Darling Beast (Maiden Lane, 7)

A man wrongly imprisoned, in hiding and keeping secrets to save his life. A woman, desperate to keep her ragtag family together and also keeping secrets. The ruins of a pleasure garden. DARLING BEAST is the story of a rebirth for all of them. THE STORY: Apollo Greaves,Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam where he was imprisoned for four years for the murder of three of his friends. Apollo is lucky that he was not hanged for his "crimes" but rather was committed as criminally insane because of the intervention of the Earl of Brightmore. Apollo suffered greatly during his captivity suffering starvation and beatings and inhumane conditions. He almost died in Bedlam due to a severe beating that robbed Apollo of his ability to speak. Having escaped with the help of his twin sister Artemis and her husband, the Duke of Wakefield, Apollo has been in hiding at the ruins of the pleasure garden known as Harte's Folly. Before his imprisonment, Apollo had invested the little money he had in Harte's Folly. Soon after his escape, Harte's Folly burned to the ground and now Apollo works as a gardener (but few know that he is actually the landscape architect) to rebuild the garden. Apollo meets Lily Stump who is also living in the ruins with her son, Indio, and a maid servant. Lily is a famed actress Robin Goodfellow and also a secret playwright. She is living in the gardens because the fire also destroyed the theater and she cannot get work until the theater and gardens are restored. When her son sees Apollo, he fears and is fascinated with the "monster" in the garden. The immediate reaction of Lily and Apollo to one another is simple -- each wants the other gone from their sanctuary. Of course, the two keep being pushed together but before they can have any peace, they must discover the secret of who framed Apollo, save him from Bedlam and also uncover the secret that Lily is harboring. OPINION: Hoyt has an incredible ability to create deeply emotional stories with bold, unique characters. Usually her books contain a great amount of angst and pain so the romance in this book is almost sweet in comparison. The reason for that is that Lily is the light that bring Apollo out of the half-life he has been living since he was framed for murder. Lily is bright and talented and dedicated to her little family even though she has seen much pain and heartache in her life. That lightness of spirit attracts Apollo who, is clear, values family and meaning and a quiet peaceful life after the horrible years he spent chained. Despite his past and his painful experiences, Apollo is not really a dark character. He is a gentle giant of a man who is filled with kindness and compassion rather than anger and hate. I loved his character and his deep desire for peace. Once he fixes his attention on Lily, Apollo doesn't worry about the incongruence of a viscount and future earl marrying an actress. In fact, Apollo frets about his plain appearance in comparison to Lily's gamine looks. Lily is a strong, independent woman who takes care of herself and others. One of the great things about Hoyt's Maiden Lane series is that she crosses all types of social classes. Her books about about dukes and pirates and orphanage managers and actresses and governesses and heiresses. Because of this, her books have a great sense of place and time. I also appreciated that Lily's son Indio is such an important character in the book. Readers get a real chance to see that Apollo will make a great adoptive father for Indio. Sometimes existing children are only infrequently seen. Here, readers get a chance to see the relationship develop between Indio and Apollo at the same time it develops between Lily and Apollo. By the end of the book, I was convinced that they will make a nice little family together. The sex between these two was also really hot. Both are experienced and so there is no virginal trepidation to overcome. Both know who and what they want. At the same time, while the scenes are strong and bold and explicit, there isn't anything gratuitous about the scenes - just really hot scenes between two grown experienced adults. Finally, I really enjoyed seeing some of my favorite characters again including Wakefield and Artemis, Hero and Phoebe. We get to learn more about Captain Trevillion in preparation for his and Phoebe's book DARLING ROGUE which is next up in the series. Readers also get a good look at the Duke of Montgomery who has a very mysterious past and present and is up to something. Readers should not be fooled by his foppish appearance because Hoyt has made such characters very dangerous (see THE SERPENT PRINCE). I'm looking forward to learning more about him and his motives. WORTH MENTIONING: I loved that Apollo refers to Maximus, the Duke of Wakefield, as "His Grace the Ass" because while I loved Artemis and Maximus's book, he is kind of an ass! FINAL DECISION: I love this book. I would read it again (and I've already read it twice). I also look forward to the unveiling of the mysteries that this book sets up regarding the motives of the Duke of Montgomery. CONNECTED BOOKS: DARLING BEAST is the seventh book in the Maiden Lane series. It can be read independently of the other books in the series, but I recommend that a reader at least read DUKE OF MIDNIGHT because it introduces Apollo and provides the setup for DARLING BEAST. STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

