Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt was absolutely a perfect read. I really liked it and never wanted it to end. I consumed this book in one sitting and couldn't get enough of the story and the characters.

Loved this book so much.

I loved Hugh and Alf's story!! I've waited for Alf to get her HEA ever since I found out that the little urchin was a female!!

Alf and Hugh have met while she had been using both of her disguises, Alf and the Ghost of St. Giles. He doesn't know that they are one and the same. When Alf gets hurt, she turns to Hugh for help. As she spends time with him, it gets harder and harder to hide that fact that she is a woman. When he finds out, he uses that fact to help with the case he is working on. Alf must dress up as a woman and go out into society. Can she put behind the only life she has know to help the man she has come to love?

This was a great addition to the Maiden Lane series and I'm so excited to see what Hoyt comes up with next!!

4.5 stars!!!

Full Review Posted on my blog!

I was excited to dive into this story, I wanted to be swept away by an intense blazing romance and thats what I got. This story was dark and edgy with great unique characters filled with mystery and flaws that went on an exciting journey. I loved the opposites attract romance that really built into this deep blazing romance. The drama was dark, disturbingly intense filled with action and suspense. I was instantly pulled into the story and it held my attention throughout. In the end I really enjoyed reading Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt.

One of the best of this series. While you can definitely read the books in this series as standalones (though why would you want to?), you really need to read this one before reading the final book in the series, DUKE OF DESIRE, which is due out 10/17/17. I have read and enjoyed each and every one of the books in this series but this may be my favorite. Hoyt again gives us Historical Romance at it's best with some mystery and humor mixed in to up the enjoyment. If you haven't started this series (I so envy you being able to binge it) or aren't caught up, get to work cause it's almost over and you won't want to miss the awesome ending book coming out in less than a month.

This wonderful series is coming closer and closer to the end and the Ghost of St. Giles might just be retiring once and for all. I have been a fan of this series for a long time now and as each new couple find love the world of these interwoven and beyond interesting individuals grows and grows. Alf has been an interest of mine for the last few stories, a strong young woman living her life as a boy in order to stand alone and independent in a time and world when a woman alone was almost unheard of. The Duke of Kyle has been pulled into this small world by an assignment to uncover the people responsible for the disgusting secret society hiding inside the highest level of society. When he pulls Alf back into his life he never imagines just how much his life will change; Hugh is instantly draw to this spirited and Independent woman, whether as the Ghost of St Giles, the young man that deals in secrets, or as the sensual woman he is learning she truly is. I enjoyed seeing Alf find her footing with Hugh and his sons and of course finding a way to use her skills as the Ghost in order to bring his assignment to an end. She is the kind of woman that is long before her time, doing whatever it takes to keep herself safe in a world against her, but she always manages to come out on the other side safely. Hugh has no idea how he will keep a woman like Alf without having to clip her wings, and when he encourages her to change in order to fulfill his need for an accomplice, he even begins to understand that he loves her just the way she is. Hugh himself was definitely a man at his wits end. He has no idea how to relate to the children he dearly loves, he can’t find a way to bring an evil society to an end, and he is determined to bring Alf into his life permanently. I loved Hugh, even as I wondered how he would be able to overcome his prejudices and truly gives his heart to Alf. Together these two are a perfect team, overcoming danger and thwarting crimes together. In the end Alf has to accept that she doesn't have to be either the Ghost or a woman, but instead needs to find a way to be both and live a full live with Hugh. This story was packed with fun, emotional tension, and sensuality and seeing Alf come into her own and take Hugh into her heart was amazing. While I am sad to see this series end after the next story, I can definitely say it has been a crazy wonderful ride from the very beginning and we have met some fabulously intriguing characters. I am looking forward to the final story and then of course whatever Elizabeth might come up with next. If you missed the Maiden Lane Experience you need to go back to number one and read through all of the series in order to fully appreciate the literary magic that marks an Elizabeth Hoyt novel.

