Duke of Sin (Maiden Lane, #10) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Feb 07, 2017 Pamela(AllHoney) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: animals-pet-or-work, georgian-regency-era, manwhore-playboy, tortured-tormented, dangerous-or-bad-boy, across-the-tracks, anti-hero-heroine, aristocracy-royalty, servant

The 10th addition to the Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt. There is no doubt that the Duke of Montgomery is a depraved and debauched man. Bridget Crumb knows firsthand. After all, she is his housekeeper. But Bridget also knows there is more to Valentine Napier.

I haven't really felt like reading historical romances lately but I love Elizabeth Hoyt and decided to get caught up on the series. I am glad I did. Val was introduced in earlier books. Quite the despicable man! Did he redeem himself? ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Nov 20, 2016 Juliana Philippa rated it really liked it

Shelves: hr-hero-aristocrat-lord-titled, 0-own, 0-reviewed, hr-hero-gotta-love-the-bad-boy, hr-hero-arrogant-autocratic, hr-heroine-mid-to-late-20s, hr-hero-head-of-family, hr-hero-nobility, hr-heroine-good-girl, series

3.75-4 stars
Bottom Line, Up Top. Overall a good read, but definitely not the best in the series. The Maiden Lane Series is a must-read though, making this book by default one as well. There are also a lot of cross-overs in that characters reappear quite a bit, and the hero and/or heroine of the next book is usually quite heavily focused on as a secondary character in the book before theirs. Val is a relatively big presence in both Books 8 and 9, and I was really looking forward to his story, bec 3.75-4 stars
Bottom Line, Up Top. Overall a good read, but definitely not the best in the series. The Maiden Lane Series is a must-read though, making this book by default one as well. There are also a lot of cross-overs in that characters reappear quite a bit, and the hero and/or heroine of the next book is usually quite heavily focused on as a secondary character in the book before theirs. Val is a relatively big presence in both Books 8 and 9, and I was really looking forward to his story, because of how incredibly horrible a person he is, as evidenced in previous books. Unfortunately, I couldn't completely fall into the love story as much as I was hoping. I like him and Bridget together and I liked their exchanges and the chemistry (though it was actually kind of light, given this is EH, and if any book would be heavy on the sex, you'd think it would be Val's), but there was just something missing. I wasn't completely sold on why him, why her, why them, why now, etc.

Review. I really wanted to love this book—I wanted to adore this book. I just finished reading Dearest Rogue and Sweetest Scoundrel , so Val is a very fresh character for me and I was fascinated to see how he could possibly transformed into the hero of his own book. How could he possibly fall in love with someone? What woman would fall in love with him? What type of woman would bring him low and make him see the world completely differently? It would have to be a pretty incredible love story for Hoyt to be able to believably pull it off, so I was super eager to read the story.

And ... yeah, I just wasn't that blown away. Val lives up to all that we already know about him—he is a fucked up guy, straight-up. Let's be clear, he's not evil—he's against rape, against child abuse, etc. ((view spoiler))—but he is bad, egotistical, vain, selfish, arrogant, uncaring, cruel, I mean, need I go on? Oh and a man whore! Let's not forget that, because that he is BIG TIME. In one scene in the beginning, Bridget is called to his room one morning and he's naked in bed with two women, who are also naked (one comes out from under the sheets as Bridget walks in, and let's just say she wasn't giving him a leg massage). Shocking that he didn't have syphilis frankly.

Bridget was a little inconsistent to me. I got her up until she and Val start their sexual relationship. It's explained as something she does for herself, because she decides to gift herself this one thing, to be selfish in this one way, even knowing it can't continue, but to enjoy it while it lasts. All of that reasoning makes sense, but I don't know if it's because we're given that after she's already started, or what, but I was surprised when she first starts the seduction game with Val and when they initially go down that path. It seemed out of Bridget's character and I didn't understand why now or why him.

Kind of similarly, there were some things about the way Valentine was depicted that I found hard to believe. His complete lack of understanding of right versus wrong—it was a little over the top. Even if he doesn't believe in society's definition of it, he would have an awareness that there is a commonly agreed-upon morality (whether people actually follow through on it or not is a different story). But he acts bewildered by the idea and Bridget has to explain it to him. Things like that kind of annoyed, where it was a little too exaggerated. We get it, he has no moral compass and is generally an unfeeling bastard, but he's not an idiot.

