Excuse me for just a momentOne of my all-time favorite romances. THIS is why I refuse to give up on romances. THIS. Lady Isabel Beckinhall is two and thirty. She is a high-born widow and has had several lovers. She knows how to play the game of "polite society," is confident, funny, independent.Winter Makepeace is six and twenty. The son of a brewer, he manages a home for orphans. He has dedicated his life to championing the weak and helpless. By night he is a sort of 18th century superhero: The [...]

Warning: Be prepared – When you start this incredible book, you will not want to stop until the end!“Promise me this: that you’ll show me only your true face, no matter how ugly you might think it. That’s our true intimacy, not sex, but the ability to be ourselves when we are together.” From the very first pages, I was held tightly in the grip of this remarkable story. There’s no wading in here to get to the goodies as once again Hoyt works her magic and gives us another winner! This [...]

“I can survive the loss of something I’ve never had. I cannot survive losing you.”Honestly, I didn't expect much from this book, probably because I wasn't impressed with Lady Isabel Beckinhall since I met her in the previous one, Scandalous Desires. Besides, I’d never felt the aura of ‘hero’ radiating from Winter Makepeace, and I thought he was a bit boring. Oh boy was I wrong! I must admit, I almost skipped this book and if I had really done that, I would never have known how amazin [...]

Every one of my reviewer friends are all a-twitter after Winter Makepeace, the hero in this book. He is a swashbuckling man who dons the mask of a simple school teacher by day. By night, he is fighting crime with super-hero powers. He's like a ye old Superman acting like ye old Clark Kent.But, luckily, our ye old Lois Lane, aka Isabel, isn't as easily fooled by a simple pair of glasses and sees through Winter's facade pretty quickly. I liked her the most just for that. It's ridiculous how the av [...]

REVIEW COMPLETED, EDITED JUNE 28th, 2012“Every gentleman you meet must voice his admiration, his wish to make love to you. And those are only the ones who may voice such thoughts. All about you are men who cannot speak their admiration, who must remain mute from lack of social standing or fear of offending you. Only their thoughts light the air about you, following you like a trail of perfume, heady but invisible.”Baroness Isabel Beckinhall's carriage had come to a standstill in the worst pa [...]

*** 4.69 ***A buddy read with the Romance Readers at the MacHalos:):):) Yes, we do exist! I would have liked to write a brilliant review about this book, since it made me all romantic and put me in a loving and worm mood, but I just don't have it in me today. It has nothing to do with the book! It was wonderful! Winter made me fall in love with him from the get go and Lady Isabel Beckinhall, the lightly older and more experienced woman, was everything a strong but still sensitive lady should be. [...]

4.5 starsLady Isabel Beckinhall finds the Ghost of St Giles lying wounded on the streets. With a mob bearing down on him, she orders her men to lift him into her carriage. Having saved the notorious pirate “Charming” Mickey O’Connor from hanging earlier in the day, the mob are now baying for the Ghost's blood. Isabel takes the Ghost, aka Winter Makepeace, to her home where she tends his wounds. The following morning the Ghost has gone, leaving Isabel wondering about his identity.Winter is [...]

So, what did I think about this Maiden Lane installment? I'm not exactly sure. I hate those times when I finish a book and walk away thinking, it was good. Not great. But good. But I can't put my finger on the issue. Unlike that ^ guy who managed to put his finger where it did not belong!Read as a BOTM read for Historical Book Club, Virgin Hero tropeSeries: Yea.Sexy times: This is Elizabeth Hoyt and she excels at HR sexy times. Virgin hero, experienced heroine. What's not to love about that?Plan [...]

There's two emotions I can always count on when reading Hoyt's books joy and disappointment. Joy because I'm reading such an awesome book, and disappointment cause when it's over! What happened to savoring the book Rane? But I couldn't help myself cause it was awesome! Thief of Shadows picks up right up where Scandalous Desires, and where Scandalous Desires had some weakness in the heroine and some anti-climatic moments toward the end, Thief of Shadows had none of this, the heroine Isabel Beckin [...]