Fans of Hoyt's Maiden Lane series will remember their first meeting with Apollo Greaves, the lord who is residing in Bedlam after being accused of murder. He finally escapes thanks to the help of his sister, Artemis, and her soon-to-be husband, the Duke of Wakefield in Duke of Midnight. Book seven in the Maiden Lane series, Darling Beast, tells the story of Apollo's attempt to clear his name and avoid being captured by soldiers once again. Things get even more complicated when he comes across Lily Stump, an out of work actress, and sparks fly. I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Hoyt and her ability to make any type of character a romantic hero or heroine. Apollo is described as huge and comely while also being unable to speak due to an almost deadly beating in Bedlam. Despite this, he quickly becomes a very swoon-worthy hero with his determination to clear his name, his genuine fondness for Lily and her son, and his dry sense of humor. For her part, I found Lily to be a very admirable heroine. Her acting career changed forever when the pleasure garden burned and now she barely squeaks out a living through her play writing while the garden is rebuilt. But, she never mopes around about her situation. She just keeps working and providing for her son and nursemaid. I also respected her for her ingenuity when it comes to certain plot points later in the book. The romance of Apollo and Lily was a wonderful combination of sweet and sexy. Hoyt is known for her steamy love scenes and tantalizing chemistry which she shows off here. But, these two also have much more going for them than just lust. They spend time together at the pleasure garden while Apollo is working and start a friendship before jumping into bed. I especially enjoyed the way they laughed together. In terms of side characters, I was pretty happy with them as well. Lily's son, Indio, was sweet and smart without moving into cliche. Maude, his nursemaid, wasn't extremely developed, but I liked her from the beginning. It was also nice to see more of Lady Phoebe Batten and her bodyguard, Captain Trevillian, since they will be the focus of the next Maiden Lane book. And I am crossing my fingers that we don't have to wait too long to get the Duke of Montgomery's story. He stole every scene he was in and I have to know what is really going on in that diabolical head right now! While I loved the characters and the romance, I had a bit of trouble with the pacing of the plot especially towards the end. My favorite parts were when Lily and Apollo were getting to know each other and hung out together in the garden. For me, things got a little boring in the latter third of the book. I appreciated that Apollo had to figure out who the real murderer was, but I thought it was resolved too quickly. The house party was fun and provided plenty of drama...it just felt off to me. But, despite the pacing problem, I still really liked Darling Beast and continue to be a huge fan of Elizabeth Hoyt. She just has such a different way of looking at historical romance that always has me coming back for more. Now, I have to find a way to be patient about waiting for the release of Dearest Rogue(Phoebe and Trevillian's story) and hopefully Montgomery's book.

Another great book in a truly excellent series. And it got me through a long sick day. The characters are great, of course (Elizabeth Hoyt), but so is the story. Some angst, but mixed with such romance (really) and sweetness (and steamy love scenes). I adored Lily—smart, funny, brave—and it was nice to have a somewhat more experienced/less virginal heroine. Kilbourne/Apollo was a fabulous beast—sexy, gentle, kind, creative, intelligent. His frustration with being mute felt tangible, but it was never dwelled on. I love how the author wove in some characters from previous books (and I’m SO looking forward to Phoebe’s story) and how she made everything turn out all right.