That being said, I did like the dynamic between them and Val is entertaining to read, if nothing else. He really is SO out there and I never knew what to expect from him, which is actually quite unusual in a romance character. We usually know the different options of how things will unfold, certain plot lines are often followed, but here, I had absolutely NO idea what Val would do or say or decide. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2015 Shawna rated it really liked it

Shelves: hero-or-heroine-illegitimate, format-source-library, hero-cocky-conceited-arrogant-ego, favorite-romance-series, hh-servant-serving-working-class, hero-black-sheep, hh-banter-bicker-sparring-foreplay, heroine-country-lass, heroine-curvy-plump-not-stick-thin, hh-love-commitment-marriage-phobic

4 stars - Historical Romance

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 01, 2016 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: to-review, romantic-reads

I have been looking forward to this book since I wanted to see what Hoyt would do with a character who has been a) enigmatic and b) the villainous antagonist in several previous books. (Redemption arcs are a thing that can work really well cf. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas). Now, there is no way to make Val "nice" - he can't just fall in love and then decide to have a normal moral/psychological code, that wouldn't work because Val is sociopathic, occasionally murderous, and power-mad (riffing ...more

Like · see review

Apr 30, 2016 Ally rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook, netgalley, historical-romance, 2016, arc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Oh gosh! Valentine Napier is one of those characters that you love to hate in a series. When you know he’s going to get his own book you want that villainous character to remain villainous, because this is why you fell in love with that character but, you also want that villainous character to be redeemed because he’s such a great character but you don’t want him to turn into a goody, goody and lose all those villainous quantities that you fell in love with and well that’s exactly what you get w Oh gosh! Valentine Napier is one of those characters that you love to hate in a series. When you know he’s going to get his own book you want that villainous character to remain villainous, because this is why you fell in love with that character but, you also want that villainous character to be redeemed because he’s such a great character but you don’t want him to turn into a goody, goody and lose all those villainous quantities that you fell in love with and well that’s exactly what you get with Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt.

Elizabeth Hoyt has written a truly brilliant read with Duke of Sin! Prior to reading Duke of Sin I had only read Dearest Rogue and Sweetest Scoundrel so I knew enough about Val to know he was a great villainous character and to know there was more to him than met the eye because he does love his sister but he’s still an unscrupulous rake who was up to no good.

To make Val a redeemable character though you had to give him a woman he would want to redeem himself for and Bridget Crumb was that and so much more. Bridget who you meet in the previous books is up to no good too or that’s what you’re lead to believe when in actual fact she is helping those Val has tried to ruin.

Bridget has such a strong backbone and I liked her just a much as I liked Val. She doesn’t give in to Val and she has her own secrets that make her more unique. Bridget has a real depth to her, she’s more than just a housekeeper but it’s not until the story unfolds that you find out how much more. You can see how Bridget appeals to Val but it’s more than he just enjoys her backbone and secrets. It’s how he comes to care for her, her opinions, her vulnerability and her power over him.

There are a few worse places for a housekeeper of impeccable credentials to be caught than kneeling on her employer’s bed.

While yes I loved to hate Val and wanted him to get his HEA, I didn’t want it to be an easy ride for him because of all the bad things he had done previously. Sadly for Bridget and Val their HEA isn’t easy to come by but god damn by the end of the book it was so very, very worth it.

“I don’t wike you,” said a familiar infant voice.

There was a lot of humorous banter in the Duke of Sin with all the different characters and I adored the way it was delivered to us and by whom and how. However, because this is Val’s book and is the means to his HEA and to redeem him somewhat, he could no longer be the villainous villain that we knew before and therefore while he still got up to some dastardly deeds the true evil of the Duke of Sin was the Lords of Chaos that we were introduced to in Sweetest Scoundrel. I was slightly expecting the Lords of Chaos arc to be finished with in Duke of Sin but it wouldn’t have meshed well with the rest of the storyline but I like the way Ms Hoyt brought it about.

While the Duke of Sin is the tenth book in the series it is no means the last and it was delightful to bring all the previous characters together and to see how everyone continues to mix.

Val smiled evilly at the child and reached into his pocket. “Do you,” he asked, “like kittens?” And he held out a black, fluffy kitten with a white chest. Annalise blinked at the kitten’s green eyes. The kitten blinked back. “Oh, yes!” said Annalise. Val deposited the kitten into the plump little arms and strolled to the kitchens, where Hecate and her kittens were in residence, swinging his gold walking stick. There were seven more kittens remaining and a garden full of his enemies’ children…

Overall, the Duke of Sin has to be one of the best redemption books that I have read in a good long time and not only would I recommend the Duke of Sin but also the Maiden Lane series. I’m so very excited for the next book, Duke of Pleasure which will (finally) give us Alf’s book (out in November 2016). ...more

Like · see review