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A review by bandherbooks
Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt
5.0
Fairly spoilery review, especially if you've not read Book 1 & 2, but wow what a ride! I loved the romance arc in this one better than Griffin's book.
Re-Read with the #ButDoTheyBang crew and I'm rounding up to five stars because heck, Charming Mickey and his bejeweled fingers and his Jaysus have bewitched me body and soul.
And in Book 2 a baby is left at the orphanage. Silence has been rearing her as her own, but turns out the kid is Mickey's and he stole her back for protection. Silence can live with him and the baby or be done. Further ruining her. Whew.
Basically Mickey is draped sensually on ostentatious furniture or the tub in his palace or out trying to bring down the Vicar. Or acting like the Beast. He wants Silence in his home and he'll have her, consequences to her life in the future be damned. He claims he doesn't care about his baby but does everything to show this isn't actually true.
I HATE that Mickey forced Silence to unbutton her dress and "look" raped on her walk of shame. I still don't understand his motivation for this act, when her just leaving his palace would have been just as ruinous. And her husband's lack of belief just as hurtful if she had just left the joint with bedhead and looking tired. His fascination with her is a bit confusing at first but I believed it by the end of the story because seeing her stand up to his whims time and again made me pump my fist in the air. He's just so disconcerted that she won't do his bidding and he doesn't want to FORCE her to do anything.
Mickey's vendetta against the Vicar is scary and well plotted out, and I enjoyed seeing his men help him out. Mickey does care about his people and takes care of him, the big ugly dog too.
And wow what a slow burn! I loved seeing Mickey slowly seduce Silence into his bed (besides that bath tub scene which kind of made me mad). He waits for her to come to him and gets her consent.
That jail scene wedding SLAYED my emotions. Oh my god. "last chance" sex scenes are my catnip because they are just so fraught and full of emotion. Silence making love with Mickey as his wife while knowing everyone was out there giving them their time, whew. And her having to leave him to hang? *weeps* Hoyt got me good here.
The few interspersed scenes with other characters were just enough to keep updated on our other friends AND make me desperate for Winter's book. THAT ENDING JESUS. Need my book now!
CW for kidnapping, imprisonment, threats of starvation, sexual assault (Mickey grabs Silence's hand and forces it on his dick during a bath), violence, very violent death of a secondary character, child endangerment, threat of rape, stabbings, medical trauma, child abuse (in the past, described), rape (in the past, described), threats of allowing rape of a child (in the past, described), hanging by the throat (character survives), alcohol, on page sex.
Re-Read with the #ButDoTheyBang crew and I'm rounding up to five stars because heck, Charming Mickey and his bejeweled fingers and his Jaysus have bewitched me body and soul.
Spoiler
So far we know Mickey ruined the now widowed Mrs. Silence Hollingbrook after forcing her to spend the night in his pirate palace. Her husband never forgave her even though Silence promised all she did was sleep. This is from book 1.And in Book 2 a baby is left at the orphanage. Silence has been rearing her as her own, but turns out the kid is Mickey's and he stole her back for protection. Silence can live with him and the baby or be done. Further ruining her. Whew.
Basically Mickey is draped sensually on ostentatious furniture or the tub in his palace or out trying to bring down the Vicar. Or acting like the Beast. He wants Silence in his home and he'll have her, consequences to her life in the future be damned. He claims he doesn't care about his baby but does everything to show this isn't actually true.
I HATE that Mickey forced Silence to unbutton her dress and "look" raped on her walk of shame. I still don't understand his motivation for this act, when her just leaving his palace would have been just as ruinous. And her husband's lack of belief just as hurtful if she had just left the joint with bedhead and looking tired. His fascination with her is a bit confusing at first but I believed it by the end of the story because seeing her stand up to his whims time and again made me pump my fist in the air. He's just so disconcerted that she won't do his bidding and he doesn't want to FORCE her to do anything.
Mickey's vendetta against the Vicar is scary and well plotted out, and I enjoyed seeing his men help him out. Mickey does care about his people and takes care of him, the big ugly dog too.
And wow what a slow burn! I loved seeing Mickey slowly seduce Silence into his bed (besides that bath tub scene which kind of made me mad). He waits for her to come to him and gets her consent.
That jail scene wedding SLAYED my emotions. Oh my god. "last chance" sex scenes are my catnip because they are just so fraught and full of emotion. Silence making love with Mickey as his wife while knowing everyone was out there giving them their time, whew. And her having to leave him to hang? *weeps* Hoyt got me good here.
The few interspersed scenes with other characters were just enough to keep updated on our other friends AND make me desperate for Winter's book. THAT ENDING JESUS. Need my book now!
CW for kidnapping, imprisonment, threats of starvation, sexual assault (Mickey grabs Silence's hand and forces it on his dick during a bath), violence, very violent death of a secondary character, child endangerment, threat of rape, stabbings, medical trauma, child abuse (in the past, described), rape (in the past, described), threats of allowing rape of a child (in the past, described), hanging by the throat (character survives), alcohol, on page sex.