Notorious Pleasures: Number 2 in series (Maiden Lane)

Hero Batten's first sight of Griffin Remmington is not exactly prepossessing! He is caught in a compromising position with a married woman! Hero interrupts and manages to prevent the woman's husband discovering the pair.Griffin's reputation is less than sterling! He is rumoured to have seduced his brother Thomas's late wife. Hero soon discovers that Griffin is the brother of the man to whom she is about to become engaged!Despite this unpromising start the pair discover a deep and passionate connection.Another problem is that Griffin is running an illegal unlicensed gin distillery in order to repair the finances of his family (these had been left in disarray by his late father). Hero's brother is leading a campaign to crush all such illicit businesses as he believes the supply of cheap gin is responsible for the murders of his (and Hero's) parents several years ago.Can Hero and Griffin manage to overcome the obstacles and can Griffin survive the murderous attentions of a rival gin distiller and find their own HEA? And can Thomas overcome is scruples and find love with what society believes to be an entirely inappropriate woman?I really enjoyed this the second Maiden Lane novel and am looking forward to more of the series.

I enjoyed this, even if I did have to smother the realist at the back of my head that kept muttering away about levels of syphilis among 18th century whores and their customers. However - the realist battered into submission - I liked that this was set away from the standard Regency period, and thought the gin-soaked awfulness of life for so many (poor) people, and the lawlessness of early 18th century London was well presented - there are ball rooms and fancy houses as well - this isn't all grim reality!This book centres around a peripheral character from Book 1 (Wicked Intentions), but unlike Book 1's "ordinary" leading lady, Lady Hero is sister to a Duke no less, and stuffed to the gills with convention and duty. She is well advanced along her correct and proper path of loveless marriage and producing heirs when she meets her fiance's brother - the said-to-be wicked and scandalous Griffin (were people really called Hero and Griffin in 18th century England?).There are sex scenes here, maybe a few too many, but there is a nice earthy realism about Ms Hoyt's bedroom (coach, library...) scenes that lifted these from the standard he did this, she clings, she comes, he comes norm of this genre - our virginal heroine worries about smell, and my inner realist was soothed by one of the secondary characters stating "... if I'm lucky, my husband won't have half a dozen mistresses and give me the pox..."The denouement was daft really (oops, my inner realist is recovering!) but what the heck - these books are meant to be escapist fun, and the skill in the field is putting in enough reality to make these books interesting, but departing enough to ensure happy endings. Some fail and leave me annoyed that I bothered to read to the end, or worse, giving up half way through. No danger of that with this, it pulled me along at a fair old lick, I was interested in the secondary characters, found the depiction of male friendship beautifully done, as was the very clear tension between duty and heart. Will probably read fine as a stand alone, but much will become clear if you read Book 1 first.Good set up for Book 3, Scandalous Desires, out in Nov 2011.

Thoroughly enjoyed this whole series. Couldn't wait to read this, book number 2. The whole series is connected by character, although each book does stand alone and tells its own story. I bought them all at once and read them one after the other - great. Typical historical romance escapism - highly unlikely in reality (I should think) but great entertainment! I believe there is another book in the pipeline for this series and I will be buying it when it is available.

A typical book from the genre - one of a saga. I bought five books from the series and then lost interest - they began to feel just a bit repetitive and the characters began to blur. Elizabeth Hoyt has good ideas and writes well and her books generally entertain for the couple of days that it takes me to read them.

Good read

Great read. Hero and Griffin conquered their love, making a good read. Shame Thomas had to be betrayed, however all good in the end, with his own outrageous HAE. Nice ongoing subplots with the children's home, the Ghost and Silence/ Mary Darling - sets up book three nicely

enjoyed this book. to enjoy it at its best you really have to read the first book in this series to know about the characters

Another engrossing read which kept you guessing until the end but this time more of a personal storyline. Can't wait for the next book

