Lord of Darkness

By: Elizabeth Hoyt

Narrated by: Emma Taylor

Length: 12 hrs

Publisher's summary

Three men who made a sacred pact years before: to defend and protect the innocent of St. Giles - no matter the cost to themselves...

Since the death of his first wife, Godric St. John has devoted his nights to protecting the innocent of London disguised as the notorious Ghost of St. Giles. When Lord Griffin Reading discovers Godric's secret double life he presents him with an offer he can't refuse, and Godric finds himself married to a young - and pregnant - stranger.

Two years ago Lady Margaret "Megs" Reading lost both her lover and her unborn child - but not before being forced into a marriage of convenience with Godric St. John, an older, dour gentleman she barely knew. No longer content to spend her days at her husband's country estate, Megs leaves for London to get the two things she wants most: to find and bring to justice the man who murdered Roger, her lover, and to have a child of her own. But in order to conceive a baby, she's going to have to seduce the husband she hasn't seen since their marriage breakfast. (Maiden Lane, Book 5)

©2013 Elizabeth Hoyt (P)2013 Hachette Audio

If you thought you knew Godric well...

Imagine if you will a masked vigilante who roams the night to safe-guard the innocent from evil is blackmailed into marriage to a unwed woman from a good family, and even though this action on the part of the vigilante secures the reputation of the young woman, she suspects the masked man is the murderer of the father of her unborn child and has sworn to take vengeance in her own hands after she loses the love of her life and her unborn child. Unfortunately, she is unaware of one small fact…the same vigilante she has sworn to kill, is her husband whom she wants desperately to agree to consummate their hasty marriage after many years of living apart in hopes of having the baby she has craved for years. This is the premise of Lord of Darkness, with the magic of Elizabeth Hoyt sprinkled in for romantic measure. Godric St. James first appeared in the Maiden Lane series, Wicked Intentions, as a wizened, gray haired romantic, hopelessly in love with his deceased wife Clara. Although a mist of mystery surrounded the reliable character, I never thought he would warrent his own book. However, through this listen we see a change in Godric from a man determined to walk in the deathly shadow of his wife, to a man yearning to step back into the world of the living. Lady Margaret, “Megs” is just the woman to do it. Sister of the notorious Griffin Reading, Megs is a strong willed-young woman unafraid to pick-up a pistol or two to avenge her lost lover, even if that means going after the infamous Ghost of St. Giles. This was a wonderful listen with two complex characters thinking neither of them deserve or is good enough to simply ask for or take what they want from life in order to be happy. Godric shows a side of himself that listeners would not have expected from previous novels and even made me wonder, “Was he this type of husband with his beloved Clara?” My guess would be no. Only Megs could bring out that side of desire in a man who seems so much in control in every situation. The narration… well I can’t say it was the best, and it did take me a while to get use to since the last narrator did made the novel come to like so well, but the storyline was wonderful and I got past the narration once I got into the story. . Not to mention Hoyt gives the listener a tantalizing peek at the next installment of the series and for one I am saving a credit for the next one.

Really?? What happened to Ashford McNab?

Wow what a disappointment. Why do people change narrators?? I would rather wait longer for the release of the audible book to have the same narrator. Not that I am saying Ashford was busy I have no clue. But really?? ugh. This narrator was not so good. The story was my least favorite of all the Maiden Lane books, and I was sort of over hearing the word "betrayed". I have to say this book was just ok. I truly hope they bring back Ashford for the next book. A narrator can totally make or break a book people.. Just sayin.

Listen to the book not to the negative reviews

Emma Taylor brought Elizabeth Holt’s rich characters to life! I appreciate that she read in the proper accent of the characters. They are aristocrats and I believe Emma captured them perfectly.

Thank you Ms Holt for another lively entertaining story. Now onto the next!!

Love

Love this author!!! She is one of the best I live all the mysteries ❤️ onto the next

Another good ML story- irritating narrator

The Maiden Lane series is entertaining, sensual, and captivating. Hoyt continues the characters from book to book. Here the main characters are scared and lonely, they don’t want to love again. Wonderful tale about moving on and enjoying passion the 2 time around. Unfortunately, the narrator is not as good as the story. At times it was distracting and difficult to continue. Overall, excellent writing makes it worth the frustration.

Willing to be open-minded

Where does Lord of Darkness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book ranks in the middle of the pack as far as a favorite. As far as a series, it ranks in the top 10.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I really enjoyed Megs. I felt for her heart ache and her loss. Although, there were a few times I wanted to shake her and tell her "snap out of it".

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I love Ashford McNabb, so I was sad to see that it was a new narrator. It took a bit for me to get used to the new narrator. I'm willing to be open minded and give the narrator another try. Change is not easy, especially when you get used to a certain character's voice. This situation reminds me of the Dark Hunter series. When I started listening to the series, I loved the narrator, Fred Berman. Then they switched to Holter Graham, who is wonderful as well, but it took me a bit to get used to Holter. I'm hopeful, that with time and some feedback, the narrator will improve her interpretation of the character's voices (especially the male voices).

Awful narration

Narrator poor choice, consistently nasal tone, irritating to listen to, incapable of adapting voice to different characters.

Rehashing same tale

This was a disappointing listen. I feel we are telling the same tale of the "lassie snatchers" again. I hope we can move on down the "Lane".

Narrator?

Emma Taylor should never read these books in this series. I am not going to finish listening to this book for that reason. Please and thank you and I will continue with the series just not with this one. This would be like listening to the Outlander series without Davine Porter as narrator, it's not happening for me.

An excellent. Story. Ruined. By. The narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Meggs. She's strong willed but not a bitty-witch. Godric has the potential to be one of my least favorite hero types - the oh woe is me for whatever reason I can never love or be loved again, but Meggs doesn't let him slide so far in that direction as to be unlikeable.

How could the performance have been better?

Oh good heavens! I so wanted to like the narrator. Unlike for so many others, while Ashford McNab has grown on me, she's not my all time favorite, so I had high hopes for a different narrator. UGGHHH!!! Listening to her read is just short of painful! Her pauses are unnatural and stilted. For example: "She felt. As if. She couldn't. Catch. Her breath." Then she reads along all right for a while, and then starts that up again. It's like riding with someone who suddenly starts stomping on the brakes. No one talks the way this woman reads (thankfully!). Also, I agree with the other reviewer who said she makes Carre for an earlier book sound ancient and stodgy, but then most of her main male characters sound that way...he just sounds more so. I've got 7 more hours left, but I just can't bear it. I'll have re-read the paperback to refresh my memory before moving on to the rest of the series.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh. I especially enjoyed the great aunt.