Tag Archives: 4 hearts

Audiobook Review: Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

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Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole
Series: Sweet Home #4 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: October 4th 2016
Length: 11 hours and 48 minutes
Narrated by: Cassandra Morris & Thomas Fawley
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

From the USA Today best-selling Sweet Home Series comes Sweet Soul, a heart-wrenching story of love in its purest form.

One shy lost soul. One silent lonely heart. One love to save them both.

Life has never been easy for 20-year-old Levi Carillo. The youngest of the Carillo boys, Levi is nothing like his older brothers. He isn’t dark in looks or intimidating to everyone he meets. In fact he’s quite the opposite. Haunted by a crippling shyness and the tragic events of his past, Levi spends his days with his head buried in his books or training hard for his college football team. Too timid to talk to girls, Levi stays as far away as possible and completely on his own…until he saves the life of a troubled pretty blonde – a troubled pretty blonde who might just be the exception to his rule.

Elsie Hall is homeless. Or at least that’s all anyone ever sees. Every day is a fight for survival on the cold streets of Seattle, every day a struggle to find food and keep warm. Alone in life – a life that’s dangerous and cruel – her will to keep going is an ever-losing battle. In her world of silence, Elsie has given up hope that her life will contain anything but constant heartache and pain…until the beautiful boy she has severely wronged comes to her rescue at precisely the right time.

As much as I love Tillie Cole’s Hades Hangmen series and her Scarred Souls series, the Sweet Home series has not been my thing – until now. I adored Levi and Elsie’s story! It is definitely my favorite of the series. It’s sweet, charming, heartbreaking – I really enjoyed listening to Sweet Soul. This is the first audiobook in the series to have dual narration, which is my favorite type of narration. Thomas Fawley’s sweet Southern accent for Levi totally stole my heart, and while Cassandra Morris’ voice is a little too girly, I got used to it in no time. I would highly recommend giving the audiobook of Sweet Soul if you love listening to heart-wrenching, sweet, emotional romances!

Levi is the youngest, the baby of the Carillo brothers, and he’s… different from his brothers Axel and Austin. They’re tatted, badass men while Levi is the shy boy with the kind soul. He’s the one with the pure heart, but the death of his mother and having to deal with a gang when he was young have left him lost and very introverted. Even though he’s twenty and a successful football player in college, he’s never gone out with a girl, let alone touched or kissed one. He’s never wanted to get to know a girl anyway, until he meets a homeless girl who tugs at his heartstrings like no other.

Elsie’s life has not been kind to her. Her mother died when Elsie was young, so she was sent to a foster home where she was severely bullied for the way her voice sounds because she’s partially deaf. Because of the bullying, she never speaks, and she’s been living on the streets since she left the foster home. This is where she meets Levi, a boy with a kindness in his heart she never knew existed in the world. These two complicated, heartbroken souls find each other, form a connection through their tragic pasts, and end up saving each other. I loved the way the romance grew so genuinely – I could feel the intensity of their connection while listening to this. Tillie Cole is an author who expresses love in her books so well, and the love between Elsie and Levi was simply wonderful to hear.

My heart grew so invested in Levi and Elsie’s characters – the things these two went through and continue to go through completely broke my heart, and yet their beautiful romance mended it back together. Sweet Soul is very emotional; it almost made me tear up at some points, and yet by the end of it, it’ll leave with a happy heart and a smile on your face. It is definitely a must read/listen whether you love the series or not. Thomas Fawley and Cassandra Morris’ narrations were spot on, and I’d definitely listen to them again (hopefully as dual narrators, because I looove audiobooks that way). Even though this can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend going through the series in order to get the full effect of Levi’s story.

SWEET SOUL is now available on Audible: http://amzn.to/2fPBP8N

4 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Sweet Home series

Sweet Home by Tillie Cole Sweet Rome by Tillie Cole
Sweet Fall by Tillie Cole Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

#1 ~ Sweet Home: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Sweet Rome: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet Fall: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Sweet Hope: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Sweet Soul: Book Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Here’s an audio excerpt from Sweet Soul!