3.5 stars"Has anyone cherished you just for yourself?"I wasn't highly anticipating this couple but they showed me and had some great heat between them. Our hero Winter is the epitome of still waters run deep. His and Isabel's back and forth, especially in regards to their sexual innuendos, had some spine tingling moments. I posted my favorite secondary characters of 2016 just this afternoon but let me add a late addition, Joseph Tinbox. Gah, I NEED his and Peach's story (this pairing has to happ [...]

Harlequin Mask★★★★½ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Oh, I love the Maiden Lane series and this one is so well narrated by Ashford MacNab, who also does the rest of the series; thus, it is all the more pleasurable.  Her accents and tones were very well done, making them discernible individual characters.As far as the story, it is hard to follow on the heels of “Charming” Mickey O’Connor and Widowed Silence Hollingbrook, but Ms. Hoyt pulls off the telling of the sainted Winter [...]

3.5 starsWinter Makepeace has devoted his life to being the headmaster of the home for foundling children in the poverty stricken area of London called St. Giles. However, by night, he's the mysterious Ghost of St. Giles, a sort of a historical version of Batman, trying to protect mostly the abandoned or orphaned children of the district. The night he's injured while saving Mickey O'Rourke from the gallows, he himself is rescued by Lady Isabel Beckinhall. She's a widow and one of the patronesses [...]

I don't think I was a huge fan of Winter in the previous books. I started this and got a little bored and put it away. Got back to it again and I must say I ended up really enjoying it.Winter is younger than Isabel and their social standings are miles apart. She is upper class and he is definitely in the lower classes. To her mind, nothing can ever come of their relationship. The banter was great between them. He wasn't intimidated by her station. Although she is a widow, he makes her feel like [...]

Read it in one sitting and loved it.Had so many things that I just squee over in a book:- Virgin hero? CHECK.- Older woman, younger man? CHECK.- Hero in pursuit/unrequited love? CHECK.- Suspense element that did not take over the story, but was enough to keep the plot interesting? CHECK.- Evildoing villain I totally did not guess? CHECK.- Heroine I actually liked and whose reasoning for shying away from the hero was noble and not TSTL "logic?" CHECK.- Sprinkling of secondary characters who tied [...]

She slowly reached out and ran a finger down the length of the deformed nose of his mask. “Who are you?”His beautiful mouth twisted. “Whoever you wish me to be.”She laughed then, a little breathlessly. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, sir.”“I never do,” his words whispered across her senses.I’ve been looking forward to Winter Makepeace’s book since the first book where we found out that he is the Ghost of St. Giles. And I must say I was not disappointed by him. Winter [...]

I am in love with Winter Makepeace. He is my newest dream man. He is everything I ever wanted in a Historical Romance hero and more. He is utterly swoonworthy.This is my favorite book of the series so far. And not just because of Winter (who still holds my heart in his hands) but also because of Isabel who gets to be a strong woman of the time and not a virgin since she is widowed and has had a few lovers since in fact. This is something I’ve been asking for in an HR book for forever and final [...]

Awww I loved Isabel & Winter.

3.75 starsBeautiful story with interesting, flawed, complex leads.This used a character/couple trope I'm generally not a big fan of and I guess it slipped my mind before reading this since Winter is such a stoic mystery who carries himself so much older. The hero is 6 years younger than the heroine and a virgin to boot. The virgin part doesn't bother me, in fact it made for some really interesting compelling scenes between the h and hr who both are for the lack of a better term, straightforward. [...]

Posted on Under the CoversI wondered how Elizabeth Hoyt would top the fascinating and well-written pirate hero, Mickey of the last book. However, it was obvious from the very beginning that Hoyt had a plan for Winter Makepeace. One that worked so well that it may have become my favorite book of the series.As the headmaster of the home for foundling children, Winter is stoic, but caring. I wasn’t sure how I would handle his story because he has never quite been a favorite of mine. That has chan [...]

