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Darling Beast (Maiden Lane, #7)

Elizabeth Hoyt

Start date: November 1, 2014

Finish date: November 30, 2014

Discussion: Monthly Read

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What Members Thought

Nov 04, 2014 Caz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-pre-1800s, audiobook, aar

I've given this a B for narration and B+ for content at All About Romance.

Elizabeth Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series is, I think, her only one where I’ve not read any of the books, but have listened to all in audio format instead. Normally with long-running series, I find I do a bit of each – read some, listen to some (and in some cases read and listen, but somehow this has been an audio-only collection for me.

The first four books in the series were most ably narrated by Ashford MacNab, so when, f ...more

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Jul 06, 2014 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own

I have been dying to get my hands on this novel ever since I heard it was coming out and I was definitely not disappointed. Elizabeth Hoyt has written an irresistible novel with a daring leading lady and a brooding, mute male lead who will steal your heart with one smoldering glance. I have read two other books in the Maiden Lane series and absolutely loved them, so it's no surprise that I absolutely loved this one too!

After being falsely accused of killing three of his friends, Apollo Greaves I have been dying to get my hands on this novel ever since I heard it was coming out and I was definitely not disappointed. Elizabeth Hoyt has written an irresistible novel with a daring leading lady and a brooding, mute male lead who will steal your heart with one smoldering glance. I have read two other books in the Maiden Lane series and absolutely loved them, so it's no surprise that I absolutely loved this one too!

After being falsely accused of killing three of his friends, Apollo Greaves has spent the past four years locked away, abused to the inch of death. Apollo manages to finally escapes and finds himself mute and hiding as a gardener reconstructing a burnt down theater. Apollo knows he must keep a low profile in order to not risk arrest again, but the new tenant of the theater makes that task more difficult than he had thought. Renowned actress Lily Stump has had to move into the theater with her son and maid, making money secretly writing plays under her brother's name. When her son becomes enamored with the "monster" in the garden, Lily finds herself spending more and more time with the hulking, mysterious man. Apollo and Lily both have their secrets, but being together allows them to forget those secrets and finally give into passions they've so long forgotten…

Oh my gosh, Apollo and Lily are just too cute. I loved how unconventional the two characters were and how unlikely of a couple they became. Lily is an actress and a single mother, which makes her a very scandalous, yet very famous woman in London. Despite her reputation, Lily is very loyal to her son Indio and will do anything to protect him. From the moment Indio discovers Apollo in the garden, it's clear Apollo won't be the stereotypical leading male. He's nicknamed Caliban, a reference to The Tempest, and has no use of his voice. Lily falls for his quiet demeanor and the hint of intelligence behind his kind eyes. Hidden in the burned down theater, Lily and Apollo are equals where they can forget their pasts and simply be together. Well, until reality comes crashing down and forces Apollo to face his demons...

While Apollo was hiding as a gardener for the theater, he actual had a true passion for gardening and I thought it was so adorable how he would get excited about this plans for the theater's pleasure garden. Gardening is definitely not a normal profession in historical romances and it was fun to see Apollo invested in a working man's occupation when he grew up in a life of leisure and class. While hiding out is all fine and dandy for the time being, someone out there is the true murderer of Apollo's friends and Apollo has to find out who exactly it is. So many people come together to help Apollo and it's fun seeing them investigate and try to uncover who the real murderer is, all while Apollo falls for the witty actress living next door.

While I love historical romances in general, Elizabeth Hoyt has managed to create incredibly unique characters that take us into the fun life of theater and gardening with a hint of a murder conspiracy thrown into the mix. The romance was sweet and I loved how Apollo wasn't the typical gorgeous, jaw-dropping man but rather a gentle giant who crawled his way into my heart. If you haven't yet, you must pick up the Maiden Lane series. Elizabeth Hoyt knows what she's doing when it comes to writing a historical romance that is both passionate and sweet and impossible to resist. ...more

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Sep 17, 2014 Diane Peterson rated it really liked it

Shelves: rita-finalist, historical-romance, kindle-books

4.5 Stars. Another excellent addition to the Maiden Lane series. We readers have been so worried about Apollo Greaves being unjustly sent to Bedlam. Well, he has escaped (with some help from his sister's husband) and is hiding out in the burned pleasure garden. Lily, an actress and playwright with a young son, is staying in another part of the burned theater. They connect, of course, with lovely consequences.

Apollo was large and kind and humble. He was so sweet with her son. Lily was smart and c ...more

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Sep 27, 2014 PoligirlReads rated it it was ok

This is an alright book in the series. Hoyt is always hit or miss for me. I'll admit I was ready to toss it aside based on the passage on the inside cover: "He found his voice...she lost her heart." Bleargh!

Luckily the rest of the book was better than that, though not great. There was nothing particularly endearing about either character or their romance, which is why I gave it two stars. I will give credit to Hoyt for giving us a hero who is mute through half the book. I found myself more inter ...more

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Oct 01, 2014 MoxNyx rated it it was amazing

Like all of Elizabeth's books this installment of the Maiden Lane series will no doubt prove to be worth the wait. I can only hope that at the end of the book... I'd close it with great anticipation for yet another installment! I do hope the series never ends! #WaitingForApollo ...more

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