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Audiobook Review: Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole

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Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole

Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole
Series: Sweet Home #3 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: October 4th 2016
Length: 11 hours and 3 minutes
Narrated by: Tessa Ellory
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

My name is Ally Prince and I’ve always been unlucky in love. I don’t know why, I just always… have.

When all of my best friends were falling for their soul mates in College, I was left behind. I was Ally, the pretty cousin of superstar quarterback, Romeo Prince. I was Ally, the best friend to the most amazing group of girls I’ve ever known—a title I loved, but one I became tired of ‘just’ being. And I was Ally, the one on which they could all rely.

But to me, I was Ally, the girl with the heart no one had claimed… And I was, Ally, the girl, who underneath it all, was heart-breakingly lonely.

I LOVE love; the thought of it, the nervous excitement of falling for Mr. Right, the desire of someone becoming my entire world… of me becoming theirs. I’ve always wanted passion, heart-stopping, epic, life-changing romance… I’ve always wanted the fairytale… I’ve always wanted it all.

It just never seemed like I would get it.

For the past few years I’ve thrown myself into my career as a museum curator. I’m the best of the best, the person every museum wants to hire, so when an opportunity came up to move to Seattle, I jumped at the chance. My cousin and my best friend lived in Seattle and I needed a change. I needed a new beginning.

I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone in the Emerald City. I wasn’t expecting to work closely with the reclusive new sculptor my all-important gallery design was centered around. And I certainly wasn’t expecting to fall for him… heart-stopping, epic, life-changing love…

My real life fairytale come true.

But, like in every fairytale, there’s a villain, a dark and tortured soul… I just didn’t know that the villain and the hero in my story would end up being one and the same.

Back when I first read Sweet Hope, I didn’t quite love it like I’d hoped, but listening to it as an audiobook made the experience so much better!! This usually happens for me when I reread a book by listening to its audiobook, so I’m not surprised. I mainly have the fantastic narrator, Tessa Ellory, to thank for her wonderful portrayal of Ally. I thought I liked the previous narrator’s voice, but Tessa Ellory was perfect for Sweet Hope!

If you were a fan of the previous books in the Sweet Home series, you’ll definitely want to pick up Sweet Hope. It’s wrought with the intense emotions and romantic thrills that Tillie Cole is great at writing. Sometimes things get a little cheesy, but if you can handle the sweetness, then I’m sure you’ll be able to enjoy Sweet Hope.

Art curator Ally Prince, Rome’s cousin, has just been given the position of a lifetime working with her favorite contemporary sculptor, the mysterious Elpidio. She is passionate about art, most of all his works, so to say she’s excited to take part in showcasing his art is an understatement. But when she meets Elpi, what she doesn’t expect is to fall for the gorgeous, tortured man who pulls at her heart. He has a dark, painful past that keeps his heart walled up, but Ally is determined to bring him the light that he’s been missing in his life.

The cheese is real in this audiobook, but it’s not too cringeworthy so I was able to look past it. Plus, I was totally hooked onto the story thanks to the wonderful narration. Tessa Ellory’s voice is so sweet and perfect for Ally. There’s a handful of angsty emotions between Ally and Elpi, which I enjoyed. Even though each book in the Sweet Home series can be a standalone, if you’re looking to go into Sweet Hope, I’d definitely recommend listening (or reading) Sweet Fall first.

SWEET HOPE is now available on Audible: http://amzn.to/2eJ1zAQ

4 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Sweet Home series

Sweet Home by Tillie Cole Sweet Rome by Tillie Cole
Sweet Fall by Tillie Cole Sweet Hope by Tillie Cole Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole

#1 ~ Sweet Home: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Sweet Rome: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sweet Fall: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Sweet Hope: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Sweet Soul: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Here’s an audio excerpt from Sweet Hope!

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Blog Tour + Interview, ARC Review & Giveaway: Everything for Her by Alexa Riley

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Everything for Her by Alexa Riley!
Check out my short interview with the author as well as my review for the book!

Author Interview: Alexa Riley

3 reasons why people should read Everything for Her?
  1. It’s steamy in all the right places.
  2. The hero is the best kind of stalker.
  3. It’s a sugary sweet safe read that has a happily ever after. What’s not to love?

