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Book Review: Wicked Intentions (Maiden Lane, #1) by Elizabeth Hoyt

Monday, May 27, 2024

 


Content Warning: violence, death, child abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault.


Temperance Dews knows the streets of St. Giles well. She's grown up amongst the rabble and poverty, and now that she is a widow, she finds herself working at her family's orphanage, alongside her duty-conscious brother, Winter. But Temperance and Winter find themselves in a difficult situation: there is no funding for the home, and without a wealthy patron, it is only a matter of time before the doors are closed. Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is just as desperate as Temperance is -- but his desperation comes from something else: the hunt for a murderer. Caire makes Temperance an offer: if she will act as his guide in St. Giles, he will do his best to help her find the foundling home a patron. As the two of them get closer to the truth, however, they also find themselves drawn together, attracted to one another despite their secrets and dark pasts, and Temperance is faced with a temptation she vowed to never give into again.

This is something a little different for me! I used to read a lot of romance novels, and while I still find them fun, my interest has waned over the years. My sister just read this, and she recommended it highly, so I thought I might give it a go myself -- and I wasn't disappointed. Hoyt's writing is simple and to the point, but she has a masterful way of conveying emotions that is pretty much a requirement for me to enjoy a romance novel.

I very much liked the setting for this one -- St. Giles, in the West End of London. Known for its roughness, it played a pivotal role during the Gin Craze, which Hoyt incorporates into her story. The time period caught my eye as well: the very early 18th century, which I feel is often neglected in romance novels, particularly in favor of Victorian or Regency era settings. Hoyt does a fantastic job of transporting us to time and place, although there were occasions where I wished she would have elaborated a bit more on the surroundings of the foundling home and perhaps gone a bit deeper with regards to the lives of those in St. Giles. 

The plot is pretty thin, but I think that's often the case in romance novels, as the focus is more on the characters and their emotional development, so I didn't mind it too much. I did question Lazarus's motivations, and while there is an explanation on them, I found it a little weak. It often seemed that it was nothing more than an excuse to have Lazarus and Temperance forced into working with one another, which I guess isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I never felt fully convinced by Lazarus's part of the story.

The romance itself is excellent, and I loved both Temperance and Lazarus, individually and together. I often find the heroes to be overly cruel or rude to their heroines, but Lazarus struck a perfect balance, managing to anger Temperance and calm her in equal measure. I liked their interplay, and thought the dialogue between them was fantastic. They have a way of balancing each other out, playing off of one another's strengths and weaknesses. The intimacy scenes are also brilliantly written, with what I like most in them: emotional depth. Hoyt is the kind of writer that makes sex scenes feel integral to the story and its characters, and there's a beauty to the way she fits them into the narrative.

Speaking plainly, I think this is an excellent book and, more specifically, an excellent example of its genre -- serious, but without ever losing its playfulness, and with a heroine and hero who both feel fully realized in their characterization, emotions, and pasts. 

The only element that didn't have a satisfactory conclusion has to do with Lazarus's aversion to touch. I can't speak on it too freely without spoiling much of the book, but I found it rushed and a bit too perfectly wrapped up. I wish Hoyt had dealt more seriously with some of Lazarus's issues, and that he and Temperance had discussed them more extensively.

Aside from that, I highly recommend this book! It's a great romance, and I'll definitely be reading some more of Hoyt's works!

Book Review: Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis

Monday, May 13, 2024

 

½

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: homophobia/lesbophobia, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, murder, animal death, 


Sylvie Mothe was once a conwoman. Now, she's a Baroness, married to a wealthy man who loves her wholeheartedly -- but knows very little of her past. When the past comes barging back in, in the form of her sister, Charlotte, asking for her help one last time, Sylvie feels she has little choice, stuck between family and her husband, poverty and high society. Their mark is the formerly aristocratic de Jacquinots, who are convinced that they are being haunted by their great-aunt, brought down during the French Revolution. But as Sylvie and Charlotte fall ever deeper into the web that they are spinning, caught up in the dark secrets of their own family and those of the de Jacquinots, they will be forced to confront terrors far worse than ghosts.

A remarkable debut! As soon as I saw this was being pitched as "perfect for fans of Sarah Waters," I had very high hopes -- and speaking truthfully, very high expectations, too. I'm pleased to say that Spitting Gold hit its mark with almost complete perfection for me, full of twists and turns, and dark family secrets that will have you dying to pick it up again once you've been forced to sit it down. The writing is lovely, maintaining a period feeling throughout the book, without ever straying into being too dense or feeling as if the author is trying too hard to impart the sensation that you are reading something set in the 1860s. This is a time period and place rich with potential, haunted (both literally and figuratively) by the ghosts of the French Revolution, the Terror, and France as a rising empire, and Lowkis does an excellent job of making the most out of it.

At the center of the story are the Mothe sisters, born into Paris in poverty, inheriting their family's profession of mediumship. Neither of the sisters have ever seen a real ghost, and are firm skeptics, though Charlotte occasionally finds herself seeking out the other side beyond their cons, hoping to make some connection with their deceased mother. Sylvie is more practical, and it's this practicality that leads her into marrying a Baron and cutting herself off from her sister and father. The relationship between Sylvie and Charlotte is rendered with real emotion and complexity, and speaking from my experience, accurate in its depiction of sisterhood. There is love and tenderness between the girls, but resentment, envy, and sometimes ugliness, and I applaud Lowkis for allowing her characters to be fully realized -- and not always sympathetic.

The de Jacquinots create a fascinating counter to the Mothes, former aristocrats who cling to their nobility and the status afforded to them before the French Revolution. Florence and her brother, Maximilien, act as our guide into the family, and while both of their characters are fully dimensional and interesting in their own respect, their mother and grandfather, Ardoir, suffer some in comparison. They are not focal points in the book by any means, but I think it would have added to the intrigue had they been a touch more fleshed out. 

All in all, this was a fantastic debut and perfectly suited to my tastes. I only knocked off half a star for some imperfections that are to be expected in a debut -- some plodding moments, some weak characterization at times, etc. -- but otherwise there are very few flaws to be found here. I cannot wait to see what Lowkis will put out next, and I'm definitely adding this onto my favorites list. 
 
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