I absolutely loved this book!It was amazing to see Ms Hoyt turn the dour, surly, humourless Winter Makepeace into a take-your-breath-away hero. I was surprised to discover that he was the Ghost of St. Giles at the end of Scandalous Desires. My money had been on the elusive brother, Asa. But, as they say, never judge a book by its cover.Winter is so refreshingly different from other heroes and that really appealed to me. I love his total dedication to rescuing and caring for those vulnerable chil [...]

My definition of a brilliant story is one that forces you to forget about anything else beyond the plot, making you feel as though nothing else mattered aside from the tale that was slowly unfolding in front of you. It is one that gets you so thoroughly invested in the characters that you actually end up sharing their experiences--even to such a degree that the lines between you, the reader, and the characters get blurred. The risk of reading such a story is that it's so damn hard to move on. Ev [...]

Thief of Shadows is an engaging, suspense-filled, emotional journey that I enjoyed to the fullest. I recommend the entire Maiden Lane series, and this book adds even more depth and quality to the series. Several parts of this book were unique and different from the typical romance novel, and I loved every minute of this departure from the "norm".Winter Makepeace:This man is not your typical hero, but what a hero he turns out to be! Winter is a virgin who is very committed to his celibacy. During [...]

4.5 STARS

Grade: B+ or strong 4 starsThief of Shadows is a sensual historical romance about the masks people wear, the emotions they hide, and the risks people take when they find something to believe in. The StoryWinter Makepeace is the austere manager and schoolteacher for an orphanage in the London slum known as St. Giles. He has worked for the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children since he was seventeen years old. Over the years, he has witnessed the neglect, mistreatment, and abuse the [...]

It seems like that was a long time for me to read one of these. I liked Winter, I just didn't love him. Ditto on Isabel. I cannot say what was missing only that something was off for me here. Still, it's better than like 72% of the books I read, and even more, I can't wait to read the next EIGHT books?!

5 amazing, thrilling stars! I'm really impressed by Hoyt! When a series goes this long usually there's bound to be a book that's a bore, but so far this series has been amazing with each book better than the last! I have to say I'm in love with Winter! Like head over heels in love. My favorite heros are usually the bad boy, lost soul Derek Craven, Lord St. Vincent type, but Winter caught me by surprise. His quiet strength was soothing and compelling at the same time. I love how the romance survi [...]

This picture reminds me of a moment in the book when Winter Makepeace and Lady Isabel Bekinhall could no longer deny the passion that was getting stronger with every stolen glance and slight touch. And what follows proved to be a very sensual scene that caused a hitch in my breath and a tingle in my belly. ❤Winter has been a constant thread in the three books leading to this one and within each book there was another layer of him revealed. Who was this man and why had he become this protector [...]

Oh, Winter Makepeace! Such an amazing character, and such an amazing story. I loved every word. The story was humorous, intense, unique and very satisfying. Winter is now one of my top favorite historical heroes!

This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.Expected Release Date: June 26, 2012Publisher: Hachette Publishing GroupImprint: Grand Central PublishingAuthor’s Website: elizabethhoyt/My Source for This Book: NetgalleyPart of a Series: Yes, Book 4, Maiden Lane SeriesSeries Best Read In Order: YES.Steam Level: SteamyI’ve been a big fan of the Maiden Lane series since the first book, Wicked Intentions, was released a few years ago. With unconventional heroines, s [...]

I have a confession to make. I've been waiting for Winter's book since the very first entry in Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series. Not sure why it is, but I really go for those taciturn, honorable, strong-silent types. And Elizabeth Hoyt certainly delivers. If this were a category romance, or a Harlequin Historical the title would be THE SCHOOLMASTER AND THE BARONESS. But thankfully, it's not, because then we'd miss out on the delicious, role-reversing, lady-tutors-the-virgin-schoolmaster scene [...]