Wicked Intentions
By Elizabeth Hoyt
ROMCO Rating: ★★★☆☆
-
Wicked Intentions is an engaging murder mystery set in early Georgian London. Lord Caire enlists the help of foundling home matron Temperance Dews to discover his mistress’ murderer in the slum of St. Giles. The investigation serves as the backdrop rather than the focus of the novel. The plot is fleshed out but is not substantial enough to stand alone without the romance.
Mystery ✓
-
Both Temperance and Lord Care played heavily into their archetypes. Temperance is the paragon of virtue, haunted by her lustful thoughts, and Lord Caire is the deviant aristocrat, untouched by human emotion. Both had solid backstories and clear personalities and motivations. However, the side characters, clearly set up for a future novel, were infinitely more interesting, leading this reader to wish they could skip ahead in the series.
-
Wicked Intentions is undoubtedly a slow burn. Temperance's puritanical religious beliefs are a core part of her character; however, her guilt begins to feel tedious after a while. She and Lord Caire have immediate chemistry, on which they build a believable romance. The romance is formulaic with some pacing issues but ultimately enjoyable.
Slow burn ✓
Class difference ✓
-
Wicked Intentions is a passionate novel with lust as its primary romantic driver, featuring explicit scenes. However, the pacing is clunky, with a significant portion of the book dedicated to building sexual tension, resulting in overcompensation in the final quarter. The rapid succession of scenes feels gratuitous and is out of sync with the overall flow of the narrative.
Light BDSM (bondage)✓
Explicit sex scenes ✓
Dirty talk ✓ (frequent use of “penis”)
TW Note: there is a relaxed approach to consent. By no means is in non-con, but if you are particularly sensitive to this, please note.
Summary
A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . .
Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .
A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST . . .
Caire makes a simple offer-in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control-one that may well destroy them both.
A BARGAIN NEITHER COULD REFUSE
