Lord of Darkness (Maiden Lane, #5) in Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn

Oct 24, 2011 Kelly22 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-romance, brooding-dangerous-hero, favorite-series, hero-bashful-starchy-silent, beloved-favorites, overtly-possessive-jealous-hero, tortured-hero, witty-humerous-funny-comedy, alpha-hero, hero-darcylike

4.50 Stars - Georgian England / Historical Romance.

A classical blend of love, myth, mystery and legend, I CONGRATULATE Ms Hoyt who has woven another expressive story of St. Giles in this rewarding and much loved series of Maiden Lane. I sincerely LOVED this story which once again unfolds the legend of another ghost of St. Giles with a promise of frivolous, engaging and electrifying romance, harmonizing with espionage, adventure and fulfilling drama.

Godric St. John is now the Ghost of St. Giles, 4.50 Stars - Georgian England / Historical Romance.

A classical blend of love, myth, mystery and legend, I CONGRATULATE Ms Hoyt who has woven another expressive story of St. Giles in this rewarding and much loved series of Maiden Lane. I sincerely LOVED this story which once again unfolds the legend of another ghost of St. Giles with a promise of frivolous, engaging and electrifying romance, harmonizing with espionage, adventure and fulfilling drama.

Godric St. John is now the Ghost of St. Giles, protecting the innocent and traipsing one of the most notorious streets of London at the black of night. But his habitual life rapidly turns upside down when his estranged young Lady wife, whom he never expected to meet again in such circumstances, invades him with a pistol in the middle of the night as a revengeful victim. Not only that, suddenly she also enters his household with her own set of resolution and her own set of entourage as a fond wife with plans of future.

Lady Margaret Reading, not knowing the real identity of the Ghost, believes that it has killed her beloved and intends to take revenge when right opportunity arrives. Also, in her set of to-do-list, she intends to locate her ‘elderly and serene’ husband of two years, whom she last encountered on her wedding day with hopes of starting a new life.

When these two meet and discover each other, an astonishing passion evolves sweeping them both of their feet. But when anonymous secrets unveil, trust might be the toughest bargain to maintain in this brand-new beautiful but feeble relationship, for these two people, from two very different worlds and varying expectations.

I loved Godric and Megs, and I wanted to savor this book just like any other of Hoyt’s by reading slowly. Though I’ve placed a late review as of the start date of reading, but in truth I couldn’t put down the book and anticipated each page impatiently, hence finished it off in a day. Hoyt makes sure that the readers SEE clearly the dynamics of the events and characters with their minds’ eyes and get equally, or even more so, charmed like her previous, delightful books.

I recommend it highly for well-written strong plotted historical romance lovers starring dashing heroes and exciting heroines and an entourage of enchanting third-party characters!

Can definitely be read as a standalone. Also, readers can expect hints of delicious teases of possible future book leads, amidst the story.
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Mar 05, 2013 Diane Peterson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-romance, kindle-books

It is hard to explain how much I loved this book and why. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all of the previous books in the Maiden Lane series. Hoyt does a very good job of making each book its own unique story within the context of the series. Lord of Darkness (#5 in the series) is absolutely my favorite. The best reason why is that it touched me (OK, I cried, a lot).

Godric St. John and Margaret (Megs) married under difficult circumstances. She was pregnant by a lover who had been killed so h It is hard to explain how much I loved this book and why. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all of the previous books in the Maiden Lane series. Hoyt does a very good job of making each book its own unique story within the context of the series. Lord of Darkness (#5 in the series) is absolutely my favorite. The best reason why is that it touched me (OK, I cried, a lot).

Godric St. John and Margaret (Megs) married under difficult circumstances. She was pregnant by a lover who had been killed so her brother arranged the marriage to save her from shame. Godric and Megs immediately went their separate ways – she to the country where she lost the baby, he to London. Their only communication for two years is through letters. Suddenly Megs (with relatives in tow) returns to London with two agendas – to have a baby by her husband and to avenge the death of her love who she believes was killed by the Ghost of St. Giles. Little does she know that Godric is the Ghost of St. Giles, at least one of them. Godric has lived the life of a monk since the death of his beloved wife. Can these two turn loose of their past and find a new love?

Elizabeth Hoyt is very good at creating complex, interesting characters. These two don't seem to go together, but somehow it works. Megs is young, bubbly and enthusiastic. Godric is older, serious and scarred. This is definitely a nice girl/nice guy story. I love that she is won over by his intrinsic goodness. I love that Hoyt lets them have complicated, not-so-good sex. It's interesting to see the characters from previous books return. And, as with the other Maiden Lane books, Hoyt offers an intricate setup for the next book, coming in October.

Just to clarify, I am a sentimental sobber. When I love the hero and heroine, and they make a connection that rings genuine and true, I blubber like a baby. In Lord of Darkness I started blubbering long before the last page. These two characters with their sad histories just ripped at my heartstrings. It was when they began to realize that they could love again that I lost it. Oh, and I failed to mention that the beginning of the book was really funny. Sure way to get a great review from me? Making me laugh and make me cry. This one did both, in spades! Loved, loved, loved it. ...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Lissa rated it really liked it

Absolutely loved this story! I laughed out loud, yelled at the characters, teared up...it was great! I don't want to include any details because part of the enjoyment was being reacquainted with characters from other novels. But now I can't wait for the next story!! ...more

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Feb 07, 2013 PoligirlReads rated it did not like it

This was a dud for me. I would've just sent it right back to the library, but I did not for a reason I'll explain later. The main problem, I think, is that there's not a lot of character development. Hoyt tells you plenty, but you never really get the sense that anyone is all that invested in anyone else. It seemed like they were just stock characters in the manner of "Now insert a quirky older Dowager with a funnily named pug. Let hilarity ensue."

And can someone get Ms. Hoyt a better copy edit ...more

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