Wading Through...

View Original

Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt

Tobe Buffenbarger

Title: Duke of Desire (Maiden Lane #12)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Grand Central 2016

Genre: Romance

Pages: 308

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Romance

A Lady of the Light Refined, kind, and intelligent, Lady Iris Jordan finds herself the unlikely target of a diabolical kidnapping. Her captors are the notoriously evil Lords of Chaos. When one of the masked---and nude!---Lords spirits her away to his carriage, she shoots him . . . only to find she may have been a trifle hasty. A Duke in Deepest Darkness Cynical, scarred, and brooding, Raphael de Chartres, the Duke of Dyemore, has made it his personal mission to infiltrate the Lords of Chaos and destroy them. Rescuing Lady Jordan was never in his plans. But now with the Lords out to kill them both, he has but one choice: marry the lady in order to keep her safe. Caught in a Web of Danger . . . And Desire Much to Raphael's irritation, Iris insists on being the sort of duchess who involves herself in his life---and bed. Soon he's drawn both to her quick wit and her fiery passion. But when Iris discovers that Raphael's past may be even more dangerous than the present, she falters. Is their love strong enough to withstand not only the Lords of Chaos but also Raphael's own demons?

CW: Rape, sexual assault, child abuse

A strong showing for the Maiden Lane with Raphael and Iris’s love story. I fell for Raphael after his appearance in the previous book. I desperately wanted to hear his story and find a conclusion to the Lords of Chaos storyline. We get both in this book, but with many many depressing and troubling scenes and stories. It was a bit hard to get through, especially when Raphael tells his story. The book was very dark. I have enjoyed the mysteries and adventures throughout the series, but this one really took it to a new level. Beyond those portions, I did enjoy watching Raphael and Iris fall in love. Their scenes were very steamy. Not my absolute favorite, but I really did enjoy this volume.

Maiden Lane

Next up on the TBR pile: