Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt!
Author Interview: Elizabeth Hoyt
Do you have a favorite quote/scene from the book?
“I’d rather your acid tongue than any number of sweet lies from pretty lips.”
Some authors draft meticulous outlines before starting a novel while others just sit down and start at the beginning. What’s your writing style?
Lately I’ve been writing outlines, though not so much with the meticulous.
What has been your favorite experience as a writer?
The readers, of course. Readers who come up to me at conferences and tell me about scenes in books I wrote ten years ago (and which I can’t remember very well!) Readers who post on Facebook that they read all my books and no matter how the hero is described paste Chris Helmsworth’s face over him. Readers on Goodreads who post the funniest reviews with dozens of embedded gifs. And readers on Twitter who are so excited when I post that I’ve finished a first draft. Readers are the best.
If you weren’t a novelist what career would you like to try?
President of the United States. Although I have no political background, I have never cheated on my spouse or taken money from any special interest groups. Also, I am sane. At the moment I feel this makes me more qualified than 95% of the contenders.
For readers who have never read a Maiden Lane book, what would you tell them they can expect from your stories?
Emotion. Some humor. A bit of action. Some lovely sweaty sex.
Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt
Series: Maiden Lane #9 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 24th 2015
SHE’S TAKING CHARGE
Prim, proper, and thrifty, Eve Dinwoody is all business when it comes to protecting her brother’s investment. But when she agrees to control the purse strings of London’s premier pleasure garden, Harte’s Folly, she finds herself butting heads with an infuriating scoundrel who can’t be controlled.
HE’S RUNNING THE SHOW
Bawdy and bold, Asa Makepeace doesn’t have time for a penny-pinching prude like Eve. As the garden’s larger-than-life owner, he’s already dealing with self-centered sopranos and temperamental tenors. He’s not about to let an aristocratic woman boss him around . . . no matter how enticing she is.
BUT LOVE CONQUERS ALL
In spite of her lack of theatrical experience-and her fiery clashes with Asa-Eve is determined to turn Harte’s Folly into a smashing success. But the harder she tries to manage the stubborn rake, the harder it is to ignore his seductive charm and raw magnetism. There’s no denying the smoldering fire between them-and trying to put it out would be the greatest folly of all . . .
Buy Links:
Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Google Play • Kobo • BAM
Sweetest Scoundrel is actually the first book I’ve read by Elizabeth Hoyt, but I jumped at the chance to read it because I LOVE historical romances even though I don’t read them very often, and I was looking forward to the fact that the hero isn’t an aristocrat. Thankfully, I wasn’t confused at all jumping into book 9 of the Maiden Lane series, so if you’re like me and haven’t read the series yet, this book can be read completely as a standalone.
Asa Makepeace’s whole life is his pleasure garden, which is a sort of theatre with performances, opera, and the like. He’s currently rebuilding it after it was burned down in a fire, but unfortunately it’s costing a lot of money to do so. One of his investors is the Duke of Montgomery, and the duke’s sister, Eve Dinwoody, is in charge of the money, so when she realizes that Asa’s pleasure garden is using up way more money than expected, she goes down to cut the funding for the garden. Sadly, Asa makes a less-than-grand entrance in Eve’s life – he’s naked, with a woman in his bed, and very rude to Eve. Basically, he’s a total jerk to her because he thinks she cold and stuck-up, but he tries to butter her up later when he realizes his funding is going to be cut. Eventually they agree on a deal, and as the two of them spend more time together, they realize that their first impressions of each other were wrong.
He realized suddenly, that he might have had it all wrong. Perhaps her core wasn’t bloodless after all. Perhaps under that cold exterior, that polite, aristocratic facade, there boiled a passionate woman, hiding her emotion from all the world.
And he wondered what would happen if he stripped away her exterior, tore through her frozen, refined walls and dug his finders into the molten heat at her center.
I actually really enjoyed Sweetest Scoundrel, after I warmed up to Asa, since he’s not very likable in the beginning. He’s a prick, but thankfully he quickly realizes that there’s a lot more to Eve than meets the eye. The both of them have their own traumatic pasts, which are slowly revealed as the two gain each other’s trust. As for Eve, I really adored her character – she’s scarred, innocent, lovable. She’s the kind of character that makes me want to wrap her up in a hug.
Elizabeth Hoyt knows how to write some hot chemistry! The tension between Eve and Asa is raw and palpable, and so much fun to read about. They’re drawn to one another, despite how different they are, but they can’t help that they want each other. It’s so sweet how Asa turns all protective and alpha-y when it comes to Eve – he grows to care for her so much! He’s determined to help her overcome her fears, and break out of the shell she hides in. And Eve just can’t resist Asa’s oozing sensuality.
“Lily of the valley,” he murmured. “I’ll remember that scent forever now, and whenever I smell it again I’ll think of you, Eve Dinwoody. You’ll be haunting my tomorrows evermore.”
Elizabeth Hoyt is now an author I definitely need to keep an eye out on. I loved her writing – I can’t believe I hadn’t read this series sooner! I need to start the series from the beginning now, since I enjoyed Sweetest Scoundrel so much. The main characters are endearing and lovable, and I loved how sweet their romance turned. I’d definitely recommend this book – it’s entertaining, satisfying, and seriously HOT.
Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.
Reading Order: Maiden Lane series
#1 ~ Wicked Intentions: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Notorious Pleasures: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Scandalous Desires: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Thief of Shadows: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Lord of Darkness: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Duke of Midnight: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#7 ~ Darling Beast: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#8 ~ Dearest Rogue: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#9 ~ Sweetest Scoundrel: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#10 ~ Duke of Sin: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#10.5 ~ Once Upon a Moonlit Night: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#11 ~ Duke of Pleasure: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (Nov. 29, 2016)
#11.5 ~ Once Upon a Christmas Eve: Ebook • Goodreads (Dec. 6, 2016)
#12 ~ Duke of Desire: Goodreads (out 2017)
Elizabeth Hoyt is the New York Times bestselling author of over seventeen lush historical romances including the Maiden Lane series. Publishers Weekly has called her writing “mesmerizing.” She also pens deliciously fun contemporary romances under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with three untrained dogs, a garden in constant need of weeding, and the long-suffering Mr. Hoyt.
The winters in Minnesota have been known to be long and cold and Elizabeth is always thrilled to receive reader mail. You can write to her at: P.O. Box 19495, Minneapolis, MN 55419 or email her at: Elizabeth@ElizabethHoyt.com.
Blog Giveaway (US only):
Paperback copy of SWEETEST SCOUNDREL by Elizabeth Hoyt
Tour Giveaway:
10 SIGNED copies of SWEETEST SCOUNDREL by Elizabeth Hoyt
FOLLOW BOOKLOVERS FOR LIFE ON:
✦ FACEBOOK • TWITTER • INSTAGRAM • GOODREADS • PINTEREST • BLOGLOVIN’ ✦
Booklovers For Life 