ruthlessness and wickedness of the Comte de Valmont, who, out of sheer boredom and because he can, has no qualms of ruining the lives of people who all have one thing in common: the misfortune to cross paths with an amoral man. And like Valmont, Valentine simply uses what is already there. The weakness of human nature. Manipulating, blackmailing, manoeuvring and occasionally killing people who - at one point in their lives - made a mistake or chose the wrong side.

A few weeks/months ago I read that Ms Hoyt had had lots of fun writing Valentine's story, taking Tom Hiddleston's Loki as the inspiration for creating her character. Anyone who has seen the films will recognise Loki's playfulness, almost childish enthusiasm, at wreaking havoc in Valentine which takes the edginess out of his persona but who nonetheless remains a dangerous man.

I'm not giving Duke of Sin five stars because it's super romantic. It actually isn't that romantic at all, or at least not much. And how can it be with a man like Val as a hero? Or because I liked him. I still don't think he's a very likeable character at all. Or because it has a strong female character. Bridget Crumb is a terrific heroine and I'm sorry that I'm not saying more about her, but Duke of Sin is Val's story. I'm not giving it five stars because Bridget finds a way to set Val on a path that may make Val realise the meaning of right and wrong, although their interactions are delightful, sensual and made me smile every time. I'm also not giving Duke of Sin five stars because it's flawless. It certainly isn't. Especially, Mehmed's character, though sweet, was irritating, to say the least. And the whole abduction plot line was not really necessary. It's clear very quickly how much Val simply doesn't give a toss about anyone's thoughts, let alone feelings.

I'm giving this book five stars for two reasons: Elizabeth Hoyt made Valentine come alive and she made him make sense.

How many times have I read about heroes, supposedly dissolute, rakish, no scruples and without a conscience, only to find out that their worst character trait has been to shag their way through Society. Not that I can't enjoy these books if the story is well written, and the heroine shows sense and strength. But Ms Hoyt breathes life into Valentine. I'm not talking only about his misdeeds which are many and terrible indeed. It's in his mannerisms, his speech, his thoughts, a flick of a hand.

Did she then recognize in him her opposite: the very Devil? A man who neither knew nor cared about that delicate difference between good and evil? While others carefully balanced their scales, debating the various weights of sins and good deeds, he chose to dash the entire apparatus to the ground. Why entangle himself with a game whose rules he neither understood nor particularly approved of? Better to make his own rules in life. Much more fun, at any rate.

-----------

"Not this dull stuff. I want to know which one you don’t talk to, which one [of Bridget's siblings] is jealous of you, and which one hit you as a child. Oh, and if any of them stole from you or killed your cat or dog when you were but a wee thing.”

-----------

"If I meant exactly what you thought –the worst. I’m not entirely sure why you’re surprised. People often do do the worst, you know.”

-----------

He rarely told the truth –why bother? It was so dull –but when he did, most mistook it for jest.

-----------

"Tell me” –he swept wide his arms –“who in this whole dissolute world is to dissuade me from my pleasures?”

-----------

Beside the duke was a plain woman with an intelligent face and striking gray eyes. Unless Wakefield had suddenly decided to overthrow convention and acquire an unlovely mistress, this must be the duchess.
Actually, the eyes were very fine indeed.
Val smiled slowly and bowed, ignoring Wakefield entirely. “Your Grace, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of an introduction. I am Montgomery.”
“I know,” she said in a lovely contralto. “You kidnapped my sister-in-law, whom I’m quite fond of.” Val winced.
“It was rather bad of me, I confess.”
“It was criminal,” Wakefield growled. “You gave your word to me as a gentleman that you’d leave England forever.”
“Did I?” Val asked, eyes wide. “I don’t seem to remember such a conversation —” “There are rules about such things and —”
“Fuck your rules,” Val snarled, fast and low.

I could quote endlessly and still wonder if it was enough to show how perfectly Ms Hoyt created Valentine, the villain. Just like with Asa Makepeace, she captured Val's character with her beautiful and imaginative writing; she showed, not told how someone like Valentine would be, what would peek his interest, what he would think. I didn't like Valentine, but I loved his character. Does that even make sense?

"You have to kill the thing you love."

If that doesn't make sense, then let me explain the other reason for giving this book five stars: Valentine makes sense. As with all anti-heroes (part of me would still rather call Val a non-hero) there's a reason for his actions.

This is the most relatable example I can come up with: Those who have read the Harry Potter series will remember Severus Snape, the irredeemable, the one we loved to hate, and how he was redeemed. All of a sudden Snape turned into this deeply tortured and romantic character whose only motivation seemed to have been the love for a woman. I loved it, but forgotten were those years where we watched him torment Harry and anyone else whom he didn't like, his arrogance and his maliciousness, not to forget his betrayal.

To compare Valentine Napier to Severus Snape might seem pretentious, but in essence they tell a similar story; a story of neglect, pain and lifelong rejection. And of hate turned into a weapon, a tool of empowerment that gives Valentine the opportunity to do as he pleases. When the picture of Val's transformation into the villain is completed by the end of the book, Bridget says probably the most important sentence:

“Hush,” she whispered, pulling back from him, though he tried to keep her close. “Hush. I understand. Do you hear me, Valentine? I understand.”

A lot of readers raised the question whether Valentine has been truly redeemed by the end of the book. I guessed that Ms Hoyt would give those readers, who are inclined to give Val a chance, a reason for his redemption, at least partly. And I wasn't wrong. I was just hoping that Val would not turn out to be a completely changed character which fortunately didn't happen. And again, as with Asa, she stayed true to the character she'd created.

If I have one tiny regret, then it concerns Bridget. She's such an interesting person in her own right that it's a pity how Val's character overshadows her, or at least it seems that way. Don't be fooled though. She's the perfect match for Val. But more importantly her own story gave quite a good reason for Bridget, if not to become a villain, but at least to turn into a bitter person, antagonistic if Ms Hoyt had chosen to portray her as such. She chose not to. Instead we find a woman who takes pride in her job, who knows what position her rank holds for her, but won't let anyone walk all over her, not even the mighty Duke of Montgomery.

Whatever my thoughts about Valentine Napier may be, one thing is for sure: Elizabeth Hoyt did indeed redefine the anti-hero in romances for me. Any anti-hero and/or villain who gets his own book will have to live up to Valentine and if even the description morally dubious can't be applied anymore, I know that I just read the story of a true Bad Boy.

[Alp · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

I enjoyed this one. I have to say that this installment was much better than my expectations. Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, appeared as a villain in the previous books, so I couldn't imagine how he would redeem himself in this one. And wow, it was a real surprise! He redeemed himself quite well, but not entirely, if you ask me. Nevertheless, it was a good thing he didn’t abruptly or totally turn good because that might make his character banal, weak, and unconvincing somehow. Well, yes, I absolutely liked him this way!

I can say that Val was definitely a round character. He was raised by his sick mind father and cold-hearted mother. Throughout his childhood, his father instructed and forced him to do and think as a heartless and merciless person. The saddest part was that his father successfully put some twisted sense of morality into his only son. So, it was no wonder Val grew up to be a corrupt man. It was obvious he had a very complex personality. He believed he was an evil—not different from his father. Sometimes—perhaps most of the time—he didn’t really seem to know what was right and wrong, or how to distinguish right action from the wrong action. He only did what pleased himself. However, this ruthless man had a soft spot in his heart for his half-sister and he truly cared for her, of course, in his own odd way.

Thankfully, Bridget came into his life and brought out the best parts of him, which in fact, were rarely found!

Bridget Crumb became Val’s housekeeper in order to help her aristocratic mother from being blackmailed by him. While she was in his house, Val secretly observed her and knew that she had a hidden agenda and that she was searching for something. Even so, he couldn’t help but be attracted to her. She was strong, clever, bold, loyal, and most of all, mysterious. Whatever her secret was, she hid it well. But that didn’t matter to him because he would stop at nothing until he found out who this woman really was.

The suspense part of this book was very well-written. I got a great deal of enjoyment and excitement out of it. What more could I ask for?

The romance between Val and Bridget was fantastic. The chemistry—the heat—the sexual tension—the unmistakable sizzle of desire between them—all was broiling! Hot, sexy, and romantic rolled into one!

All in all, this was an enthralling dark historical romance story. Recommended for fans of the genre.

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sale Alert 07Jan17 on Amazon for 1.99

Sometimes I want to root for the villain. Sometimes I don’t want the hero to just be a deep down good guy that just hasn’t found the right woman to make him give up his lecherous whoring ways. SOMETIMES I want the bad guy to win.

“This is who I am, Séraphine. Naked, with blade and blood. I am vengeance. I am hate. I am sin personified. Never mistake me for the hero of this tale, for I am not and shall never be. I am the villain.”

Valentine really isn’t a nice man. He is incredibly over the top vain, blackmails everyone, kidnapped a former heroine in this series more than once and will do just about anything to punish his enemies. AND YET, I adore him. It really makes no sense but he is a broken thing and I really do love those sometimes.

Fair Seraphine had tried to explain to him the difference, right from wrong. It made sense to her because she burned and was an angel. But to him, a creature of hollow ice and pain, it was sound and confusion without her to filter it for him.

Bridget aka Seraphine to Val is the bastard child of a Duchess we’ve seen in prior books. Val it seems has something on her and Bridget is a spy in his house in hopes of locating the pilfered items for blackmail. She is also trying to find something else for one of the gentry as well.

Valantine on the other hand is bored. He has been locked away from society pretending he is on the continent in his exile but secretly he has been locked up in his house plotting how to make reappearance back into society. When he figures out that Bridget is looking for something and not what she seems he decides that he will have a little fun and see if she can match wits with him….and thus let the games begin.

What Val didn’t expect is that she would possibly outsmart him a time or two. She stands up to him in a way that no one has before countering all of his arguments for why he is allowed to do the dastardly things he does. She will never be steamrolled by him no matter how eloquent the argument or inventive the wording. Even in his seduction of her.

“Séraphine, Séraphine, Séraphine. Will you drive me mad? Scatter my wits to the wind like so much chaff? Leave me a shell of a man, broken, hollowed of brain and soul, left with merely a throbbing prick like a mindless goat? Have mercy, I plead, O siren of chatelaines and unlovely bonnets! Let my famished mouth feast upon thy sweet, sweet flesh. I am awash in yearning spunk.”

I love that this is historical romance and so it seems a practically perfect set up. Now do not expect our non-hero to change just because he found the woman who understands him and can temper/direct him a bit. He will always plot and always have ulterior motivations it is just who he is. You can’t expect him to change that any more than you could expect a scorpion to cut off its own tail. But at least in his new machinations he has been slightly re-directed to use his powers for some possible greater good. Still if you have children and you are his enemy, beware he might just thwart you with kittens.

Fantastic Book thank you Jo for sending me a copy.

Pre Read Statement

After my last read I need something Light and Fluffy with a clear THIS IS THE DUDE. It might also need to have kittens, rainbows and possibly a unicorn for good measure just to be safe.

Val isn't the Prince of Greed but he is a villain and I need a good the villain gets the girl story.

This is for everyone who ever fell hopelessly in love with… the Villain.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My, oh my! Elizabeth Hoyt has a wonderful book on her hands. DUKE OF SIN, the tenth book of the Maiden Lane series. just might be my favorite of the lot so far. The hero is no other than Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery. If you’ve followed the series this far then you know that in the previous books that Val has been the villain of the series. He’s not a man with very much morals and indulges in anything and everything, especially if it gives him more power. So I was interested to see how Hoyt was going to redeem him.

And she does. To a point. But what’s unique about this book is that Hoyt doesn’t actually try to make him a hero. In fact, Val is still as bad as ever. As an expert blackmailer, he’s manipulative, cunning and smart. Power is his greatest love and he has no care for anyone else but himself. Val does some terrible things in this book but I still found myself enraptured by his character.

“This is who I am, Seraphine. Naked, with blade and blood. I am vengeance. I am hate. I am sin personified. Never mistake me for the hero of this tale, for I am not and shall never be. I am the villain.”
After reading this, I am almost positive that Val is going to be my favorite hero at the end of this year. Hard to top a guy who knows just how bad he is!

The unlikely pairing of Val and his housekeeper, Bridget intrigued me further. I never would’ve thought that these two would end up together because well, Val would never settle for someone as lowly as a housekeeper but I think that’s what makes this book so special. When Val finally falls in love, it had to be with someone totally unexpected and I think that’s what Hoyt tried to do here.

Bridget turned out to be wonderful as well. I loved that she wasn’t a ninny like all the other women seem to be around Val. She has a good head on her shoulders and despite the fact that everyone warned her away from Val, she stood her ground and still had a good moral compass throughout the book. As dark as Val is, Bridget is the light. She compliments him beautifully in every way.

I did feel like the ending was a little bit rushed. But maybe that’s because I never wanted this book to end. Once I started reading this book, I found it impossible to stop. I devoured it within a couple of hours and found myself having to share my love for this book with as many people as I could. If you like villainous heroes then you’ll love Val. He’s as bad as they get. DUKE OF SIN is definitely one of my favorite books of the year!