I am all caught up with this series and waited with anxious impatience anticipation for the release of her sixth book in the Maiden Lane series. “Darling Beast” is very good, however, it did not live up to the expectations set by the last book “Duke of Midnight” which was 5 stars for me. “Darling Beast” picks up right where the last book left off with Apollo hiding out in the ruined gardens of Harte’s Folly where he meets Lily Stump, an actress that Mr. Harte, or rather Asa Makepeace, has let stay. Both Apollo and Lily have fallen on tough times and find themselves in this pleasure garden that is in the process of being rebuilt. The interaction between them is interesting because it is as if the garden is a pretend world where class and status don’t mean anything. Apollo is trying to hide who he is as he is still wanted by the law and Lily is an actress and of lower status than Apollo. If they had met outside in society, they would not have the opportunity they have in the garden to fall in love. It is a sweet revelation for the two of them to come to act on their attraction despite the circumstances they find themselves in. Their love scenes were on the rough side from the get-go and a departure from her other stories in this series. Do the downtrodden have rougher sex I wonder? I am not a prude but my eyebrows rose a few times. Although, the author is good at developing her characters and letting the reader into their psyche, I had an extremely hard time picturing Apollo. He was described as having “hit six feet at age fifteen and topped that by several inches in the fourteen years since. Add to that the width of his shoulders, his massive hands, and a face that his sister had once affectionately compared to a gargoyle’s”. I could not relate to this description well and further descriptions of him included “not handsome” with “craggy” features. I understand this probably lent well to the situation Apollo was in but not really my idea of a hero I want to read about. Of course he had the physique and caring demeanor to give him an attractive appeal and he was assertive in his attraction to Lily. He was also sweet to her son and we women know how well that can go in a guy’s favor. The secondary characters in this book were not all that interesting. Captain Tremillion, who has appeared in each book, was more prominent at Phoebe Battten’s guard/caretaker, but is grouchy all the time and juxtaposed to Phoebe’s cheerfulness. Captain Tremillion comes to see Apollo’s innocence a bit too quickly in my opinion that you wonder why Apollo is still being sought by the law if it was that easy for the Captain to figure out. There are a hodgepodge of people in this story with little background who were not developed enough to keep the reader engaged. The Duke of Montgomery is an odd character. References to his collecting people and his insistence on helping Apollo so he can get his garden finished seemed to foreshadow that an ulterior motive might be revealed and then none occurred. Lily’s brother was a distraction as well and kind of swarmy. Indio was sweet, but what kind of name is Indio in the early 1800’s? These were some of my gripes with the book and why it was a 3 star and not a 5. However, I love this series and am eager for the next book!

I eagerly anticipated the release of this latest installment to the Maiden Lane series, and I was not disappointed! I wish you could give half star rankings, because I would have given this one 4.5 stars if I could have. I loved the story. I loved the characters. I found the mystery regarding what happened to our hero to land him in such dire straits - especially since he was a peer - quite interesting and the non-traditional heroine was everything I wanted her to be. I thought that the connection between the H&h was great and definitely up to Ms. Hoyt's usual standards I also loved the surrounding cast of characters. The Duke of Montgomery was definitely an interesting quasi-'bad guy' and I'll bet we'll see him again. The story of Capt. Trevillion and Penelope was also intriguing. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because it was *just* shy of level of adventure and excitement in the previous 'Ghost' books. I would definitely recommend this book and all of the preceding books in the series. I hate waiting for the next one to come out!! We'll have to wait until May 2015 for the next one! :(

I am loving this series. The characters are diverse, the story lines are unconventional and the levels of suspense and historical details are very pleasing. I have fondness for novels where the MC is a gentle giant who in time of danger can turn into a feral beast but be gentle and caring otherwise. This is a perfect description for Apollo Greaves. I mean, the name alone, had me almost swooning. And noble turned gardener and assumed mad was an intriguing combination. Despite being mute half the book and he was quite eloquent when he expressed his feelings. Lily Stump aka Robin Goodfellow didn't impress me right away. She was a decent character with strong will and sharp wit. I liked her fine but in the end there she showed such bravery while telling about her past and while protecting the ones she loved. I enjoyed those moments. Of course the mystery of the killer was easy to guess, a bit staged even. But I liked it nonetheless. I found myself quite fond of the Duke of Montgomery. He is a secondary character who is very interesting. Delicate and beautiful yet feared by all. Despite his manipulations he did some good. One could really despise him if one didn't try to look beneath the surface. I enjoyed his part in the book. The way he talked was at times hilarious. I am looking forward to his book.