Lady Hero Batten meets her future brother-in-law under the most excruciatingly awkward circumstances. At her engagement soiree Lady Hero walks in on Griffin Remmington coupling with a married woman who is most certainly not his wife . . .It's one thing to encounter your almost brother-in-law in the middle of a carnal act upon a settee, it's entirely another for said brother-in-law to not care in the least. In fact, Remmington finds the whole event slightly hilarious, and takes great pleasure in Hero's prudish embarrassment. What's worse is that Hero finds herself mortifyingly enamoured of the younger Remmington, even though she is engaged to his brother Thomas.Griffin Remington has enjoyed his notoriously rakish lifestyle. Women come and go and he takes great pleasure in their fleeting encounters. Until Lady Hero - or, as he nicknames her, Lady Perfect. She is gentle, kind and everything his brother Thomas deserves. Except that Griffin wants her for himself . . . which makes Hero the second woman Griffin has supposedly stolen from his older brother.`Notorious Pleasures' is the second book in Elizabeth Hoyt's `Maiden Lane' historical romance series.I love Elizabeth Hoyt. I haven't read a book of hers that I didn't adore. And honestly, my love for her is hard to articulate. Admittedly, her storylines aren't reinventing the historical romance genre. There's a pretty limited spectrum of story to be explored in this genre, and invariably there will be a rake, a wronged party and a fair maiden. But Elizabeth Hoyt seems to elevate the historical romance genre to something truly magnificent. I can't quite put my finger on it . . . it's a combination of her lyrical writing, easy repartee, cunning heroines and her reluctantly romantic rakes who remain determinedly roguish for as long as possible.I loved Hero and Griffin's first meeting in `Notorious Pleasures'. So often romance authors are unwilling to go the extra mile to make their `rakes' truly rakish and hard to love. More often than not, the heroine will never encounter her rake's sinister side, and all promiscuity will come to a screeching halt once the rake meets his maiden. But Hoyt takes the plunge and writes Hero meeting Griffin for the first time while he is rutting away with a married woman. Brilliant! Absolute, solidified proof that Griffin is as notorious as he's made out to be. Admittedly, upon meeting Hero, Griffin quickly realizes he likes this lady more than any other he has ever encountered. But he holds-out for a long time, trying to put the attraction down to `lust' and nothing more.I was quite surprised that I liked Hero so much. We met her in first book `Maiden Lane' and she seemed a little too good to be true. She is the main benefactress of the St. Giles Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children, and she kindly pours money into the charity. She seemed a little too squeaky-clean and holier-than-thou. But Hoyt actually takes that assumption and runs with it . . . Hero initially takes great pride in being `perfect', and Griffin is oddly enamoured of her benevolence. But as Hero falls for Griffin she loses herself amidst the lust he incites in her . . . she becomes disgusted with herself, and lost to Griffin's love. I really enjoyed reading about Hero's fall from grace, it was a different way to write about a blushing maiden.One things I love about the `Maiden Lane' series is that Hoyt has not limited herself to any exploration of societal ranking. Often in historical romances the characters will be a part of the ton or middle class and rarely interact with anyone above, or below, their station. The `Maiden Lane' in question is located in the treacherous London area of St. Giles - a red-light-district and general dead-end town. It is in St. Giles that the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children is situated. In the first `Maiden Lane' novel we met the family who charitably run the home - the Dews family. Running concurrently with Hero's story is the tale of Silence Hollingbrook (once Dews) who helps run the home, and has adopted one of the foundling children as her own. I really love that while `Notorious Pleasures' was all about the more upper-crust of society, Hoyt still integrates the dregs of St. Giles and explores the lower-rungs of the city. The next book in the Maiden Lane series is called `Scandalous Desires', and will be all about how Silence Hollingbrook falls for the King of St. Giles, notorious criminal Mickey O'Connor. I can't wait! I also hope a future book in `Maiden Lane' focuses on the Ghost of St. Giles (I'm dying to know who he is!)Elizabeth Hoyt is the queen of historic romances. Her novels really are decadent perfection - her characters live in the gray areas and come from all walks of life. `Notorious Pleasures' is yet another succulent delight; a lady's fall from grace and a rake succumbing to love. Perfection!

