A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

NOTORIOUS PLEASURES

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt ISBN: 9780446558952 2/2011 HISTORICAL Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL
Time Period: 1737 England

Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt
Their lives were perfect . . .
Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn't bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .

Until they met each other.
Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect - and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire - desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero's wedding nears, and Griffin's enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: 4 Rose Read

This is one of those romance novels where there is a whole lot of convincing lust going on, but the love is a little less believable. Lady Hero Batten, one of the patronesses of an orphanage in London’s St. Giles neighborhood, is a proper Duke’s sister, affianced to a marquess. When she finds his disreputable younger brother having sex with a married woman, she is oddly attracted to him, and soon finds herself the object of his sensual interest.

Are you with me in having trouble seeing this as a promising start to a love connection? At least they are well matched as a sensual rakish hero and a straight-laced heroine who desperately wants to fall…

I have always enjoyed Hoyt’s books and found this an easy, pleasant read with unusual historical details, but I didn’t find true love in this one. Set in 1737 and offering hints into many interesting secondary characters, it continues the Maiden Lane series. The next book in the series is SCANDALOUS DESIRES, out in November.

Heather Hiestand

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