Review: Duke of Desire

Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Four and a half stars.

I have wanted to read this book ever since I read the teaser at the end of the last book.

The shadowy Lords of Chaos led by the mysterious Dionysus kidnap Lady Iris Jordan in the mistaken belief that she is the new bride of the Duke of Kyle, who has sworn to eliminate the Lords. After she informs the Lords of their error Dionysus charges his minions with killing her anyway, but one of the naked, masked men, the man in the wolf mask, claims her, promising to make sure she is dead within 24 hours.

Iris is dragged to a carriage and spirited away but she finds a pistol under one of the seats (in a hidden compartment) and shoots the Wolf in the shoulder.

The Wolf is actually Raphael de Chartres, the Duke of Dyemore, lately returned from Corsica and determined to destroy the Lords of Chaos as his perverted, abusive father was one of the previous leaders. Raphael has a horrible disfiguring scar running down his face that gives his mouth a perpetual sneer, he and Iris danced once at a ball and he feel hopelessly in love with this quiet woman who chased away the shadows the haunt him, if only for a little while.

Raphael decides that the only way to protect Iris is to marry her, immediately, although it will be a marriage in name only, he intends the de Chartres name to die out with him to prevent the birth of more monsters like his father. All Iris has ever wanted is a family to love and cherish, and to be loved and cherished in return.

While Iris tries to persuade Raphael to make theirs a real marriage, Raphael is fighting to discover the identity of Dionysus and bring down the Lords once and all.

This has a delicious, dark gothic feel to it, full of ruined abbeys and secret societies . Loved it and Raphael was such a tortured hero.

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