Lord of Darkness: Number 5 in series (Maiden Lane, #5)

by Elizabeth Hoyt

He lives in the shadows. As the mysterious masked avenger known as the Ghost of St Giles, Godric St John's only goal is to protect the innocent of London. Until the night he confronts a fearless young lady pointing a pistol at his head - and realises she is his wife . . .

Lady Margaret Reading has vowed to kill the Ghost of St Giles - the man who murdered her one true love. Returning to London, and to the man she hasn't seen since their wedding day, Margaret does not recognise the man behind the mask. Fierce, commanding and dangerous, the notorious Ghost of St Giles is everything she feared he would be - and so much more . . .

When passion flares, these two intimate strangers can't keep from revealing more of themselves than they had ever planned. But when Margaret learns the truth - that the Ghost is her husband - the game is up and the players must surrender . . . to the temptation that could destroy them both.

• ISBN10: 0749958162
• ISBN13: 9780749958169
• Publish Date: 26 February 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Piatkus Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Lord of Darkness was a weird one for me. I liked it overall, but I didn’t like what brought the lovers together. It starts two years later with the other Ghost of St. Giles being shot at by his wife. Of course, Megs doesn’t know that he’s her husband. All she knows is that the Ghost murdered her fiance and father of her miscarried child two years ago. Megs has been in the country until recently, but she has only two things on her mind: kill the ghost and get pregnant.

I am not fond of the whole “I want a baby so knock me up” type of romance. Lord of Darkness lost me a bit once Megs declared to her estranged husband that that’s what she wants, and that she won’t leave him to his quiet, simple life until she has it. Well, Godric wants her gone so that she doesn’t discover his secret, and so that she doesn’t kill him. But he also can’t let go of his late wife’s memory and swore to never bed another woman. It was all kinds of awkward. Those first sex scenes were just weird, because Megs just lied there waiting for it to be over and trying not to enjoy it. Sex is not for baby making! It’s for fun! Enjoy it! Of course, things do heat up between them eventually and it was much better.

Lord of Darkness also continues to follow the Ghost as he attempts to rescue the little girls kidnapped by the “lassie snatchers.” I liked this much better than the romance portion. Godric is picking up where Winter left off, but it’s also bringing him that much closer to finding the man who killed Megs’ love. Unlike Winter though, this Ghost has no problem murdering in the name of justice. And once again, there’s a surprise involving the Ghost!

I did enjoy Lord of Darkness. I just wish the beginning of the romance hadn’t been so awkward. It was actually kind of painful to read, and not in a good way. I don’t want to cringe when the lovers are falling in love. I want to feel their passion! They did get there though, and they were a great match. But I’m definitely ready to move on to the next Ghost of St. Giles!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.