To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

Book Description:
NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING
Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl's heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?

OR DANGEROUS
Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle's home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh - and luring her into his bed.

THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL.
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud's savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice's love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

First of all, let me begin by saying The Legend of the Four Soldiers Series was a captivating read.  I loved it even more than the author's previous Prince Series.  I had a sneaking suspicion who this last and final book would be about and deliberately did not read any kind of descriptions of it ahead of time so I would be surprised when I got to it.  Overall, the writing in each of the books was superb.  I seem to have a penchant for Georgian romances and Hoyt's novels are a pleasure.  They're sexy, well written with complex plot lines and memorable characters.  Her heroines are (usually) strong women, used to a certain type of environment.  Suddenly thrown off balance and plunged into new and unfamiliar territory, they rise to the occasion and become soul mates to the men they love.

Each chapter begins with a short blurb of an ongoing fairy tale that is the constant thread through the entire series that pulls it all together.   Each soldier has his own tale that parallels the main storyline.   Finally, what I consider a deal breaker when it comes to historical romances, Hoyt's books are true to the period.  Customs and manners were meticulously researched.  The gentlemen and ladies' costumes were well described, as well as the settings, locations and descriptions of the various places, whether it was an urbane London drawing room or the frigid backwoods of an eighteenth century North American settlement.

I sped through the series, eager to get to the final book and see how it all wrapped up.  Who was the traitor of Spinner's Falls?  We are still on the trail to find out who betrayed the regiment that was ambushed and massacred seven years earlier near Quebec at the infamous battle.  It is integral to the plot line of each book.  Someone betrayed them to the French and their Indian allies - an officer within their own regiment.   The Spinner's Falls massacre affected each of our heroes in their own individual way, unforgettable scars they are forced to live with for the rest of their lives.

How ironic that this final book turned out to be my least favorite!  I had been dying to get to Reynaud's story - and how he evaded death.  In the previous books, we are under the impression that Reynaud has died - burned at the stake by Indians after his capture at Spinner's Falls.  Images of his death were gruesome and harrowing, as mentioned more than once throughout the series.  Reynaud was Lord Jasper Vale's best friend from To Seduce a Sinner and the brother of Lady Emeline Gordon in To Taste Temptation.  His death was so hideous, Jasper and Samuel Hartley (the hero in Temptation) wish to keep the truth from Emeline.  Reynaud's horrific death is one that stays with us throughout the series.  It is probably the main driving force of why Vale, Hartley and Munroe (from To Beguile a Beast) all are on the quest to find the traitor that betrayed their regiment.

As it turns out Reynaud was not burned at the stake after all.  He was enslaved for seven years instead.  Only now he has escaped and made it back to London, penniless and in rags, determined to regain his title and holdings that go with it as the Earl of Blanchard.  Presumed dead, a distant cousin had assumed the title and moved into his townhouse with his niece, Beatrice Corning.  Beatrice, a young and unattached young lady has always had a fascination with a portrait of the "dead" Reynaud.  Now, all of a sudden, he shows up out of the blue, acting like a madman.  I forgot to mention someone is trying to kill him.   Reynaud slips in and out of a fever, imagining he is under attack by Indians again, although his attackers are really assassins in London.  Beatrice is accidentally hit by a bullet in one of these attacks and Reynaud oversees her recovery and makes love to her while he's at it.

Their romance and courtship is non-existent.  One minute they're strangers, the next minute they're lovers.  There is almost no getting to know one another.  I had a problem with this.  Beatrice falls into his arms while almost unconscious and then becomes immediately engaged to him.  How convenient.  They both realize they love each much too soon, and it felt rushed and forced, nothing like the tantalizing slow build up of the other books. 

At the same time, there is a mishmash of other plot lines going on.  Reynaud must petition to regain his title in the House of Lords.  His cousin, who is a politician, plans to keep the title by declaring Reynaud mad.  He is involved with this higher up power hungry politician who has an agenda of his own.  Can Reynaud prove his sanity and regain his title?  How can Beatrice help?  What happens with Beatrice's sick friend, a young man who lost his legs in the war?  Can she get Reynaud to help pass a bill allotting money to veterans who were permanently wounded fighting for the king?  The bill can narrowly pass if Reynaud regains his title and can vote for the bill in time.  Despite the mishmash, I really admired the way it all came around with Reynaud's speech in the House of Lords to pass the bill.