[Carol Cork *Young at Heart Oldie* · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRE-RELEASE REVIEW

Published: 31st May 2016


This is the tenth book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series and I have so much admiration for her ability to continue to give readers stories that are unique and engrossing; characters that are complex and fascinating, and romances that are erotic and sensual.

"Never mistake me for the hero of this tale, for I am not and shall never be. I am the villain.”

I have been fascinated by Valentine Napier, Duke of Montgomery, ever since his first appearance in DUKE OF MIDNIGHT and I was intrigued to know how Ms Hoyt would set about redeeming such an anti-hero. He may be handsome, sophisticated and charming but he is also vain, amoral, unscrupulous, unpredictable and an evil, scheming blackmailer with a desire for power over people.

Although the bastard daughter of an aristocratic lady, Bridget Crumb’s birthmother has ensured she was brought up in a foster home in the country. When Bridget decides to find employment in London, her mother has also provided her with references enabling Bridget to gain employment as a housekeeper. At the age of twenty-six, she is now regarded as the best housekeeper in London. She is competent, down-to-earth and loyal but rather plain and prim.

Val finds himself attracted by Bridget’s very normality which is in sharp contrast to his own mercurial nature. He is also impressed and aroused by her refusal to be intimidated by him, something he is not used to.

…she didn’t seem cowed by either his silence or his stare. She held her head high and she met him stare for stare, her eyes dark and intense and oddly arousing. Really, she was very self-possessed for a housekeeper when one came to think about it.

Against her better judgement Bridget is attracted to Val and I can see why she might find it hard to resist someone so delightfully wicked. He has no qualms about talking to his housekeeper while completely starkers and saying the most outrageous things.

“Oh, Mrs. Crumb, such a look,” he murmured, his voice a deep purr, his bare chest brushing against her snowy white apron. “Why, I don’t know whether to guard my bollocks . . .”—his gaze dropped to her mouth—“or to kiss you.”

There’s oodles of sexual tension between these two and the love scenes are definitely HOT (in fact I think they are steamier than any I’ve read so far in the series) and I love how Bridget reveals that she isn’t quite so prim!

I love seeing the little glimmers of hope that Val isn’t completely irredeemable. His sister Eve has always been a chink in his formidable armour and the scene where he confronts Asa, after discovering they are getting married, shows just how much he cares for her and wants to protect her. He also rescued an Arab youth, Mehmed, from a terrible fate on his travels abroad and bought him back to England as his second valet. Mehmed also provides some amusing moments with his broken English.

When Val tells Bridget of his childhood experiences at the hands of a sadistic, depraved father and a mother who hated him, it is easy to understand how Val could have become so damaged…so flawed and believing himself incapable of love. He no longer has any concept of what is right or wrong; he does what he likes, when he likes without any conscience. Only Bridget sees the real Val and knows he can be a better man. She becomes his moral compass, but he only realises this when she leaves him…

Fair Seraphine had tried to explain to him the difference, right from wrong. It made sense to her because she burned and was an angel. But to him, a creature of hollow ice and pain, it was sound and confusion without her to filter it for him.

When Bridget’s life is in danger, he finally has to make a choice between good and evil, knowing the action he decides to take may lose him Bridget’s love forever. For the first time, he puts someone else first, regardless of any personal cost. It is this more than anything that made me believe that Val is truly redeemable. It won’t happen overnight but I feel that with Bridget by his side, he has every chance of becoming a better man. The scene where he says he loves Bridget is a such an emotional one.

We learn more about the notorious Lords of Chaos and their evil pursuits and a new character, Hugh Fitzroy, the Duke of Kyle, makes his appearance. As the cover blurb for the forthcoming DUKE OF PLEASURE (29th November 2016) is available to read on Amazon’s site, I don’t think I’m giving away any spoilers by saying that Hugh is the hero to Alf’s heroine and expect the return of a certain masked crusader.

The Epilogue provides further proof that Val has definitely changed for the better but I love that he is still wicked in certain ways. ;-)

Val hasn’t quite managed to topple Charming Mickey off his pedestal as my favourite hero of the series, but he ties with Winter Makepeace as a close second!

MY VERDICT: What can I say other than this is another outstanding addition to this fabulous series. I can highly recommend both the book and the series!

REVIEW RATING: 5/5 STARS

The Maiden Lane series so far (click the book cover for more details):

- 29th November 2016

**I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. **


This review is also posted on my Rakes and Rascals Blog:

https://rakesandrascals.wordpress.com...

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 3.75 ***

A buddy read with the Historical Romance saps @ the MacHalo Freaks! Because we need love too!

I think if I had read this book without the baggage on Val's character from the last two books, I would have liked it much more. Trying to make a villein, but more importantly, a true sociopath into a romantic interest is very difficult and I am aware of my prejudices towards him from all the harm he had done in the series up to now. I loved the complexity of his personality, the constant jugstoposing of his perfect physical beauty and flamboyant manner to the darkness of his thoughts and deeds as well as the desolation and absence of feelings and compassion in his soul. And yes, he most probably was not born this way, but was broken to this state of villainous being by his dear ol' dad and his sleazy buddies from the dolphin tattoo society, or something like that... And they had to work at taking out every iota of humanity from him as he unwittingly showed us while in an altered state of consciousness with the memory of his pet cats...

I loved our stern, proper, and captivating Bridget Crumb! Her character was strong, daring, but also vulnerable and hopefull... I felt she was very real, full of virtues and failings. Despite the constant tendency of the author to try to present us with pictures of the main ladies of the series as plain, unremarkable, and even ugly in some cases, although we are lead to think of them as just ordinary, every one of them has been remarkable and glorious in their own way. Same here, this none attractive, none noble, none anything really woman, draws the attention of the overly dramatic, over the top, overly noble and rich rogue Duke of Montgomery, whom no one likes or trust. With good reason - he is a blackmailer, a kidnapper, and an evil lives manipulator. Bridget Crumb is his housekeeper and dares to challenge the Duke on his misdeeds. She took the position because he is blackmailing her mother and another noble lady whom he plans on making his wife. Her mission is to find the materials he blackmails them with and get rid of them. And in the way to doing so, she can't help but be drawn to him, her total opposite, as well as he to her.

I think the best part of the story, apart from the very passionate attraction between them, is the understanding of Bridget that something is wrong with him and his understanding of right and wrong. She understands that she has to be his moral compass, because he has none. It is fascinating and very sad at the same time. However, it did not stop me from wanting to kill him personally many, many times over and I think Bridget Crumb is a better woman than me, because I don't think I could have been as patient and understanding with such a person as she is.