I have read the whole series, and I was just delighted with this one! Especially delightful aspects: -strong, independent heroine who can do the things she does in the book because she is a "breeches role" actress, and there were such actresses in the day, so you don't worry constantly about grating anachronisms. -totally hunky hero who reminds one of The Princess Bride's Wesley, in terms of physical strength, daring-do, and sly, irreverent humor. -adorable kid and dog who do rambunctious things in a realistic way, and don't just end up as sentimental props -return visits by characters from previous novels that are fun. (Don't you hate that when people come back from previous novels in a series, and all they do is gaze lovingly at each other and their offspring?) Also, for those who have read other books in the series, and I'm guessing a lot of us reading this one have read the others, I love how this one adds further to the variety of moods, styles, and areas of focus that are included. This is so unlike the moody earlier pieces (I love those as well), or the really strenuous grieving of Books 5 and 6--it's charming to see these characters romping around and having fun. And it's not that this is a shallow book--it's just that these people can live deep, worthwhile, and interesting lives, face conflict, fall in love, and so on, and still maintain witty repartee. Really, hats off, Elizabeth Hoyt! It's your best yet!

I liked Apollo and I liked Lily but I didn't find theirs to be a very compelling romance -- unlike, for example, Harry & Georgina in Leopard Prince, or Artemis & Maximus in Duke of Midnight. The sex scenes seemed by rote, maybe because there didn't seem to be much tension between Apollo & Lily. I was a little turned off by the numerous unflattering descriptions of Apollo: craggy, gargoyle-like, heavy brow, big knobby nose, muddy eyes. I like that Elizabeth Hoyt's heroes aren't all drop-dead gorgeous, but it came off a little heavy in Apollo's case. (Harvey Keitel wasn't classically handsome in the film The Piano, but talk about appealing!) I liked Indio and Daffodil but I kept wondering why the dog was never on a leash, especially in the scene where Apollo is attempting to plant the oak tree and the dog gets in the way and causes a near catastrophe. I guess a scene like this was needed for Apollo to find his voice, but it was still a little annoying. As usual, Ms Hoyt presents an intriguing cast of secondary characters. I agree with the reviewer who said it would have been nice to see more of Artemis & Wakefield; after all, they're the ones who got Apollo out of Bedlam. Duke of Midnight was my favorite in the series and I wanted to see more of them. Actually, the secondary characters gave pretty stiff competition to Apollo & Lily in terms of holding my interest. I found the interactions between Trevillion, Wakefield, Asa and Montgomery as interesting as the dynamics between Lily & Apollo. And both Montgomery and Asa absolutely stole every scene they were in. I'm hoping for the story of Montgomery and Hippolyta Royale, who seem to be meant for each other. So, not the best book in the series, but still an enjoyable read, with her usual great dialog. Ms Hoyt is such a good author, she could write about a romance between the yellow pages and a take-out menu and still make it interesting. I agree with Anna's Herding Cats: picking up a new Elizabeth Hoyt novel makes me almost giddy with happy anticipation.

Fabulous and fun and dramatic story - it's the first book I've read by Ms Hoyt and I am going to read the whole series from the beginning asap ! Beautifully written and I loved Apollo's and Lily's romance

Um dos melhores livros da autora. Achei a história leve e nada clichê. A história tem reviravoltas interessantes e já sei que vou sentir falta dos personagens no meu dia a dia!