Without a doubt, Elizabeth Hoyt’s Duke Of Sin was one of the best romances Miss Bates ever read. It was natural, therefore, that she greatly look forward to Duke Of Pleasure, Hoyt’s 11th Maiden Lane novel. She had a glimpse of its hero, Hugh Fitzroy, Duke of Kyle, as probity to Valentine Napier’s debauchery in Duke Of Sin. Therein and as Duke Of Pleasure opens, Hugh Fitzroy has been pursuing the Lords of Chaos, a group of immoral, aristocratics who use and abuse children and women. With Valentine’s semi-taming by his house-keeper-heroine, Bridget Crumb, Hugh finds himself relying on Valentine’s Constaninopolean correspondence to help him identify and eventually destroy the Lords. Late one night, he is beset and hurt by a hired group of thugs near the notorious St. Giles area of London. The night-bound Ghost of St. Giles rescues him, the boy who doubles as the information-gathering daylight guttersnipe, Alf. When Alf, at the end of their encounter, boldly kisses Hugh, he realizes that the guttersnipe “from the dung head that was St. Giles” is a guttersnipette! Hugh brings Alf to his ducal abode to help him pursue the Lords. What Alf finds in Hugh is an emotionally closed off widower with two troubled young sons , still mourning the mere months-old loss of their mother and Hugh’s estranged wife, Katherine. At 21, Alf herself feels a certain restlessness with her life, wondering what it would be like to live as a woman, have children, and how to react to the strange heart-and-body-stirrings Hugh elicits in her.

Initially, there was something thrilling about Hugh and Alf’s encounters. They were fraught with danger and excitement. Alf was a wild, ethereal creature, glimpsed high above on London’s rooftops wielding swords and moving at lightning speed: “his feminine savior danced an elegant dance of death with her swords” and “the roofs were her home, her place, where she felt the safest” Hugh, in turn, was a jaded man of sorrow, still smarting not as much from Katherine’s infidelity as from his own inability to judge who she was. He blames himself for being carried away by passion and vows “never [to] let passion for a woman sweep away reason, self-preservation, and sense, for that way led to devastation”. The aristocrat and this nebulous creature of the night held promise and mystery. Miss Bates was thrilled.

Sadly, the further Miss Bates read, the greater the thrill-deflation. Firstly, she dislikes the widowed-hero-with-the-bad-wife convention. At least in this case, it wasn’t accompanied by the putting-down of every woman as fickle, dishonest, and/or avaricious save the heroine. As a matter of fact, it is a testament of Hoyt’s talent that she creates a most sympathetic near-non–rival for Alf, a woman who befriends and teachers her the ways of being a lady. Iris and Alf end up friends and their relationship, as well as the cool little boys and the adorable puppy, Pudding, are more interesting than Hugh and Alf together. If you’re looking for heart-wrenching romance, you won’t find it in Duke Of Pleasure. Therein lies Miss Bates’s disappointment with Hoyt’s recent romance. While Hugh and Alf’s attraction is natural and believable, it’s not what makes up this novel. The romance meanders and other characters and events, albeit interesting ones, take over.

There’s significant sequel-bait too, though it is MOST intriguing. And there’s the Maiden Lane rub, dear readers. Even when Hoyt pens a less successful romance in one of its many volumes, the Maiden-Lane world, with its ethical core of fighting evil and myriad crossings of class and privilege, is compelling. Miss Bates counts Duke of Pleasure as her fourth foray into its elegant sitting rooms, debauched dens, and narrow St. Giles alleys. The result: she can’t quit it. She’ll happily be back for Duke Of Desire. With Miss Austen, in Duke Of Pleasure‘s case, Miss Bates found it was “almost pretty,” Northanger Abbey.

Elizabeth Hoyt’s Duke Of Pleasure is published by Grand Central Publishing. It was released in November 2016 and may be found at your preferred vendors. Miss Bates received an e-ARC from Grand Central Publishing, via Netgalley.

The Maiden Lane series gets better and better and then better! I could not wait to read Alf and the Duke of Kyle’s story! I’m still relatively new to this series but I am hooked on Hoyt’s writing! Her stories, that I have read, are always filled with action, tension, excitement and suspense! “The Duke of Pleasure” is no exception.

