SWEETEST SCOUNDREL by Elizabeth Hoyt (November 24, 2015; Grand Central Publishing Mass Market; Maiden Lane Series)
SHE'S TAKING CHARGEPrim, 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 . . .
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 . . .
Excerpts
“What do you see when you look at me?”
What
did she see when she looked at him?
Eve inhaled, trying and failing to tear her gaze
from his.
Mr. Harte sprawled across her dainty settee like a Viking
marauder in a pillaged Christian church. His broad shoulders took up more than
half the width, his arms lazily draped over the back. His scarlet coat was spread
open, contrasting with the sedate gray-
blue of the cushions almost shockingly. One long leg
was thrust straight before him, the other cocked open and resting on a booted
heel. The pose made the apex of his thighs very . . . obvious . . . and even as
she kept her eyes locked on his she could feel heat rising in her cheeks.
What did she see?
She saw violence and anger, kept under a control
that was tenuous at
best. She saw power and a strength that could hurt her—kill her—if he so chose. She saw the innate brutality that was, in
larger or smaller part, in all men.
She
saw her most terrible fears.
But—and this was the truly
unprecedented part—she saw more in
him. She saw temptation—her temptation—alluring and frightening at the same
time, his virility so strong it was nearly a visible miasma in the space
between them.
She
wanted him. Wanted that brash gaze,
those long, muscled thighs, that mocking, insulting mouth, and the shoulders
that went on forever, big and brawny and so
very,
very male.
This
was madness—she knew that intellectually. She’d never wanted a man before—was in
fact afraid of almost all men, let
alone one so obviously, blatantly sexual.
She
took a breath, hoping that he couldn’t read all this from her gaze—and knowing
it was a lost cause already.
His
heavy-lidded green eyes were far, far too perceptive.
“I
see . . .” She paused to lick suddenly dry lips. “I see that your hairline is
nearly a perfect arc across the expanse of your forehead. That your eyebrows
tilt ever so slightly up at the ends and that the right has a scar through it.
I see that when you are solemn, the outer edges of your lips reach just to the
midpoint of your eyes, but when you smile, they go beyond the corners. I see
that your chin and jaw are almost in classical proportion and that a small white
scar forms a comma on your chin just to the right of center.” She finally
glanced away from him, breathing heavily, certain that she’d not thrown him off
the track with her artist’s eye’s impressions. She inhaled again and ended, “I
see every line of your face, every line’s intersection and how they relate.
That is what I see when I look at you.”
“And
is that all you see? Lines?” His voice was deep and amused.
She
chanced a peek.
He
still watched her, his gaze utterly unperturbed by her observations about his
countenance.
No,
she’d not fooled him at all.
She
licked her lips again, buying time. “I see,” she said carefully, cautiously, “a
very self-possessed man.”
“Self-possessed,”
he drawled. “I’m not
sure what that means, frankly.
It sounds, just a bit, like a coward’s answer.”
Her
gaze flew to his, outraged.
But
before she could take him down a peg, he chuckled softly. “Tell me, Miss
Dinwoody, would you like to know what I see when I look at you?”
She
shouldn’t. She really, really shouldn’t.
“Yes,”
she blurted, and then winced because she knew well enough what men
thought
when they looked at her: ordinary, if
they were charitable. Plain if they were not.
She
braced herself for mockery, but when she glanced again at him, his gaze was hot
and hard. Certainly not gentle. Certainly not kind. But he wasn’t dismissing
her, either.
He
looked at her as if they were equals. As if he really saw her, a woman to his man.
“I
see,” he said, his deep voice musing, “a woman afraid, but fighting her fears.
A woman who carries herself like a queen. A woman who could rule us all, I suspect.”
She
gazed at him, her breath caught in her throat, afraid to exhale and break the
spell.
A
corner of that wicked mouth tilted up. “And I see a woman who has a deep
curiosity. Who wants to feel but is worried—of herself? Of others?” He shook
his head. “I’m not sure.” He leaned forward slowly, destroying his pose, and
she had to fight herself not to scoot her chair away from him. “But I think she
has a fire banked within her. Maybe it’s only embers now, glowing in the dark,
but if tinder were to be put to those embers . . .” He grinned slowly. Dangerously.
“Oh, what a conflagration that would be.”
My Review:
Four Stars
Copy from Publisher for an honest review:
This is the third book I have read by Elizabeth Hoyt in her “Maiden Lane” series and I just love it! Even though I have not read all the books in the series I just love how she keeps coming up with different characters and how she interweaves them throughout!
Even though this is a little out of order, I have to say I cannot wait to see what she does that the horrible Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery!!! He is so awful I cannot wait to see what she has in store for him and Bridge Crumb- the housekeeper. He has had it coming for over two stories now. Even the little snippets we saw of him in this story were fantastic!
Now on to the hero and heroine in this story, Eve Dinwoody is the illegitimate sister of Val or the Duke of Montgomery. He has always protected her and looked out for her and Val has given the financing of the theater, Harte’s Folley, to her. Eve is a very smart and pragmatic business woman. She also loves her brother and is unbendingly loyal to him. Asa Makepeace is also unbendingly loyal to the theatre. It is his passion and his life. He takes his job of managing the theatre very seriously. When Eve decides to take a “hands on” approach to managing the theatre Asa is less than happy about her meddling.
I really liked Asa and Eve together. Right off they don’t like each other and they rub each other the wrong way, but it makes for wonderful tension and wonderful reading. Eve is a very isolated individual. She has no friends and no connections outside of her brother-for her, emotional connections are very difficult. Asa is very outspoken and crude- he says what he means and means what he says. I loved how they both got underneath each other’s skin. Asa really breaks through Eve’s isolation and in many ways she helps him reconnect with his family. I loved the background that the author provided on both these characters and it became easy to see why they had the different hang-ups that they did.
Aside from the great chemistry between Asa and Eve, Hoyt also includes a little bit of mystery as Asa’s work at the theatre is being sabotaged. I was curious to see who was causing all the trouble and placing the lives of these people in danger. The presence of Val was also a good addition to the story since I am impatiently awaiting his story. The characters from “Darling Beast” and “Dearest Rogue” also appear and I enjoyed their participation in the story.
Needless to say I continue to be a huge fan of this series. Hoyt combines so many great elements in the series that the minute I finish one story I am impatient for the next. I can almost feel how great “Duke of Pleasure” will be to read. This was a great addition to the “Maiden Lane” series.
Buy the book!
About the author:
Elizabeth Hoyt is the New York Times bestselling author of over seventeen lush historical romances including the Maiden Lane series. Publishers Weeklyhas 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.
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