The writing was once again beautiful, the world of Maiden Lane consistent, and it was a pleasure being back there with all of our favorite characters. I would recommend this series to all romance readers!

Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you Need in the pages of a Good book!!!

[Paige Bookdragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me while reading some shocking thing that the hero does (which is like most of the time)



If you have read Devil in Winter and fell in love with Sebastian, then you will love Duke of Sin. There's something addictive with goddamn hedonists and naughty dukes and Valentine Napier, Duke of Montgomery is the the naughtiest and the dirtiest of them all.

I love everything in this book. From Val's funny and sexy nude scenes (there are many)



to Bridget's reactions every time Val do something bad,



I FREAAAAKING LOVE IT.

Let me tell you, when an author (a historical/regency romance author) says that their hero is a "rake, evil and bad", most of them don't get the "bad" part. Yeah, they are a rake and can be very unscrupulous but they usually don't nail the "bad".

Elizabeth Hoyt on the other hand totally hit it. Valentine is the most villainous hero that I've ever read. And (though I suspected it, Nenia's review confirmed it) the hero is a bisexual. Hooray!




I LOOOVE IT. I love what it represents because really, ankles alone are considered sexy and intimate in 1730s, so if someone is a bisexual at that time, the level of that person's "immorality" and "perversion" is sky high. I love how Hoyt implied that Val is a that way because it backs up the character's description that he do what he wants and people can go fuck themselves if they don't like it.

This is my first Hoyt book and it totally made me a fan. I will be reading the rest of the series because that's just how good Hoyt is.

------

Pre-review

Fuck I love this.

First book by Elizabeth Hoyt and I was blown away. I'll post my review tomorrow because I want to find my Lucifer Morningstar gif to use in this review. If you are watching Lucifer, then I have your best interest when I say that Val (the hero) is so much like Lucifer Morningstar when it comes to being a hedonist.

[Vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know quite what to say.

If you want to read this because you've heard Valentine reminds some reviewers of St. Vincent from Devil in Winter then NO!NO! NO! St. Vincent is a rake, a charming and unrepentant rake. It's like comparing little Miss Muffet's spider to Shelob in The Return of the King.

Val is the spawn of Satan. Really. If you have safety issues regarding child abuse, sexual abuse, animal abuse then reconsider. The H is not guilty of the abuses, but he is either a victim or involved on the periphery of the actions. In his unknowing search for to protect the innocent he crosses borders, lots of them.

When the h encounters him as his housekeeper, he is beyond the pale. A complete and total reprobate, he will engage in blackmail, kidnapping and even murder if he feels he can justify it, and he can always justify it as he is the Duke of Montgomery. I hate the whole Heathcliff types, but E. Hoyt sold me on the hero. The abuse that warps him is detailed and convincing. She provides a solid background that explains why he is the way he is. Scary spoiler... One example, is he was born left-handed, and his father would strangle one of his cats when he made mistakes in writing. What else can I say?

What Hoyt did not do completely is explain how Bridget/Seraphine is the one to change him. (He likes to call her Seraphine, and is rather appalled her name is as mundane as Bridget.) I went with it because it was fun to see the Duke unthaw. Does he unthaw. He's still just as shallow, self-serving, but he has a heart for more than just his sister.

What I enjoyed most was his total arrogant acceptance of of his own superiority in the face of her repugnance of him. Actually in the face of anyone. The H is incredibly shallow at times which made me laugh although it detracts from his status as a romance interest.

One of my favorite moments is when after just getting back from rescuing the h from the dogs he set on her (The h had inconsiderately rescued the heiress he kidnapped and was going to marry against her will. The h had fled in the opposite direction of the heiress with bacon in her pockets to divert the pack.) Valentine is mildly put out that he can't marry the heiress he wants, but is equally peeved the h used his favorite purple coat to hide the bacon.

He groaned, "Did it have to be the purple velvet? It's almost like you don't like me."

The H is shallow and unrepentantly vile at times, and I loved him. In real life, I would run like the wind, but as a fictional hero he is ...unusual. I remember thinking at the end, I hope they don't have children. They are a couple I would love to read more about in subsequent books.

[emtee · Rating 5 out of 5]

First re-read. Valentine is still the king of wicked, debauched and delicious, and my favorite antihero of all time.

***

Valentine was the reason I created my Wicked, Debauched and Delicious shelf. Enough said 😉

“Oh, Séraphine. Tread carefully, my burning one, as if you danced on the shattered skulls of children, for I may lie abed, but I am a duke yet, and not just any duke, but the Duke of Montgomery, and my inheritance is death and mayhem.”

“This is who I am, Séraphine. Naked, with blade and blood. I am vengeance. I am hate. I am sin personified. I am the villain.” And he laid his lips over hers and pushed his hot tongue into her mouth and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe.

“During the day we’ll sit on deck and watch for mermaids and monsters in the waves, and at night we’ll stare at the stars and then I’ll make love to you until dawn.”

And how it hurt, this love! What pain it caused, like tiny knives in the veins. He didn’t think he liked it much, but he’d endure it, yes he would, if only she’d return and stab him again.

[Dagmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

SEXY and SINFUL
Absolutely brilliant. I'm in awe.
Valentine was the perfect deliciously dark with hidden depths anti-hero and the amazing banter, raw sexual chemistry, all-consuming passion between him and his quietly powerful lady love housekeeper Bridget was off the charts. This unforgettable story gets right into your bones, heart, soul...so good.
Five stars isn't enough.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oh, Séraphine. Tread carefully, my burning one, as if you danced on the shattered skulls of children, for I may lie abed, but I am a duke yet, and not just any duke, but the Duke of Montgomery, and my inheritance is death and mayhem.”

If life was fair my review would just be a continuation of this book – PERFECTION. But alas it is not and I can't express in words how truly FANTASTIC this book was.

Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery has returned from exile, intent on gaining his way back to society, and continuing his play for power, spying on everyone, gathering their secrets so that he can use it against them. He’s also decided to marry, and has no problem blackmailing said woman to get what he wants – more power. But then he catches his new housekeeper in his bedroom, and Val is intrigued by her deceptively prim and proper ways, and her surprising wit. And because Val loves a puzzle, he starts a game of cat and mouse, a game that might just derail all of his plans.