We first meet The Duke of Kyle in the previous book “The Duke of Sin”-which was absolutely fantastic. We meet Alf in the previous two books and as we all probably know at this point; Alf is a woman. She lives in St. Giles and dresses like a boy for security reasons. Alf has lived on the street of Giles for years. Alf makes an appearance in, I believe, the previous two books. She is paid by the Duke of Montgomery to gather up information. The Duke of Kyle contracts her for the same purpose in the previous book but she cannot help him since the Duke of Kyle wants her to gather information on the Duke of Montgomery. Hoyt also introduces a sinister and sick society in “The Duke of Sin.” There we learn about a group of high society men that are a part of “Lords of Chaos.” In “the Duke of Pleasure” Kyle is trying to end this society and quickly realizes that they have affected him in a very personal way.

First, the plot is fantastic! Alf is such a lovely character. She is strong and fierce. She has moments where she is Alf and moments where she is The Ghost of St. Giles. But, she is never really herself- a woman. Alf is quick with a sword and even quicker jumping from roof top to roof top. But as a woman she is completely vulnerable.

Kyle was a little more complex. He was married to a woman that notoriously cheated on him, when she suddenly dies, he has to return to London -after a self-inflicted exile- to care for his boys. Kyle is also a spy for the king and is working to take down this sinister, secret society. He needs Alf’s help in order to gain information.

I loved Kyle and Alf! They had great chemistry and Alf is no sipping -tea -Miss. She is an action hero caught up in a regency period. Kyle, although a Duke, is a bastard that was acknowledge by the king as his own son. Kyle is very driven and in many ways emotionally shut off. He is limited by who he thinks he should be and who he thinks “should” be his wife. This story is action driven, between uncovering the truth of “The Lord of Chaos” and numerous attacks on both Kyle and Alf, this is an exhilarating story. My one little complain is that I wanted Kyle to have more emotion with Alf. There were many moments where they shared something intimate that I thought conversation or introspection should have followed-but didn’t. Nonetheless, such a great read. This is the kind of book where you struggle to finish quickly because you want to see how the story unfolds yet don’t want it to end. Just when I thought I could sit back and not count down till the next book… Hoyt gives us Iris and the Duke of Dyemore.

Hoyt really knows how to plot out a book. Iris, a secondary character and whom the next book is about, was so interesting. She is by no means a primary character but I’m already counting down to her and the Duke of Dyemore’s story, “The Duke of Desire.” I will just say it starts with Iris’ kidnapping and Dyemore getting shot… the countdown begins!

Duke of Pleasure is the eleventh book in the Maiden Lane series, but it’s the first one I have read. I loved this story. The characters are wonderful and it is a prime example of why I love historical romance so much. It has a Cinderella-esque feel to it since Alf is basically a street urchin and she gets her man, Hugh, the Duke of Kyle.
Alf is really good at disguises and I really love her character. I feel like she is someone who I would be friends with in real life. There is the perfect mix of romance and action throughout the book and that made it an exciting read. I didn’t want to put it down. Now I have to read the other ten books. 🙂

This is the very first book I've read by Elizabeth Hoyt, but it will not be my last. I loved the writing just as much as I loved the romance and chemistry between Alf and Hugh. Lots of action from beginning to end and the supporting characters are great. I didn't find that I missed anything by not reading the previous books in the series, however events in this book do set up the next story. Highly recommended if you are a lover of historical romances!

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.

As usual, Elizabeth Hoyt crafts an amazing story! I continue to love this series!

Hoyt's books just keep getting better and better. Her latest novel brought together two great characters for a steamy romance that heated up the page. There's plenty of action and suspense, but the true story lies in two characters who have to give up the old versions of themselves to become better together.

Note: There are spoilers in this review.

Hoyt's most recent work is a return to form, revisiting the Ghost of St. Giles character but in the context of an entirely different mystery. As the Duke trilogy that will wrap the Maiden Lane series goes into full swing, the secret cabal of powerful men engaged in horrifying "rituals" is explored further. Intrigue abounds, and the players who will prove to be most influential to the ending are introduced.

Personally, I think I wanted to like this book more than I did. I love the Ghost of St. Giles, and I loved the idea of Alf getting her own book (though I continue to lament that Hippolyta was relegated to a side-story novel) and of her being female and the Ghost while continuing to masquerade as male. Hugh, also, was very intriguing, especially in the various previews and samples that were passed around prior to publishing. He seemed determined and dashing, characteristics I enjoy in my male leads for sure.