Everything for Her by Alexa Riley
Series: For Her #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 27th 2016
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I’ll never forget the way she looked, so confident and sure of herself. I watched her from a distance. She wasn’t ready for me yet. I didn’t approach her and I didn’t disturb her, but I never once took my eyes off her.

Mallory Sullivan is ready to start her new life. After graduating at the top of her class, she’s landed one of the most coveted internships in the United States. Hard work and determination have gotten her to this moment of living the life she only dreamed of growing up in foster care.

From the start, I knew that she would be my greatest achievement, so the day I let her go, I set down a path for her. A path to me.  

She never expected Oz to be the greatest culmination of those dreams. But sometimes fate determines who you fall in love with. Who makes you lose control. Who owns your soul.

And then you realize it wasn’t fate at all…

I’ve wanted to care for and protect her since the first moment I saw her. I’ve constructed everything in our lives so that at the perfect moment, I could have her, could give her the life she deserves.

The time has come.

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iTunes • Kobo • Google Play

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Alexa Riley is my go-to author for all things smutty, alpha heroes, and HEAs. They never fail to deliver on their over-the-top romances and heroes (which I’ll admit, I’m partial to reading occasionally), and Everything for Her didn’t disappoint. It was the perfect fun, sexy, romantic read. If you’re a fan of insta-love and romantic obsession (basically every Alexa Riley book ever) then you’re sure to love this full-length book from AR!

Until the day I saw her, there was no color. But once my eyes landed on her for the first time, it was like when Dorothy landed in Oz and she opened the door. The world went Technicolor, and she was my very own Glinda the Good Witch.

Everything changed for Oz the second he laid eyes on Mallory, and he changed the course of both their lives so they would entwine and stay together forever. He’s an alpha male through and through – he’s got the looks and the money, both of which he’ll use to win the one woman who means everything to him.

“You’ll soon notice I’m an all or nothing kind of person and I don’t waste my time on things that I don’t think will matter.” He leans in a little more his breath on my face. “You matter.” He says it in a way that almost seems like I’m all that matters.

Mallory can’t believe her good fortune getting a job straight out of college through her internship, but she’ll do what it takes to prove that she was the perfect person chosen for the position. Even better, she meets the perfect guy who treats her like a treasure. The chemistry between her and Oz is crazy hot and connection between them is instant and powerful, but what happens when Oz’s secrets come to light? Will Mallory be able to trust him again and will Oz be able to win back her heart?

Everything for Her was predictable, but it was the good predictable that I wanted and expected from Alexa Riley. I loved that this was a full-length novel – they definitely need to write more of them! I highly enjoyed Mallory and Oz’s whirlwind romance, and I’m so excited for the secondary characters to get their own book!

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: For Her series

 

#1 ~ Everything for Her: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads (Dec. 27, 2016)
#2 ~ His Alone: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (March 28, 2017)

about the author button

Alexa Riley is two sassy friends who got together and wrote some dirty books. They are both married moms of two who love football, donuts, and obsessed book heroes.

They specialize in insta-love, over-the-top, sweet, and cheesy love stories that don’t take all year to read. If you want something SAFE, short, and always with a happily ever after, then Alexa Riley is for you!

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Tumblr • Goodreads

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Thanks to the team at Harlequin and Carina Press, one lucky winner will receive the following:

  • $75 Amazon Gift Card,
  • eBook of EVERYTHING FOR HER
  • A signed EVERYTHING FOR HER poster!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Monday, November 28th – BookHounds – Guest Post
Tuesday, November 29th – Literaria – Review
Wednesday, November 30th – The Book Cellar – Guest Post
Thursday, November 31st – Short and Sassy Book Blurbs – Review
Friday, December 1st – Book Briefs – Guest Post

– –

Monday, December 5th – Underneath the Covers – Guest Posts
Tuesday, December 6th – Captivated Reading – Guest Posts
Wednesday, December 7th – Obsessed by Books – Review only
Thursday, December 8th – For The Love of Fictional Worlds – Guest Posts
Friday, December 9th – Booklovers For Life – Review with short Interview & Carlene Inspired – Review with short Guest Post

– –

Monday, December 12th – Penny Dreadful Book Reviews – Review with short Guest Post
Tuesday, December 13th – Polished Bookworm – Review with short Interview
Wednesday, December 14th – The Book Bellas – Review
Thursday, December 15th – True Story Book Blog – Review only & A Dream Within A Dream – Guest Posts
Friday, December 16th – Parajunkee – Guest Posts & Ramblings From This Chick – Review only

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Release Week Blitz + Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Hit the Spot by J. Daniels

Posted in 4 hearts, Giveaways, Reviews, Spotlight by

hit-the-spot-release

Hit the Spot by J. Daniels is here! Check out my review, an excerpt of the book and a fabulous giveaway below!