Bridget Crumb is born a bastard. She’s hardworking, smart, bold and very loyal. So when Val starts blackmailing her aristocratic mother, Bridget takes it on herself to infiltrate Val’s household in order to steal back the incriminating letters. But what she didn’t expect was how fascinating the wicked Val could be, how challenging, and the more time she spends with him, the more she realises that there is a lot more to the duke of sin than everyone realises. Can Bridget get the job done before she falls for the villain….?

“You really are the vainest man in the world,” she said wonderingly.
He stopped chewing. “This is the first you’ve noticed?”

Valentine has been an enigma to me for quite a few books. He’s clearly a villain, a man notorious for his wicked ways. He has no problem breaking rules, he actually goes out of his way to break them, blackmailing and kidnapping just one of his tools to gain more power. He is vain, beautiful, has no conscience and no scruples. He is the perfect anti-hero and he was even more wonderful than I thought he would be. A broken man is like catnip to me, and broken Val definitely was. I LOVED him! Val had a horrific childhood, his depraved monster of a father doing everything he could to break Val, to ensure that Val would never love anything or anyone, never allowing Val to be an innocent child. And he succeeded for the most part as the only person Val cared for was his sister Eve. Until Bridget came along and tried to show him that he had a heart.

“Until I was old enough and strong enough and smart enough and I knew I knew I knew that you have to kill the thing you love, Séraphine, or they’ll use it against you. They’ll wring its neck before your eyes and you’ll hurt. Your insides will bleed screams and despair and you’ll want death, you’ll love death.”
He stopped, panting, openmouthed and still, and said very quietly and precisely, “So you see. It’s better. Much better. Not to love at all.”

Bridget was amazing, and I loved the fact that she was able to see that there was more to Val than being the villain. She was strong enough to do what was right and to fight for his heart, his soul.

“Séraphine, Séraphine, Séraphine. Will you drive me mad? Scatter my wits to the wind like so much chaff? Leave me a shell of a man, broken, hollowed of brain and soul, left with merely a throbbing prick like a mindless goat? Have mercy, I plead, O siren of chatelaines and unlovely bonnets! Let my famished mouth feast upon thy sweet, sweet flesh. I am awash in yearning spunk.”

The sexy times in this book was so HOT!!! That bathroom scene ….. yowza!! Val sure lived up to his wicked reputation :-D

“Séraphine, Séraphine, Séraphine. O most beloved of women, most fiery of saints, never leave me, please. I’ll erect columns of white marble to you, build gardens of delights for you, cause ships to sail and warriors to rise for you, if you’ll only remain by my side.”

The romance in this book was MAGNIFICENT! Val and Bridget were like two pieces of a puzzle, they were made to fit. I loved how Val called her Séraphine, his burning angel, because Bridget refused to tell him her name at first. And I adored how Val felt about Bridget, that she warmed him from the cold. Even with Bridget’s love, Val will always be broken, he isn’t capable of doing what is right, but Bridget has no problem being his conscience and I loved that about them.

“Your tears taste like salvation.”

This book was even better than what I hoped it would be. It was … perfect. I cannot recommend this book and this series enough. A MUST READ.

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I didn't end up liking this book quite as much as I'd hoped, there were a few things that checked off boxes of what I like in romance.

1) No insta-lust. Even from Val's first POV after his and Bridget's first interaction, he isn't thinking about how lush this or that body part is, or where his penis should go. This line of thought happens SO often in romances, both historical and contemporary, and I love that it took him a few interactions to start thinking sexually about her.

2) Bridget Crumb is NOT a beauty. I love when the heroines of romances aren't beauties. For god's sake, Bridget's hair isn't even silky! It's coarse! She doesn't even have a single extraordinary feature that somehow drives Val mad with lust! The white streak in her hair is distinctive, but not something that somehow renders her beautiful. Obviously he's attracted to her physically or this wouldn't be a book, but it's her responses and reactions to him that initiates their attraction.

She might try to hide it but he'd lay odds that his housekeeper frankly loathed him. He felt a sudden fondness for her.

3) Val is basically a villain. He blackmails everybody in sight because he literally doesn't know any better. He talks like he's acting in a play. He was a good character, quite cheerful in his badness. (Of course there's reason for his bad behavior.) Despite his villainy, he was never cruel to Bridget.

"Oh, Séraphine. Tread carefully, my burning one, as if you danced on the shattered skulls of children, for I may lie abed, but I am a duke yet, and not just any duke, but the Duke of Montgomery, and my inheritance is death and mayhem."

4) Bridget was smart and strong, always sticking to what she knew was right. She wasn't stupidly stubborn or willful. She was a good, upstanding woman who happened to fall for a man of questionable character.

5) The romance was rather glorious. "Fuck your rules" indeed. I'm very fond of stories where an aristocrat marries someone of the working class, and especially where a man notices a woman because of some quality other than her looks.

However, despite all these positives, I didn't love the book. It almost didn't feel like there was enough to it. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout, some of them quite surprising, yet I felt there was something missing from the story. I felt removed.

One distinct complaint I have is that, although Bridget recognizes when Val does something wrong, she doesn't seem to truly acknowledge his behavior in the long run. For example, he kidnapped a woman and imprisoned her in a room below his castle so she would marry him when people heard that she'd stayed with him alone. Yes, Bridget sets the woman free, but then the deed is never mentioned again.

I do recommend this, though, especially for those who love villains but don't like assholes. The writing is good and there are several good quotes. This book may not have resonated with me, but there's plenty about it to like.

"Perhaps I'd face your repercussions on the morrow. Perhaps not. But that is for the sunrise. Tonight the shadows reign and the blood is singing in my veins."

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley.

[Mandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

He was the Duke of Montgomery. He’d successfully blackmailed the King. He was about to blackmail himself a wife. No one loved him.

And that was the way he liked it.

The hero in this book, Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, is a villain. He blackmails everyone. (no, really). He murders people. He is cunning, arrogant, but he also has this child-like playfulness to him – I’m not talking giggles but more – his childhood was so messed up that he has this immature side. He wants to play, but doesn’t know how to play nice – and never mistake his playfulness for weakness.

The Duke of Montgomery was as deadly as a coiled adder discovered suddenly at one’s feet.

The only person that can wrangle him, is his housekeeper, Bridget Crumb.

Bridget loves her job – she runs Val’s house to perfection, keeping all the servants in line, no matter how poorly Val treats them or his eccentricities he puts on display. Bridget was born to an aristocratic woman, but her father was a footman. Her mother hid her pregnancy and then placed the baby with foster parents. Bridget knows who her mother is (readers of this series will too) and the only reason she took this housekeeper position is because Val is blackmailing her mother. Bridget’s goal is to find the letters Val is using to blackmail her mother, retrieve them and give her mother some peace. But Val is sly. Very, very sly and finding the letters proves to be quite difficult.

