Wicked Intentions

What a ridiculous book. The characters are silly, the author obsessed with “cocks”. I gave up waiting to find out why or who committed the murders. Maybe I missed the note this book was a “romance?”, if this is what passes for romance.

I enjoyed this first book in the Maiden Lane series. It was emotional, sexy and had me wondering who was the bad guy. Elizabeth Hoyt writes a steamy book filled with emotions and two people who don't expect to fall in love. Who murdered his mistress? Will he find her killer? Can she change his heart and him hers? Read Elizabeth Hoyt's Wicked Intentions to find out. Temperance Dues helps her brother run the foundling home that her father started. On her way home from picking up an abandoned baby, she and the home's maid come across a mysterious figure standing over a body. Returning home Temperance gets ready for bed only to find a man waiting for her in her sitting room. Lord Care has come to ask to her help to find someone in the St Giles neighborhood. They strike a deal where he'll take her to events to look for a patron for the foundling home and she'll help him find who he's looking for and give her money to pay bills. They start going out looking for some one who has gruesomely killed his mistress. They're immediately attracted to each other and when someone attacks them he kisses Temperance. She can't stop thinking about that kiss but tries to fight her feelings because of her past experience. Gossip of the Ghost of St. Giles is rampant in the neighborhood. As they follow the clues Temperance and Lazarus become closer and he tries to turn her away from him because of his unusual sexual behavior. Temperance has been lying to her brother only to be found out when she brings Lord Care to the home after he's injured in an attack. He has an adverse reaction to her touch and no one touches him. At the first foray out to find a patron she realizes he's ill and takes him home and spends the night taking care of him. Only to be confronted by her brothers when she arrives home but tells them she's going to continue. She meets a very nice Duchess and Care's mother. When she makes a visit to Lazarus's house after being up set with something her youngest sister did they make love and she runs away. He won't have that and makes an appointment to meet that night to go looking for clues. They make love again and Temperance must come to terms with her desires. As they follow the clues it keeps leading back to the same brothel and gin bar and he finds more men who visited his mistress that had the same appetites as he does. After they make love again he gets the truth out of her and Temperance doesn't think she'll ever see Lazarus again. She goes to his best friend to get help to find a patron for the home. They come up with a plan to have a party at the home to show it off. Lazarus follows a clue back to the gin and brothel place, where he's shown a dead body and told who the murder is and who they're after. He goes to warn Temperance only to find that the murder's plan has been set in motion and a child is missing. Temperance and Lazarus go looking for her only to be brought back to the home and its on fire. Children are saved and Lazarus goes in to save the missing girl. When she comes out and he doesn't everyone waits. The Ghost of St Giles catches the murderer and hand them over. Lazarus comes out alive. They declare their love for each other. His mother and the Duchess come up with a plan to organize the displaced foundling home and take over being patrons. Lazarus take Temperance to his home and they make love and a proposal is made and accepted and plans to continue with the foundling home. Meanwhile Temperance's sister Silence is very depressed because of what she had to do to save her husband from jail and ruining her reputation. A noise is heard and she finds a baby girl at her door and realizes she needs to take it to the foundling home and help her brother and names her Mary Darling. This book kept my attention has me wondering about what happens next to these characters and where Temperance and Lazarus. I was intrigued from the beginning with the maids story of the Ghost of St. Giles? And who is he any way? I have a couple ideas and can't wait to see if I'm right on who it is. I am looking forward to reading/listening to the Duchess's story in the next book in the Maiden Lane series. I was hooked by this book on this series and am anxious to read/listen to the next book in the Maiden Lane series by Elizabeth Hoyt.