Overall, as I said before, it was a great series.  I enjoyed this last book, but it didn't have the same impact on me as the others.  Reynaud's character needed more fleshing out, and Beatrice, who had a good heart and meant well, was a lacklustre heroine compared to the others in the series.  She just did whatever she was told to do and didn't have much to her.   Their relationship, albeit tempestuous, was the most unrealistic of them all.  Reynaud, understandably, carried a lot of baggage due the past seven years and it left it's mark on his mind.   The fact that Beatrice was willing to go along with whatever he told her to do was beyond me.  Still, it was a fun read and kept my interest until the very end.  All the other characters from the previous books are reunited here - just like a big reunion!  If there's one thing I can say about Elizabeth Hoyt - she's a great storyteller!

One more thing - I love, love, loved this cover - my favorite of them all!

3.5/5

Legend of the Four Soldiers Series:  5/5

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To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

Book Description:
CAN A WOUNDED BEAST . . .

Reclusive Sir Alistair Munroe has hidden in his castle ever since returning from the Colonies, scarred inside and out. But when a mysterious beauty arrives at his door, the passions he's kept suppressed for years begin to awaken.

TRUST A BEAUTY WITH A PAST . . .

Running from past mistakes has taken legendary beauty Helen Fitzwilliam from the luxury of the ton to a crumbling Scottish castle and a job as a housekeeper. Yet Helen is determined to start a new life and she won't let dust - or a beast of a man - scare her away.

Another winner, and probably my favorite of Hoyt's Legend of the Four Soldiers series.  I loved this Beauty and the Beast themed romance that brought two lonely opposites together.  One devastatingly beautiful women is fleeing a life of captivity from a man who thinks of her as his possession.  The other is a man, horribly disfigured who has shut himself off from the rest of the world because he cannot bear to see children and grown people cringe and scream at the sight of him.  It's not your typical boy meets girl story. 

Helen Fitzwilliam is the former mistress of the political and powerful Duke of Lister.  We fleetingly met her in the first book of this series, To Taste Temptation, as an oblique figure, shunned by the snobbish society at a weekend garden party.  Standing apart from the rest of the women, no proper young lady would talk to her since she was a mistress - albeit, to a duke.  Why would he bring her there in the first place?  He is inconsiderate and vain.  You pity her for it looks to be a lonely life, ostracized by polite society - what kind of woman would want that kind of life in the first place?  Then in the second book of the series, To Seduce a Sinner, we meet her again, her name is Helen, and she becomes flesh and blood, no longer a distant figure to wonder about.  She seems to be a good person with two children, an attentive and caring mother too - even normal, except for the fact that her children are bastards and no one nice will talk to her.  By the end of the book, Helen has made up her mind to leave the Duke and run away.

Here in To Beguile a Beast, we pick up with Helen running off to the castle of Sir Alistair Munroe with the aid of Lady Vale (from To Seduce a Sinner).  Munroe is a gruff and reclusive naturalist living in the wilds of Scotland where he can remain cut off from society.  He bears the unsightly scars of torture by Indians while in the Colonies seven years earlier after being captured after the slaughter at Spinner's Falls.  Alistair lost an eye and two fingers as well as having one side of his face gouged and burned.  A once handsome man is now a beast, as he thinks of himself.  Can the beautiful Helen tame him - or perhaps make him a man again in his own eyes?

As the series continues, we are still on the trail of finding out who was the traitor that betrayed the regiment that was ambushed and massacred seven years earlier near Quebec.  The infamous battle known as Spinner's Falls is integral to the plotlines of each book in this series.  Sir Alistair was not a soldier, but he was traveling with the Twenty-eight of Foot while doing research for his book on North American flora and fauna.  Captured and disfigured he has resisted dredging up the memory of his experience at Spinner's Falls, but his old friend, Jasper Vale, has peeked his interest in revealing who the traitor was that gave their position away.  Someone betrayed them to the French and their Indian allies - an officer within their own regiment.

Meanwhile, on the romance side of things, Helen has shown up at Sir Alistair's announcing that she is to be his housekeeper.  His castle is a mess!  Filthy dirty, it's going to take a huge job to get it cleaned up and Helen doesn't exactly have any experience.  Helen has her two young children with her, a young boy of five and his sister who is nine.  For once I really liked kids in a romance!  They had their own little personalities and I felt and cared about them.  They are all on the run, hiding from the Duke of Lister who is determined to find them.  Not that he loves them, but they belong to him and he doesn't like the idea of losing something that is his.  Basically, we hate the Duke.  At first, I didn't think I was going to relate to Helen, I'm not the mistress loving type, but she is written so beautifully and sympathetically.  Young and impressionable when she first met the Duke as a young girl, you understand her plight.  I felt sorry for her and was rooting for her to get away from his grasp and start anew with her children.  Yet, the Duke is powerful and has long arms that can reach far away...