Val’s childhood was horrific. His father belonged to a secret society that had annual initiation rituals including kidnapping, rape and murder. Val was a witness to all of this, and an attempt to initiate him also occurred. His father would give Val kittens at a young age, and when Val grew to love them and care for them, his father would kill the kittens in front of him. Val was taught that everything he grew to love, would die a horrible death. His mother hated him too – so let’s just say, as an adult, Val isn’t 100% stable and his idea of loving someone isn’t healthy.

Bridget is definitely wary of Val and his moods, but she is also intrigued by him, and downright attracted to him. Val walks around in the nude around her, as he pretty much has zero shame. Val is very sensuous in this book, but he is such a different type of hero. He isn’t growly or big or grumpy. He isn’t serious and arrogant (well, he is arrogant) and broody. He is flamboyant. He wears pink and bright blue, and walks around in a dragon robe. His hair is long and wild. He is more on the shorter, slender side. Did I mention he has a full nude portrait of himself in his bedroom?

“You really are the vainest man in the world,” she said wonderingly.

He stopped chewing. “This is the first you’ve noticed?”

He looooooves to shock people. He loves attention and games. When he kidnaps someone in this book, it’s so thrilling for him. He has grown into an adult and missed the conscious and ethics line that adults shouldn’t cross. For him, power is everything. Absolute. So, anything to gain that power over someone – be it blackmail or kidnapping, is something Val yearns for.

Bridget recognizes this to some degree. She is very smart and mature, and is able to look past Val’s theatrics and understand what his main goals are. She is very practical and I adored her (he calls her Seraphine because she refuses to tell him what her first name is):

“Oh, Seraphine,” he rasped. “Are you making advances?”

“I’m wiping vomit and sweat from your body,” she said with rather too much tartness. “Nothing more.”

“Are you…sure?” And she thought she saw his lips twitch as if they tried for his usual smile.

She blinked hard. “Yes. This isn’t a moment for flirtation, Your Grace.”

“…always a moment for flirtation,” he whispered, the beginning of his sentence to low to understand. “Especially…when you’re handling my cock.”

“That’s Mehmed.”

“Pity. Though he has very soft hands.”

Bridget and Val start this unlikely friendship. He loves having her around. She stimulates him with conversation and can keep up with his chaotic lifestyle. She also challenges him:

He leaned over it, reaching for the headboard, and opened the concealed compartment.

Empty.

Oh.

Oh, Seraphine.

He felt the grin spread over his face, felt his cock throb and stiffen. Suddenly the day was bright, singing with vibrant colors and stratagems.

She’d outmaneuvered him.

And that? That hadn’t happened in a very, very long time.

She isn’t afraid to tell him when he is being crazy and then she starts to fall in love with him. I loved it. She isn’t a virgin, which shocks him. She has raven black hair with a white stripe in the middle and this drives Val crazy with lust.

This book is sexy, with such a unique hero and a heroine I totally fell in love with. Plus there were so many scenes that made me laugh.

You don’t need to read the previous book to enjoy this one.

Grade: A

[Mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhh... an enraged Val...when he, completly nude, kills the traitorous vallet...


droooooooling... just a moment... i have to clean my chin...

I love that Ms. Hoyt didn't redeem completly Val! He remain basically a wild, cunning, refined, elegant, extravagant, completly outside every usual behaviour. And he remains like that even if Bridget curbs his excesses to almost socially accepted ones.

I loved his reasoning. I loved his musings. His et cetera, et cetera!

Briefly Val contemplated stabbing him with his dinner knife. It would be so very easy. But then the disposal of the body, et cetera, et cetera.
........................
Wakefield had obviously had his ducal duties drummed into his infant head, for he was a pillar of parliament, a scion of society, a confidant of the King et cetera and boring et cetera.
........................
“Oh, Séraphine,” he purred, pushing his nose close to her jaw to inhale her righteous scent. “Who
do you suppose sits in Parliament? Who makes the laws, runs the government of this great and lofty nation, hmm?” She hadn’t bathed this morning, he could tell, and she smelled of herself: woman, sweat, sex. He licked across her cheek, tasting salt and pure saint, to her mouth. He bit her lips. Once, twice, a third time, wanting, craving. He pulled back to see her face only with the greatest force of will. “I, Séraphine. I am the government. Dukes and marquesses, earls and viscounts. Men who have land and money and power and have had it for generations and generations, amen. We decide what is right and what is not. Who shall hang for the theft of a handkerchief and who shall be let go for the rape of a maidservant. We decide how many windows on a house shall be taxed and how many men shall die in a war. We are the ruling class.” He smiled at her as sweetly as he knew how. “Now tell me, do you really think one such as I should be making these rules of right and wrong?”

Hi smind, twisted as it is, is brilliant!

I admired Bridget too. She's an illegitimate child, but she's not bitter (at least not very much) about it. She likes her work and is as levelheaded as Val is excentric! They're the perfect couple!

“Not the Bible, not the courts, not the Parliament, I say that it is wrong.

Their romance is unausual, but it was to be expected. I liked it very, very much.

It starts as a battle of wills, but soon both of them fal for the other: Val because Bridget, his burning Séraphine confuses, intrgues and attract him; Bridget because she sees in Val the lonley, abused child, but at the same time a man in need of someone who will oppose to him.

Fair Séraphine had tried to explain to him the difference, right from wrong. It made sense to her because she burned and was an angel. But to him, a creature of hollow ice and pain, it was sound and confusion without her to filter it for him.

I adored the way Val expressed his feelinng: so beautiful and so incredible!

He fell to his knees before her, pressing his face to her purple-velvet-clad belly. “Séraphine, Séraphine, Séraphine. O most beloved of women, most fiery of saints, never leave me, please. I’ll erect columns of white marble to you, build gardens of delights for you, cause ships to sail and warriors to rise for you if you’ll only remain by my side.”i>



I'm so looking forward to the Duke of Kyle's book!!! :)

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly don't know how to rate this one. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. So I guess that will have to be a 3 star! I sort of found the storyline a bit implausible ... the Duke and the Housekeeper. I couldn't really buy it.


Yes, he had a horrible childhood but even so, I couldn't feel THAT sorry for him.

I know this review will be a bit vague. I really enjoyed the previous books in the series. I just checked the next few books and my interest is not piqued as much!! Maybe the author should have left it at ten books.

"But, it's an Irish name .... unless you're Irish. Are you Irish?"

It's my mother's name, but I would have killed my family, if they had called me "Bridget"!