Hit the Spot by J. Daniels
Series: Dirty Deeds #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 6th 2016
Add to Goodreads

Is this love or just a game?

Tori Rivera thinks Jamie McCade is rude, arrogant, and worst of all . . . the sexiest man she’s ever laid eyes on. His reputation as a player is almost as legendary as his surfing skills. No matter how her body heats up when he’s around, she’s determined not to be another meaningless hookup.

Jamie McCade always gets what he wants. The sickest wave. The hottest women. And Tori, with her long legs and smart mouth, is definitely the hottest one. He knows Tori wants him-hell, most women do-but she won’t admit it. After months of chasing and one unforgettable kiss, it’s time for Jamie to raise the stakes.

Jamie promises that soon Tori won’t just want him in her bed, she’ll be begging for it-and he might be right. Somehow he’s found the spot in her heart that makes her open up like never before. But with all she knows about his past, can she really trust what’s happening between them? Is Jamie playing for keeps or just playing to win?

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iTunes • Kobo • Indiebound • BAM • Google Play

review button

I’ll admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Jamie when I read Four Letter Word (I’m pretty over player heroes) but I was excited for the prospect of an enemies-to-lovers romance, and I really liked Tori. I couldn’t wait to see how Jamie would be in love, with no OW drama, and J. Daniels didn’t disappoint me. The Jamie in this book might the same crude, no-filters kind of guy as he was in the previous book, but his eyes and attention are all on Tori. I loved the banter and the chemistry between these two – if you’re looking for a romance with a well-done enemies-to-lovers trope, then I highly recommend Hit the Spot!

To say Tori has a less-than-stellar first impression of Jamie would be an understatement. He’s a manwhore through and through, completely dismissive of love and relationships, and she wants nothing to do with him. Jamie, though, can’t seem to stay away from her and is determined to get her into his bed. It’s nothing but constant barbs and banter between these two… until Jamie ups the stakes and challenges Tori to a bet: the first person to give in and beg for sex from the other loses, and they can’t sleep with anyone else in the meantime.

I closed my eyes. God. What was more dangerous? The heartbreaker or the breath-stealer. Player Jamie or the man who let me touch him like he was mine.
I didn’t know.

Tori and Jamie give as good as they get trying to make the other lose – and I had the best time reading about it. It was so fun and amusing to read about these two taunting and teasing each other. Their shenanigans definitely had me giggling. But more than that, there was something deeper going on in between the taunts and quips – Tori starts seeing Jamie as more than the player that he used to be, so is it possible to trust her heart with him? Jamie, we learn, has always wanted Tori – both her body and her heart. And he’ll do whatever it takes to win all of her and keep her for himself.

I wanted everything. Her body, her mind, her sanity. Having her break into my house or coming to my fucking work. I wanted her ruined.
I wanted Tori Rivera as fucked up and crazy about me as I was about her.

Hit the Spot is such a fun read. It’s a funny, sexy, feel-good romance that had me glued to the pages. I ended up losing all my reservations about Jamie and he totally stole my heart by the end – he and Tori make the most adorable, crazy couple ever. One thing that got on my nerves though, was the ‘alpha’ way Jamie talked – I quickly got tired of all his dropped g’s and never using the subject in a sentence. But if you have no problem with alpha-male speak, then this shouldn’t be a problem for you. Otherwise, besides that, I adored Hit the Spot. It was the perfect fun read to take my mind off my upcoming finals. If you love J. Daniels and especially if you enjoyed Four Letter Word, you should definitely get your hands on Hit the Spot!

“Nine months was nothin’, babe. I would’ve waited years for you.”