As Alistair becomes more and more used to his new housekeeper and her rambunctious children he begins to thaw.  Naturally, they are afraid of him at first, but they all warm up to each other in no time.  I particularly liked the tenderness Alistair showed to his aging dog which involved a poignant scene in the story.  As Helen and Alistair spar together, I adored reading of his evolution from recluse to passionate lover. He tries to ignore the attraction to Helen at first, but she feels it too.  His disfigurement means nothing to her, she falls in love with the man.  Helen was the perfect foil for him, he could not resist her and I loved how they came together.  It was sensual and fulfilling, just what you'd want to have happen between them.  Of course, that pesky Duke doesn't make things easy and I totally loved the way Alistair saves the day for her and her children.  It was all very clever and well done with a little angst thrown in, but not too hard to take, although I was on the edge of my seat reading all the way up to the end of the book. 

I couldn't ask for more in a romance, this book had everything! A good story, some hot sex, two charismatic and sympathetic leads and it kept my interest all the way up to the end.  The fairy tale legend of the soldier is great as well and matches the main plotline of the story.  I was surprised that this turned out to be my favorite of the series!  Give it a try and read the entire series, it's so worthwhile and Elizabeth Hoyt is a definite favorite of mine now!
 
5/5

P.S. I randomly won this book and received my copy in an online drawing.

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To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt

Book Description:
Jasper Renshaw, Viscount Vale, has a problem: he needs to marry and produce an heir to the title. All Jasper wants is to find a lady who will put up with him long enough to wed so he can retreat to his life of debauchery - a life that keeps the haunting memories of his past at bay. Knowing that Jasper is under pressure to marry, Melisande Flemming grasps her fate with both hands and volunteers to wed him. Although Jasper is initially only interested in producing an heir, he soon becomes entranced by his wife - prim and proper by day, wanton by night - and vows to learn her secrets.

Melissande, however, is determined to keep her husband at a distance. She has loved, and lost, before, and will do anything to keep him from learning her terrible weakness: she's secretly been in love with him for years. But to her chagrin, her husband pursues her, wooing her as if she were a paramour, not his lady wife. As Melissande and Jasper embark on a passionate game of cat and mouse, secrets from the past begin to resurface... threatening to tear them asunder.

I loved this book, and I'm realizing I'm loving this Legend of the Four Soldiers Series even more than her last Prince Series!  This series follows the paths of four soldiers that experienced a horrible massacre of their battalion while in the Colonies during the French and Indian War near Quebec.  They are convinced that there was a traitor in their midst, an officer among them that set a trap for money, selling secrets of their location.  Hundreds of men were killed and those that were captured were scarred for life due to the horrifying and unspeakable practices committed against them.  No Geneva Convention back in those days!

We previously met Jasper, Viscount Vale in the first book, To Taste Temptation, and I liked him instantly there.  Here he's a much more complex man and I loved him!  Jasper appears to live the good life - an aristocrat with a title, he seems to have everything - a lavish townhouse, carriage, loads of friends, respected by his peers, but all is not right with him.  There is more to him than meets the eye.  He, like the other soldiers that experienced the horrible slaughter and capture at the massacre of Spinners Falls in the Colonies six years earlier, is carrying the burden of guilt.  An officer of the troop, the Indians that captured them tortured and killed many, yet left Jasper untouched.  He was forced to watch, and anytime he flinched or showed any emotion, they would inflict even more horrible mutilations to his men.  Jasper may not show any outward scars from the ordeal, but inside he has many.

Now Jasper is intent on getting on with his life and marrying and producing heirs to his title.  He'd like to forget Spinners Falls - but he can't.  He already lost one fiancee in To Tempt Temptation, and as we come upon him here in To Seduce a Sinner, he's just been jilted at the altar by another!  Melissande Fleming, who was the best friend of our heroine in Temptation takes it upon herself to snatch Jasper up before he asks someone else to marry him!  Melissande has always been a quiet, reserved, mousy brown wren of a young women.  Jilted by a fiance ten years earlier, she is now a spinster living with her brother and his wife.  She wants a life of her own and she takes the bull by the horns and offers herself to Jasper, who she has secretly loved for years.