And it was a very good thing, Val thought, that he hadn't a heart. Because it might've broken then.

Not sure if I will continue just yet with this series.

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valentine, Duke if Montgomery, is a villain and he thoroughly enjoys it. He's all about schemes, blackmail, and power. He's stunningly beautiful, rich, possibly insane, likes violence, and heartless....so an awesome villain and antihero.

Bridget is the housekeeper for Val and trying to discover two pieces of blackmail the Duke has on acquaintances of hers. She's also the best housekeeper in England and fixes up his household, all while challenging him at every turn, which he relishes. She's kind, smart, and kind of pitiful in a few ways, her lack of family. I felt sorry for her at different points. My favorite times were when she was instructing Val on right and wrong, and him questioning her at every turn.

The fun of this book is crazy Val. You never know what he's going to say or do and I do love broken antiheroes. His POV's are quite amusing. Definitely a fun one. Another great addition to this series.

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh! This beautiful book! Where to begin? Beautifully written, but certainly dark and unsettling for some. Not written for the faint of heart, but penned for lovers of love. This was such a heartbreaking tale that held my attention from start to finish. Val and Bridget’s road to love was served with a side of wittiness, but the entrée was complete sorrow; don’t expect to laugh too much. Pain and sorrow that was so deep it nearly unhinged a great love story, but the brilliance of Elizabeth Hoyt is that she brought us right back, teaching us love conquers all. Marvelous book.

[♥ℳelody · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 stars

Then he flung his arms wide and bellowed. "Away! Away, you pestilence, you flies, you midges of ruination! Get thee back to the thy kitchens of destruction and G-d damn thy lips and thy words and thine eyes! Away, I say, and never come again! A plague and a flood of amphibians upon the lot of you!"

Didn't work for me. It’s not lost on me that Val's book is the reason why I initially started this series (that cover!) and yet it ended up being my least favorite. 😶 Oops. Oh well. Elizabeth Hoyt is a strong writer and the Maiden Lane series is testament to her strength. I would read anything written by her. Her weakness for me always lies in her villains and Valentin Napier is prime example of that. He didn't impress me when he made his first appearance in Darling Beast. I found him comical, cheesy, campy and not very compelling as the villain. But I'm always a sucker for a good redemption story where the bad-guy-turned-hero gets his chance at HEA. Did it work here? Eh. He's still the vapid vain idiot he was in the previous books. He had redeemable qualities underneath the surface of all that vain flamboyance and smug smiles but the effort here felt shallow and lazy rather than weighted. It felt forced. I just found he lacked gravity and substance as the hero of his own book. The first 100 pages he's still acting like the harebrained villain for reasons I didn't understand. It just took too long to get to his back story for why he is the way he is, and when we finally get his origin story I found it lacking. Yes it is heartbreaking but it didn't hold enough weight for me. Your disgusting father strangled your kittens as a child is what made you a sociopath? Really? You've been blackmailing people and kidnapping women because of a childhood trauma involving kittens? You are joining a sadist cult with pedophile rapists who assaulted your own sister when she was a child because "everyone is a bit bad"?....😕

Color me perplexed and really underwhelmed. I was expecting a bigger picture especially with the Lords of Chaos arc. Which oddly felt like a random add on that needed to be dealt with quickly in the very last chapter when for me I felt it should have been the main focus of the book since his sire was the leader of this cult. I mean shouldn't that have been the main conflict of this story, bringing that secret society down? Not him lounging about bored and sending letters out and kidnapping people. It felt like Hoyt didn't know what to do with him here when she had so many options and completely wasted them. Nothing really happened for a majority of the book. The whole blackmailing everyone with letters game I never was a fan of and it definitely ran it's course here. His motives for me just never made much sense. In fact, he has zero motivation in everything he's been doing except he just wants to. He wants power but he's already the most powerful Duke in all of London who everyone is afraid of. You want power when you already have all the power.....? *crickets chirping* There was obviously underlying issues that drove him that should have been delved into but wasn't. Wouldn't it have made more sense for him to try something new? Or I don't know, try at least to be better? That's the whole point of a redemption arc isn't it?

"This is who a I am, Seraphine. Naked, with blade and blood. I am vengeance. I am hate. I am sin personified. Never mistake me for the hero of this tale, for I am not and shall never be. I am the villain."

He opened his eyes wide and seized her arms, spinning her in a circle, his gaze boring into hers. "Don't you comprehend? Can't you see them? They're all around us--wolves and birds of prey and jackals, baying at the moon, jaws agape. So close, Bridget, so close you can smell the fetid stink of their breath, and if you don't have power they'll drag you or Eve or me from beneath the bed and tear the meat from your bones, and leave you a weeping skeleton."... He whispered in her ear, "I'm not mad. I know they don't wear the masks anymore, but that doesn't mean, my burning Seraphine, that they aren't still out there, in banal old-man form. So you see, I must have more power. It's the only way to survive them."

Our heroine Bridget Crumb wasn't very exciting either. She calls herself unremarkable and I found her to be exactly that, unremarkable unfortunately. Very staid, dry, weak and boring. And I guess this is one of those power dynamic tropes that doesn’t always work. I never thought the Duke and his housekeeper trope would make me feel skeevy but it did here. I really struggled to feel any connection between Val and Bridget. The chemistry just wasn't there. I just didn't believe in the romance at all. It just came off more like he found her odd and amusing with nothing better to do. I especially wasn't convinced of the attraction. It also probably didn’t help that I recently read Fool Me Twice with the same couple trope and this one didn’t hold up in comparison. And I think where Hoyt really lost her footing here and got ahead of herself was having the heroine admitting she was falling for the hero at the 100 page mark out of nowhere. The build up wasn’t there at all for her to be even acknowledging it at that point. It felt so premature. I didn’t understand how she fell for him and so quickly.

You barely speak more than five words to him outside of "Your Grace" and know nothing about him but you are already falling for him? Really? Ms. Bridget Crumb the steadfast, disciplined housekeeper, keeper of all things neat and tidy who needs order easily falling for a rogue just like that? www.NotBuyingIt.com. Someone who has strict morals and believes in right and wrong doesn't just randomly find an anti-hero with villainous tendencies "wonderful" and "dear" out of nowhere. The connection from point A to point B was completely missing. I did find Bridget's parentage reveal interesting, but it was the only interesting or exciting thing about her. Just wish Hoyt did something more with it. Also the sex scenes were surprisingly very dull and insanely tame in this. Hoyt is known for her steamy sensuous love scenes with every couple having their own thing and getting creative in the bedroom. Sooooo...what happened here? Val is supposed to be the most wicked, carnal, sexual, hedonistic man who fucks anything with 2 legs but you're telling me he doesn't want to take his clothes off during sex with the heroine cause he'll spill? Seriously? He has orgies, canoodles with his footmen, takes baths in his library and struts around naked cause he likes it. So WHERE IN THE HELL WAS THE KINK?....The steam factor?

There wasn't even any dirty talk. For a Maiden Lane book? That's unheard of. No Maiden Lane couple is interchangeable especially when it comes to their intimacy scenes, each of them have their own unique intimacy language when it comes to sex scenes. That's what makes Hoyt such a strong writer. This is the 1oth book in this series and not one couple can be mistaken for another which is an impressive feat. So almost every book before this has some version of dirty talk. Which isn't a deal breaker by any means but I mean Maximus The Duke of Wakefield (Val's arch nemisis) in comparison who is the biggest tightwad and most austere hero out of all the guys is more spicy than Val in the bedroom for fuck's sake. Make that make sense. Max is a real dirty talker in the bedroom yet Val....isn't? *crickets* So yes I expected way more from Val in that regard. This honestly really felt like a mismatched pairing that felt forced. I think someone like Hippolyta was better suited for Val or maybe sparked more? Oh and speaking of Hippolyta, why on earth is stealing a miniature portrait of her family considered dire blackmail material? I did not understand that part at all or why it was made such a big deal for her to get it back from him? Is she illegitimate for something?

"Seraphine, Seraphine, Seraphine. Will you drive me mad? Scatter my wits to the wind like so much chaff? Leave me a shell of a man, broken, hollowed of brain and soul, left with merely a throbbing prick like a mindless goat? Have mercy, I plead, O siren of chatelaines and unlovely bonnets! Let my famished mouth feast upon they sweet, sweet flesh. I am awash in yearning spunk."

Another thing that worked against this for me is the dramatic flair in Val's monologues. He's flamboyant, over the top and sarcastic but at times the stuff he says is so overly wordy? Shakespearean? theatrical? that you're not sure if he's being serious or not. Especially when he's trying to be romantic with Bridget. It just kept pulling me out of scenes when the O siren! O flaming burning Seraphine! started. It was way too cheesy for me. It felt like he was in a stage play and it just made him lose depth for me.

While I didn't go into this one with particular high hopes I still was kinda hoping Val would win me over or make me root for him instead I felt nothing. I generally love anti-heroes. Like looooove them. I love asshole grey heroes because the push and pull and work to get to the HEA is usually very rewarding. Here nothing really felt rewarding just more like....welp, ok. I didn't find him particularly offensive or even extreme given the environment he was raised in. I'm not even rating this low because of that, I've read books with anti-heroes who were much worse than Val. It's just everything felt incredibly forced and weak for me. I never found Val convincing as the villain and as a hero I didn't find him impressive either. I thought there would be some bigger explanation or master plan behind everything he's been doing up until this point, that he was gonna bring down the Lords of Chaos and everything would connect but there wasn't. Literally no reason except his Daddy was a lunatic and he's a vain fuckboy who just does what he wants. Um...ok. Should I have slow clapped for this reveal? Val just kept doing the same thing over and over again with the same results and not understanding the concept of right vs wrong until literally the very last chapter cause his lady love is in peril. Hoyt didn't convince me he learned anything and just does what he wants and found a woman who loves him but is a complete pushover to his actions. I wasn't asking for him to be fully redeemed but there needs to be a balance of some kind or revelation here and there was literally none. Valentine is a sociopath so it's a lot to unpack and a heavy load to carry off. And unfortunately the unpacking felt sloppy and rushed. When your heroine has to constantly chase the hero around the city willy nilly to "stop" him from doing bad things it's not really a winning love story in my book. Or a convincing HEA for that matter. 😬

A Book That Did this Trope Better:

[Optimist ♰King's Wench♰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun bodice ripper!

Val is a libertine AND a dandy. I ❤️ me a dandy.

He's also vain and cheeky. Two more qualities I'm quite fond of so he was definitely a big plus for this read but I also really liked Bridget because she can hold her own against his big personality.

They have great chemistry made better by his utter and complete smittenness and devotion to her, something he's in equal measures completely caught of guard by and oblivious to.

The romance is paired nicely with the adventure storyline, which fair warning, has some unsavory components e.g. mentions of pedophilia and animal cruelty, violence and kidnapping.

I think what surprised me the most was Hoyt's writing which is polished and engaging. She also gets points for inclusion of an unabashedly bi character and possibly a gender fluid character? Not sure but I may have to read the next one to find out. Stay tuned.

If you're looking for an entertaining historical diversion give Duke of Sin a try.

[Addie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Usually I can appreciate a good anti-hero, but Val is simply one of the worst I have come across in a HR.



No doubt he has redeeming qualities, but I can't stomach the efforts to find out as I find myself loathing him as the starring hero.



I am done with this series

DNF 25%

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I read this for the Rogue square for Romance Bingo.

"So you see, I must have more power. It's the only way to survive them."

I struggled with my rating for this book because I loved how Hoyt portrayed Val. She provided an understanding for why Val is the way he is, almost excusing it but still kept him the unabashed rogue readers of the series have grown to know and almost against our will, love. Val doesn't really feel shame for his actions because his childhood was all about survival and nothing else makes sense to him. Hoyt kept him real. And naked, a lot of naked scenes ;)

She was making love to Val. Selfishly. Because she wanted to. Because he was everything she'd been denied in life---everything she'd denied herself: laughter and wit and books and adventure. Lust and sensuality. Silks and hot baths. Warm dogs and warmer bed linen. He was sin itself and if she was a sinner for a little while, she'd pay the price and gladly.

I also liked our heroine Bridget and her calmness and ability to accept and love Val for who he is. Her presence and reactions might help change Val for the better but she doesn't force anything. Her hidden pain but drive to continue on in life regarding how her mother never really brought her into her life was tender.

While I was a big fan of Val and Bridget separately, why I struggled with my rating was because I didn't fully feel the romance between the two. The lust seemed more prominent than deeper emotions. Towards the end I started to feel it a bit more with Val opening up but I missed more engaging talks, push, and pulls. This might have been because of Bridget's position as Val's housekeeper which sets up a power dynamic; she stood up to him at times but the power balance was uneven.

There were less former characters making appearances here, some of the Caires and Alf, and a few new introductions like the Lords of Chaos and the Duke of Kyle. The Duke of Kyle has caught my eye and as a not in your face dark guy, I'm a little shocked but there is something about him that draws me. Quite excited his book is next :)