4 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Now here’s an excerpt from Hit the Spot! ❤

excerpt button

Tori slapped the counter and gained everyone’s attention when she started yelling, “I did not run you over, Jamie! Jesus Christ! Quit spreading lies about me!”

“It ain’t lies if it’s true!” I yelled back, glaring at her.

A laugh bubbled in her throat. She tilted her head and stuck her hand on her hip. “Please. I’m sure you’re still able to bang everything with a pulse, as usual, which means you’re fine. Get over it, and grow some balls. I cried less when I watched Bambi the first time.”

“Who’s hungry?” Syd asked nonchalantly, moving behind her friend to round the island and stand near the stove.

I ignored her question because, what the fuck? Grow some balls?

“I gotta pair, babe,” I told Legs, reaching down and palming my shit. “You should know since you’ve been all up on ’em the past nine months.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re disgusting.”

I felt my mouth twitch.

And that was when, for some fucked up reason, I reverted back to my old ways with Tori Rivera, forgetting all about how much I fucking hated her and instead going full-on, hell-bent determined to get an admission out of that smart-ass mouth.

“You want it,” I countered, tipping my chin up.

She wasn’t expecting that. No more than I was. It threw her off.

Her shoulders pulled back and her lips parted.

Then, maybe to cover her tell, or maybe she didn’t have control over what was flying out of her mouth either, I didn’t know, but she brought her other hand to her hip, glared at me with heat flashing in her eyes, tipped forward, and shot back with attitude, “You want it.”

Well shit. This was new. Legs was challenging me and she was doing it flirting. There was no doubt in my mind.

“Sorry, babe,” I said, keeping the smirk and letting go of my junk. “Not interested. I told you yesterday, I’m done waitin’ around. But you?” I pointed my beer at her. “You’ll be beggin’ for it before the month is up. Just watch.”

“Fat chance,” she snapped. “I wouldn’t sleep with you if my life depended on it.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Bet what?”

“What’s going on right now?” Syd called out, but I wasn’t pausing to answer her.

I smiled at Tori, then gestured between us, explaining, “First one to break and come crawling to the other person for sex, loses.”

“Are you serious?” She laughed, not in amusement but in disbelief.

“Yeah, I’m serious,” I answered.

“You want to bet me that I’ll want to have sex with you before you try and have sex with me?” she questioned, moving her finger between us. “You, the guy who has been hitting on me for nine straight months and has been rejected for nine straight months? You seriously think I’ll not only want to have sex with you, but I’ll beg you for it? Is that what I just heard?”

I nodded slowly. I had this in the bag. “A rule. No fuckin’ anyone unless it’s each other.”

Her eyes bugged.

“And no masturbating either,” I added, raising my beer and using it to gesture. “Since we both know when you do it you’re thinkin’ about me, and if you’re that fuckin’ horny you need to rub one out or you’ll fuckin’ explode, you can come to me, Legs, beg, and I’ll put that fire out for you.”

Reading Order: Dirty Deeds series

 

#1 ~ Four Letter Word: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Hit the Spot: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads (Dec. 6, 2016)

about the author button

J. Daniels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Sweet Addiction series, the Alabama Summer series, and the Dirty Deeds series.

She would rather bake than cook, she listens to music entirely too loud, and loves writing stories her children will never read. Her husband and children are her greatest loves, with cupcakes coming in at a close second.

J grew up in Baltimore and resides in Maryland with her family.

Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Website • Amazon Page • Newsletter • Goodreads

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Ten (10) trade paperbacks of HIT THE SPOT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Launch Day Blitz + ARC Review: Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews, Spotlight by

duke-of-pleasure-blitz

Happy Release Day to Elizabeth Hoyt – Duke of Pleasure is live! I seriously loved this book – check out my review below! Plus, a special announcement…

WICKED INTENTIONS is now FREE for a limited time!

The ebook edition of WICKED INTENTIONS, the first book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s bestselling Maiden Lane series will be FREE from November 28 through December 12!  This is a great opportunity to introduce friends to the series! On December 13 the price returns to $5.99.

Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Google Play • Kobo

Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt
Series: Maiden Lane #11 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 29th 2016
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IN THE ARMS OF DANGER
Bold. Brave. Brutally handsome. Hugh Fitzroy, the Duke of Kyle, is the king’s secret weapon. Sent to defeat the notorious Lords of Chaos, he is ambushed in a London alley-and rescued by an unlikely ally: a masked stranger with the unmistakable curves of a woman.

IN THE HEAT OF DESIRE
Cocky. Clever. Courageously independent. Alf has survived on the perilous streets of St. Giles by disguising her sex. By day she is a boy, dealing in information and secrets. By night she’s the notorious Ghost of St. Giles, a masked vigilante. But as she saves Hugh from assassins, she finds herself succumbing to temptation . . .

ONE KISS WILL CHANGE THEIR LIVES FOREVER
When Hugh hires Alf to investigate the Lords of Chaos, her worlds collide. Once Hugh realizes that the boy and the Ghost are the same, will Alf find the courage to become the woman she needs to be-before the Lords of Chaos destroy them both?

Buy Links:
Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Google Play • Kobo • IndieBound

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I totally adore the Maiden Lane series, even though I’ve only read the latest three and a half books (I swear I will catch up on the past books one day!). I still consider this series a historical romance favorite of mine, and with each installment I read, the more I love it. Duke of Pleasure is the eleventh and second-to-last book of the series, which makes me bittersweet because I’m not ready for it to be over! But even though I’m sad that it’s almost the end, I still highly enjoyed Alf and Hugh’s story. Elizabeth Hoyt swept me away with a romance full of passion and adventure. If you’re a fan of the series, you definitely need to get on reading this latest Maiden Lane book!

In Duke of Sin, we were given a glimpse at Hugh’s story, and we also found out the stunning revelation that Alf is actually a woman disguised as a teenage boy. So to say I was intrigued and had high expectations would be an understatement, and luckily, I wasn’t disappointed. While Alf pretends to be a teenage boy to protect herself, she is also the new Ghost of St. Giles, a being meant to protect the defenseless in her city. Alf is a fascinating character, for sure, and the more I read of her, the more I loved her and wanted to know more of her.

Hugh is a widowed father who is struggling to help his two young sons deal with the death of their mother. Hugh didn’t love his wife, but she was a good mother, and her absence has made the gap between him and his children grow even wider. He loves Kit and Peter more than anything, but underneath his stoicism, he’s hurting for his children. So when the opportunity to take his mind off the pain for just a little while comes along in the form of a street urchin named Alf, he seizes it. And when he discovers Alf’s true gender and that she’s the Ghost of St. Giles that he can’t stop thinking about, all bets are off and Hugh takes what he wants… which is the fierce, independent, mischievous Alf.

She thought like him, but she was his opposite: female to his male.
Dangerous, yet soft.
Intelligent and erotic at the same time.
His match, this urchin from St. Giles.

I loved all the characters in this book, and how each one contributed to the story. Alf and Hugh’s heartfelt romance that was full of longing had my heart aching for them. Hugh’s sons are absolute delights – at first, full of hurt over their mother, but once Alf enters the picture, they start to open up. Then there’s Hugh’s late wife’s best friend. I was a bit confused when her POV was included in the novel, but she plays somewhat of a big role in Duke of Pleasure – and she’ll play an even bigger, more important role as the heroine in the next and final book!

If you couldn’t tell, Duke of Pleasure is another fantastic installment to this wonderful series I’ve come to love so much. There’s always something so magical in the books I’ve read from Elizabeth Hoyt – I fall head over heels for the characters and the romance, while the plot puts a fun twist to everything. If you love historical romance and you haven’t experienced the Maiden Lane series, I highly recommend it! Although you should probably read in order, unlike me 😉

He laid his forehead against hers. “I do love you, hear and soul and body, Alf, my imp. I love you now and forever, and I will trust and I will hope in your dreams and hope.”
“That’s all we need, really,” she whispered.

4 hearts
lacey

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: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#10 ~ Duke of Sin: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#10.5 ~ Once Upon a Moonlit Night: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#11 ~ Duke of Pleasure: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#11.5 ~ Once Upon a Christmas Eve: Ebook • Goodreads (Oct. 17, 2017)
#12 ~ Duke of Desire: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (Aug. 29, 2017)

about the author button

Elizabeth HoytElizabeth 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.

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