Duke of Midnight (Maiden Lane) – book review

Duke of Midnight
by Elizabeth Hoyt
Release Date: October 15, 2013
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book #6 in the Maiden Lane series
Number of Pages: 400
Historical Romance
Ages 15 and up
CW: violence, rape, imprisonment
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WHEN A MASKED MAN . . .
Twenty years ago Maximus Batten witnessed the brutal murders of his parents. Now the autocratic Duke of Wakefield, he spends his days ruling Parliament. But by night, disguised as the Ghost of St. Giles, he prowls the grim alleys of St. Giles, ever on the hunt for the murderer. One night he finds a fiery woman who meets him toe-to-toe—and won’t back down . . .

MEETS HIS MATCH . . .
Artemis Greaves toils as a lady’s companion, but hiding beneath the plain brown serge of her dress is the heart of a huntress. When the Ghost of St. Giles rescues her from footpads, she recognizes a kindred spirit-and is intrigued. She’s even more intrigued when she realizes who exactly the notorious Ghost is by day . . .

DESIRE IGNITES A DANGEROUS PASSION
Artemis makes a bold move: she demands that Maximus use his influence to free her imprisoned brother-or she will expose him as the Ghost. But blackmailing a powerful duke isn’t without risks. Now that she has the tiger by the tail, can she withstand his ire or the temptation of his embrace?

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The third (and final?) Ghost of St. Giles has met his match when it comes to Artemis. I have adored Artemis since she was introduced in this series. We’ve been given a bit more on her in the last couple of books and I just knew she would be a tough cookie. Pairing her with Maximus, the Duke of Wakefield, was genius. These two characters are strong supporting characters because of their practicality and steadfast loyalty to their families. Falling in love with each other also puts that at odds with each other.

As I said, I adore Artemis. She is such a good person. So good that she often sticks up for her cousin Penelope to whom she is a lady’s companion. I don’t know if Penelope gets her own HEA eventually, but I don’t know that I would be able to root for her unless her story is about her realizing she is a spoiled brat. The guilt Artemis feels throughout this story because of someone who treats her like dirt shows the heart that Artemis has. Not to mention the way she stands by her brother, Apollo, and even visits him at the asylum under terrible conditions.

Of all the Ghosts, I feel Maximus has the most Batman reason to have taken up that title. As was explored a bit in Notorious Pleasures, his parents were murdered in St. Giles in front of him when he was a young man. Maximus wants vengeance and has been hunting their killer for over a decade. Maximus may be a strong and stern aristocrat, but this story kept me on the verge of tears for both him and Artemis throughout.

The way Maximus notices Artemis and what she wears and how she acts when she’s alone as opposed to when she’s in a group with her cousin made my heart happy. And the nickname game in this book is fantastic. Once Maximus gives in to his feelings for Artemis he is such a force, even while he’s still trying to deny to himself that he can actually have her in his life permanently. On top of him doing everything in his power to make Artemis happy, Artemis herself killed me when she humbled herself to try to save her brother. It broke my heart. These two! I’m telling you, so many feelings!

I simply adore this series.

5 stars