Jasper is so surprised by the proposition from Melissande - he accepts!  They go through the proper motions, he visits her brother, talk settlements, et cetera, et cetera and voila - they marry!  Jasper has no idea that Melissande secretly loves him, he thinks of this as a marriage of convenience although the more time he spends with Melissande, the more he realizes there's more to her than meets the eye as well!  Unfortunately, their wedding night is nothing short of disappointment to Melissande.  She's expecting the moon and stars and is heady with anticipation and well... Jasper is far from the lover she expected.  But, that does not stop her from setting things to rights.  She is a determined young woman and she is not going to spend the rest of her days in a loveless marriage - she will seduce him!

Meanwhile, he sort of has the same idea in mind.  He's falling for his new little wife and thinks she's some prim and proper spinster that needs seducing as well!  I loved it!  At the same time, Melissande is interested in learning all there is about her new husband and stumbles upon a secret of his that no one knows about that gives her a clue to his guilt and suffering in regard to Spinners Falls.  She hates to think of him carrying such a burden and wants to help - and help she does!  She becomes an ideal wife and they learn to love each other.  It was a pleasure to experience the ups and downs of their brand new relationship, while also following the progression of who was the traitor that led to the massacre and death of his best friend.  I grew to really admire both Melissande and Jasper.  Basically, they got under my skin and I didn't want to say good bye to them at the end of the book!  One part of the book I loved that showed how wonderful Jasper is towards his "Lady Wife" (as he calls her) was when they met up with her former fiance - priceless moment - I felt like clapping!  I felt it cemented things between them, both were glad about who they married by then.

There were a few side characters I enjoyed that are fleshed out and brought to life.  I liked Jasper's valet particularly and Melissande's new lady's maid.  A nice little side story going there.  We meet the mysterious and sad Mrs. Fitzwilliam, the mistress of the Duke of Lister who has two bastard children by him.  Melissande forms a friendship with her.  We also meet our "3rd" soldier who will figure in the next book in the series. 

This was a delightful book, full of romance, a good mystery, some red herrings and a happy ending!   Jasper's tale, "laughing Jack" parallels the fairy tale that is told at the beginning of each chapter.  The laughing man who is really something else entirely beneath that carefree exterior.  Melissande, the little nobody who asks him to marry her becomes a surprising jewel of a wife, nothing as he expected.  Both are hiding their true selves from each other. A real keeper!  I love the settings, part of this was in Scotland where they travel to and mostly London, all during Georgian late 18th century.  The background and descriptions are right on, as well as the language - nothing jarring - all first rate and well researched.  Elizabeth Hoyt is an auto buy for me from now on, I haven't been disappointed by anything I've read of hers - a worthwhile and exceptional romance author you can count on!

4.5/5

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To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt

Book Description:
The ton loves nothing more than a good scandal, and they're giddy with the appearance of wealthy Samuel Hartley. Not only is he self-made, American, and in the habit of wearing moccasins, but he is also notorious for fleeing a battle in which several English gentlemen lost their lives. What the ton doesn't know, though, is that Samuel is in London because of this massacre. He believes his regiment was given up to the enemy and won't rest until he finds the traitor.

Lady Emeline Gordon is captivated with Samuel. Not only does he defy convention with his unusual dress, his sensual smile, and his forthright manner, but he survived the battle that killed her beloved brother. Samuel suspects that the person responsible for her brother's death is Jasper Renshaw, Viscount Vale, a family friend since childhood - and Emeline's fiance. Despite Emeline's belief in Vale's innocence and her refusal to break off her betrothal, she and Samuel begin a passionate affair. But can their relationship survive the fallout from Samuel's investigation?

I really loved this book, I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I'd probably like it since I loved Elizabeth Hoyt's previous "Prince" series. If this first book in her Legends of Four Soldiers series is any indication of how the rest of it will be, then I think I'm going to love this series!  This was a great story! It had romance, humor, a mystery, everything I love in a book.  Colonial Samuel Hartley descends upon 1760's London in his unorthodox buckskin leggings and moccasins to solve the mystery of what happened during a fateful battle in the French Indian War and who was the traitor that set them up for the massacre in Quebec.  Sophisticated Lady Emeline Gordon keeps insisting she is not attracted to this uncouth man, but she can't deny it - she is lost to his good looks and rugged countenance.  Yet, she's engaged to someone else?  What to do?  I loved this!