Ich weiß dass die Rezensionen für dieses Buch sehr unterschiedlich ausfallen. Und eine zeitlang habe ich mich mit dem Kauf zurück gehalten, um einen weitere Fehlkauf zu vermeiden. Aber irgendwas drängte mich dann doch dazu, und ich bin wirklich froh darum. Ich komme einfach immer wieder zu den Büchern von Elizabeth Hoyt zurück. Es gibt kaum andere Autorinnen, nicht nur in diesem Genre, die ich überhaupt noch ertragen kann zu lesen. Hoyt schreibt einfach mit einem ganz subtilen Charme... und subtilem Witz, den ich sehr zu schätzen weiß. Der einfach alles so unheimlich sympathisch macht. Oft ist es sehr fein beschriebene Situationskomik, was nicht sonderlich leicht ist. Und in diesem Buch ist davon mehr als in ihren anderen enthalten. Es erinnerte mich stark an ihren Debutroman (Ravenprince), mein bisher liebster von allen. Allerdings wird das noch getoppt. Dazube trägt der Hund, der in einem Buch von ihr nicht fehlen darf, in diesem Fall 'the silliest dog in the world'- Daffodil, Asa Makepeace und das Trio um ihn, den Helden Apollo (oder Appollo? Ich kann mit nicht erinnern) und den Duke of .... weiß ich auch nicht mehr, jedenfalls ist er ein Teilhaber an Hartes Folley, dem abgebrannten Lustgraten/Theater, das Apollo gehört und das er aufbauen hilft. Die Storyline ist nichts Besonderes, den sexuellen Aspekt finde ich, wie bei allen ihren Büchern, viel, viel, viel zu ausgeprägt. Nichts desto trotz habe ich die Geschichte sehr genossen. Sie ist emotional, ohne kitschig zu werden und nicht so künstlich aufgeblasen durch abgedroschene Romanzentropes. Ich empfand das Buch deswegen als recht stiefmütterlich bewertet. Selbstverständlich ist es kein Romanz der Extraklasse. Aber deswegen lesen die meisten ja auch diese Bücher nicht. Ich für meinen Teil, suche immer nach einer Geschichte mit glaubhaften, sympathisch und emotional nachvollziehbaren Charakteren, die wirklich gut geschrieben ist. Bei Elizabeth Hoyt habe ich das bisher immer gefunden, viel mehr als bei anderen 'Erfolgs'autoren des Genres. Natürlich werden neue Charaktere vorgestellt. Aber mir gefällt das sehr. Denn dann sind die Charaktere, wenn ich ein neues Buch von ihr kaufen möchte, mir schon bekannt. Natürlich ist es auch eine Verkaufsstrategie. Aber es ist eine Gute. Und wenn man die Bücher nicht lesen möchte, dann soll man sie nicht kaufen. Ich finde es ist etwas anderes, wenn eine tolle, spannende Geschichte, in viele kleine Teile aufgesplittet wird um mehr verkaufen zu können. Aber bei diesen Büchern handelt es sich ja immer um in sich geschlossene Geschichten, die alle autonom gelesen werden können. Ich genieße es immer sehr, wenn neben dem Hauptplot ein Nebenplot eingeführt wird. Es ist einfach eine kleine Ablekung, die das Lesevergnügen noch leichter macht. Also, wenn man Gefallen an den meisten von Hoyts Büchern gefunden hat, dann wird man auch dieses mögen. Mir für meinen Teil, hat es sogar viel besser gefallen, als so manch anderes aus der Reihe, weil irgendwie alles ein wenig leichter und subtil witziger war, ohne zu einer nicht ernstzunehmenden Komödie zu werden. Meine einzigen Kritikpunkte sind der explizite Sex (allerdings gefällt mir auch, dass der emotionale Faktor dabei immer groß gehandelt wird! ) und dass Apollos Trauma nicht ein wenig mehr ausgeführt wurde. Aber ich kann nachvollziehen, dass dafür das Format einfach nicht genug Rahmen gibt. Und man merkt immerhin dennoch, dass fpr Hoyt die Charaktere mehr sind als das, was sie letztendlich aufs Papier bringt. Alles in einem allerdings ein Buch, dass mir sehr gut gefallen hat. Und ich bin da äußerst wählerisch. Diese Rezension habe ich geschrieben, weil mich der Mangel an guten Rezensionen beinahe vom Kauf abgehalten hat. Das sollte nicht so sein.

I bought this book in the series because I wanted to know how Lord Kilbourne was going to go on with his life while in hiding after his escape from Bedlam. Very interesting how that was all played out. Loved Indio and Daffodil.

This is the first maiden lane book that isn't about the ghost of St. Giles. It's the story of Apollo, Artemis' brother who is on the run from Bedlam. I loved this book. The series truely gets better, although every book in the series has been excellent. Apollo is a fascinating hero. He's not handsome, but as his character evolves, it easy to see why Lily is so attracted to him. Highly recommend downloading this one. Thank you for another great book Elizabeth. Oh, and we finally get to meet the Duke of Montgomery and I can't wait for THAT story!