Review and Giveaway: Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt

Notorious Pleasures (Maiden Lane, Book 2) by Elizabeth Hoyt

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Vision (January 25, 2011)

Goodread Description:

Their lives were perfect . . . Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn't bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . . Until they met each other. Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect - and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire - desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero's wedding nears, and Griffin's enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love? ******************************

Lady Hero is engaged to the Marquis of Mandeville. A perfect match many would say. Both of them appear to be above reproach and are very dignified. Mandeville's brother, Griffin, is another story. He is know to be a rake and rumor is that he seduced his brother's first wife. Hero first meets Griffin when she saves him from being discovered by the husband of the woman he was being intimate with. To get his attention Hero actually had to throw her earring at his bare behind! She had no idea he was her betrothed's brother at the time and of course their personalities clashed immediately. Needless to say she wasn't exactly thrilled to find out who he was.

Throughout the story Hero and Griffin find themselves drawn together and Hero learns that Griffin is not such the bad guy he seems. He may not be a perfect angel but he is a good man with good intentions. I thought it was pretty interesting how Griffin and Hero seemed to be at opposite ends of the spectrum from each other but in the end it seemed like they really met in the middle. He seemed like such a bad boy but he turns out to be pretty good and she was so dignified and perfect but it turns out she has a lot of passion and is kind of naughty. Meanwhile, Mandeville has problems trusting women because of what happened with his first wife. He doesn't trust his brother around his fiance but for a guy with trust issues he doesn't freak out as much as I would have thought when his brother spends time with Hero. I'm sure that is because his heart is not in it. He cares for another woman, but she is bold not very proper which is the opposite of the very proper Hero. This woman has had many lovers, one of them being him at one time, and he could never really trust her.

If you have read the first book in the series, Wicked Intentions, you probably remember Silence. She is the sister of the main female lead in that book. To save her husband she basically had to make a deal with the devil. Ultimately she did save her husband but at the cost of her reputation and the love and respect of her husband. In this book her husband has gone back to sea and she is now helping at the foundling home and taking care of the baby, Mary Darling, that was dropped off on the doorstep of the home she shared with her husband. On a regular basis there are small gifts left on the doorstep for the baby and it is a mystery who it is that is leaving them. I am very excited that the next book is going to be about Silence. Her part in Notorious Pleasures just whet my appetite for her story. It is pretty obvious who her leading man will be but it is definitely going to be interesting to watch how it will actually unfold.

4.5/5

*****GIVEAWAY*****

Thanks to Hachette I have 3 copies of this book to give away!

-Only open to residents of the U.S. or Canada
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-Winners are subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests you will only receive one copy in the mail.

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The Giveaway ends February 7 at 11:59 pm EST