Lady Hero Batten ist die Tochter eines Dukes und die Schwester eines Dukes. Sie wurde dazu erzogen vorteilhaft zu heiraten und mit ihrer Verlobung mit dem Marquess of Manderville scheint dieses Ziel greifbar nah. Doch ihre perfekte Erziehung hat sie nicht auf Lord Griffin Reading, Mandervilles Bruder vorbereitet. So perfekt Hero scheint, so skandalös scheint Griffin. Von ihrer ersten Begegnung an sprühen zwischen den beiden die Funken. Griffin erkennt bald, dass Hero anders ist, als all die Frauen, die er bisher kannte. Und auch Hero muss feststellen, dass Griffin sehr viel mehr ist als er zu sein scheint. Während Heros Heirat immer näher rückt fühlen sie und Griffin sich unweigerlich zueinander hingezogen. Doch nicht nur die Situation an sich, sondern auch Griffins Vergangenheit und Heros Erziehung und Bruder stehen ihnen im Weg.Hoyt schafft phantastische Charaktere und Geschichten, die einen in ihren Bann ziehen. Ein Buch voller verwirrender Gefühle, Spannung, Leidenschaft und Liebe. Doch manchmal ist Liebe allein nicht genug für ein Happy End. Hoyt schafft es meisterlich eine fast aussichtslos erscheinende Beziehung zu einem Happy End zu führen ohne übertriebene und unglaubwürdige Wendungen.Ein wunderbares Buch, dass ich nur wärmstens weiterempfehlen kann.'Notorious pleasures' ist der 2. Band in der 'Maiden Lane' Serie bestehend aus:1. Wicked Intentions2. Notorious Pleasures3. Scandalous Desires (November 2011)(Wie alle von Hoyts Büchern lassen sich die einzelnen Bände einer Serie auch unabhängig voneinander lesen)

This book has been on my to-read list for a long time. I've loved Lady Hero ever since she was introduced in Wicked Intentions, and I was very excited to see that her book was next in the series. Hero and Griffin's first meeting was hilarious and such a joy to read. I loved how Griffin calls her My Lady Perfect and in turn she calls him My Lord Shameless. The titles are very fitting. This was truly a fun read.

Elizabeth Hoyt has never disappointed me. I did have some trouble in the beginning with what I perceived as a love triangle (not a premise I care for). Was in constant worry over how an HEA would be possible (which is actually a very good thing :>)). I do like a decent plot beyond the romance, and this one steadily ramps up the already-tense-enough first quarter of the book and just keeps going until the end. Both leads are wonderful, far from perfect, who behave consistently with who they are. Griffin: my, my, my what a rogue! The love scenes are very-well written and graphic, but not gratuitous. The other characters, and there are quite a few, are imbued with just the right amount of detail and depth to fulfill their roles. I took far too long between the first book in the series and this one. That was a mistake I don’t intend to make again, as the tales are somewhat interwoven.

I've read many Elizabeth Hoyt novels in the past; some of them I thought were great, some OK. The first part of this one was OK, but the second half of the book fell apart for me.There were just too many parts of the plot that I couldn't believe. I could deal with an occasional bit of weakness of motivation, but this book reached a point where my ability believe in the story just disintegrated, and then things that I might have let pass by themselves all started bothering me. Obviously people are really different in what they're willing to believe, so less critical readers may not have a problem with this at all.The two central characters are crucial for maintaining belief. I liked Hero and Griffin in the first half, even though some of the things they did didn't seem well motivated. But in the second half, what the author told me about Hero's personality didn't match at all with what she was doing. She was supposed to like order and predictability, and 'doing what she was supposed to' - it's the reasons that was given for her continuing to think she would marry Griffin's brother and not accepting Griffin. But she was wandering around in the worst part of town, going to the home of a single male, having sex with somebody who was not her fiance - these are not the actions of the type of person we are told she is. Her emotions about what happened were just missing for me, contributing to the unbelievability.Griffin didn't make sense to me either, and also what he was doing didn't match what the author told us about his character. I couldn't understand why he would have been making gin to start with, and I saw no reason for him to continue to make it when it was so dangerous. The reader was provided with some handwavey reasons that I just couldn't believe.In the last quarter of the book almost every character seemed to be doing something that was either unlikable, unbelievable, immoral, or not in character. None of them were people I would have liked to spend time with. The end felt very artificial, like it didn't flow from the characters.I had to start skimming in order to be able to finish it, unfortunately. I've really enjoyed some of Hoyt's other stories, so I'll continue to buy her books, hoping that she gets it right next time.