Samuel Hartley is not your usual drop dead good looking, take charge, indomitable alpha hero.  Although set during the 1760's pre-Revolutionary War, Samuel reads more like a modern hero.  He's American, or rather a Colonial, since the Revolutionary War hasn't begun yet.  He shakes hands, rather than bowing and scraping.  He wears moccasins and leggings, forgoes a powdered wig.  He wears a queue, no powder.  No dandy, he sticks to browns and black, typical of a Colonial, despite his fortune (in trade!)  Top notch with a gun, no one comes close to him in shooting with his Kentucky Long Rifle.  He has a mystery about him as well, running alone amidst the darkened alleyways and backstreets of London in the middle of the night.  He's a runner. I found this refreshing in an historical novel.  Usually you find this sort of modern persona in independent minded historical heroines, which I find grating and out of character, but with Samuel I found it kind of neat for a change.  Don't get me wrong, he's still very much the Georgian male animal who was a British soldier in the colonies fighting in the French and Indian War.  While there, his regiment was massacred in a crucial battle near Quebec.  He is convinced there was a traitor in their midst - an officer - who knew the plans of where the regiment would be heading.  Ambushed alongside a river, almost all were lost.  Samuel is, what today we would consider, a cross county runner.  Upon viewing the carnage and total annihilation of his troop, he fled the scene and ran to get help - hence why he has been called a coward for running away.  But in truth, he ran miles and miles, destroying his feet until they looked like bloody stumps to get help and notify his superiors of the ambush.

Now, several years later, Samuel is in London to learn the truth and find out who the traitor was.  He systematically investigates all the possible officers that are still alive who could have been responsible.  This is where we meet our heroine, Lady Emeline Gordon.  A beautiful widow with a young son, Emeline is renowned for her respectability and decorum, the top of her class.  Her brother also fought and died in the above mentioned massacre.  Samuel seeks her out to find out whether she may be able to shed any light on the matter, although he does not want her to know what he's up to.   He worries that she will think he is a coward for running from the battle in Quebec as well.  His sister, who is in need of sophistication, is the perfect excuse for Samuel to "hire" Lady Emeline (who has a talent for this sort of thing) to oversee her debut and give her some polish.

Emeline is not the typical heroine either.  I found her refreshing as well.  Not some simpering miss, she is older - though still a beauty.  She has a worldly sophistication about her.   She is at home in London or at a country estate.  The English aristocracy is her fishbowl, and she is a pro at maneuvering her way inside it.  So, when she meets Samuel Hartley - she is a bit taken aback!  He is not what she's used to.  Somewhat coarse and unrefined, he is constantly surprising her with his manners and customs - yet she is drawn to him and soon finds herself finding ways to run into him - it doesn't hurt that he's rented the townhouse next door to hers or that her son has taken an immediate shine to him as well!   The feeling is mutual, Samuel is attracted to Emeline and takes her son under his wing.  The boy needs a male influence badly.  But, did I mention that Lady Emeline is engaged to be married to one of the officer's at the massacre?  Her fiance, Viscount Vale is an old childhood friend.  I really liked him a lot - though he's not meant for Emeline.  He becomes an ally of Samuel's and together they join forces to find the traitor.  I'm sure another book will be about him and (I hope!) Emeline's dowdy best friend!   Emeline is also interested in solving the mystery, for she was close to her brother and wants to get to the bottom of his death (a death so horrible they do all they can to spare her the details). 

Samuel is not infallible.  He cannot bear to be in crowds - the fetid smell of sweat and unwashed bodies haunts him and brings back memories of the war and battle.  It is debilitating and a major chink in his armor.  He's not the life of the party in a crowded ball room to say the least.  He has his flaws and I loved the way Emeline rescues him more than once and doesn't lose her head.  Simply put, they're made for each other, even if they come from totally different worlds.  How on Earth are they going to come to terms with their different backgrounds and live happily ever after?

There are tons of details I'm leaving out, but take my word for it.  This book has everything!  Chock full of rich descriptions of Georgian England, there's a mystery regarding the massacre, some skulduggery and suspense regarding the real villain, plus a cartload of interesting characters with a delightfully unorthodox courtship between Emeline and Samuel.  Their romance builds and builds, stringing the reader along, but if you're familiar with Elizabeth Hoyt's previous books you know she doesn't let her readers down when it comes to sex!  ;)  In addition, each chapter starts off with the "Tale of the Four Soldiers" which parallels the main story.  This one is about the soldier that went into the woods.  Very cleverly done! Read it and enjoy!

4.5/5

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