Wicked Intentions (Maiden Lane) – book review

Wicked Intentions
by Elizabeth Hoyt
Release Date: August 1, 2010
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book #1 in the Maiden Lane series
Number of Pages: 401
Historical Romance
Ages 16 and up
CW: murder, assault, cheating
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A man controlled by his desires . . .
Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London’s most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand – she’s spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .

A woman haunted by her past . . .
Caire makes a simple offer – in return for Temperance’s help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London’s high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control – one that may well destroy them both.

A bargain neither could refuse.

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love the fairy tale that starts most chapters in this author’s books. Such a great touch and it shows her attention to detail and the brilliance she has in weaving a story together.

Temperance isn’t a perfect, virginal, proper lady and I love it! Temperance has been married before and her husband wasn’t so great at meeting her needs. In fact, he made her feel ashamed of her desires. Making some poor decisions just before her husband’s death has convinced Temperance that she should stick to helping her brother run the foundling home their family owns and stay away from temptations.

Speaking of temptations, Lord Caire seeks out Temperance to help hunt down a killer. He knows she has the trust of the people in her low-income neighborhood and thinks she’ll be able to help him while also being easily led to his means. That is not the case as Temperance is an extremely strong-willed person. But she is also caring and desperate to help save the foundling home, so she agrees to help.

These two have incendiary chemistry. They cannot even be in the same house, let alone the same room, and their connection crackles through the air. It’s only a matter of time before they ignite. But they both have such large chips on their shoulders, their relationship quickly becomes a matter of two steps forward and one step back. As confident and take charge both Caire and Temperance are on the outside, they are unsure of themselves on the inside. This causes so much angst.

There are a lot of characters discussed in this book as Temperance comes from a large family. They all have unique and wild names and I’m sure we’ll get to know them more as this series goes along. The groundwork for many of the characters was laid in this book, but it never bogs the story down. In fact, the author did a wonderful job of piquing my curiosity to the point I’m chomping at the bit for a particular character’s story already.

I’m looking forward to digging into the rest of this series. This is an author who always keeps me turning the pages.

4.5 stars