Two things prevented me from fully committing to this book: [first, I felt that Alf's identity reveal to Hugh was too early in the read, even though it occurs about halfway through the narrative; second, I felt that the very wide age gap between the leads was never properly addressed. It frustrated me further that Alf goes from a single, independent 21-year-old to a married mother in a very short span. While on some level I understood Alf's impulse to become a caregiver and take that role on quickly, I also felt she had more sisterly affection for the various Marys and Josephs of the orphanage rather than actual parental feeling.

There were a few discoveries about the cabal, and the introduction of the final players in the drama was done quite well. Still, if the Thief of Shadows / Lord of Darkness / Duke of Midnight trilogy was an excellent three-piece take on a Georgian Batman, then this by extension should have been a Georgian Batwoman. Frankly, Thief of Shadows is the better version (and gender reversed) of this book -- or perhaps I had hoped this book would play more like that one.

That's not to say this book is bad by any means -- it's solidly written, intriguing, sexy, and quite charming. If anything, this book is frustrating because of prior installments in the series. Empirically, this is a 4.5-5 star book.

What I find fascinating is how Alf is able to travel the city by rooftop, jumping from building to building. That, in and of itself, tells us a lot about this woman. Her job, as Ghost of St. Giles, is defender of the poor, protect those who come to harm in St. Giles. Yes, even dukes if they happen to stray into this bad area of London. Her usual fair is protecting the whores that team the streets, but lately she’s been following a group of footpads, called the Scarlet Throat gang, active in St. Giles, ready to do anything, including murder, for the right price.

Alf, at 23, is lonely. She has to live alone, to protect her secrets. High up in an old, vacant building, she has built her nest. She dons her colorful costume as the ghost at night, becomes Alf, the young boy who trades information and secrets during the day.

She met the duke, Hugh Fitzroy, some time before when he asked Alf to inform on a person she was already working for. She didn’t take the job because she was working for the man he wanted information about. She has her honor.

The Duke of Kyle is not one of those dukes who think the world should bow to them.Hugh was the result of a dalliance by the King. Rather than ignoring his illegitimate child, he recognizes him, gives him the necessary education and takes him into service as a spy. Hugh is presently searching for the Lords of Chaos, a secret society made of noblemen, identified by a dolphin tattoo. They are wicked men, with evil plans to make as much havoc for the government as possible. It is his job to find and stop them.

Although Hugh has a high-level position in society, it doesn’t go to his head. He has a sense of humor which we are made aware as he is fighting for his life in St. Giles, enumerating the reasons he wishes not to die.

One: His eldest son was too young to inherit the dukedom

Two: His younger son was still suffering nightmares from his mother’s death, some five months previous

Three: His Majesty had just assigned Hugh to destroy the Lords of Chaos—he liked to complete his work

Fourth: He hadn’t bedded a woman in nine months and “to die in such a drought would be a particularly unkind blow from fate, goddamn it.”

By this time, dear reader, I was chuckling. He is a nice guy in a real awkward situation.

Needless to say, I loved the scene while he’s fighting for his life, with these thoughts running through his head, and when he can’t fight anymore…

Excerpt:
He fell to his knees on the icy ground, growling like a bleeding, baited bear.
Raised an arm to defend his head…
And…
Someone dropped from the sky right in front of him.
Facing his attackers.
Darting, wheeling, spinning.
Defending him so gracefully.
With two swords.

Hugh staggered upright again, blinking blood out of his eyes—when had he been cut?
And saw—a boy? No, a light man in a grotesque half mask, motley, floppy hat, and boots, battling fiercely with his attackers. Hugh just had time to think: Insane, before his defender was thrown back again him.

Hugh caught the man and had another thought, which was: Tits?

*****
So you can pretty much understand why I couldn’t close the pages of this book, rather, I was smiling and flipping those pages like they were pancakes!

Alf finds herself being hunted. Were the same men who were after Hugh, after her? Hugh, being the person he is, thinks he must protect Alf, because she was gathering information for him when she is attacked. Hugh protects his own (still not knowing she is a woman).

The story is exhilarating, suspenseful, and witty. Once Hugh realizes the gender of Alf and Alf discovers the perks of being a woman, the story basically takes off in flames!

Every one of Elizabeth Hoyt’s stories in this series is quite diverting. Time to get to know this author if you haven’t and familiarize yourself with the Maiden Lanes series.